Salsa & Beans! Tortillas & Rice!

This week I got promoted from “We’re assessing your abilities as a copy editor” to “You’re a copy editor!” I’m stoked that I’m an official employee, but there is a bit of uncertainty because my shifts revolve more around gaps in the schedule than they did before. At first I let that bother me, but then I remembered my horoscope, having read it in Metro on the way to work. It said something about how there would be some unexpected changes in my life on that day, but that it would only be a problem if I let it be. (Really, it’s not a horoscope at all, but it is solid advice to live by.)

And in talking to some of my coworkers, I’ve been assured that there are plenty of people going on vacation who I will be able to cover for.

But in food news: I made some fantastic Mexican-like food (I’m hesitant to call it straight Mexican because who am I to declare such authenticity?).

First: the Tortillas.

I love this recipe for tortillas from Homesick Texan. She has tonnes of great Tex-Mex recipes on her website, and plenty of them are easily turned vegetarian. While I’ve made a couple different tortilla recipes, this one is great because it uses a miniscule 2 teaspoons of oil, as opposed to 5 tbsp of shortening like the recipe in the Rebar cookbook. (Side note: does anyone else have the Rebar cookbook? I haven’t used it in a while because they have so many fancy ingredients, but it really does have good stuff in it. Next on the to-buy list: The Coup cookbook!)


Next: the Salsa.

I’ve never made salsa before! Seriously. I decided to put it together the night before my friend was coming over for breakfast. Super easy, of course.


Salsa Fresca

• 2 tomatoes
• half medium onion
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Fresh lime juice
• Salt & Pepper

Chop the tomatoes and onion roughly. Dice the jalapeno and garlic finely. Mix together in a bowl, add lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Optional: use an immersion blender to food processor to break down the salsa slightly. I let the salsa sit overnight in the fridge, but I’m sure you could consume it immediately.

Third: the Rice.

Again, Homesick Texan to the rescue. I have a recipe from AllRecipes.com that I usually use, but it is almost always a bit overcooked and mushy. This new recipe is super easy and really delicious, even though I didn’t measure my lime juice and overdid it a bit.

Finally: the Beans!

These turned out so very well… I hope am remembering the recipe properly. It was one of those ones that just get created on the fly, based on all previous bean knowledge.

“Yes, this is taco heaven” Black Beans

• 1 can black beans
• 1 red hot pepper, halved and seeded (that’s what it was labeled as at Safeway. It looked like a red jalapeno… but pointier.)
• half an onion, cut into chunks
• 3 tbsp good barbecue sauce (I use Bulls-Eye Bold Original)
• ½ bouillon cube (what you would use for one cup of stock)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water

1. Rinse beans.
2. Put all ingredients into a medium pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Add more water if necessary to thin it out a bit.
3. Process beans in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
4. Season to taste with fresh lime juice.

Other things I ate this week:

• Cake for breakfast. Twice. (Angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream courtesy of Alan's mum. Score!)
• An ice cream sundae at work.
• CPU pizza at 11:30 last night with the roomie.
• A lot of eggs.
• Thing I didn’t eat: egg-white omelet. It looked horrible (I made it myself) halfway through cooking so I threw the globby mess out.
• My own slightly burnt cheese biscuits (luckily the rest of the folks at the party didn’t seem to mind).
• Amazing chocolate-caramel tart from Food Blogger Bake Sale. I don’t know who made it though, and I’d love the recipe!