cooking up a storm
Our yearly family reunion is tomorrow. I had today off work, and ended up at 5 grocery stores purchasing supplies for some food that I'm taking. I usually ending up bringing dishes that everyone looks askance at, but tend to like after sampling. Five grocery stores was excessive, but I had to stop at Aldi for their cheap organic blue corn chips. $1.49 a bag! Three bags full. Plus a $3 watermelon, and that baby is HUGE. I haven't been able to bring myself to purchase any melons this summer, they've been so expensive. Finding perfectly ripe mango was also difficult, which meant I stopped at Sunflower (too mushy), Trader Joe (either rock hard or gooey and organic) before finding perfect mango at (shudder) Whole Foods. That place creeps me out and makes me crazy. And, oh yeah, makes me wish I had loads of money to eat my way across the store.
Along with the plain watermelon, I made a pineapple-mango salsa that includes cilantro, mint, jalapeno, lime juice, and red onion (hence the blue corn chips.) It is lovely to behold and hot as hell. But sweet, then hot, then sweet, hotsweethotsweethot. YUM.
I baked up some lovely eggplants, chopped them up, threw in breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, parmesan and fried them in little patties. YUMMY but very wet this time, even though I drained them well. Hoping they reheat well tomorrow and don't sog up on me.
Last is a new dish to me. It's a curried salad with shrimp, mango, green onion, cashews, basil, and a yogurt-mayo dressing. It looks amazing in the bowl.
I also whipped up some mini chai-flavored brownies. I just need to frost them with a cream cheese cinnamon blend that I whipped up. Yummy. THOSE are the only thing guaranteed to be gone tomorrow.
And I ordered pizza for dinner. . . .
Along with the plain watermelon, I made a pineapple-mango salsa that includes cilantro, mint, jalapeno, lime juice, and red onion (hence the blue corn chips.) It is lovely to behold and hot as hell. But sweet, then hot, then sweet, hotsweethotsweethot. YUM.
I baked up some lovely eggplants, chopped them up, threw in breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, parmesan and fried them in little patties. YUMMY but very wet this time, even though I drained them well. Hoping they reheat well tomorrow and don't sog up on me.
Last is a new dish to me. It's a curried salad with shrimp, mango, green onion, cashews, basil, and a yogurt-mayo dressing. It looks amazing in the bowl.
I also whipped up some mini chai-flavored brownies. I just need to frost them with a cream cheese cinnamon blend that I whipped up. Yummy. THOSE are the only thing guaranteed to be gone tomorrow.
And I ordered pizza for dinner. . . .