Alone Again, Naturally

The "down side" to having a hotshot salesman as a husband is that he sometimes has to attend business dinners - schmoozing is important in his line of work.

When he goes out for dinner, I have little incentive to cook and usually end up making toast or this favorite standby. Because we are soon leaving on vacation (burglars, listen up - we have a house sitter coming to take care of our big, scary dog so don't even think about it!), I thought I'd use up a hunk of mystery cheese and the remains of a tub of creme fraiche that had been lurking in the fridge for weeks. My Beloved had brought home some fresh salsa and blue corn chips, too, so I had the makeshift makings for nachos.

There isn't really a recipe for a pickup meal like this - you just cover the plate with chips, cut little nubbins of cheese for each chip, sprinkle on some salsa and dot with creme fraiche (or sour cream or crema if you have those instead), then zap in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until the cheese bubbles and runs gooeyly. Eat with your fingers.

Yes, they were a little odd - the cheese turned out to be raclette, a bit stanky for nachos, but weren't the visuals dramatic? I could have wished for a little cilantro to sprinkle over the top but the green of the plate peeked through for accent. And it was good, in a lonely crazy-lady sort of way.