21. A Selection of Eats

Given that it's been like a cricket riding a tumbleweed (see: Between Two Ferns) around here the last couple of weeks, I thought it might be fair to post lengthily on a number of eats we've enjoyed but I haven't written about. In reality, 70% of my meal planning consists of me standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering what to do with half a can of beans and a few bendy carrots. The following dinners were inspired when I had an avocado going brown, corn tortillas going stale, tofu going rancid. . . just kidding. Is it?

First up is a meal I love: rounds of soft egg tofu coated in potato starch and fried until golden, topped with a sweet-and-sour pineapple sauce.

I made up a totally super authentic sweet-and-sour sauce made of the following:

1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits
1/4 cup each ketchup and white vinegar
1 tbsp potato starch (or cornstarch. . . or maybe even flour)
2 tsp soy sauce

and added it to a saucepan with 1/2 a sauteed, sliced onion, stirring until it looked good. I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli.

Next we have a meal that I like to ghetto down or dress up depending on what I have: tacos! My favourite homemade filling is spicy black beans with corn and cumin, with mango salsa and avocado slices. I like to place each corn tortilla in a hot pan with a little oil, add the filling, fold and fry until crispy. It's a little messier and less healthy, but she worth it. Here was my chicken version a few weeks ago:

I was putting together the chicken filling while cooking up a pot of rice and beans for lunch the next day when I decided I wouldn't mind some of that rice and bean business inside the taco. I combined the pan's contents with the pot's and diced up a quick mango salsa (yeah, I love the mango), mixed chopped avocado with corn, lime juice and cilantro and grated a handful of sharp cheese. Tasty, and big bonus: we had enough for lunch. The red stuff in the glass was my first attempt at sorrel, which was drinkable but not grandma's. 

Finally, I can't go too long without a sweet, sticky chicken-on-the-bone dish and wings happened to be on sale:

All my chicken looks the same.

Sadly, I don't really remember what's in the sauce but I do remember how I made it. First, I chopped off and discarded the wing tips and separated the wings. I seasoned next, then placed them in a single layer to broil. While they were browning, I mixed up the sauce in a skillet on low. When the wings had little brown bits all over I pulled them out and added them to the sauce, stirring on medium until the sauce was thick and stuck to the wings. I made it this way because I favour a sticky chicken wing; if a crispy or slightly charred wing is your preference, I recommend marinating the chicken then cooking it in the oven as the sugar in the marinade will caramelize in high heat.

I know the sauce had honey in it, and garlic, and maybe mustard and possibly Worchestershire sauce.

Why won't you stop being sideways!

Boiled baby potatoes and steamed green beans with lemon on the side.

Eat these things. And other things. Then tell me about it. Peace.