A co-worker of mine at the college told me she once had to go to the bathroom -- quite badly -- and the maintenance crew was cleaning it at the time. Thinking that she couldn't make it to the distant second women's bathroom, she went back to her secluded interior office, locked the door, and peed in a gimme sports water bottle. Then, after the janitorial people were done, she discreetly emptied the bottle and threw it away in a lidded trashcan in the hallway.
Later, she says, one of the guys from the lab came by and showed her his Cool New Water Bottle that "some idiot had just tossed in the trash."
She congratulated him on his excellent trashcan diving skills and he went happily on his way.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Ninfa's Green Sauce (or something like it)
I decided to break out the Ninfa's sauce this weekend. My take is a little different than the "official recipe" that gets published in Houston papers every so often. That recipe (1) makes a really huge portion, (2) isn't spicy enough, and (3) has too much sour cream.
I use fat-free sour cream to cut down on some of the fat/calories. You don't have to do that. I play with the recipe depending on taste, so feel free to make it your own.
My version seems to have turned out pretty well. It hits the mouth creamy, you get a secondary taste of tomatillo and garlic, then a touch of capsaicin heat at the end. Good for dipping or as a topping. Excellent with chicken.
Here goes:
2 ripe avocados
2/3 lb tomatillos (6-8 small tomatillos or 4-6 medium)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
fresh cilantro to taste (2-3 or more sprigs)
2 jalapeños
1 serrano pepper (adds more heat)
8 oz fat-free sour cream
Remove the leaves from the tomatillos, wash off the sticky stuff. Put the garlic, peppers, and tomatillos in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. I sometimes (like today) take one of the peppers and a couple of the tomatillos and roast them (at oh, 400 degrees for 15 minutes) while the other ingredients are boiling. Roasting gives a little sweetness.
While the stuff is cooking, scoop the avocados into a blender, add cilantro, set aside.
Drain the water (keep it for cooking!), dump the tomatillos, garlic cloves, and peppers into the blender...you'll probably want to take the top stem off the peppers first. Leave the seeds and skin unless your stomach doesn't like them.
Blend everything smooth, then add the sour cream. Blend smooth again. It's usually a good idea to let it refrigerate for a hour or so, though best eaten at something near room temperature.
It will keep for a day or two in the fridge if you have leftovers. I wouldn't try to keep it beyond that, though.
I use fat-free sour cream to cut down on some of the fat/calories. You don't have to do that. I play with the recipe depending on taste, so feel free to make it your own.
My version seems to have turned out pretty well. It hits the mouth creamy, you get a secondary taste of tomatillo and garlic, then a touch of capsaicin heat at the end. Good for dipping or as a topping. Excellent with chicken.
Here goes:
2 ripe avocados
2/3 lb tomatillos (6-8 small tomatillos or 4-6 medium)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
fresh cilantro to taste (2-3 or more sprigs)
2 jalapeños
1 serrano pepper (adds more heat)
8 oz fat-free sour cream
Remove the leaves from the tomatillos, wash off the sticky stuff. Put the garlic, peppers, and tomatillos in a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 15 minutes. I sometimes (like today) take one of the peppers and a couple of the tomatillos and roast them (at oh, 400 degrees for 15 minutes) while the other ingredients are boiling. Roasting gives a little sweetness.
While the stuff is cooking, scoop the avocados into a blender, add cilantro, set aside.
Drain the water (keep it for cooking!), dump the tomatillos, garlic cloves, and peppers into the blender...you'll probably want to take the top stem off the peppers first. Leave the seeds and skin unless your stomach doesn't like them.
Blend everything smooth, then add the sour cream. Blend smooth again. It's usually a good idea to let it refrigerate for a hour or so, though best eaten at something near room temperature.
It will keep for a day or two in the fridge if you have leftovers. I wouldn't try to keep it beyond that, though.
