First day without a kitchen sink, and so Kevin and I decided to go out - he had lost his appetite when he saw the kitchen and did not want to have dirty dishes to deal with. I told him we could hose them off in the yard and store them in the DW until we get the kitchen connected. So we decided to eat in the neighborhood and first went to a pizza restaurant that I had been to many many years ago, but it looked like a real dive, and so went to a Mexican restaurant across the street that is attached to a Days Inn Motel. It's one of the very few Mexican restaurants in our neighborhood, and I had totally forgotten that it was Cinco de Mayo!l Anyway, I ordered a #8, which was supposed to be a chile relleno with a tamale, but I got a beef taco instead of the chile relleno, but Kevin had ordered chile relleno and gave part of his to me. Food wasn't great, but it was okay and reminded me of why we eat at home. There is a good Mexican restaurant in Mar Vista, but it is about 15 minutes away and it would have been crowded yesterday. Your meal looks really beautiful and makes me wish I could cook at home - and it's only been one day! I sometimes grow Poblano chilies, but I do not have any in my yard right now. They are easy to find in the market, however. I do have Habaneros and Serranos, however. Lars

Just finished putting up chile for the year this past weekend. I'm lucky, since Hatch chile is a staple at our house. Here is a side dish that my family loves. Calabacitas 2 cups whole corn 4 Tbs. oil 1/2 chopped onion 2 cups chopped chile 1 glove minced garlic 4 med. zuchinni squash - diced 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup jack cheese Cook corn in oil - about 2 minutes. Add onion, chile & garlic. Cook until onion in transparent. Add squash, salt, pepper, & water - cook about 15 minutes or until tender. Top with cheese. Here is a picture of one batch of chile Then dinner that night Nothing better than having a freezer full of chile. Donna

Diane, definitely get the software installed, I love to see everyone's pictures! For the muffins I used a King Arthur recipe, which I took some liberties with. I added a grated carrot, some leftover chopped pineapple and a handful of dried cherries. They didn't rise high and were a little dense, but very good. Apple Muffins These dark, moist muffins, studded with fresh apple, will keep well for several days. You don't even need to heat them up to enjoy them, which makes them a perfect after-school snack. The brown sugar sprinkled on top adds a nice, crunchy touch. 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar, divided 1 large egg 1 cup buttermilk; or 1 cup plain (not Greek-style) yogurt; or 3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt + 1/4 cup milk 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples; about 2 large apples, about 3/4 pound whole apples 1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with papers and grease the insides of the papers. 2) Mix together the butter, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar, beating until fluffy. 3) Add the egg and mix well, stopping once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. 4) Gently mix in the buttermilk or yogurt. 5) Stir in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. 6) Fold in the chopped apples. 7) Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar on top. 8) Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 9) Remove the muffins from the oven, cool them for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Yield: 12 muffins. In the meantime, my day started with a sore throat. We went to the farm where we found the water faucet had frozen so we hauled 150 gallons of water in a barrel to fill the stock tank. The tractor wouldn't start because of the cold so we towed a 1,000 round bale with the pick up. On the way home we broke a belt and limped the truck to Dave's for repair. (sigh) It was not a good day, and Elery made chicken soup when we got home. OK, that Asian fish wrap picture just isn't right, it looks fine on Photobucket, but won't copy over so I'm deleting it. Onward and upward! One night we had chicken quesadillas with refried beans and a side of wheat berries in a vinegar based dressing: Another night we had brisket, using Carol/Dishesdone's recipe. I didn't use catsup and chile sauce, though, I used a pint of Chase's chile sauce and in place of the beer I used some apple cider. It was really good and we had mashed turnips, peas and some multigrain bread with it. The multi-grain bread thread made me think about baking a loaf: And Johnliu's Fried Chicken thread made me haul out the cast iron skillet and make some fried chicken, along with some homecanned kale, warm cornbread and chipotle mashed sweet potatoes. Who knows what tomorrow might bring, in the kitchen or otherwise! Annie

I've made these served with rice as a main dish and without the rice as a side dish. BLACK BEANS IN MANGO SAUCE 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil 2 cups minced red onion 1 Tbs. minced garlic 1 3-inch jalapeno chile, seeded and minced 1 1/2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger 1 1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds 1 1/2 tsp. salt About 6 cups cooked black beans (or 3 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained) 6 Tbs. fresh lime juice 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and minced Freshly ground black pepper to taste Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add 1 3/4 cups of the onion, and the garlic, chile, ginger, cumin seeds, and salt. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the beans and about half the lime juice. Cook for about 5 minutes more until the beans are heated through and then transfer to a bowl. Stir in the remaining lime juice and about half of the chopped mangoes directly into the hot beans, mashing the mangoes a little as you stir. Grind in some black pepper, then cove and let stand for about 15 minutes to let the sauce develop. Serve warm, at room temperature, or even cold, topped with the remaining red onion and mango, and some minced parsley or cilantro, if desired. Good served with plain cooked white or brown rice. Source: Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven