weekend

well i didn't know that i can't update my blog via my iphone, but i can't. i found a coffee shop down the street with wifi though so crisis averted until we get wireless in the apartment.

yesterday i moved into the apartment [that's chinese grammar]. for now, i've got a room to myself until my friend miriam moves in (hopefully) and then we'll move into the bigger room and share it. it's really nice and bright and i've just thrown my stuff around the room so it feels like mine. well last night i met up with lesley and her mom and we went to a really wonderful restaurant in adam's morgan called meze. lesley ordered almost one of everything veggie and it was all really delicious. zucchini cakes, dill and cheese cigars, spinach strawberry salad, roasted eggplant on toast, salmon skewers,... her mom started her own non profit to help women in developing countries and she's on an apertif spree, so we were drinking raki. it's like milky white, black licorice concentrate in liquid form. took some getting used to, but i'm glad we tried it.
i think/hope lesley and i will get together at least once a week or so. she goes to school close to where i live and she's always doing something cool and finding new places and things to do. a perfect start to a social life in DC.

then today there was a street food festival in adam's morgan. i guess what happens is that each neighborhood has its own day. today was adam's morgan day. so i met up with my friend john who i went to high school with and we wandered for a bit before meeting up with a fellow intern. i had two tacos al pastor for $5 and watermelon agua fresca. soo good on a hot, sunny day with a million people around you in sundresses and sandals. it all felt very austin-y really.

THENN i went to the grocery store and did my shop for the week. i'm trying to make it so that everything i bought would be used in 2 different meals. strawberry salad, chicken enchiladas, quesadillas, bagels and yogurt with mixed dried fruit and nuts.
i made the chicken enchiladas tonight and i learned an important lesson: it's probably worth $1 to not have to pick chicken off of bones. it's definitely worth 10 cents to buy the cheese already shredded. and i'm not sure that i'm ever buying unpitted olives again. that was just an honest mistake. they were the only black olives in the store.

let's end with a recipe. i'm proud of it because it's one of the 5 things i can make without a recipe.
majjy's chicken enchiladas
serves 4 or so with leftovers
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or tenders, or on the bone)
1 white onion
1 can of black olives
cheddar cheese
1 large can or 2 small cans of the red enchilada sauce in the yellow cans
10 small or 5 large flour or corn tortillas

cook and shred chicken or cut into chunks. you can also leave it raw, but it's easier to make sure you don't have any gross bits if you cook it first. dice onion and olives. mix all of the chicken, olives and onion in a bowl with half the enchilada sauce and 3/4 of the cheese. pour some enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x9 pan, dredge 2 tortillas in enchilada sauce and line to coat bottom of pan. put a layer of chicken stuff on top. keep layering and finish with tortillas on top. cover with the other half of enchilada sauce, pushing the extra down the sides and into the corners. cover with rest of the cheese. bake at 325 or 350 for half an hour or 45min or an hour (depending on whether or not you precooked the chicken) until the cheese is bubbly on top.
voila! keeps well in the fridge for a week or so. it's ok if it gets crispy in the microwave.. i think it's better that way.