A few weeks ago Jedd and I went out to dinner, which is a rarity for us. I write about food for paychecks, so I cook several times a day. Although what we have in the fridge by the end of the day may not make sense as a full meal, it's generally what we stick with.

“What's for dinner?”

“Well, we have fish picatta, cranberry maple granola and fresh barbecue sauce.”

“Sounds good.”

So, when we went out for dinner, I ordered my favorite restaurant meal - teriyaki chicken. As we sat at the bar nursing drinks waiting to be seated, Jedd said, “Have you ever made teriyaki sauce for Teeny?”

Sometimes a recipe is so simple that it invents itself. In the case of this lemony and surprisingly spicy blueberry salsa, inspiration came with our CSA basket. We received a beautiful box of blueberries and because I had just made flour tortillas and was craving something with a little kick, it just made sense to use the berries in a salsa. I was a little hesitant at first though, because I didn't have lime juice. But then it dawned on me that blueberries and lemon go together like the entire cast of Grease.

And this salsa is like dip dadip dadip doowop da doobee doo or boogedy boogedy boogedy boogedy shooby doowop shebop. At any rate, though, it was so good that I made two batches in one day. And that's a wop baba lumop a wap bam boom.

We're talking/daydreaming about going to DC in the fall to visit family, and as part of my daydreaming I hit the Menu Pages website to see what the area restaurants had to offer. I came across a Mexican restaurant that sounded appealing. As I read through their menu, I saw flautas listed and it occurred to me that I hadn't made those in years. That omission was quickly rectified later in the evening. But, I upped the ante by making homemade flour tortillas as a base.

I've posted a recipe for homemade tortillas here before, but it's been a long time and I decided to re-post the recipe because the difference between store-bought vs. homemade tortillas in this dish is pretty huge. It's really worth it to make them yourself because they are softer than store-bought. When their soft texture gets fried? It's practically a religious experience. I also made a cilantro lime sauce to serve with them, which is completely delicious. I made an extra batch just to snack on with the tortillas.

A good chicken sandwich can mimic a hamburger, becoming a delicious vehicle for toppings. We don't go out to eat very often, but when we do my eyes always stray to the hamburger menu. I stopped eating beef in my late twenties because I had burned out on it and I've never fully redeveloped my taste for it. So, hamburgers are just little sandwiches that taunt my memory. When we do go out to eat, though, I'm a hamburger pusher for Jedd.

“Oooh, they have bacon and monterey jack cheese. You should definitely have that. Oh, wait! They have guacamole too! You should definitely have the bacon, monterey jack and guacamole burger. Or, they also have...”

You get the idea. I'm like an ex-smoker who inhales patron's jackets in a club when they come back from smoking outside. Or like someone who's given up coffee, but still hangs around coffee shops because they love the smell and the conversation.

Ah, memories.

But for some reason I've never thought to treat a chicken sandwich like a hamburger. Then suddenly the other day it dawned on me that I should grill a chicken breast, slap it on a bun, coat the bun with chipotle sauce, cheese and pico de gallo and embrace the sandwich with open arms.

And I'm going to make these at least once a week. They filled a longing I had in my heart that I didn't know existed, outside of watching Jedd dine on pub food.