taco for one

yesterday i noticed we had some kind of ground beef in the freezer, so i placed it in a bowl on the counter and left it, expecting it would turn into dinner one of these first nights.

tonight was the night, and as one of david’s students mentioned making tacos for a future trip, the idea was planted firmly in my head: tacos. beef. guacamole. something green.

beef taco

serves one, easily

beef, tortillas, chile powder, cabbage, cheese, avocado, salt, cilantro, onion, jalapeño (if tomatoes were in season, i would’ve added some).

1. brown the beef, adding chile powder. set aside in bowl when done.
2. place tortilla in the hot pan (on low) to thaw (i keep tortillas on hand in the freezer–they freeze and separate great). flip when sides get brownish, but not so long that the tortilla becomes stiff.
3. sprinkle cheese on one half to melt. add beef.
4. once cheese and meat are melted, turn off heat, and set aside to stop cooking.
5. quacamole: this is a larger discussion. i’ll add my fave recipe soon, and wax poetic about my molcajete.
6. chop cabbage or some other green. add to meat and cheese, along with the guac.
7. fold tortilla in half, and voila: dinner for one!

quickie dinner for one

sometimes when i’m cooking for just myself, i have no patience for recipes, foresight, or elegance. and that’s ok. sometimes i can create some pretty yummy stuff, and tonight was one of those times.

what did it take?

a smidgeon of chorizo (around 2 T)

cheese

garlic

one purple potato

small amount of fresh avocado

tortilla

—

i sliced the potato thinly and fried it with garlic and olive oil. in another pan, i fried the chorizo. once the potato was browned and soft on the inside, i turned off the burner and removed the potato. i placed a tortilla in the pan (i keep ‘em in the freezer and it thaws in the hot pan), and put cheese on the tortilla and let it melt a bit, and then put the potato and chorizo and sliced avocado on the tortilla. once everything seemed sufficiently melted and a bit brown, i folded the tortilla into a burrito-type fashion, and mmm mmm. cheap, easy, and delicious.