Armadillo Extravaganza

I was driving down the road yesterday in one of our more rural states when I finally spotted what has to be biggest freak of nature:  the armadillo.  I was still kind of ticked off that I'd missed the live one crossing our path the day before, but this road kill was really cool, in a very sick way.  It had claws and body armor carapace (is that English?).  Man, talk about prehistoric.

My travel companion was French and upon seeing the live beast suddenly lost all of his English, completely, and morphed back into his mother tongue, trying to explain what he'd just seen.  It took me a few beats to put two and two together...armadillo.  He asked me the word in French...as if!  (But for those of you who must know, it's "un tatou."  Thank you, Google).

Once I spotted the first little road pizza, all bets were off--they were EVERYWHERE!  

Living on the West Coast or East Coast my entire life, it's hard to imagine that these little critters could be so prolific, but, yep, it's true.  For me, it was akin to spotting wild geese in New England, or coyotes in Southern California.  Yes, that common.

My French pal was as excited about his siting as I was about mine--dead or alive.  It just goes to show that no matter where you are on Mother Earth, there's always something to be discovered.

Oh, food, you say, I thought this blog was all about food.  Yeah, well, for some, I suppose this is.

Soap

A funny thing happened today.  I received a box of soap samples from a factory in the south of France.  There were several folks around when I opened the box:  men, women, and a gaggle of teenage girls.  

The women gravitated to the citrus-y soaps; the men to the lavender soaps; and the teenagers to the floral soaps--but only the ones that were wrapped in upscale, hip packages.  The women and men cared more about the scents than they did about the packaging.  The teenagers really liked focusing on the visual appeal of the packages and the heady, sticky-sweet smell of the floral soaps.

It reminded me that marketing a product--any product--is half the battle.  

The Magic of Corn Bread

I'm all about sitting down to eat with family and friends.  The conversation should be stimulating or at the very least not put you to sleep in your soup.  A decent bottle of vino is a must.  But what about the main course, you ask.  

Hmmm, therein, mes amis, lies the rub.  

I am a big fan of the humble cornbread.  Since time is of the essence, I buy a box of Trader Joe's Corn Bread (it has actual corn kernels in the mix!) to use as my "gourmet" base.  Then comes the part where you actually have to think a bit.  Do I use ground beef, turkey or beans as the protein "base?"

I feel like ground beef today, so I chop up an onion or shallot (whatever is lying around talking to me), a clove or two of garlic and get them sauteing as I gather (or hunt) my other ingredients.  Once everything is looking golden, I dump in my ground beef to brown.  Then I add whatever I have on hand:  either a jar of salsa or a jar of marinara sauce--depending on my mood.  I let this simmer and bubble for a few minutes while I'm preparing a salad and finishing my glass of wine.

At this point, I follow the instructions on the corn bread box, grease a pyrex dish, dump my beef mixture into the cornbread mix and pop the whole thing into the oven.  Nearly an hour later, my newly named "tamale pie" is ready to see the light of day (or in my case the light of the candle!)

Not only is your family happy, but your friends are amazed and actually compliment you on being a great cook.  Ha!  The secret is in the TJ's Corn Bread mix--but your secret is safe with me.

There are lots of other corn bread mixes on the market.  But you must pass them by.  This is the real McCoy.

One pot wonders are weeknight must-do's.  Save the heavy artillery cooking for your weekend downtime.

Food for Kids

Okay, so you're sick and tired of listening to your kids whine and complain and try to bargain with you about eating, or in most cases, not eating, their vegetables.  So the solution is to Jessica Seinfeld them to death--hide every frickin' vegetable you possible can in sauces, soups, stuffings, meats, etc.  Yes, this does mean pulling out the Cuisinart from the deepest, darkest recesses of your cupboard, or dusting it off on your counter, but regardless of where you've been hiding it, it is high time to resurrect it and put it to use!

Mac 'n Cheese?  Not without "sauce!"  The organic whole wheat penne is ready to go.  What about the magic sauce?  Not quite there, but we're working on it.  One jar of organic marinara.  Done.  Now add two carrots (preferably cleaned and peeled, but who will know the difference anyway?), a stalk or two of celery, an onion, some broccoli florets and a handful of spinach.  "Pulse" the living daylights out of it, mix in your shredded cheese and blend with your penne.  

Pour this entire concoction into a greased pyrex dish.  Top with more shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 until bubbly and crispy.  Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving with a salad that, hopefully, the kids will eat, and don't forget a glass (or two!) of wine for yourself.  Jessica, you're a flippin' genius!