last night's meal

the kitchen counter by candlelight

my Mexican lasagna

Last night's meal called for some atmosphere. After the tasty all-smoked-fish-from-Acme NYC Marathon brunch we enjoyed with my parents on Sunday, I was in an entertaining mood. I added a little atmosphere with candlelight and flowers to our evening meal, even though it was just the two of us. I whipped up a Mexican lasagna which worked out rather well.



If you are in the mood to try this dish, I'll tell you the layers from the bottom on up: a little tomato sauce, a little extra virgin olive oil, a lot of Valentina extra hot Mexican hot sauce, which you can find in certain markets in Queens. I recommend buying yourself the 12.5 ounce bottle to start, and then working your way up to the larger size when you realize you cannot get enough Valentina. Valentina is excellent with beans, tortillas, even eggs. But back to the layers. Stir. Layer corn tortillas, black beans cooked with coriander powder and coriander pods, sauted broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, onion. Layer two: repeat with more corn tortillas, tomato sauce, Valentina, beans, veggies. Top with third layer of corn torillas, sauce, Valentina, and sprinkle lots of ground chipotle pepper (gift from my Mom) for that smokey spicy goodness. I didn't have any of that crumbly Mexican cheese, cojita, so I crumbled feta on top, which worked out well too. Serve with cold yogurt to cool the heat.

Pretty darn healthy, wouldn't you say? If I had zucchini on hand I would have added that to the sauted veggies. And corn too. Add whatever you want. Bake in the oven, covered for 15 minutes, and uncovered for 5 at 450 degrees.