LOVE THURSDAY
Cindy Maddera
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I've talked about how Michael and I have this awkward dance we do around each other in the kitchen.The kitchen is small. There's some timing that has to happen when one of us moves from the stove to the fridge or chopping block to the sink. I think I'm a little bit smoother at dancing around him than he is around me. I'm used to cooking in a kitchen full of cooks. He is used to being the only cook and I think He's just now getting used to sharing a kitchen with someone else who cooks. There is one kitchen dance that we have perfected though. The dance of a dozen enchiladas. It's kind of like the dance of the seven veils but with out the veils because that would be a fire hazard in the kitchen. Also, I think any form of stripping in the kitchen when CRISCO is melting in a skillet is probably dangerous. But enchiladas are our tango.
Michael usually chops the onion and anything else that needs chopping. I think I scare him when I use knives. He does a good job of not telling me to stop what I'm doing, but just walks away so he doesn't have to witness the potential chopping off of a digit. I cook all the things he's chopped in ghee and spices. Enchilada filling varies from black beans and sweet potatoes to mushrooms and black beans. Black beans are probably always an ingredient. Once the enchilada filling is cooked and slightly cooled, Michael dredges the corn tortillas in hot oil. Just enough to soften them. Then he passes them over to me where I fill them with enchilada filling and cheese and then roll them up. This is our assembly line and it runs so smoothly that I think at times we could do this for a living. We could have our own enchilada food truck and call ourselves Team Enchilada.
We don't cook together often. Mostly because we tend to get in each other's way. Thanksgiving was more challenging just because of the shear amount of food that we were preparing in a tiny kitchen. Toes are inevitably stepped on when we are both in the kitchen. But something magical happens when we make enchiladas together. Suddenly we turn into this well oiled machine and we move in unison, swaying to our own tune. It's pretty impressive to watch and be a part of all at the same time.
Go Team Enchilada! And Happy Love Thursday.