Literary Southwestern Quesadillas

If you're looking for the recipe, skip down a few paragraphs :)

"Within a few short hours, Alice was shocked that she had negotiated a place to stay. And the rent was cheap too. Maybe vacationers have preconceived notions of high rates because they’ve never lived in Southern California before. The third-story apartment was quaint. She felt as if she were in the middle of someone’s home; fresh linens sat at the foot of the bed, above the toilet and in the kitchen. The bed had been made with such painstaking care that Alice hadn’t seen in years possibly. She knew she’d have to go to great lengths to preserve the quality and care which this house had been maintained. Bowls of citrus decorated the sturdy wooden table at the entry way into the house and from every corner light erupted into the room to brighten and cheer up the place. The minute details that enticed Alice kept her from the most beautiful element of all – the stark rocky archways that jetted out from the crystal clear aqua ocean and the near perfect ivory beaches that seemed to stretch across all of Mexico. Dropping her two suitcases in the bedroom, Alice slipped out of her clothes and into a large, fluffy bathrobe that engulfed her body completely. Noticing the scratches and scars still on her body, she took one look at the bathtub and shuddered. As quickly as she entered the room, Alice hastened out and plopped on the couch for a quick nap.

When she came to, she almost felt as if she were still dreaming. The setting sun cast a rosy hue throughout the entire room that danced and splattered various colors across the room after refracting through the massive windows. Although Alice still felt cold and numb inside, she couldn’t help but admit to making the right choice by coming down here. Eventually she would establish a new life and hoped to at least live out her days in peace and adventure; two things she was certain awaited her just around the corner in Mexico. Above all else, Alice felt a strong desire to explore her new city. She intended to do so in the morning and easily dozed off without any regard for setting an alarm in the morning."

~~~~~~

After one week of writing, I've penned just over 11,000 words and am definitely on track to finish my story by the first of December. It's weird, writing just to hit a certain word count. Since I don't have a clear idea of where my plot and characters are going, I'm constantly surprised by the predicaments I put them in. If you'd told me a week ago that I would write a story with a really twisted plot, I wouldn't have believed you. I guess my mind can be subconsciously dark.

Anyways, this literary trip to Mexico influenced my cooking last night. J.D. and I have had an acorn squash begging to be used for close to a week now. Fearful of it rotting and throwing our money down the drain -- I mean, garbage can -- I looked up tons of acorn squash recipes yesterday afternoon. The typical brown butter and maple syrup applications bored me. I wanted something more exciting. I did come across a recipe for acorn squash stuffed with quinoa and hazelnuts, but again, wanted something more daring.

That's when I found a recipe for acorn squash quesadillas with tomatillo salsa. Duh, fall foods and Southwestern flavors are totally my thing right now! (Not to mention the fact that I do live in Arizona) After finding an entire menu for a Mexican-inspired Thanksgiving on the beach in my recent edition of Sunset Magazine (click the link, I swear you'll be stealing from the recipes!!!), I called my mom and told her we had to make that for the upcoming holiday! The pumpkin tacos sounded so subtle and fun, that acorn squash quesadillas were an obvious precursor to such a meal.

It's daring in that I've never cooked with tomatillos or really any spicy chilis/peppers of any sort.

ACORN SQUASH QUESADILLAS WITH TOMATILLO SALSA

• 1 small/medium acorn squash
• 4 T vegetable oil
• 3 T diced white onion
• 1 T minced jalapeño
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and cut into strips
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 10-inch flour tortillas
• 1 c shredded Mexican cheese blend of your choice

First, roast the acorn squash. Preheat the oven to 400° and lightly oil a baking sheet. Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds (you can save them to toast later, if you wish) and cut each half into half-inch slices. Lay them on the baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until soft but not cooked to mush. (You’ll finish it in the pan.)

When cool enough to work with, use a paring knife or your hands to peel the skin off each slice. Lightly chop the squash and put it in a bowl.

Saute the onions, garlic and jalapeno in the oil until translucent. Add the poblano strips and cook for a couple minutes more. Add the squash and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes, until the squash is tender and the flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper and take off heat.

Spread a few tablespoons of the cooked squash mixture onto one half of a 10-inch flour tortilla. Sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of the cheese. Fold over and place in a hot pan with melted butter, and fry until crispy. Cut the finished quesadilla into four triangles and top with your choice of garnishes. Eat while warm.

Tomatilla Salsa [Salsa Verde Cruda]

• 10 tomatillos, husked and well washed, quartered
• 1/2 bunch of scallions, roots and green ends trimmed, cut into big segments
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 jalapeños, roughly chopped
• Pinch of allspice
• Salt to taste

Puree all ingredients together until very smooth either in a blender or food processor. Season with salt.

Confession time: I had several tomatillos in my basket and ready to purchase when walking through the grocery store. They weren't cheap either. But when looking for mini tortillas -- we just had them as a side to chili lime marinated pork -- I found something that wound up saving me time and money in the ethnic foods section:

J.D.'s favorite celebrity chef of all time is Rick Bayless (or maybe it's Ming Tsai, I never know). He's been eying Bayless' brand of salsas for quite some time now. They're always much more expensive than the house brand salsas we often buy, but like I said this was a much cheaper alternative to actual tomatillos. And J.D. got to try his favorite person on the planet's signature salsa. It was delicious. Confession No. 2: I dove in to the bottle and ate the salsa with chips for about 10 minutes before I finally started cooking. I also topped off my meal with chips and Bayless salsa ;)

Anyways, this was probably one of THE BEST THINGS I've ever made. I'm not even joking. The quesadilla filling was so incredibly delicious, I spooned it into my mouth before it ever hit the tortilla. We ended up using one quarter of a jalapeño and cut out all the seeds/veins, and then probably used 2/3 of the poblano, giving it the same treatment as the jalapeño. Maybe because we used less spicy elements than called for, or maybe because I topped mine with plain Greek yogurt, it didn't taste as spicy as I originally anticipated. And guess what? I LOVE cooking with peppers! I'm ready to do it again :)

Then again, maybe it's the two of these talking:

I guess we'll never know. But I do know that I'll be making those bad boys again, not as the side dish, but as the main event!

Already?!

I hate to admit it, but it's that time of year again!! J.D.'s already talking about us needing to buy a new tree this year (we lost the old one in the move), the outdoor malls here are already strung with lights, Target's all decked out in Christmas and Hanukkah items and Starbuck's has their red cups back on display. Oh yeah, and I'm strongly resisting the urge to buy any eggnog for my coffee these days... I did, however, give into Gingerbread Coffee-Mate a few weeks back. And I've already stocked up on my all-time favorite holiday treat: Dryer's Peppermint Candy Cane ice cream. Go. Buy. It. Most amazing ice cream on the planet.

(Source)

Before I get to my "Things I wish I had but am broke list," how about posting some of my "novel?" At this point I've written over 7,400 words (think 17-19ish pages single-spaced) and I hate it. I hate making myself sit down and write every day. I hate that all my ideas seem the same and I hate feeling inept with my vocabulary. All normal emotions when forcing oneself to write 50,000 words in a span of 30 days, right? It doesn't really matter. The importance is writing. Editing stages will take flight in the following months. So here is the summary (it's weird to write a summary before the story is even finished):

After her world comes crashing down, Jacqueline thrusts herself into self-exploration in hopes of replacing the job and fiancé she just left. What transpires is a self-destructive move back home that sets Jacqueline back on the path to binge drinking and drug use of her teenage years. Waking up high and without a clue, Jacqueline moves to France only to continue her downward spiral. Seeking redemption and a shot at another second chance, Jacqueline has to make all the same mistakes over again before discovering who she really is.

Up the coast from Beverly Hills, Highway 101 snakes and curls its way through tranquil beach towns such as Malibu, La Conchita and Carpenteria before finally making its ascent into Santa Barbara. The narrow freeway carves through staggering cliffs whose landscape has been eroded by years of ocean-spray, with ledges precariously dripping waves of ice plant down the sides of the towering hills. Across from the highway, as if it were a different land all together, gentle ocean waves lap against the shore like carefree children dancing on tiptoes across the golden sand. A low layer of fog retreats from the shore on its way back out to the twinkling blue ocean from which it came. Sleepily emerging in the late afternoon from the clouds, the sun’s rays trot across stiff white undulating caps through the waters of the Pacific.

~~~~~~

Jacqueline minced her words, grabbed her clutch and wasted no time locating the nearest taxi. Once back at her hotel, she slipped the valet a few bills and jumped into Robert’s car without any sign of Lilly. However, thinking about Lilly and naturally, Robert, allowed for the crashing realization to finally hit Jacqueline in the hotel driveway. Before turning the key in the ignition, she dropped her head on the steering wheel and cried without shame. Nothing would ever be normal again. It couldn’t. Not after partying that hard, could she return to a state of sobriety and take Robert back after sleeping with someone else. Not after he’d gone and broken their fidelity first. After flashes of anger and self-loathing, Jacqueline finally gave in to suffering from the worst pain she’d felt in years. Without a doubt she knew that aside from the hangover, in the pit of her stomach, it felt as if she’d been dealt severe blows to the abdomen over and over again. Her breath felt shallow; every time she gulped for air her sobs and tears would catch her breath and it would all revert to the beginning of this horrible cycle again. The rising sensation of fear and the downward sloping direction in which her life was headed, coupled with the realization that someone could not honestly love her, was too much for one person to bear. Jacqueline cried almost as recklessly as she’d behaved the night before, and then all of a sudden couldn’t shed another tear. She wiped her face, threw on her oversized sunglasses and started the car.

That lightened up the mood, right? Well then this surely will.

Things I wish I had but am broke list:

Jeopardy! for Wii - how sweet is that?!?!

A real camera, which is super expensive I know. So I'll just be taking donations until I can save up for it.

Bike shorts, they're so expensive! But I need the butt padding like whoa :)

Guitar Hero 5 for PS3 (Nerd alert. I'm unemployed, what do you want from me?)

A pizza stone

Piping bags and tips

Silpats. I've always wanted some of these :) Macaron making would be sooo much easier!

...A girl can dream, right?! :) What do you want for the holidays??

Eating Nemo was amazing

After turning down a job last week I've been a train wreck. When I was 20 and my first boyfriend broke up with me, I couldn't eat for days. Anytime I tried my stomach was just a big mess. Five years later, I had that feeling again. Not regret for having turned down a job after interviewing for 21 in this economy, but more so that disgusting sick feeling inside, like you know you've done something totally wrong you can't take back.

Clearly, I need to lighten up. But finances are a BIG deal when you don't have any. However, this week I've been lining up a few more part time gigs and interviews. I think something is bound to fall into my lap one day soon. That being said, I'm starting to eat again.

And man did I ever eat yesterday. J.D. and I went to the Arizona State Fair and then kept the day going by celebrating the 3rd of the month, which we do every month for obvious reasons, at a fancy-looking sushi place near our house. Thank God my boyfriend has a job...

We kicked the fair's festivities off with some lunch, a compromise between disturbing fried stations (for J.D.) and something healthy (for me). BBQ it was!

Then we made our way to the midway and I desperately wanted to search for the livestock area to catch a glimpse of the -- wait for it -- WIENER DOG RACES!

Eeeeeeee they were so cute!!!!!(#*&&#^@%%@!!!!!!! The wieners were dressed up in hot dog costumes, just like little Woodstock was for Halloween :) There were also tiny piggy races too. The guy running the show explained to us that pigs are the fourth smartest animals in the world, behind humans, primates and dolphins. Dogs were all the way down to No. 9 or something like that. So basically, anything you could teach a dog, he could teach his pigs in half the time. Man those suckers were fast. Just wait a couple of months before they hit the 1,000 lb. mark....

They were so fast I couldn't even get a decent picture. Oh well.

After seeing the country's largest Ferris wheel on wheels -- no way I'm getting on a ride that can be taken down and shipped off in a day -- we finally made it the livestock area.

And in the petting zoo area they had kangaroos! I really wanted to go in and pet one, but I would have felt weird being the only person over 8 without a child in there.

After the fair, we went home to feed Woodstock and cool off for a little bit since it had been close to 90 degrees outside. J.D. looked up a local sushi/martini bar and discovered it features a 50% off menu from Tuesday until Saturday during Happy Hour! By the time we made our way over, there was still over an hour left! :)

We sat down at our table at Blue Wasabi and checked out the drink menu while they actually brought us blue wasabi for the sushi.

As much as I had wanted to order the Nice Melons, it wasn't half off for Happy Hour. So I went with the Berry White instead. Good Lord that thing was dangerous and tasted like a Jolly Rancher.

Then back to the menu we went to figure out our dinner:

While I would have loved to order the Dirty Sanchez or Me Soy Horny rolls just for the sheer comedic value of saying those in public, at a classy bar no less, I wasn't too thrilled with the ingredients. So instead we split the Eating Nemo and the Wango Mango rolls. Along with a slew of appetizers.

We had two 8-piece rolls, three appetizers and three drinks for under $40 (and enough leftovers for a third lunch/dinner)! I think if we'd paid full price beyond Happy Hour it would have cost over $70 without the tax. Yikes! If ANYONE ever comes to visit me in Arizona, we're going to this place between Tuesday and Saturday, no questions asked!!! It was really amazing sushi. And it led to waaay too many inappropriate jokes.

Now I think it's time for me to get back to my writing. I'm at 2,080 words with a long road ahead of me....

So what if I'm a day late?!

Last year, I participated in National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo), a spin off a much larger movement that challenges bloggers to post every day for the month of November. It was crazy challenging, but I nailed it.

This year, I'm on to bigger and better things. My entire life I've always said I'd grow up to be a published author, in fact, people close to me continually fuel that fire saying I really do have the talent to write a book. It's one of my 101 goals even.

So today, without a job or really anything taking up the hours in my day, I pledge to join National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), in hopes of producing an unedited first draft of a book, not necessarily a novel, at the end of this month.

There I said it. You can track my progress here, or just wish me luck. I think I'll need it! Any time I've ever sat down to "try and write a book" my ADD gets the best of me and I never finish. The closest thing I got to book writing was starting a creative writing/short story blog a few years back. I think I've neglected it for close to a year now.

This is going to be a huge task, since I'm not even sure what I want to write about yet.... But trust me, some travel writing will be involved!