Fresh Tart

Bonus! Not only is new potato-green bean salad tasty when you first serve it (which I just did for the 4th), but it makes a killer salad Nicoise the next day - toss fresh greens with a bit of vinaigrette, top with potatoes and green beans, add hard-cooked egg, olive-oil packed canned tuna, black olives (like Nicoise!), et voila. Good stuff.

And oh, speaking of delicious leftovers, I treated myself to chilaquiles for breakfast yesterday morning, made from the chips and creamy-spicy salsaStacebrought from Taco Morelos. I dipped about five chips in salsa so they were completely coated, laid them side-by-side to cover a small plate, then microwaved them until they were warmed through and softened. Topped with an over-easy egg to finish - oh Lord, deadly good stuff. (I get on these Mexican food kicks and have to wean myself, otherwise all I want to eat is guacamole and chilaquiles - this latest craving started with dinner at La Cucaracha with Chris Follett this past Thursday night...; pic is from Too Many Chefs.)

Today, the goal is moderating back to moderation. Yeah. Good thing my fridge is bustin' with tasty LaFinca veggies to make the transition pretty sweet - salad greens, bok choy, icicle radishes, scallions. With herbs from my pots outside, I'd say a big salad is in order for lunch. (Although I admit, I'm still thinking about those damn chilaquiles...)

Moderate it: hey, the party's over, but that's OK. Keep the good stuff (like new potato-green bean salad), toss the less good stuff (those tortilla chips are now GONE), and make something healthy AND delicious to get back on track.

Whew! A bit of a crazy week, but the good kind of crazy, girly, girly, girly. After opening the week with a late Monday-night baseball game (a guaranteed dose of feminine laughs and chat in the stands of Nathan's baseball games!), I met my friend Chris for dinner Tuesday night at Luci Ancora. Delicious food, as usual. And always great to see Chris! I had a salad and their chewy-cheesy-garlicky house-made ravioli with arugula. What's not to like about home-made pasta? Uh, NOTHING, duh!

Wednesday night was Girls Night In, with Suz and The Maven here at the hacienda for snacks, drinks, and chat. I reprised my grilled bread dinner from last week, spread out picnic-style on the living room coffee table, with shaved ham, sundried tomato spread, and roasted red peppers. Olives and almonds. Roasted cauliflower. And strawberries, chocolate, and coffee for dessert. I love having my girls over! (And staying up until obscene hours of the morning!)

Last night was dinner with Kathie at McCoy's. And a surprise visit from Nathan, because he'd left his backpack in my car (and I'd left my cell phone in same car), so his grandpa (very kindly) drove him over to get my keys! Hearing "Hi Mom!" in the middle of evilly cackling about some such person or thing was so out of context, I'm sure I looked completely confused, it was pretty hilarious. Luckily he knew I was at McCoy's, and found me, and was on his way, backpack in hand, soon enough, while Kathie and I continued on with dinner. I had what I always have at McCoy's - the black bean burger, topped with guacamole, pickles, lettuce, and tomato. Man I love that thing, delicious. I eventually mosied on home and almost had to go to bed at 8:30 I was so tired out from all my socializing! I'm WIPED today, ha - but in a very good way. I'm just old is really more like it. I've always needed alot of sleep and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon...

So, I'm making a light, healthy dinner tonight. Little breather, before we launch into a big, busy weekend. A simple salad, Nicoise-esque with tuna, capers, butter lettuce, hard-cooked egg, cherry tomatoes, and a few new potatoes. No green beans, but that's OK. Perhaps I'll sneak a few pickled beets into mine (John HATES beets, that crazy kid), mmmm, beets.

Happy Friday y'all!