Are you taking care of yourself…being gentle with your friends and kin? Consider Ireland and the tradition of “meithea” the term defines communities protecting each other – sharing important and unpublished news, delivering soda bread and pots of soup to those whose moms, dads, kids have been hurt in protests, of taking in the abandoned dogs, helping with chores, offering sandwiches to those who have lost their homes. What’s happening in Minneapolis and St. Paul is new to us, but sadly familiar to citizens throughout the world as well as our own indigenous neighbors.

We still have choices. We can engage in overt activities. Yes! That’s important. And, we can cook; source our ingredients from immigrant owned grocery stores; go out with friends to immigrant-owned restaurants to dine in or take out. “Fun is Good “-- Dr. Seuss.

Let’s agree, this is not the time to stick to New Year’s resolutions, to go on a diet, to give up your favorite treats: Chocolate? Wine? Chips? Whatever. Just get lost in the simple tasks of chopping, simmering, stirring, steaming up the windows. Fill the kitchen with the calming scents of a burbling curry with masala, ginger, lime and wrap the home in a warm blanket

It’s also not the time for complicated, frustrating dishes. I want the familiar, the predictable: a grocery store roast chicken, roast potatoes, green salad; then leftover chicken for fresh tortillas slathered in a good salsa, loaded with shredded cheese; maybe a quick chicken chili with black beans. I’ll use what’s left in a spicy curried chicken soup made lush with coconut milk and crowned with golden coconut flakes and brilliant cilantro.

Keep your pantry stocked and your fridge full, make good food. Stay safe.

Roast Chicken Tortilla (PDQ)

Serves one

This isn’t a recipe, just an assembly of fabulous ingredients sourced from our Mexican grocery stores.

Find a list of great places to shop at the end of this post.

Chicken Tortillas

Serves 1

1 fresh tortilla or good quality tostada

1/4 cup shredded roast chicken

1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 to 3 tablespoons favorite salsa

1/4 cup shredded queso fresco cheese

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges for garnish

If using a fresh tortilla, warm gently in a low oven, or simply use a tostada for the base. Layer the roast chicken, pepper, salsa, cheese, on the tortilla and finish with the chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Shops and Restaurants!

Mercado Central - mimercadocentral

Ricon Salvadoreno - mimercadocentral.com/profile/rincon-salvadoreno/

Albi Kitchen - albikitchen.com

Panderia Y Pasteleria - panaderiaelmexicano.com

Karmel Mall - sabriproperties.com/karmel-mall

NIXTA - nixtampls.com

SABORES Market - sabores-mn.com