Let Me Change Your Life
Season's Greetings
Dear Ones,
Here in my little microclimate of the Pacific Northwest, we've already had a foot of snow that just finished melting from our yard, thanks to some serious snowblowing by my husband who is recovering well from triple bypass surgery in October. During the snow days I made my own lactose free yogurt, granola, and salt-free whole wheat bread (for my husband). The power went out while the yogurt was fermenting and the bread was still baking, but they were salvageable and tasted good...a bit like this year. Most of it didn't go as planned, but good came of it. Here's a roundup of some good things since my last newsletter in September.
Wishing you all the happiest of holidays,
Cathy
CHANGE YOUR LIFE TACOS
In September, our youngest daughter, who lives in New York City, visited us for two weeks while working remotely. Looking for some evening entertainment, we turned to Padma Lakshmi's Taste the Nation on Hulu, a series that delves into the immigrant experience and the foods various cultures have brought to the U.S. The first episode, "Burritos at the Border" seriously changed our lives when we saw a chef heating tortillas for tacos and melted the cheese on the tortilla before adding the other filling ingredients, and thought, "we could do that," which I never think when watching cooking shows. The next day, I set a corn tortilla in a frying pan, sprinkled on some shredded cheese, and when it showed signs of melting, flipped it over, heard a satisfying sizzle, and removed it with a spatula after a minute or so. We have an electric range, so it took some finagling to adjust the heat and timing, but the results were absolutely delicious. I toss on a handful of spring mix or lettuce, and some ground chicken or ground turkey or diced avocado or tomato. Change Your Life tacos are easy to make and endlessly adaptable (none of us want a boring quesadilla anymore). They taste best hot off the grill before the cheese cools, so tell your friends and family not to wait while you make more!
We also highly recommend Taste The Nation and are looking forward to watching the Holiday season episodes together this Christmas.
