Ninfa's Green Sauce

I've really started to miss good Mexican food. I went to a little Mexican restaurant for happy hour on Friday and got a margarita. Worst margarita ever - it had orange juice in it! What I wouldn't give for night at Ninfa's. Fortunately, I ran across the recipe for Ninfa's green sauce and after an arduous search throughout Portland grocery stores for the "ethnic" ingredients, I was finally able to make the sauce. And I was shocked at how much it actually tastes like the yummy sauce that goes perfect with a Ninfarita and always whets my appetite for spinach enchiladas. So now every time my stomach growls due to its lack of Tex-Mex cuisine, I can just throw some tomatoes, avacadoes, and cilantro in a blender and make myself a little bowl of spicy happiness.

Ninfa's Green Sauce
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped (you can substitute yellow if you can’t find green ones, but never use red)
4 tomatillos, cleaned and chopped
1 to 2 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped
3 small garlic cloves
3 medium-sized ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
4 sprigs cilantro
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup sour cream (optional)

Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in a saucepan. Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid), reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Place tomato mixture with the avocados, cilantro and salt in food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Pour into a bowl and stir in sour cream.

Makes 4 to 5 cups

Kuyasa Children's Choir

Tonight I went to see the Kuyasa Children's Choir from South Africa. They performed at Warner Pacific College, so my friend Conner (who has also been to Africa) and I went to enjoy their music. I loved it and it made me miss Uganda and the African people...

Happy Easter!

He is risen! Yesterday was a wonderful Easter. I went to the early church service at Imago (which was quite peppy) and then had a wonderful Easter lunch with the Moores. Maegan and Madison suprised the family by flying in for the weekend and my friend Drew (another out-of-stater) joined us for the holiday. We all enjoyed great conversation a tasty meal with ham, potatoes, asparagus, salad, rolls and delicious Texas sheet cake for Steve's birthday. Then Drew and I headed over to hang out (and eat some more ham, potatoes and rolls) with some people from our home community group. We ended up playing an intense board game called Vegas Showdown and hanging out for a long time, so by the time I finally got home I was exhausted. It was a great Easter holiday with a special group of people.

I decided to get a little creative with a homemade Easter dessert this year. I made chocolate eggs (not chocolate-covered eggs) by using balloons as a mold (and no we did not eat the balloons). So you blow up a balloon about half way and dip it in melted chocolate. The key is to let the chocolate cool a little before dipping the blown up balloon in it - for we all know that balloons and heat do not go well together. Apparently I didn't let the chocolate cool enough when I dipped the first balloon. So I completed coated it in chocolate, set it on a pan to cool and... pop! Chocolate all over the me, my white jacket and the kitchen. I filled the chocolate eggs with peanut butter mousse and whipped cream. I spent the entire day in the kitchen so this is probably the last time I will attempt making these special treats.

Queso? Que?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I get to choose the menu for our next staff lunch due winning the office bracket challenge. I ended up going with a Mexican meal (I got a few complaints about the tofu omelet - can you believe it?). I told one of the ladies in the office exactly what I wanted the lunch to include and she emailed my request to our caterer. I get a phone call today from our caterer, Muggs, and it went a little something like this:

"Hi Mary, it's Muggs. Sheila emailed me your request for the staff lunch. There is some kind of dip listed, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. I can't quite make it out."
"I would like to have chips and queso."
"Chips and what?"
"Queso."
"Could you clarify exactly what that is?"
"Its a cheese and salsa dip. You know... queso."
"Could you spell that for me?"
"Q-U-E-S-O... queso!"
"I think I know what you're talking about. I make a dip similar to that, I just call it something different. Thanks, see you at the lunch next month."

I have no idea what she calls this dip and I'm not sure if I want her to attempt making queso if she couldn't even spell it. We might end up with a bowl of melted velveta.

Foreign Food
I found a recipe for Ninfa's green sauce (the best dip in the world) and decided I would give it a try. The recipe calls for 3 tomatillos, 1 jalapeno, and 3 green tomatoes. I have searched all week, grocery store after grocery store, looking for these ingredients. It was near impossible. Today I finally found tomatillos and a jalapeno, but I'm still on the hunt for green tomatoes. Good Mexican food, even homemade, is hard to come by around here!

March Madness

Say hello to the champion of the 2009 Murdock Bracket Challenge! That's right - this little ol' girl from Texas who has only been here for 2 months has risen to the top. Many of my coworkers have entered this tournament year after year hoping to come out victorious, but this year I swooped in and claimed the victory! Shoot, I didn't know what the heck I was doing as I filled in the bracket a month ago, but apparently that doesn't matter. So besides bragging rights, I have also won the choice of menu for our next staff meeting. In response to this morning's announcement, I sent out the following email:

I’m not exactly sure how I pulled this off, but I am willing to come back next year and offer bracket consulting. Unlike Kathy, however, the price might be a little steep (winning doesn’t come cheap)! My current strategy: of the two opposing teams, pick the one located in the place you would rather live. Looks like I might be moving to North Carolina soon!

I’m sure you’re all wondering what the staff meeting menu will be. I have a new favorite meal: tofu omelets with a special ingredient (fish sauce). Don’t knock it until you try it – and everyone must try it.

Mary

Okay, maybe I'll stick to my Texas roots and choose enchiladas, beans and rice, chips and queso, and Texas sheet cake!

Disconnected

Yesterday I left work early to watch Baylor play in the NIT Championship game (I won't even comment on the disappointment). I talked to Drew that afternoon and made plans to drive over to his house to watch the game. He gave me directions to where he lives on Reed campus. As I'm driving that way, I reach into my purse to make a quick phone call. I pull out a wallet, chapstick and an ipod... but no phone. I start to panic. Then it hits me: I left my phone on my desk at the office! Noooooo! My life is over; I'm completely lost and have no connection to the outer world! Hold on; take a deep breath. You can do this! Just keep driving to Drew's place. So I reach into my bag and pull out a napkin, a receipt and a ticket stub... but no directions. I begin hyperventilating. I realize that I left the directions to Drew's house stuck to my desk. I really am completely lost with no connection to the outer world. But I tell myself again, You can do this! I somehow find my way onto the Reed campus and to the dorm where Drew lives as the Resident Director. But I don't know exactly where he lives and I can't call to ask. So I casually hang around the dorm area waiting for a student to walk by. A young, akward college guy strolls up. Hey, you live here? Yeah, why do you ask? I tell him my delima and he points me in the direction of Drew's room. I am so proud of myself for blindly finding the way to my destination.

All this to say, I made it through a night without a cell phone. But seriously, how did people survive before the days of cell phones?!

A Day to Celebrate

Today was a day of celebration in the office. We started the morning off by eating scrumptious fruit tart and singing Happy Birthday to Kathy, the youngest 65-year-old I know. The celebration continued after lunch with an engagement party for Daniel where we enjoyed champagne cake and heard the engagement story. Between the parties we might have been somewhat productive. Then tonight after home community group, we all treated ourselves to Papa Hyden's Dessert Bistro - just to celebrate us!

Bubbly Cake

Champagne cake is a special treat I like to make when celebrating engagements. Just substitute champagne for water using a regular white cake mix. Top it off with classic white icing and you've got a celebration cake! (Don't ask what to do with the half a bottle of champagne that's left over.)