I tempted fate…
The week got worse. Hard to imagine, but it did.
I was chasing down a referral for diabetic education yesterday, literally. From registration to the doctor’s office and back again. Who said EMR would eliminate all the struggles with modern-day health care? Notsomuch.
I was returning to the kitchen, 10 minutes into lunch service, when someone screamed, “THERE IS WATER POURING FROM THE CEILING IN THE CAFETERIA!!! PAGE MAINTENANCE…STAT!!!!!!”
I glanced quickly into the cafeteria and sure enough, that yell was, if anything, an understatement. It was RAIN FOREST CAFE. Literally. My staff reacted as quickly and effectively as possible and I had maintenance paged…STAT.
Water was pouring from air vents, ceiling tiles, you name it. We had pots, pans, Igloo coolers, trash cans, and everything else strewn across the floor…trying to catch the water…but not doing very well at all. We had to discard all of the cold prepared salads, the soup, all of the salad bar…it was a disaster. There were people everywhere with mops…and people still trying to get in for lunch.
About 30 minutes later, the pouring had been reduced to a dripping. Most of the water was off the floor, and lunch service continued. Chaos continued, I should say.
When the lunchtime had passed, we finally had a chance to sit down and breathe. Debbie looked at me, totally exhausted, and we just laughed. If it wasn’t hectic enough to feed the entire hospital a free lunch yesterday for Hospital Week, it had to RAIN during lunch today. I mean, what gives?
She was finishing up next week’s cafeteria menu and as usual, joked about my love of Mexican food. If you throw something in a tortilla, chances are I’ll love it. I saw this recipe pop into my inbox and was drawn to the tomatillos. At $1.99/pound, tomatillos are such a fun food to experiment with. I was surprised at how substantial the beans, bell pepper, and onion could be…and how over-the-top a bit of avocado and queso fresco could make these tacos.
Yes, I could eat Mexican food any day in any way, but these…really are worthy of repeating!
Roasted Tomatillo and Black Bean Tacos from Vegetarian Times
¾ lb fresh whole tomatillos, husks removed and halved
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 onion, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces
1/4 cup cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt and black pepper, to taste
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed
1/2 avocado, diced
2 oz queso fresco, crumbled
Directions:
Preheat oven to broil. Place oven rack 3 inches from heat source. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, and spread tomatillos, garlic, onion, and red bell pepper on prepared baking sheet with the bell pepper and onion separate from the tomatillos and garlic. Broil 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are blistered and charred, and onion and bell pepper are softened and charred, tossing once halfway through cooking time.
Pulse tomatillos, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, salt, and pepper in a food processor until just slightly chunky.
Toss 1/2 cup tomatillo sauce with black beans, red bell pepper, and onion; keep warm.
Fill tortillas with black bean mixture, avocado, and queso fresco. Serve remaining tomatillo sauce over the tacos, if desired.
Yield: 4 servings (2 tacos each)
Nutrition Information (per serving): 333 calories; 9.8 g. fat; 8 mg. cholesterol; 747 mg. sodium; 52.5 g. carbohydrate; 13.3 g. fiber; 14.0 g. protein; 6.0 g. sugar
Result: I thought I would enjoy these tacos, but I loved them…Mr. Prevention, too. He jokingly remarked that they were good, “even if it isn’t Meatless Monday.” They were easy to make, and affordable ingredients to buy. The tomatillo mixture is spicy, so scale back the jalapeno if you prefer things on the milder side. The queso fresco and avocado make them as good as they are…enjoy!
TGIF!!! I think furniture shopping must happen this weekend…
Be well,
