A Gluten Free Breakfast Feast: Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes and Chorizo

Breakfast can be...

not so fun for the gluten intolerant crowd.

Agreed?

Think about all the pancakes, the french toast, the regular toast! Oh how I miss plain ol' toast!

Agreed.

Oh, and gone are the days when we can wake up and say "Hey, I'm craving a really huge breakfast but I'm too lazy to make it." Forget about going out to eat for breakfast! To be honest, I'm pretty cheap anyway, and have never really been one to go out much for breakfast but...

I did/do enjoy eating breakfast after dinner.

I eat pancakes before bed, almost every night, sometimes I have cereal. I looooove breakfast, I don't think I've said it enough ;).

In college, I was a big fan of Kerbey Lane pancakes. If you're from Austin, or have visited the city before, you know what I'm talking about!

For some reason, awhile back Guy Fieri went to Magnolia's (another quirky Austin cafe). They featured their pancakes on the show, but Guy should've gone to Kerbey Lane instead! Their pancakes are so much better and they even come in different flavors. My favorite? Gingerbread and Apple. Like I said, I haven't had those pancakes since college, and won't be able to eat them again unless they decide to start making a gluten-free version (I hope you're listening Kerbey Lane!).

But I can't complain because...

I found these cookies! Nana's Gluten Free Ginger Cookies are the best gluten free cookies EVERRRRR! What does this have anything to do with pancakes? Their cookies taste just like the Kerbey Lane gingerbread pancakes!

Normally, I get a little weirded out when food tastes like something it isn't supposed to taste like. For instance, I tried quinoa pasta this weekend and was weirded out a little that it tasted like quinoa. No surprise there, it does say quinoa on the ingredients list. I do love quinoa, but pasta is supposed to taste like pasta. But it is okay if cookies taste like pancakes, because they're both at the top of my favorite things to eat before bedtime list. (Oh and they're both sugary! So I guess it's safe to say that sweet foods are allowed to taste like each other. :)

But there's another problem! I don't eat cookies for breakfast (at least not anymore :D) so what to do? What to do?! You make these soft and sweet almost flap-jack like gluten-free cornmeal pancakes! They have a subtle cornmeal taste, but not so much that you'll feel like you're eating cornbread instead of pancakes :).

What if you're like me and don't fill up on just pancakes?

You make this amazing chorizo! Click here for the original recipe.

I have to admit, I actually made this about 6 months ago but never got around to posting it! I made mine a little less spicy and didn't add the tequila, but it was still quite tasty. I do think it tastes more chorizoy if you let the flavors meld overnight. Marinate the seasoned ground meat in the fridge over night and your home will smell like heaven in the morning, everyone will be an early riser the day you serve this for breakfast!

Vegetarian Mandarin Orange Lo Mein

This Chicken Lo Mein recipe from Allrecipes.com sounded tasty and had good reviews, but I didn't like how much sugar it contained and I also wanted to make a completely vegetarian dish...so I changed it up by about 95% :).

The results? A fresh and healthy lo mein dish that's light but loaded with veggies; I served it with a sweet and spicy chili sauce that provides a good kick. The chili sauce does contain sugar, but the lo mein (made with fettuccine rice noodles) is sweetened with the juice from a small can of mandarin oranges (I used the ones from Whole Foods that are stored in pear juice). I also tossed in a few almonds and tofu for protein.

So the blog got another make-over! When I was in kindergarten, I used to change my clothes about 3-4 times a day, just because I got tired of wearing the same thing all day :P. I thought that habit died off before first grade, but it's returned! Now it applies to blog templates :).

Pozole & Honest Scrap Meme!

A few years ago, when I was living in California, I spent some time trying to write down some of my grandma's recipes while she cooked. It wasn't easy, I don't even know if I've ever seen a measuring spoon in her kitchen! But now that I've been cooking for a few years, I don't feel so intimidated at the thought of replicating one of her recipes without the exact measurements :). I gave her a call a few days ago because I was in the mood for some of her pozole, mexican comfort food at its best - think of a hearty and slightly spicy hominy/pork stew.

A long, long time ago, my grandparents actually owned and operated a Mexican restaurant in Southern California, where my grandmother made yummy food like pozole :). My aunt said that the only reason why it closed was because they received too much business and my family couldn't keep up with all of the customers!

My grandma lives clear across the country, but it's nice to know that I can give her a call, then, in no time, cook up something that reminds me of her. She gave me a quick run-through of how to make pozole; I used all of the ingredients she told me to, then added the cumin and cilantro, for extra flavor. (I didn't have the fresh tomatoes she usually adds; she also makes hers with chicken and pork chops, instead of pork loin.)

The results? Pretty tasty! I was so happy when my hubby said it tasted very traditional - I am thrilled that I finally have a 'hard copy' of her recipe; I will definitely make this again, just this way!



I almost forgot about this Meme! I was tagged by my new blogging buddy, Monica, over at Lick the Bowl Good! She has some awesome photos and delectable carbs, all things tasty and sweet!

The rules of the award:

• Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
• Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.
• List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

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

1. I haven't eaten brussels sprouts since I was 10 because they left me scarred :P, I didn't like their bitter flavor! Send me some good recipes, this needs to change!
   
2. I have a strange collection of music on my laptop that I like to organize into random playlists. For instance, I have a Happy Mix and even a Twilight Mix (<---embarrassing :P!)
   
3. I feel guilty about spending money on myself, except for when it comes to food :D.
   
4. Monica made a comment about make-up on 4 and so will I :). I hate make-up; the older I get, the more I despise it and the less I wear it. I'm also done with nail polish and long nails!
   
5. Things that make me happy: a fridge full of food and cant-breathe-they're-so-tight-and-warm hugs.
   
6. I usually am horrible with names but I remember numbers, even though I hate math and love words!
   
7. I used to love the city, now I'm a fan of the quite/peaceful solitude that comes with being far from it (somewhere green with lots of trees and fresh, crisp air). I love big city grocery stores, though!
   
8. I don't like bracelets and rings, but I love earrings and necklaces - the former always get in the way when I'm cooking, like long nails and nail polish! (Shhh...don't tell! One time when I first started cooking - when I had long nails, real ones - I cut one off when I was chopping onions and couldn't find it... :P)
9. I really enjoy snacking on baked apples and baked sweet potatoes, I eat them almost every day. My husband and I go through 5 pounds of apples every 2 weeks. It has kept the doctor away, I haven't had a cold in nearly 2 years!
   
10. I adore vegetables but can only eat them cooked.

I'll pass this along to these 7 blogs:
Hungry Girl Por Vida
Shweet and Savory
Life is Still Sweet
Lemonpi
Hold the Gluten
Gluten Free in Cleveland
La Bella Cook

Cinnamon Celebration: Gluten and Lactose Free Cinnamon Dulce de Leche Cake

This is my contribution to Grace's Cinnamon Celebration! Oh boy, did I dirty a lot of dishes to put this monster of a cake together, and it does look like a monster. Don't worry, that isn't a bacteria colony growing on the top of the cake! In fact, it's what makes the cake yummy. The edges of the cake were scrumptious -- all gooey and sweet, pudding-like in texture. I'm not kidding!

I have to admit, I was hoping to get a much more 'tres lechesy' cake out of this invention (I saw this here recipe and was totally inspired by its tastiness), but c'est la vie. The topping makes the cake; in this case, it's what's on the outside that counts; but don't let the appearance fool you, let your taste buds be your guide!

If you're lactose intolerant but also love the unique flavors found in a tres leches cake, have no fear! This one's for you. Same goes for my fellow gluten-free folks. You can have your cake and eat it too ;)!

Here are the stages of how I made the tres leches glaze:

This is what it looks like before it begins to boil:

Boiling and thickening:

Caramel-like in color...remove from stove at this stage:

Finished!

Gluten-Free Mexican Chocolate Biscotti

I hope you all are having fun getting ready for Thanksgiving! I sure am :). We just got back from the grocery store a little while ago after a two hour trip! It was an eventful one, I nearly knocked down and got attacked by the entire squash and pumpkin display in an effort to rescue the best looking (and tiniest) spaghetti squash buried beneath a pile of the more monstrous looking ones! :P

I'm really excited about this year because I'll actually be using recipes for the dinner. Last year, I winged it and somehow managed to serve a decent turkey without giving anyone in the family salmonella. But I've been hypnotized by the Food Network, I now have all these cravings for things I've never even tried before! (How do they do it?!) All those amazing seasonal and holiday dishes that their cooks and chefs have been preparing has me convinced that I need to use their recipes! So even though it's just going to be the hubby and me for Thanksgiving this year (because they haven't invented teleporters yet and it's too expensive to visit family across the country both now and at Christmas time) I still plan on preparing a feast and making the most of it!


What's the holiday season without cookies? Better yet, chocolatey ones that you can dunk in your favorite holiday tea like Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride or Nutcracker Sweet? (<---Gluten-free folks, please don't drink the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea, it contains gluten...I found this out after drinking a cup without reading the box, then getting sick :P! ) Oh, but what about hot chocolate?! Sure, you can dunk these biscotti into a cuppa hot chocolate but just realize that they already contain the hottest of chocolate! I used a whole bar of this awesome mexican chocolate to give the biscotti a really deep chocolate and cinnamony flavor. I also added Piloncillo! Try it! It's goood! Leave these for Santa this year and you might just get that totally affordable camera you've been wanting! Btw, my New Year's resolution is to stop projecting my desires onto my poor readers, but I still have a month and a half to get away with it ;o)!

Gluten-Free Mexican Chocolae Biscotti

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup millet flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP potato flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 bar of mexican chocolate
1/2 of a piloncillo cone
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
4 TBSP room temp. softened butter
1 tsp xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 375

Combine all flours and sugars in one large bowl (and almond meal), along with the xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder.

Break bar of chocolate in half and melt in a large cup filled with 1/3 cup milk . Melt in micro for 45 seconds then mix with a spoon, then melt for another 45 seconds to one minute.

Shave the piloncillo into small pieces using a knife

In a small bowl, add the cinnamon, melted chocolate and milk, and egg. Then mix in the melted butter. Combine with the bowl of flour.

Mold the biscotti into a long loaf, or you can use a rolling pin to roll it out into the shape of a rectangle about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. You can sprinkle vanilla sugar and almonds on top.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375, then lower the oven temp to 350 and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove biscotti and turn off the oven and cut with a sharp knife into 1/2-3/4 inch wide pieces.

Put biscotti back in the oven for 15 minutes THEN turn the oven back on to 350 and BAKE for another 15 minutes. (Total time in the oven should be 50 minutes -- that includes the off time)

Let cool before eating. If you want the biscotti extra crunchy: After the final 15 minutes, turn off the oven and let the biscotti rest in the oven for up to 30 minutes).

Random Sidenote:
After coming to terms with my obsession with cute things and yummy food, I realized...hmm...I like to draw, I like cute things, why not draw cute things that are somewhat foodie related! So this is what I'm doing these days when I'm not cooking/baking or writing really long blog entries; haven't picked up the pencil in awhile, so I'm a little rusty, but it's a lot of fun so far :).

Enchiladas Verdes and tortilla adventures (or nightmares? ;)

It's been over a week since I've posted an entry on Flour Arrangements. The reason for my absence? I'm 17.5 days away from moving to Boston, so I'm pretty busy getting ready for the big move (packing, fixing/selling our car, cleaning, giving stuff away, etc.)! Of course, I'm still eating sweets and baking them up on my free time (like an 'Empty the Pantry' Pie that I baked earlier in the week! I'll post the recipe in a few days :), but I decided to dedicate yesterday to making something savory.

I love enchiladas, I especially love enchiladas verdes. The sourness of green tomatillos mixed with the deep flavor of chilies and aromatic spices makes my mouth water. Until yesterday, I never actually tried making the green enchilada sauce from scratch...but I'd been wanting to. So Friday night, I 'studied' a few recipes and noticed that they all called for tomatillos but different chilies. Some of them used anaheim, others used poblano, and still others used serranos. Since poblanos are mild, I decided to go with those (I'm a wimp and can't take the heat); I didn't even add a jalapeno to the mix, that's how mild I made the sauce. I was very happy with the results, but I do think I'm going to add at least one jalapeno next time -- just to give it a little kick. After all, this is Mexican food!


Since I was feeling pretty confident after making the sauce, I thought I should try making flour tortillas again. (I tried last year and they came out like chips, except far less tasty.) I used a recipe that had great reviews, but I accidentally added baking soda instead of baking powder, so the tortillas tasted like baking soda (gross!). I threw that batch out and decided to experiment with batch #2. I didn't like the fact that the first recipe called for shortening, and I usually purchase whole wheat tortillas made with canola oil, so I replaced the shortening with butter and canola oil. The taste was right on, but the texture was off -- the tortillas were crumbly and not flexible at all, there was no way I was going to be able to stuff then roll them into enchiladas...so I tried AGAIN. I added a little more butter to batch #3 (like 3 tbsp) and used whole wheat flour; I also added baking powder, an ingredient the first recipe called for. The results? Nasty tasting wannabe tortillas that tasted like baking powder. (I don't know if it's just me, but I can taste the baking powder/soda in baked goods sometimes, is that weird or what?) It wasn't even that much, 1 tsp in fact! After the third tortilla failure, I felt really bad for wasting all that flour, so I decided to take a break and try again some other time.

I've come to the realization that my tortillas come out crappy because I, seriously, do not have the touch. I've made tortillas with my grandmother before, when she put the tortilla dough together, and, still, not one came out right. She would use that same dough to make her great-tasting, perfectly round tortillas, though! I don't get it...I can make pastries, but not tortillas, at least not yet. I will try again! One day, I will make an edible tortilla -- I am determined!

Check out the evolution of my many tortilla failures below (whole wheat ones not pictured, you can only fit so many mistakes into one photo :D!). Come back in a couple of days to check out my pantry pie! Maybe in a few weeks I'll actually have a successful tortilla recipe posted :).

P.S. Check out the July Cupcake Hero Challenge! I can't wait to post the recipe for this month's theme :)...look out for it!

Chile Relleno and Berry Picking!

There's nothing quite like waking up early on a Saturday morning to pick your own berries! Yesterday, Jose and I took a trip to Chickamaw Farm, where we picked enough berries to bake the tastiest blueberry pie we've ever eaten. Jose did most of the picking while I played the roll* of the photographer, but I did manage to sneak in a few blueberries and get a taste. Well, I shouldn't say 'sneak'; Bill, the farmer, was nice enough to let us try them.

*(It's Monday morning. I wrote this post Sunday evening. I just realized I typed roll instead of role. I read the entry before publishing it; obviously, I didn't catch the 'mistake' because my brain is now wired in such a way that I subconsciously use food terms in place of other nouns. This is what happens when your hobbies and job revolve around food. No complaints here, though :).)

Guess what the best part about Chickamaw farm is? Well, not only does it have a cool name (it means 'sacred land' in Choctaw, according to Bill) but the owners of the farm only grow organic fruits...and catfish! Catfish?! Yep! Bill and his family have a pond where they've established a mini food chain for their catfish; these fish only eat the finest foods - other fish, not the nasty fake stuff - so they get pretty large...think 11 lbs! HUGE! Sometimes, Bill and his family take a swim with the fish; imagine how fun it would be to ride a monster catfish :D! I got that image in my head as soon as he mentioned the gigantic sizes of these happy and healthy creatures. Jose asked if he could come back and fish some time, Bill said yes! We're not sure if we'll be able to do it before we leave Austin in two months, but since we plan on settling down here in the future, we'll definitely go back to fish and pick more berries!

Ok, so the berries were also huge. As soon as I popped one of these tasty berries into my mouth, I was shocked! I took a bite of half a blueberry and then a double-take at the remaining blueberry...is this really a blueberry?, I thought. It was juicy, full of more flavor than any store-bought blueberry, and it was rich - rich in blueberry goodness. It was a blueberry. In fact, it was more Blueberry than any other blueberry I'd ever tasted (note the capital 'B'). If you're ever in Texas, be sure to check out Chickamaw Farm, especially if you're craving fresh blueberries!

After a fun filled day of picking our own blueberries, grocery shopping at our favorite market, and dining at a tasty cafe here in town, we still managed to muster-up enough energy to spend a good portion of our weekend cooking. We prepare about 4 meals on the weekends because we don't have much time to cook during the week; Jose and I enjoy coming home to a nourishing dinner after a long day at work, so we really don't mind all the cooking. One of the meals we put together was my grandma's Chile Relleno. Thankfully, all our hard work paid off...and I mean, it was hard work! To make these, my grandma toasts the chilies (or peppers, I should say) over a direct flame (so that the skin wrinkles and comes off easily); she uses her gas stove to do this. Our apartment is completely electric, so I had to fry the peppers. This was a little dangerous and painful...but fun! I don't have the proper 'frying materials' so I got a little fried, too...oh, but the meal was well-worth it. It certainly wasn't perfect; the peppers could've been fried a little longer, but it was a fun first try. Initially, I was really concerned about the egg white sticking to the peppers, but, thankfully, it did! We also ate this tasty meal with some homemade rice, beans, and nopales!

From the blueberries we devoured, to the tasty peppers we inhaled, this was a very yummy weekend. Hope your week ahead is just as delicious and fun.

Apricot Chicken Tagine...and candy!

Before we even found out that we were going to be leaving Austin, Jose and I still tried to savor every bit of this city's quirkiness. But now we're trying to take it all in without being consumed by the unbearable heat! This coming week, temperatures will literally reach 100 degrees; this past weekend wasn't much cooler. So, with trickles of sweat dripping down our faces, we happily made our way to the Big Top Candy Shop. The promise of candy and too many sugary desserts to count was enough to get me out of the house, despite the blaring afternoon sun. This place was magical; with treats like old fashioned bubblegum 'cigarettes' and chocolate covered bacon, any fan of old fashioned candy and unique treats would find it hard to leave the Big Top Candy Shop.

Even though it's nearly impossible to leave room for dinner after visiting a place full of enough sweets to make an Umpa Lumpa jealous, Jose and I still managed to have an appetite for our Roast Apricot Chicken Tagine with Cilantro Couscous. Full of savory goodness from long hours of simmering, tagines are hearty North African stews named after the beautiful clay pots they're typically cooked in. Our 'quick' tagine included a few dried fruits and a variety of mouthwatering spices; we used chicken as our protein and served the stew over cilantro couscous. Cooking this meal was just as enjoyable as eating it, since the spices gave off a rich aroma that made us grateful we didn't have to wait very long to take the first bite, thanks to this quick tagine recipe from About.com.

Next week, we plan on exploring Mexico with our taste buds. Chile relleno sounds good to me; plus, I promised the hubby I'd make it for him (after making that promise, he then said he'd renew his vows to me, even though we've only been married for 5 months. It's one of his favorite dishes :)! I know the perfect person to ask for this recipe...my grandma!

Hope you all have a lovely and COOL week ahead :)!

Traveling the World One Plate at a Time: Karahi Chicken with Mint and Dessert!

I didn't get the chance to cook this meal last weekend, so I made it a point to make it today. Thankfully, it only took a little less than an hour to prepare and cook, which is great for a lazy Sunday evening. I feel like I need a weekend for my weekend!




Friday night, Jose and I saw the second Narnia movie at Alamo Drafthouse; it's definitely a place you should check out if you're not from around here. They serve pretty good food and even feature a special menu for some movies; Turkish Delight was on the menu for Prince Caspian :)! Of course, we ordered some. On Saturday we checked out IKEA. Jose and I think it might be best to purchase boxed, unassembled furniture instead of driving to Cambridge with a bunch of bulky furniture that can't be taken apart. (We're trying to figure out the best and cheapest way to move to Cambridge from Austin...any ideas? We did the numbers. Paying a moving company would be too expensive; if we flew there, we'd still need to figure out a way to move our stuff. So it seems driving to Cambridge in a large van with our stuff is the best idea, at least this weekend it is :)...we only have 2 more months to figure it out, though! Oh, but I can't wait :)!) As for today, we cleaned the apartment, sold a few of our many books to the folks at Half-Price, and went shopping for pants and shoes. So, as you can see, or read, it was a very busy weekend and I didn't have much time to cook dinner. Now I'm starting to feel myself catching Jose's cold; it seems my body always gets sick when I take the time to relax and slow down!

At least I got to squeeze in a bunch of baking last week. I was craving a healthy dessert earlier, so I made an apple and carrot cake that's moist, cinnamony, and milk-free. I made a blueberry peach pie too, but I'll post that recipe little later :).

Saka-Mushi (Japanese style veggie and salmon packets)

So last night I got around to making Saka-Mushi, a delicious and healthy Japanese meal that consists of fresh fish and a hearty serving of colorful vegetables. Jose and I both enjoyed the fact that this dish was simple but flavorful; it was also nice that we didn't have much to clean up after consuming every last bite! The original recipe called for only 5 ounces of salmon, but we used 8...and the original recipe also said that it would yield enough food for 4...but, between just the two of us, we ate it all! That just goes to show how tasty this meal was. I'm not a huge salmon fan, the fishiness is usually too much for me, but the flavor was a bit milder this time around; I think the sake/soy sauce marinade had something to do with it!

Anyhow, if you're tired after a long day at work, but don't feel like paying the closest fast-food joint a visit, then this is the recipe for you. The only thing you really have to do is chop a few ingredients and roll them up in a piece of foil, you don't even have to dirty many dishes! As Guy Fiere from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives says when he's come across a tasty meal: Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! (Ooh, how I'd love to own a fun diner similar to the ones he visits; except it'd have to be pink, of course ;). Don't all the meals featured on that show look incredibly mouthwatering?!)

Tomorrow I'm making the ice cream cupcakes! I'm so excited! I'm thinking of using a very fun ingredient for these frozen treats. I'll give you a tiny hint as to what I'll be using: What makes a warm winter drink taste even better? :)

Oooh...I bet you're thinking I forgot to post the recipe! Nope, you'll find the instructions and ingredients posted in the digital recipe card below :)!

Mini Maple Walnut Cupcakes and Caponatina

One of the best things about being an adult is getting to eat dessert before dinner without having to worry about anyone saying I'm going to spoil my appetite :P! So I'm posting the dessert before the meal ;). I found this recipe in a cheap cupcake cookbook I purchased at the pharmacy last weekend. It had such cute, delicious pictures, I assumed the recipes would be just as pleasing. Well, the mini cupcakes I made didn't turn out badly, I was just disappointed that they lacked flavor and spice. I followed the recipe for apple streusel cupcakes, but I was bummed when the crumbly part melted into the cupcake batter while it baked. I'm sure I didn't measure the topping properly, I can't imagine it was entirely the recipe's fault. When I discovered that the crumble had dissolved into the batter, I'd only used a little less than half of the topping. I didn't want to throw the rest away, so I figured I'd go ahead and make an interesting frosting with the remaining crumble. These are the ingredients that went into the crumble, followed by the ingredients I used to turn it into a frosting! I should call these Frankenstein cupcakes, because I used so many strange ingredients to make a frosting that would bring these tiny desserts to life!

Topping
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 TBSP butter

To end up with the frosting I made, you'll need to divide that recipe in half then add the following ingredients to the mix. I didn't measure, I just kept adding things until I ended up with something frosting-like in texture :) <---I know it sounds really silly, but somehow it worked and folks at work even said they were delicious! Sometimes I remind myself of Amelia-Bedelia in the kitchen! (I was a big fan of hers as a kiddo, in all honesty, I could never be as fabulous as she is :D):

Frosting with Topping
1 -2 TBSP heavy cream
a few tablespoons brown sugar
1-2 TBSP maple syrup
a few more sprinkles of cinnamon
about a cup of powdered sugar

and as for the cupcake recipe (you might want to add a few extra spices, I think I should've used apple pie spice with these)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup apple sauce
4 TBSP butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

bake at 350 for about 12 minutes (for mini cupcakes)

As you can see, these cupcakes aren't exactly healthy. Just staring at the list of ingredients is making one of my molars hurt, can you feel a cavity developing ;)? Now that we've all had our sugar rush for the day, let's move on to dinner...

So my new friend Michele said it was ok to post the yummy Caponatina recipe she shared with me! I made this hearty Italian dish to go along with the chicken picatta I made for dinner this past weekend. It was the first time I tried both eggplant and caponatina. I was so happy to discover that it wasn't too difficult to make, despite its complex flavor. I divided the following recipe in half and didn't bother storing it in a jar because I had a feeling my husband and I would devour it in just two days -- I was right!

oops, I forgot to unpeel the eggplant! Can you believe I just noticed?! :D

Grandma Rose’s Caponatina Sicilian Style
2 lb unpeeled eggplant, cut into 1” cubes
½ cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
3 ½ oz. tomato paste
1 cup water
1 lb green olives, salted and pitted
2 oz jar of capers, unsalted and drained
salt and pepper to taste
1 heaping tsp. sugar
¼ cup wine vinegar

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and celery, cook until almost tender. Remove onions and celery and place in a bowl. In same skillet, sauté eggplant until light brown. Remove. In same pan, over med flame, cook tomato paste and water, stir until dissolved. Add olives, eggplant, capers, onion, celery, salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil over high flame. Lower flame and simmer for 5 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar. Stir and cook for ½ minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Makes 2 quarts. Sterilize jars before using. Cover tightly.
Keeps in refrigerator for 6 weeks.

I found the chicken picatta recipe in a magazine I received in the mail last week! It's called Cuisine At Home, it isn't sold in stores yet; it was a free gift I received most likely for subscribing to 3 other foodie magazines. It's really great because it offers pictures along with step-by-step instructions, and some other fun cooking tips. The recipe called for 4 chicken cutlets, but I only had 5 drumsticks so I improvised a little :).

Instructions:
Well, they say you should sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper then lightly cover them in flour. But just a few pages away from this recipe in the same magazine was a short article that convinced me I needed to first dip the chicken in a mix of egg whites and corn starch THEN roll them in flour (I used whole-grain, it gave it a heartier flavor) seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and a bit of parsley. It was something new I wanted to try, so I went ahead and tried it on the chicken. I was happy with the results.

So here are the rest of the instructions:
Sautee in 2 TBSP oil (they suggest veg oil, I used olive) then once the chicken pieces are browned on all sides, set them aside. In the same pan that you used to lightly fry the chicken, add 1/4-1/2 cup white wine (depending on how much chicken you're using) and 2 minced garlic cloves. Then add 1/2 cup chicken broth, 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice, 2 TBSP butter, and 1 TBSP fresh capers. I wanted a thicker sauce, so I added a bit of flour to the mix. Since I used chicken drumsticks instead of cutlets, I went ahead and placed a few lemon slices in an oven-safe platter, then set the drumsticks on top of the slices. I then poured the "sauce" on top of each lightly fried chicken drumstick. Because I accidentally got a little more caper juice in the sauce than I wanted :D, I drizzled a bit of honey on top of the chicken before placing it in the oven to bake at 350 for about 45-50 minutes. If you're using cutlets, you can go ahead and continue cooking the chicken in the pan with the sauce until it's no longer pink. Though pink is one of my favorite colors, it's not very flattering on chicken ;).

Traveling the World, One Plate at A Time: Escalivada and Pollo A La Española

This weekend, our taste buds decided to take a trip to Spain. Using our kitchen as a vehicle for getting there, we discovered we didn't need a plane! So, a few hours ago, Jose and I put together two dishes that brought us closer to the Mediterranean than we've ever been. Our passport was a refrigerator full of delicious Spanish vegetables and ingredients, all of which we purchased earlier today at one of our favorite grocery stores, Central Market. We decided, instead of going out to eat on the weekends, we'd spend some time together in the kitchen preparing delicious, hearty meals that would give our very uneducated palates a greater appreciation for the world's many colorful flavors. It's a win-win situation: we get to spend more time together, and we actually end up saving money in the process! Even if you're on a budget, you can still travel; the kitchen is an amazing teleporter, you don't even have to ask Scotty to beam you up!

This week's dishes were Escalivada and Pollo A La Española, two very vegetable-loaded meals that will leave you feeling full and satisfied. I found these recipes in an old cookbook my husband purchased awhile ago, it's called Spanish: Over 150 Mouthwatering Step-By-Step Recipes by Pepita Aris. The chicken recipe gives the cook the option to use bacon lardons or pancetta; we thought it'd be fun to use pancetta since we've never tried it. We're so glad we did! Unlike bacon, it has a very mild, almost sweet flavor that enhanced the entire meal's flavor without taking the spotlight away from the rest of the dish. I didn't imagine it'd be this tasty! It is pretty fatty, but it actually seemed less fatty than bacon. I simmered the pancetta veggie sauce with the chicken for almost an hour. As a result, the often-dry boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces I normally use came out moist and full of flavor, even when eaten without the sauce (I didn't eat too much of the pancetta, but I noticed I still picked-up it's flavor in the chicken and I think it definitely contributed to its moistness).

So here are the ingredients for both dishes :)
Escalivada (this recipe makes enough for about 8 people, so I divided it in half and I still have leftovers for tomorrow)

2-3 zucchini
1 large fennel bulb
1 Spanish Onion
2 red bell peppers
1 butternut squash
6 whole garlic cloves
5 TBSP olive oil
juice of 1/2 a lemon
pinch of crushed cumin seeds
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 medium tomatoes
salt and ground black pepper

Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes

Before turning on the oven, I suggest steaming the butternut squash. It didn't bake in the time it was supposed to, though all the other veggies were already soft and crisp on top. If I had to do it again, I'd bake it for 20 minutes at 375 or steam it for the same amount of time. Then I'd let it cool so that I could cut it into cubes and remove the skin. All the other vegetables get sliced long-ways; the tomatoes should be chopped, the garlic smashed (the skin stays on). The veggies need to be placed in a large-enough platter so that they're all level and not piled up too high. Basically, everything gets baked together, except for the tomatoes (those don't get added in until the rest of the veggies bake). The olive oil and lemon juice serve as a dressing for the veggies. The veggies get drizzled with olive oil/lemon juice right before the cumin gets sprinkled between the thyme sprigs and veggies. All these aromatic ingredient bake for 25 minutes. After these 25 minutes are over, remove the veggies from the oven and mix-in the chopped tomatoes, then bake all the veggies for another 15 minutes.

This is how the veggies should be chopped (I love that purple garlic, it's so tasty):


Pollo A La Española (this makes enough for 4)
1 tsp paprika
4 portions of chicken
3 TBSP olive oil
5 oz smoked bacon lardons or diced pancetta
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic olives, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced 1
4 oz can of tomatoes or 1 lb fresh
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
salt and ground black pepper

This dish could be a meal in itself and tastes great with something as simple as white rice. Even if you use chicken breast, they'll still come out moist if you simmer them over a low flame with the pancetta/veggie sauce for a good amount of time. As for the instructions: lightly lather the chicken pieces with paprika, then fry the chicken in 2 TBSP olive oil - cook covered. In another pan, cook the diced pancetta in 1 TBSP olive oil until it starts to get slightly crispy, then add the onion and garlic - mix and cook covered until the onions are soft. Add the green and red bell pepper to the chicken, continue cooking until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes and chopped parsley to the pancetta and simmer for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the tomato/pancetta sauce to the chicken; then simmer the ingredients for at least 30 minutes, or until you're ready eat :).

Once all the ingredients simmer together, you'll get something like this...


I highly suggest using the pancetta if you've never tried it! I personally think bacon would be too strong for this dish, but the pancetta is so delicate in flavor and texture that it practically melts in your mouth :)!

Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)

What do you all think of this new application I'm using, is it helpful? Can you please let me know in a comment/message? Thanks! :)

I think the best family heirlooms are recipes. Unlike jewelry, they can comfort us with their warmth, conjure up loving memories with their scents, and leave us both emotionally and physically satisfied. Even though jewelry can be sized to fit the person receiving the heirloom, it still doesn't compare to inheriting a recipe that each generation can add to while still keeping the main ingredient, love. On that note, a few weekends ago I gave my grandmother a call to see how she was doing and ask her for a few cooking tips. I borrowed a tiny book from the library filled with just enough classic Mexican food recipes to experiment with. My intention was to use some of these recipes as guides while attempting to get my own grandmother's recipes right. She was very detailed about what ingredients to use, even how to cook each item I wanted to make, but as far as the measurements...well, it seems over the years her fingers have developed taste buds so that she doesn't actually have to measure the exact ingredients, they know that a pinch of this and dash of that will do just fine. My fingers aren't so clever. Though they can be trusted at times, they tend to be a bit more on the clumsy side whenever I'm trying to replicate something my grandmother has already perfected.

The first recipe I asked my grandma for was that of her Capirotada dish. Capirotada is a rich bread pudding with a kick. Its sweet base is balanced out with a hearty sprinkle of salty Cotija cheese. As a kid, I had a love/hate relationship with this cheese; its pungent smell is a lot stronger than most typical cheeses used in American dishes, but its taste is also a lot more flavorful and earthy. I only sprinkled a bit on top, just enough for its saltiness to counteract the sweetness of the piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar). Here are the rest of the ingredients I used, along with the cooking/baking instructions.

1/2 of a loaf of 2 day old Challah bread cut into bite-size pieces (This is a traditional Jewish bread, but I had quite a bit leftover from earlier in the week and I didn't want to waste. I think it worked really well with this dessert. Traditionally, day old Mexican bread is used; my grandmother uses a french roll.)
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 piloncillo stick
2 TBSP butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 small fuji apple, chopped
1/8 cup crumbled cotija cheese
1/4 cup golden raisins

After slicing off the piloncillo (I can't think of the proper term for this job, but it was a tough one!) I put the shavings into a medium sized pot with the evaporated milk and butter. The two ingredients slowly simmered together as I mixed in the nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. I then added in the bread pieces and continued mixing the ingredients until the bread absorbed all the liquid, then I tossed in the apple pieces. I transfered the concoction to a square, 9 inch oven safe platter, then sprinkled the raisins and cheese on top. To give the pudding a bit more bite, I put it in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. I also sprinkled some nuts on top, after the baking process. The apples and nuts were not part of my grandma's recipe, she is a fan of golden raisins. I decided to add less raisins and include some apples because they always taste so good in baked goods!

Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

Photographs of food really do look better when they're larger, I'll post bigger pictures from now on :).

I haven't posted in awhile. Lately I've been focusing more on preparing fast meals for dinner that don't require me to have the stove/oven on for so so long...our last electric bill was ridiculously high, and we just discovered that our AC might've been the culprit...since it's broken and only works "sometimes". Anyway, I decided I really wanted to make something tasty for dinner tonight, even if it required me to leave the stove on for a little longer than I would've liked. I actually got the idea for it from a book I picked up at the library earlier this week. The dish that inspired me to make this is called Milanese Chicken and Rice Skillet. The thing is, I didn't use a skillet, I used different spices, and even incorporated some Mexican food elements. I actually deviated from the recipe even more by cooking the chicken in a completely different way (I boiled it instead of cooking it in the skillet). The recipe called for chicken breast, but all I had were drumsticks. Improvising was a lot of fun, though. The picture in the cookbook was beautiful and yummy looking, I think that's what drew me to make the dish in the first place. But...I didn't really measure anything, though I do remember all the ingredients I used. Here are the ingredients that were used and the steps I took when making this eclectic plate that has both Mediterranean and Mexican flair.

I used 1 1/2 pounds of chicken drumsticks
I boiled the drumsticks in about 1 pint of water mixed with 1 TBSP chicken bouillon, some garlic salt and a little bit of cilantro (the chicken cooked in about 35 minutes--there were about 5 drumsticks).

While the chicken cooked, I prepared the rice, which is similar to the Mexican rice I've made in the past...but it's been spiced up a little more.
I cooked 1 cup of rice by first lightly frying it in a few TBSPS of olive oil, one small garlic clove, and about 1/8 cup finely diced onion.
I then boiled 3 roma tomatoes, removed their skin, threw them in the blender with 1/4 cup onion, 1 1/2 tsps chicken bouillon, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp cilantro--this all amounted to about 3/4 of a cup.
To the rice in the pan I added the tomato mixture and 1 1/4-1/2 cups water
As the rice cooked, I added a few sprinkles of garlic salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of paprika and onion powder, cilantro, and parsley. I also added about 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, and 1/2 cup celery.
When the chicken finished cooking in the boiling water, I dumped out the water then added some paprika, salt, pepper, about 1 1/2 tbsps Italian seasoning, about 2 TBSP olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 1/4 cup green bell pepper, and 1/2 a small can of diced black olives (about 1.5 oz) along with about 1/2 the olive juice--I seared the chicken in these spices/vegetables, then lowered the flame to a medium setting and sprinkled about 3/4 tbsp brown sugar and 1/4 cup golden raisins into the chicken mix.

That's pretty much it! Oh, and the book where I got the idea for this recipe is called Treasury of Christmas...it's a great book--so many great recipes!

fresh tostadas and salsa

I bought a $4 whole chicken at the grocery store on Sunday, cooked it in the crock-pot and I'm still finishing it up! What a bargain! I've been able to make so many meals with it, including last night's tostada dish.

I had to add a few more spices to the chicken, since it seems only the skin absorbed the flavor of the spices I added when I cooked it in the crock-pot. So I just chopped up about 1 1/2 cups of chicken, threw it into a pan with a little bit of olive oil, then seasoned it with cilantro, salt, pepper, and parsley. I added about 1/2 tsp of parsley, 1/4-1/2 tsp of cilantro, then a few shakes of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. I also cut up a small garlic clove and 1/8 cup of onion--added that to the chicken while it was spiced over a medium flame for about 5-7 minutes--or until it was slighty golden (I like toasting chicken sometimes because it adds good flavor, especially in Mexican dishes...I notice that pork chops also taste better when they're on the crispier side, not burned, though!)

As for the tortillas that I used for the tostadas, I purchased a bag of locally made tortillas that are completely preservative free (I am horrible at making tortillas, I tried a few times and all that results is a horrible mess and blocks of flour!), then I fried them in olive oil over a medium flame until they were crispy. If you don't want to fry them (I actually didn't fry the ones I ate) you can toast them on a grittle pan until they get crunchy--this is what my grandma does.

The garnish I used for the tostadas included the following ingredients: romaine lettuce (chopped), a chopped roma tomato, some grated cheese, and of course the salsa.

My grandma taught me how to make salsa a few months ago, but I wanted to add a few more things to it. I added chopped red bell pepper because it has a sweetness to it that balances out the spiciness of the chili piquin I used.
Here's what went into the salsa (this makes about 1/2 cup of salsa):
2 boiled roma tomatoes, with the skin removed
1 chili piquin
1/8 cup sweet onion
1 small chopped garlic
2 TBSP finely chopped red bell pepper
3/4 tsp cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
a pinch of pepper
I threw the roma tomatoes into the blender with 2 1/2 tsp of warm water and the little piquin. While this was blending into a liquid, I chopped up the garlic, onion and red bell pepper, then lightly sauteed these ingredients in olive oil with the cilantro and pepper. I then added the sauteed veggies to the plain roma tomato/piquin chili "sauce", added about 1/4 tsp of salt, then I turned the blender back on for a few seconds on the "grate" setting; I didn't want a complete puree, there should still be some small pieces of bell pepper in there.

That's about it for the salsa, you can chill it if you want to, or eat it warm on top of the tostadas.

One thing I really like on my tostadas is refried beans. I still had beans left over from the other day (you can get the recipe here), so I just added a couple of tablespoons of oil to a pan (I used olive because it doesn't smell up the house as much as canola/vegetable oil, and it does taste good with the beans), spooned in the beans, raised the flame to a medium-low setting and started mashing them with a spoon once they warmed up. I didn't completely mash them into a big mushy thing, I left a few semi-whole and then let all the beans simmer over a low flame until most of the watery bean "soup" evaporated, so that I was left with the refried beans.

Oh, and before I go, here are a few more pictures of my guineas, I took these a few days ago:
This is Mochi (we refer to him as the mini buffalo, he kinda looks like it)


This is Yoshi! (he's actually really hyper, but you can't tell that here)