Under Adult Supervision: Day 3: Avocado Fritters, Guacamole, and Leftover Pasta

DAY 3: BREAKFAST
I did not wake up before noon, so I assume everyone had leftovers or bread or coffee.

DAY 3: LUNCH
I drove my brother to In n Out. I don't know what Mom had.

DAY 3 (today/last night): DINNER



Avocado Fritters
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/corn-fritters/

Ingredients

• 3 cups oil for frying (I used 3 tablespoons. Misread. That actually explains a lot of what happened subsequently)
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon shortening, melted (Not sure what shortening is, didn't want to go shopping.)
• 1 (12 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 1 avocado, smashed

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).  Heat oil in little pan that you have just washed. Become frightened at the tiny explosions that are taking place on the pan. Dad: That's what happens when you heat water and oil. Wait for the water to evaporate. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Beat together egg, milk, and melted shortening; stir into flour mixture. Mix in the corn kernels avocado.
3. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil fry batter like pancakes, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Cauliflower
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/simple-cauliflower-recipe.html


Ingredients
2 - 3 heads of small cauliflower (or 1/2 head large) (I have no idea how much I used)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
a couple pinches of sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small bunch of chives, chopped
zest of one lemon clementine
freshly grated Parmesan
a bit of flaky sea salt


Procedure: What really happened. 
1. Chop off a bit of cauliflower from the gigantic head from the refrigerator. Begin to chop up cauliflower. Realize you have chopped way too much cauliflower. Wash cauliflower. Put in a bowl. Look at the tiny pan. Set aside half of the cauliflower.
2. Heat remaining oil from avocado fritters on small pan. Sprinkle in a little salt as per recipe. 
3. Pour bowl of cauliflower into pan. Jerk back as terrifying crackling noises and a three foot cone of flame shoots up from small pan. 
4. Yell: DADDY!!!!!!!!
5. Daddy, who luckily for you is watching t.v. about ten feet away, tells you the pan is too small, that the water and cauliflower had forced the oil over the edges of the pan and into the fire, causing the terrifying cone of flame, takes over the cooking of the cauliflower in a bigger, oil-less pot.


In summary: Big pan, no oil + wet cauliflower = fine.
Big pan, oil + cauliflower(drained) = fine.
Small pan, oil + wet cauliflower = mountain of flame


(Okay, Maya. Now if you say that I nearly burnt down my house, I won't argue. But in my defense, I cooked two whole dinners before this happened, and my house is still standing. No scorch marks.)

Guacamole
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-guacamole/

• 2 1 avocado
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 lime, juiced 2 clementines, juiced
• salt and pepper to taste

Put in a bowl together and mash with spoon.


Toasted Bread
Take the last slices of bread that have been sitting for weeks in the refrigerator. Put in the toaster-oven until deep brown.

Reheated Pasta
I reproduced the sauce, with a little more chicken broth, a little less whipping cream (I was running out) and some milk. It seemed fine. If anything, the sauce was a little lighter, though it possibly congealed after a little while.

If you're wondering why I substituted clementine peels and juices instead of those of lemons (I substituted clementine juice for the lemon juice that was substituting dry white wine in the pasta recipe), it's not anything against lemons. I'd already used up all three that I bought on Day 2. I figured that lemons and clementines were close enough.

Reception:
Brother: Went out for dinner with a friend.
Dad: "I like it. It's simple."
Mom: I think she really liked the guacamole, because she ate the remainder of it with a spoon.

Also, the past two days Mom has been joking/kind of serious about how the money I didn't spend in my $40 a day budget became my "wages." Here is our conversation after today's dinner:

Mom: You didn't buy anything for dinner today?

Me: Nope. (not entirely true. I did use part of the food money to get the In n Out)

Mom: So...basically you made $40 today?

Me: Uh...

And now my budget is $10 a day.