It’s not what you think…
It all started with coffee. At the Gulf Rim Cafe, in Hillsborough, NC, Andrea and Joe are Louisiana natives, and they serve the blend we made especially for them as the house coffee. On Saturday they needed more coffee, and I had a family that needed dinner. How convenient. There are a lot of great dishes on the menu at Gulf Rim, but Debbie and one of the kids always go for the Flying Mayan – a vegetarian burrito kind of affair that is oh so good.
On Sunday at the Raleigh farmers’ market, vegetarian daughter asked that we make Flying Mayans at home. I took a SWAG at what I thought the ingredients were… sweet potatoes and black beans in a flour tortilla, topped with a little queso fresco, garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream. Simple enough.
So tonight was Flying Mayan night. While veggie girl worked on homework at the kitchen table, I made dinner, and we jammed together to the new CD from child prodigy Amanda Shaw, Pretty Runs Out. What an amazing talent! Smokin’ fiddle, sweet voice. And while the song Chirmolito blasted in the kitchen, and we danced with Lauren, our ragin’ Cajun dog rescued from Louisiana – I swear this dog likes fiddle music, beniets, and crawfish, and if she could speak it would be in French Cajun – veggie girl decided that since our dish was probably different that Gulf Rim’s, it needed a new name. And thus she named it Chirmolito Bean Burrito. (Maybe somebody out there can help me… my Spanish was never great and is rusty with neglect… I deduce that chirmolito is some kind of sauce, a salsa of sorts?)
So what’s the revenge, you ask? No it wasn’t indigestion. Paging through the newspaper after dinner, I noticed a challenge for “Dollar Store gourmets” (who knew there was such a thing?). Submit your best recipe made from Dollar Store ingredients that feeds a family of four. For under $12. I looked at the paper. I looked at our dinner. Time for a little Bobby Flay-style throwdown.
Here’s my accounting: three Johnston County sweet potatoes = $1.50. Couple cups black beans = $0.40. Flour tortillas = $1.50. Cheese = $2.00. Avacados for guacomole = $3.70. A few leaves of Norris’ Wake County lettuce = $0.25. Two Tim Bass Nash County tomatoes = $2.00. Carolina rice (side) = $0.50. Garlic & Salt = $0.10. Grand total = $11.95. Dollar Store, indeed. My only regret is we ate it before I had a chance to photograph it. I can’t wait to read the “winners” in the paper on May 8 when they are published. I wonder what you can make with Cheetos and marshmallows?
And tonight I was inspired to roast up some Mexican coffee to go with the leftovers. Nice.
