I Did it My Way; Beware the Fatal Cucumber
As I was preparing this pizza for dinner on Friday evening, I could hear strains of Sinatra singing “My Way” in the back of my head. Maybe it was a result of heat stroke from the unseasonal temps this weekend. Most likely it was because of the toppings on the pizza. This week I decided not to hold back – toppings included roasted cherry tomatoes, sliced kalamata olives, and roasted mushrooms. I knew the tomatoes would be an issue for Annie, and the mushrooms would be a problem for both. But once in a while, just once in a blue moon, a mom has to do it her way, right? I was lucky enough to have some dough in the freezer that I had made a while back, so this pizza was so easy to prepare. I roasted both the mushrooms and tomatoes on the same baking sheet so at least I cut down on the pot washing for you Annie. See? I did consider your feelings a little bit. As a matter of fact, she was able to eat the mushrooms, unlike her sister, therefore it wasn’t a total loss. I expect with more frequent exposure to my favorite fungi they will learn to love them as much as I do.
Are you becoming bored, readers, by my regular pizza preparations? I’ve grown to appreciate the value of consistency when planning my meals. Pasta with gravy is served on most Sundays and homemade pizza has become a regular item on Friday nights. I can express my creativity, or selfish preferences depending on your perspective, through the various toppings. But it’s one less dinner that requires extra time to plan. A win-win for me (can we say win-win for one person?) – that is until I become bored which I assure you will probably happen sooner than my family growing bored with the new tradition.
On to the Cucumbers…
It’s been a while since I mentioned food news items in this blog, but I caught an interesting item over the weekend. Apparently cucumbers have killed folks over in Germany last week. No they weren’t attacked by cucumber projectiles flung during a cafeteria food fight. No, really I should be more serious about this since folks died. Pause, put on serious face. No, e-coli was the culprit in the cucumber casualties. Officials believe that the e-coli tainted cucumbers were exported from Spain. I don’t think there’s any concern here in the States about this outbreak. However, this is the angle I find interesting about this story – yup I was getting to a relevant point. The FDA has issued new internal temperature guidelines for when pork is safe to eat, and that number has dropped. Thank goodness we can now eat our pork roasts after cooking to a mere 145 degree internal temp, while it’s still juicy. But what an odd turn of events, meat is safe with less cooking, produce needs more. Perhaps they should take those extra 15 degrees and add them to the guidelines for cooking cucumbers. Wait! We don’t cook cucumbers very often now do we? Perhaps pickles are the solution to this recent food scare.
Where’s the Prosciutto??????
Have you ever looked forward to eating something so much that you could almost taste it? You know, the saliva starts to run and your mouth is poised to take a nibble, bite, lick, or whatever the piece of food demanded? Well, that’s how I felt last night as I looked forward to pulling out the prosciutto and mincing it for last night’s pasta salad dinner. I couldn’t wait for the cook’s sample – that little piece I snitched from the pile I was mincing for the salad.
I opened the refrigerator and then the drawer, the saliva was beginning to flow. I couldn’t wait for dinner when I would enjoy even more prosciutto in my pasta. I reached into the drawer to pull out the neat little package, but it wasn’t where I had placed it the day before after rescuing it from Louisa, who didn’t realize it was being saved for something in particular. I looked under the cheese in the drawer, thinking maybe it had been buried under lunch fixings. Not there. I looked in the back of the drawer becoming frantic. Not there. A wave of panic washed over my brain as I considered the possiblity that SOMEONE ATE MY PROSCIUTTO!
Running to the trash can I wondered how deep I would have to dig before I found the evidence. There was no need to dig because sitting right on top were the deli wrappings from my treasured meat. My suspicions were confirmed. SOMEONE ATE MY PROSCIUTTO!
First suspect was Louisa since she had been craving it since the day before. Her vehement denial was enough to convince me of her innocence. Next I asked Annie if she was the guilty party, only to be met with a blank stare and the question, “Uh, what prosciutto?” There was only one person left to blame. The wicked Joe, who I had seen snacking by the sink a few hours earlier.
As we sat down to dinner I tried to be calm as I asked him if, by chance, he had eaten my prosciutto. Without hesitation he said “yes.” Apparently he believes that ignorance is an excuse since he claims he had no idea that I was saving it for anything. For the record, the snacks in our house are generally less expensive than $22 per pound meat. Try a pretzel the next time.
Getting Out of Doing Homework
After raising Louisa for over 12 years, I can usually tell when she has an ulterior motive, which is often. The school year is winding down, and her get up and go for homework has gotten up and vanished from what I can tell. It’s not that it doesn’t get done, it’s just that she does it in bits and pieces, now and again. I can’t really complain because she gets to it, but I don’t like it when she tells me at 8:30 that she still has to finish homework, or when I see her sitting in the kitchen after breakfast finishing up something. I’m the kind of person that wants to finish the ugly stuff and put it behind me before moving on to something better, and I wish she would follow the same discipline so that she doesn’t find herself out of time when the bus is pulling up in the morning.
Ah, but I digressed, didn’t I? Let me return to ulterior motives. Last night as I was getting ready to prepare dinner, Louisa asked if she could make the Mango Ham Quesadilla that was on the menu. The recipe comes from “Everyday Food” and it was a very quick and easy meal, selected for that very reason. We were going to be out last night for Louisa’s voice concert and I didn’t want to be delayed in the kitchen. So when she offered to help, how could I refuse? Although I suspected that her homework wasn’t complete, I appreciated the extra set of hands assembling and grilling the quesadillas while I prepared the broccoli slaw salad. Between the two of us, dinner was whipped up in no time. And it was good. And homework got finished… this morning.
Note: This recipe was so easy and good, and uses just the kind of shortcuts that I like, that I thought I’d share it. Take one large tortilla of choice – I tried the red chile variety, but it didn’t really taste any different – spread a few tablespoons of Major Grey Chutney on one side. Top with shaved or shredded deli ham, crumbled Queso Fresco cheese (but you can use your favorite melting cheese with ham), and some chopped green onions. Fold in half, and grill approximately two minutes on each side over medium high heat. We grilled them indoors on a flat griddle, you can also grill them outside. And if your grilling surface isn’t non-stick, you might want to spritz them first with a little oil to keep from sticking.