I tend to watch a lot of public broadcast shows these days.
The reason, of course, is the lack of insurance commercials and lawyer ads and new medicines promotions - ack.
Most of the PBS offerings, surprisingly, are cooking shows.
Sure, there are several travel shows, too, and a few that deal with science.
But most of the shows are about food, including the history and culture of the foods shared from various parts of the world to those of us watching.
"Pati's Mexican Table" is one of my absolute favorites.
The reason isn't so much for the recipes but for the insights to cooking better.
Plus, I like listening to the delightful lisp and friendly manner of the hostess.
Her half-hour is filled with mirth and joy and lots of smiles -
plus, one of the heartiest appetites I may have ever seen!
Her love for food is genuine, and her appreciation of the work that others do to create regional combinations that they share with her is genuine, too.
Me, I'm the queen of the one-pot casserole.
That means everything goes in to the same vessel for cooking and serving.
Ordinarily, I would have cooked the cubed crookneck squash a bit, thrown in the black beans, added the pouch of prepared rice, than tossed all with the can of RoTel diced tomatoes...
ordinarily.
However, call it 'inspiration' from the divided plate it was to go upon.
Somehow, the sight of those three sections made me want to make my dinner more special than a one-pot meal.
And so I did.
First, I cooked the squash in some EVOO, liberally adding Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle for a bit of a kick.
While that was happening, I drained the RoTel and the beans, then placed the beans in one compartment of the dish.
Hey, that looked nice!
What about that other little side dish slot?
Diced Fuji apple, rinsed with Lime Perrier hours earlier and chilled, was perfect...
and still bright and crisp, too!
That was a good idea to use that acidic beverage to keep it from oxidizing!
Now to add the Limon Cilantro Rice to the squash and let it sit for just a moment -
ah, what a delightful smell!!!
After I plated it, I spooned on the RoTel, to add color and taste...
wow!
My taste buds were in awe of the way those flavors all mingled and danced!
Lucky me - I have leftovers for another meal!
That makes twice today that I've made enough for the meal at hand and for a meal at some future time to be named later.
(smile!)
For lunch, I had my variation of the Applebee's Wonton Tacos, but this time used canned tuna and canned chicken, mixing the meats with the chopped salad greens and the Asian dressing in the salad kit from Target...
ah, what a delightful smell!!!
I had it as two burritos and was absolutely sated!
The rest, as I said, awaits in the refrigerator for another day.
How very nice to know I have two freshly-made meals at hand!
Even more wonderful, though, is how good they taste and how little mess they made while being prepared - definite bonus!
Best of all, both meals are comfort foods for me.
Muy fabuloso!
(smile!)
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