Snow and Salsa

Monday, December 9, 2013 – Snow and Salsa

 

Watching the first snow of the season on Sunday made me think of escaping to places with sunshine and warm temperatures.  So after I pulled two loaves of Norwegian Julekake out of the oven, I decided to host a South of the Border happy hour for our Convento Terrace friends.  It was a fairly spontaneous decision.  We hadn’t gotten together as a group in a while, and I had picked up a large package of vegetarian tamales from Trader Joe’s the previous day.  I quickly realized that with relatively little work, I could turn it into a happy hour “plus” and no one would have to worry about making dinner.  When 5 o’clock arrived, I put on a salsa CD to set the mood.  We started with guacamole and tortilla chips, and Manchego cheese from Spain.  Then it was on to the delicious tamales which I served along with gallo pinto (the secret to this Costa Rican dish of rice and black beans is the Lizano sauce), roasted sweet potatoes and red onions (smoked paprika gives them a special flavor), and a salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, hearts of palm and pepitas.  Dessert was easy – dulce de leche ice cream.  Thanks to all my friends for bringing wine to share.  Trader Joe’s Napa Valley Meritage was a surprise hit with the red wine drinkers. 

On Monday, we woke up to a world of white.  Ice coated the branches of the trees.  The temperature must be hovering around 32 degrees because it’s starting to melt.  Sachi, my baby red maple tree, is experiencing her first snow.  Wisely, all of the area school districts cancelled classes for today.  But the forecast for tomorrow is for more rain, sleet and snow, and I’m supposed to sub then.  I guess I’ll have to get up at 5:00 a.m. and check to see if school is cancelled.  

Sachi in the snow