Mixing the Races

So my friend, Josh (the most liberal, unbiased, lovely man you will ever meet) is a complete weirdo about food. You know those kids that will eat only a handful of foods. You can count on one hand what they will actually eat without a fight, mac and cheese, Bologna, pizza, etc. Well, Josh is almost, ALMOST as bad. He doesn't believe in what he calls the "mixing of the races." (Before you send me a hateful email, we're talking about one wicked sense of humor. Food groups. Get it? Irony people.) He doesn't believe in apples or pears on salads. No fruits mixed with veggies. He's a little predictable. I remember watching him cook for himself in college and he ALWAYS had eggs noodles, with butter. And popcorn as a snack. If you go to an Italian restaurant, he orders pasta arabiata, without fail. If you head to a certain famous deli, he orders Mish Mosh, matza ball soup with kreplach. Thai means Pad See Yew, and he asks for soy sauce. He's the only adult I will let get away with pointing at something I made and saying, with a scrinch in his nose, "What is that?" So his girlfriend is a little more adventurous and she asked me about good yam recipes and the ones that I know, and love, "mix the races", and they rock. But maybe I missing something. Got any good recipes I can pass along?

Summer Salad

Our friend, Amy brought this salad to our bookclub. Her sister is married to a man from Afghanistan and has learned lots of wonderful dishes, including this one. Great summer salad. The flavors meld even more when they sit for a couple of days. Tonight we had fresh corn, and this salad and goat cheese and fig spread on toast and it was a great meal. And no need to heat up the kitchen.

Afghan Salad
2 to 3 palm size tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 bunch of cilantro
1/2 red onion
2 med. carrots
2 lemons
raisins (optional)
radishes (optional)

Chop tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, red onion, and
carrots into small pieces. Mix together and squeeze
lemon juice over mixture and salt to taste.

Garnish with raisins and/or radishes

I Thought He Was Dreaming...

So G heads outside very early yesterday in response to our dogs freaking out over something. He swings open the back door and yells, "What the... Hey... " And then gets the dogs to come in and says, "There was a peacock in our backyard." There are wild peacocks near us, and by near I mean like five miles. And between those five miles there are lots of coyotes who are brazen and smart enough to trot down out of the hills every Sunday night, trash night. So how a low flying, not very subtle looking bird got by them is a mystery to me. But honestly, I kinda thought G was still asleep and didn't take him seriously. And all day I teased him. "Where's my wallet?" met a response of "Maybe the peacock knows." I have been known to put Smartaleck down as a job description.

Then this morning, I saw a HUGE peacock, sitting contentedly on my neighbors lawn while her kitchen contractors lugged boxes of tile in and out the front door about ten feet away from his feathered face. He was unfazed.

Huh.

Well I'll be.

So what do they eat? I Googled them and read a website that suggested cat food, which is out because we have dogs. And "white things", I'm guessing that doesn't include Styrofoam peanuts and paste. But like what, toast?

Clogged Toilets and Chocolate Almond Ice Cream

Sometimes things just suck. Like an toilet that overflows at 11pm when you have guests. Or another unexpected test at the doctor's sends you running for the Mayo Baby book where you find words like, "possible birth defects" and "long term impact".

But sometimes a friend shows up for dinner with the most exquisite painting or blue/ green glazed pot thrown with you in mind. Or you make up a recipe for ice cream and it's perfect.

Chocolate Toasted Almond Ice Cream

1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, beaten
2 ounces of solid, semi-sweet chocolate, (not pre-melted)
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups chilled whipping cream
1 cup of toasted almonds, chopped into small pieces
1 cup of chopped chocolate pieces, semi-sweet chips are great

Mix milk, sugar, and egg yolks in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until bubbles appear around edge. Finely grate two ounces of semi-sweet chocolate into the warm mixture. Stir until melted completely. Cool to room temperature. Stir in vanilla and whipping cream.

Poor into freezer can, put dasher in place, set timer for twenty minutes, ten minutes in add toasted almonds and fifteen minutes in add the chocolate pieces. Place can in freezer. Let stand to ripen two hours.