HI!

Hi im back! been sick lupus is kicking my ass! but I was wondering if you could take a minute of your time and read this. if you can please repost this. Thanks

http://seemysonin11.chipin.com/ticket-for-my-son

Applepears or Pearapples

I was at the supermarket and I came across something interesting I have never seen this before. I don't remember if they were called pearapples or applepears but I bought 2, they are pretty big in size, the great thing it really taste like the mix of the two fruit, it is shaped like a large apple but has the grainy texture of a pear. I decided to make a crisp with it with raspberries ( I forgot to take a pic) I definitely will be buying these again.

My Camera Broke!

I hated that I couldn't post but my camera broke and I hate posting without any pictures. I have been a little bit busy and made a few things I never made before.

First I made Jamaican Beef Patties but I change it a little. First I used pre-made pie crust left it at room temperature them mixed in the curry powder and turmeric and I used ground turkey instead of beef and finally I used a jalapeno instead of a scotch bonnet because that would of been way to hot for me. I also made fried plantains to go with it. My son and I loved them they were so spicy and flavorful as you can see there are a lot of spices that go into it. It almost tasted like the ones I bought a couple of times before well, almost. The plantains were very easy I just cut them in 1 1/2 inch pieces fried them in a inch of canola oil for 2 minutes on each side placed them on paper towels mashed them down and fried again until golden brown. I hope you try it!

1lb ground beef
1 medium onion
4 scallion (or 1 more medium onion)
2 stalks fresh thyme or 2 tsps ground thyme
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 scotch bonnet pepper (or 1 tbsp curry powder / chilli sauce)
2 cloves garlic
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cut onion + scallion in to fine pieces.
Fry gently – so they do not quite get time to brown.
Add meat, thyme, garlic, peppers (finely chopped), salt, pepper, paprika, sugar and nutmeg.
Fry until mixture is fairly dry, drain off excess fat if necessary.
Add water and breadcrumbs, cook until the mixture has a thick, saucy texture.
Combining the pastry with the filling:
Roll the pastry on a floured board until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick.
Cut as many circles (about the size of a saucer) out of the dough as you can.
Place 1 tablespoon of the filling on one side of each pastry circle.
Moisten the edges of each patty with water and fold pastry over to make a crescent shape. Seal the edge of each patty by crimping with a fork.
Preheat oven to 375 deg f, 200 C or gas mark 6. Place patties on aluminium foil and cook for 35 minutes (or until golden brown).

I also had made mushroom risotto and had a lot left over so I decided to make risotto cakes, I added a little flour, egg and formed them into patties and as a treat I some mozzarella into 1 inch cubes and hid them in the middle dipped them in flour, egg and panko bread crumbs then fried them in a little olive oil, they were perfect with a side salad.

Finally I made some corn fritters, my mom use to make corn fritters all the time and I still to this day I can't get them to taste like hers. But I love how they are sweet and salty. I tweaked it a little bit by adding scallions but they can be made to your taste I think next time I may add some curry powder or even another kind of veggie!

New Purchases

I was at my local supermarket doing my food shopping now I have a rule I do much because of my health so I allow myself to purchase 1 thing just for me but this time I bought 4 uh oh! I saw that they had mandolins on sale for 16.00$ so I picked it up along with some spices I never used before but see in a lot of recipes tamarind, cardamom and saffron 16.00$ for that tiny pouch!



I was going to go to Leelee's international market but I had unexpected bills hopefully I will be able to go next month for my birthday which happens to run on a Saturday!



The very next day I decided to use the mandolin, I decided to make onion rings and kind of went overboard and sliced to onions very thin and I could not believe how easily it sliced I had to look to see if it was really slicing because it was so smooth. I made the onion rings and had so many left over I stored them in plastic containers I can use them like the store bought french fried onions. I really recommend getting one! The only thing is I will never try it without the guard that blade is so sharp. The only thing is the mandolin came with a free waffle blade but without instruction on how to do it, I'm going to look on youtube I'm sure there is a video on how to use it.



I want to start making more ethnic foods so if anyone has any idea on using the new spices I bought I would love to hear from you.

Beef tongue

Well I was at my supermarket in the meat department and I passed a vacuumed pack cows tongue, now I have never tried this let alone cooked it but the foodie in me was whispering in my ear " take it home, take it home!" Two days later I mustered up the courage to open in and touch it (I was kind of scared) but once I touched it I was OK about it. I wanted so bad to go up to my 20 year old son Chris and run the beef tongue up the side of his face and make a slurping noise "slurrrppppppp" but I didn't want to tell him what it was until after he tried it.

I did a lot of research online to make sure I know what I was doing. Did you know you watch a video on how to make any food on youtube? Well after reading and watching videos for about a hour I felt comfortable to get started. I took the tongue and placed it in my corning ware cooking dish preheated the oven to 350 degrees then added salt, pepper, garlic, onions covered and cooked in the oven for 3 hours.

I let the tongue rest for about 10 minutes then peeled the taste buds ( it came off very easily).Once I did that it looked just like your basic beef roast, I took 2 forks and shredded the meat which was very very tender then I closed my eyes and took a bite Wow!!!!! it was so tender it tastes just like a beef roast all that anxiety over nothing. I gave some to Chris but didn't tell him until after he was finished... he just shrugged and mumbled "It was good". Oh well, so people if you see beef tongue in your market give it a whirl you might be pleasantly surprised.

Gnocci!

Who knew that making was such a long and laboring process! I sure didn't, did you? But it was well worth it, very filling, light and fluffy. But I had to try it at least once next time I will definitely buy it fresh or frozen. It made so much I froze the rest for a few more dinners or even a dessert I think I saw Giada saute them in brown butter with cinnamon. I chose not to do the trick with the fork I just sliced them into little pillows they were still fluffy light clouds.

Ingredients
2 lbs whole baking potatoes

2 beaten egg yolks

1 1/2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spear the potatoes with fork tines in several places around each potato to vent moisture as the potatoes cook. Bake the potatoes in their skins until tender, about an hour. Let cool on a rack, cutting them open to help cool and let more moisture escape.

2 Scoop out the potatoes from their skins. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer and into a large bowl. (If you don't have a potato rice you can mash the potatoes by hand and fluff them up a bit with a fork.) It is best to work with the potatoes when they are still warm.

3 Add the flour, egg and a pinch of salt. Mix by hand until you have a nice pliable ball of dough. Do not over mix.

4 Prepare a work area and dust it with flour. Take the dough, a piece at a time, and roll it out gently with your hands until you have rolls about 3/4 inch in diameter. It is very important to keep a light touch while you are rolling the dough. Gently roll the dough with your fingertips while while exerting the lightest pressure outwards, not down, to draw the dough out.

5 Cut the tubes of dough into pieces about one inch long. Using either the tines of a fork or your fingertip, press against a piece of the dough and roll it slightly to form an indentation (good for catching the sauce). As the gnocchi are made, place them on flat baking pan, lightly dusted with flour or lined with wax paper. At this point you can freeze the gnocchi ahead of time. Freeze them first on a floured or lined tray, then once frozen you can put them into a freezer bag for more easy storage. To cook, just put the frozen gnocchi into the simmering water for the next step.

6 Bring at least 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in a shallow saucepan. Gently drop the gnocchi, a few at a time, into the water. As soon as they rise to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon, draining well. Arrange on a warm serving dish. Continue cooking the gnocchi in the same manner.

7 As soon as all the gnocchi are ready, pour heated pasta sauce over them and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately.

Serves 6

Spices, Spices and more Spices!

Sadly to say I'm just now getting into spices, I need to start developing my pallet so that when I eat something I can I taste all of the the different flavors. In the next few weeks I will be taking a field trip to Lee Lee's market, it is one of my favorite places to go. It is a huge international market (check my earlier posts there are pics) I never used coriander and everyone is using cardamom pods. I will set aside 100 bucks and and go on adventure and the best thing about Lee Lee's is that their meat prices are so low!

I could spend all day there. I love ethnic foods I'm so dying to to try Caribbean, Greek and other ethnicity's. There is a section in Lee Lee's that sell whole cooked duck (with the faces on) and roasted pork and i have to say that was the most delicious pork I have ever tasted, it was moist, tender and so succulent I'm looking forward to getting more.

My neighbor gave me some dried peppers if anyone can give me any ideas on what to with them, they are large and reddish black. I have a question, can a person really get into ethnic foods and have a dislike to really spicy food? I went to Indian restaurant and the food was really spicy and I really want to try Thai food and I want to enjoy the flavors and not have my mouth on fire.

Any words of advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi again!

It took me while to get my groove back. I am ashamed to call myself a foodie since there is so much I haven't tried. I live in Tempe and I really do not have any friends it is quite sad, I have arthritis in my knees and shoulders and lupus and I am in pain about 87 percent of my day. My income is limited but I do what I can every time I go to the store I always pick up something special just for me like vanilla beans, anchovies etc.. My dream is to start some kind of foodie club where we can meet and have a theme like one month exotic fruits, cheeses, Greek etc and everyone brings a authentic dish or once a month go to a different restaurant like a authentic middle eastern restaurant and such. I would just settle with a good pal that has the same interest as me, no one I know wants to experience new things. I am looking forward to use different spices. I am really embarrassed to call myself a foodie because of so little things I've cooked or try but I rather spend my Sunday in a international market than in a shoe store ( Don't be shocked!!) I never even tried a jicama, I am so ashamed! You don't even want to see the pots and pans I cook with let's just say I got the used. I am saving up for one pan a month. I promise I will not disappear again I'm hoping to make life long friends here. I am 42 and I hope it is not to late for me to start over! Plus I a ton of weight to lose and next month I can rejoin my contest cooking central family again (I had to quit due to lack of funds) I will be asking for advice of recipes cooking and hopefully get words of encouragement. Thank you for listening

Cooking

Now that I am back into doing what I love, I want to try two different ethnic dishes every month. Here in Arizona we have a great international market called LeeLee's so I can get what ever I need. So I'm thinking once a month i will try to authentically ( as best I can) make a dish from the following countries.

FEB- Greece, Spain
MAR- Africa, Brazil
APR- Poland, Jamaica
MAY- France, China

Wish me luck and I would appreciate any suggestions!

I'm backkkkk!

Hi everyone I took sometime off because two years ago I asked my 22 daughter to move from Boston to Arizona thinking we could become great friends and she can start a new life get a job go to school etc. What happens next was something I never thought would happen, My daughter spent the next
two years of sleeping all day and staying out all night, losing my keys in and out all scaring me leaving my house in such a mess that I was embarrassed for me to have company, constant disrespect, taking things that don't belong to her , always borrowing money and hasn't worked or gone to school since coming here. I have arthritis in my knees and shoulders and all this stress caused me to be in pain 90 percent of my day which also put me in such a depression that I lost interest in everything cooking, recipe contests, going out. But i finally kicked her out on november 30th, cleaned my house and now I feel good. I cleaned the whole house after she left this is a picture of under the couch! What do you guys think?

Cheeburger Cheeburger

Saturday night I allowed myself a treat which is very rare, I treated myself to a meal out and 2 movies! That's right 2 movies I saw Obsessed and Wolverine movies but first I treated myself to a dinner. I waled by several restaurants till this one caught my eye, I have never heard of it before.

The diner had a 50's motif with the green and chrome chairs, rolls of paper towel on the tables. I sat myself down and waited at least 10 minutes before my presence was acknowledged. I ordered the "Serious" burger and the half and half basket which gives you half french fries and half onion rings. I struck up a conversation with 2 ladies sitting at the table next to me, they were very excited that this was my first time here and how much I was going to love the food.

After about 15 minutes my food came out, you can tell the burger was hand shaped not those frozen flat burgers they were thick and juicy, the meat was fresh, very fresh. The onion rings were light and crispy but the fries were darker than I like but still good. They will not serve a regular burger they only serve cheese burgers but the have a variety of cheeses from feta to just plain ole American. They also have a number of dipping sauces for your fries and over 25 variety of milkshakes. I could only eat half of the burger and some onion ring and I took the rest home.

It took me 15 minutes to get the attention of the waitress to get the check, but besides that the burger was well worth the wait. Also if you eat their 1 pound burger they will take your picture with a huge stuffed burger and place you on the wall of fame, luckily the table in front of me a guy accomplished it and we all gave him a round of applause. I had a great time!

Cheeburger Cheeburger
2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, Arizona

My First Key Lime Pie

I have never baked or even tasted a key lime pie before, but while I was shopping I saw 10 key limes for a bck so I though thought "What the heck". I got the recipe from Bubba's key lime pie. Now I have tried several times to make meringue all with failure so I was quite nervous. After studying all of the tips to make a great meringue I felt comfortable. I did cheat and bought the store bought prepared graham cracker crust already in the pie pan. Not to bad for my first time it was tangy and sweet but not overly sweet and the meringue came out great! (I knew that cream of tarter would come in use one day) I'm not so afraid of pies anymore!



















5 tablespoons butter, melted
1-1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, lime juice, and 1 teaspoon zest; blend in the egg yolks. Pour the filling into the crust.

For the meringue, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar and remaining teaspoon zest until the mixture is stiff. Spread the meringue over the filling; spread it to touch the edge of the crust all around. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the meringue is golden brown.

Fried Biscuits with Sweet Potato Cream

1 can of the grand size refrigerated biscuits
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
vegetable oil for frying
powdered sugar for dusting

Using a mixer beat together the sweet potatoes, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon, mix until ingredients are light and creamy place in a bowl and set aside. Using a clean bowl and the whisk attachment whisk cream until forms stiff peaks then carefully fold cream into the sweet potato mixture, place into the refrigerator until it is ready to be used.

Using a large frying pan pour the oil into the pan it reaches about 2 inches in depth. Using a thermometer heat oil under a medium high until the temperature reaches 375 degrees, open the can biscuits fry only 4 at a time about 1 minute on each side then place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Slice biscuits in half and fill with about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sweet potato filling then dust the top of each biscuit with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Baked Sweet Potato Rice Pudding

I love this recipe it is easy and you only use 1 bowl! It can be eatened hot, warm or cold ( I prefer warm) And the flavor of the sweet potato custard is so creamy and sweet but not to sweet. Enjoy!







1 1/2 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of raisins
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon3 cups of milk


Preheat a oven to 325 degrees

In a large bowl stir together the rice, milk, eggs, sugar, raisins, vanilla and salt. Pour rice mixture into a prepared cassarole dish and sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the top , place cassarole dish into a larger pan and pour in 1 inch of water into the larger pan. Bake in the over for 1 1/2 hours. Cool slightly and enjoy!

Brisket

I bought a huge brisket yesterday at Smart & Final it was a great deal for only 26 dollars and the great thing it is mostly meat it was worried that when I opened it up would be 2 or 3 inches of fat. But the only thing is I never made brisket before so I am asking if anyone has any great recipes I sure would appreciate it. I'm thinking of making one them a corned beef. Right now I took the smallest of the roast and covered it with herb and spices then tightly covered it with tin foil and it is slow roasting in the oven at 325 degrees and it smells divine. I was told it had to roast for at least 4 to 5 hours. So I am welcoming any brisket and corned beef recipes ( I do not have a grill or smoker).

Butternut Squash Risotto

2 cups of butternut squash, cubed
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 onion, minced
1 cup of aborio rice
1/2 cup of white wine
5 cups of hot chicken stock
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste


Melt butter in a large frying pan and add the squash. Saute until soft and transfer onto a plate.

Add olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.

Pour in the white wine, cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock, reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Hi Again!

I had to take a little break. I have adult kids still living with me and driving me a up the wall! Some exciting things have happened I started recipe contesting in October of "07" I have only won 2 contests and I'm a finalist in 2 online voting contests, but one of my new year resolutions is to be more positive, try to make more friends and not be such a introvert. ' I 1 or 2 friends in Arizona and the ones here on my blog and my ccc family. I also need to learn more about the trends and new spices maybe I will do better in the contesting. Anyone who reads this I would appreciate your vote for my recipe I really only want the third prize, a ipod would definitly get me to walk more so i could shed alot of this weight. I sure could use a weight buddy if anyone is intersted please email or send a messege. My recipe is the mini chorizo and cheese scones. You do have to register to vote it only takes a minute. Thank you in advance!
https://www.vivadivacafe.vivatowels.com/FamilyRecipe/RecipeFinalist.aspx

Lee Lee's Market

Yesterday I had one of the best days since I moved to Arizona, me and a couple of friends went to Lee Lee's market it's a chinese market but it has foods from all over the world. I walked around that store for over 3 hours looking at everything I could lay my eyes on, my friends even told me they tried to yell to me but I was in a daze! Some no most of the food I had no idea what I was looking at it was either in another language or I just could not read it.

When you walk into the store you are hit in the face with this smell of fish, veggies, curries and smell I was not familiar with. There were tons of fish meatballs, cuts of beef and actual tanks with fresh lobster, tilapia and catfish I haven't seen that since I left bean town but with 10 bucks a pound for the lobster maybe some other time. And I was this close to buying a cows tongue lol.

But I did bring back a whole roasted duck with the face on, and ton of other products I can't wait to try.

Now I thought I would get some ideas for new recipes but I was so fascinated in everything I didn't get any ideas.. oh well I guess I have to go back.

If you are in the Chandler area of Arizona and love the flavors of other cultures I highly recommend this place!

Tamales

I live in Arizona where there are a mix of all cultures prodominately mexican, so starting around the holiday season I start getting knocks on my door where a man was selling fresh hot tamales, I reconized him as a neighbor of mine so I bought 12 tamales for 10 bucks. Even though I have lived here in Arizona and never tried a tamale. Suprisingly they were very good the masa was creamy and the pork filling was tender the only thing is i thought it would be a spicier than it was. The thing that ticked me off was i left them on the stove and my kids ate them up!

Greek Meatballs and Spanakopita / w Mint Yogurt Sauce

I decided one day to make something new which I never tried before and happen to have the ingredients to make this. Two days before I happen to go to one of my favorite stores ( Sunflower Market) and bought 4 bunches of fresh spinach for 67 cents a bunch! I had the phyllo, ground turkey and feta cheese because I love to sprinkle the cheese in my salads. I have to say it was a hit with me and my kids I think I love anything wrapped in phyllo dough. The meatballs were crispy on the outside tender in the middle, this time I rolled the the meatballs in flour before frying in olive oil. The mint yogurt dipping sauce really brings the whole meal together. Here are the recipes I hope you try it out!

Spanakopita

1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 lb baby spinach
1/2 lb feta, crumbled (scant 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
10 (17- by 12-inch) phyllo sheets, thawed if frozen

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and stir in feta, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Melt remaining 1 stick butter in a small saucepan, then cool.

Cover phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.

Take 1 phyllo sheet from stack and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet and brush with more butter. Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 (roughly 12- by 2 3/4-inch) strips.

Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near 1 corner of a strip on end nearest you, then fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle, seam side down, on a large baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all of phyllo.

Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

Greek Meatballs

2 pounds of ground turkey

1 cup of crumbled feta cheese

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 cup of chopped red onion

1 egg

1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging

olive oil for frying

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined (do not over mix). Roll the mixture into balls measuring 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Place the flour in a shallow pan, and roll the balls in the flour to coat. Shake off any excess flour, and place the meatballs onto a plate or baking sheet, pressing to flatten slightly. This will keep them from rolling away. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs, 8 or 10 at a time, and cook until nicely browned on the outside, and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.

Mint Yogurt Dipping Sauce

2 cups of low fat plain yogurt
2 teaspoons of fresh mint

In a food processor at ingredients and pulse until well combined.