8 a.m. block party
9:30 a.m. Church Ministry Fair and Sunday School
11 a.m. Children's Mass
12:30 Lunch
2:00 Final Basketball Game (a tie!)
3:00 Award Ceremony
3:45 Splash park
4:45 Shopping for dinner ingredients
5:30 HOME
I may collapse in a heap at any moment. It was all fun really, at the Ministry Fair I got to talk up two of my favorite events Stone Soup (check out this version of the familiar fairy tale) on Ash Wednesday and Las Posadas (illustrated with this lovely book). Anyhow, I meant to start a roast or something but time got away from us.
By the time we were finally headed home my husband was craving egg rolls. I have decided I am never NOT craving egg rolls at least a little, so this was fine with me. The only hitch in my giddy up was the fact that I have never made an egg roll before. After last month's very successful experiment with pot-stickers though, I was game for the challenge. I bought some egg roll wrappers in the produce section of the store and then went about figuring out the veggies I needed for the filling, the usual suspects bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, green onion. I had the onion and cabbage at home, plus some squeezy ginger in a little tube so I got what I still needed and headed over to the fish counter. There I bought some vegetarian sushi (the kids' favorite) and some California rolls (the only other kind of sushi I'd buy at our local grocery store). I also bought a package of edamame.
I got home and defrosted some ground pork and mixed it with my veggies, ginger and some soy sauce and garlic powder. Then I wrapped it in the little wrappers and sealed all the edges with beaten egg (the only egg in an egg roll it seems). Then the Hubs and I dropped them one by one into the pan with hot vegetable oil. The first one we tried was sort of horrifyingly raw in the middle so we nuked it in the microwave oven and then let the next egg roll sit a bit longer in the oil. The next one was less raw, but not entirely cooked. I won't say HOW many I ruined up before I decided to just quickly stir fry the filling and use cooked pork, but I am sure YOU would have figured it out much sooner. The cooked filling egg rolls went together in a snap. Very easy to make and delicious. I recommend making them a bit on the thinner side regardless just because the thinner rolls seemed to be more firmly wrapped.
We cut some egg rolls in half to cool, plopped them on the plates with some veggie sushi and edamame (came with it's own microwave tray, super easy) and called it dinner. A lot of vegetables per serving really! No one was really in the mood for a heavy dinner so it was a great choice.
Tomorrow is Lundi Gras (Fat Monday) aka the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) basically the last 2 days before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. I have a recipe to try to make homemade beignets. I love beignets and I have had them at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. My Mom used to send away for their beignet mix back before you could order stuff on the internet. Nowadays I can even find the beignet mix in the store sometimes, but I think making the whole kit and caboodle from scratch might be fun. Might also be a big sugary pain in the neck, but we shall see. I also plan on getting a LOT of chocolate in me before Ash Wednesday because I am giving up the stuff for the duration of Lent, 40 days, ending as I dive ravenously on a chocolate bunny on Easter Morning. :)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Grilled chicken and 3 sides
I like Mojo marinade on chicken, you basically let chicken pieces sit in your mojo marinade turning from time to time and then grill it. YAY! Simple. If you don't have mojo on hand then combine whatever citrus juices you've got, a splash of white wine vinegar and season your chicken with adobo (or salt, pepper, and garlic) and let the pieces sit in that mixture until time to grill. Never baste with marinade that the chicken was sitting in and never heat up marinade and use that for dipping sauce. You could get salmonella and die. Seriously. My uncle nearly lost his life from some tainted chicken. I should also mention that you never thaw chicken or any other meat on the countertop. Safest way to defrost is to put the meat in a bowl or baking dish in the fridge in the morning and let it defrost all day. Microwave is a safe defrost method as well, but I hate it when it starts to "cook" the food around the edges, gross!
I also steamed some frozen corn niblets, seasoned them with House Blend (Paula Deen) and added some butter. I made broccoli slaw, and I made some cheesy mac and cheese. The kids cleaned their plates and asked for seconds.
Tomorrow will be the busiest day I have had in a long time. Thankfully today we got our bags packed for our trip to Washington D.C. next week. Tomorrow we go to our neighborhood's big party at 8 a.m. We leave the party by 8:45 to get to church where I am hosting a booth at our Ministry Fair (way more fun than it sounds, trust me) then 11 a.m. mass where my Darling Girl will be reading one of the prayers of the faithful and then home for lunch (leftovers) then on to her final basketball game and award ceremony and then MAYBE go to the open house at the Dolphin Research Center to see their new "Spray-ground" one of those splash parks where there are fountains and shallow pools and squirters. Should be a HOOT! And then dinner of course. I am thinking I might put a roast in the crockpot on low and then come home and make some rice and some frozen veggies.
Next week's menus will all be on a theme of "how do we use up all the fresh food in the house" so we can leave our fridge clean and emoty for our trip. Another highlight of the week ahead, next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday! I am going to try and make some Cajun/Creole food, or failing that some beignets and then on Ash Wednesday I am going to be making a vegetarian vegetable soup for my church to share. Each year we kick off Lent with a church supper called Stone Soup. In fact I will be at the Ministry Fair tomorrow making a pitch to all the parishoners to come and join us that night.
I hope you all are having a good weekend, hug your family tight and thanks for reading.
I also steamed some frozen corn niblets, seasoned them with House Blend (Paula Deen) and added some butter. I made broccoli slaw, and I made some cheesy mac and cheese. The kids cleaned their plates and asked for seconds.
Tomorrow will be the busiest day I have had in a long time. Thankfully today we got our bags packed for our trip to Washington D.C. next week. Tomorrow we go to our neighborhood's big party at 8 a.m. We leave the party by 8:45 to get to church where I am hosting a booth at our Ministry Fair (way more fun than it sounds, trust me) then 11 a.m. mass where my Darling Girl will be reading one of the prayers of the faithful and then home for lunch (leftovers) then on to her final basketball game and award ceremony and then MAYBE go to the open house at the Dolphin Research Center to see their new "Spray-ground" one of those splash parks where there are fountains and shallow pools and squirters. Should be a HOOT! And then dinner of course. I am thinking I might put a roast in the crockpot on low and then come home and make some rice and some frozen veggies.
Next week's menus will all be on a theme of "how do we use up all the fresh food in the house" so we can leave our fridge clean and emoty for our trip. Another highlight of the week ahead, next Tuesday is Fat Tuesday! I am going to try and make some Cajun/Creole food, or failing that some beignets and then on Ash Wednesday I am going to be making a vegetarian vegetable soup for my church to share. Each year we kick off Lent with a church supper called Stone Soup. In fact I will be at the Ministry Fair tomorrow making a pitch to all the parishoners to come and join us that night.
I hope you all are having a good weekend, hug your family tight and thanks for reading.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Fish Fridays: Shrimp Alfredo
Shrimp are wonderful for the busy cook, they are completely done in less than 3 minutes! They are low in saturated fat and are a good source of niacin, iron, phosphorus and zinc, and a very good source of protein, vitamin B12 and selenium. Shrimp is fairly high in cholesterol, but still a great option for a quick dinner.
My tips; always check your shrimp or any other seafood using the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website. They even have a smart-phone app so you can check WHILE you are at the store or restaurant. Always ask where your seafood is coming from, if a restaurant doesn't know or seems cagey about answering that is NOT the place you want to buy seafood, I promise you. When cleaning fresh shrimp, take the shells off from the bottom of the shrimp where the scales part naturally, the legs will come right off too. You can take tails off or leave them for cooking (I prefer to remove them). Take a small sharp paring knife and slice down the top/back of the shrimp and then use the knife tip to lift out the vein. I usually give all of the shrimp a quick blast of cold water in a colander and then dry them with a paper towel before cooking. Then I sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt and a dash of pepper.
I cook shrimp in a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat; for instance my iron skillet. Make sure you cook in some sort of fat as well, olive oil, butter, bacon grease, something. Once the fish turn pink and curl they are done! Remove them from the heat immediately or they will over cook and become tough. And I don't mean remove the pan from the heat (though you should do that too) I mean get those shrimp out of the pan! They will continue to cook in the residual heat.
I usually prepare the Shrimp Alfredo in this order, prepare the pasta/cook the vegetables, make the alfredo sauce and then cook the shrimp, then I combine all of my ingredients on the plate. Toss together to coat everything with the nice creamy alfredo and you are good to go, maybe add a little garnish of fresh parsley.
My tips; always check your shrimp or any other seafood using the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website. They even have a smart-phone app so you can check WHILE you are at the store or restaurant. Always ask where your seafood is coming from, if a restaurant doesn't know or seems cagey about answering that is NOT the place you want to buy seafood, I promise you. When cleaning fresh shrimp, take the shells off from the bottom of the shrimp where the scales part naturally, the legs will come right off too. You can take tails off or leave them for cooking (I prefer to remove them). Take a small sharp paring knife and slice down the top/back of the shrimp and then use the knife tip to lift out the vein. I usually give all of the shrimp a quick blast of cold water in a colander and then dry them with a paper towel before cooking. Then I sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt and a dash of pepper.
I cook shrimp in a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat; for instance my iron skillet. Make sure you cook in some sort of fat as well, olive oil, butter, bacon grease, something. Once the fish turn pink and curl they are done! Remove them from the heat immediately or they will over cook and become tough. And I don't mean remove the pan from the heat (though you should do that too) I mean get those shrimp out of the pan! They will continue to cook in the residual heat.
I usually prepare the Shrimp Alfredo in this order, prepare the pasta/cook the vegetables, make the alfredo sauce and then cook the shrimp, then I combine all of my ingredients on the plate. Toss together to coat everything with the nice creamy alfredo and you are good to go, maybe add a little garnish of fresh parsley.
My friend Aaron Zook's documentary Poly-[ ] (poly-blank)
This actually, tangentially has something to do with food. One of the many things that Aaron and I have in common despite our very different backgrounds and belief systems is that we believe in the sacredness of the dinner table, of preparing and sharing food with those we love. Also, and he doesn't remember this, but I totally was the one that introduced him to the Dar Williams song he uses in the closing credits.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Don't be a Mexican't, be a Mexi-CAN! (I am Mexican BTW)
I am not a food snob. I think I proved that yesterday by cooking with Coca-Cola. I will try anything at least once and more if I like it. Sure, I was forcibly held down in a teppanyaki place by my two best friends (Hi Kayla and Kat!) and forced to try sushi while I literally cried. But I was only 18 and when I tasted it I could only think, "Hey! Delicious!" but I've come a long way since then. I've learned to appreciate many different flavors and textures. Heck, I'll even eat raw tomatoes now thanks to working one summer in a Lebanese restaurant (Hi Milad and Rosie!) and I wouldn't touch them when I was a kid.
But today I was forced to confront my one area of food superiority complex... today I was forced to make genuine Mexican food and stuff it in a Pillsbury crescent roll. My husband had found this recipe online and wanted me to make it.
Let that sink in, will you? I lovingly prepared homemade taco meat only to have it desecrated by being wrapped in the whitest of all white breads. Somewhere off in the distance, I heard insane high pitched giggling as if from an unbaked demon being repeatedly poked in the belly. Surely all of my Mexican ancestors were looking down on me in horror and confusion!
I have cooked with crescent rolls before, in fact they are excellent wrapped around some good chocolate and a dash of cinnamon and then baked; makes a fast and impressive dessert or even breakfast pastry. Or my favorite hearty appetizer "Beggar's Purses" where you take the triangles of dough and press them together into a rectangle and then stuff them with a Mini-Babybel cheese a dab of grainy mustard and a few chopped walnuts. Pull the dough together to close and bake according to package directions. Fabulous! See? Not a snob. But this recipe called for me to take ground beef and mix it with taco seasoning. Blasphemy! I made my own taco meat recipe, simply sautee together a small onion, 1 pound of ground beef, 1/4 of a green pepper (chopped) and season it all with ground cumin, adobo seasoning and a bit of chili powder. I drained it well and added it to the croissants. The croissant dough itself had to be made to stretch to fit all of the meat. I had read the recipe wrong and only gotten 1 can of dough, it required 2. You basically take two triangles and lay them together with long points facing away from each other, then you pinch the seam well so the two parts don't fall apart. Add the taco meat and the cheese to the center, close and bake. Well, the other thing was the recipe called for me to add everything you would put on a taco... including lettuce. Yeah, no dice. I just added meat and cheese and served the lettuce, salsa, and sour cream on the side. Not all of the meat fit, but that could also be served on the side or even on top. The taco-croissants or croissantos as we took to calling them were done in 15 minutes.
My husband and kids devoured them and I have to admit they were very tasty, but I don't think I will be giving up tamales any time soon! :)
But today I was forced to confront my one area of food superiority complex... today I was forced to make genuine Mexican food and stuff it in a Pillsbury crescent roll. My husband had found this recipe online and wanted me to make it.
Let that sink in, will you? I lovingly prepared homemade taco meat only to have it desecrated by being wrapped in the whitest of all white breads. Somewhere off in the distance, I heard insane high pitched giggling as if from an unbaked demon being repeatedly poked in the belly. Surely all of my Mexican ancestors were looking down on me in horror and confusion!
I have cooked with crescent rolls before, in fact they are excellent wrapped around some good chocolate and a dash of cinnamon and then baked; makes a fast and impressive dessert or even breakfast pastry. Or my favorite hearty appetizer "Beggar's Purses" where you take the triangles of dough and press them together into a rectangle and then stuff them with a Mini-Babybel cheese a dab of grainy mustard and a few chopped walnuts. Pull the dough together to close and bake according to package directions. Fabulous! See? Not a snob. But this recipe called for me to take ground beef and mix it with taco seasoning. Blasphemy! I made my own taco meat recipe, simply sautee together a small onion, 1 pound of ground beef, 1/4 of a green pepper (chopped) and season it all with ground cumin, adobo seasoning and a bit of chili powder. I drained it well and added it to the croissants. The croissant dough itself had to be made to stretch to fit all of the meat. I had read the recipe wrong and only gotten 1 can of dough, it required 2. You basically take two triangles and lay them together with long points facing away from each other, then you pinch the seam well so the two parts don't fall apart. Add the taco meat and the cheese to the center, close and bake. Well, the other thing was the recipe called for me to add everything you would put on a taco... including lettuce. Yeah, no dice. I just added meat and cheese and served the lettuce, salsa, and sour cream on the side. Not all of the meat fit, but that could also be served on the side or even on top. The taco-croissants or croissantos as we took to calling them were done in 15 minutes.
My husband and kids devoured them and I have to admit they were very tasty, but I don't think I will be giving up tamales any time soon! :)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Weird Wednesday: "Coke" au Vin and Chocolate Coke Cake
So, I had an excellent suggestion (thanks Carina!) to make Wednesday's theme "Weird" Wednesday. I started googling for "weird" foods and I saw several lists that contained okra, collard greens and fried green tomatoes. Um, how are those weird foods? I was literally raised on all of that. On the same list I saw kimchee, a traditional Korean dish made with the exotic vegetable CABBAGE. I've had kimchee, it was tasty. I came to the conclusion that somebody's "weird" food was somebody else's home-cooking; classing those things as "weird" seems disrespectful.
My next idea was to simply showcase unusual uses and treatments of familiar foods. In that vein I present to you, "Coke au Vin"! (I know, coq means rooster and all but since Coca Cola is sometimes called the house wine of the south I thought it was still pretty funny!)
I simply sauteed some seasoned (salt and paprika) chicken tenderloins in a few ounces of coca-cola. The sugar caramelized and turned the chicken tenderloins a nice brown color and kept everything very moist. For side dishes I steamed some frozen corn and tossed together some broccoli slaw. My go-to coleslaw sauce is super simple, a tablespoon of honey in a bowl whisked with a bit of apple cider vinegar and then add salt, pepper and mayonnaise until you reach the desired consistency. (It takes me about 3/4 C of mayo but I like my coleslaw on the dry side.)
I also made a Chocolate Coke Cake, something that used to be my specialty when I first started baking in grade school. I even won the baking contest at church when I was in 5th grade. The recipe is everywhere on the internet, but basically you add 1 C of coca- cola, 1/2 C buttermilk, 2 eggs, and a tsp of almond extract to a box of chocolate cake mix and mix it up. I top the batter with a few handfuls of chocolate chips. They sink down and melt into the cake as you bake it in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Then you make chocolate cola frosting. 1 stick of butter, 4 TB of unsweetened cocoa powder, melted together over medium heat, then add in 1/3 C of coca cola, when it JUST starts to bubble mix it with 4 C of sifted powdered sugar. Whip it all together and spread/pour it over warm cake and then let both cool for 20-30 minutes on a rack. YUM!
If you have any good ideas for me for Weird Wednesdays please leave me a comment! Thanks!
My next idea was to simply showcase unusual uses and treatments of familiar foods. In that vein I present to you, "Coke au Vin"! (I know, coq means rooster and all but since Coca Cola is sometimes called the house wine of the south I thought it was still pretty funny!)
I simply sauteed some seasoned (salt and paprika) chicken tenderloins in a few ounces of coca-cola. The sugar caramelized and turned the chicken tenderloins a nice brown color and kept everything very moist. For side dishes I steamed some frozen corn and tossed together some broccoli slaw. My go-to coleslaw sauce is super simple, a tablespoon of honey in a bowl whisked with a bit of apple cider vinegar and then add salt, pepper and mayonnaise until you reach the desired consistency. (It takes me about 3/4 C of mayo but I like my coleslaw on the dry side.)
I also made a Chocolate Coke Cake, something that used to be my specialty when I first started baking in grade school. I even won the baking contest at church when I was in 5th grade. The recipe is everywhere on the internet, but basically you add 1 C of coca- cola, 1/2 C buttermilk, 2 eggs, and a tsp of almond extract to a box of chocolate cake mix and mix it up. I top the batter with a few handfuls of chocolate chips. They sink down and melt into the cake as you bake it in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Then you make chocolate cola frosting. 1 stick of butter, 4 TB of unsweetened cocoa powder, melted together over medium heat, then add in 1/3 C of coca cola, when it JUST starts to bubble mix it with 4 C of sifted powdered sugar. Whip it all together and spread/pour it over warm cake and then let both cool for 20-30 minutes on a rack. YUM!
If you have any good ideas for me for Weird Wednesdays please leave me a comment! Thanks!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Egg Drop Soup and Moo Goo Gai Pan
Dinner was tasty, I will post links to recipes and insight tomorrow (like leave out the white pepper next time) but I am battling a KILLER headache so I will do a full-post tomorrow. Sorry!
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