cafe lindsay

I watched Fried Green Tomatoes this week while I ironed, and doing so made me consider for just a moment opening up my own little cafe. A little city sidewalk cafe, no less, where the water is served in glass carafes with lemons hanging off the rim and every table has a charming single-stemmed flower for a centerpiece. I mean, after all, I've had myself a bit of success this week in the kitchen, so why not share that with the world? But then, after realizing that opening and running a cafe -- cool though it would be -- would require much more energy than I have to give, I changed my mind. But if I did, this is what this week's specials would have been:

Grilled Chicken Salad Pitas
Crockpot Applesauce
Unbelievable Lasagna

Now, maybe you guys have more energy than I do. If that's the case, and you're wanting to go open a cafe of your own, feel free. I'll even throw in the recipes I've had success with so you've got something to get you started:

Grilled Chicken Salad Pitas

- fresh pitas, preferably from the Mediterranean grocery up the block
- prepared chicken salad (see below)
- Swiss cheese
- leaf of green leaf or romaine lettuce
- sliced tomatoes
- dab of ranch dressing

Slice pita in half, cut open. Stuff with slice of Swiss cheese and chicken salad. Grill in a frying pan until the pita is satisfyingly crisp. Then, stuff with lettuce, tomatoes, and top with that dab of ranch dressing.

To make Lindsay's Famous "Fake It 'Til It Tastes Right" Chicken Salad, boil a piece of boned chicken breast until cooked through, then separate the good meat from the bones and skin. Shred chicken, and add mayo and pickle relish to your desired consistency.

Crockpot Applesauce

- Apples, preferably the tasty McIntosh apples from upstate New York.
- 1/4 cup water for approximately every 5 medium-sized apples
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or 3-4 tbsp white sugar for approximately every 5 medium-sized apples
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, again, for approximately every 5 medium-sized apples
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg -- you guessed it -- for approximately every 5 medium-sized apples

Peel apples if desired, but if you choose to do so, please realize that you're doing more work than necessary for applesauce that won't be quite as healthy. Cut apples into fourths, toss in a crockpot, top with water, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook on high for about 2 hours or until apples are soft. Mash apples using an electric hand mixer -- because we all know electric mixers make things easier. Serve warm or chilled -- both are delicious.

Unbelievable Lasagna

- Lasagna
- Spaghetti sauce
- Ricotta cheese
- Cottage cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella cheese

Spread some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Layer the following until you run out of stuff: UNCOOKED (yes, that's why it's unbelievable lasagna -- it's unbelievably easy!) lasagna, sauce, ricotta, cottage, parmesan, and mozzarella. Final layer consists of only lasagna, sauce, mozzarella, and paremsan. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's lunch time and I've got leftovers in the refrigerator seriously calling my name.