Then I Shall Bow, In Humble Adoration

Easter Sunday

Chipotle Honey Glazed Ham 

Roasted Turkey Breast, Mexican slaw, Potato Salad, Skillet Cornbread, Greenbean bake

Roast Turkey Breast

I was so scared this would be dry but somehow it was the moistest ever!

P's Holiday Bloody Mary

Alex Guarnaschelli Skillet Cornbread

Mexican Slaw
There are recipes out there but I like to think I invented this one.

purple cabbage - sliced

red onion - sliced

Green apple - julienned

jalapeno - chopped

Cilantro - stems and all

lime juice, zest

Any excuse to use my giant mixing bowl from IKEA.  I like to get it all in there with salt, pepper and a couple splashes of Apple Cider vinegar before adding the dressing.  For the dressing:  I mixed an overly ripe avocado (smashed), lime juice, garlic (minced), Apple Cider vinegar, honey and extra-virgin olive oil, more salt and pepper.  Whisked up and emulsified until creamy and delicious!  Pour over.  

Easter Sammies!
Later that night, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and more potato salad

Breakfast Chili Crisp Avocado Toast

If you weren't impressed, consider that I did this mainly with one arm and everything that needed lifted, I had to ask for help.  When you're cooking, timing is everything, so that was not as easy as it sounds.  But Easter means something to me and if nothing else, I feel a celebratory meal is in order. 

Said It Once Before But It Bares Repeating Now

Mexican Slaw

Yes, I shared before, a few times but as I looked down onto this vibrant mixture, beaming with colors and fragrance, I felt compelled to highlight it again.  Of course you could use red apples instead of green, add carrots and tomatoes, replace white cabbage for the red, but the cilantro, jalapenos and lime included with cider vinegar make this. 

The bangin' slaw brought some legitimacy to an otherwise simple Taco Bowl. (although that freshly made guac was no slouch).

 

It Takes All Kinds of Kinds

Mock Shake and Bake Chicken, Brown Rice and what I'm officially naming Mexican Cabbage Slaw

If you like a fresh, crunchy slaw, you may like to make a vat of this.  The only time stealer is cutting vegetables but this is when it can feel like art if you allow yourself to get into it.

Red cabbage (sliced thin)

Apple (your choice) (julienned) *sometimes I use Granny Smith, other times a sweeter Gala

Carrots (shaved)

Red onion (sliced thin)

Jalapenos (seeded and diced small)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (a dash)

Apple Cider Vinegar to taste

Lime (1 squeezed over and wedges served alongside)

Cilantro (garnish and mixed in)

Lots of salt and freshly cracked pepper

Let this sit together awhile to develop flavors.  I'm not a traditional coleslaw gal much, although I do enjoy it when it's not too sweet.  This Mexican take revs up the vibrant colors and flavors.  It's summery and refreshing.  It makes a great side for burgers, chicken or Hot Dogs and gets better the more it marinates.  

Everybody Gets Enough Food Down Here in Lunchlady Land

The day before we stumbled onto a little festival up in Fort Green Park. We were psyched to see a new Mexican food truck. Or wait,no Mexicue it read, sliders and tacos. Mixing Mexican with Southwest BBQ. Hey, what a great idea! The truck was clean, new and cute. I would say inviting. The guys inside looked to be just out of college age, about five of them. We had to go with the sliders. One pork, one beef brisket.
So, only with regards to food offerings, I'm all about positive reviews but also truth. We only tried them once so its hard to judge, although, you're at a festival and the market is very competitive. You need to be good. It didn't go all that well. They actually overcharged us double, but we were so tired, hot and realized late we shouldn't be out of doors, so we just gave that mistake up to the gods. After all, we were about to eat these fabulous sliders. $4 each for a slider and they were super, super tiny. It left us feeling kinda ripped off. The baby Coke's musta been $2 each as well? How about 2 sliders for $4 or even $5. Include a drink for free or something?. These were ridiculously small guys. Meat was good, sauce was good. Not incredibly special. I felt there was 'thought & soul' missing, although someone clearly had talent with the meat. The website looks much better than what we were served. No coleslaw, chips or pickles inside ours, just meat, sauce and a white bun. I think they would be worth a second shot but here's my thinking; With three negatives, why give any food place a second shot? I don't have money to throw around.
On the positive side, I think this is an award winning idea and with a little research I see they've been featured many times in press, including the New York Times and normally have lines out the Island's ass in Chelsea. They are opening a real brick and mortar place in Midtown and their menu sounds appealing. So I wish them luck and I'm sure they'll be successful. People like to be told what to like in this town.

When I got home I realized I didn't get my craving filled and I was still rock hard for some delicious meat sandwich. I had ground pork and got the idea to do an Asian Sloppy Joe. I wok cooked the meat with onions, celery, peppers, carrots, ginger, garlic and then added Hoisin sauce, fire roasted tomatoes and a bit of hot chili oil. This was just sweet enough and the ginger and pork couldn't be happier together.


I sent P out for tiny slider bread and he came back with these amazing Brioche buns. The downside of having three gourmet markets as your corner bodega. Slightly toasted, they were too good - buttery and airy. A perfect vessel for the meat.

As a side I did a slaw with apples, red cabbage, radishes, red onion, jalapeno, rice vinegar and lots of lime juice.

The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Mental states can show in your cooking.  This dish started out stable....

...with chicken breast meat.  I made stewed chicken tostadas.  Sounds reasonable.  After sautéing the meat, I stewed it in a spicy tomato sauce for about 45 minutes until it pulled apart easily. 

My friend M at work often tells me about his cooking expeditions that start off interesting enough but  then quickly plummet into a psychotic mass of ingredients not made to ever meet.  I think he just can't help himself from adding that one next thing, unable to finish a dish.  This should be named as it is a common cooking malfunction.  If he already has an Italian dish going he just might get the urge to throw in some curry powder for example and then in trying to find a balance for that new flavor, goes on to add in two more mismatched things.  By the end, I always feel a little queasy and end up saying things like 'hmmm...that sounds...... interesting' or just 'wow'.  He's a mess.

This might be an example of my own mental state coming through in the evening meal.  I tried these 'other' avocados that I never buy because I just didn't believe they would be as buttery and flavorful as the Hass and you know what?  I was right.  Maybe I got a bad batch but these were watery and flavorless. The texture wasn't there and the color is baby poop yellow.

I put the chicken atop a bed of black beans mixed with a little sour cream.  I served a red cabbage slaw side saddle instead of on top because it was just way too crowded up there.

These were good but a better example of a bunch of good ideas that don't necessarily go well together.  If I'd have skipped the tomatoes, radish and avocado and the cheese topping and just went with the slaw over the chicken, I think they would have been a hit.  Black beans with sour cream are really good but a little overpowering for the chicken. They are a good substitute for meat on their own. Cheese is not needed on tostadas and that's just a fact.  I hated the avocado so I should have just scrapped that mixture but you know I hate throwing any good food out.  The colors were a little manic too.  This plate says Crazy Mexican. This was almost too much flavor on one plate. 

We're All Alright! We're All Alright!

When we used to have weekends off together and could ride out to Red Hook to watch the soccer games (sigh) on Saturdays, we loved to eat from the food carts.  We'd normally get a huarache, which are those giant oblong taco/burrito mutant dreams from Mexico. They are a meal in themselves but sometimes, we'd have room for Salvadorian pupusas as well.  They always served them with that amazing pickled cabbage, that I now see is called curtido.

Well today I just had to have that cabbage slaw or I'd just die.  And actually, I needed to top it with this particular red tomato sauce that they traditionally top the pupusas with. So I desperately searched the web for a recipe and made my own version to serve with my stewed chicken breast.

 I made the slaw first with thin sliced green cabbage, onions, jalapeno and carrots mixed with vinegar, s&p, Mexican oregano and a squeeze of lemon since limes are so darn expensive right now.

 The sauce did double duty.  I did a fresh raw sauce with canned tomatoes, real tomato, onion, peno, cilantro, garlic and cold water and salt.

 Blended that and served it over the sauerkraut and then cooked it for the chicken sauce.

I'm going on record to say no matter how much flavor I add to chicken breast meat, I never like it stewed because basically it doesn't absorb any flavors.  Real cooks probably know this but it has been a very slow learning curve with me.  I mean, you can usually marinate it and that works, but stewing...no.  This same sauce cooked with chicken legs and thighs would have been dreamy even skinless.

I would grade this effort a C+.  The Salvadorian Sauerkraut was refreshing and crunchy and the sauce was almost there.  The chicken was a perfectly fine partner.  The plus is for giving a shit enough to try something new during the week.  All homemade food unless it sucks or spoiled is good.

We Had It All, Just Like Bogie and Bacall

My in-laws gave us a trip to Key Largo, well they actually gave us a two day stay in Manhattan in a beautiful NOMAD hotel but the dates were impossible with P's schedule so we ended up taking the value and booking this amazing trip for days where we'd always wanted to go, the Keys.  I never really understood what they meant, the Keys.  What the heck was it?  I knew where it was.  I imagined high end hotels along a Hampton's like beach front.  But it was nothing like that.  In fact the only real full on sandy beach we found was on Key West but our Key Largo hotel was so much more interesting.  For us Florida is always white sand beaches, extreme sun, the gulf water being the main focus, each day.  It's beautiful.  But this trip was at an odd time.  The weather was unseasonably cool there.  We had already changed weather in New York and it was now time for warm sweaters and layers and tans and beaches just didn't feel right anyway.  My brother is sick, my cat is dying, my soul is heavy and grey.  The vacation was an unexpected gift and so I just felt like I went into it half cocked.  My hair wasn't cute and I bought no clothes to wear.  It didn't feel like it was right to celebrate at this particular time in life but it was a gift and such a thoughtful one that it would also be wrong to waste it.

It took me until the second day to even get there mentally.  And I was already beating myself up for squandering any time during such a wonderful experience on moping.  When you have full sun even if it's not super warm, life does feel different.  My sister always tells me God wants you to be happy.  A change in scenery did help actually and after awhile I started breathing better, felt more relaxed and finally blinked and saw that damned if I wasn't on vacation.  What the heck is wrong with me?  We had food to eat, fun to have, this weird new place to explore.  We have use of a car, which is a real pleasure.  And it was super casual and perfect.  No need to worry about what you're wearing.  No need to fret about restaurants, there were plenty of cute as a bug's ear little roadside diners that were filled with locals and everyone was friendly and the food was made with love.

Knife and fork burger and a grilled chicken melt from the hotel.

wedge salad

Some weird pattern in the sky but no plane or anything in site or heard.

This mound was called a hash brown casserole from Mrs Mac's Kitchen.  Never had it, seemed to be a local feature.  Sort of tasted like hash but have no idea what was in it.  Very good.

Is there anything better than not working, being on an island with nothing to do but fill your day with fun?  And you must wear hats!

Local pizza from Tower of Pizza.  Good but the best part was the delivery kid who was nice enough to sit and talk with us about the history of the Keys and where he grew up, what he likes to do.  So young and full of life, healthy and pulsing red hot energy.  I felt like a famished vampire who might lose control and lunge at him, sucking all that new fresh blood out of him and have it for myself.  I wanted to see if only for a moment what he feels, so full of opportunity, a young male living on the water, enjoying the ocean each day.  So innocent and trusting. He musta sensed my thoughts because all the sudden that kid jumped out of his seat for the door.

Best key lime pie EVER!  Surprisingly at the unassuming and half empty Senor Frijoles.  Homemade, with a merengue topping and a spectacular crust.

P got Lobster tacos!

I got the Steak Tampiqueno, an 8oz rib eye with Tampico sauce with a cheese enchilada beans and rice.  Most awesome meal of the vacation.  The place was right on the water and looking out onto the boats, drunk on food, I felt so blessed and grateful.

The hotel had two pools, one for adults and another for children.  Our towel lady, an islander, kept everyone well behaved in her domain.

We rode to Mrs Mac's a second time on a tandem bicycle that the hotel lended for free!  Key Largo has bike lanes and tons of bikers but the morning we rode, we had the lanes all to ourselves.

Riding back from Key West, I spotted a real UFO that was clearly visible in the day and undisputable.

Until we discovered it was a white weather blimp.  Such a bummer.  So close!

We took a day trip to Key West and walked through an allegedly haunted cemetary.

Drove through the town that was clearly decorated by gay men like a hollywood set. The cutest tiny houses with picket fences and flowering gardens, porches and open doors into stunning floor plans.

P does tend to sightsee like a 70's father, driving past everything so fast while I"m goosenecking it all the way trying to notice every detail.

They have tons of wild roosters and hens all over town just roaming the streets.  It's the oddest thing.

So many bars and restaurants all cramped into this sweet little Whoville type place complete with trolley cars and everyone was busy at work on something, whether it be fixing siding or planting gardens, hammering fences, all the while as if dropped from the sky a TON of tourists all walking the streets as if this town is not at the end of series of dozens of small islands with only one road leading to it, sometimes only the width of the road.

Picked a place online the night before, a sweet patio restaurant called Two Friends.  Great choice, for my meal that is.  P got a little short changed with his spice rubbed Mahi.

But this chocolate cake was a dream with ganache and whipped cream on top.

I had the shrimp lover's platter and it was exactly how I envisioned it.  Tons of shrimp three ways, cold peel and eat, very fresh and vibrant tasting, a skewer of grilled shrimp perfectly seasoned and a big surprise shrimp salad on the bottom with crunchy celery and a delicious light sauce.  Lots of lemon and a nice spring salad on the side. 

I'm allergic to fish so I based my choice on the sound of this Mahi steak.  Meh.  Poor P.  And the last thing we needed was another serving of fries.

Being at the end of our world out there looking out until the still waters that day in Key West was it for this girl.

That night we decided to eat as many vegetables as we could before we had coronaries.

Even the cloudy days were awesome.  Something about being right on the water able to look out and see your thoughts.

There was a pier to fish off of and walk on and at night passing silhouettes of other visitors made it a magical place.

The town itself is so narrow but it did have houses, this one being the most fabulous.  Most were on stilts and modest.

The hotel beach was all shaded with trees like a movie set, complete with bar, snack shack, hammocks and games like a little park.

And then you could take the trail and go to the more secluded part where it felt like Gilligan's Island.

This was where it was at for me.  A loner's paradise.  Just you and the sound of the water.

It was cold ass so we read a lot on the chairs by the water.

 At night we drove around to the other islands all lit up in their Christmas lights.

We had the world's best Key Lime Pie in Florida as voted by Florida Monthly Magazine for 8 years at the Blond Giraffe Pie Factory.  The tall Brazilian owner came out and talked with us about his frozen pie on a stick and how he moved from Key West.  His shop was meticulous and he came out from the back as if like magic.

 We parked and enjoyed a piece outside, so peaceful.

Evelyn's was a big hit.  Mexican breakfast outside in the full sun before we knew only the first day of 80 degree weather would be the only day to reach such temperatures. 

Chilaquiles eggs and tasty no lard beans.  It became apparent that the local spots were bringing it full on with their food offerings.  No flavorless greasy spoons in this town. Fisherman came to enjoy their food.  Vintage healthy I'd say.  I mean one place had Adkins diet specials on the menu.

But this whole series of islands knows how to do cute.  The colors and vibe felt a little like the Bahamas.  The locals seemed to have found a little secret to living in peace.

When the weather wasn't right for the beach we wandered the town, visited the outdoor food market,

Went to the State Park, saw the aquarium

We kayaked around the mangroves and sounds. 

We walked nature trails and contemplated life.

Harriets is famous for their homemade biscuits.

Oh yeah babe, with butter and their homemade honey!

Their omelets were like crepes, chocked full of spinach and every spot had the best rye toast.

The waitress sat us at the corner table with the tree and the place was packed, warm and inviting.

At the Tree Top hotel in the restaurant it was gorgeous and again to our surprise completely empty so we had the entire sunset view to ourselves.  I got the special, pulled pork.  Too much sauce, not enough pork but the best part was the green apple slaw.  Dynomite! I will be making that.

P had the lobster salad.  It looked so good but he said it wasn't special.

 

After getting off the plane initially and managing to get off course out of the airport, we bypassed driving to Miami proper to look around and jetted to McDonald's where to our surprise they featured an Angus chipotle BBQ bacon cheeseburger.  The description had me in a trance.  They were like large sliders, just slid down your throat and they were gone!  We split that and a big Mac with fries and real Cola.

Before I snapped out of my funk looking out the window at Miami coming in I thought, great, another big city.  No thank you.

Silly girl.   Just a short drive down the coast to the furthest most southern spot in the whole country lies our sweet sanctuary where we would regroup, reconnoiter, refresh and share some of God's grace.

Back to the city.  My whole experience of Key Largo might be described by that famous desert, Key Lime Pie. It's refreshing, invigorating, not heavy, tangy, simple yet oh so fabulous, and when you eat it you can't help but feel better.