Fajitas

Blogging two days in a row! Flo is on a roll. Actually, Flo's family has left the building and she is able to keep a thought in her mind for more than 10 seconds. OK, let's lose the third person. Flo finds it hard to keep it up any longer...

Actually, I often (being fairly food-obsessed) think of writing something here, as I often think of so many other things I want to do or ought to do, but I usually get distracted and forget. At least the Internet has made it possible to answer -- before I forget them -- some of those interesting random questions that pop up during the day. (I would give examples, but since the last random thing I looked up was Antonio Banderas' birthday, maybe I'm not the best person to do so. I'll get my son to do it. Oh no, maybe not -- he's moved off of obscure facts about the French and Indian War and on to obscure facts about Disney Cruises.)

Wait, this was supposed to be about fajitas...and the reason I'm writing this down is that they were good, best I've ever made, and I don't want to forget what I did. Basically,  this is a modified version of the recipe in that old reliable, The Joy of Cooking.

Cut 1 lb. beef into strips (it's supposed to be skirt steak or flank steak, but I used round because I had it). Mix together about 3 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp corn oil, a minced garlic clove, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper, and 1/4-1/2 tsp ground cumin. Stir the beef in, and let it marinate at room temperature for half an hour, mixing occasionally.

Cut 2 medium onions into strips, along with some peppers, any combination of colors. I used pieces of green, red, and yellow, totalling about 1 large pepper in quantity.

Heat a little oil in a skillet on medium heat until quite hot. Lift the beef out of the marinade and sear it in the skillet until no longer pink. Pour the marinade into the pan with the beef and let it cook briefly while you wash out the bowl. Dump the beef and marinade back into the bowl.

Add a little more oil to the pan, and saute the peppers and onions, along with a goodly amount of salt and black pepper (I think JOC said a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper; I used half that much). When the veggies are tender, add the meat and juices back to the pan and heat briefly. I also added some chopped cilantro at this point, because I had it.

Serve with warmed flour tortillas (to wrap the meat), salsa of choice (I will boast that I had my own homemade salsa that I canned last summer!), sour cream, and, if you like, shredded cheese. Guacamole is good too, but I didn't make any.

Cottage pie

I had some leftover mashed potatoes and some ground beef that needed to be used, and thought, "Aha! I will now make shepherd's pie for the first time ever!" However, it turns out that shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb and the same dish, when made with ground beef, is called cottage pie. Either way, it's not exactly a favorite of mine, but I thought perhaps the assembled multitudes might eat it. I ended up with the leftovers for lunch the past two days, and it wasn't half bad. Of course, the pouring rain today made it easier to eat British.

As best I can recall, here's the way I made it, after perusing about 6 recipes, no two alike.

Brown 1 lb. ground beef in a bit of oil. Pour off fat. Add a chopped onion, a large carrot in small dice, and a parsnip, also in small dice (just happened to have this on hand). Saute until veggies are slightly tender. Stir in a couple teaspoons dried thyme, about 1/8 tsp sage, a pinch of cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons flour (this is because I intended to use beef broth in the next step, not beef gravy). Add a generous glug of Worcestershire sauce, a squirt of ketchup, a can of beef gravy (if, like me, you don't have the broth that you thought you did), and a little water because if you added the flour in the last step your mixture is now too thick. Cook this a little longer (or until thick, if you did use broth). Dump into 9" square baking pan or similar. Heat 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes in the microwave and spread them on top. Sprinkle with about 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Some recipes include peas. I served peas on the side. If you have a stiff upper lip, I suppose this is a pretty good meal.

Gail's special salad

This has been my mother's go-to salad since the Cretaceous period. She makes it slightly differently but the following is my way. Amounts are variable according to your taste and what you have around.

For one very large serving (this is something to really fill you up without a lot of calories):

Lettuce (cut or torn bite-size; I use red leaf lettuce and plenty of it)
Several scallions, chopped
A chunk of cucumber, seeded and sliced
Several large radishes, sliced
Half a large tomato or a whole small one, cut in chunks
A hard-boiled egg, mashed with a fork (salad is still good without this)
A 3 oz. can of Italian chunk light tuna in olive oil, flaked but not drained
White wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the above in a bowl. Eat it.