Hoo boy. As much as I hate super hot weather in summer (a lot) and can generally tolerate cold weather, this winter is getting a little ridiculous. Seriously ridiculous. From ice storms to a blizzard, we’re ready for weather that doesn’t involve long underwear.
(Note, it’s March 13 and there have only been a couple of days above freezing this month – if that.)
And I think it’s safe to assume that cabin fever has kicked in around our little kitchen. But yesterday, hubris did too – and it ended hilariously.
Because it was so cold and blustery and blizzard-ey yesterday, I was craving Mexican food – flautas in particular. I hadn’t counted on that craving during the pre-bad-weather run to the grocery store, but I was feeling a little smug because I could make everything from scratch without needing to leave the apartment.
No cilantro or tomatoes for homemade salsa? Well that was just fine. I had one remaining bag of frozen cherry tomatoes in the freezer that I’d put up during the summer, and I had parsley in the fridge along with dried chilies in the cabinet. Boom. Problem solved.
No tortillas? Ha! That’s not an issue for someone as super duper clever as this woman! I had flour and baking powder to make my own. Boom. Problem solved.
And then I remembered something horrible. Silly and small, but huge at the same time.
We were out of toothpicks to hold the flautas together while frying.
Nooooo! My dinner plans were ruined!
Then I started giggling. Giggles turned into guffaws. The whole thing just seemed so silly. Still laughing, I called Jedd and told him about my inflated sense of competence during a blizzard – and my undoing.
He didn’t laugh at all. Sounding a little perplexed he said that was no problem – he’d just whittle me some toothpicks when he got home.
He’d. Just. Whittle. Me. Some. Toothpicks. When. He. Got. Home.
Needless to say that undid me. I was crying with laughter.
But sure enough. Jedd whittled me some toothpicks – see his “recipe” below – and we had flautas for dinner.
I’m still not sure if the whole situation was as hilarious as it seemed at the time, or if I just REALLY needed to laugh. But after Jedd finished his small woodworking project, he got the giggles too.
Cabin fever is real, ya’ll.
Winging It During a Blizzard Salsa
Ingredients:
2 small dried chipotle chilies
1 pint cherry tomatoes
½ small red onion, diced
½ cup flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions:
Cover dried chilies in boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let steam for 15 minutes. Remove stems from chilies and place all of the ingredients in a blender and process to desired consistency.
Chicken and Green Chili Flautas
Yields: 4
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 can diced green chilies
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
4 scallions (white and green part), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 6-inch homemade or store bought flour tortillas
Vegetable oil
Toothpicks
Instructions:
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, cook the onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chilies, chicken, scallions and cumin. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Turn heat off and stir in cheddar and half a cup of salsa.
Pour 1-inch of oil in a separate large frying pan and turn heat on medium high until the oil is 350 degrees. Or if you don’t have a thermometer, just drop a small piece of a tortilla in the oil and, if it sizzles, the oil is hot enough.
Spread each tortilla with a thin layer of the salsa. Divide the chicken mixture between the tortillas and secure with toothpicks. Drop in the oil and cook for 2 minutes a side, or until crisp and golden brown.
Serve with dipping sauce.
Paprika Scallion Dipping Sauce
Ingredients:
½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 scallion (white and green part), roughly chopped
1 ½ teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions:
Mix together in a small bowl and chill for 30 minutes.
Handmade Toothpicks
Yield: 10
Ingredients/Materials/Tools:
1 small hunk of hardwood, 2″-3″ long, (I used walnut, but hickory, cherry or maple would all work fine)
Chisel and/or sharp knife
Small mallet
Sandpaper, 80 or 120 grit
Olive oil
Instructions:
Stand the wood on end (with the grain running vertically) and place the knife against the end grain and tap it with the mallet until the wood starts to split down the grain. Twist the blade until the piece splits all the way. Repeat until you have a handful of pieces that are about 1/8″-3/16″ wide. Whittle the sharp edges down and reduce the width to the desired thickness. Sand one end to a sharp point and sand any remaining sharp edges away. Wet a paper towel or clean cotton rag with olive oil, vegetable oil or walnut oil and wipe the toothpicks down. Stick them in your flautas.
Of course, if you have any wood matchsticks kicking around, you could always just cut the match end off and sharpen one end. But what’s the fun in that? Just ask yourself one question: How bad is your cabin fever?
(Photos by Launie and Jedd Kettler)