Not a thing tonight. I ate lunch at Cracker Barrel with my mom, one kid off to visit a friend (“If they offer you food, EAT IT” were his instructions) and another one here at home who would just eat toast 3x a day if given an option. So we are snacking and taking it easy.
I came up with my taco salad recipe about 8 years ago when I was making tacos and discovered that the taco shells had gotten all smashed and broken.
I chop up a head of iceberg lettuce and an onion, and toss it in a big bowl with a box of crushed-up taco shells, about half a pound of shredded cheddar, half a jar of sliced jalapenos, and a jar of hot salsa. I mix that the hell up, plate it, and spread a layer of heated refried beans on top, then a layer of taco meat (i.e. ground beef cooked with a packet of taco seasoning) on top of that, and garnish with a dollop or two of sour cream.
It’s delicious and filling.
Not that I’m having that tonight, but I just felt like sharing. What I’ll probably actually be having is fish tacos - frozen fish fillets pan-fried in oil, on corn tortillas, with shredded cheddar, sliced jalapenos, homemade pico de gallo (Roma tomato, onion, serrano pepper, cilantro, and lime juice) and homemade guacamole (avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and a dash of hot sauce).
It’s suddenly so hot here today that a cold dinner is called for. I made Texas caviar (black-eyed peas salad), one of my favorite summertime treats. It’s chillin right now and so am I.
Cheese dogs. Hello, warm weather.
Hit the pierogi truck at House of 1000 Beers. Haluski, pierogies, stuffed cabbage.
Sauteed fresh halibut filet and a red lentil dal over rice.
My husband wanted kofte, so goddamit I made him kofte. With flatbread, hummus, olives, tzatziki, and roasted tomatoes and peppers.
You may now give me Wife Of The Year award.
Do you have a recipe you can share?
This link has what looks like something I make. Mine are more turd shaped than meatball shaped.
For my money, these are far better:
Risti:
For the meatballs:
8 ounces ground lamb
1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp ground cumin seed
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
For the curry:
2 cups water
1 tsp ground Kashmiri chiles; or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper mixed with 3/4 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp saffron threads
4-5 black cardamom pods
6 whole cloves, crushed
2 TBSP vegetable oil
Mix the meatball ingredients by hand until well combined. Make about ten meatballs by compressing a handful at a time. Place them on a plate.
Pour 2 cups of water into a saucepan, and add the curry ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil. Cook, uncovered, until the spices infuse the water and turn it into an aromatic, reddish-orange broth, about 5 minutes. Set it aside.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and brown all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Pour the spiced broth over the meatballs, raise heat to high and vigorously simmer the curry, uncovered, for about ten minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl.
Continue to simmer the broth until it reduces to about a half cup or so, 8-10 minutes. Pour over the meatballs and serve.
My Kofte
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 T Sadaf yogurt dip seasoning OR 1 t dry mint plus 2 t dry parsley
1 t dry cumin
1 t salt
1/2 c hot water
Mix all ingredients with your hands and let sit for 20 minutes. This lets the bread crumbs suck up the water. Form into small patties and fry in a medium skillet till done.
Got this verbally from Turkish students I knew in college. They put tomato sauce on theirs, I like salted yogurt on mine.
I was a fancy person today and made a salad inspired by tabbouleh. Instead of bulgur and parsley, it was farro and sorrel. The dressing was a sautéed garlic, honey, lemon, and mustard viniagrette. This went with roasted asparagus and tofu that had been marinated in a garlic-mustard-honey-lemon sauce and then baked.
Tacos for breakfast this morning. Pulled chicken, scrambled eggs with cheese, cilantro and roasted tomatillo salsa in wheat tortillas. Good start to the day 
I don’t know if we’ll have it for dinner, but I’ve just mixed up some lime juice, oil, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chilli powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and put it into a zip-top bag with 2-1/2 pounds of chuck roast cut into 12 pieces.
The plan is to let the meat marinate, then sear it in a pan, and then roast it in a 375ºF oven for a couple of hours; and then shred it with a fork and make tacos. Leftovers will be wrapped up into taquitos, and then put in the freezer for another day.