What we eat when we talk about moving

Soon there will be a new kitchen to explore--a new kitchen with counter space and a dishwasher and still, a pantry. It boggles the mind what I have to look forward to, well, tomorrow.

But until then there are only boxes. Only boxes and cobbled-together meals and a lot of eating at restaurants, which is not to be complained about surely.

What follows is probably the last meal in a long series of "fusion" creations coming from the desperate need to stop buying groceries because I don't want to move them. Difficult, since the grocery store is perhaps my favorite place of all time. Once I went on vacation and went to a different grocery store every day. As part of the fun.

This is a riff on picadillo, a savory and sweet Latin American hash whose title means "small bits and pieces." There are Cuban versions, Mexican versions, Puerto Rican versions--mine is more of a Clean Out the Fridge version. It can be served with rice or over bread, or scooped up with triangles of tortilla. You'll see from the top photo that I actually originally planned on tiny pasta bows, but it turned out we didn't really even need pasta.

Picadillo con chorizo

1/2 lb fresh green beans

1 red bell pepper

2 small shallots

6 oz. spicy chorizo

1 package of corn tortillas (or use flour, whatever you like)

This recipe really just lets the chorizo take center stage, followed by a crisp bean supporting role.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim the green beans. Cut into half-inch pieces. Chop the red pepper and shallots into similar-sized pieces. Brown the chorizo. It will produce a fair amount of drippings. Reserve that for cooking the black beans, if you're into that.

The chorizo will start to spatter around a little. Add in the chopped shallots at this point, followed by the pepper and green beans. I really like crisp vegetables, so I added these in last--if you like them a little more mushy, you might want to cook them first, because the chorizo really only takes a few minutes of cooking time.

While the chorizo is cooking, warm the tortillas. I spread them all out on a large cookie sheet and throw them in the oven for a few minutes while everything else is coming together. You want these nice and warm and soft.

Black beans

1 12 oz. can black beans

leftover chorizo pan that has not been cleaned

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

Mince the garlic and cook it in the chorizo fat. Add in the black beans and season as necessary. These are ready when everything is heated through and smells so good you can't bear not to start eating.

Serve the picadillo with warmed tortillas, black beans, tomatoes and a salad on the side.

To eat picadillo, rip a triangle from a tortilla and fold it to make a little scoop to pick up the meat (similar to the way you might eat curry with naan bread).






The nice thing about picadillo is that you can really adjust it to whatever season you like. I have had it with ground beef, chopped apples, peppers, and potatoes.