Potato-Kale Enchiladas, Tamarind Lentils, a Picnic and a Rant

Hey y'all. I've been MIA for the last few days. The power-cord to my computer broke, so I have very limited computer time until the new cord gets here. It's interesting, the things I can get done when I have no computer access. The laundry is done, the house is clean, and I'm left twiddling my thumbs wondering what the hell to do. We've had some good weather, so we've been able to play outside a lot. I got a new mountain bike, so I look forward to riding it often.

Anyway, I've done a good bit of cooking since my last post. Last week, I made the Potato-Kale enchiladas from V-con. I'd heard good things about these, and the didn't disappoint. However, the recipe made LOTS of enchiladas. So many that we had them leftover for dinner the next evening, and lunch for three days! They look a little funky in the photo, and I think my enchiladas turn out that way because I don't like them completely drowned in sauce. They were quite tasty, and for a new side-dish I made some re-fried black beans. I made them the same way I make re-frieds with pinto beans. Sleek says they're better than the pinto ones.



Saturday night, I made tamarind lentils (also from V-con). Wow! They were so good. They will certainly be a staple around here. They also take less than an hour including prep and cooking time. They were perfect over jasmine rice.



Sunday, we spent the day at Chestnut Ridge Park. The kids had been wanting to have a "real" picnic for a long, long time. ( "Real" means using the actual picnic basket, not just eating their meal out in the yard. LOL) So, we headed out to CRP, where we met moneytastesbad, who has posted here on Chez Mama and RTN too. We had met before, but didn't figure out who each other was until last week. He has a sweet little girl, and the kids all enjoyed playing and spending the day outdoors. Anyway, I made some "cold-slaw" (that's what Julian calls it), bought some hummus at the co-op, and a good loaf of bread from the bakery. We had sandwiches with the hummus, roasted red-peppers, cucumbers and red onions. They were quite tasty. Oh, and for the slaw, I just chopped up my cabbage and a little red onion. And peeled some carrots into it. For the dressing, I mixed up some "light" mayo, sugar, apple cider vinegar, water and a touch of cumin. I think I'm going to get some Vegenaise on my next trip to the store. I really just use mayo for dressings and such. Anyone here use Vegenaise? Think I'll like it?



Okay, now it's rant time...So, after a two-year hiatus, Cafe of India re-opened here in Mo-town. It used to be one of our favorite restaurants. We had decided we would go there for dinner this evening. Sleek and the kids got there at 5:30, and I joined them ten minutes later. The restaurant was crowded, but not every table was taken. We sat there...and sat there...and sat there some more. No acknowledgement, no drink order taken. Sleek went to the register at one point and asked if maybe we should just order some take-out since it was taking so long. The waiter said he'd be right over to take our order. He walked past us at least three times in the next 15 minutes. After sitting there for an hour with two young children (who behaved exceptionally) we got up and left. I mean, I get that they just opened the restaurant, but they operated the former Cafe of India for many years. I never had poor service there. I mean, when they seated us, they could've explained that it may be a while before someone could wait on us. They could've brought out some naan for the kids at least! Hell, they could've frisbee-thrown it out from the kitchen. I would've caught it! I promise! We finally decided to leave when Annelies started crying from hunger pains! So, at this point, I'm thinking I'll never set foot in that place again.

Enchiladas, Casserole, Snobby Joes and Tag

Well, I've been "tagged" by Carrie. It's my first time, so I guess my "tag-cherry" is officially popped. LOL So, I need to think of five things about myself. I don't know why this is so hard for me, but here goes:

* I have a fascination with serial killers and other morbid-type things. I watch lots of horror movies, and also real-life shows about serial killers and forensics. I also read lots of horror fiction and Appalachian ghost stories.

* I'm agnostic.

* I have extremely normal-looking ears.

* I did LOTS of drugs in college. I mean, LOTS! (And graduated in 4 years!)

* I'm really good at Trivial Pursuit. (I guess all those drugs didn't hurt my brain too much!)

So, there's some inside info about me. Most people who post here have been tagged before, so I understand if you don't want to play along. I'll tag: Sleek, Rebecca and Olives. (I know you don't have a blog, Olives, but you can do your tag as a comment in this post.)

Okay, now onto the food...

Thursday night, I made some bean enchiladas. Holy smokes, they turned out good. I started by sauteeing an onion and some garlic. Then I added probably 4 cups or so of cooked pinto beans, and some no-chicken broth. I mashed it all together, and seasoned it with salt, chili powder, cumin and a few drizzles of hot sauce. Honestly, it was so tasty I could've just started eating it out of the pan! I made my enchilada sauce using this recipe. It was really good, and very easy. As I was cleaning up the kitchen that evening, I realized that I had left the tomato sauce out of the sauce! Crazy, but it was still really good. Whew!

Friday night, I wanted something really easy. I found this recipe for an Italian Veggie Casserole on vegweb. It looked simple and tasty, so I gave it a try. I used a whole-wheat blend rotini for the pasta. I also made the breadcrumbs with whole-wheat bread. I just put them in the food processor, and then mixed a little melted Earth Balance in with them. I have to say, the simplicity of the ingredients and recipe had me worried that this casserole would just be mediocre. It was actually really good, though. I think if I make it again, I'll use 2 zucchinis instead of one. I swear I thought I took a pic, but it sure isn't on my camera!

Yesterday, I made up another batch of Snobby Joes. I tell you, I think a meat-lover could try these and be fooled. They are so freaking good! I could eat them once a week. I think Sleek could too. Today we had lots of leftovers to eat, and I didn't cook a thing.

The weather has improved somewhat here in WV. I've been walking/jogging nearly every day. I'm still trying to lose a few pounds, so I've been eating raw fruit, vegetables and nuts for two of my meals each day. Then I eat a normal, but healthy, meal. No snacking at all. I also have given up all beverages besides water, coffee and green tea. No more diet soda, which I drank regularly but wanted to stop for a long time. I have to say that I feel like the fog is lifting. I feel better than I have in a long time. I haven't been posting as often because I haven't been sitting around online very much at all. So, I think that's a good sign. Spring is in the air!