Mexican Meal

     Usual Thursday activities - tennis for an hour and a half this morning (we had three really hard sets, must have burned off a few calories) and bridge this afternoon. Then home to putter in the garden for an hour. But the highlight of my day was the discovery of a new recipe.

    In the newspaper today there was an article about Mexican food with a recipe for "Chilaquiles". This is a dish normally served at breakfast or brunch but, to my eyes, it afforded a way to use up all the small pieces left at the bottom of the tostitos bag! I had it with yesterday's vegetable pie and it was a very tasty accompaniment. Here's the recipe. I left out the jalapeno and chipotle peppers as I found the salsa was spicy enough. I don't eat a lot of spicy food.

Chilaquiles

2 tbspn. olive oil
1/2 large jalapeno, seeded, finely diced
1/2 cup diced Spanish or white onion
1 cup purchased salsa
1 tbspn. pureed canned chipotles in adobo sauce or to taste
1/4 cup sour cream
 2 cups tortilla chips
1/4 cup grated queso fresco or Monterey Jack cheese

Toppings: (optional)
2 fried eggs sunny side up
1 avocado, diced
1 large tomato, seeded, diced
2 tbspn. chopped cilantro leaves
2 tbspn. thinly sliced green onions

In medium, non-stick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and jalapeno. Cook, stirring, 3 minutes to soften. Add salsa and chipotle. Reduce heat to medium, cook 4 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Add tortilla chips and toss until well coated. Sprinkle with cheese. Turn heat off, cover and let stand 2 minutes to melt cheese. To serve, divide in two plates, top with your choice of egg, avocado pieces, cilantro and green onions.

Enjoy!

Especially liked the avocado topping!

 

And now for a sweet dessert!

Canada Day

   Canada is 148 years old today! I celebrated the holiday with my tennis friends at Don Mills - lots of tennis and a great lunch. It was a BBQ with various salads, fruits and several desserts. Coffee was on tap all day and plenty of cold drinks so, all in all, everyone's needs were satisfied.  The weather was perfect (low 20's) except that it was quite windy. Rain had been forecast but never materialized. There must have been at least 60 people there so we had to take turns on the courts but I had more than enough tennis. After lunch we joined in singing "Oh, Canada" so all felt very patriotic.

   Home for a nap, cut the front grass and tidied up the borders, taking advantage of the good weather. Picked some kale, parsley and lettuce from the garden and have a healthy vegetable tart in the oven. I will have it with some salad and my pickled beetroot. There's even some chocolate brownie I  brought home from the tennis club lunch so I will be well fed tonight!

Kale, onion and mushroom pie. It also had parsley and cheese. Lettuce and avocado salad with cucumber and red pepper.

I had 1/4 of the pie so I will be eating it for lunches and dinners for a while. The salad had a lemon, balsamic and olive oil dressing.

A Visit to the Dump

   We are not done with the rain yet and it continues to be unseasonably cool, only 17C today. I got to tennis around 9:15 and played a couple of sets. But I was just about to go on for a third set when the rain came down. It was quickly obvious that that was it for today so we all headed home. At least the grass is nice and green. The downside, however, is that it constantly needs cutting and the weeds are growing like crazy. Now I know what it's like in the UK where they have abundant rainy days! Luckily I had cut the back grass yesterday (and trimmed the edges) but will have to wait until tomorrow  to cut the rest.

   I have 5 books "in transit" at the library and one arrived today. So, since I am almost out of reading material, I hopped over to pick it up. Now I am all set for the next few days. I also got rid of my old back door which has been sitting at the kerb for almost a month. with no pickup. I managed to haul it into the back of my car and dropped it off at the local dump for which I was charged $10. The smell of the place is still lingering in my nostrils. It was pretty disgusting. At least the guys there took the door out of my car for me!

   More tennis from Wimbledon again today but one of the Canadians is out, losing in 2 sets to a qualifier, how ignominious as she was seeded 12th!

   I will warm up some leftover chicken with the kale casserole from a couple of days ago and cook a potato for dinner tonight. I haven't bought any green vegetables in ages as I have an abundance of lettuce and kale in the garden. But I did pick up a couple of red peppers and two avocado yesterday just for a change of flavours. I roasted one red pepper for my lunch sandwich, which I like to have in a croissant with cheese, toasted.

  

A Visit to the Doctor.

   I spent most of today watching tennis from Wimbledon. One of the Canadians is through to the second round, the others play tomorrow.

   I had to get some antibiotics from the doctor today as I have been bothered with an earache for a few days. Hope they start to work soon. It's "swimmer's ear" but I can't believe that swimming caused it as I practically never put my head under water. While I was at the doctor I asked him about my sore hip and he sent me for an X-ray. It would be nice to know the cause. Luckily it doesn't bother me on the tennis courts, just when I go on a long walk.so it's probably due to the repetitive motion. It was a nuisance when I was in Portugal as walking was my main way of getting around.

    I made a loaf in the bread machine this afternoon and had a slice with a chicken salad I put together. It had lettuce from the garden, half a pear, half an avocado, some red pepper and a few slices of cucumber. I made a tasty dressing and jazzed it up with a dab of spicy artichoke and asiago dip I had in the fridge. I cooked the chicken in the oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Very tasty!

    No dessert tonight but later on I may have a scone or a slice of rhubarb bread with tea.