I am so awesome!!

Never let it be thought I have a confidence problem. I recently found the farmer's market here in Houston, and after looking for only five years. I have pretty much decided I am going to go each weekend and collect some produce to work with for the next week. There are a lot of specialty ingredients available there, so I am excited to get to experimenting.

Today I spent $15 and this is what I got:

a bucket of plums (about 8-10) $1
a bucket of tomatoes (6 medium) $1
a bucket of red potatoes $1
a cantaloupe $1.5
5 heads of garlic $1
a bucket of green beans $1
a bucket of red onions $1
2 plantains $1
a bunch of cilantro $.5
2 handfuls of dried ancho chiles $.85
a bucket of green peppers $1
2 avocados $2
a 1/2 pound bag banana chips $.85

So really, less than $15. I then stopped at costco and picked up a variety box of imported pasta, 6/6lb bags for $4.79, and I will get a pork tenderloin, some fish, and some chicken breast at whole foods. This brings the weeks grocery budget to less than what we would normally spend on one nice meal out. And if you read me at any frequency, you know we eat out a lot!!

As soon as I got home, I dove right in to preparations for some kind of sauce. I have watched Tyler and Emeril do it often enough, how hard could it be?

I threw some olive oil in the pan, added two chopped onion, one chopped green pepper, three cloves of gatlic, smashed and chopped, two rough chopped ancho chiles, and all the tomatoes. I also tossed in a smidge of ground cardamon because it smelled good. Add a little s & p and it has been simmering away stove top for about 2 hours...it is pretty liquid now and the house smells divine. I just tasted it, and it seemed a little acidic. The cure for that with cooking spinach or other greens is a teaspoon of sugar, so in it went, and it is perfectly balanced now. I think I will finish it with a bit of fresh chopped Cilantro and we will be on fire.

I am really pleased with the smoky back flavor and just the suggestion of heat from the ancho chiles, and I think I might be brave next time and add a bunch more.

I am brilliant...