Watermelon Salsa (and some old favorites)

I have been so behind on cooking and posting! My apologies to my huge army of readers (AKA, thanks for still reading Grandma!). Jeff and I had Tristan and Amanda over for dinner to catch up. The menu, tofu tacos with black beans with a watermelon salsa and chili rellanos. The tofu tacos were not actually in the recipe book, but the Watermelon Salsa was and was paired with some chicken. So the picture does not depict the tacos, but instead, the next day with a beautiful piece of chicken that Jeff cooked up. I digress…I still have some ‘Jenna still sucks at cooking’ stories, just sans the photos to prove it.
The guests arrived and Tristan had brought over a 6-pack of beer to share. As I don’t drink beer because of my stomach problems, I made myself a nice tequila/orange juice blend to get through the cooking. I have a nasty habit of forgetting that I have something baking in the oven, even though I mentally say ‘Jenna, don’t forget about the things in the oven’. So as always, I hit that revelation moment when I realize I had not been attending my corn tortillas baking. The overcooked tortillas have now become crispy tostadas instead of lightly crispy tacos. Oh well! As this crisis ensued I then realized that I hadn’t stirred the tofu in a while…burnt! Just the bottom though and everyone assured me that it still tasted great (I think they were just being nice). I cooked up some chili rellanos from Jennifer’s recipe only I cooked them in way more oil than she does. Once the food had been cooked and the beers had been opened it was discovered that an extra beer was opened by mistake. Perhaps it will save in the fridge for later? Maybe I will have to bite the bullet to prevent waste? An offering to the cooking gods? Ahh, but alas, the beer just stayed on the counter, with its beady eyes watching us eat and drink his friends.
After dinner we all took up relaxed positions on the couch and watched a little basketball. After everyone had digested slightly I served up some leftover mint chocolate squares and gluten-free brownies I had frozen (not as good the second time around). Then there was a second round of digestion and Amanda and Tristan left for the night. Thanks for visiting!

Gluten Free Brownies, Black Bean Casserole, Tandoori Tofu, Margaritas

Ingredients for the brownies

Gluten Free Brownies, Black Bean Casserole, Tandoori Tofu, Margaritas

I cooked up the Gluten Free Brownies the night before we were to have Dan and Serena over for dinner and Wii games. Jeff had gotten all of the groceries together except Amaranth flour, which needed to be purchased at Whole Foods. After driving to Littleton and back to take advantage of 5 cent photo prints at the Kings there; I stopped by Whole Foods. I got a little carried away….along with the flour I left the store with 4 spice plants (chives, basil, parsley and catnip). I am going to attempt to keep them growing on my porch. I also made a stop at Lowes to get pots to plant them in, cilantro and soil (which I now have a huge bag of…anybody need some soil?). I digress. So anyway, I made up the brownies which are gluten free, egg free and dairy free (I assumed they would taste like crap) and got them in the oven. I was cleaning up my mess and putting chip clips on all the different kinds of flours I had to buy. Oh, lookie here, the Amaranth flour doesn’t need to be clipped, good…..no not good! I didn’t open it; I forget it in the recipe! I had just put the brownies in so I pulled them out to try and stir in the flour. And it actually worked! (I know, I was just as surprised as you are). So the brownies were done and I thought I would give a little taste to avoid the embarrassment of serving cardboard to people and I was pleasantly surprised. The brownies were awesome! They tasted just like normal human food. Success!
So, the next day Jeff and I started to cook up dinner. The Black Bean Casserole (Gretchen) is really good, really easy and very balanced (rice, beans, salsa, tomatoes, garlic, onion, green pepper, cheese, and sour cream). Jeff worked on the Tandoori Tofu and rice. I suggested he cut the tofu into cubes and Jeff wanted to do it in strips like chicken (chicken is in the original recipe). I thought that was a little silly as it isn’t chicken; Serena suggested triangles and the crisis was averted…triangles it is! This Tandoori spice rub is SPICY. The kind of spicy that is near unbearable but you can’t wait to go back for another bite. Dan mixed up the Margaritas (ignoring the low recommendation of tequila amount, which I appreciated) and we ate dinner, drank margs and played Wii. The night ended in a game of Cranium that Jeff and I lost miserably, “come on honey, that looks just like a tambourine”. We finished the night with the brownies topped with ice cream and fudge for dessert.

Guest Recipes!

Chili-Lime Meatballs - Penny (prepared at a Pampered Chef Party)


Cinnamon Crisps - Penny (prepared for a Pampered Chef Party)


Hot Fudge - Jenny


Bannana Cake - Jenny


Lasagna - Jenny (I had two large helpings!)


Quinoa, Blackbean, Cilantro Mix - Jennifer Tree (talk about healthy)


Tandori Spiced Tofu Wrap with Cilantro Yogurt (SPICY!)


Red Velvet Cake - Made by Debbie and Bob (favorite birthday dessert of Jenny)


Sante Fe Chicken - Bob and Debbie


Baked Mac and Cheese with Truffle Oil and Nutmeg - My beautiful cheese creation!


Turkey Wrap - Penny (it was too easy of a recipe for me to screw up and write about)


Oyster Crackers - 'J' Family recipe, made this day by Josh


Tequila Sunrise

Chili Rellanos, Tofu Tacos with Pico, Spanish Rice, Rice Bowls, Huevos rancheros

Chili Rellanos, Tofu Tacos with Pico, Spanish Rice, Rice Bowls, Huevos rancheros

Mexican food night! Jennifer promised me she would come over sometime and show me how to make the recipes she gave me. I decided to make a dinner of it and invite over some friends; Jennifer, Kori, Amanda, Jeff, Kevin and Craig (we missed you Mike!). I set out some appetizers; fruit, chips, and chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels (awesome I know). Jennifer and I got to cooking! Jennifer made the chili rellanos while I watched and took mental notes for next time. Kori assisted beautifully in stirring the eggs for Jennifer as well as helping me with the tofu. Jeff chopped up the ingredients for the pico de gallo. It was almost a crisis when I told him to ‘blend’ the ingredients. I meant stir it up, but he got out the blender and was about to turn it on. I said “what are you doing! No! It is supposed to be chunky” he said, “You said blend! So I am blending!” I explained what I meant and the Pico was saved just in the nick of time. I cooked up the Spanish rice, beans, and tofu; with help and guidance from Jennifer. Amanda kept us company in the kitchen, as there really wasn’t room for one more person cooking and the boys played Mario on the Wii. Amanda, Kori and Kevin brought some wine to share, thanks! It was such a beautiful sight! It felt like how cooking should be. A group of friends or a family all bumping around each other in the kitchen. All four burners going, taste tests, smells drifting through the air, problems, solutions, burns, and most importantly laughs. The food came out in courses as it was difficult to have it all ready at once. Once a dish was completed we put it on the kitchen table and gave out a ‘come and get it’ announcement. The girls ate at the dining room table and chatted as girls do. The boys ate on the couch in between taking turns trying to beat Bowzer.
The chili rellanos were the highlight of the evening. When the plate had only 2 left sitting on it, you could tell people were on edge to see who would eat them. The Tofu Tacos were really good, the pico de gallo was extremely fresh. The Spanish rice was difficult to make but was well worth it. The Rice bowls were a mixture of the rice, black beans, cheese, tortilla chips, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. It is a simple dish that pretty much covers all your food groups. The huevos rancheros were easier than I thought they would be to make. The only downfall was an undercooked egg that Kori got. Sorry about that!
As the night wound down, Jeff did all the dishes for me. I am so lucky! Thank you friends for a wonderful night!