Pan-seared pork chop with a pomegranate and chili sauce, broccoli rabe with lemon – and tater tots. What can I say?!? I wanted tater tots.

It’s usually how it happens – I get fixated on something and that’s it until I make it. Tonight it was tater tots. Who knows what will be next.

Actually… my other fixation right now is pumpkin. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Alas, Nonna doesn’t really like pumpkin, so I’m not making quite as many things as I have in the past. I have no qualms at all about telling a kid to eat or go hungry, but it’s a little different with an 87-year old.  She’s earned her likes and dislikes. I finally figured out she really likes canned vegetables so I no longer have to overcook ours to get her to eat them – note the green beans on her plate instead of the broccoli rabe. But while I’ve been keeping most of my pumpkin things to desserts that she doesn’t eat, anyway, I’m going to have to figure out a few savory dishes…  I love a challenge… I wonder how a tater tot pumpkin casserole would work?!?

The pomegranate sauce was merely pomegranate molasses with a bit of sambal oelek. Sweet, tart, and spicy. Broccoli rabe was steamed and drizzled with a bit of lemon. The tater tots were tater tots.

Simplicity.

And really yummy.