As Abigail was getting ready to leave for school this morning, she gasped and informed me that we forgot to move our calendars. Silly girl, I said, it’s still April. Um, no, it isn’t. So we flipped the calendars, and as the sun came out to play, I was determined to get something done in the garden. Something, anything. So Zander and I high-tailed it to Hope Depot with my list of necessities. Only, once there, I couldn’t make up my mind about anything. We ended coming home with a few bags of soil to top off the beds, and a shovel for Zander. I couldn’t pass that one up- it’s a real shovel, perfect for a child to use. Upon our arrival home, he got straight to work. Isn’t he a helper!
So we worked the dirt a little, and then I decided that I was determined to plant something, so I spent the next few hours marking the bed and laying some string to mark off my grid. I decided that since I wasn’t confident that we’re past the frost mark that I would plant my peas. So that’s what I planted. Three squares of snap peas and three squares of shelling peas.
By the time all that was done, the dinner hour was nearing, and Zander requested tacos. Perfect. I decided that while I was making the basic taco meat and toppings for the kids, I wanted an extra level. I was in the mood for black beans, but I wanted to do something to them. I scanned my available supplies and landed on the carton of grape tomatoes that were definitely past their prime. Most of them were starting to shrivel a bit- no mold or anything, but they definitely were not good to eat as is. I was actually going to toss them, when I stopped myself, and instead began slicing them all in half. The tomatoes then went into a hot saute pan with some olive oil to pan-roast for a few minutes.
Once a golden liquid surrounded the tomatoes, I added a chopped clove of garlic and one can of drained black beans. A pinch of cumin, a pinch of chili powder, and a scallion later, I had my black beans. To finish them off, I added a squeeze of lime juice from half a lime. I assembled my tacos using the beans, sour cream, and some pickled jalapeno slices. The jalapenos are what made the dish, and I think if I had an avocado it would have been pretty near nirvana. Not bad for a last-minute toss together effort.