I'M GOING TO EUROPE! In 3 days!!! Evan and I are going on our first ever European vacation to Amsterdam and Bruges. I’ll be gorging myself on Dutch cheese and Belgian beer, and stopping at all the waffle and frieten stands I can find. Not to mention filling my bags with chocolates and other goodies for the ride home (oh, and for gifts).
We’re spending part of the trip with my friend Vincent, who was among the bevy of semi-unfortunate high school exchange students who ended up spending their year in America in the tiniest of tiny little rural towns. Not that it was all bad, of course… the exchange students at my high school were instantly the most popular kids in school, they were able to play on every sports team regardless of skill, and they got invited to all the best parties. It also worked out well for me, because now I have friends all across the globe that are more than willing to lend a couch.
I’m sure I’ll be bombarding you with Euro-posts when I return, so in the meantime, here’s something totally un-Euro. The other night I was flipping through an old Gourmet mag, and came across Zucchini and Red Pepper Enchiladas with Two Salsas from August 2009. Using the recipe as inspiration…OMG. Best dinner I’ve made in a long time. I switched things up a bit, adding more cumin and salt (and less oil) to the pepita sauce, substituting my awesome pico de gallo for the tomato salsa in the recipe, and serving everything burrito style, rather than fried into enchiladas, for a lighter touch. The thick, nutty pepita sauce basically replaced the need for cheese (although, c’mon… you know me, I still put some cheese out to sprinkle on top), and it really complimented the acidity in the pico. We wrapped a stack of tortillas in foil and heated them on the grill alongside the onion, red peppers, and zucchini, then topped our grilled veggie burritos with sliced radishes, green onions, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
As we crunched into our amazingly tasty and fresh veggie burritos filled with Mexican spices, we daydreamed about waffles and Gouda. I’ll be back before you know it, hopefully with delicious stories from abroad!
