DF15: Turkish Hamburgers and Girlichef's Salad

Hamburgers are always great weekend fare, especially when DS is here. Recently we've tried and enjoyed bison burgers. While leafing through Sheila Lukins's All Around the World cookbook, I found a recipe for "Great Turkish Hamburgers." This proved to be a blend of beef, lamb, and Turkish seasonings, so I was excited to try it. DC and DS are big lamb fans, and DC is practically addicted to gyros.

Side dishes for burgers are always a challenge for me, since I am supposed to take it easy on potatoes. Sweet potatoes are great, but we do get tired of them! When I saw Girlichef's recipe for warm Gemstone Potato and Greenbean Salad, I knew I had to try it!

A last minute inspiration was to make homemade pita bread instead of using the French rolls Sheila's recipe called for. Homemade pitas are so easy and so good! If you can make pancakes, you can make homemade pitas. There is no yeast in the recipe I use. The pitas were a great platform for the burgers and condiments. To go along with, I made a tomato salad dressed with garlic mayonnaise and thin strips of sauteed Anaheim peppers (the closest thing I could find to Italian frying peppers).

Here is Sheila's recipe for

Great Turkish Hamburgers

1 lb. ground sirloin
1 lb, ground lamb
1/4 c. coarsely ground onion
1 t. minced garlic
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. chopped Italian parsley
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cinnamon (*I only used 1/8th t.)
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. coarse salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
8 French bread rolls
Toppings:
Sauteed thinly sliced strips Italian frying peppers
Thinly sliced tomatoes
Thinly sliced shallots tossed with minced parsley

1. Place all the burger ingredients through the pepper in a large bowl and work with your hands to just combine. Do not overmix.
2. Form the mixture into 8 oval patties about 3" long, 2" across, and 1" thick. (I just formed them into large hamburger patties)
3. Grill, broil or panfry the patties, 8 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side.

Side 1

Side 2


4. Meanwhile, split the French rolls in half and remove some of the excess bread from the centers.
5. Place the patties in the rolls and serve immediately with a platter of the toppings.

These burgers were really yummy! I ended up using 1 lb. of ground sirloin and 1/2 lb. of ground lamb, since that's what I had on hand. Also, I am not a huge fan of cinnamon in meat dishes, so I added only a tiny bit to the burgers.

Warm Green Bean and Potato Salad

To make Girlichef's salad, I first created a dressing to toss with the hot vegetables. In the bottom of a serving bowl I combined 6 T. extra-virgin olive oil, 2 T. white wine vinegar, 1 t. salt, freshly ground pepper, 1 clove crushed garlic, and 1 t. dijon mustard. As Heather says, adjust the proportions of these ingredients to suit your taste.


Next, I cooked the potatoes and green beans. Of course, there were no gemstome potatoes at my market, but the baby Yukon golds looked delicious.

Finally, combine the hot vegetables with the dressing and toss well.

Easy, and delicious! Unfortunately, my green beans quickly turned a shade of army green, but they were still quite tasty!

We absolutely loved the salad! I am therefore bestowing the coveted Tasty Award upon Girlichef for her delectable recipe.
Thanks for sharing your tasty recipe, Heather!! :)

Here's a shot of my homemade pitas. The top one looks like a smiley face! See my earlier post for the recipe.


Tomato salad with garlic mayonnaise for topping the burgers:

Fried pepper strips:


To serve, I placed a pita on the plate, then added a burger and topped generously with the tomato salad. I added the sliced peppers. The green bean and potato salad went alongside. I really loved eating my pita-- all the yummy juices and seasonings had soaked into it, and it was so good. Alternatively, I could have wrapped the burgers in the pitas, gyro-style. But since we were eating on our laps, this arrangement was a little easier. With all the delicious flavors and toppings, we didn't even miss the cheese on our burgers!

DC's plate:

DF13: "Unstuffed" Shells, Modena Mountain Bread, and Antipasto salad

Today I tried out a new vegan cheese dish, "Unstuffed Shells" from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. It simplifies the typical "stuffed" shells dish by simply tossing the pasta with the vegan ricotta cheese mixture, and then topping everything with a tomato sauce.

Not knowing how successful this attempt at cheesy shells would be, I decided to create a hearty salad to go along with them, sort of like an antipasto platter in a salad bowl. I had some wonderful Fra Mani salumi in the freezer, not enough to make more than 1 sandwich from, so this was a great way for everyone to enjoy the mortadella and salame rosa and not let them go to waste.

I have been wanting to make some homemade bread for the longest time, and this seemed like a great opportunity. If the shells turned out awful, we'd have salad and bread to fall back on! I chose the Modena Mountain Bread from Lynn Rosetto Kasper's marvelous The Splendid Table. It's very rustic, and includes potato and wheat berries in the dough.

First, the shells recipe. I used Pipe Rigate a sort of half-round pasta, instead of the shells. Owing to a "new" orthodontic device (Herbst appliance), DS is prone to choking. I was a little worried he might inhale a shell!

"Unstuffed Shells" from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook.

1 lb. firm regular tofu
1/3 to 1/2 c. vegan mayonnaise
2-3 T minced fresh parsley
2 t. dried basil
2 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. (1 16 oz. can) tomato sauce* see below
4 c. medium shell pasta

Break tofu into large chunks. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Drain well and mash fine.

Combine tofu, mayonnaise, and seasonings in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside

Heat the tomato sauce and keep warm. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain well and combine with reserved tofu mixture, tossing until evenly distributed.

Divide among 4 dinner plates, and top each with some of the tomato sauce.

I made the following adjustments to this recipe: I used Hellmann's mayonnaise, to taste. About 1/3 c. After cooking and draining the tofu, I used the food processor to combine it with the other ingredients. Mashing fine didn't work for me, it left all kinds of icky lumps. Using the food processor yielded a texture more like ricotta cheese.

A note about seasonings: I dislike using onion and garlic powders, but concede it is sometimes necessary when a concentrated flavor is needed without adding the bulk or moisture of the real thing. Actually, fresh garlic probably would work fine here in place of the garlic powder. The powders taste "off" to me, and worse, tend to linger on the palate for several hours after dinner.

My ratings for the Tofu Ricotta Cheese:
Color: 3 stars. It looked like ricotta with herbs mixed in.
Texture: 3 stars. It pretty much had the texture of ricotta cheese.
Cheese Flavor: 1.5 stars: while it was reminiscent of cheese, a raw, beany flavor from the tofu still predominated when the cheese was cold. However, when warmed by the hot pasta ans sauce, this was much less pronounced, and the finished dish was fairly tasty.
Taste: 2 stars: Good; but not by itself. In the dish, the flavor was not unpleasant, just a bit different. With pasta and tomato sauce, the beaniness was much reduced. If you like tofu, this probably won't be an issue for you. I wonder if cooking the tofu a little longer would help with the raw taste.
Overall: 2 stars: Good. I would eat this again, but I would not serve it to guests. Actually, I will not serve it to DS again, as he just couldn't handle the vegan cheese. I will add, however, that he does not like dairy ricotta or lasagna.
DC-O-Meter: "Tastes fine with the tomato sauce on it. I would eat it again."

I made my own quick tomato sauce by sauteeing half and onion and 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil and the dressing from a jar of marinated artichoke hearts. I added about half a jar of ready-made pasta sauce, 1/4 c. red wine, and the artichoke hearts and cooked until everything was heated through.

This added a really delicious touch to the dish. With plain tomato sauce, I doubt this pasta would be palatable to most people. With my doctored-up jarred version, it was both quick to prepare and tasty. I really liked the pipe rigate in this dish, too. They are a bit smaller than shells, and less "hefty."

Antipasto Salad by DomesticMuse
This is really more of an idea than a recipe. It's good for using up little odds and ends of things. Artichoke hearts would be delicious here, but since I had put them in the pasta sauce, I didn't add them. Here's what I put in the salad:

Romaine salad mix
3 slices Fra Mani salame rosa, julienned
3 slices Fra Mani mortadella, jullienned
9 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 roasted red pepper, chopped into large dice
1/2 pkg. button mushrooms, quartered, blanched and marinated
1/4 cauliflower head, broken into tiny florets, blanched and marinated

Divide ingredients among 3 salad bowls, adding as much or as little salad mix as you like.



For both the marinade and the dressing, I used an heirloom family recipe, my Aunt Edith's Italian Dressing. DS loves it, it's his absolute favorite. It's really more of a light vinaigrette than what most people would consider Italian dressing.

Aunt Edith's Italian Dressing

1 c. corn or other mild vegetable oil
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 heaping t. Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, sliced fine
2 t. salt
4 t. sugar

Mix all ingredients except the corn oil in a blender or food processor. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow steady stream until it's incorporated and the dressing is emulsified.


The bread is one of my favorites, one that I haven't made for a long time. I always start it the night before, to give the sponge time to preferment. I usually prep the wheat berries and potato the night before as well, and zap gingerly in the microwave, stirring well to prevent hot spots, to bring it to room temp before adding to the dough.

Modena Mountain Bread from The Splendid Table

Sponge:
2 T. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. granulated yeast (I always cheat and just use the whole little packet)
1/4 c. warm (110F) water
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 c. warm water (110F)

Dough:
5-6 oz. red skinned potato
1/2 c. (3 oz.) wheat berries
1 c. (4 oz.) whole wheat flour
2 1/4 t. salt
4 1/2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 T. flour (for sprinkling loaves)

Sponge: Make the sponge 16-22 hrs. before you plan to bake the bread.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the 2T flour, the yeast, the 1/4 c. warm water. Let the mixture stand 5 minutes, or until the yeast is bubbly.

Add the 2 c. flour and 1 c. warm water and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for 12-18 hrs.


Dough:
To prepare the potato, boil the unpeeled potato in water to cover 30 minutes, or until very tender.

Drain, reserving 10 T of the cooking liquid. Cool and peel. Puree the potato with the reserved cooking liquid. Cook the wheat berries in fiercely boiling water to cover for 10 minutes,
or until tender

Drain and cool. Crush lightly in a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle. Set the potato and wheat berries aside at room temp. If working ahead, cover and refrigerate, and bring to room temp before adding to the dough.



Combine the sponge, potato puree, wheat berries, whole wheat flour, salt, and 2 c. of the unbleached flour. Beat with the paddle attachment at medium speed for 2 minutes. Beat in another 1/2 c. of flour and switch to the dough hook. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a sticky dough. The dough will be soft but holding its shape around the dough hook while it cleans the bottom and sides of the bowl. If it puddles at the bottom, add a few T of flour. The dough should be very elastic, soft, and a little sticky. Knead about 10 minutes in the mixer.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough, turn to coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap.

Set aside to rise at room temp 2-3 hrs., or until the dough is 21/2 to 3 times its original size. It will look blistered and soft. No harm will come to the bread if you let the dough sit as long as 8 hrs.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet with olive oil. Place a jelly roll pan on the floor of a gas oven or the lowest rack of an electric oven.

Punch down the dough and knead it about 5 minutes. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a ball, tucking the dough under itself until you have a taught sphere.

Set the two pieces of dough on the oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle the dough with the 1 T flour. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise at room temp 1 1/2 hrs., or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Place the cookie sheet with the two loaves on it in the oven. Pour 3 c. boiling water into the jelly roll pan, and close the door to capture the burst of steam. Bake 40 min. Turn the loaves over and bake another 10 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaves on a rack to cool. Allow to cool 1 1/2-2 hrs. before cutting.


And here is DC's plate:



!Buen provecho!

DF8: Rib Fest , Sunny Sweet Potato Salad & DF Ice Cream

Although normally I avoid most ready-prepared foods at the grocery store like the plague, sometimes a judicious selection, rounded out by a home-made dish or two, is sanity-saving!

Both DC and I had to work today, so by the time, well, ok, well past the time, to think about dinner, I was feeling tired, with no plan and no desire to do any marketing. My mind was a big blank, as the dish I had been thinking of making would require a trip to WF on the other side of town. Then a happy thought struck me: this is the day the Teeter has prepared bbq baby back ribs on sale for half-price! I'm not that crazy about ribs, especially the pork ones, but DC is just in heaven with a big ol' plate of any kind of ribs.

A quick perusal of Sheila Lukins' cookbook All Around the World revealed a dairy-free and wonderful West Indies style sweet potato salad that sounded like a perfect accompaniment to the ribs.

Funny, I haven't looked at that book in literally 5 years, and of all the cookbooks on my shelf it said "Pick me! Pick me!" Sheila's food is always terrific. The recipe required only a few ingredients from the Teeter, some of which I needed anyway. List in hand, I set out for the Teeter.

DC inquired as to what was for dinner, casting a suspicious glance at the Indian cookbook I had rejected and left sitting on the sofa. I just smiled and said, "You're gonna be happy!" I haven't made ribs since last summer sometime. The nice thing about our new house is there is a Teeter within walking distance (though being in a hurry, I took the Juicebox, our hot-lava colored Scion).

While at the Teeter, I picked up what I needed, including a rack of ready-to-heat ribs. Then I thought, we haven't had dessert in several days, since I've been trying to cut down on my sugar consumption. I decided to check out the frozen dessert offerings. AHA! The Teeter carries Purely Decadent, a dairy-free premium-style "ice cream" I've been wanting to try. At $5.50 per pint, I had picked it up and put it back several times at WF. But what the heck, it's the weekend, let's have a little treat!

Of course, this being the Teeter, there was nowhere near the selection of flavors. Turtle Mountain, makers of Purely Decadent, have recently come out with a coconut-milk version of Purely Decadent, in addition to their original soy-based line. The Teeter carried a few flavors of each. I picked up the Chocolate flavor of the coconut-milk variety and looked at the ingredients. In addition to the coconut milk, I noted there was NO SUGAR-- it's sweetened with agave syrup! On the down side, I did not see chocolate or cocoa anywhere on the ingredient list. They used carob instead. Which is fine, if you are in the mood for carob, which I was not.

On the soy-based side, there were 2 kinds of Vanilla, which I thought might be too plain to cover up any soy undertones, Cookie Dough (I'm probably the only person in the world who hates Cookie Dough ice cream), and Almond Mocha Fudge. I do not care much for coffee-flavored things, but the description mostly talked about chocolate flakes and almonds. The ingredient list had lots of things on it I have never heard of, and I noted that the Soy version has 20 calories more per serving than the Coconut milk kind. What to do, what to do.... In the end, the real chocolate in the soy version won me over, so Mocha Almond Fudge it was! Sometime I do want to try the coconut milk stuff, especially since it's sweetened with agave, which my doc had recommended I start using in place of sugar. ChefBliss, if you are reading this, I need some agave tips!

I was all set to pick out some B&J for DC, when I remembered we had 2 pints of B&J vanilla at home, leftover from the 3 pints for $10 sale at the Teeter before I knew I was going to be eating dairy-free. At our house, we mostly tend to eat vanilla ice cream on top of something else, like peach cobbler, rather than by itself. Just as I was wondering if we had any chocolate syrup at home to dress up the vanilla, I caught sight of a new Smucker's topping: Apple Cinnamon!

Apple desserts are DC's favorite-- I'd heat up the topping and it would be kind of like apple pie a la mode, without my having to make the pie!

Feeling triumphant, I headed home. I popped the ribs in the oven to heat,

drizzling them with a little Num Num sauce for good measure, and turned my attention to the sweet potato salad, which was blessedly quick to prepare. We had leftover corn and limas from Cuban porkchop day, which would round out the meal nicely. Lured by the smell of bbq, DC emerged from the study and said "Woo-hoo!! I smell ribs!" I just smiled and said, "I told you you were gonna be happy!"

The sweet potato salad is a real winner, especially if you are addicted to sweet-hot flavors like I am. It does contain curry powder, which I know not everyone enjoys. But we both loved the salad, and it went well with the ribs. Here is the recipe for

Sunny Sweet Potato Salad by Sheila Lukins
Serves 8

Ingredients:
Coarse salt to taste
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. cubes
1 lb. Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 in. cubes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
*2/3 c. mayonnaise
3 T. mango chutney, finely chopped
2-3 T. best-quality curry powder
4 scallions (3 inches green left on), thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 T. chopped Italian parsley

1. Bring 2 medium-size pots of salted water to a boil. Cook the sweet potatoes in one pot until just tender, 5-6 minutes. Do not overcook. Cook the Idaho potatoes in the other pot until tender, 8-10 minutes. When the potatoes are finished cooking, drain them and combine in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste.

Here are the sweet potatoes, waiting for the white potatoes to join them!

2. For the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, chutney, and curry powder; gently fold it in to the potatoes with a rubber spatula.

Fold in the scallions and parsley.

Serve at room temperature. This potato salad keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Sheila's recipe calls for a whole cup of mayonnaise, which is way too much for the amount of potatoes. I was going to cut it in half, and then decided to try 2/3 c. That seemed about right; even a bit less would have been fine. Also, I chose to use the hot mango chutney, which was perfect for this dish. It gave it a nice kick without adding too much heat. The quality of the curry powder is important here, an indifferent mixture could ruin the dressing. My sister got me some very nice Madras curry powder from the Oliviers & Co. boutique in Paris a few years ago, and that's what I used. In India, of course, curry powder is not used, instead, fresh spice mixtures are created for each dish. I ran out of the Oliviers curry powder, and it was all I had, so I had to wing it for about half of the amount called for. I added some garam masala, ground cumin, and some turmeric to the mixture and it was perfect. 3 T of curry powder is probably too much, so add it in small amounts until you are happy with the taste.

The salad was really delicious. It would be fun to experiment with adding some other ingredients in place of the white potatoes, like jicama. Although jicama throws off quite a bit of moisture. Boniato, the white sweet potato popular in Latin America, would be perfect here.

Here's DC's plate. Not bad for a pick-up meal!


And a closer look at the potato salad!


DC loved his vanilla ice cream with the apple topping. He joked, "This is kind of the opposite of what I usually eat, apple topped with ice cream!"

With haunting memories of frozen Tofutti "dessert" from grad school days floating through my mind (ugh!), I was very pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of the Purely Decadent Mocha Almond Fudge.



Here's a look inside: MMMMMMMMM!


Despite the coffee flavor, I found this to be absolutely delectable. It was just as rich, creamy, and dense as any Ben & Jerry's or other premium ice cream flavor. The small flakes of chocolate scattered throughout were wonderful-- not too big, so they weren't hard and overwhelming. What I enjoyed the most was the contrast between the silky smooth "ice cream" and the crunchy slivers of toasted almond liberally scattered throughout.

I am a true ice cream connoisseur. I am very picky about quality and taste-- don't even mention the words "soft serve" to me. I scoff at the very idea of "Dairy Queen." I love ice cream so much that when I lived in Chicago, I would run down the block to the homemade ice cream parlor for a small to-go cup most nights after dinner, even in the ice and snow! So I am amazed to tell you that the Purely Decadent was every bit as delicious as dairy ice cream-- I won't be missing real ice cream with this stuff around! In fact, I almost like it better than real ice cream, because it has the creamy texture and wonderful flavor of ice cream without the heaviness. For once, I did not feel like I had just eaten something the roughly the size of Seattle after finishing my bowl. The mocha flavor was definitely there, but it wasn't overwhelming, so I actually enjoyed it! I would have no hesitation to serve this to company.

It's AWESOME!!! 5 stars!! Unfortunately, I can't give you DC's opinion of the soy ice cream. For one thing, he would have complained that it was messing up his perfect balance of flavors between the vanilla and the apple-cinnamon. For another, he detests anything even vaguely coffee-flavored. So I didn't even bother asking him to taste it. Ah well, more for me!!!

Now I can't wait to try the coconut milk version to see how it compares! I think I should do that right away, don't you? No sacrifice too great for the Cause!

Chipotle Cheese-Fries Chili

I am so furious with Chase Bank right now I could just spit. I really need to get some work done, but I'm so mad, I can't concentrate. So I'll finish this post for the Chili Cook-Off Challenge, and I'll feel better, LOL!

Yes, it's time once more for Gloria's Chili Cookoff over at Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. This month has really flown by!


I recently watched DC and DS eagerly devour a plate full of greasy french fries covered with melted cheese goo and some chili, with apparent enjoyment. Perhaps it's because I lack the Y chromosome, but the charm of chili cheese fries simply eludes me. For one thing, the chili and cheese make the fries soggy. Then when you pick up a french fry to eat it, all the chili and cheese fall off, leaving you with a naked piece of sodden potato.

There really must be a better way to enjoy the tastes and textures of chili, cheese, and fries. So just for fun, I decided to create a recipe for

Chipotle-Cheese-Fries Chili
By DomesticMuse

Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb. ground sirloin
1 lb. hot pork breakfast sausage
1 large onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
2 T chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 T dark brown sugar
1 t. salt
1/2 t, freshly ground black pepper
1 T ground cumin
2 t. chipotle chile powder

1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 1 lb. bag frozen corn
5-6 c. V-8 juice
1/2 bag mini tater tots
1/2 lb. Velveeta, cut into 1/4 in." cubes

For serving:
sour cream
chopped scallions
crumbled bacon
finely shredded Mexican-blend cheese

First, brown the pork sausage and the ground sirloin. When well browned, remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add 2 T extra virgin olive oil and saute the onion, pepper, garlic, and serrano over medium heat.

Return the ground sirloin and sausage to the pot. Add the chili powder, chipotle chile powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and brown sugar. Cook together for 1-2 minutes. Then add the Rotel tomatoes, the Mexican-style stewed tomatoes, the chipotle peppers, the kidney beans, the corn, and the V-8 juice. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/2 -2 hrs., until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chili is just starting to cook:


Ready!!


About 3o minutes before serving the chili, preheat the oven to 450F. Spread the tater tots on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and crisp.

Now it's time to build our chili masterpiece!

Put some of the hot tots in an individual serving bowl.

My velveeta cubes: You know, the Mexican-style Velveeta would have been really good here, but the Teeter didn't have it.

Put some of the cubed Velveeta on top of the tots.

Ladle some of the hot chili over the cheese and tater tots.
Then add some of this:

And some of this:

And some sour cream and some shredded Mex blend cheese.

Voila! Chili heaven!


I was amazed at how delcious this chili turned out to be! We really enjoyed the combination of flavors, from the smoky heat of the chipotles to the creaminess of the Velveeta to the earthy crunch of the potatoes. Yeah, I know Velveeta isn't real cheese. But some dishes just wouldn't be right without it! The melting factor is kind of critical here. Perhaps I should have called this "White Trash Chipotle-Cheese-Fries Chili." :)

Between the serranos, the chipotles in adobo, and the chipotle chile powder, this is some seriously spicy chili! The heat from the chili and the tater tots melts the Velveeta cubes, which blend right into the chili and, along with the sour cream, tame the spiciness perfectly. For maximum crunch, you could put the tater tots on top of the chili rather than underneath it.

To go with the chili, I made a very refreshing salad of julienned jicama and pineapple tidbits tossed with the juice of one fresh lime, salt, pepper, ancho chile powder, a litttle pineapple juice, and some olive oil. I'm crazy about the juicy crunchiness of jicama, so I was glad that DC and DS enjoyed the salad too. The anchopowder had an unfortunate effect on the color of the jicama, but it tasted good!


For dessert, I made homemade lavender and lemonade ice cream, but we ate dinner so late we didn't get around to dessert. I'll have to report on that another time.

!Buen provecho!