Stay Home Cooking Adventure

In this time under a stay at home order, you look for new things to do. For me, that new thing was trying to cook a dish I have never made before: Chile Colorado. For those that are interested, the recipe at the bottom of this blog.

Now since I couldn't find the dried chiles that was talked about in the recipe, I went with Adobe peppers. Felt weird toasting already dried peppers, but since this is my 1st time making this recipe, I followed the instructions exactly. Made the kitchen smell like toasted chilies for the rest of the afternoon.

Soaking the chiles after toasting

While the chiles were soaking, I cut up and started browning the meat. Of course, the meat was taste-tasted by Gabby and it met with her approval. (Gave her a little piece. She was not on the counter.)

Smelled good

The purée was pretty easy to make, once I had the chiles' seeds removed. If you do plan on making this, you can use 2-3 tbsp of minced garlic (not dried) in place of the 2 cloves if you don't want to get a whole bulb of garlic. Marie introduced me to having a jar of minced garlic in my fridge and I am never without it. The simmering is the hard part. I made sure to set 30 minute timers to stir it during the 2 hour simmer time. It smelled rather good at this point. Hard to not want to eat it.

Begining to simmer

Two hours later, it was time to eat. Lee and I doled out a couple of spoonfuls into bowls, topped with shredded cheese and grabbed a couple of tortillas. You had to be careful eating it due to drips, but it came out very tasty. It had some heat to it but it wasn't the type of heat where it felt like you would lose your tongue. I would definitely make this again, even though it has a long prep & cook time. Lee even suggested using chicken for it. We shall see.



Recipe for Chile Colorado
The beef for this is slow simmered in a red chile purée so the ingredients for the purée will be listed 1st, then the rest of the ingredients will follow.

8 dried red chilies, such as guajillo or New Mexico
1 cup hot water
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried episode or oregano leaves
1 (14.5oz) can chopped tomatoes, with liquid

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3lbs boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, sliced
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, to garnish
Pico de Gallo, to garnish
Warm flour tortillas, for serving

On a griddle over medium-high heat, toast the chilies for 2 minutes on each side. Place the toasted chilies in a bowl and pour the hot water over them. Let the chilies soften for 30 minutes, them stem & seed them, reserving the soaking water. Place the chilies, garlic, cumin, epazote, tomatoes, and 1/4 cup of the soaking water in a food processor or blender. Purée until smooth. Set aside.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy, large pot. Season the beef and then brown all over for about 20 minutes. Add slice onion and chile purée. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 2-2.5 hours or until the beef is tender. Serve in bowls, topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and pico de gallo, and accompanied by flour tortillas.
Serves 6-8

A New Read

My husband Lee and I are avid readers. It was the topic of our first conversation. With this whole stay at home thing going on, we both have been reading more. For me, I am a big lover of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction. Lee enjoys realistic, modern sci-fi but also enjoys the mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  We very rarely read the same books, so we thought we would take advantage of the time and read a book that the other has enjoyed.

The book Lee selected for me was "Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichton (one of his favorite authors). It was an interesting read and not one that I wanted to put down part way through. It was like reading a tale directly out of Nortic mythology, very matter of factly. No huge embellishments of what was happening, just the fact. I liked how Crichton showed the contrasts between Ibn, a Arab courtier, and the Viking warriors he has to travel with. He still maintains a lot of his sense of self but loses a lot of self righteousness over the men he travels with. He sees the honor & strength of the warriors he fights beside. The book ends with an abrupt stop, like the end of the manuscript is missing. I rather like it because each reader is able to imagine what happens to Ibn after he is able to go home.

Admitting My Fear

I will admit that I am afraid.  I am afraid of losing my home and the life I have built with my family. I am afraid for the lives of my family, both of my heart and blood. I am afraid to what this illness will do to the people of this world.

It is okay to admit that I am afraid.  Every day, I will have to face those fears and I will have 2 choices: to give in or to fight it. My choice is to fight against the fear. Some days, it will not be easy and fear may win every now and again. But it will not win always.

When I can, I shall hold space for those that fear is trying to concur. May peace come to us all.

Watch Her Burn

The candle is lit at both ends
Yet she keeps going.
The wax drips onto tattered remains
Health, social life, hobbies, love
Yet she keeps going.
They ask and ask and ask
She gives, gives, gives
Life giving energy spilled onto barren soil
Yet she keeps going.

A stumble, she falls into the darkness
Reaches out for help
No hands pick her up.
She calls out
Only the wind answers her back.
Bruised, battered, bleeding
She shuffles back into the light.
No one sees the blood & bruises
Yet she keeps going.

Sit there, watch her burn
Yet she keeps going.
The hope is there
Someday, someone will tell her to stop
Then she will be able to rest, to heal.
Until that time, she keeps going.

What's In A Name

I got to thinking about names the other day and how they are used, especially when we are younger. I could always tell how little or how much trouble I was in by the way my mom said my name. I came up with four different levels.

Level 1: First name was shouted but no major anger was behind it.
Definition: Come here, you are needed.

Level 2: First name shouted with some anger behind it.
Definition: You are in trouble. Need to get to the room where your name was shouted before you get into more trouble.

Level 3: First and middle name has been shouted.
Definition: You are in some serious trouble. Expect some type of discipline.

Level 4: First, middle, and last name (full legal name) has been shouted.
Definition: You are dead meat. Time to write your will.

Would you add any other levels or definitions?

Culinary Aventures with Kit Kats

So my good friend Marie loves to send me interesting things and this newest gift that arrived in the mail is no exception. She sent me a movie and a bag of mini Kit Kat bars; 16 of them to be exact. They aren't your ordinary Kit Kats; they are flavors that appear in Japan.

Unknown Kit Kat #1

Upon opening, the Kit Kat was a green tea color with no real strong smell. Ironically enough, green tea was the flavor. It wasn't bad, just a strong flavor, similar to a stongly brewed macha green tea. Lee declined to try this one.

Unknown Kit Kat #2

This one had a sandwich picture on it. It smelled chocolaty with a touch of peanut butter. Didn't taste too different than a traditional Kit Kat. Lee tried this one and agreed that it was pretty good.

Unknown Kit Kat #3

The package had no pictures, just writing. This one was a dark green in color and smelled like green tea. It also tasted like strong green tea, very much like unknown Kit Kat #1. Lee again declined to taste it.

Unknown Kit Kat #4

The package just had a picture of an apple on it. It was the traditional Kit Kat chocolate brown and did have the strong smell of an apple. It tasted as if you took the green apple Jolly Rancher flavor and infused it into the chocolate. It wasn't bad, just unusual. Lee didn't want to try this one either since he isn't a big fan of apples.

Unknown Kit Kat #5

I was a little worried to try this one since I was worried it would be really spicy but it didn't smell like it. It was covered in white chocolate and smelled a bit like hazelnut. It tasted like it too. Even though it didn't taste bad, I don't think that I'd want to eat a big one since hazelnut reminds me too much of coffee (since it is paired so much with it). I was the only one who ate it.

Unknown Kit Kat #6

This one had a leaf shaped cookie that looked to have a chocolate filling. It was covered with a chocolate that looked beige in color and had a nutty smell. It tasted a bit nutty as well but I couldn't place the taste. Either way, it was pretty good.

Unknown Kit Kat #7

This package was solid black and smelled like dark chocolate. It tasted like dark chocolate as well but not the normal kind. It tasted like it was one of the higher percentages. Either way, both Lee and I enjoyed this one.

Unknown Kit Kat #8

A lavender colored Kit Kat awaited me under this purple wrapper with its purple frosted cookie. It really didn't have a smell but when I bit into it, it had a flavor of white chocolate mixed with a touch of blueberry. It was tasty but since I said it had a blueberry flavor, Lee declined to try it.

Unknown Kit Kat #9

Can we say how bold the letters are on this red package? I'm not sure that I could have figured out that it was a Kit Kat (read that last sentence with as much sarcasm as you can). Anyways, this one was an original Kit Kat.

Unknown Kit Kat #10

The picture that was on this package looked to be a slice of cheesecake with a strawberry drizzle on it. The flavor was a bit like a cheesecake chocolate so it wasn't too bad. Cheesecake is a hard flavor to replicate well in chocolate. Lee didn't want to try it.

Unknown Kit Kat #11

Thanks to a coworker of mine, she informed me that the writing on this particular Kit Kat was wasabi. Never having wasabi before but knowing of it's heat, ot made me a bit nervous to try it. It was a pale green in color with no particular smell. When I ate it, there was no spiciness, just a bit of gritty white chocolate. Lee declined to try it.

Unknown Kit Kat #12

So no pictures on this one but when I opened it, it smelled a lot like watermelon. The chocolate was also a pale pink. I do have to admit that it tasted like watermelon as well. It was a very unusual taste. Lee didn't want to try it.

Unknown Kit Kat #13

So this one sported a picture of a wine filled glass paired with raisins. The candy was covered in white chocolate & smelled of raisins. It definitely tasted of raisins too. Not one I would care to eat again. I like raisins, just not raisin flavored chocolate.

Unknown Kit Kat #14

Can we say green tea number 3? Same flavor as unknown Kit Kats 1 and 3. Rather strong. Don't think the green tea ones are my cup of tea. (Get it? Ha!)

Unknown Kit Kat #15

This one, based on the picture, I figured would taste like black tea. Opening the package up & seeing the color of the chocolate made me not sure I wanted to taste it. It was baby poop green. It smelled like tea and tastes like licking black tea leaves. Such a strong flavor. Lee laughed at the face I made while trying a bite.

Unknown Kit Kat #16

The last one of the bag. It was pink in color and smelled like strawberry. It tasted pretty good. Sort of reminded me of those pink wafer cookies I had when I was a kid that came in a pack with chocolate & vanilla. Since Lee is not a strawberry fan, so I didn't offer to share.

So this is the end of my Kit Kat adventure. It was a definite ride for my tastebuds. Don't think I want to eat all of these again but it was fun to try new things.

And Then, Kindness Came Unexpectedly

When you are an individual that doesn't get noticed much or gets swept under the rug or is the odd man out, it is a rare jewel to receive news that a person fought back for you.

To set the scene, last week I had a major allergy attack. Not just the sinus congestion and runny nose, but raw throat with muscle & joint aches that make you feel like you have been run over by a mac truck. I did what I always do, took some meds and went to work. Not the best thing I could have done since it felt like my brain was floating in a vat of stupid. I did my best that day but towards the end, I was dragging. I was doing everything I could to keep moving because I knew if I stopped, it was very unlikely that I would be able to get going again. Apparently, what I was doing wasn't enough because I got my ass chewed by one of my managers. After that, I felt rather broken.

I learned earlier today that a dear associate friend of mine that I love to work with, Ann, told me what she told the same manager how much the store needed me and how I didn't deserve what I had received that night. When she told me that, it almost made me cry. It was something that I needed to hear & was so wonderful to have someone come to my defense.  Ann has been a wonderful person to work with and we have become good friends.

That one, simple act of kindness made the world in which I dwell a little less darker. So to you my dear Ann, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to my defense. Your kindness & friendship will always be cherished my dear friend. You always have my love.