Garlic and cilantro fries

The last several days has me scouring pinterest for recipes, new DIY project ideas, crafts, and home decoration inspiration. It was actually on that site that I realized how amazing some of these home cooks are and how excited I was to know that so many people are willing to share recipes! It's quite awesome.

Growing up, it was a common understanding that if someone wanted to know your recipe, you wouldn't just hand it over...you had to teach them how to cook it.

That's how I learned to make mole, Mexican rice (Spanish rice is yellow, not orange/red like Mexican rice), frijoles de la hoya (pinto beans-of course I under cooked and over cooked plenty a pot of beans before I could be comfortable saying this) and the list goes on.

It's also where I learned how to substitute ingredients if I didn't have anything of this spice or that one. My grandmother has quite the creative mind when it comes to cooking.

She's about to celebrate her 80th birthday at the end of the month. She has over thirty grandchildren and several great-grand children, and nine children of her own.

Gramma had to cook for a lot of people. There are 10 seats at her dining table. When

we get together, we often eat in waves at the table.

The rest of us that aren't so patient take our plate to the living room and eat it sitting on the couch or another chair, using our knees as a table.

Today, my breakfast brought me back to gramma's house, partly. It consisted of chorizo (spiced ground beef) and egg tacos (that she taught me how to make) and garlic and cilantro fries-a recipe I pinned earlier last week. They look yummy in the picture. I don't know how people make their food look so yummy in photos. My photos barely look delectable (even though they are delicious). Anyway, thetalkingkitchen's recipe looked simple enough so I made them this morning.

by lafig

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20-25 mins

Keywords: potatoes cilantro garlic

Ingredients (2-3 servings)

• 5-6 yukon gold potatoes, cut into thin fries
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 – 3/4 tsp sea salt
• pepper
• 1/4 c. loosely packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped

I replaced the "Yukon Gold" potatoes with Russet potatoes because I have those coming out of my ears ($0.89 at the local market for a 10lb bag would have you buying a few bags too).

I love potatoes.

Because I only cooked for myself this morning, I made one potato and fractioned up the rest of the ingredients (almost 1Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, small handful of cilantro leaves).

I added finely chopped garlic to the olive oil mix and some onion powder (I love onion powder-but that's another blog). Added the potatoes to a plastic container, added the oil and shook away!

When I put them into the oven (for 15 minutes), the aroma of warm garlic immediately filled the room. I'm so glad I added the fresh garlic!

The chorizo and egg tacos were easy. I used store bought beef chorizo, cooked up about 1/4 cup before adding in the (previously mixed) egg. The grease (I know, yuck but yum!) cooks the eggs and chorizo so it is really not necessary to add anything else to the pan. Adding any sort of spice to the eggs will be washed out by the flavor of the chorizo. I only add some shredded Parmesan cheese to the egg before tossing it in to cook.

Once they're finished, I cut up some avocado and added slices in the taco.

Avocados are 7/$1 at the market so I add avocado to everything. This entire meal is about 700 calories. Crazy, right?

My running partners

When I'm working, I often wake up before the sun to go out for a run or a walk with my dogs. I don't wake up that early on vacation. I make it up to the doggies as they bask in the sun and smell every corner of our neighborhood on very long walks or they let their tongues drag to the floor as we're on even the shortest of running courses.

I have three small canines, by accident. Frida, the oldest and original dog that came from an unexpected litter from a family in the Coachella Valley. The family told us she was part chihuahua and wouldn't grow very big. She's thirteen pounds with long hair and long legs. She looks nothing like her siblings.

Lola came along six months later, she's the smallest-part min-pin, part chihuahua. I call her a chin-cher. Canela ( (ka·ne·la means cinnamon in Spanish) is the youngest and most traviesa (troublemaker).

I joke about having so many dogs, saying "I have a house full of bitches" or "I went running with mah bitches".

Most of the walks are about two miles, the runs are between 2-3 miles. Sometimes, I just feel like running so we head for a 5 mile course. That's the longest distance Lola can run. If I know I'm going further out, I'll switch back and drop her off and head back out with Frida and Canela. They don't give up.

They enjoy the runs but sleep the rest of the day afterwards. I wish I could sleep the day away....

I don't cook for them. They eat dog kibble.

Time to eat

I've spent most of my life as a runner. I remember being five years old and chasing my sister around. I remember my dad coming in to the house and telling my older sister that she could run track. I couldn't wait until it was my turn.

After practice, we would visit my grandparents, and my grandmother would let my dad have it, scolding him for keeping us out in the triple digit heat. She would tell him that we shouldn't be out there running, that it wasn't good for us. My grandmother tells this story to us now, twenty five years later, describing primary schoolers in ponytails, in tiny running shorts, hair disheveled from training, and with electric red cheeks.

Anytime we stopped by my grandparents house, there was always something cooking and we needed to prepare to eat...no matter what time of day it was. I remember her feeding everyone from my grandfathers employees to my aunts' friends. We learned how to cook in that home.

I can count on my hands the time we visited a fast food joint growing up. Everything made at home or at my grandmothers' was made with fresh foods and made with lots of love. All the recipes I originally learned were meant to feed a football team (I have an obnoxiously large family full of cousins). It wasn't until I moved to college that I learned how to cook for one...and two....albeit with a few screw ups.

Cooking for myself has become such a fun activity. But it has also saved my sanity and my health. I am a marathoner. I have been blessed with the ability to run many miles and still have strong knees...not to mention a healthy appetite. I look forward to sharing my victories and blunders in the kitchen and on the road.