as i was pulling my lunch out of the microwave at work today, a co-worker asked “hey, what do you have there? some hot pockets?” oh no he didn’t!!! i responded with a friendly “well i guess they are something like that, but on the homemade side of the spectrum.” this kitchen buddy was inquiring about my black bean, sweet potato and roasted poblano empanadas. i made the dough from scratch and even soaked, cooked, and refried the black beans. a hearty, delicious and somewhat healthy lunch for a nene. and this guy thought they looked like a mass produced preservative-laden, nutrient-devoid food product. i decided to take that as a compliment.

isn’t the goal of home cooking to make it look like something you would buy out? maybe not. the goal is to have a nourishing, fulfilling, healthy and tasty meal that is lovingly prepared. or as my dear old friend might say, something to fill your hungry hole.

well our hungry holes were filled with empanadas last night. for some reason they tasted way better reheated today. skfl and i are both fighting off a cold and maybe our tastebuds were affected for the first round. the dough tasted really salty and took away from the flavorful beans. that was my second time soaking and cooking black beans and i am hooked! i don’t really remember the process of the first attempt too well, except that it felt like i was biting into rocks. (that’s what he said)

the black bean, sweet potato and roasted poblano is now my standard mix for all mexican foods whipped up in the kitchen. it works well in a quesadilla, taco, tamale pie and empanada. (each combined with cheese and sassy salsa of course. although i’ve started making a yet-to-be-named green salsa that’s working out pretty well too.) maybe i’ll write a book one day called nene’s mexican feast and it will feature ten items that you can mix and match. kind of like the tim gunn’s ten wardrobe essentials. hmm…