last night's dinner

Yesterday felt like we had one foot in the dregs of summer and one foot firmly into fall. To celebrate the shifting seasons, I made dinner that reflects both. From the fridge, I pulled out two ears of leftover roasted corn and cut it off the cob. I squeezed in some lime juice, and then diced some almost too ripe tomatoes. I visited my porch for fresh thyme, and then I tossed in some greens and crushed red pepper. Because the lime was so tart, I added a bit of orange juice to tame the bitter. While the salad came together, I had diced sweet potatoes and onion hanging out in a super hot pan with more crushed pepper and a Moroccan spice blend called ras el-hanout. After the onions softened, spices toasted, I added crushed garlic, black beans, and a can of coconut milk. When the potatoes were close to done, I zested some lime and added the juice along with some extra cinnamon (one of the spices in the blend. While the potatoes simmered, I made a small pot of quinoa (I thought it would be perfect to soak up all the warm, lime-y coconut milk). Add a glass of wine, and we called it a pretty super dinner.