I am going to say something that will probably forever and utterly put me in the Bad Books of Canadians everywhere. Your Mexican food is lame. And before you bluster and object, I merely say that it isn’t as though I didn’t do research. It isn’t as though I have tried a couple of places in hopes of finding that food that reminds me of my childhood. Heck, even in Atlanta, you’d have to go to Buford Highway to find anything decent (the glaring exception being the delicious and wonderful Nuevo Laredo Cantina) from Latin-America.

I know my fellow Texas natives up here feel the same.

But that’s okay; I’ve come to terms with it. And by that, I mean making my own Mexican food. Especially Spanish rice and picadillo.

My mom used to make us picadillo when my sister and I were little; she even has one recipe that involves sliced potatoes that I really want to get from her at some point. Now my mom would’ve served these with homemade flour tortillas but I have to try my hand at those. I think taco shells will do.

And the rice! Oh, the rice—! I remember her making it, wondering why it took so long but man, did it ever taste and smell good when it was done. I made mine with garlic instead of onion (we never had onions because my sister didn’t like them) but it’s very similar to my mom’s.

Turkey Picadillo Tacos

adapted from Family Circle magazine

1 tbl. canola oil

1 medium chopped onion

1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey breast

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

18 taco shells

1 cup frozen corn

shredded lettuce, sour cream, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add onion and crumble turkey;cook, stirring occasionally, 7 to 8 minutes or until onion is softened and turkey is no longer pink. Stir in garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, pepper and tomato sauce. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat taco shells 5 minutes. Add corn to turkey mixture and cook 2 minutes or until heated through. Spoon about 1/3 cup filling into each taco shell. Garnish as desired.

Spanish Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
3 cups water or chicken broth
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
Pinch of oregano
1 teaspoon salt

In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add pepper and garlic. Cook pepper and rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

Add water, or chicken broth if using. Then add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes before fluffing with fork.

While around these parts we’re having what Canadians call an Indian summer (55 degrees and it’s Indian summer? Seriously?), I still wanted to make something hearty and warming. Soup and homemade bread sounded like it would fit the bill. Especially now that I keep finding bread recipes that don’t backfire on me.

Honestly, the recipe for bread I am giving you here is about the laziest thing a wary bread-maker could dream of and the result is unreal in its goodness.

Of course, with your nice loaf of warm homemade bread, you’d probably need soup. Nay, you probably want soup. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like putting on one of my many pairs of whimsical jammies as well as slippers and sipping from an oversized bowl or cup some scrumptious soup. But the soup I made for dinner the other night didn’t require such elaborate plans. It also stays on course with me cooking something vegetarian once a week. (Though believe me, Matt was sort of kvetching about it when it was leftovers.)

*sigh* If there is one scent I love in the kitchen, it’s the scent of sauteing vegetables. The way that hot fat softens and caramelizes the garlic and onions a bit. I can’t believe it took me so long to recognize the value of home-cooking. It’s not that I’d never been interested in the kitchen but I didn’t fully appreciate the kitchen until my early twenties. Now I can only go forward, never back. Anyway, if you wanted to add some meatiness to this soup, a protein, I can suggest many things. You could really keep it vegetarian and add some drained, pressed extra-firm tofu, or even crumbled TVP. Or cooked sliced sausage or kielbasa. Or use that fresh-baked bread you just made to make grilled cheese and tomato sammiches to go alongside.

Be inventive! Add whatever you want. This soup will still get you through a properly cold day.

Speedy No-Knead Bread

3 cups bread flour

1 packet (1/4 oz.) instant yeast

1  1/2 tsp. salt

oil as needed

Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1  1/2 cups warm water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully, remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Spicy Lentil Soup

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

5 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup dried lentils

1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 tbl. balsamic vinegar
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan on medium-high. Add the onion; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrot, bell pepper and garlic; cook 3 minutes. Stir in 5 cups water (or you can use chicken broth), lentils, crushed tomatoes, the bay leaves, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves and serve.

When I found this recipe on Sunday, I knew I had to make it immediately: maple walnut chocolate chip cookies. Only I omitted the walnuts because I didn’t have any and was too lazy to go to the store.

While they spread a little too thin for my liking (probably something having to do with doubling the batter), I suspect if you get the proportions right, you could make dozens of little cookies as gifts. Don’t forget to sprinkle them with flaky sea salt!

Maple Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

from Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1/4 c butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c pure maple syrup (the good stuff!!)
1 large egg
1 t maple extract
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
3/4 c dark chocolate chips
3/4 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup together. Add in the egg and combine until fluffy. Dump in the flour, baking soda and salt and stir until just blended before adding the chocolate chips and walnuts and stirring again. Drop by tablespoon 2 inches apart onto a parchment or silpat covered cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just golden. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes 24 cookies.

My favorite breakfast place in Atlanta was, hands down, Gato Bizco. Aside from the cute cat kitsch, the staff were super friendly and the food was affordable and oh-my-goodness-cram-your-face yummy. I still maintain they have the best pancakes on Earth. Another delectable dish was their huevos rancheros.

Admittedly, it was a very different take on huevos rancheros, but you really didn’t care because they hit the spot. I don’t know why some people do not like eggs and salsa. They’re perfect for each other! Moving on, the version of huevos rancheros I made the other morning (courtesy of Smitten Kitchen) isn’t authentic either, but Matt and I gobbled up every last bite.

If this were missing one thing, I would have said home fries. Ah, well, maybe next time…

Ever eat something that doesn’t taste anything like you thought it would?

I know that I have examples running around in my head but I can’t think of them currently. One example I can think of is ground pork. I used to think that ground pork was just sausage, so what was the point of making burgers or meatloaf out of it?

Oh ho, I was wrong! Ground pork tastes very similar to ground turkey; I am not going to start swapping them out or anything, but if a recipe calls for ground pork, I’ll use it. This recipe is also notable for getting me to eat pineapple, but mostly because it was grilled.

Tropical Pork Burgers

adapted from Woman’s Day magazine

Combine 1 pound lean ground pork, 2 tablespoons teriyaki stir-fry sauce and 2 sliced green onions. Form into 4 (4-inch) patties. Coat patties, 2 quartered green bell peppers, 4 whole green onions and 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices fresh pineapple with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Grill patties and peppers, turning twice, 8 minutes or until lightly charred. Brush with more teriyaki sauce. Add green onions and pineapple to grill. Grill everything 2 more minutes, turning often, until burgers are 160 degrees and vegetables and pineapple are tender.

…me. If only by the hair’s breadth that is Matt making me pancakes on any weekend morning I want. These weren’t as awesome as the banana pancakes he made me a couple of weeks ago, but dammit, they were good pancakes. I am pleased that I married a man who has amazing pancake proficiency.

Currently, I am being accused by Matt of “phoning it in” when it comes to this year’s NaBloPoMo entries. He’s not entirely off but when you have post something food-oriented every day, you take the little opportunities you usually ignore. I don’t chronicle every time Matt makes pancakes but maybe I should. In any case, tomorrow there will be an honest-to-goodness recipe. No, really, come back tomorrow!

I am trying to give Friday nights back to Matt in terms of cooking. It sounds sad, doesn’t it, that I allot him one weekend morning and one weeknight for cooking? He’s going to roast the duck in December so that’s fair! Anyway, using some delicious goat cheese ravioli, he made an interesting pasta sauce for them. Using a basic white sauce as a base, instead of a roux made with butter, he used bacon grease. Yes, bacon grease. It was…tasty but odd. And I would’ve dropped the bacon grease in the mix.

Is it wrong that sometimes, on Fridays mostly, that Matt and I go to Costco for a cheap lunch?

After—at my behest, of course—we prowl the aisles for samples, we settle in at the snackbar for a hot dog. I wanted to go with pizza today but if it means choosing between pizza and Quebec’s greatest contribution to junk food, frites avec sauce, then I have to go with the frites. I have yet to meet a potato I didn’t like, people. So yeah, some Fridays, we go there, sit at the snack bar and feel like complete and utter white trash. Only more well-dressed (Matt especially). So maybe, next time, pizza?

Oh, how I love expanding my horizons. And oh, how I love when I find a new food I can get down with.

Have you ever tried duck? I mean, really tried duck with all its luscious crispy-skinned, tender meat beauty?

Because I did last night, people, and I tried it by making a fried rice dish with it. Oh, the sheer gluttony of it.

Duck has won me and mine over. There’s even some talk about roasting a whole one for the holidays. I am all for that but still, this was a fantastic introduction.

Duck Fried Rice

2 cups long-grain rice

1 confit duck leg and thigh, skinned and boned

1 tbl. soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tbl. peanut oil

4 oz. smoked country bacon, diced

1 medium-size onion, finely chopped

2 tsp. garam masala or curry powder

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

salt to taste

4 scallions, trimmed and minced

Place rice in a saucepan and add 3 1/4 cups cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, cover tightly and continue cooking 12 to 15 minutes, until water has evaporated and surface of rice is pitted with little holes. Remove from heat and set aside, covered and undisturbed, 15 minutes more. Transfer rice to a bowl, fluff with chopsticks, refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Shred duck meat, mix with soy sauce, add pepper to taste and set aside.

When rice has cooled, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large wok or skillet. Add bacon and fry just until golden, not browned. Remove. Add onion and saute on medium until golden. Stir in garam masala. Add remaining oil, stir in eggs and quickly scramble them. Fold in duck meat with soy sauce, cooked bacon and rice. Cook on medium heat until rice is heated through and ingredients are well-blended. Season with salt.

Fold in half of the scallions, transfer rice to a serving dish and scatter remaining scallions on top. Serve.

Oh, I remember the days of ordering pizza when I wasn’t in the mood to cook. Heck, I remember even better the days of grabbing my purse and walking the block up from old apartment to Fellini’s for a large slice and a beer. These days, Matt and I rarely order pizza because frankly, there isn’t a whole lot of good pizza around these parts.

I’ve carped on about it in previous blog entries but I still have yet to make homemade pizza dough. I am aware it isn’t terribly difficult, but when you have relatively fresh pizza dough available at your local grocery, I find it hard to muster the skills to make it. That being said, I made a variation on the calzone/pizza recipe. Minus the homemade dough.

I am calling these “pizza turnovers,” aka “No, Seriously, That’s A Calzone of Some Sort, Dude.” It was a concession to a love of pizza and a concession to laziness. Now if you can’t get fresh/frozen pizza dough where you are, it’s totally cool to use that Pilsbury kind that comes in a tube. Again, we can’t all be Alice Waters.

Pizza Turnovers

1 (1o oz.) can refrigerated pizza dough, or fresh or thawed blog of pizza dough

10 oz. can of pizza sauce or use your favorite pasta sauce

1/4 cup shredded carrots

24 turkey pepperoni slices

2 tbl. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 to 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch square. Cut dough into 4 (6-inch) squares. Spread 1 tablespoon of sauce on each square within 1/2-inch of edges. Top each with a bit of shredded carrots and distribute turkey pepperoni as you see fit. Then sprinkle the cheeses on each. Fold each square in half over filling; press edges to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm. Preferably with salad, so you can feel a little virtuous.