Free Range Friday on Saturday

I've been wanting to post this for a couple of weeks now, but, sparing you boring details, I didn't. If the details are boring to me, you can be assured you'd be beyond the B word, trust me.

This is such a simple dish, which always appeals to me when the weather is hot and cooking, while always about taste for me, isn't always about long, involved recipes. I found this on facebook, which led me to this woman's site, SplenDishes by Shonali and asking her permission to use the recipe and a photo. She was kind enough to let me do that, and I'm thankful. Because, while I planned on making these, and did make these, I forgot to take photos. Oops!

Crash Hot Potatoes (in her post, Shonali wrote that the name of these had an Australian background; I got in touch with my friend in Australia who is up on all things food and she'd never heard the name, but I really like it anyway)

photo credit - Shonali

"Boil some baby potatoes (I used red) until fork tender. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet, set potatoes on sheet and using a potato masher, gently smash each potato down, rotating masher both ways (so it looks like a thick cookie). Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt/pepper and sprinkle cut fresh herbs and garlic over each. THEN top with some lovely grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes." Buen provecho!



I think it would also be good using blue cheese or a really sharp cheddar. And if you don't have a potato masher (one of those things I think everyone should have in their kitchen, the best ones are found at yard sales and have green or red wooden handles, just so you know), stick fork in it. Thanks, Shonali!

Some other food related bits I ran across this week:

I love hummus. Plain or flavored, with fresh pita chips, what's not to like? This is a variation I'd never heard of, much less thought about. Gotta give it a try! Pumpkin Hummus from Closet Cooking. After all, 'tis the season for things pumpkin, American or island style.

You never know what you'll see in the semi-wild world

For those creative food folk, this website , Urban Outdoor Skills, will probably have something to grab your attention and interest. No matter where you live, city, country, island or inland, there are plants growing wild that you can eat, if you know what you are looking for. If you don't, find an old person who knows. Just stop them - outside, in a store, on the street - and ask politely. I've never been turned down and it ends up being a lovely moment of learning.

Just in case what you run across are mushrooms, it's best to have a master mycologist with you (Mushroom expert joke ""Mycologists have more fungi"). But if you don't plan on eating them, here is a site to help identify that growth in your yard or perambling.

And finally, just to say how nice, after four months house/dog/cat sitting it is to be home. While I didn't do my usual yearly America tour, I did get to Michigan. I did experience Culebra town life. I did get my favorite views from on top of the hill. I got to hang out with 3 of my favorite dogs, got reminded how very different cats' personality can be and did some great traveling in the oh so very northern part of Michigan. I made new friends and got reacquainted with old ones (only in the world's time spectrum, old friends are etched in the heart timelessly). 

Home really is where the heart rests, but physical home is knowing how much coffee goes in your pot for a perfect cup, knowing which side of the bed to climb out of half asleep, where every fork and spice lives (and having the ones you want at hand, most of the time). 

It's your cat, happy you know just where the itch is that needs scratching. 

The toilet paper hanging over instead of under (the correct way, in case you've always wondered). Just the right sized pot or pan for eggs or popcorn. Your pillows being the right amount, the right hardness or softness (though I could have stolen a couple of pillows I used). The view you wake up to being as familiar and comfortable as the fit of your favorite shorts.  Home is home and it's good to be back.

Thanks to those of you who entrusted me with your homes, your best friends, and your vehicles. I value that, even when things got a little exciting/scary/frustrating, you knew I'd take care of things the best I could. Your home was mine for awhile and I know what that means.

Have a satisfied Saturday. Do something solace seeking.