Morning in the kitchen

Coop and WH have been away all morning working in my sister-in-law's garden and left me at home with the younger two. It's amazing how easy and quiet our morning was with just one child out of the mix. With no one to tell her what to do, Sweet A was happy to play with bowls and dried beans in the kitchen while I prepared food for tomorrow and for a birthday dinner tonight. Then again, without a firstborn following her every move, she also took the liberty to draw on things and get the Cheerios out without asking.

Tonight is my father-in-law's birthday dinner and I'm bringing an appetizer to go with the Key Lime Margaritas someone else is making. In looking for an appetizer with substance and protein to suit my FIL's diabetic needs, I came across these Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper
Relish. I went ahead and made up the mix and fried a few this morning just in case they were awful, but they were fabulous! I'm not a huge fan of anything fried (except homemade french fries...I could eat tons of those), but these fry up fast and weren't very greasy. They were light and fluffy and the spicy relish is a perfect compliment. You don't even cook the beans- just soak them overnight and then puree in a food processor with some onion, pepper, and egg.

Tomorrow we are having somewhat of an nontraditional Sunday lunch because I had a piece of beef to use, but it required more attention than I can give on a Sunday. So I cooked it today and Thai Beef Salad it is, with egg rolls (not homemade this time), and Mango salad on the side. Hope our guests are adventurous eaters!