Big Sweet Tooth

I Shall Perfect the Tamale in Mexico...

To the average eye, this may look like an ordinary tamale with a small smattering of beans and rice.  Ahhhh, not so.  In reality, this is an award-winning (well, at least in my heart) Cuban tamale--one from my fave place in Chicago, La Unica.  I've raved about it, I've posted about it, I've dreamed about...and now, when I go to Mexico, I'm making it one of my Top 5 goals to learn to make tamales.  I know they can't be that difficult and I'm going to obsess about it until I have eaten my fill of my own homemade tamales.  Other things I want to concoct in Mexico are mole, perfect chipolte salsa, ranchero beans, and fish simmered in coconut milk (it's a Brazilian recipe, but still, I'm gonna give it a go).  I have no oven in the trailer, so all eats will have to be slung together on the stovetop.  Should be a piece of cake~

Yea, That's Right...Sometimes I Cook At HOME~~

I know it may seem like I eat out every single meal every day of the week, but it's just not so.  There are times when I cook up something in my own kitchen (many times, I'm churning out stuff that's better than I can get at a restaurant anyway--well, not my fave ethnic places, but you know...).  I sometimes make buttery soft biscuits, over-medium fried eggs and homemade sausage gravy; other times its a big fat pot of Ecuadorian potato stew with slices of soft avocado on top; sometimes I'm craving pasta and whip up some noodles (usually gluten free) and toss in a bit of cheese, a splash of heavy cream, a hunk of real butter and BAM!  I've got mac and cheese (more often than not a rip of thyme
and some fresh tomatoes go into my final bowl); hearty veggie chili sometimes shows face; lots of thick Greek yogurt and honey is consumed and I mean LOTS...well, you get the drift.  So you can see, some of my meals are made at home, all with great excitement and it's good to know I'm not just some eating machine that takes down every restaurant I come across in a wild stuff-my-face frenzy.  Well, I don't know, maybe I am.  I guess I'm just hungry all the time. Ahhh, a pattern has emerged--clearly I favor comfort food.  What to do with this knowledge, what to do.....

Vegetarian Sun-Dried Tomato Italian Sausages are Almost Too Good to Be True~

I guess I love the texture of meat because these little vegetarian Italian sausages I've been making lately have been off the charts.  They have the exact same feel as the regular meat kind and I have literally perfected the perfect dog set-up.  I take one sun-dried tomato veggie dog and char it in an old cast iron.  Now this is after I have managed to cook down a half of a vidalia onion in butter in that cast iron.  Imagine the scents wafting through my kitchen after that! Anyway, I then toast up a whole grain bun (with butter, mind you) and slather it with some spreadable Swiss cheese (the kind that comes in those tiny triangles).  After the cheese is sorted out, on goes a hit of mayo, some Dijon mustard, a bit of ketchup and then the dog.  Top it with the onions and some fresh ground pepper and watch out man!  You'd never know there was no meat involved.  I love frying up a side of golden potatoes with fresh rosemary to go along with it.  I've been eating this dish with alarming frequency and finally, I ran out of the 6-pack of dogs the other day (I had the entire kitchen at work smelling like a million bucks).  I'm almost scared to get more, they're that addictive and I just got a little too obsessed with them.  Time to move on to greener pastures...I mean, jeez, I feel like this meal is meant for a giant and I'm shoving it down with wild abandon...

Egg Fried Rice with Pesto Tofu~~

When I returned from Bali last April, I came back with a full-fledged addiction to rice.  The lovely folks over there eat it for every meal (nasi goreng is the most main meal) and there couldn't be more beautiful, healthier looking people in the world (everyone claims that rice makes you overweight...well, tell that to the Balinese Nana whose been eating it for 90 years and is thin as a reed with not a wrinkle in sight). Anyway, earlier this week, I had some leftover rice in the fridge and decided to whip up my favorite dish--egg fried rice.  Now, if you can believe it, I've never made fried rice before, so it was just a bit of a sling together and I tossed in some pesto flavored tofu that I'd just picked up at Sunflower Market...can I just say that I was so happy with my meal, I was hopping? It was the most delightful (and simple) dish and will now become an instant staple in my home.  Here is the recipe:

Spaghetti with Meatless Boca Crumbles~Straight-up Delicious

I've never cooked with meatless ground beef crumbles if you can believe it.  You know, the kind that Boca makes? They are tiny crumbles of ground burger that honest to God taste almost like the real thing.  I really can't tell much difference between them and real ground beef now that I've mastered cooking with them (really, all you do is toss them in some homemade spaghetti sauce and give 'em about two minutes to thaw out and sop up all the juice---and just like that, they're done).  I whipped up this masterful spaghetti feast (made with rice noodles, no less) the other night and I truly outdid myself...even I was impressed.  Lately I've been eating out so much and have almost (but not quite) grown sick of it.  I'm just craving all the goodness of home cooked meals and nothing does it for me like homestyle spaghetti like my mom used to make.  Topped with a little shaved parmesan, watch out!  This is definitely my new obsession.  What else can I make with those no-meat crumbles?  Creamy sausage gravy and buttery, homemade biscuits; Southwestern chili with skillet cornbread; cheesy lasagna and garlic bread; baked burritos el suizo and crunchy tacos---wow!  The list can go on and on...what an exciting discovery.

Feta Cheese Appetizer: So Damn Good (and Pretty)~

For some crazy reason, I always seem to forget about this delicious appetizer.  It's the easiest thing in the world to make and I whipped it up the other night to take to my pal Jamie's party.  This photo is of the uncooked version, but once it comes out of the oven, it is a sight to behold.  Really, all you do is lay out some feta cheese(I like Bulgarian and French the best--Greek is far too tangy for my tastebuds) in a shallow baking dish and douse it with a bit of olive oil.  Then throw on some slivered red onions, chunks of fresh garlic, sliced black olives, diced tomato, dried basil, a hit of dried oregano and some fresh lemon.  Toss it in the oven and bake at 450 for about 40 minutes.  Then, at the very end, pump it up to broil for about 5 minutes and get the top all bubbly and lightly browned. When it's  done, throw on a ton of fresh basil and served with some toasted bread (I love the Pane Tuscan from Trader Joe's).  You will die.  The feta becomes so creamy and smearable and the Bulgaria feta emits the most mouthwatering wine flavor (which of course, is why it is my favorite).  Just the best appetizer ever and everyone always loves it.

The Best Smoothie Ever

I've always been a smoothie addict and especially as of late.  Every morning, I whip up the most incredible smoothie; I have literally perfected the damn thing perfected (there's no room to be humble here).  From the banana/peanut butter/honey smoothie that tastes like the most awesome banana milkshake ever, to the mixed berry smoothie that is the best way to healthfully satiate my sweet tooth, I've got the secret to smoothies down pat.  It's all about the frozen fruit.  And, you never should use ice or yogurt or ice cream---none of that jive.  Just fruit, soy milk, mango juice, and flax seed---plus, sometimes I throw in a little silken tofu for good measure (and protein).  Here's a recipe for the best smoothie ever:

Pole Caught Tuna~$7 Bones

Ever had a $7 dollar can of tuna?  Me neither, til I bought this can at Bouffe, the new gourmet food shop in Lincoln Square.  I must say, it was a real struggle to drop $7 bucks on a friggin' can of tuna, but on my second visit, I just had to do it....what must it taste like?  I whipped up a lunch dish with it and hauled it to the office, much to the delight of my fatcake team.  Mixing in the tuna with boiled baby new potatoes, diced garden tomatoes, sauteed green beans, rips of fresh basil, EV olive oil, lemon, a hit of balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper...it was straight delicious.  No trace of fish at all and totally worth the dollars.  Not that I would drop that much again, but if pressed (and rich), I'd probably roll with the american tuna at all times.  In the meantime, I'll continue to track down my $3 cans from Fox & Obel.

Backyard Vineyards in Chicago

I spent last night in the lovely backyard of a Greek friend of mine.  Tiny as it was, his family had utilized every single inch of space there was and they'd planted fig trees, pear trees, peach trees, basil, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, and most astonishingly, a full-on vineyard.  It was totally insane.  They were just chillin', listening to old-school Greek music, polishing off a feast (and of course, slinging back some rose) and cutting all the grape bunches to make homemade wine.  Who even knew Mediterranean life existed in Chicago.  I guess all ya need is a patch of dirt to make something grow.

Kalamata Olives: Straight from the Farm in Greece

So, lucky me.  Last night a friend of mine brought me over a Greek feast and he just happened to bring a big bowl of Kalamata olives from his friend who has a family farm in Greece.  They were totally delightful...deep, golden brown, just soaking in a bunch of oil and split down the middle so all of the juices can seep into the middle of them.  Getting food straight from the source is becoming more of a way of life for me and I want to try and make it happen more often than not.  Just straight good stuff~

Saveur #1~Fasoladha {Bean & Vegetable Soup)

In my first peel through the pages of the November '04 Saveur magazine, the recipe for Fasoladha caught my eye immediately and I happened to have all ingredients on hand.  Super easy to make and delicious to boot, this ancient Greek soup was even better the next day, heated up, with a poached egg, cracked black pepper and fresh dill sprinkled on top.  Oddly, I did have to cook the beans an hour longer than the recipe called for, though; they were still slightly crunchy after the called for two.
I also added in fresh dill and skipped the feta cheese.  Dill just has a delicious way with beans.

Cooking My Way Through Saveur Magazine

Winter is definitely here and the only reprieve that I can consolidate my blues with is a fanatical cooking spree.  I've gathered up all my past 3-4 years of Saveur magazine (the best food  magazine out there, bar none) and I'm gonna pluck them from the stack one at a time, and just cook myself silly.  I'm longing for comfort food and this is the solution, for now.  The first magazine I've pulled is November 2004.  The recipes I've chosen to rock out are:

+Fasoladha (A Greek Bean and Vegetable soup)
+Fava (Puree of Yellow Split Peas)
+Llapingachos (Equadorian Potato Cakes)
+German Potato Salad
+Pizza di Patate (Potato Pizza)

Documentation is forthcoming; I can't wait~

Mate Tea~Coffee Never Looked Like This

I read a very informative article in the March 05 edition of Organic Style magazine touting the differences between the types of coffee that we drink.  I knew all about the differences in fair trade, shade grown, and organic coffee BUT what I didn't know was how bad conventional commercial coffee really is.  They say it's "one of the most chemically doused crops in the world" and the workers are paid pennies per pound for their work.  Good god.  Of course, I flew into an internal rage and starting researching alternatives to coffee all together.  I like the caffeine high that coffee gives me and  just the thought, the smell, the flavor, and the idea of it makes me happy in the morning.  But, come on--I can't be tossing all that crazy stuff into my system every day.  So, I discovered the black tea called Yerba Mate Tea.  I just ran on over to Whole Foods, bought a pound of it and have been drinking it like crazy ever since.  It has this slightly sweet, cocoa flavor and has all the punch of coffee without the crazy jitters and upset tummy that coffee can give you.  The Argentinians (the jungles of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay where the tree is harvested) treat this tea just like coffee and rarely add any sweetener to it, but of course, I add in a heaping spoonful of honey.  Most importantly, it has tons of health benefits and makes me happy in the a.m.  Coffee is out and mate is in, done and done.  Plus, look how beautiful it is...coffee never looked this good!

Pile of Eggs or Work of Art?

I guess the bottom line is that when you travel, especially to a culinary haven like Spain, everything looks, smells, tastes, feels, and maybe even is better.  Just a stack of loosely piled eggs is like a work of art, practically screaming of freshness and simplicity~the two most important words in the food world.  Fantastic, vivid images were every which way I turned in Barcelona~around every corner, in each charming shop, down winding no-cars-allowed streets and in every neighborhood market.   You could never even attempt to do it all, see it all, or touch it all~ahhh, but you could try.

Pink and Polka-Dotty

I mean, come on! What the hell kind of fruit is this?  I didn't have a chance to sample it whilst in Spain, but I was able to snap a quick photo and then of course, wondered about it the rest of the day.  What kind of silly fruit could this be?  If anyone knows, please email me; I am sure a return trip to Barcelona and the famous La Boqueria is in order just cuz of this little creature. 

So many recipes...

So, here is what came is this weeks farm share.  Can you believe that all of this organic produce is $40 per week (I split with a friend and that way it is only $20)--just crazy!  So many new recipes to make~

• 1 coconut, 1 pineapple
• 1 bunch leeks
• 1 bunch celery
• 1 bunch bok choy
• 1 bunch spinach, 1 pint sugar plum grape tomatoes
• 1 head green leaf lettuce, 1 head read leaf lettuce
• 1 avocado, 7 carrots, 2 onions, 1 bunch cauliflower
• 1 bunch green onions, 1 bunch gold beets, 2 cucumbers
• 4 red potatoes, 4 russet potatoes, 2 yams, 4 mangoes
• 6 oranges, 4 apples, 4 brown pears, 4 d'Anjou pears, 5 pieces of ginger

I always get so excited when the share comes.  The first book I run to for recipes is Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.  Every single recipe that I make from her book always turns out incredible~she especially does amazing things with greens...they're always hard to deal with regularly (kale, swiss chard, bok choy, etc...).  She makes them simple and delicious, no matter which recipe I try.

How do you cook me?

So this monstrosity came in my weekly farm share.  I am thinking it's a squash of sorts and although the picture does it no justice, I'd say it weighs in close to 20 lbs. and could easily be a brutal weapon, if needed.
I'm hauling the mofo home to Tennessee with me tomorrow and on Saturday, I'm going to sling it in the AGA roasting oven and let is soften up a bit (who knows how long that one will take)...Then, I'll peel it, chop it up, and saute it with butter, sherry vinegar, apple cider (from the mountain, of course), and fresh sage.  I'm thinking it will get all creamy on the inside, but be caramel-crunchy on the outside~much like a recent go I gave to some fantastic Delicata squash that showed face in the weekly box.