This is me with my new friend, Kelly. We have a little story to tell you about this small world of ours.
Kelly and I both listen to the Joy the Baker podcast. (You should, too by the way). Joy and Tracy assigned their blog-writing listeners some homework, so I wrote this post: Five Things I Love Right Now. My post was then linked to the podcast show notes that Kelly happened to be scrolling through. She clicked on my blog and thought, wow those pictures look like my hometown.
A few clicks later and Kelly began to see photos that looked more and more familiar. She wrote me an email. And guess what?
We are neighbors! Kelly lives right across the street from me. Over the years we've exchanged Christmas cookies, but never really got the chance to talk. So we got together for pupus and drinks, talked the neighborly gossip, and shared stories about fixing up our homes. Because who else can you talk about that with?
Kelly brought over Caramelized Mushroom and Shallot Bruschetta from Tracy's blog (how fitting) and some yummy sangria. She made the bruschetta with Alii mushrooms and Puna goat cheese. How sustainable of you Kelly.
I whipped up some Southwest style meatballs (recipe below), guacamole, and semi-homemade taco chips from corn tortillas.
It's so great to have a neighbor who likes cooking as much as I do!
Southwestern Meatballs with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce
makes 25-30 meatballs
1 lb ground grass-fed beef
1 egg
1/4 cup panko or breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
zest of 1 lime
juice from 1/2 lime
salt & pepper
Dipping sauce:
1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt
2 TBL fresh cilantro
juice from 1/2 lime
salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 400. Oil a rimmed baking sheet or pan. In a large bowl combine beef, egg, panko, garlic, onion, chili, lime zest, juice, and salt & pepper to taste. Roll into golfball size. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
To make dipping sauce combine yogurt, cilantro, lime and salt & pepper to taste in a small bowl.
Place meatballs on a platter to serve with dipping sauce on the side. Enjoy!
OH, what a sweet story and a reminder of how small this world really is! I think it is wonderful that your shared interests brought you two together. Happy Cooking, you two! :)
ReplyDeletehomefries friendship love! amazing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story! I'd love to find out that one of my neighbors was ultra-cool and listened to JTB... Lucky gals! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this story! Your story makes me miss my neighbour who we also met by coincidence...I went to university with my next door neighbour but didn't realize it was her (it was ten years later) until I recognized her name from mail I received addressed to her from the alumni chapter of our university.
ReplyDeleteAnd the meatballs look awesome too :)
What an awesome story! I wish I had a potential new like minded new bloggy friend across the street. (I'm kind of scared of my across the street neighbors to be quite honest.)
ReplyDeleteBoth of these look delicious!
Ha! That is so cool. What are the odds? I love it when the stars align like that and new friendships are made.
ReplyDeletemy mouth is watering for both the meatballs and the bruschetta!!!
ReplyDeletesuch a happy story! (kinda makes me jealous because I wish I had a cool Joy the Baker Podcast-listening neighbor, too!) :)
ReplyDeleteLove stories like this!
ReplyDeleteWOW that is crazy right next door to each other what a small world! I wish I was a neighbor too! We could all cook together! Great story!
ReplyDeletethanks for linking in. They look yum, yum
ReplyDeleteThat story is super cute. It's nice to have fun neighbors!
ReplyDeleteHi Jerilyn! I totally listen to the Because Show, too. You ladies rock and Homefries is awesome:)
DeleteWhat a great story! What wonderful things to eat, also!
ReplyDelete