What's cooking?

Stuffing that I Like

2009-12-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, lets begin by saying that everyone on the planet loved my Granny's dressing. Raw, cooked, everyone LOVED it. When she passed away the hunt began for something approaching her style of dressing. I guess my aunts have pretty much got it down by now. But... I have a confession to make... I couldn't STAND my Granny's dressing. I thought it was fairly nasty, actually. Too dense, too much sage, and I don't know... I just never liked it. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe, I don't know. What I do know is that it made me find some other way to make it. So I did. And here is my little tutorial for my style dressing/stuffing:

Ingredients:
1/2 of an 8" skillet of cornbread, crumbled (recipe follows)
1 6 ounce box of chicken or turkey flavored Stove Top Stuffing bread crumbs
1 15 ounce can chicken broth
1/4 cup butter (olive oil, margarine...)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 to 1/2 cup whole kernel corn (fresh, canned, frozen, whatever)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 Tablespoons or more minced green chili pepper

Directions:
Put everything into a large bowl, mix thoroughly. Spread into large casserole or baking dish (about 9x13 inches or so).

Do not press the stuffing hard into the pan, just smooth it out evenly.

Bake at 375 degrees until the corners get browned and crunchy (I like the crunchies). About 30-40 minutes.

As you can see, this stuffing is nice and light and fluffy. The additions are wonderful and give plenty of texture and taste. *Tip: use whatever additions seem good to you. Dried apples and walnuts; almonds and cherries or blueberries... whatever sounds good or maybe is a "traditional" flavor in your area.

This is my most favorite mix, tho. I love the sweet-tart of the cranberries, the heat of the chilis, the nuttiness of the pecans and the down home flavor of the corn which helps brighten and freshen the flavor of the cornbread. I think it's a fairly nice combo of "American" flavors.

Okay... here's the cornbread recipe. And damn if I don't make good cornbread (even if I do say so myself)

1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups fine yellow cornmeal (white if you just have to...)
1/4 cup sugar (or more to your taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
2 T oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 to 1 cup regular milk
1 cup pork cracklins (chicharrones), crushed if they are large ones

In large bowl mix all dry ingredients. Make a well, drop in the oil and eggs. Beat the eggs slightly (don't beat them into the flour/meal yet). Add the milk, both kinds and whisk until smooth. Add the cracklins*. Let the batter sit while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees or 400 (depends on if your oven burns hot or low). Put a tablespoon or two of butter and of oil into an 8 inch cast iron skillet and put it in the oven while it preheats. When the oven is hot, remove the skillet and swirl the oil around to coat the sides. Add the batter all at once and return to the oven. Bake for half an hour or so or until a knife comes out clean. (push the knife blade in about halfway between the edge of the pan and the center)
*If your cracklins are especially hard, you can soak them in the milk for a while before adding them and the milk to your batter.

This recipe makes damned good cornbread. Try it with honey and butter for dessert. Keep out a little bit of batter and add dried blueberries to it and make cornmeal muffins... anyway... this is better for making stuffing if you keep a batch in the freezer for a few weeks before you make it. But then... every southern cook keeps cornbread in the freezer, don't they?

Minorcan Christmas Candy

2009-12-11T18:03:00.000-08:00

I have made this coconut candy every Christmas for the past two decades (or longer). It is the one special treat that all my friends and family ask for. I have never met anyone who did not like it, even if they thought they didn't like coconut. There is some kind of magic that happens during the cooking. The flavor is sweet, but not overly so; buttery, although there isn't any butter in it; and the flavor of the coconut is just divine. It isn't hard to make, just a little time consuming.

Ingredients:
3 to 3 1/2 cups shredded, fresh coconut (about one and one half pound of nutmeat)
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup fresh milk
3 tablespoons white corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract *optional

Combine the coconut, sugar, and milk in a large, bright, heavy bottomed saute pan or Dutch Oven. Do not use a dark pan, which makes it difficult to see the colour of the candy as it cooks. I use a stainless steel Dutch oven myself.

As you can see, I sort of bypass the whole grate your own coconut thing and purchase it in the frozen fruit section of my local grocer (this was purchased at the Jinlong Oriental Market, but you can find it at your local mega-mart, too). Frozen works just as well as fresh for this confection. But make sure you do not try it with the sweetened flaked coconut that you use for making cakes.

Anyway... stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, then stir in the corn syrup. See? You push the coconut away from a spot on the bottom of the pan and look for sugar granules. If you don't see any, then its time to add the corn syrup.

Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook 2 minutes to dissolve any crystals that may have formed on the side of the pan. Uncover and stir constantly until the candy is thick, 20 to 30 minutes. Do not cease stirring for a moment. Keep the mixture moving around in the pan.

If it begins to turn the least bit ivory colored, stir in 1 tablespoon cold water and continue cooking very slowly. If it turns golden it will still be good. It just isn't right. The candy is ready when a teaspoonful dropped onto a waxed paper-lined tray stands with no syrup running from the edges. At this point you can add the vanilla, if using. I prefer not. It isn't really "traditional"

Not ready.

Ready. See? No syrup in the bottom of the pan.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined trays. If the candy should become too hard to drop, stir in a tablespoon cold water and stir over medium heat until liquid enough for dropping. Cool the candy. Store in cake tins in layers separated by waxed paper sheets.
This candy improves with age up to 2 or 3 weeks and remains in excellent condition for several weeks.

Okay... the recipe instructions say this candy will remain in excellent condition for up to 3 weeks. I don't know, I've never had any last around here that long. I generally end up making 2 or 3 batches of this stuff because my guys usually eat it up so fast I can't get it into the gift bags quick enough. That's okay, at least I know it's good when they do that.

By the way... if this stuff doesn't firm up after you drop it out you can chill it and cover it in chocolate (that almond bark stuff if you want) and voila Almond Joy! Also... I have added things like grated lime or orange peel to this. A very nice option is to make chocolate cups and fill them with the coconut and decorate with almond slivers and drizzled chocolate or any other little thing that strikes your fancy; candied ginger, maraschino cherries (well drained), preserved pineapple... but everyone's favorite way to have it is straight up coconut only. That's my favorite way, too.

A Little About the Minorcans in Florida

Update:
The candy got firm... but not firm enough to package well. So... I dipped the bottoms in chocolate and dang!!! This stuff is terrific! I used a mix of semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips for the coating.

Better than any store bought Almond Joy or Mounds. I just love this stuff.

Foods odds and ends

2009-12-06T11:59:00.001-08:00

Friend of mine holding a Beach Staple.. the wonderful Funnel Cake!

It's been eons since I posted anything on here so I figured we can bring it back with the holidays around! Just the other day hubby did a few dishes and arranged it in the plate all cute and asked for the camera.. LOL It's funny HE'S thinking of the blog and he doesn't even write on it! Anyway.. as I was checking the camera.. I noticed a few pics from back in July when we went to Ocean City, New Jersey!

Mmmmm... Pizza from Mack and Mancos

The first one was the beach pic. Outside of pizza from Mack and Mancos.. my favorite is definitely the Funnel cake (there are several locations you can get this). Other beach goodies are salt water taffy (usually everywhere on the boardwalk but we usually go to Fralingers), Johnson's Caramel Popcorn and fudge from The Original Fudge Kitchen.

Seafood Spaghetti

Back at home I do my normal stuff. This sucker I call Seafood Spaghetti though this time it only consists of Shrimp and Sea Scallops (my favorite over Bay though I never turn down those :p ) in a scampi/Japanese sauce + cheese.. yes.. I never said it was healthy.. I usually crave this sucker around 3 am when I'm watching anime :p

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice

Hubby's dishes are next. He made me a sweet and sour chicken. Most of it was from a dry mix we found but he did it all. Was so cute.. he did the whole thing.. arranged it on the plate and yelled for the camera.. LOL!! It was quite yummy though even after making it.. he insisted he can do better with his own recipe and quite frankly.. I agree.. he cooks spectacular.. just need to find a good recipe for it. In the meantime though, dry package was just fine.

Lemon herb marinated/grilled chicken

Hubby again cooking. This time it was chicken breast marinated in a Lemon herb mix I found in Wegman's with Rice and brocoli with cheese. I didn't mind that the chicken was a little overgrilled but it was still moist and yummy :)

Brownie Pops!

2009-08-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sounds weird, but they're really tasty and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 brownie mix

candy bark (or almond bark - whatever it's called in your area)

candy sprinkles

lollipop sticks

Make brownies and slightly underbake them unless they're the fudgy ones. Cool a little bit, trim the edges and cut into small squares. Roll the squares into balls and place on a wax paper covered sheet cake pan (you need the small edges to keep them from rolling off in case of an accident). Put a stick in the middle of the balls and freeze. While the balls are freezing (don't go there......) melt the candy bark in a crock pot. Dip the frozen balls in the candy bark and tap on the side of the crock to remove the excess. Dip in candy sprinkles if you want. Put back on the wax paper to let the candy bark harden. Enjoy!

Dinner and a Fruit problem..

2009-04-27T02:14:00.001-07:00

Spaghetti and meatballs with salad

It's funny when I check my camera and there are pictures of food in it and I go "oh yeah I never blogged about this.." LOL! There goes hubby again putting salad dressing on a salad he is ACTUALLY GOING TO EAT! Okay.. he admitted he doesn't eat a lot of salad (he calls it rabbit food).. and so I tried something different and bought one of those make it yourself salad dressing mixes thing from Kraft since I got tired of my salad dressings spoiling in the fridge because I'm the only one that eats salad around here.. this time I can make it fresh. So I tried out the Good Seasons Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix, Basil Vinaigrette and he ADORED IT! For the spaghetti and meatballs I used prepackaged meatballs that are freezer kept and use whatever I need (just nuke it up and add to the sauce). It's one of my quickest dinners to make (though I do make him get the pot for me since it's the same pot that crowned me back in November...)

Mmmmm... Fruit smoothies

Being upset that the fruit supply has been downright sucky and uber expensive lately I've decided to try something different.. I went down the aisle that had canned pinneapples (though I admit.. chunks is better than crushed for this.. the crushed was more.. I don't know.. fibery? Is that even a word?) and went to the Fruit puree section and got assorted fruit drinks for this. I like the mango/pinneapple the best though I have tried the pinneapple with bananas and strawberry, and pears, etc.. it's not the same thing but I'm trying to add more fruit to my diet.. I can drink this stuff every day of the week.. so maybe this helps.

My Version of Niku Jaga

2009-03-28T12:21:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Bunny shared this recipe with me quite some time ago. It quickly became one of my family's very most favorite things to eat. You may notice that my version does not look quite like the one in the recipe she sent me. This is because we can all agree on the beef and potatoes, but the other items are considered optional for my guys. That's why I give them a plate of things to choose from to add to their bowl:

This time it was chopped re-constituted dried mushrooms, steamed green cabbage, braised celery, braised white onions, green peas (for me!), and cooked somen noodles anointed with a bit of dark sesame oil to keep them from sticking (Thomas wanted the noodles instead of potatoes).

The recipe calls for dashi soup stock, of which I had none. So... what I did was simmer the trimmings from the cabbage, celery, and onions with some shredded seaweed that I had on hand. It made a passable soup stock for this dish. I've seen some recipes that say you can use plain water, but I don't think I'd like that. I've also used plain veggie stock or plain beef stock when making this dish. It works also. Also, most recipes say to just slice the beef thinly and add it to the stock to cook. Since I was using a tougher cut of beef I sliced it thin and precooked it by browning in a bit of canola oil first then proceeding as per the recipe on about.com. That's the reason my broth is darker than other versions. I just added the stock to the pan I'd browned the meat in, using those yummy bits on the bottom of the pan. But they just added to the flavor.

To serve I just filled up the bowls with the beef (and potato) and broth and let the guys choose the accompaniments they wanted. I was low on veggies when I made this (just 4 little taters) but the accompaniments are usually varied anyway, depending on what I have. I have served this with snow peas, thinly sliced carrots, plain egg omelets sliced thin, kale or other greens, water chestnuts... whatever I feel like at the time or the guys ask for... use your imagination.

This soup is so easy to make. It's like a beef stew, so works great for winter, but isn't as thick so also works for summertime, too.

P.S. Don't laugh at me Carol, I know the way I make it isn't strictly traditional, but it works for my family and it's still the basic dish. I think so, anyway. :-)

Chicken (or pork) Enchiladas Verde

2009-02-19T13:11:00.001-08:00

Served here with refried beans and guacamole, yummy yummy.

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded, cooked chicken or pork
1 32 ounce jar (4 cups) salsa verde, divided (I recommend Herdez brand)
8 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese (or use a mix of jack, queso, cheddar)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
16 6-inch corn tortillas
1/2 medium white onion, sliced thin

Method:
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the meat with 1/2 cup of the salsa, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, 1/4 cup of the cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread one cup of the salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Microwave tortillas until soft and pliable (about 30-45 seconds). For those of you who are not concerned with your fat intake, you can do it the old fashioned way and dip the tortillas in hot oil until they are pliable. Don't let them get crunchy.
Use about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture per tortilla. Roll them up and lay them in the baking dish.
Drizzle enchiladas evenly with 1 1/2 cups of the salsa, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Lightly spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray, cover dish and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with onion and remaining cilantro, let stand for a few minutes, and serve with remaining salsa verde, and optional sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo.
Optional sides are refried beans, rice, green salad...

You may have noticed that mine is not actually green. It is red. That's because I cooked my pork loin in a New Mexico style red sauce. Then I used the leftovers for this dish. I did use the salsa verde, but the red sauce kind of over powered the color. The dish is delicious. And very easy. The original recipe actually called for using the meat of two store bought rotisserie chickens. I haven't tried it that way, but it would make it really easy (and quick).

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2009-02-12T18:00:00.000-08:00

A friend gave me a set of dipping spices as a gift several months ago. You know, that stuff you mix with olive oil and use to dip Italian bread? Since I'm usually by myself, I don't eat much bread. Inspiration struck tonight, so I peeled and cubed a large sweet potato and tossed it with olive oil and one of the spice mixes. Pan roasted it until the taters were brown, caramelized and tender. I wish I had a camera, the sweet potatoes were visually appetizing (and mighty tasty). I might try one of the other flavors with a regular potato next time.

Chocolate Skillet Cake

2009-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is chaki. Click on the pic to make it bigger.

This recipe is from the "official" 8th Grand National Cookbook from the Pillsbury's BEST Recipe and Baking Contest from the year 1956. I got this cookbook from my mother, along with several more old ones from Pillsbury Bake-Offs of bygone years. They are great. Fun to read.

As I said before, I have not tried this recipe. But I'm thinking that I might. I believe you said you have an electric skillet, chaki? If you look at the first starred comment at the bottom of the recipe it gives the directions for "baking" this in an electric skillet. I have one too, (electric skillet, that is). It might be fun to try, eh? I like the idea of melting chocolate bars or pieces on top rather than using frosting. I detest frosting...

I Pulled Some Pork

2009-02-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

I have to thank Danielle, my Daughter-in-law for this one. She has a shop called the Dinner Station, where they make up the recipes and flash freeze them. All you have to do is pop it out of the freezer and cook. This was one of there latest and proved to be easy and most delicious. I of course had to adapt and I don't have a Dinner Station.

I put my little pork terderloin in my great big crock pot covered it with about a cup of barbecue sauce. This is where I adapted...I used Jack Danial's Hickory Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce.
Turn the crock pot on low and forget about it for the rest of the day. Just before I was ready to serve I used 2 forks to shared the meat. Presto...pulled pork! I have to say it was heavenly.

Pitiful little pork tenderloin in great big crock pot.

After shredding.

Neil's plate. Mine had a whole wheat bun and onions.

I can not begin to tell you how easy this was and how good. I wish I had bought a bigger tenderloin. This little guy fed 4 people 1 sandwich each.

Pot Luck Party -- With International Flair

2009-02-06T02:54:00.000-08:00

Chinese cabbage and pork hot pot by a French/British mom who is very into authetic Japanese culture. Simple, easy and HER whole family likes it. (But I know her kids and they are not picky eaters. My husband doesn't eat even Chinese cabbage...sigh)

Is this not the most awesome food photo???? Captured the steam rising, didn't even have to use dry ice or fake stuff like the food photography book recommended!!! Yes, food photography, well photography in general, is one of my stated goals for the year. And it starts HERE!!

I love Tim's (the principal) idea of using plain colored paper as background!! And will incorporate it at home as well. Light reflects well and I can do macro shots without flash.

These are photos for a cookbook put out by the moms at my kids' old school. Lots of Japanese and international recipes. I was very valuable, not for my cooking, but my language skills and was "invited" back to help. As you all may have already figured out, I ADORE working on fun group projects with a bunch of cool people. And this definitely qualifies.

This uber cute bread is made by PA. When your kids start first grade in Denmark, moms celebrate the occasion by baking a boy or girl shaped bread like this one. Isn't that great?

These are Japanese dango, small version of mochi. Very easy to make if you get dango flour.... If you like mochi, you'll love this stuff, if not, no. The drinks are cherry blossom tea which is an actually cherry blossom soaked in salt water.... It's an ... acquired taste... a cultural experience. Made by MY who did not pluck the flowers herself, but bought a jar of them. It is probably in the spring, for Girl's Day.

This is Spanish yellow rice made by SL. It is like a vegetarian paella. Lots of pepper and garlic chunks.

Got a bit too avant garde with this photo maybe... This is Japanese chirashi sushi, no fish, just veggies and egg. Very pretty to look at, it is a sample for Girl's Day in late March, which I will blog about. CI is a fabulous cook!

This is an American adapted chocolate cake by KP. She managed to do it on the stove top rather than the oven, but ovens in Japan are .... weird. Hard to follow American baking instructions. She also put the icing on the side because Japanese people don't like their sweets too sweet.

This is for hard core Japanese food fans. A salad with raw scallops, boiled octopus, hijiki seaweed, raw onions and cherry tomatoes. I pigged out on it!! (Okay the chocolate cake too...) Made by the multi-talented NT.

There are other dishes I didn't bother taking photos for and some I didn't include. A Russian salad that had eggs, oranges, ham and apples.... One interesting fact was that a French woman made a scrumptious blueberry/apple crumble. When I asked whether it was French, JH replied that she thinks it's an English dessert and in northern France, their food is very English-influenced. I thought it was American?? Oh well, like who REALLY invented chocolate cake right?

CS made a French apple crepe dessert that deserves a mention. Scottish principal tried to make shortbread but didn't bake properly in the middle. (Happens to me all the time.) I made Hong Kong style pork chops. Will blog about that another time maybe...

All in all, it was a wonderfully delicious afternoon!!!

Food Diary: Mahi Mahi dinner & Fajitas

2009-02-06T02:33:00.000-08:00

This is my baby! I love this thing! Cooking the fish with my favorite cooking toy!
.

I ought to get commission for this griddle or something.. because I swear I use it a lot! Anyway.. in an effort to eat healthier.. I bought some Mahi Mahi when I went out to my Wegman's trip! It's the first time I'd ever buy fish that was pre-frozen that wasn't shrimp.. so it was a risk. I figured a time on the griddle with just salt pepper should be just fine.. and the verdict?

My plate on the right.. just Grilled Mahi Mahi with frozen veggies (cauliflower, brocoli and carrots in a cheese sauce).

It was GOOD! We should backed down on the salt (we use kosher salt) but other than that it was a great first try! Definately will buy more of that and whatever fish they got since we can just grill it for speed and healthiness!

And because I'm too lazy to make another post..

Typical fajitas diner at our place..

Yes I use a premix.. hang on lemme see which one.. HA! Found it online :) mwahhahaha ehem.. World Harbor - Mexican Style Fajita Sauce and Marinade. I LOVE this stuff. I only use like 1/8th of the bottle each time so it lasts a long time for us. Usually we grill the chicken first (see grill just above.. again.. we beat the crap out of that thing.. (we use boneless, skinless chicken breast) and add it in a pan with onions and peppers (he used green this time.. I don't eat peppers.. but love the taste) and heat it for a few minutes until the flavors combine. Mexican cheese, lettuce.. and or some reason I'm nuts over the Ortega taco sauce.. Can you tell I'm a sauce person? Yes yes.. I digress.. OH and fajita shells (lately we have been using fajita size though these are burrito size (a bit bigger).

Food Diary: D&D Day.. more food :)

2009-02-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

Homemade pot stickers :)
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My friend Jen's wonderful cooking again on display :) We finally toned it down for the next D&D adventure :p This time we concentrated on a few things rather than the orgy of food LOL! This time were in Delaware. Lunch was pot stickers (she made herself!)

Food of the gods.. Homemade salsa and homemade chips!

Always onhand are chips and salsa. She makes this fantastic thing that is not at all hot but actually very sweet! It's mostly regular peppers rather that omfg-it's-hot salsa for this totally not-into-hot-foods person :p It's a staple really.. this time she made her own chips (cut up shells and fried and salted).

Small burgers, fries and quesadillas! (renegade pickle since I like mine cold and not INSIDE a sandwich..)

I love smaller burgers.. sometimes I want a burger and a half or something like that and the small ones allow me to eat just the right amount! She again made all of this from scratch.. Except the bread :p LOL but still.. this was about 2 weeks or so ago. Still a nice spread.. just a lot more tame than usual :) I know I'm gaining weight.. but I'm totally blaming it on it being winter :)

SKW's Mac-n-Cheese

2009-01-29T08:43:00.000-08:00

This was the main dish for our supper on Monday night:

Very Good Mac n Cheese
1 pound whole grain elbow macaroni
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup 1% milk
1 cup Fat-free half & half
2 eggs
2 T olive oil or butter
1 T Hot sauce
Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook elbows to al dente, drain and pour into baking dish (13x9in.)
In 2 qt. saucepan, beat eggs, mix in remaining ingredients, except cheese.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir in the grated cheese, a little bit at a time, until it is all melted (reserve a handful for topping).
Pour this sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and shake gently to settle.
Sprinkle reserved cheese over the top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a side salad or fresh fruit like apples or melon, something that goes good with cheese. Okay... if you insist, you can serve a bit of meat with this... pork chops go nicely.

Before going in the oven.

I know that mac n cheese is not considered a "healthy" meal, but I think I have made this just about as healthy as it can be made (and still have a good texture and flavor). Mac n cheese is a "comfort food", and it should be comforting. This one has the classic flavor of the dish many of us remember from childhood with a lot of the fat cut out of it. I still would not recommend eating this all the time, but once in a while... oh yeah. :-)

Out of the oven and into my tummy...

Lunch Box Adventures

2009-01-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

As I recall, a little while back Carol asked what kind of things I packed for Pete's lunches.

This is it (for tomorrow, anyway):

This box contains:
Green onions
Cucumber slices
Broccoli florets
Tomato wedges
Celery sticks
Parmesan cheese
Cheddar cheese
Monterrey Jack cheese
Swiss cheese

He has whole wheat crackers and some sauces to dip the veggies in at work. He also gets a bowl of fresh blackberries with sugar and fat-free half and half. (now that's an oxymoron for ya)

And me? I had this for supper tonight:

This would be a chicken breast baked in olive oil with herbs (lemon zest, basil, oregano, tarragon, garlic) then sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese and fresh lemon juice. And oh yeah, I had a couple of store bought whole grain pita breads too. Yes... it sure looks like I didn't have any veggies, but that would be incorrect. I had a salad before hand as well as a bowl of blackberries afterwards (no sugar or cream required for mine). All was quite yummy.

Bacon Cheddar Spread

2009-01-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Time to clog your arteries and enjoy it at the same time. Great for people on a low carb diet but moderation is the key. This is good by itself, spread on a baked chicken breast (right before it's done and stick back in the oven) or baked potato. Don't freak about the strawberry preserves - looks like a dark glob in the picture but believe me...um, um, good. People at my work, especially the men, go nuts for this.

You can cook a package of bacon but it's so much easier to use precooked. Doesn't make your house smell like bacon either.

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 jar real bacon bits (Hormel works great)

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Mayonnaise to bind everything together

Strawberry preserves

Wheat Thins

Combine first four ingredients in large bowl. Refrigerate for a while to let the flavors blend together. Serve on Wheat Thins with a dab of strawberry preserves on top.

Everything I cook looks Asian...

2009-01-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Pam commented a while back that everything Asian she cooked turns out tasty but not quite Asian enough. I have the reverse problem. Everything I cook LOOKS Asian.

Exhibit #1: Swedish meatballs, chicken and mushroom in a sour cream sauce over butter noodles. Steamed veggies and a mug of milk. Separating the veggies on another plate helped a little. Still, it looks like Singaporean fried noodles to me. (Yes, my new dinnerware. Cheap but cute!)

Exhibition #2: Now this definitely does not look Mexican! Having the chopsticks doesn't help matters. But this is in fact, a quesedilla party. We had plain and spicy versions of beef and chicken, sauteed onions and green peppers, bottled salsa and chunky guacamole. (Avocado wasn't ripe!) We had the hot plate right at the table.

We also had veggie sticks with two kinds of dip and potato galettes (potato pancakes.) Later, I made chicken wings with Lousiana hot sauce and barbeque sauce. And an apple/peach cobbler. No one really liked the cobbler! Hiro's best friend said the cake mix made it taste artificial, too American. LOL At our last party, we served it hot with ice cream and brandy and it was a big hit....

For dinner, I made rice balls, broccoli with beef and chicken in oyster sauce and sauteed komatsuna (Japanese spinach). Too dang tired by then to take pix.

Still, everything except the cobbler was a huge hit!!! Lots of fun but that was a lot of cooking in one day!

Am I The Only One Who Thinks This Is Good?

2009-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy

Regardless of your politics, promoting healthier, more natural foods has got to be a good thing. I hope it turns out that his popularity will promote better food. I hope his policies will promote more small "family" farms so more people have access to good, fresh foods.

another version

2009-01-18T17:39:00.000-08:00

Last week, Tricia and I were talking about fake crabcakes. We decided we'd each try our version over the weekend and report back. Tricia's turned out a lot better. My recipe is as follows, modified to fix the stuff I screwed up. It was almost like making pancakes: you inevitably screw up the first few and the rest turn out okay.

2 medium yellow squash, grated, drained and squeezed of as much liquid as possible
1 beaten egg
1 big squirt of mayonnaise
1 small squirt of yellow mustard
2-3 slices soft white bread, torn into small pieces (this is flexible, but be sure not to use too much)
Old Bay seasoning to taste

Combine ingredients and put in freezer for 15 minutes or so to let the mixture tighten up. Hope there isn't too much liquid, and add another 1/2 slice of torn bread if there is. Form into small cakes and fry slowly in a small amount of hot oil until deep brown. Don't hurry this part or the cakes WILL fall apart and/or absorb a lot of oil.

You'll never mistake it for a real crabcake, but its very good on its own. I think almost any of the summer squashes would work. I'd like to try this recipe with spaghetti squash someday, provided somebody else roasts the thing and gets the flesh out:-)

Poor Man's Crab Cakes

2009-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

This came from Paula Deen's January/February 2009 magazine so it's not original to me. You can't beat real crab cakes but this comes close. Take a bite, close your eyes and let the faint taste of Old Bay seasoning fool your taste buds. Probably will add more Old Bay next time for for right now, I'm going to enjoy these for dinner.

Sorry the top picture is a little fuzzy, it's not your eyes and don't adjust your glasses.

1 1/2 sups shredded zucchini squeezed dry (about 1 large)

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

2 T grated onion

2 T all-purpose flour

1 T mayonnaise

1 t Old Bay seasoning

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Vegetable oil for frying

Garnish: sour cream, sliced cherry tomatoes

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Add eggs, stirring to combine. Shape mixture into small patties (about 10 per batch).

In a large skillet, pour enough oil to make a thin layer in bottom of skillet. Heat over medium-high heat. Cook patties in hot oil (has to be hot or crab cakes will soak up the oil), in batches if necessary, for about 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels. Garnish with sour cream and tomatoes, if desired. Serve immediately.

Cooking with love heals

2009-01-17T23:48:00.000-08:00

Just want to share this story. Since I am not a morning person and my husband is, he has made breakfast for the kids for many years. As anyone who's ever cooked for my children know, it's a thankless task.

Anyways, he was furious at them for not eating -- two days in a row -- the meals he woke up at the break of dawn to make. He boycotted breakfast today. They had bananas and cereal by themselves. He slept in.

So I knew we needed a seriously healing meal. I made Holly's breakfast burritos with Reina. It was a filling and delicious meal for all. Everyone laughed and joked after eating it.

Hiroshi wanted to go out to eat but ordering different choices would not just emphasize our differences. I felt if we cooked and ate the same things together, we would unify as a family. Corny I know, but a true story.

So thanks Holly and everyone who has contributed here. Hope some of you have reaped benefits as well.

Another Cream Soup

2009-01-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

If you put these things together...

1 pound beef smoked sausage, cubed
3 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 a large yellow onion, diced small
1/2 a large (or one small) jalapeno pepper, deseeded, minced
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 carrot, grated or diced small
1/2 sweet/tart red apple, such as Gala or Braeburn, grated
1 quart water or chicken stock
1/4 cup blond roux
1 1/2 cup milk (I use 1% but you use whatever you have)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

... like this...

Brown the sausage in a tad of oil in a deep pot or dutch oven. When it just begins to brown, put in the onions, jalapeno, celery, carrot, and apple. When the onion and celery begin to get translucent add the water or stock and the potatoes. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and let simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.
While the potatoes cook make the roux in a small sauce pan. Let it cool in the pan until the potatoes are done.
When the potatoes are done, add the milk to the roux, a little bit at a time until it makes a thin slurry. Stirring constantly pour this slurry into the pot with the sausage and potatoes. Cook over med-lo heat until the broth is thickened to your liking. Finish with the black pepper.

...you get this...

Serve with a nice green salad and some crusty bread.

Enjoy.

A Treasure Beyond Rubies... part 2

2009-01-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

My bulk flour and spice cupboard

I keep the extra, or (backup) stuff in here. Along with my wok and my handy dandy little stick mixer and candy molds. I usually order my Chinese and Indian items from a place on-line called I Shop Indian which offers free shipping if you purchase over a certain dollar amount of stuff. Therefore, I usually end up purchasing a great deal at a time from them. Besides they often times have great deals on Basmati rice, like purchase one get two free, or buy one get one.

This cupboard is a little free standing cabinet at the backside of my U shaped counter, behind the sink. I keep my onions, apples, potatoes, garlic, etc., in baskets atop it. Inside you will find assorted packages of dal, or beans, peas, and lentils. Whole Wheat Roti Flour, Turmeric, Paprika, lemon powder, Garum Masala, extra hot chili powder, coconut powder (which needs to be kept out of the light... All sorts of wonderful things that my dear hubby would just as soon I not spend money on, but poo on him. I do it anyway. Me and Thomas LOVE Indian, Middle Eastern, West Indian, cuisines.

So... what do you do when you run out of cupboard space?

You put up some shelves in the dining room, of course. You never use it to eat in anyway. Why not extend the kitchen stuff into this room? tehehe....

These shelves contain such wonderful things as bulk dried fruits and nuts. Chocolate chips, and cooking chocolate. Light and Dark brown sugar, powdered sugar, powdered flavorings for candy making. Rice, Flours, seeds, candies, cookies, chips, noodles, dried mushrooms of all sorts, spring roll wrappers, sea weed sheets... Cereal grains, such as barley, oats, wheat berries, amaranth... As well as my bulk teas. Red Rose, Peach, and Jasmine green, in the big boxes there. Citrus and some more expensive (make you think you died and went to heaven) Jasmine green tea that I only have on special occasions and that I'm almost out of so I'm nursing it along until I need to purchase more of everything. I get it on-line from Stash Tea cause I buy in bulk, but if I don't hurry up and run out of Peach, I may have to break down and purchase a small box at the Earth Fare. They carry it, but they charge about twice the price of buying it direct! *ahem... sorry about that... :-)

So... I hope you enjoyed this little sojourn inside my soul. You must understand that this short journey does not include my pantry. That's a whole other continent, that I may take you exploring in at some other time.

My joy, my comfort, my "safe place" is cooking. When I am in my kitchen preparing food I am beautiful. I am whatever I want to be at that moment. I can go places, I can meet people, I can live any fantasy I please when I am cooking. I love to feed people. If I could, I would feed the whole entire world. Food is love, is happy memories, is sexy, is sensual, is security, is comfort... Food encompasses, engages, all the senses. Yes... all of them. You can smell the aroma, you can see the golden crust, you can feel the crunch of the breading, you can taste the flavor of the spices and the chicken, but before any of that... you hear the sound of it frying in the pan. So... that about covers it, no?

A Treasure Beyond Rubies... part 1

2009-01-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

... which is saying something, since rubies are my most favorite of jewels. As well as being my birthstone. (hint, hint hubby dear)

But more than rubies, a thing I love best, and am most proud of, is my stock of spices, herbs, seasonings, and ingredients for cooking, baking, candy making, etc., and my ability to use them. I cannot claim to have the largest store, or the most diverse, but I have more than many households find necessary.

I suppose that most folks would find it funny, but more than clothes, more than jewelry, more than a fancy house or car, having a well stocked larder gives me an intense feeling of well being, satisfaction, security. It comforts me to look around my kitchen, peruse my "stuff". I am proud of my ability to feed those I love a tasty meal. To know that for today and the foreseeable future we are not likely to go hungry. Funny that, the fear of going hungry. I never went hungry in my life, that I can remember. Even when I was a child and my mom cooked something I didn't like there was the peanut butter and jelly option. But the fear of being hungry has been with me all my life.

You know, when we were growing up, sometimes we would play that game that all poor, barefoot kids playing in the Florida sand play: "what would you do if you had all the money in the world?" Some would say they would buy this or that car, this or that kind of giant house or mansion. Some would say they would travel, or buy any amount of whatever they thought would make them happy. And yes, I think having some of that would be neat. But my idea of being rich has always been to have enough money to purchase the food I want to eat, not just the food I can afford to eat. So... I guess, thanks to my husband who provides for us, I am, by my standards, wealthy.

On that note... let's begin a scenic journey through the land of my treasures:

Main spice cupboard,
containing my most used, or everyday, spices and herbs.

Top shelf, left: Indian spices (mostly)

Top Shelf, right: Indian and bulk spices and herbs. Some OTC indigestion remedies.

Bottom Shelf, left: Everyday items like Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Fennel, Tarragon, etc. Mostly the "European" type items or perhaps I should say Western European and Mediterranean items.

Bottom Shelf, right: Baking or "Sweet" spices like cardamom, mace, cream of tartar. Flavorings such as vanilla, lemon, orange, etc. This is also where I keep the Rolaids, the headache tablets, etc. Don't ask me why, I've always just kept that stuff in the spice cupboard. I know... normal people keep that stuff in the medicine cabinet... in the bathroom. I've just never cared for the idea of keeping something I'm going to put in my mouth in the room where that kind of business is taken care of. If I'm going to ingest it, keep it where the other ingestibles are kept, right?

Bottom Shelf, middle: items that can be used for either savory or sweet dishes. Items such as cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg...

This cupboard is located to the right of my stove on the same wall.

Secondary everyday use cupboard

This cupboard contains items that I might or might not use every day but do use frequently. Items such as flavored vinegars of different types, brown sugar, honey, sun dried tomatoes, baking powder, yeast, bouillon, corn starch... cocoa powder, some teas and small amounts of dried fruits that I might use for flavoring a dish.
It is located to the right of my stove at a 90 degree angle from the main spice cupboard.

These cupboards are where I keep my most used items or items that my man uses when he cooks. I want to say here and now that I AM NOT responsible for that nasty Emeril crap that is in the top most picture. Was way overpriced, tastes like... ugh... nasty, and I never use it. The man doesn't either but if I throw it away he will bitch, so I don't.

I love these cupboards. They give me comfort, in a way, because I know that I can always put together something that tastes nice as long as they are kept well stocked. I rarely let myself run out of anything kept in these cupboards. I know them intimately. Know where every single item is without having to look (unless hubby dear has been messing in my business). I know what everything is by where it is, the shape of the bottle, the color of the cap... The man always gets mad if I don't label something before I put it up. My feeling is this... he ought to keep his mitts off my stuff! Seriously. I hate it when he cooks. Not because he's a bad cook, usually. He just doesn't have a "feel" for it. He has to follow a recipe, he has to look at labels, he has NO natural intuition about what flavors go with what, or what flavors go together to make a pleasing whole. And he absolutely refuses to put the things back exactly where he got them from! That ticks me off the worse, I think. He doesn't seem to have any concept of: "if you put the basil back where you got it from... ta da! That bottle will have basil in it the next time you pick it up from that spot!". And then it won't matter if the bottle is labeled or not. Amazing how that works, isn't it? And besides... if you can't tell basil from oregano by the look, or at least the smell... you really shouldn't be using either of them, no?

I realize that my stuff isn't alphabetized, it isn't in any particular order. It IS where it is, and I know where that is. For instance... the Tarragon goes to the left of the Oregano. The Juniper Berries are in the left most corner and the whole nutmeg goes just to the right of that. (don't ask, the whole nutmeg is on the left with the savory spices, the already ground nutmeg is in the middle with the rest of the dual purpose items). I TOLD you it didn't make sense. But it works for me and that's all that matters. If you don't like my filing system, stay out of my kitchen! :)

It seems to me, after reading back over the above statements that yes, I do resent my husband getting into my cupboards, using my stove, disarranging my stuff. Its MY stuff. My little treasures. My precious jewels. Its not just a silly little bottle of Rosemary leaves. No indeed. That's a little piece of me, of my soul! When you disarrange my bottles you are disarranging bits of me. When my stuff isn't where I left it, where I expect it to be, it tilts me totally off kilter. I feel off balance. Like finding out someone has been pawing through your handbag without your permission. Worse... like someone disarranged your underwear drawer while you were away at work. How would that make you feel? Disturbed, I've no doubt.

Therefore, having him in my kitchen disturbs me. I don't feel like he shows my belongings the proper respect. He hasn't bothered to get to know them, learn about them, get a feeling for them, fall in love with them, as they deserve. He also makes me feel like he wants to compete with me in cooking. And that makes me feel like he thinks I'm an inadequate cook. I know I'm more than adequate, but he makes me feel like he thinks he could do a better job than me. Silly, I guess. But he's so damned picky, I know that a lot of times he doesn't really enjoy what I cook. When I know its a perfectly executed meal. Sometimes I think he does that just to make me feel bad. Cooking is the one thing I know I am good at. So... when he wants to be the "Lord and Master" he knows he can hurt me by belittling my skills. I don't even know if he understands how much damage his stupid casual macho cruelty does to my psyche. Making me feel like I can't provide a decent meal, a better than decent meal, for my loved ones... it would hurt me a lot less if he criticised my looks, my weight, my face, whatever. But he doesn't. The one thing he's chosen to hurt me over is my kitchen skills. When I was growing up, we were poor folks,but we ate well. Well, that's a whole other blog post, that I will perhaps let out at some later time...

Anyway... That's my bit about other folks being in my kitchen. Even my son, who is only now becoming more interested in cooking something other than a pop tart :) shows more respect to my stuff. If he doesn't know, he asks. He takes the time to sniff the jars, bottles and bags of stuff. He watches what I do, what spices I use together with what foods and with each other. He shows care. And when he takes something out of my spice cupboard... He puts it back in the same exact place he got it from! I think he has potential. That makes me extremely, inordinately happy. How blessed to be a parent who's child understands what it is that makes you happy. And shares your joy in it. Funny thing for mother and son to have in common, I suppose, but ... I know he probably won't ever want a job in the culinary arts but... if he can just find the joy and satisfaction of cooking within himself, at least he won't ever go hungry for lack of knowing how to make a really terrific omelet, or a good comfort casserole like mac & cheese.

To be continued...

Obento: The Japanese art of leftover lunches

2009-01-14T05:40:00.000-08:00

Looks mighty good considering it's mostly leftovers. I love Japanese food containers because they can make everything look so appeal, even last night's dinner. The picture on the left is rice sprinkled with shiso which is like a tangy plum leaf, dried and salted. On the right is some komatsuna, like a spinach, sauteed with tiny fish and fish flakes. The middle is pork sausages. The very end is cucumber and cheese wedges. I lost points for not including one cherry tomato in it to balance out the color scheme.

My mom and sister see me making them and they thought I must love doing it. I don't.Some mom take obento making very seriously. I don't. But my son went to a Japanese preschool and the school takes lunches very seriously so balanced, brightly presented meals was ingrained in me.
Still when an American mom whose son was in Reina's class said to me "Every time he says a cute bento he says 'It's like something Reina would have'. " Wow. Did that ever make my day.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of obento because I like my meals warm, even sandwiches I liked heated. But my kids do. And even though it's leftovers, my kids seem to like Mommy lunches.

This is Reina's lunch bag. Has an extra pocket for snacks too.

Easy Taco Soup

2009-01-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

This soup is what I make when the weather is cold, things are hectic and comfort food is needed. Also, it's just plain good and very quick to make. The sodium content looks high but remember this is for the full recipe. If it's a concern, use reduced sodium broth, tomatoes and corn. You can also drain and rinse the beans. For this particular one, I used pinto beans.

It's also a good vegetarian soup. Omit the meat and it's still very tasty. Need a little heat? Add a small can of chilies. The combinations are endless.

Easy Taco Soup

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can beans (pinto, kidney, black)

2 cans chicken broth

1 package taco seasoning

1 pound ground beef (used bison for this one)

Brown ground beef in a large pan. Drain. Add remaining ingredients (don't drain cans). Heat thoroughly.

Nutritional information (for the entire pot of soup)

Calories 1843

Fat 16.5

Carbohydrates 103

Protein 130.5

Sodium 9090

Banana Walnut Muffins

2009-01-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

I was staring at these 3 tired old bananas, and thought I'd use 'em up tout de suite. I found an old banana bread recipe, but didn't really want to do a big old loaf so I made it for muffins instead, with a few modifications...

1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour (though you could use all-purpose)
2/3 cup sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 cup but I just didn't want to use that much)
3 mashed bananas
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I think I could have added more)
pinch of salt

If you're doing the loaf, it calls for baking it at 325 degrees for 1 hour, but I baked it at 25 minutes in a muffin tin and they turned out well! It was a fairly thick batter, but I think it's because I was just doing it in one bowl and was adding the ingredients as I went along. When I make this again, I think that I'll change the sequence to : bananas, sugar, butter, eggs, cinnamon, soda, vanilla, salt then the flour! Then I won't work so hard to incorporate everything!

Just had a muffin with some yummy red roiboos tea with milk. They go really well together!

Getting rid of leftovers...

2009-01-07T18:01:00.000-08:00

I never said I made a healthy dinner ... LOL

With the holidays over I did notice one thing.. there was a LOT of food in our apartment... people would bring things over.. or we'd order pizza or something. So that big Wegman's trip almost went to waste. Granted some things are freezer friendly (chicken, steak, fish, seafood (what I call it when it's not fish.. so things like scallops and shrimp), frozen veggies.. duh.., shredded cheese, etc.) so.. I figured.. okay.. I don't have anything planned for tonight.. so dangit I'm going to get rid of it all.. So I go in there and start looking.. I must have looked like a mad woman because hubby hit the deck.. (quietly asked if I needed help but just ran to the living room to hide in a game so he wouldn't get yelled at if he got in my way.. I guess I was pretty determined)..

This is what a plantain looks like when it's out of it's husk thingie.. (so the before and after.. )

Anywho.. I noticed a couple things I HAD to make or it would grow sentient and start to crawl out.. okay.. checking.. Broccoli.. Everyone.. please.. if I can have a moment of silence for the broccoli? ............. R.I.P. Broccoli.. that's why it was on sale.. /sigh.. went bad too fast.. I HATE wasting food.. I'm so sorry.. off it goes into the trash.. okay brussels sprouts.. (sorry Chaki...) still hanging in.. resilient mofo's.. okay that's going today.. got my veggie.. Oooooh plantains are maturing quickly.. one is almost turning black.. ooooh that's going to taste good.. better stuffed with something but I have no patience today.. I'm doing tostones dangit.. er.. hmm.. I managed to clear everything else beforehand so it's all like breads and stuff and the lettuce is hanging in just nicely :D Good girl! Go me!

This is what the plantain looks like when you chop off the sides.

I figured I can make chicken.. I have boned chicken and boneless chicken.. both frozen.. oh I'm too lazy.. ooooh I have some panko breadcrumbs. Alright.. fry fest it is.. Anyway.. doing 3 different dishes all with different cooking times is going to be a pain in the arse.. soooo happy hubby is here for backup.. and away from me so I don't burn myself.. .. .. as much... (only 4 burns.. small ones.. from jumping oil... must get better fry shield.. Anyway.. plantains are going to be worst so I'm doing that first while I boil water to boil the solidly frozen 4 pieces of chicken (these are thighs.. so the drum stick and the thigh portion that I separated, bagged in 2 portions and froze when I bought it in the family pack).

Food of the gods I tell you.. Plantains cut in thick pieces to be fried for the first time.

If you notice the color on the outside of the plantain these are maturing so the inside of the plantain is actually much sweeter and softer (not like bananas though.. those are uber sweet and squishy at this stage..).. if they go black they are difficult to fry crispy.. but still uber delicious :) By the time I take them out of the outer husk thing.. not sure what that outside thing is called.. checking. hang on.. they are calling it layers while the inside is the shoot? Bah.. outside hard thing.. soft inside thingie.. that works for me.. anyway.. by the time I took out the outside thing.. I cut it along one side with a butter knife (this should be sharp enough) and split open with your fingers. The more mature they are the harder it is to get them off in one clean shot.. I guess since it's softer it tends to stick more to the inside lining. With unripe plantains I can actually peel it off in one shot like a pro.. today.. I used force.. LOL It broke in a lot of stages and I just had to scrape off what was still hanging on to dear life. And for the love of God don't eat the outside stuff.. that's there to protect the inside.. oy.. I don't even want to think about how bitter it would be to eat it..

Second stage already done - they are drying.. can you tell hubby's been watching a lot of Alton?

I'm not sure if I bored you with the details on how you make these .. you know.. if you want to know I'll tell ya.. I think I already did.. twice fried.. squish between.. yeah something about how I'm writing this is totally giving me deja vu.. Anyway.. at this point I'm already frying BOTH the plantains AND the chicken.. and of course I think I sense disaster.. oh.. I started steaming the brussels sprouts.. That's easy.. turn on steamer.. walk away..

Fried chicken - Panko bread crumbs. A little oiler than usual though..

Again at this point I realize I'm waaaaaaaaay over my head.. I mean I did the Holly and committed to it but I did the mistake of doing too much fried.. I should have gone with instinct and stewed the chicken or something.. the oil temperatures were totally different. Different pans for each.. both on electric stoves.. I HATE ELECTRIC STOVES.. and both going on at different times and had to be babysat.. Hubby came in and helped after a couple expletives in Spanish were strewn about the kitchen (Yes dear.. cursing in Spanish is still cursing.. LOL)..

These came out well except first batch that was a little greasy but overall I enjoyed this.. which is good.. because we have a lot of leftovers LOL

The problem was because I was overwhelmed .. I mean nothing burned.. far from it.. I lowered the temperature which is a Huuuuuuuuuge no no in frying.. that makes the food totally soak up the oil.. The biggest problem was the chicken. Right now as I'm typing this I feel the oil sitting on my stomach.. (sorry.. ). If I kept it at the temperature I would have been fine.. but I panicked and lowered it so I can concentrate on the plantains.. by the time hubby took over the damage was done and it soaked up a lot of oil. Didn't realize it until we ate it all.

These Brussels sprouts (didn't know brussels in this word had a s in it.. stupid wiki.. now I have to type it correctly..) came out perfect :D

Meanwhile the only semi nutritious thing was the sprouts.. and even then I slathered it in butter and mozzarella cheese :) mwahahhahahahahha .. ehem.. that was awesome! Oh! Forgot to add that the tostones I cook always has a dipping sauce (wait for it I can almost hear Holly heaving.. wait.. and Tricia too..) I make a dip that's made with mayonnaise (I only use Miracle whip.. sorry Tricia..) and ketchup with a clove or 2 of garlic. Even people squeamish about it taste it together and wonder wtf.. I can eat it with or without but hubby really likes it too (and he's not a mayo person) so I make it all the time. It's friggin' easy too.

Fun With Leftovers

2009-01-05T16:11:00.001-08:00

I had a wonderful New Year's Day meal. Now I have all these fabulous leftovers to do something with... Day after New Year's Day I made the stir fried rice and ham thing.

On Jan. 3rd, I made this potato leek soup with bits of the leftover ham in it. It is delicious. I did this one a tad different than I usually make it. Potato Leek soup being a family favorite, I make it fairly often. As often as I find good looking leeks to make it with. :)

See all those yummy bits of leeks in that thick, rich broth? Made with no milk. This time I made a roux from the leftover oil that I sauteed the leeks in. Then I cooked the potatoes in water and mixed the two together with some chunks of ham. I actually ended up using too much roux, because now the leftover soup is too thick. Have to thin it with milk when I reheat it. No matter, its good anyway.

See? There is ham in there. I told you so.

The finished product, garnished with french fried leeks. Just cause they are wonderful, it is not necessary. The ham isn't actually necessary, either. But it was there, and I have to use it all up. No room in the freezer for leftovers... gotta get eaten now.

For those of you who would like an actual recipe... I'll do my best:

1 large, fresh leek, cleaned and chopped for sauteing
4-6 white potatoes, roughly chopped
water or vegetable broth

White roux
1/4 cup oil or fat, I used about half and half olive oil and bacon fat
1/2 or a taddy more all purpose flour

Roux is very simple to make. It's the using of it that sometimes gets folks in
trouble. You can't go wrong if you put your roux in a separate pan or bowl and
slowly stir in enough hot liquid (from your cooked potatoes, in this case)
to form a very loose paste, you can then return that paste to the pan of soup
and stir gently over med/low heat until it bubbles.

Okay, saute your leeks (reserve some rings for french frying, if so desired), use the left over oil from that to make your roux. While this is happening, cook your potatoes in enough water/broth to cover until they are fork tender. Add the leeks to the pot, add any other items; ham, bacon, other cooked veggies, etc. Using the technique described above, incorporate the roux. Once the soup bubbles, it's ready to eat. Here at the very end, stir in freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. (all cream or cream-like soups can be improved with the addition of a tad of freshly grated nutmeg - it makes it taste ever so much richer). Garnish as you like; the french fried leeks, sour cream, salsa, grated cheese of your preference, whatever tickles your fancy at the moment... :)

I hope you'll enjoy.

Slicing tool

2009-01-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is something I found in France which I really like using for slicing and grating onions. Also works well with cheese and I'm sure other things. Thought I'd post it in case you might see one in your local store and want it.

Also, for slicing onions, if you refrigerate them first, you either don't cry or cry a lot less :-)

Salads on parade

2009-01-05T05:27:00.000-08:00

Tasted much better than it looks!

You will find me posting mostly pictures of vegetables and salads this month. In fact, I do salads around the world -- Thai, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Korea, or like today, whatever in the kitchen. I will be eating "normal" meals for lunch, but I am pouring my heart into cooking my salads and sometimes soups. I am doing my fail-proof lose 5 lbs in 1 month program. Of course, I don't expect people to follow these recipes (heck, not even really recipes). But I hope by seeing the photos, they will inspire people to eat healthier in this very new year!

This is my dinner today:tuna and onion salad with balsamico and mustard dressing. Second dish is carrots and cabbage sauteed with Parmesan cheese and my quickly disappearing bottle of chiptole Tabasco. The second dish is sort of inspired by Tricia's dilemma about too much Brussel sprouts. (Sorry Elsie) the melted Parmesan makes it soo good. Was going to make a German colesaw with remaining carrot and cabbage for tomorrow, but mmm, will do the saute again. Had a glass of plain soy milk and okay (one butter cookie too!)

BTW, feel free to post fattening foods too! People still need comfort foods, party foods, fantasy foods!! The point of this blog is to post any foods that made you proud and happy!!!! and makes you feel good about making it!!!

Pecan Balls

2009-01-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hi, everyone! My name is Desiree & I live in Richmond, BC. I've been enjoying reading your posts and hope that I can contribute from time to time.

The other day, I made pecan balls, to bring to my friend Anna's open house. They're super easy and versatile. They're from the Company's Coming cookbook series, published here in Canada.

Pecan Balls

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup ground pecans

2 tsp. vanilla

and another 1/2 cup icing sugar to coat the balls.

You just combine the first 5 ingredients with a spoon, then by hand to work the dough until it holds. You shpe in about 1 inch balls, then arrange on an ungreased baking sheet. I use parchment paper though. Bake in 325 deg F (or 160 deg C oven for about 20 minutes. My oven tends to be a bit hot so I like to bake it just until golden brown. This should make about 6 dozen.

As soon as the balls have cooled enough to handle, roll them in icing sugar.

They present beautifully too, if you have little round pastry cups to put them in. I'd unfortunately ran out as I was bringing them as a gift so I couldn't show them here, I just put the left overs on a napkin to show you.

Variations: Almond - do 1 cup ground almonds instead of pecans. Almond crescents - use 2 cups ground almonds instead of the pecans, and roll into finger-size thickness. Cut into 2 inch lengths, then pinch ends, shaping into crescents. Hidden cherry - Cover well-drained maraschino cherries with dough.

The First Meal of the New Year

2009-01-02T15:46:00.000-08:00

And boy! did I enjoy it! Very traditional, at least for my family. Except for two big meal days (Christmas and New Year's) I forgot the rutabagas... so now they are trying to sprout in the basket. Anyway... Here's the dish:

Clockwise from the 12 position:
Black-eyed peas over Basmati Rice
Collard Greens
Smithfield Ham
Cheesy Potato Casserole (inspired by Pitts' Potatoes Sewickley)

I confess that the black-eyed peas were canned. But I browned some bacon pieces and sauteed some fresh garlic and some bits of lovely Hatch Valley chili peppers then added the peas to the pot. It was good. True, buying dried peas and soaking them overnight and then cooking them all day long... that would have tasted better, but... I'm the only one in my family who truly appreciates the beauty of the black-eyed pea, and I'm not prone to spend that much time purely for myself, so... maybe later when I make another Indian Feast. They are terrific with roti or dosa.

The collard greens I did cook from a fresh bunch. I got them a few days before Christmas while they were still looking good and not all picked over. I cooked them that night and put them up in the freezer until New Year's Day. I simply washed and tore them into not quite bite-sized pieces and cooked them down with a country ham bone I had in the freezer and a little chili pepper flakes and about a tsp. of sugar per bunch of greens. Makes them not so gassy. After they cooled I put them in a freezer bag and stored them away. Laid them out New Year's Eve night and re-heated the next day in a pot. They were very tasty. I love greens. All kinds really, and mixtures of greens. Should have put some cabbage in these, but Pete doesn't like them that way, the weirdo. :) And Thomas purely hates the smell of cabbage cooking. I didn't want to torture the poor guys on the very first day of the year. See how sweet I am?

The HAM! ta-da! Actually, I am aware that it doesn't look so great in the roaster. It was a shank portion, therefore, not really suited to cross-hatching and dressing up with pineapple rings and cherries. I put this cut side down in my enamel roasting pan, sprinkled garlic powder, onion powder, ground cinnamon and cloves over all, slapped on some crushed pineapple and drizzled with honey. Baked until 135 degrees inside and then took it out. I usually try to be a little more "decorative" with the ham, when I bake one, but Pete was supposed to get this one started for me and he didn't. I woke up late after enjoying ringing in the New Year with my friends on Pam's lovely Sasuke All-Star Fans site. So I woke straight up and went to the kitchen and started it going before I even had a cup of coffee. Who knew I was so talented? Never mind, looked horrible, tasted delicious. And that's all that really matters, right?

Before Baking

After Baking

click on the pics for larger views

My Cheesy Potato Casserole. As I said, it was inspired by Pittsburger's post about her Potatoes Sewickley. Only this is how I did it: I peeled 5 potatoes, sliced them thin, arranged them in my baking dish alternating the layers with cheddar cheese, black pepper, chives, and on the final layer I put some chopped up bacon on the very top. Then I poured a little milk in and put the cover on the dish. Baked at 375 for about 30-35 minutes, took the lid off, sprinkled more cheese on and put back in the oven. As you can see, I nearly forgot about it at that stage and it would have burned, but I remembered it just before it was truly ruined. That's okay, I like those crunchy, chewy bits of overdone cheese and potato anyway. :) It was delicious. The best part of the meal, I think. But then... I'm a cheese head. We all three are. There aren't any leftovers of that at all.

I still haven't made my punkin pie! I wanted one soooo bad, too. I just don't have the umph to make it yet. I'll get around to it. The pumpkin is canned anyway, so nothing has to be done immediately. I just wish I could make myself go do it. I like a nice hot slice of punkin pie and I haven't had ANY this whole Holiday season.

So... that was yesterday.

This was supper today:

Fried Rice from leftovers!

Great stuff. I chopped up some onions, garlic, carrots and sauteed them in oil, then tossed chopped up ham and some leftover pork loin I had in the fridge and browned them a little, then I scrambled two eggs and added all to the leftover rice which I had fluffed and sprinkled with soy sauce, lemon juice, chili pepper flakes and sesame oil. Then topped with chopped chives and sesame seeds. Then tossed all in a very hot pan until sizzling. Very tasty indeed. Wish I could share with you all.

New Year's Dinner

2009-01-01T16:50:00.001-08:00

If I don't have an incredibly lucky year it is not because I didn't follow all the New Year's traditions. First Andy was the first person across my threshold....well actually it was his dog. Next I ate everyone's traditional New Year's good luck food. I started the boys with this beautiful plate of shrimp. They promptly destroyed my hard work by scooping half the shrimp onto another plate. They needed plates in their laps not on the table. Something about the dogs trying to steal shrimp.

I was cooking something new this year. This is a traditional Japanese dish courtesy of my Bunny Buddy. She is trying very hard to help me become a cooking whiz like she is. Below is my care package. I am so lucky to have such a friend.

My care package.

The finished product. Soba noodles with dipping sauce.
It was very good and a big hit with everyone. Yummy and
I will be doing this dish again.

My plate. Steak which everyone had, sauerkraut for the Yankee side of me,
black eyed peas with a little onion for the southern side of me and the soba noodles.

Andy wouldn't eat the peas or sauerkraut so I am a little worried about his luck in the coming year. Neil didn't eat the sauerkraut which he should have because there is some Yankee in him so he could be in trouble too. But I should have a fantastic year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR KIDS

Fantasy Fudge

2009-01-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Shock!!! I'm finally posting something. First time so please be gentle with me.

Where do I start....fudge has been a part of my life for a long time. I only use one recipe and change the flavor of the chips, extracts and additional ingredients to make the various types. This is the old recipe for Fantasy Fudge, the new one on the back of some of the marshmallow cream jars is NOT what you use. No thermometer needed, easy and if you want to give a whole pan away as gifts, use the aluminum pans (shallow) with lids. Think they're labeled for cakes. Fits perfectly. It's the perfect Christmas gift - most people don't make candy and they think you're a cooking genius.

From left: butterscotch, coconut and chocolate.

Enjoy!

Fantasy Fudge

3 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup butter or margarine (stick and a half)
2/3 cup evaporated milk (5 oz can)

12 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

7 oz. jar marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans - optional

In a 2-quart saucepan (non stick is great) on medium high heat, bring sugar, butter, and milk to a rolling boil. Stir occasionally to keep it from scorching. Reduce heat to medium low for 5 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in chips and vanilla until blended. If all the chips don't melt, it's OK. Add marshmallow cream, stir until blended. Add nuts. Pour into a greased 13" X 9" X 2" pan (non stick spray works great). Cool to room temperature before slicing.

I change the flavor of the chips, extracts and the optional things to make things different.

Fried Shrimp and Green Tomatoes

2008-12-31T10:34:00.001-08:00

There can't possibly be anything better than fried shrimp. Can there???

No. Not unless its Fried Shrimp with Fried Green Tomatoes!

The shrimp were white shrimp, about the size of my index finger, which I cleaned, dredged and cooked as per my Southern Frying tutorial. :)

The tomatoes are just that, green tomatoes. Slicing tomatoes that haven't ripened and turned red yet. Simply peel the skin, core, slice thinly and lay out on paper towel to drain. After I fried the shrimp I used the same oil and the same dredging mix to cook them. Fried green tomatoes are such a Southern tradition. They are wonderful! A beautiful, crunchy coating hiding their pale green, tangy goodness inside. I love them.

Thomas???

Not so much...

Of course, he loves noodles. Pretty much any kind of noodles. For our seafood feast he cooked himself some Hong Kong Style Shrimp Noodles (honest, that's what the package says).

And enjoyed them emensley.

Pete had a couple of my precious tomato slices with his fried shrimp and his colossal scallop, which I wrapped in bacon and sauted in olive oil with just a bit of pepper on it. They were also wonderful, succulent, sweet, cooked just right (although it may not look it in my picture).

At any rate, a good time was had by all. I got in one last "fry" for the year and now can start 2009 with a renewed purpose of eating healthier, wiser, better...

Kobe (sort of) roast beef

2008-12-30T05:42:00.000-08:00

Think I am enjoying cooking and blogging this holidays?? Really, I am having so much fun doing both. They are my hobbies!! This is a tiny little beef roast, frozen and precooked. The brand is called KOBE, but it ain't no real Kobe beef. Real Kobe beef has fat and lean perfectly marbled and is the most tender meat ever imagined. This cow was probably Australian.
We got it from our credit card company... hard to explain but if you spend over a certain amount annually, you become a preferred customer and you get a catalogue to choose a gift. I threw away the box and instructions so I had no how to cook this precooked but obvious still very rare roast. I ended up just slicing up the whole thing and microwaving it. Turned out perfect!

I sauteed cabbage, potato and Polish sausage, seasoned simply only with salt and pepper. The salad is lettuce, cherry tomatoes, fresh parmesan and proscuitto ham. Dressing is balsamico vinegar, olive oil, grainy mustard, a little salt, sugar and pepper. Shake it all up. Also made garlic butter buns.

Reina skipped out on the roast. Rio on the salad but there was enough stuff they did like to make this other enjoyable meal. Too bad when school and work starts, I won't have the time and energy for these types of meals. Sniffle, sniffle.

Crabs Akiyama

2008-12-30T05:20:00.000-08:00

What a temaki (handrolled sushi cone) looks it. Choose your toppings and roll it all up.

I am tired of the casserole dishes we got free from our old pizza place. So wanted to serve dinner in something else. This is a lacquered three-tiered juu bako, a food serving container. It's great for bringing to parties, picnics and even serving at home on special occasions.

This is what the inside looked like! One layer of boiled crab, one of sashimi and one of sushi rice.

This is a ke-gani (hairy crab, if someone is more knowledgeable about crustaceans and knows the proper name in English, I'll change it.) It is the same kind of critters Kazuhiko Akiyama wears as a necklace! Small, but firm and meaty, they are as pricey as their bulkier king crab cousins. I prefer this more compact crab.

We bought it fresh and boiled it. We had no idea how long to do it for. Hiroshi had to check on the Internet partway through. Still we did it perfectly!

Crabs are cut open with scissors and Reina has this thing about trimming the hair on them. Hiroshi made a funny pun which I can't translate into English but I told Kazuhiko and he got a big kick out of it. He replied, "Please don't ask me to allow your daughter trim my hair." (Punchline without the joke is pretty lame eh?) Sorry. But doesn't his spikey hairstyle even resemble the crabs. LOL

This is the assorted sashimi plate we got. Some tuna, some kanpachi, shrimp, salmon, scallop and squid. What does raw squid taste like? Tiger would ask. Slimey rubber tires, girl. Squid (not tires) is okay grilled, in pasta or deep fried.... No, I didn't pick dandelions in December. It is an edible flower that comes with the set.

Some veggies and sushi rice. My sushi rice is simple, just use sushi rice powder. We cut up the nori and everyone puts in rice and whatever topping they want. Then you wrap it by hand so it's called temaki (handwrapped sushi.) It's fun and you can't go wrong. (except when you put in too much rice...

Little dump cakes

2008-12-29T20:32:00.001-08:00

Reading Holly's entry on holiday eating -- in fact, I've read it over many times, the term "dump cake" fascinated me. So I did Internet searches and found recipes. I had an aging sweet potato and apple just screaming to be dumped on. Confirmed with Tricia whether sweet potato and apple dump cake was kosher to the southern tradition, got official approval.

First I peeled and boiled the sweet potatoes. Mashed them with milk (didn't have cream around), butter, brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon.

My oven doesn't fit a big cake pan so I lined muffin my pan and poured in the sweet potato. Next I put raw apple slices on top. Finally I sprinkled some of my precious white cake mix that costed a fortune to be sent over... Poured melted butter.

Hubby freaked out at the unmixed batter just seating there on the top. Made me do the two bigger ones mixing with the butter. Because we have the two styles, it becomes obvious that by mixing, the batter rises and becomes cakelike, whereas without mixing, it is more like a biscuit or crumble.

When you make this with canned fruits, the syrup provides enough moisture for the cake mix. The way I made it, the apples barely moistened the mix.

The verdict: Reina won't eat it because she won't even eat mashed sweet potatoes. Rio liked it but said it was a bit sweet! Hiroshi enjoyed it with a cup of non-sweeten (bitter) darjeeling tea. Truth is I think I prefer making a crumble mix from flour.... But will serve the rest to guests tomorrow. But just thrilled to have made a dump cake. I feel so American. LOL

A 'Some Kinda Wonderful' Christmas Meal

2008-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

tehehe... I just couldn't resist the title. Forgive?

Our Christmas Day meal:

Turkey (I finally got my turkey leg!)
Sweet Potato (baked with real butter on it)
Thomas' Mac-n-Cheese (from Alton Brown)
Brussels Sprouts (steamed with lemon juice sprinkled on at the end)
Cranberry Sauce (canned, jellied kind)

That's it. Nothing fancy. Just couldn't muster the umph to go all out. Everything was pretty simple, plain, and yummy. I stuffed the turkey with chopped apple, orange, celery, onion, cinnamon stick and a few cloves and rosemary sprigs. Sprayed it with canola oil and let it go. Turned out really moist, tender, and tasty. I love the way turkey accepts the flavors of what you cook it with. Sometimes I make a herb butter to stuff under the breast skin, but didn't this time. It was good never-the-less.
The sweet pots were just wrapped in foil individually and baked for an hour. Pete and I prefer them that way, instead of making a sweet, sticky, casserole or "candied yams" with them. They aren't "yams" anyway... well, I won't go into all that right now. :)
Thomas makes the mac n cheese and he does a super job of it. I do prefer my mac n cheese baked so it gets a little browning on it and the corners get chewy and crunchy, but I can always do that with some of the leftovers... in fact.. I already have!
The brussels sprouts were just steamed until tender and then sprinkled with lemon juice and tossed with a bit of butter.
I'm the only one in my family of three that will eat cranberry sauce, of ANY kind. And I prefer the canned, jellied kind. My sister makes a very good cranberry relish with fresh berries but I can't see myself making it just for me. Especially since I really like the canned stuff anyway.

I never got around to making the pumpkin pie. I will bake one for New Year's Day. We will eat about half of it while still warm and the rest will get thrown away. Sad, but true. I pretty much only like them when they are still hot from the oven. Reheating a single slice later on is... not... the... same. It gets watery sometimes when you do that. Nasty.

So... that was my family's Christmas 2008 Dinner. It was good. It didn't take much effort, and it was (mostly) enjoyed by all of us.

Christmas Veggie Tray

2008-12-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for a new way to do a veggie tray, try this. There are a couple of options for this. 1. Spread the dip on the cookie sheet and place the veggies on the top or 2. put the dip on the side. Also, if you want one level for your veggies, use cauliflower for the background instead of the cucumbers I used :-)

Christmas Eve dinner

2008-12-24T04:36:00.000-08:00

Depending on what day of the week Christmas Eve falls on, we have either been at a party or skiing already. So it's not exactly a tradition for us but a nice Christmas Eve dinner at home be certainly may become one. We each had a plate of grilled ham steak, potato galette and julienne carrots. The salad was really crisper leftovers. Hiroshi and I had champagne and the kids had sparkling white grape juice. The champagne wasn't open yet, it's juice in the wine glass. Since I recently got a set of six wine glasses at IKEA for $5 (sorry for bragging), we all had one. We all kept making toasts to keep the glasses clinking. It was a fun meal for us. A Christmas miracle meal that everyone actually liked! For dessert, we destroyed the gingerbread house.

Orange-flavor gravy:
I wanted to experiment and made a ham gravy using orange juice, brown sugar, some salt and brown gravy mix. It was delicious! (I still had to delump it but I'm used to it by now.)

Potato galette:
Grate potatoes, mix in a bit of flour and salt. Grate in cheese. We had a slab of real Parmesan and it tasted wonderful! Sometimes we just use powder Parmesan and it works as well. Oil non-stick pan liberally.

GOOD HOLIDAY EATINGS EVERYONE!!!

My adaptation of Holly's cooking...

2008-12-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

This is how my version of Holly's Burmese chicken turned out. (Roti was too ambitious for me, and we don't really like beans enough for the sambar)

http://chaki-whatscooking.blogspot.com/2008/11/sambar-roti.html
I am certain it tastes different but the beauty with curries and soups is you really can't go wrong. My curries are mild to be palatable to the kids. Rio loves curry but hates tomato anything and this has plenty of tomato taste which is why I love it. The tanginess balances well with the heavy coconut flavor.

Now we do actually make various curries often. Mostly my husband enjoys making them. But rarely do we try an extra side dish. But Holly's spicy potatoes were too tempting and easy not to try. Mine turned out more like Indian mashed potatoes but still, with the right seasoning, it was very tasty. Rio loved it, Reina didn't. The kid doesn't like mashed potatoes in any form... maybe if I make it crunchier like Indian hash browns...

I had been wanting to make this meal because I had bought ten frozen naans at a school bazaar food fair and wanted to use them. Kids loved the frozen naan with slabs of butter melted and cheese. I would like to try Holly's roti recipe next time. It is not the type of meal you can just whip up, especially if you are not used to cooking Indian. For me, it will be a leisurely weekend dinner. Still, Hiroshi declared it was the best meal he's had in a long time. My gratitude goes to Holly...

Potatoes Sewickley

2008-12-22T13:03:00.000-08:00

Sharp cheddar cheese
Whipping cream
Potatoes
Salt

Butter casserole dish (I used Pam spray).
Cook potatoes with skins in salted water.
Peel when cool. Grate into casserole dish. Dot with butter.

Pour unwhipped cream over. Grate cheddar cheese over top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes covered. Uncover bake 5 more minutes.

This is a pretty easy recipe, but very good. What I like about these is that you can freeze them. You can also reheat them many times without affecting the quality. I have also lightened up the recipe by using fat free whipping cream and I Can't Believe it's not Butter spray. Fat-free cheese doesn't really work since it never melts :-) The lighter recipe is not as good, but still tasty. Enjoy!

Chocolate Almond Clusters

2008-12-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I use chocolate chips)
1/2 cup dried cherries (preferred) or golden raisins
1 ounce coarsely chopped toasted almonds
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In medium microwaveable mixing bowl, microwave chocolate on medium for 2 minutes, stirring twice or until melted and smooth.

Stir in cherries or raisins, almonds, and zest. Line baking sheet with waxed paper and drop mixture by teaspoonfuls onto the paper, making 16 clusters. Chill until firm.

Per serving (2 clusters): 85 calories, 5 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 12 g total carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g protein, 14 mg calcium

Points per serving = 2

Source: Weight Watchers "Dessert Classics" magazine

Another Special Menu

2008-12-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas is just one week away! Hooray! Don't you just love this time of year? The decorations, the presents, the parties, the time spent with family and friends... and especially the food. Christmas Day is a day filled with good things to eat. Turkeys, hams, sweet potatoes, casseroles of every variety... broccoli cheese, rice, green bean, corn... home made mac and cheese. And the desserts... oh the deserts... pure heaven.

I can remember back when I was little and all of my immediate family still lived close together. Christmas Day there was always so much food! Even the in-laws came to my Granny's house for this day. Chocolate Pecan 3 layer cake, carrot cake, jam cake, dump cake, hummingbird cake, fruitcake... cream cheese pies, paradise pie, pecan pie, sweet potato pie... it was a wonderful time all the way around. We usually didn't get much in the way of toys at Christmas. We were poor folks. All of us. Christmas was an excuse for our parents to wrap up as gifts the things they had to buy us anyway. Like clothes for the second half of the school year. A new pair of shoes. But we didn't really care cause we knew that there was going to be all that wonderful, heavenly food. And togetherness. And fun. We always had fun together.

But after that most important of Days comes the New Year. And that requires a meal that needs to be planned out nearly as carefully as any meal served during the holidays that precede it. My New Year's Day meal always consists of:
Country Ham
Collard Greens
Black Eyed Peas
Rice
Cornbread

If I have time or feel like it, I may also make an asparagus dish, or green beans with new potatoes, or the broccoli/potato/cheese casserole.

For dessert I usually make a baked cheesecake and/or a Dump Cake.

--------

The whole point of this blog, I suppose, is to ask if any of you have traditional menus for New Year's Day and if so, what are they? I'd love to know.

Steak!!!

2008-12-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

That's hubby's plate upside down but you get the drift :p

Hubby made dinner again :) Hey.. I did the frozen veggies in cheese sauce.. because nothing kills any healthy food like butter and cheese.. mmm.. bring it on... Ehem.. This is filet mignon with just salt and pepper on the best griddle on the planet.. I can friggin' remove the plates and throw them in the dishwasher.. how crazy is that? I gave away my Foreman grill.. was too much of a pain to clean...

My plate on the right and hubby sitting down about to chow down on his :p

Sweet thing with the new griddle is that you can put a probe thermometer and it tells you when it's done.. none of this turning it over and poking crap to find out if it's done.. only to cut it open and blood squirts out. For my friend she likes it medium well closer to rare while I like mine completely de-mooooed.. that mean.. no pink of any kind.. nada.. I see pink it's back in the griddle.. I don't like my moo to get up and keep mooing :p To each it's own. But with the griddle we can cook it to EXACT specifications and all is happy!

From hubby:

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Salt (Kosher salt or sea salt .. we used Kosher)

Black pepper to taste

Lightly coat steaks with olive oil. Sprinkle kosher salt and black pepper on both sides to taste. We grill it to 163-165°F (about 5° carryover when it comes off the grill) (P.S. this is WELL DONE - there should be a chart online as to what degrees is well/medium/rare) and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes (we do 10) on a plate lightly covered with aluminum foil (like a tent .. not tight at all just covering it). Do not remove the probe until the rest period is done.

P.S. Jack Daniel's Barbeque sauce ROCKS!

P.S. #2 I love netflix.. that's my second disk of Lucky Star.. I'm digressing back to Anime aren't I? LOL Okay okay.. enjoy the food :p

Scallops and Shrimp sorta scampi over Linguini

2008-12-16T02:08:00.001-08:00

I cook the scallops (this time I used bay scallops) and shrimp (I cut them in half) at the very last second since it cooks soooooooo fast..

I've done a variation of this dish .. I lost track how many ways.. this time I totally cheated and used a premade scampi sauce that was actually pretty good. It had a different balance to what I'm used to and so the only thing I added was fresh garlic and onions.

Boling Linguini over the demonic pot that wanted to take me out.. I can see how it's bent on the left side.. stupid thing bonked my head.. I can't use the same lid on it anymore LOL

Sometimes I make everything from scratch (the sauce not the shrimp.. or scallops.. I actually prefer sea scallops..) and add sour cream and mozzerella cheese.. but hubby likes it plainer and just puts parmesan cheese.. I of course can't stand parmesan.. for me it's friggin' kryptonite...

Aww I thought I got the Christmas Tree in there.. oh well you got the reflection.. Yes.. we do have a dining room table.. but we eat here 99% of the time.. it's in front of the TV dangit!

I normally do garlic bread with this as well because garlic bread is food of the gods.. but still.. I digress. Drinks were Ginger Ale with a piece of lime.. mmmm...

Mine on left and his on right.. though his didn't have the parmesan on it yet.. quite frankly he desecrates it but I digress.. I can hear Holly screaming going PARMESAN ROCKS!

This last shot was for Chaki who likes my fancy sheet new plates :D

Uber snacks for gaming...

2008-12-16T01:48:00.001-08:00

Mmmmmmmmm.. snacks..

K sorry this is late LOL.. This is a blog that is crossreferenced here. What did we have? Oh good Lord.. what didn't we? Okay lemme back up.. the day before I get a call from my friend from Delaware and she is asking me if I like certain things.. As ya'll already know how dang picky I am.. she was going "well will you eat this?".. "hmm.. how about that if I take out this?".. "if I make it milder.." but I swear.. I seriously heard the music from those old Walt Disney documentaries about the World of Tommorrow or was it a cartoon.. oh nvm I digress.. either way I hear that in my head now!

Snacks got.. er.. bigger LOL

She was shopping while talking to me (as I heard that jingle sound in my head..) and little did I know that ALL of which she was talking about bringing .. she brought.. and I mean all of it.. 7 layer dip, veggies with dip, mango salsa, chex mix, chips and her famous friggin' awesome sweet salsa, guacamole, 2 different types of tacos (pulled pork and a beef one with a totally different sauce and both hard and soft tacos), homemade fried wonton with ducksauce, potatochips and dip, chips and queso...

I had a religious moment.. sorry.. I LOVE Pecan Pie.. even if it did give me a migraine! LOL

.. and the coup de grace.. PECAN PIE!!!!!!!!!!!! Omg.. it was sooooo good.. I didn't have ice cream.. well I did but I was too full.. but omg it was so good! She made that from scratch as well. It was either this or Key Lime pie.. I don't like that pie.. or any other pie actually.. but Pecan pie was to die for..

P.S. I forgot to add.. this food was in addition to hubby's pizza LOL

Holly's Sugar Cookies

2008-12-15T19:59:00.001-08:00

I pasted this on here from Pam's place so it won't be missed.

The dough I use for my sugar cookies isn't exactly a sugar cookie dough. It's a dough for a cookie called "melting moments". Only, instead of rolling them in coconut I roll them in colored sugar for Christmas. Mix 1 cup flour with 2 T corn starch and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Then you blend in 2 sticks of room temp butter and chill the dough until firm then roll into little balls and roll them in sugar, or coconut, or chopped nuts or crushed candy canes... can also add your choice of extract flavors with the butter to flavor them that way. Bake at 300 for 20-25 minutes until just slightly brown on edges.

Pecan Penuche (Brown Sugar Fudge)

2008-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

This is a scan of the recipe I use to make penuche. I got this recipe when my Mother gifted me with "The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook" for Christmas of 1985. It was my first all my own cookbook. The very first of many. I was working as a nanny for two beautiful little girls at the time. They loved my cookbook, too. They would sit on my lap and we would page thru the pictures and diagrams and plan huge, fantastic, glorious meals together. That's a happy memory. Of all the cookbooks I have acquired over the years, this is by far the most used. In fact, I think I'm going to purchase a new one and retire this one to the shelf. The pages are now falling out, for goodness sake!

This penuche is the most delicious thing you will ever put in your mouth. If you like sweets, that is. The recipe is simple, the directions easy to follow... and I still get a different result every time I make it. I made two batches this evening. The first turned out light, kinda dry on the outside, creamy and melt in your mouth on the inside. The second batch is slightly darker, a little chewier, almost like it was trying to be caramel. Not the taste, but the consistency. That's okay, it's all good... but I'm just saying. It seems that if the temperature is off by even a half a degree at any point, or if you beat it for one stroke more or less, you will get a slightly different result. I've never made a batch that wasn't delicious, it's just not the same all the time. I make it every single year, anyway. If I didn't make my sister Martie this candy she would think I didn't love her anymore. HA!

I do hope you guys will try this, even with what I said about the varied results. Its all good, ya know?
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The following is a good, all-purpose, easy to adapt fudge recipe. I got it from my Mom's cookbook (which I now have since she gave it to me a couple years before she passed away) "Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook Collector's Edition" Its on page 454 and it's called "Dorchester Fudge". This is exactly what it says in the book:

1 package (8 squares) Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup marshmallow topping
1/2 cup chopped nuts* (optional)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk

Place chocolate in a bowl with marshmallow topping, nuts, butter and vanilla; set aside. Combine sugar and milk in 2 quart saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Keep at full rolling boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Carefully pour boiling sugar syrup over chocolate mixture and stir until chocolate is melted. Pour into buttered 8-inch square pan. Chill until firm, about 1 hour. Cut into squares.
Makes 1 1/2 pounds or about 3 dozen pieces
*Or use 1 cup BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut.

Then the recipe goes on to give a couple of variations. Mocha Almond Fudge, which is putting instant coffee in with the sugar and milk and using almonds for the nuts. One is Peanut Butter Fudge, which is using peanut butter instead of marshmallow topping and using peanuts for the nuts. I've made them both. I love Mocha fudge, but strangely enough, I don't like almonds in my fudge. Or peanuts. I like peanut butter fudge, but when I make it I just substitute Peanut Butter chips for the chocolate. Oh, guess I should say, I don't always use Baker's chocolate squares. 8 ounces (by weight) of any type chip will work with this recipe. Some of my variations are,
New one as of tonight:
Use 8 ounces of white chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate and instead of using chopped nuts, use 2-3 Tablespoons of crushed peppermint candy canes. This stuff is yummy. I'm going to try the candy canes with some Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate chips that I have. I will let you know how that goes.
As I said, I also make Peanut Butter fudge by using those chips instead of chocolate. Or you can do it the way the book says and make chocolate/peanut butter fudge. Both are good.
You can change the flavor in numerous ways... substituting different extracts for the vanilla. The Maple Walnut fudge is always a favorite. I have made white chocolate fudge with chopped up candied cherries and citrus peel with macadamia nuts. That was a yummy one. I have used Kahlua in place of one half of the milk before. Also quite tasty, but you need to use about 2 more ounces of chips to get it to firm up properly.
Also, the directions in the book say to chill this. Don't do it. As I discussed in chaki's post about the maple fudge, putting your fudge in the fridge can do funny things to it. And I don't mean funny in a good way. It may take a tad longer before you can sample it, but leave it on a wire rack to cool on the counter. Room temp is better tasting anyway. How can you get the full flavor of the thing if it's cold?

Anyway... use your imagination. You can't mess this stuff up. And if you do... anything you end up with will almost certainly make a delicious topping for ice cream.

I made fudge!!!!

2008-12-11T01:59:00.000-08:00

I made maple fudge today. I had to make something "Canadian" for Reina's class. I adore fudge, but you just think about the ingredients and can get fat! Found this great food blog. Wow. She has some good stuff.

http://treataweek.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html

The best school field trip ever was in the third grade, when I still lived in Montreal and we visited a real maple syrup farm in eastern Canada. It was really beautiful there, hundreds of maple trees. The farm had tons of sap churning and evaporating into syrup and then made into all sorts of candies. Yes, we got samples.

Breakfast Burritos

2008-12-08T08:35:00.000-08:00

As most of my friends know, I'm not real big on breakfasts. Not in the morning, anyway. Breakfast for supper? Heck yeah! Breakfast for breakfast? Not so much. However... my guys are nuts for breakfasts. So, I usually make up a batch of this stuff for weekday breakfasts for my sweethearts:

As shown, the ingredients are few and fairly simple. You can adjust it to your taste:
Potatoes (diced or shredded)
Onions & garlic (minced)
eggs (slightly beaten)
breakfast sausage
Chorizo sausage (about 1/4 as much as the breakfast sausage)
Cheese (shredded)
peppers if you like

This is the way I do it:
I put both the sausages in the pan and get them browning. Once the pink is gone I add the onions, potatoes, garlic and peppers (if you are using them) I only used about half of the onion in the picture and I didn't use peppers in this batch but I do recommend them in this recipe. Once the potatoes are tender, add the eggs and stir them around until cooked to your liking. You can use however many you like, if you like it "eggy" use more, if you don't, use less. I usually use about 3-4 eggs in mine.

Notes:
I have been using the Jimmy Dean lower fat breakfast sausage and it's pretty good. Only thing is it doesn't come in "hot" so you have to spice it up yourself. It comes in a 12 oz roll instead of the usual 16 oz roll of regular breakfast sausage.

The chorizo I buy comes in little plastic tubes inside the larger package. Each tube is about 2.5 oz. You don't have to use this, but we like the flavor it adds. Plus, it's a little fatty so, it gives oil to the pan so you can brown the onions and taters without adding any extra. The low fat breakfast sausage leaves no extra oil in the pan whatsoever.

You can see in the ingredients picture that I use a lower fat cheese mixture. This brand is actually not bad and the hubster has gotten used to it and it's better for him, I suppose. So, we use it. Lately I have been adding a little Queso Fresco cheese to mine. But then... I'm addicted to the stuff, it's yummy.

My hubby likes this just as it is with cheese on top and a piece of toast on the side. My son likes it rolled in tortillas like a proper breakfast burrito. You can also use this mixture to stuff baked potatoes, large pasta shells, or if you leave the eggs out of the mixture you can use it to stuff omelets. Anyway, its pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.

Garnish with salsa, fresh tomatoes, whatever you desire.

Oh yeah, salt and pepper to your taste, if you must. Pardon me if I sometimes don't say salt in a recipe. I don't usually add salt when I'm cooking because the hubby just adds it anyway on the plate, whether it needs it or not, so... use your own descretion when adding salt to anything I post about here. :)

Cajun chicken salad

2008-12-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

This wonderful meal is thanks to Tricia! who got tired of me whining about not having the right spices to make food I want, so she sent me a pre-Christmas care package. There is one thing she'll notice she didn't get -- my Costco size Tabasco! It's big! The smoked chiptole Tabasco is already a large sized one and it looks miniature next to mine regular flavor. Should have put a normal size one next to it for emphasis. LOL

Cajun chicken is one of these trendy dinners in Canada, and not that many supermarkets that north sell Southern spice mixes, not the Safeway near my mom's place. So this was my first attempt at my version and it's easy enough.

Put spice on both sides, then grill. Finish off with the pepper mix. Salad dressing is the Cajun spice with olive oil and vinegar. If it's trendy in Canada, I would market this dish in Tokyo for mmm... $40, if I had it on Elsie's chic new plates.

Once this nagging stomach cramps end, I am making buffalo chicken wings with Lousiana hot sauce and vegetable sticks with blue cheese dip.

And the cake mix. Chocolate Betty Crocker classic, with vanilla Haagen Daaz on top. But it will wait a week, be my PMS treat for myself!

Thanks again Tricia!

Gettin' my Greek on

2008-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

I'm so technologically deficient I don't even own a digital camera, nor one of those picture-takin' cell phones (which MamaSnowy insists on calling cellaphones), so I don't have any food pron for you. You'll have to use your imagination.

It started last night when I was in the grocery store, half-heartedly thinking about baking some chicken breasts. Not a single skin-on, bone-in breast in the store. Why, oh why does everything have to be boneless and skinless these days unless you cook a whole dang chicken? Anyway, I wandered up to the prepared foods deli and saw lemon oregano chicken breasts. That started the wheels turning. Already cooked breast in hand (heh!), I wheeled up to the produce aisle to pick up a lemon, some green beans and potatoes, then over to the canned food aisle for a can of tomatoes.

Here're the recipes, from the cookbook "Healthy Cooking for Two (Or Just You)" by Frances Price:

Greek Green Beans & Tomatoes (for 2 servings)
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic (thought I had some, but didn't, so used garlic powder instead)
1 large tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped (I used half a can of diced tomatoes instead)
1 tsp dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound green beans, trimmed and prepped for cooking

In a heavy 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the onions in the olive oil until tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, dill, salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to give up some juice. Add beans to tomato mixture and cook until they're as tender as you like them. I like them well done in this, so they really pick up the flavors. I know Elsie will identify with this: I have to pick out the tomato bits. I like the flavor, but the texture squicks me something awful:-) These are even better the next day.

Roasted Greek Potatoes (serves 2)
3 cups water
8 oz waxy boiling potatoes
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 300, and bring the water to a boil. Cut the scrubbed potatoes into thick chunks. Line a 1 quart casserole with foil, pressing to fit the casserole. No kidding---don't skip this step unless you're prepared to spend a lot of time scrubbing the dish. Add the lemon juice, oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, turning to coat them well, then pour in enough boiling water to equal a depth of 1/2". Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the potatoes and roast them for 40 minutes longer, or until the water is absorbed and the potatoes are tender and browned (turn the potatoes every 15 minutes during this stage).

Really, really tasty. The only logical dessert is baklava. Alas, I'm trying to cut down on sweets, and so settled for lemon yogurt.

FOOD DIARY - Chicken Teriyaki Rolls

2008-12-01T19:57:00.001-08:00

Hubby made me Chicken Teriyaki Rolls on Friday after Thanksgiving :)

This was our second attempt. Came out a little better (the rice) but we are still missing "something".. no wonder traditional Japanese sushi apprentices take 5 years just doing rice before they are allowed to make anything else..

Hubby mixing in the vinegar into the rice.. we got a bowl for this.. last time it was a clump disaster.. this time did a bit better.. still not right though but just like last time.. a yummy experiment!

Because I much prefer the rice outside he obliged and did it for me :)

We used a Teriyaki mix instead of doing that from scratch. Still it came out really good! I even ate the extra chicken that we didn't shove in the rolls! At the end we had more rice than one roll but not enough for two so hubby made one big one with the nori on the OUTSIDE... he was getting tired. Awwww

This is what it looked like doing the last of the rolls. One giant roll :)

He hates cutting the sushi though.. doesn't slide well.. he thinks he didn't use enough water on the knife.. since these knives are ridiculously sharp.. I don't use those..

My plate on the left and his on the right. This is our uber coffee table in the living room and our brand spaking new plates :D Note something I didn't notice until much later.. check out the reflection at the top of the glass table.. Go Ninja Warrior LOL

Dad's Turkey

2008-11-30T07:36:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving just happened, here. I succeeded in re-creating my Dad's turkey recipe perfectly, which made me SO happy. I made the house smell JUST like Thanksgiving (it's not really Thanksgiving unless the house smells like Dad's turkey). I'll share the recipe here, in case you care (I even took pictures like a nerdgrrl). You can make just a few pieces of turkey, too (which is what I did) & it'll still be awesome.

Dad learned his recipe from his father. My grandfather was the Vanderbilt family's little French chef. He and his family traveled back and forth between NYC and Newport Rhode Island, and he kept a HUGE book of rercipes (all written in French) which my Dad inherited. Of course Dad never translated any of the recipes... We have this great book of culinary genius but it's pretty much useless (I am SO not proficient in French).

However! I am resourceful and I'm an instinctual cook, so I decided to try to make Dad's famous turkey anyway from memory. He always called it "dark turkey" because that's how it looked. All I knew was that red wine and crushed black pepper were the main ingredients. I decided to try Dad's favorite wine (to drink), which was almost always a nice cabernet sauvignon. BINGO!

Charlotte is a vegetarian so I didn't bother making a whole turkey for just myself and Greg. Two turkey thighs are plenty big enough for two people. I bought a small cheap aluminum roaster pan. This is important 'cause roaster pans have those grooves in them that raise the meat above the juices, so they don't stick or get soggy. It's a very simple process; rub cracked black peppercorns into the meat and pour a liberal amount of wine over the meat & into the pan. I used about a cup and a half. The chef gets a taste!

Here's what a lot of people don't know about cooking with wine; the alcohol all cooks off so there is no alcoholic content in the food. The reason you cook with wine is that it breaks down the fibers in poultry meat and allows the flavor to permeate the entire dish. It also enhances any spices & herbs you use. Be careful with wine & red meat though; alcohol actually tightens the fibers of red meat, making it tougher. If you use wine in red meat or pork dishes, you have to pound the meat with a tenderizing mallet first. But I digress!

So the roaster pan goes into the oven, center rack at 375 degrees. Dad's rule was 20 minutes per pound of bird. Since I didn't have to worry about a whole bird (full of stuffing) I decided to just treat the thighs like a big roaster chicken, so I kept them in there for about an hour and a half. Dad cooked his turkey breast side down, lightly covered with a sheet of aluminum foil, until the last hour when he removed the foil & turned the bird over to brown. The breat meat was always tender & never dry because he did it that way. However, since again I was just doing a couple pieces I left it uncovered the entire time.

The first thing you notice is the smell which is GREAT...Dad's turkey is very aromatic. As it cooks it darkens dramatically. You have to pull out the pan every 20 minutes or so and baste the meat...I just used a spoon to dump the wine juices back over the bird. You can see, even half-cooked the meat already looks purple-ish. That's the wine.

More for the chef! Cabernet is a great sipping wine. About a half hour before the turkey is done, my Dad had a little trick; he'd put a small pat of real butter on the skin, so it would glaze and crisp. Yes, you most definitely eat the skin with this kind of turkey because it is DELICIOUS. I did the butter thing too and OMG...it was sinfully wonderful.

So here is the finished turkey dinner. You can see the turkey has a deep burgundy color...that's not just because this is dark meat. With the entire bird, the interior parts of turkey breast meat were still always white but the rest of the meat is rather dark. If you've cooked it right, it falls off the bone easily and is very juicy. I totally cooked it right. ^_^

Just so you know Charlotte wasn't left out, here is her Thanksgiving dinner. I made her a cheddar and spinach omelette with hollandaise sauce...her favorite treat. Even Kiba had a special treat; a Thanksgiving cow cookie. Everybody gets to be thankful!

I was SO thrilled to be able to make Dad's turkey. Really. When a person is gone from your life, there are a thousand things you miss but sometimes it's the funniest little things that sting the most. I never thought I'd ever taste Dad's wonderful turkey again. I'm glad to be wrong. He'd have been proud of me.

RECIPE - The Ultimate Comfort Food..Made Easy

2008-11-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

I probably won't post much about cooking because I try not to cook. This is the easy way to make Mac and Cheese. Several months ago I bought a Wolfgang Puck 7qt. rice steamer. In the instruction book there is a recipe for this mac & cheese. It does call for heavy cream but I make it with 2% to save on calories because I always add extra cheese ... we all know how I love cheese.

1 1/2 C. elbow macaroni
1 1/2 C. chicken broth
good quality chicken bouillon cube
1 C. heavy cream
3/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 C. shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1. Combine macaroni, broth and cream in rice cooker. Press cook. Stir occasionally. I discovered that when I use the 2% it boils over so I add it a little at a time while it is cooking to prevent the mess.

2. When machine switches to Keep Warm, add remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly until cheese is melted.

3. Press Cook again. When cooker switches to keep warm let is sit for a minute. This is when the top turns a pretty crunchy brown.

YUM YUM

Feeding picky eaters

2008-11-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

Just found this story about trying to feed vegetables to Rio. I sure sound hysterical. I actually write so many articles, I forget about some of them. Listening to Meri recall how she made an "Under the Sea" meal for her daughter made me think of this one. Her Under the Sea meal includes cutting slits into weiners so the ends curl up like an octopus (it's a Japanese standard called tako-san weiner), she cuts carrot slices as seaweed? and have WHOLEWHEAT goldfish crackers swimming about. I loved the way she emphasized the wholewheat to ensure it's healthy. I am totally into buying frozen WHOLEWHEAT waffles, WHOLEWHEAT English muffins, etc. Parents will sell their souls to put something healthy into the bodies of picky eating children...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20010615a1.html

Two Tricks

2008-11-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Now that the holidays are upon us, I thought I would pass on a nifty trick my MIL told me about a few years ago.

I love homemade Red Velvet Cake. I get one every year from my MIL as a birthday cake and even at holidays, she makes one for me.

The only bad thing about Red Velvet Cake..It's bitter.

No matter if it is made homemade or not..It's bitter.

Her way around that..

When you mix the cake batter, add a tablespoon of mayo. The Mayo exits out the bitterness, which is the food coloring in the mixes. You can't tell the mayo is there. It's great.

Second trick..Again from my MIL

When you make Cornbread Muffins, add a half a cup to cup of sugar to the mixture. It makes a sweet cornmeal muffin...YUMMY!!!!!!

Reason I said half a cup to a cup, it depends on how sweet you want the muffins.

Dashimaki

2008-11-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

"I'm not the dashimaki maker, I'm the dashimaki maker's son. I'm just making dashimaki 'til the dashimaki maker comes."

Okay, so I AM the dashimaki maker, & I'm nobody's son. Ahem.

Anyway...I love dashimaki. LOVE IT. Couldn't get enough of it on my first trip to Japan, & no one at home or in any of my American Japanese restaurants has any idea how to make it or what it is. So! When a certain person found out how much I loved the stuff, she presented me with a gift of hon dashi and a tiny dashimaki/tamagoyaki pan! Yay! I put everything in my Muscle Park pail, because I am a huge nerd and it made me happy to do so.

Dashimaki is just eggs, dashi (bonito soup base), starch (I use corn starch but I guess you're supposed to use potato starch, but anyway it still works) & soy sauce. I measure NOTHING. Measures are for girls. Pfft.

A big part of mixing it all together is just being smart. I use warm water to dissolve the dashi powder, because it works best, so first I put about a teaspoon of dashi powder in a Pyrex cup with a spout & add maybe 1/4 cup of warm water, & mix it up well. Then, 4 eggs. Then, a dash of soy sauce (probably a teaspoon). Then in a separate cup, I add a teaspoon or so of corn starch powder to just a little COLD water & mix it. That way, no lumps! Mom taught me that... Anyway, once that's all dissolved it goes into the egg mixture & you whip it all together a few times. Use chopsticks! It's fun! Dashi smells fishy....

So, you oil the pan well, & keep a oily paper towel all folded up small, right next to the pan, so you can re-oil it between layers of egg. Heat up the pan til it's very hot (but not too hot...you don't want smoking oil)...pour a thin layer of egg in (it should sizzle) and when it sets up enough to lift away from the surface, start rolling it with your chopsticks.

You should end up with a little egg roll at one end of the pan. Oil the end you started from, slide the egg back to that end, pour a small amount of egg mixture into the other end of the pan. Lift up the edge of the egg you already rolled, so some of the mixture adheres to the rolled egg (this is so you can continue to roll the egg unbroken). Then, just keep rolling up the egg layers!

It takes practice. Chopsticks really are the best tool for the job, so you better have mad chopsick skills. It's tricky because you want the egg to not get too brown, & you want to roll fast enough that the egg is still soft when you start to roll (but not runny). I find thin layers work best because that way you can roll it up fast.

When your egg log is all rolled up, you are supposed to tighten it by rolling it in a makisu (bamboo mat)...I am not brave enough to do this yet. Perhaps someday...

Anyway I let it cool a bit & then slice it up. In the picture (above) I laid the pieces flat so you can see the layers.

My daughter Charlotte is CRAZY about dashimaki! I make it for her with a little bowl of sticky rice flavored with salty nori flakes, & some edamame. It takes me about a half hour from start to finish. I'm getting better each time I make it, too, because it does take a bit of practice.

Olive Rosemary Spiral Rolls

2008-11-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

I made these last year for Thanksgiving and the wonderful thing about them is that you can leave out ingreadents and they still come out wonderful. I'll write the orginal recipe and then my own I use.

Olive Rosemary Spiral Rolls

Things needed

1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped, (about 2 oz)

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsely

1/2 tsp. dried crushed rosemary

1 pkg (16 oz) hot roll mix ( such as Pillsbury's)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 tsp. coarse ground pepper

1 cup hot water
(120 to 130 degrees)

2 eggs divided

2 tbs. butter or margarine at room temperature

Preheat oven to 375. Coat 12 muffin pan cups with cooking spray.

Combine olives, parsley, and rosemary. Reserve.

In a large bowl, combine mix with yeast packet from mix, Parmesan and pepper. Stir in hot water, 1 egg and butter until dough forms.

On lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 15"x 10" rectangle; sprinkle with reserved olive mixture to within 1/2" of edges.

Starting from long side, roll up dough.

Using a serrated knife cut dough roll in half. Cut each half into six slices.

Place rolls spiral side up in muffing cups. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled, 30 minutes. Remove plastic.

Beat remaining egg, brush over rolls. Bake 18 minutes until golden.

Now my way I revised this is great if you have people in your family, like mine, that don't like olives. And are pressed for time as well.

Instead of getting the hot roll mix. Purchase the spiral dinner roll dough ( comes in the same packaging as premade bisquits.). This omits the yeast. While you have to unroll each individual roll to put the mix in, it's worth the extra time if you have those that don't like olives but can have the rest of the taste.

Unroll the rolls and place a small amount of mixture inside. Roll back up and place onto a cookie sheet. Cook the rolls as the package states. You also omit the egg part of the recipe but everything else is the same.

Doing it my way allows you to have both olive rolls and regular rolls. Just remember which ones are the olive. I do a mixure of black olives with green olives. Have fun and experiment.

This recipe can be used all year round.

War wounds -- should the uncoordinated be allowed in the kitchen?

2008-11-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

Last week, I sliced my thumb with a grater. It was a deep gouge that made tying knots and other normal manual tasks difficult. Just as I've gained my evolutionary advantage again, I burned myself yesterday. I scalded myself transferring boiled pasta to the saucepan. I treated myself pretty well. My stomach was a disaster but I tended to it well with ice and ointments so it's now left only with some light redness. My inner right thigh was less victimized and received less attention, so now there is a blister. Will NOT post a picture. This blog is meant to be appetizing...

Sometimes I wonder whether the likes of uncoordinated me should be in the kitchen much, utensils are weapons of self-destruction... (Just kidding. My mom wanting to try my pasta recipe alone makes it worthwhile!!)

What I was cooking at the time was my favorite pasta sauce which is 2/3 any kind of tomato sauce with 1/3 pesto sauce. Love pesto but the taste by itself is too strong. This combination gives tomato sauce more life. We've done this plain, with bacon, with clams -- everything works!

Sambar & Roti

2008-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

... is a very traditional Southern Indian dish. Roti, is the staple bread of the region, so I was taught by my ex-mother-in-law. Sambar and roti was a part of nearly every meal she served. I am quite partial to it myself. If I don't have it for a long time I start to crave it. There are few ingredients involved and all of them can be changed to suit individual tastes.

Channa Dal is pretty much just yellow split peas. They have a very mild flavor. Toor Dal is a bit darker yellow and has a more nutty flavor. You can make Sambar with either one. This particular day I used the Toor Dal. Because I had them and because I could. lol That is to say, I had no particular reason to use one or the other. It just happened to be Toor Dal today. Please note that it says you should soak the Toor Dal for several hours before cooking. I find that this is not necessary if you use a good heavy pot and a tight lid.

The other ingredients I used today are:
onion
garlic
whole dried red chili peppers
cummin seeds
mustard seeds
baby spinach

So, I put one cup of Toor Dal in a 2 qt. pot and covered with water until the water was approximately one inch above the Dal.
Turn the heat to medium and cook until the pot starts to sing. Watch it and make sure you turn the heat down to low and slant the lid a little before the thing boils over. This stuff dries like cement if it does boil over. Once it stops boiling and foaming you can close it back up and let it simmer for an hour or so.

Most of the true Indian recipes I've seen for this dish say to cook the Dal in a pressure cooker, but my MIL never did. I've always used a heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid and that's always been good enough.

Once you have your split peas/Dal on the heat you can start prepping your other items:
Heat a non-stick saute pan and heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of cooking oil. The original recipe would actually use ghee, but to make it a tad healthier I use a couple T of canola oil and add about a tsp of butter for flavor.
When the oil is heated put in the chopped onion, saute until nearly translucent. Put in the minced garlic and the red peppers. As soon as the garlic begins to turn golden add the mustard and cummin seeds. Keep a lid handy because the seeds will pop. As soon as the seeds begin to sizzle and pop, remove the pan from the heat and cover.

Close up of whole mustard seed and whole cummin seed.

Once the Dal stops boiling and foaming you can close it back up and let it simmer for an hour or so. This is the time when I usually pull the red peppers out of the sauted onions and put them in with the Dal.

Once the Dal has nearly dissolved you can add the other ingredients. First add the sauted onions and garlic...

... then chop the spinach roughly...

...and stir it into the Dal.

Now you have delicious, mellow, tasty Indian Sambar. Lets make the roti now. The Sambar will taste better after it sits a while.

----------------------------------

Lets start with the flour. For roti you have to use whole durum wheat. Its sort of creamy yellow in color and has a different texture than regular white flour. You can make a passable variation with regular whole wheat flour but it just isn't the same.
I've been known to use several types of flour for making flat breads which I and my son just call roti. A particular favorite is made with whole grain rye flour mixed with the whole wheat flour. Really, it's good.

Left to right: Hodgson's Mill brand whole wheat flour, Nirav brand whole grain durum wheat flour, Pillsbury's all-purpose unbleached white flour.

Mix 3 cups of durum wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose white flour with 1/2 tsp. salt. To this add, 1 to 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 T ghee or oil. I find that if I use 1/2 cup of buttermilk or yogurt for the liquid I get a softer roti. I like the flavor better, too. But you can use just plain water and it will be fine.

Knead the dough a few times until all the flour and liquid are incorporated. Let the dough sit 10-15 minutes to rest. Then pinch the dough off and roll into approximately golf ball sized balls. Roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness.

Heat a non-stick, flat bottomed pan, or a nice heavy cast iron pan to medium high heat. Place one roti in the pan and press lightly with rubber spatula. After about 20 seconds flip the roti and continue pressing lightly. You may have to turn a time or two more to get the proper doneness. Your roti should puff up somewhat when it's done. It may not puff up as much as the one shown here, but it should show some bubbles and lightness.
This one was terrific! I always get such a sense of accomplishment when one blows up like this one did. I usually get about one third of them in a batch of 13-15 rotis to do this. Its really exciting. Okay... I know... I lead a very boring life, but this is... LOL

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Along with these two items I also made a couple of other dishes. Which I will describe briefly:

Spicy Potatoes
Diced white potatoes
half the sauted onion/garlic mixture described above
tumeric about half a tsp.
garum masala about one tsp.

In the pan I sauted the onions in I cooked the potatoes until tender. To the potatoes I added half the onion mixture and then the tumeric and garum masala. Once the spices had cooked for about a minute I took it off the heat.

I did use a few spoons of this potato mixture to make a couple filled roti (paratha) for Thomas. They were a pain in the patoot and I would only ever do them for him EVER again. This was my first try at it, and I didn't have fun, altho I have to say they were quite tasty.

Burmese Chicken Curry
Cook chicken pieces in a few T oil.
To this add:
2 T Madras style curry powder
2 T Paprika
1 T turmeric
1/2 tsp red chili powder
After about one minute add
One medium tomato, chopped

Once the tomato starts to wilt add one can coconut milk

Let this mixture simmer until it starts to turn red on the top. Then it's done. Garnish with french fried onions and garlic, lemon and fresh cilantro. (Bunny, you should know this one. I blogged about it a while back.)

Then I had this for supper:

It was delicious and Thomas and I enjoyed it emensely. I hope you guys will too, someday.

FOOD DIARY - Japanese & Pizza nights

2008-11-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

Hubby's homemade pizza

Remember that I'm totally not the baker in my family.. so hubby totally does this for me all the time :) We've tried a BUNCH of recipes for the crust. Quite frankly if the crust sucks.. I won't like it.. so imagine trying pizza over and over trying to get it right. Too much sauce, not enough sauce, there's no such thing as too much cheese.. LOL nvm.. Either way he finally settled on a recipe we got from a Jewish Baking book. Lemme run over to the Library to see which one. Okay it's called "Secrets of a Jewish Baker". Hands down it has the best pizza dough I've ever tasted out of a home recipe using a real oven. My favorite still is "mafia style" pizza but I don't have a brick oven that goes to 700-900°F.. Ever since hubby got that new stand mixer he's been very happy to bake again since everyone knows how tiring making your own dough can be over an extended period of time. The bigger the batch as well the more it takes from you. This recipe does 3 pizzas.

Leftovers from Tokyo Mandarin - Seafood Yaki Udon

Over the weekend we went with friends to eat at our favorite Japanese Food restaurant - Tokyo Mandarin (Chinese/Japanese food heaven). I wanted to try out something different this time but still have a slice of what I like normally.. I mean.. I was sooooooooo created for the Buffet it's not even funny.. Hubby laughs at how much I like "a taste" of something and I take a bite from his plate... of course proceeds to laugh at me as I go to a buffet and eat 1 thing off each container so I can try it all.. At least I don't get sick like he does so there! P.S. his sesame beef was fantabuloso...

Leftovers from Tokyo Mandarin - Chicken Tempura Rolls

As you can see from the menu - I tried something new and something old :) New was the Seafood Yaki Udon (and to think THIS was my leftovers.. the plate was HUGE!!).. It also came with my favorite salad (Tokyo salad which is tossed lettuce with carrots, cucumber and tomato (I take out the tomato) in a light orange ginger dressing that's actually pretty sweet and not hot at all! Other restaurants versions are much more "ginger".. (to quote Andrea's brother John.. "In an F' you Italy kind of way".. ). I ate my gyoza as well.. sorry... I had to.. and even ordered my favorite Chicken Tempura Rolls (believe it or not out of all the restaurants they have associated with this franchise.. the one I go to is the ONLY restaurant to offer this and also has the largest menu to pick from). I knew I was doggie bagging most of this so I just ordered it all.

Recipe: Southern Fried Pork Chops

2008-11-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Boneless pork loin chops (approximately 1/4" thick)

3 to 4 cups all purpose flour
1 to 2 tsp ground black pepper
1 to 2 T onion powder
1 to 2 T garlic powder
1 to 2 T rubbed dried parsley
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
1 to 2 T paprika
salt to taste

1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 T hot sauce

1 to 2 quarts cooking oil

First things first, I allowed my hubby to slice the loin into chops for me, which meant that I had to then pound them out to get the proper thickness (or thinness, as it was). This was easily accomplished by placing the chops, one by one into a plastic baggie and pounding them with a mallet. If you don't have a meat pounder/tenderizer a small iron skillet or heavy bottomed pot will work just as well (believe me, I've tried both, they work).

Next, assemble your other ingredients.

In one large bowl mix together the flour and dry spices/herbs.

In another large bowl beat together the buttermilk, eggs, and hot sauce. (remember that if you don't have buttermilk on hand you can make a passable substitute by putting one teaspoon of lemon juice or distilled vinegar into one cup of regular milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes before using) The hot sauce I use is like Tabasco, I just prefer the flavor of Texas Pete brand. You can leave this out if you don't like it or don't have it on hand. You can tell by the size of the bottle that I use it quite frequently. :)

Ooo, I almost forgot the paprika and chili powder (see the previous picture)

Next step: Pour cooking oil into a large, steep sided frying pan or dutch oven. Use a good, heavy bottomed pan for this, or cast iron. A thin bottomed pan will not work right and your stuff will scorch. If you have something like a Fry Daddy, that will work too. Also, use a quality cooking oil for deep frying. I personally prefer Wesson brand vegetable or canola oil but I will use Crisco brand if it is on a really good sale.

Anyhoo... heat the oil over a medium flame. You will just have to experiment with your own stove to get the heat right. I don't have a clue what the temperature is supposed to be, I've never tested it. I just hold my hand over it until it feels right, then I do a drop test: Test your oil for proper heat by dropping a pinch of flour into it. If it hisses and bubbles up you're ready to rock-n-roll.

Now then... dust a chop with the flour mixture, then dip into the egg mixture, then back into the flour mixture. You will have to turn it over several times and press the flour into the meat. You can fry the chop now or give it another turn in the egg mixture and then back into the flour for an extra crunchy coating. (I wanted to get a picture of this for you, but it's hard to snap pictures when your fingers are all covered in flour/egg mixture.

Carefully place your coated chop into the hot oil. Do not over-crowd your pan or you will cool your oil too much and the thing won't fry properly and you'll have a greasy, icky, yucky... um... thing.

When your chop begins to look a little browned on the edges turn it over. You may need to flip it more than once until you get the level of brownness and crunchiness you desire on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain on several sheets of paper towel or use a draining rack. (I find that draining on paper towels gets more oil off)

Ta-da! You now have a sinfully delicious, totally unhealthy piece of deep fried heaven. Every Southern cook has their own variation of this recipe. Personally, I think my version is one of the very best I've ever tasted and believe me I've tasted a LOT of fried foods in my lifetime. This is the basic recipe that my Grandmother used, although she didn't use the chili powder or the hot sauce. You can use this technique to fry most anything. Chicken, shrimp, fish, veggies, cheese... just alter the seasonings to suit the food. I use this to make fried chicken for chicken parmigiana, only I use Italian herbs for the seasoning.

Thomas had his chop over a green salad with Caesar dressing.

My hubby had the full traditional Southern meal: Chop, mashed potatoes, mixed greens.

And of course... he had to have gravy all over it:

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Myself, I had a chop, sans mash & gravy, with the rest of the greens. I don't much care for mashed potatoes. I know, I know... mashed taters are an American tradition. But growing up rice was cheaper and flour, so we ate rice a lot as a staple and also biscuits. Lots and lots of biscuits... I think mashing is a horrible thing to do to a perfectly good potato. But that's a whole other blog post...

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BTW, deep frying is a thing you have to commit to. You need to prep your stuff, hang up the phone, make sure you have a tall glass of iced tea nearby, and just do it! You can't worry about making a mess, or getting your hands all icky. If you try to keep your counter all neat while you do it you will fail. If getting your hands all covered in flour and raw egg and just, just... goo, disturbs you, you won't do it right. You have to forget all that and just be in the moment. Like I said, you have to commit to it. Totally.

Also, don't be stingy with the flour mixture or the egg mixture. If you worry about all the flour you will be throwing away when you're done and try to use less, you won't get a good coating and you will fail.

Another thing, please don't use store brand oil. Use the good stuff. And don't be stingy with it, either. I don't advocate eating fried foods very often, so... if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right.

I learned this way of coating foods for deep frying from my Granny, my mother's mother. She was the champion deep frying pro of the Universe. No kidding. The skill eluded my mother. She wasn't good at it at all (mostly because of the warnings I posted above). But I, thank goodness, inherited my Granny's knack for it. Yes, I am bragging on myself. Everyone has certain skills they are proud of and the fact that I can make deep fried foods (chicken especially) that everyone raves over is one of mine.

Let me know if you guys try this or if your methods are different or similar.

Soy sauce cream pasta -- with matsutake mushrooms

2008-11-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

I have seen soy sauce cream pasta at restaurants but being a tomato sauce gal, never thought of venturing there. But last night, didn't have enough rice in the cooker for myself and had a tupperware of leftover pasta. Wanted to try something different from the pasta I made with the lemon pork loins. (Like cooking for one, it's challenging to figure out different recipes with similar ingredients.) My mom brought over a ton of British Columbia grown matsutake mushrooms, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsutake, and before she left, she boiled a jar. She makes these jars to enjoy matsutake all year around because the mushrooms are only available in the fall. (Mikey, get your hands on a jar. You will LOVE this recipe!)

Matsutake is a delicacy, kind of like French truffles, very expensive because it is only grown wild. Mom tells the story of how her and three friends went to Whistler, spent the day looking for them and between the four of them, found one!!! Still, they rejoiced and together made a meal of matsutake soup and rice. This particular recipe with matsutake mushrooms is for my family because no one else will probably get their hands on them, and they are frightenfully expensive as well. But soy sauce cream as a pasta sauce is now officially tried and very tasty, according to my entire family. I've seen offered at restaurants with spinach and bacon, chicken and mushrooms, etc. A little on the exotic side, but will not push people's comfort zones.

Prep time: 10 mins. (since my fettucine was already boiled)
Health meter: 7 (matsutakes are rich in all sorts of minerals, according to Wiki)
Tasty test: 9 (everyone liked it!, saving 10 as an out of the world experience)

1) Put butter in skillet to melt.
(If you are using fresh ingredients, put in now and sauteed, salt and pepper to taste, and a dash of soy sauce.)
2) Put in cooked noodles (spaghetti will do just as well as fettucine)
(If you are using Mom's matsutake, put in it after the noodles, before the cream.
3) Put in dash of cream and gently mix everything together. It becomes a nice light brown color.
4) I shaved some Gruyere cheese on top. Parmesan or another hard cheese will do just as well.

Okay, Pam. I'm not asking you to try this at home. Chances are Texan supermarkets won't ever be selling Pacific saury (WTF???) in any form. But just so people will know what a typical Japanese home cooked is like, I'm showing it here. This fella should have been presented nicely on a better plate and I do have grilled fish plates I never use. Fall is sanma season, a fish that is rich in Omega oils and other good stuff, but in season, it's available dirt cheap. On special yesterday, they were 50 cents each, not frozen, fresh enough to eat raw. (Only the freshest fish are eaten raw.) It is served whole and can be tricky to eat. The kids don't like the part next to the guts because it's a bit bitter. Dealing with the bones can be challenging as well. What I usually do is pick out the tasty morsels and mix it into their rice. Other day, I'll show photos of the horse mackerel (aji) that our favorite fisherman specializes in and show various ways of eating mackerel (saba) the other fish he catches.

How to make:

Make a X cut on both sides of the fish (so the thickest part cooks easier). Salt on both sides. Salting the skin makes it crispier. Put on grill. Grilled fish in Japan is usually served with grated raw radish and some lemon.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - Growing up Rican

2008-11-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

I'm first generation "American". I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My parents from Puerto Rico (Mom from the Mayagüez area (West of the Island) and Dad from Juncos (East side of the Island (just east of Caguas on the map). I went to school in Caguas (11th grade) during my parents divorce back in the late 1980's. Although I grew up here.. I was still firmly entrenched in the Puerto Rican culture. For all intents and purposes I thought I grew up "normal American". It's only after years of comparison with other people who grew up in this country did I realize how different I grew up. Everything from what I listened to in music, to ate every day for food. Even our living arrangements were strange. I've moved 22 times in my life.. not too far but still moved a lot. During those times it was with 3 generations living at home. My Mom's Mom (whom we always call Mamá - maternal grandmothers are giving that name while paternal grandmother's are given "Abuela" - which literally means "grandmother") lived with us during the late spring - early Fall every year. It was during the colder months where she'd run back to my other Aunt's house in Puerto Rico since she just could not tolerate the winter months anymore. During those times she lived with us she shaped a lot of what I know today as my "style" of cooking.

A painting on the side of a building "HERE we sell PORK 100% from the "country" or to say homegrown or even "island bred". And yes they mean the WHOLE pork on a spit..

My Grandmom raised my sisters and I VERY different from my Mom. Without going into extreme detail she changed how she viewed children in the kitchen. In Puerto Rico you have only one person in the kitchen (unless it's a large holiday gathering and you need the manpower to create so many meals).. Unless you wanted to get hacked by a machete.. you did not go into the woman's realm... Unfortunately, Mom didn't get the benefit of learning from her Mom how to cook and since she was on her own very early in her life she had to learn almost painfully. If ya know me by now.. I'm inquisitive.. well I was just like that as a kid. Half the time I swear Mamá was just keeping me in the kitchen just so I won't get in trouble outside beating up kids.. From there I learned a lot about Puerto Rican Cuisine and Spanish Cuisine (Mamá is Spaniard). She was the mother of all inventions. We grew up dirt poor and had to improvise a LOT to get food on the table. I learned how to improvise with 3 things in the pantry LOL. As any good Puerto Rican family though.. we always had rice. And.. even though we lived in the inner city.. we always had some sort of garden. Lord help us if we couldn't get sofrito done.. the world would end..

Long live mangoes.. food of the Gods I swear... Fruit is a huge part of our diet

My oldest sister also had a very large role in my life when it came to not only cooking but even upbringing. Mom always came home late so it was my sisters who raised me during the months Mamá was on the Island. Dad was the disciplinarian.. we didn't exactly get along all that hot. He did however make sure we knew how to cook. You would know a man's wrath if the man doesn't have his rice and beans.. Being by far the youngest (I'm 7 years younger than my oldest sis and 3 1/2 years younger than my middle sis) I benefited not only education wise (my sisters taught me everything they learned in school so I could read and write (in 2 languages) by the age of 3) and taught me how to cook (by the age of 4 on my own). Going back and forth from the US to Puerto Rico (we visited a LOT.. it's sorta a Rican tradition.. even if we didn't have the money... we HAD to go back to the Island.. almost like getting air to breathe long enough to go back to the US and hold our breath).

Pasteles (recipe here).. pain in the nards to make.. usually people do this as a massive Christmas-time project.. imagine 40 people (including kids) making several hundred of these.. mmmmmmm I love them.

Food in Puerto Rico is a form of social networking. People practically judge how good of a host you are by the amount of food you serve... and trust me we are not talking about chips and salsa and a glass of water.. we are talking about full course meals. Not hungry? THEY DON'T CARE! Anyway.. food holidays.. nothing and I mean absolutely nothing beats the Christmas Holidays. We don't even celebrate Thanksgiving.. that's a speed bump to Christmas. The first time I ate a "Thanksgiving turkey" was over a "white person's house" when I was a teenager. I didn't even know what Roasted turkey tasted like until I had that meal (and I thought I died and went to heaven.. though I admit.. I hate cranberry sauce..). What is common in Puerto Rico from about Thanksgiving all the way to Three Kings Day is something called Parrandas. Unlike what the wiki says.. it's an all out excuse for partying in the wee hours of the morning with neighbors. How it works is that a group of people carrying musical instruments go to a house (not designated.. they decide that night) and camp out in front of that house singing songs that kinda go "WAKE UP AND MAKE ME FOOD" and in return they will serenade you. If you did this in the USA.. you'd be promptly shot and the Police called for disruption of the peace.. most of this stuff starts around 10PM and can go on to 4-5 AM (depending on how many people fell asleep from the liquor and over eating)...

Minus the beans I'd totally go for this.. (L-R), Pastelillos (IMO doughier than an empanada), Rice and Beans (red kidney beans), tossed salad and .. I think that's stuffed peppers of some kind. Definitely a meat mixture on something..

Cooking during the holidays was a lot of work. Between all the unexpected guests (the idea of R.S.V.P. is so foreign to them.. knocking on your door is R.S.V.P. to them.. seriously..) and the expected parranda drop in .. many people on the Island did most of their cooking in advance. Doing Pasteles was a big chore so when people came over the head women in the household would take advantage and put EVERYONE to work. Make the men go out and climb trees to get the banana leaves and have the kids grind the plantains for the base of the patty. Everyone else was dicing ingredients or cooking the mixture or finding someplace to assemble the whole friggin' thing.

Couldn't find a wiki thing for this.. but it's meat stuffed ripened plaintains (platanos madúros).. mmmm...

Baking was always left to the professionals. I don't ever remember anyone outright using an oven for cooking (usually it was storage for all the pots you couldn't find a spot for earlier..).. There were the panaderías (bread bakeries) and the pastelerías (pastry bakeries). Each had their own clientele but man EVERYONE used a panadería. Funny story.. whenever anyone who now lives in the USA goes "home" we all go from the airport to some bakery.. for bread.. a whole friggin' loaf of bread. It reminds us of French Bread but a whoooooooooole lot better. My Aunt (Dad's sister - the one I lived with) finally had enough of the mystery and in exasperation asked "wtf is up with the bread you friggin' Yankees.. you don't HAVE bread in your country???".. (obviously paraphrased :p ) and we'd all go "nope not like this".. we finally figured out. it's a different yeast.. the outside is this really thin crunchy coat and the inside is so soft it melts in your mouth.. Dad would just haul out and get a loaf for him and me with just a little bit if melted butter in it. We'd eat it in the car from the airport :) My uncle always got a loaf of bread daily from the bakery.. when I lived there.. they had to get 2 loaves.. I was quite the hog.. what did I use it for? SANGUICHES....

THIS is a sanguich.. a wha??? Sandwich.. yep.. Friggin' ricans have to americanize words.. this I think is a simple ham and cheese sanguich (check out the bread.. THAT is the loaf I'm talking about..) I made sandwiches of everything if I could.. still do..

Religion also has a funny way of getting into food :p I grew up evangelical Christian but when I lived with my Aunt she was Roman Catholic. They had fundraisers for everything and I swear everything was always a food sale. No one did bake sales.. they did food. One of the things they sold were Pastelillos.. I've mentioned them before.. but they are to die for.. Empanadas are altogether different.. the picture below is an actual Pastelillo..

I haven't had a REAL pastelillo of these in about.. hmm.. 15 years? Oh I miss these so...

When I did fundraising events in this country I'd laugh because I'd inevitably run into another Rican and we'd smile.. both going "we'd make a killing if we can make this into a bacalaito (fritters made with codfish pieces) sale" LMAO THAT was a typical cheap dish to make and sell for fundraisers on the island. Fish in general is big in Puerto Rico.. after all it's an island only 100 miles by 30 miles.. that's a lot of coastline..

Parting dish.. I .. love. Tostones......

All in all despite my unhappy childhood I do cherish a LOT of wonderful memories when it comes to food. Food done right or with a group of family members all chatting is like comfort to me. These days living alone while hubby works I think of what I can do to relive those moments. Even here some of my happy moments are cooking with hubby. He's a fantastic cook and I learn a lot from him. Lately I've been finding more and more recipes that remind me of my upbringing. Being a good husband he eats everything :) I like that.

FOOD DIARY -- International school food booth

2008-11-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

This is just a section for people who write down what they are eating. Ramblings are very welcomed.

Yesterday was a ridiculously satisfying day because we went to Reina's friend school bazaar. International schools have amazing food booths because of the variety of ethnicities attending.
In my hometown of Vancouver, they now have these Nibbles and Bites fairs where various restaurants sell sample dishes. Food booths are like that except the food is made by parents. It will cost as much or even more (depending on your level of self-control) but the money goes towards buying playground equipment for kids and stuff. Donating money never tasted better!

What I had: 1 stick of Filipino barbequed pork, 1 bowl Korean barbeque beef bowl with kimchi, Filipino sticky rice with brown rice dessert, 2 vegetable samosas.

Hiroshi had the Italian plate combo: lasagna, ratatouillle with Italian sausage, foccacia with onion and tuna and a fig tart. He went back for a second place (substituted the retatouille for an extra slice of foccacia) and a paper cup of white wine.

And the kids, what can I say about them. Reina had some fried yakisoba noodles and popcorn. Rio had an All-American hot dog, cotton candy, Rice Krispy squares and some Filipino rice steamed pudding. (Kid's got a sweet tooth.) See how we all naturally gravitate towards different foods which makes cooking a meal for the family so tricky....

Soup for thought

2008-11-08T01:43:00.000-08:00

(Abalones, especially dried abalones are a Chinese delicacy. Its essences provide a rich flavor. This shellfish must be cooked for a long time before it reaches a firm, chewy texture some find addictive.)

Groan, groan. snicker, snicker. "A food blog!" goes someone's husband with the initials DR. Yes and no. I prefer thinking of this as a virtual communal kitchen where people can cook and learn from each other, support each other through special diets, encouraging each other to eat healthier foods. For some people (myself included) accomplishment is simply take the time to cook a meal when it is so much easier to just zap one. "When I make something, it always tastes so good," my daughter said one day when she cooked for us.

My father instilled in his family a love of good food. Although his family business in Hong Kong was construction and he studied civil engineering, when he decided to emigrate to Canada, he trained with the top dim sum chef at the Miramar Hotel. It was common knowledge that for a Chinese to make a living abroad, cooking was your only meal ticket. Indeed, Jackie Chan once considered being a cook in Australia before making it big. My father could carve carrots into exquisite phoenix.

Cooking was my father's expression of love. Director Ang Lee's second critically acclaimed film (after The Wedding Banquet) was Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. I saw the film in Tokyo and encouraged my father to watch it and upon doing so, he triumphantly declared, "That's me in that movie." In wikipedia, it is summarized as: "Since the family members have difficulty expressing their love for one another, the intricate preparation of banquet quality dishes for their Sunday dinners serves as a surrogate for the spoken expression of their familial feelings."

The one meal my father made that I will never forget was the one before my sister's wedding. His brothers from Hong Kong and Los Angeles were there. My husband and I am were there. And so rarely was everyone he loved at the same place, so he pour his heart into preparation.

I still remember standing over the sink scrubbing the abalones with brand new toothbrushes he bought specifically for this occasion. He had watched over the soup from the day before, the stock made of one whole chicken (not just bones thank you) and two lean pork tenderloins. Then the abalones, then the shark's fin on the morning it was served. He wagered each serving was about $50 in cost alone. He made 12 bowls for only his side of the family. There were sauteed greens and creamy garlic lobster, but never have I tasted such wonderful soup and never will I do so.

My father loved making soups and eventually I did too. Soups are the most miraculous of dishes. When you throw in the meats, the vegetables and the seasoning, there is absolutely no taste in the beginning. But as you wait, the simmering draws out the best in all the ingredients. You wait some more, and it becomes tastier and the more you wait, the more flavor you get back. It can be just bone scraps and wrinkles veggies, yet with time, you have created the most marvelous concoction. I am not a patient person by nature, but making soups made me realize the importance of just giving things time. In raising my children, I often remind myself about the miracle of making soups.

My father has now passed away and while he has left a legacy of appreciation for good eats, his love of cooking has not quite passed onto his children, none of us really enjoy cooking the way he did.

In popular culture like Ang Lee's movies and the exquisite Like Water for Chocolate, cooking has been elevated to a higher realm, yet we all know that the daily chore of it can be most tedious and unrewarding. My husband and my children are expressive and loving everywhere else except at the dining table. Picky eaters all of them, each with a set of distinct dislikes. But right now something in me is trying to reach out to them through more homemade dishes. To get everyone on the same plate. To get everyone to expand their palates. To get everyone taking turns and appreciating each other's efforts. As my kids get older, I sense that doing this will keep our family closer.

In the 1970s, my mother's friend and a popular Japanese writer published a trendsetting book called "The Good Cook is a Wise Woman." At a time when more women began entering the workforce, Yoko Kirishima argued that a housewife who cooks well is creative, expressive, has wonderful fine motor skills, has a good sense of economics by budgetting well, knowledge about nutrition, etc. But no need to elaborate because I think we all here know that already! Bon appetit. And see you in the kitchen!

FOOD FANTASY -- The Exotic South

2008-11-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Confession. I am obsessed with Southern cooking. Holly asked what do I usually cook. But I'd rather answer with what would I RATHER cook... Oh, and so I let my fantasies run lose. Rather of sweets, I found myself hunting down pictures of gumbo, pulled pork and catfish. Yum, yum, yum. Been to the south only once and that was New Orleans 17 years ago. But Cajun food seared my heart. The fact that I can't get most of the spices here I think fuels the fantasy. Kenny Rogers once had a chain of his BBQ chicken restaurants here. Did I go crazy on the southern side dishes too, the potato casseroles, the hush puppies!!! Indeed, southern cuisine is exotic to me. Once late night surfing on the Internet, I found myself obsessed with southern cooking and wanting so badly to go to Dollywood amusement park for their best BBQ sauce competition....

So ready to try my hand or learn more about different styles of cooking.

My other fetish is barbequed meats -- kebabs, Jamaican jerk chicken, because again we don't have a BBQ at home. Just reading about it though makes me happy!!!

RECIPE: Lemon Porkloins with Fettucine

2008-11-07T04:07:00.000-08:00

Made this the other night. So what's wrong with the picture? Of course, not enough vegetables. But I ran out since I no longer buy frozen ones because most are packaged in China and there has been too many incidents of frozen vegetable poisonings for my nervous system. But still it was tasty.

Prep time: 30 mins.

Health scale: (1 to 10): 5

Taste test: (1 to 10): 9

Family verdict: (1 to 10): 7.5

Lemon pork loins are easy. They don't sell veal in Japan. Can make with chicken breasts. Pound to flatten loins. Salt and pepper both sides. Flour both sides. Panfried in butter. I skimp on the butter so it's a bit floury, but when you add the lemon (a whole lemon for five large pieces), it provides just enough moisture to glaze it over.

Boil fettucine. Chop onions and bacon. Panfried together using the bacon fat. Onions got a little burned. (Again skimped on the oil). Put a dash of cream. Put in fettucine, stir over low heat while adding salt and pepper to taste. I also grated some Gruyere cheese and it melted nicely into the whole thing.

Hiroshi loved everything. Went easy on the lemon for Rio. They both preferred without the onions but I insisted. Okay if they don't like raw onions on burgers, but they've gotta like caramelized ones. But enough things they liked to polish it all. I had the leftovers today. Worth it.

But better with string beans and carrots.