Back in the Saddle Sky Lupine and All

Been a long time since I’ve posted, hasn’t it? So long in fact, I forgot my WordPress password and had to try several combinations before I could log in.

So what happened?

Well, seven weeks ago Dave and I were on the front porch, drinking coffee, not a care in the world. All was bliss.

Okay, so I had a few cares.

I was worried about the presentation on Mexico City that I was scheduled to give at a “Salon” we hold up here.

Actually, let me restate that.

I was worried about getting down to the valley to get my hair and nails done before the presentation, and except for that little detail, all was well. I just needed to get myself caffeinated up and run through the presentation a final time.

I went inside to pour another cup of coffee, looked out the window and that’s when I saw Dave lying face down in the grass.

You have to realize my first thought wasn’t that he was hurt. Noooo.

He’d been on a mission to eradicate all gophers from the lawn, and I just assumed he was getting an up close and personal look at a gopher warren. Except that didn’t make sense, not the way he was lying.

In what now seems like very slow motion, I finally got the idea that his lying on the grass had nothing to do with the gophers, that something was seriously wrong.

Only I didn’t know how wrong or I would have called an ambulance, the helicopter, something. I would not have driven him an hour and fifteen minutes to the emergency room.

We were lucky. He had multiple pulmonary emboli and could have died on that drive down the mountain.

But didn’t, thank God.

Anyway, eight days in the cardiovascular ward of the hospital, hooked up to monitors and tubes, puts life in a bit of perspective.

In short, it’s all about friends and family, not a whole lot else matters, really.

Which is why I held a little barbeque for some of the folks who came to the hospital and helped out during the past few hard weeks.

Also, it’s why Dave is getting all his favorite meals, which includes these Swiss Chard Tacos. Fortunately, the meals (you can get two out of this recipe) are super easy. It’s summer here, and if the livin’ ain’t easy now when it’s 90 degrees and my husband almost dropped dead in front of my very eyes, when will it ever be?

Here’s the recipe (from Rick Bayless’s Authentic Mexican)

Ingredients:

1 white onion sliced thin
2 TBS vegetable oil
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, minced
1 15oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
4 baby-fist sized organic, red potatoes, skin on, cut into 3/4 inch dice
1 cup of chicken broth or water ( don’t use vegetable broth in this)
Big bunch of chard , leaves pulled from the big ribs and cut or torn into one inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste ( I use about a teaspoon of salt)

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan with a lid, swirl vegetable oil until hot. Add sliced onion and cook on medium high for 7 minutes, or until golden and a little roasted looking, stirring frequently.

2. Add minced jalapeno or serrano and cook another 3 minutes.

3. Add drained tomatoes and cook until liquid has evaporated

4. Add potatoes and water or broth, cover and cook until potatoes are tender. 10 minutes maybe.

5. Add chopped chard, cover and cook until chard is wilted.

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crumbled queso fresco, a drizzle of Mexican crema and hot sauce.

Here’s what I do. The first night, the chard mixture is a little soupy, so I serve it with rice and beans. The second night the potatoes seem to have soaked up the juice, and this makes for great tacos.
On night #2, I fry corn tortillas in a little vegetable oil and stuff the folded tortillas with the chard mixture. I add crumbled cheese and crema, pass the hot sauce and last night’s leftover beans.