Tostadas

Over the weekend, I attempted tostadas. Above is the result. Let me just say, I haven't been this proud of an improvised meal in months. This followed no recipe, but was just assembled from memory and taste.

The big new addition to my cooking repertoire is the corn tortilla. Honestly, I hadn't noticed that they were sold uncooked at the grocery store. They were next to the flour tortillas... really, I thought they were all flour tortillas. So I grabbed them and fried them in vegetable oil. They are like chips you get fresh from a restaurant. I've even been frying up some to munch on here and there.

On top of the fresh fried corn tortilla we've got refried beans; chicken that was chopped, cooked, and combined with taco seasoning; lettuce; sour cream; tomatoes; and queso fresco, which is a Mexican cheese we've often seen at restaurants. I fit four of these bad boys in my stomach.

My recommendation is be sure you include the lettuce, sour cream, and a light cheese. The fried corn tortilla, beans and chicken are very heavy. What makes this a great dish is the fresh light ingredients on top. The tomatoes really didn't add anything and I'd skip them next time.

Give it a shot.

Sifting through the Summer

Well, it hasn't been a month yet, but might as well have. I teach in about a week and a half, so I've begun preparing. The course I'm teaching is officially called "Elementary Algebra with Basic Mathematics Review." It begins Monday, July 7th, and runs through August 14th. It will be intense. It meets Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:30am until 12:15, 12:30pm on Thursdays. That makes 15 1/2 hours a week. I'm excited, as I should be able to expect the best from these students, having them for so long. There is definitely the potential for boredom, but that should be avoidable as long as I don't lecture the full 3:45 of the lecture. And after teaching a Friday class for 3:20, I certainly don't intend to.

I'm happy that there is this deadline for work that needs doing, as I'm not nearly as good at this self-discipline as I thought I would be. I haven't completely dropped the ball, and I'm rather proud of my work in Graph Theory, but it has been hard to keep up a pattern.

Take, for instance, the last two days. I've been on a Food Network kick. Thus, cooking has been in the forefront of my mind. Alton Brown's Good Eats had an entire episode devoted to the popover recipe, so I had to try it. I bought popover tins, and I've made them twice since Tuesday. They are extremely easy. I've got the recipe memorized myself. 1 Cup Whole Milk, 1 Tbsp Butter, 1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt, 1 Cup All Purpose Flour, 2 Eggs: all in a blender for 30 seconds, then in the tins for 40 minutes under 400 degree heat. What is so appealing is I understand all of it. Apparently, the blending makes lots of bubbles of tiny bubbles. The eggs under heat hold the outer layer intact, so the tiny bubbles turn to steam, which mix in the batter to turn into a giant bubble by the time 40 minutes has elapsed. So when the popovers are done, you just poke a hole in the top to let the steam out, and you've got dinner roll style cups to fill with anything, or just eat plain. Tuesday night, I filled them with teriyaki chicken and onions, yesterday I filled them with the fruit that we had leftover in the fridge. They are so easy. The only real challenge is having whole milk in the house.

Speaking of Alton Brown, Alicia and I bought his book, I'm Just Here For The Food. Great book. It's a cookbook, but the recipes are built up to with an explanation of the cooking methods or the ingredients involved. He explains that a recipe is like a friend drawing you a map for directions. If you follow the directions (recipe), you'll get where you want to go. But if something goes wrong, such as a tree is blocking a road (or cheap frying pans effect cooking time), you're in the dark. That is exactly how I've always felt about recipes: in the dark. The only ingredients I actually feel familiar with are chicken, onions, and green peppers (thanks to salsa and stir fry). Sure, I've used mushrooms or paprika before in a recipe, but I know very little about the ins and outs of the ingredients.

Basically, I've been on a cooking binge as of late. Last night, I seared scallops (very easy!) and tried my hand at ratatouille (big failure, I think I over cooked it). Previously, I made Chipotle Cashew Chicken (below) and grilled Pineapple Kabobs (above) along with regular kabobs.

But with too much cooking comes too many dishes. I need a break. So tonight we're ordering out. Pizza I think. Yay!