Thank you for the link!

Sad to see she isn't still writing - died 9 years ago. The book I sent links to appears to still be in print, or at least in stock, for sale new in bookstores. On Wikipedia looking at her oeuvre, and oooooh! She has a filo pastry cookbook! Now that might be a real treat!

Just today my ex was over to deliver some groceries and taste test the next batch of salsa. It's a mild recipe, and it seems this Puerto Rican has developed a taste for some heat (I used to have to make "false alarm" chili for him), so I advised that he mix in a couple of teaspoons of Tabasco sauce when he opens the next jar. (There is some in the recipe, I'll make a note to add a little more - I also like a bit of heat in the salsa). While he was here I pan fried a few cut up small potatoes from the garden and gave him a bowl of the eggplant and pork dish to try with them. He loves it - "could you make this with lamb?" - I'm sure you can. I've seen variations on My Fitness Pal, people make it with beef and lamb is bound to be good also.

As far as the heat, I think both of us over the years have broadened our willingness to have heat as part of a dish. I grew up in a no-heat world at the time in the Pacific Northwest; recipes spread and restaurants flourish with lots of stuff up there now. And elsewhere. We talked about that - I won't hold back on the heat in some of the things I make that I know he's going to want some of. We'll see what happens. (I hear from my son, who was the original picky eater, that he goes full-tilt on the Thai food with curry paste and peppers. And he's in the Pacific Northwest where, as a kid, I remember it being a big deal with a few places started carrying bagels.)