This week in Cooking

UGH.

Yeah, apparently people at work have finally looked at their calenders, and realize that I only have a week left. "Busy" doesn't begin to describe this past week. "Country Bear Jamborooo" almost fits it.

I'm also fighting with trying to get as much done as I can, and dealing with people who just don't seem to think it's a big deal the writing staff is being cut in half and apparently can't recall how things used to go (weeks/months to get things updated as other fires needed to be put out) and aren't worried about what they're going to be dealing with.

Oh, and my work programs have all gone crash-happy. I had to reboot three times on Friday. Yay.

Anywho....

Big Cooking Event of the Week was Cinco de Mayo. Yay! Bring on the Mexican food.

I actually met ThatWordGuy for lunch that day, and ThatWordGuy also loves sharing new food finds with me, so not only did we eat Mexican food, I left with some beans....



Pretty good. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled from them. Much more like a canned bean dip than a canned refried bean (meaning - doesn't taste like library paste's less tasty cousin).

Got home, and my Tacos Al Pastor were bubbling away nicely in the crock pot. I actually had left out the pineapple (enzymes or something in pineapple can really break down the texture of meat and make it kinda funky) so I threw that in and left it warm through with the pork. I wish I'd have put it in there longer so it could have flavored the pork. Oh well.



And tacos... yum....





And yes. That is a Mexican Rice fromt the shameless bag things. Hey, it's about the only rice thing I don't make a mess of. And it cooks in less than ten minutes. Me happy.

This week was also the start of prep for Mother's Day. I'm brining brunchy things over to my mom's, and I'm making several quiches. All, of course, require different fillings. Including three types of oniony things (leeks, shallots, and onion) and coooked mushrooms. Onions confit-ing, leeks blancing and mushrooms ready to start....


Hopefully on Sunday I can update with the results of the Great Quiche Making Day. I can already say there has been smoke involved.

So... what's going on in the garden?

Happy herbs!


And... um.... not-so-happy basil.....


D'oh. They've just been going downhill since I planted them. I went out this morning and bought some replacements. I'd gotten those at the produce mart, and they're not about to replace them. At least if the ones I bought from the garden center die, I can go back and get replacements for free.

Tomatoes are all looking pretty happy, too....



I've even got some flowers on a couple of them. Yay! Cannot wait for the first BLT of the summer. (And the second one. And maybe the third. I take advantage of the first BLT night of the summer.)