Hot Stuff

Our big activity today was preparing lunch for ourselves and my mother.  Yesenia suggested Chile Rellenos (stuffed peppers, that is), which are usually filed with ground beef or cheese.  Since Yesenia can't eat cheese and we no longer eat meat, she proposed a rice and beans filling, to which I counter-proposed seitan, if we could get our hands on any.

Yesenia said she could, at the local health food store.  She then proposed thawing out an Ancho Chile sauce she'd made a while back, and I in turn suggested a tomatillo sauce, which I would make.  It's a deal, she said (or words to that effect).

Yesenia is a great cook and is confident improvising, so she just went with her instincts and prepped the Chiles each in ceramic bowls, washed, roasted cut and stuffed.  I'm very fumbly in the kitchen and only feel comfortable with a recipe to follow if I'm trying something new.  In this case, I went with the Rick Bayless salsa verde recipe, which called for six tomatillos, some spicy chile (we went with jalapeno), cilantro and onion. Well, I thought it called for onion - the onion turned out to be optional.  The preparation was simplicity itself - husk, wash and broil the tomatillos (and the chile), cool, then puree with cilantro.  And you're done.  Yesenia drizzled the sauce on the now stuffed poblano peppers - also topped with cheese (fake in her case, fresh mozzarella for me and my mother), and threw them in the oven.

And they were goddamn perfect.  Only drawback was that the salsa verde was a little hotter than expected, so next time around, I'll take the extra time to seed the jalapeno, or try serrano peppers.  I also made my usual refried beans, learned years ago.

Definitely one I want to make again.  And while Yesenia is never quite thrilled with sharing the kitchen, I think we both enjoyed a nice Sunday cooking together.  More, please.

D.