anita l. arambula | afotogirl | confessions of a foodie | a food + photo + lifestyle blog

a breath: grief throws sucker punches & a bite: “how to” on Mexican Sugar Cookies with Tio {recipe}

2012-02-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

A pesky thing about grief? Just when you think you have a handle on it, it throws a sucker punch right to the gut. For example: You’re driving down the highway, windows rolled tightly up and before you know it, you’re SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS the most primal of screams. You know the kind, right? Those screams that start at the very core of your being, bubble up, gaining momentum until your body can no longer contain it and it explodes with such force that you can’t believe those animal-like sounds actually came from you?

Yeah. That kind of grief. You know what I mean.

Good days. Bad days. You know I’ve had my share…

I’ve been writing this post for over a month now. Start. Stop. Erase. Start. I struggle with the words. I struggle with inspiration. Motivation. As I write this particular line right now, revising it for the umpteenth time, it has been 64 days since Auntie Sally’s death. I’m sure more days will have passed by the time I get to actually publishing this post.

It still feels so surreal for all of us in this family. Varying degrees of surreal, maybe, but surreal nonetheless.

I do have good days.

Tio and I on Christmas Day.
Photo by my sister, Cat.

And by “good” days I don’t mean to conjure up images of levity or joy. No, no not at all. By good days I mean getting out of bed and quieting the voice that wants to call in sick and stay under the covers all day kind of good days. Good days like I can actually shower, dress, walk my pooch. By good days I mean able to get through the day tearless and with just enough in me to give a genuine smile to co-worker’s as I pass them in the hall or greet them in the elevator. Yes. The kind of good days that allow me to function so that I can be there for work, for family. And the kind that allows me to remember to pay the bills, return email (eventually) and perform other “life chores” that go along with being a responsible adult.

I get through these days still feeling like I’ve forgotten something.

Of course, I haven’t.

This is just my life now.

This is our life now.

Auntie’s death wasn’t the first in my life. I’ve had family members in my life die before. My paternal grandfather died when I was around 5 years old. I remember him. I don’t remember his death except that it was the first time I’d ever seen my strong, larger than life father cry.

The next death I can remember was my godmother. But I was still grade school age and at that age, well, everyone seems kinda old to you then, don’t they? I don’t remember her passing. I just remember that one birthday, Tia Ramona wasn’t there. Then it was my Tia Toni. I don’t really remember her funeral. I must have been in junior high or maybe even high school by then. I loved these women because they were a part of the fabric of our family. But close to them? No, not really. They weren’t a part of my daily life. They had no clue who I was. What I wanted to be. What brought me joy. What made me sad. Nor I them.

Nana, my paternal grandmother, was next. I was already home from college and working at the newspaper when she passed. No denying it: her death hurt. I still remember the sadness and sense of loss. I had spent so much time getting my new adult life off the ground that I hadn’t spent nearly that much time with her after returning home from college. I had all these questions about her life, about our family that I had always wanted to ask her. But I ran out of time.

My maternal grandfather died when I was in my mid-30s. That one knocked my world off balance. And again, this death I felt. This death hurt. I still have his sweater hanging in my closet. That was the memento I asked for after his passing. He always wore it.

And despite how much I loved him, how much of a presence he was growing up, even his passing wasn’t as profoundly life-altering as Auntie Sally’s has been.

Maybe because he’d been ill on and off for a while. Maybe it’s because Gramps had recently celebrated 92 years of living just a few months before his death. Auntie Sally had just celebrated 60.

I loved Gramps. But the respectful distance we were taught to have for our elders kept me from knowing him the way I knew Sally. The way Sally knew me.

Yes. Sally. I’ve been saying Auntie almost every time I write about her but truth be told, my sisters and I never called her Aunt Sally to her face. From a very early age, she taught us to call her Sally whenever we spoke to her and it was out of our respect for her that we called her Auntie or Aunt Sally whenever we spoke about her. She preferred the familiar salutation because she wanted one less barrier between us. She wanted us to feel like we could go to her with anything, no matter what the circumstance.

And we did. Often.

I’m still shaking my head in disbelief. Her life wasn’t supposed to end at 60.

But there’s the rub, isn’t it? “Supposed to …” What we want isn’t always what God has in store for any of us no matter how much we bargain, plead, pray. His plan can still remain hidden from us and it takes faith to continue believing that there is a reason for everything.

Faith.

Faith is what is keeping me going. Helping me to experience more good days than bad.

Faith is my light through this dark time shining on the things I have to be grateful for: my life, my family, my job, my fur-child, my friends.

Faith. Family. Gratitude.

When you come down to it, what else is there?

a bite: making cookies with my uncle helps get us through the pain

My uncle (Tio) moved away from San Diego what feels like a lifetime ago returning for the occasional visit or major family event.

He came out shortly after Auntie Sally went into the hospital. He stayed all week, giving, most especially, my grandmother, Auntie Syl and mother much needed strength. He flew home early that fateful Saturday morning after having told me the day before that he wouldn’t be leaving if he didn’t feel that Auntie was doing better.

A few hours after he left, before his plane had even touched down, Sally took a turn for the worse and a few hours after that, she was gone.

He called after he touched down to check in. Auntie Syl told him the news. He was back in San Diego two days later and stayed through Christmas.

Life goes on …

“We’re not canceling Christmas,” proclaimed my Auntie Syl, the day Sally died. You see, Christmas was Auntie Sally’s most favorite time of year. Every year, she sent out the most lovely cards, usually depicting angels. This year, she had already purchased them and she and Auntie Syl had already completed their Christmas gift shopping.

Christmas Eve morning, the day after we buried Auntie Sally, Tio called to tell me he was making Mexican sugar cookies. We had spoken about them one day while we were in the waiting room at the hospital. I told him then that the sugar coating on top of, what our family called Mexican sweet bread (in Spanish, they are known as “conchas”), was the only part that I generally liked of the pastry. That’s when he told me he knew how to make it. That’s when I found out that the pink Mexican sugar cookies I loved as a child were actually the topping for conchas.

Wanting to learn the recipe, I grabbed my camera and headed to my grandmother’s house for a lesson.

Traditionally, these cookies are plain, sometimes chocolate (with a little cocoa powder mixed in) and most often, pink (a few drops of red food dye make them pink–my favorite growing up). They usually have sugar sprinkled on them (sometimes even powdered sugar which is why they are often called “polvorones”). Tio makes his topped with a good quality preserve and a coarse sugar, such as turbinado sugar.

Another variation is to add vanilla, clove, ginger and cinnamon which can give the cookie a similar flavor to the concha which this topping would normally grace.

Come Christmas Day, these cookies were a hit. I had never had them with the preserves. It was a wonderful contrast to the cookie itself providing a different texture and a slight tartness. Tio made a few plain ones, too, for the anti-preserve folks. These, Auntie Sally would have loved.

The best part of this cookie lesson, though? The chance, since I see him so rarely, to spend time with Tio and share a passion together.

Which brings me full circle.

Family. It’s everything.

Tio’s Mexican Sugar Cookies with Apricot Preserve
My uncle’s recipe is traditional. Meaning, the fat in this cookie is lard. This gives the cookie it’s slightly chewy texture the cookie is known for without adding flavor. If you are REALLY opposed to using lard, please use vegetable shortening and NOT butter. First, butter, sugar, flour: that’s just a plain sugar cookie. And secondly, for these cookies, butter’s high water content will change the texture of these cookies. I made three slight changes: added vanila for more flavor; salt to balance the sugar; I baked them like I would shortbread at a lower temp so that the outside doesn’t brown while the center is baking. I don’t like crunchy cookies unless it’s biscotti.

Makes about 3 dozen
1 pound lard (or 2 cups), room temperature
1 pound granulated sugar (or 2 1/4 cups)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apricot preserves (or marmalade or your favorite fruit preserve)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (for topping, optional)

Cream sugar and lard with hands until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time. Blend to incorporate. Add 5 1/2 cups of the flour, the baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Cookie dough should not be sticky. If it is, add more flour a 1/4 cup at a time until dough comes together and no longer sticks to the bowl.

Divide dough into thirds. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll each third into a log about 2 - 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in parchment paper (or wax paper or plastic wrap, your choice) and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Remove a log from refrigerator and unwrap. Working quickly so dough doesn’t have to time to warm up, slice the log into 10-12 slices about 1/4” thick, arranging on cookie sheet two inches apart as you go.

Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each cookie about halfway down. Fill the cavity with a 1/2 a teaspoon of preserve. Sprinkle the cookies with turbinado or other coarse sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the cookie is set but not golden. Just like any sugar cookie, you don’t want to over bake. Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 6 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish firming up.

Repeat with remaining logs. Allow to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. Store for up to one week.

I made this recipe again this week in order to be able to post pictures of the more traditional pink and of the sometimes found chocolate variation of Mexican Sugar Cookies. I think the chocolate has usurped the pink as my fav. Love the slight chocolate flavor in these!

Make three cookies from the above dough recipe
For apricot: Follow recipe using only one of the chilled logs for the apricot.

For pink: After you divide the dough, take one third knead in 2 drops of red food dye. Roll into log and proceed with the rest of the directions, skipping the steps for the apricot.

For chocolate: Take the last third and knead in 1/4 good quality unsweetened cocoa powder. Roll into log and proceed with the rest of the directions, skipping the steps for the apricot.

Two months…

I realized last night as I was finally finishing up this post, that today, Friday, is the two month anniversary of Auntie's death. Time passes differently now. But with every day that passes, I'm getting a little stronger, a little more able to live my life. It's not that I am letting go of the pain, but rather that I'm trying to let the pain wash over me so that I can begin to let go of my grief and slowly replace it with all the wonderful memories I have of Auntie Sally. I am so very lucky that I have a lifetime's worth to hold in my heart.

As I've gone through this time – arguable, one of the most difficult of my life's journey so far – I have not been able to write, laugh freely or visit much with friends. And this blog has taken a hit because of it. I have plenty of post ideas that have been brewing and now that I've written this one and actually posted it, I think I'm ready to jump back into regular posting again.

I want to thank you all, my dear readers, for your support, encouragement, prayers. Even with no new posts during my mourning, you still come here and check in on me. Thank you for keeping me a part of your blog reading routine. It means so very much to me.

Much peace, love and light. Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

a breath: i will carry your heart in my heart always…

2011-12-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

Auntie Sally's graduation photo.

Today we said goodbye.

My heart is heavy. It broke again last night at the viewing, first hearing my mother's sobs as she stood over her younger sister's coffin. It broke again when my 82 year old grandmother stood over it to say goodbye to her third born. And again and again as auntie, uncle, sisters stood over it sobbing their goodbyes.

I feel broken. How and why am I still standing?

…

Back at my grandmother's, the family home is overflowing with bodies. My Auntie Sally I'm sure is smiling down from heaven pleased to see so many people gathered to honor her memory. For me, the house is too filled. I can't breathe so I retreat to the fresh air of my grandmother's garden.

I hear people laughing. Talking. Commenting on the food. More food than we started with. I know I should be inside. Helping. Visiting.

I can't seem to get myself to move off this bench. I am typing these words in Evernote on my iPhone. Keys blurring as I try to write through the tears.

Write.

Sally gave me my love of writing stories and reading. When I was young–grade school age–she would give me a list of 10 or 12 words and have me write a story using all of them. Sometimes she would give me the opening line, other times it was all up to me to choose the course of the story. Then I had to draw a picture to go with my story. And when I was done, she'd read it aloud and pile on the praise.

Never without a book in hand, she also gave me my first 300 page book to read when I was in junior high and got me started on horror ("Interview with a Vampire") and period romances ("Shanna" by Kathleen E. Woodwiss).

When my sisters and I were very young, mom had a hard time with fatigue so she would come over and cook and entertain us so my mother could rest. And I remember as each sister was born, she'd come and stay with us to take care of the older girls while mom and dad took care of our newest addition.

Me and Auntie during my 40th birthday celebration.

Several years back, I had a serious complication to elective surgery that very nearly took my life. I was in ICU for a few weeks and then moved to DOU (Definitive Observation Unit -- a step down from ICU) where I remained for a little more than a month. Mom would come stay with me as long as she could but with my youngest sister still at home and my father ill, her time was split. Auntie Sally was there every day, all day. She'd read to me, she'd let me sleep, she'd paint my toes, massage lotion on my legs, feet, arms, hand and make sure that I had a never-ending supply of ice chips and that the nurses where paying attention. When I went home, mom stayed with me for three weeks. Then Auntie Sally stayed with me for three weeks after that. She'd cook, help me on my walks, and introduced me to Buffy – now my favorite show right after X-Files (also a love we shared).

Auntie never married. Never had children of her own. Myself and my four younger sisters, and later my nephew, where like her children. She certainly loved us like we were.

And we loved her as if she was our second mommy.

It still feels so surreal. I won't see her text messages anymore asking me how to unfreeze her laptop, or emails in my inbox praising my latest Confessions post and teasing me about when I'd make what I wrote about for her. No more sharing horror books are talking about our latest sci-fi obsession.

60 years old. Her life seems so short. Her death, so sudden. This last year, I became so busy trying to juggle everything in my life: adjusting to life with a doggy, this blog, freelancing both photo and design work, still working on my jewelry making business, guest blogging and of course, my full-time design job at the newspaper. So busy that I didn't spend much time visiting with her. I am filled with so much guilt because of it. I have to remind myself that she loved me. That she spent a lot of time helping cultivate my creative spirit and encouraged me at every turn. I hope she knew how much I loved her. I hope she knew how much she meant to me. A woman of extreme faith, she lived her life with an open heart and treated everyone she met with a generous smile. She went out of her way to not rock the boat, to forgive no matter how much someone trespassed against her, to never say anything in anger and not hold anything against anyone. She was a good person almost to a fault.

I hope I can honor her memory by being just a fraction of the good person she was.

I love you, Sally. Always and forever.

{a breath & a bite} Family IS everything & The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap recipe Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti

2011-12-12T11:45:00.000-08:00

As I sit here writing this, I realize that I am so distracted it’s really difficult to think about cookies and holidays and all the material trappings of this time of year. It’s hard to remember the excitement I felt just three weeks ago while I was developing my recipe for my participation in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. Instead, I sit here, in the hospital, surrounded by family – some of whom have flown in from out of town – praying together for a miracle that will save my Auntie Sally.

Walking into the her room in ICU is both frightening and saddening. The brightness of the hospital lights, the whirring of machines that are keeping her breathing, cleaning her blood and feeding her all bring a lump to my throat and threaten to loosen tears from my eyes. She is fighting for her life.

She’s had a cough and cold for a while. Last weekend it was really bad. Finally, on Wednesday, my grandmother decided to call an ambulance to bring her to the Emergency Room. She was admitted and the calls went out informing the family. At first, we were told it was pneumonia and she would need to be in the hospital a few days.

But by Thursday, it was clear there was something more going on and they ordered another round of tests ... That’s when the worry started to set in.

Four days ago, I saw her in her room as she came in and out of consciousness, alert enough to know I was there, telling me to go home and be with my doggy and not to worry about coming back in the next day. She would be fine she insisted.

Today, sedated, medically paralyzed as to minimize the “waste” of oxygen, she is not the same person that sat among us two and a half weeks ago at our Thanksgiving table.

They’ve identified the secondary infection: Legionnaires. The doctor says she quite possibly could have had the bacteria for years in a dormant/semi dormant stage.

I looked up the disease.

The internet can be a scary source of information. 50% survival rate. 50%. That’s without other complications. Complications like pneumonia. Like impending kidney failure. Like diabetes.

It’s Monday morning now. I started writing this post yesterday but had to put the laptop away for the day. It was too hard to organize my thoughts …

I try to remain strong. I try to embrace my faith and know that ultimately I must accept God’s will. My Auntie is a woman of exceptionally strong faith. Wavering in mine at a time like this, my Auntie Syl reminded me last night, will only dishonor my Auntie Sally. Nonetheless, I had a meltdown last night for the first time since she was admitted.

Heaving, can’t breathe, fetal position, sobbing. So hard and so loud that my fur child couldn’t stand it. She went from calmly laying next to me with her little head using my leg as a pillow to jumping back and forth from one side of me to the other, trying to hump my arm, my leg, my head as it rocked on the pillow, lick my tears, howling along with me. They say that cocker spaniels are extremely sensitive to their human’s emotions. It’s one of the reasons you aren’t supposed to raise your voice when reprimanding them. A slight change in intonation and they can sense something is up. So I try not to cry in front of her but this … this is simply too much to keep inside.

Little gifts in the mail
I had been so busy last weekend that I got my cookies out for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap a day late.

I chose to make chocolate pistachio biscotti, making a trial run to take to work. After they passed the test there, the cookies were ready to be baked once more, packaged and sent out.

My recipients were:
Christine from Ruminations on Food
Nick from Macheesmo
Nicole from Sweet Peony

Wednesday evening I received my first box of cookies from the Swap. It was the first day of Auntie’s hospital stay. I’d planned on going to see her after work but re-injured my bad knee getting into the car. So I called her instead and spoke to her on the phone a few minutes. Then settled in to rest and enjoy a cookie from Sara over at The Little Bite.

Coconut Macaroons. Although not crazy about coconut, these cookies were moist in the center and after partaking of a few, I found them rather delicious. Thank you, Sara.

Thursday, after the definitive diagnosis of pneumonia, I made sure to get to the hospital. Auntie was still awake then but barely. Worn out when I left for home and my fur child, I found the second box of cookies. This time, they were from Lisa of Tequila Cupcakes.

Ginger Spiced Cookies. They were an instant pick-me-up. Soft, warming and comforting. And I couldn’t help but think, Auntie might like these. Thank you, Lisa.

Friday, Auntie was moved to pulmonary ICU which is where she is still. That’s when they sedated and intubated her. I left work early Friday, unable to concentrate and afraid I’d make a costly mistake. Seeing her there that first day, her chest rising and lowering more regularly, less labored due to the help of the machine, she looked like she was just sleeping. The beeping of the machines around us told me she wasn’t. I cried a little, I spoke to her. Told her she HAD TO FIGHT! Told my Grandfather it wasn’t time for him to walk with her.

My sister flew in from Arizona Friday night. I waited at the hospital as she was coming straight there. We all hugged, we all prayed. After she got a chance to visit with Auntie for a while, I said goodnight to my Auntie and drove my sisters home.

And the last box of cookies was waiting for me. Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti from Hannah 1/2 of Cats and Commas. Thank you, Hannah. A biscotti, a cuppa tea, a half hour of playing with my fur child and I was nearly calm enough to attempt sleep.

The cookies arriving in the mail where little bright spots in an otherwise difficult time. And I’m thankful to be a part of such a supportive online community.

Family is everything
It’s 10:30am now. I haven’t left for the hospital yet but I just got a call that my Auntie is worse than she was yesterday. They are changing her breathing machine to a stronger one and will resume the dialysis they started Saturday morning. My heart is heavy.

There is so much guilt. Guilt for the arrogance I had thinking that we have more time – enough time – to say and do the things we should be doing all along. All the times I said we’d do this or that, all the times I felt impatient or short with her are haunting me, no, strangling me making it hard to breathe.

I want more time.

But the truth is we don’t know, do we? How much time we have with the people we love.

We can’t waste it.

Please, don’t waste it.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti with Rum and Cinnamon
Makes 4 dozen

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon dark rum
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups raw pistachios
1/2 cup evaporated milk, poured into a shallow bowl
3-4 tablespoons course sugar such as turbinado
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until creamy. Switch to the whisk attachment. Add the eggs, vanilla, and rum. Beat on medium high until smooth.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the pistachios and combine.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and use a wooden spoon to mix the dry ingredients into the batter a cup or two at a time. Incorporate well.

Divide the dough in half. Place each half in the center of a baking sheet. Dough will be sticky. Once on the pan, dip your hands in the milk and shape the dough into a long slightly flattened log. It should measure out to about 12 inches long by 3 to 4 inches wide. Repeat with second half. Pat down the top of both logs with a little more milk and immediately sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the logs.

Bake the logs for about 10 minutes then switch their positions in the oven. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and move the logs onto wire racks to cool by carefully pulling on the parchment paper. Let the logs cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/4- inch slices on the bias (diagonally). Return the same parchment they were baked on to the cookie sheets and arrange the slices on them. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

When cooled, melt the chocolate in a microwave or by using a double broiler. Place the cookies on a wire rack and place the rack over the cookie sheets or on top of newspaper. Use a tablespoon to drizzle the chocolate over the biscotti. Place rack in refrigerator for chocolate to set up.

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week or placed between waxed paper and sealed tightly, they can be frozen for up to a month.

How you can play next year

Want to participate in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap next year? Sign up here.

Sharing the Kitchen With: Making Cookies (and Atole) with Grandma {recipes}

2011-11-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

Grandma's Cookies with a steaming hot mug of atole.

A breath + a bite
As the holidays approach, specifically, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, I sit here taking stock of my life and asking myself, "What am I most thankful for?"

Without pause, the answer at the top of my list is, and will always be, family.

My family, far from perfect, is nonetheless a strongly committed, fiercely loyal and supportive one. Yes, there are times when life between us isn't harmonious and feelings are easily hurt. But when life throws any one of us a major curve ball, it's often as if the curve ball was thrown at ALL of us and we inevitably come together a united front to fight an obstacle. And even though I grew up highly influenced by a strong, hardworking father who always went above and beyond to ensure that we had our basic necessities covered, I cannot imagine the kind of woman I would be were it not for the women I grew up surrounded by: my mother, my four younger sisters, my two maternal aunties and the woman who influenced all of us, my maternal Grandmother.

Grams and I after the last cookie sheet went into the oven.

Grams was born in San Bartolo, a small town on the outskirts of Tepatilán de Morales in Jalisco, Mexico. The first child to survive infancy, she had one sister and seven brothers. Life was not easy for the family and particularly difficult for my grandmother. Unable to receive formal schooling, she taught herself to read and write Spanish. Later, once my grandfather moved his young family to San Diego, she taught herself English by listening to the radio, watching TV and reading Psychology Today. Even to this day, Grams can be found working on a puzzle in one of her Word Search magazines as she continues, at 82, to "work her mind," as she told me today.

When I was young, us girls would take turns spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Friday nights. Grams would spoil us the next morning making us her pancakes from scratch that were, I kid you not, as large as a dinner plate and lusciously drowned in Caro corn syrup. On holidays we were treated to her tamales. And on every visit, no matter what time of day or day of week, we were greeted with, "¿Tienes hambre?" (Are you hungry?). If we said yes, there was always frijoles de olla (pinto beans cooked in a stockpot) sitting on the stove waiting to be refried and fresh corn tortillas for bean tacos offered and enthusiastically accepted.

6 eggs. 3 cups of sugar. Beat. Whoa.

Adding in the spices changes the batter color from yellow to mustard.

My fondest culinary childhood memory involving my Grandmother? Her spice cookies. These crispy biscotti-like, cinnamon and clove scented cookies hold a special place in all of our hearts. With a pound-and-a-half of butter, it's not a recipe she made often so when she did, it was a welcomed treat.

After most of the flour has been incorporated, Grams shuts off the blender, cleans off the blades before moving onto working the dough with her hands so she can feel if it needs more flour before hand-forming the cookies.

A year or two ago, my sister B asked Grams to teach her this recipe. I wasn't able to join them then but knew I very much wanted to learn it and share it here with my readers. In September, Grams mentioned her cookies again and because we were in the middle of a heatwave, I asked if she could teach me her recipe when the weather was a little cooler.

Well, a little over a week ago I was texting one of my aunties when she texted back, "Your grandmother says the weather's changed."

Grams poured about 1/4 cup of flour directly onto the worked dough to use to flour her hands and work more flour into the cookies while simultaneously forming them. I come from a family of intuitive cooks: measurements? Yeah, right.

Ah! Why, yes it has changed. The weather here in San Diego has indeed cooled down. My bed now sports my down comforter and I have been lighting a fire in my fireplace this week to warm up my house for Starbuck and I.

Since I knew I was going to be on vacation this week, I made a date to go over to document my Grams making her cookies.

While we were waiting to begin, I asked her who taught her the recipe. She told me that when my mom and my uncle were little, she used to put the radio on to entertain them. There was a children's program on that, from her description, sounds like it was a Spanish equivalent to TV's Sesame Street, which is what I grew up with. One day, the show following the children's program turned to cooking and described this recipe. She didn't write it down then but later, recreated the recipe from memory. It was such a hit, that she continued to make it periodically for her young family and then when we came along, we would beg her to make them for us, too.

There they are. The sight of these cookies with the familiar criss-cross pattern while we were growing up meant that Grandma loved us.

The first pan of cookies fresh from the oven. Grandma has a hot spot in her oven but she doesn't turn the pan mid-way through baking because one auntie likes the cookies quite golden and crispy and the other, like myself, enjoys them just set with the edges just starting to brown. The hot spot accommodates both taste preferences. How convenient!

As the last of the cookies to baked in the oven, I asked Grams about atole and champurrado. Atole is a thick hot drink and I vaguely remember drinking it as a youngster with my grandfather. Yes, my grandmother said, she used to make it. She said it's thickened with rice flour, all-purpose flour, masa harina for tamales, corn starch or the prepared masa you can buy at Mexican grocery stores. It's scented with cinnamon and she said she'll often flavor it with crushed pineapple or strawberries to make it even sweeter and thicker. Champurrado is an atole flavored with Mexican hot chocolate such as Ibarra or Abuelita. And as we're talking about it, she pulls out a pot and begins making it for me. "Oh, goodie!" I thought. I was eager to taste this as an adult.

Freshly made atole ready to be served. It was quite delicious. And now that I know it's so dang simple to make, I'll be making it a little more often on exceptionally cold evenings or mornings this winter. Thanks Grams!

I wasn't disappointed. Plus, it went great with the cookies.

Thank you, Grandma. ¡Te quiero mucho!

Grandma's Cookies
Makes about 4½ dozen 4 in. cookies

3 cups sugar
6 eggs
½ teaspoon ground clove
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ lbs butter, room temperature (These days, Grams likes to lighten calories a little by using I Can't Believe it's Not Butter)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus ½ cup for forming
3 tablespoons milk in a small shallow bowl (Grandma prefers Carnation evaporated milk)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place rack in center.
Spray nonstick cooking spray on cookie sheets. Set aside.
In an extra large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on medium-high until smooth. Beat in clove and cinnamon. Add vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add butter and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Add baking powder. Beat on medium until smooth. Add flour and beat on low until incorporated and dough begins to form. Dough will be slightly sticky. Flour hands, pinch about two tablespoons worth of dough and roll between hands to form about a 3 ½ - 4 inch "log" (if dough is still too wet to handle, slowly work in additional flour a little at a time). Place logs onto greased cookie sheet and repeat process until cookie sheet is filled with logs spaced about ½ inch apart.
After cookies are all laid out, dip a fork into milk and make light indentations at a 45 degree angle all the way down the log. Dip fork in milk again and repeat at a-45 degrees angle, creating a criss-cross pattern on the cookie much in the same way you would decorate a peanut butter cookie. Bake cookies one sheet at a time (unless two pans fit on the same rack) for 20-30 minutes until the cookies are set and edges are beginning to turn golden. Tops of cookies will be slightly shiny from the milk.
Serve with espresso, Mexican hot chocolate, atole or champurrado.

Grandma's Atole

Serves 4

2 cups water

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1teaspoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

Heat water to simmering in a saucepan.
Whisk in flour. Cook, whisking continuously for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon and sugar. Whisk 5 more minutes.
Add milk. Whisk for 10 minutes or until atole is slightly frothy and reaches the consistency of heavy cream.
Serve immediately.

Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

A Click: A Sunday Drive to Julian Last Month for Apple Picking + Sight-Seeing {just photos}

2011-11-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

Raven Hill Orchard

A breath & A Bite: Oprah's Lifeclass + {recipe} Arroz con Pollo Peruano

2011-11-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

Arroz con Pollo Peruano has become a go-to one pot meal. Simple and tasty, it's satisfying soul food.

A breath: We all just want to be "seen"
My evening yesterday turned out so differently than my morning. I have Oprah to thank for it.

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to stay in bed?

That was my morning yesterday. After four days of fighting through a migraine, I finally got ahead enough at work to be able to stay home and nurse it. I stayed in my darkened room until about 1pm, leaving my room only long enough to open the back door for Starbuck to bask in the sunlight and go potty. Then around 3, I finally got dressed and dragged my butt – and Starbuck's – out for a quick errand to the pet store for treats and flea medicine for her.

Starbuck sleeping on the pillow next to me. She stayed by my side the entire time I nursed my migraine in my darkened bedroom yesterday. I love this fur child of mine more than I thought I ever could.

Upon our return, it was back to the sanctuary of my dark bedroom with my fur child curled up next to me.

It was also the first day in a while where I stayed off the computer. Ok, so yes, I did check the alerts on my iPhone but no computer launched until about 11pm. That is pretty darn good for me as I'm totally a tech addict.

No TV either until it was time for Oprah's Lifeclass. Which by the way, is an awesome show!

Do your eyes light up when…
The lesson yesterday: Do your eyes light up when a loved one comes into the room? Do you take a moment to "see" them and acknowledge them?

It was a good reminder to slow down and listen. Even the people on the peripheral can really be impacted by a simple acknowledgment: the checkout girl at the grocery store; the man who delivers your water; the fellow employee at work whom you pass in the hallway several times a week…eye contact, a smile and a simple "Hello" can really go a long way.

Tonight's episode will tackle this statement: If you want something you've never had, then you have to do something you've never done.

Profound stuff people. I love how it gets me thinking, reflecting and more importantly, driving me to action by applying some of the lessons in my life.

So, with my migraine manageable and another episode of Oprah's Lifeclass behind me, my mood was lifted, my mind a little clearer and my resolution to continue living my life with intention and gratitude renewed.

A bite: Dinner time can be a pain when you are feeling lousy
I really hate cooking when I am not feeling well. Fortunately for me, I have a new yummy go-to one pot chicken dinner recipe that I've made at least four times now since my friend Glo told me about it and shared it with me.

It's Arroz con Pollo Peruano. Glo's father is Peruvian and she's been making this dish for a while. It's super simple and really tasty.

It's made from simple ingredients that I basically always have on hand with lots of cilantro being the key ingredient.

Well, most everything.

I am not a beer drinker. The first time I made this, I stopped off at my local 7-11 and picked up a single large can of Coors beer.

It felt so weird to me to be doing so. I have no qualms picking up a bottle of wine. But taking that can of beer up to the kid behind the counter made me really self-conscious.

The next time I made this dish, I bought a six pack instead from the grocery store. It didn't feel as weird and now I have it on hand for whenever the mood strikes me.

And it strikes me often.

Arroz con Pollo Peruano

1 1/2 cups cilantro, leaves only
2 or 3 leg quarters or 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon salt + to taste
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
olive oil, as needed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup white rice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup beer
1 cup frozen peas

Place cilantro in the bowl of a food processor with 1 tablespoon of at the chicken stock. Pulse to chop the cilantro finely. Set aside.

Lay chicken out on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Massage seasoning into chicken. Heat a dutch oven or deep 12" skillet on medium high. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add chicken and brown on all sides to golden. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add onions to pan and cook for three minutes. Add garlic. Cook for a minute. Add rice and toast until the rice starts to turn golden stirring constantly. Add the rest of the chicken stock, the beer and cilantro. Return chicken to pan. Cover and cook for 25 minutes on low. Add peas. Cover and cook for 10 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165 degrees Farenheit. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Until next time…
¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

A breath + a bite: Good friends know the song in your heart + {recipe} Plum Cake

2011-10-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

A simple plum cake, dense, and moist. Perfect for a leisurely talk with a good friend.

A breath…
It's Sunday as I sit writing this. I like Sundays. It's usually my day to cook. And when I cook, I think. I contemplate. I meditate. I'm able to put the things going on in my life into some sort of perspective. Today, all I can think about is friendship – both our natural familial ones and those that we choose to cultivate.

I used to believe that it was just me against the world. That's a common belief, methinks, for someone like myself who has been virtually single their entire life. You start to believe that you are the lone blade in a sea of grass bending to and fro trying desperately to keep from breaking beyond your ability to mend.

And although I have family to help put me back together when I have indeed broken in two (or three or four), it's the friendships that we make that tend to be the ones who see it happening – or cause the break in the first place.

Funny thing, this growing older. There's a bit of clarity that comes with having life experiences behind you. With enough time between those major events in your life, almost anything can be put into perspective. There's also the ability to see patterns; to notice that some lessons are learned, and others keep repeating because we just haven't gotten it yet.

And many of those lessons – and reminders of lessons already learned – come in the form of friends.

Friends treat us the way we allow them to
You know those people who tend to only come around when life isn't treating them so well and disappear as soon as they've taken what they need from you to breathe again on their own without so much as a thank you? I have some friends like that and recently, I feel like the universe was testing me to see if I've learned the lesson yet.

The only way I know to deal with them is to keep the wall partially up while I dip my toe in to test the sincerity of their attempts at reconnection. My history has shown that just as quickly as any reconnection happens, it's as if someone yells out, "Full stop!" when ~~someone better~~ another distraction comes along for them.

These friendships always seem to make their way to the back burner, smoldering in the embers of memories and dashed hopes for new beginnings. The younger me would have been devastated with each loss. But this older, calmer, slightly wiser me I'm finding can finally acknowledge the growth that has transpired here in me. The lesson? History does not change so let it go and move forward.

'Life' friends are the best teachers

The universe also recently brought another person back into my daily life for a visit that put a spotlight on the glaring difference between life friends who are teachers and, well, the rest.

Immediately, energy, love and respect flowed back and forth as we spent as much time together as we could. In the brief week-and-a-half she was here, she truly was here: to listen without judgment and encourage without ulterior motive. We laughed, we shared, we teared up when the conversation got heavy and soul-bearing. And when she left, my soul was again singing with the possibilities of my life.

There is a saying about a good friend knowing the song of your heart and being able to sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. That is a role she has always played in my life. I hope I can play it in hers.

I am open-hearted once again. I am able to allow blessings to flow back in and receive the energy from the people who play the important roles in my life like my awesome family and the handful of other life friends both old and new as they act at times as my teachers, cheerleaders, listeners, playmates, fellow students of life who lift me up, honestly and with open hearts themselves.

A bite…
I've been relying on those awesome family members and friends for rides a lot these last few weeks as I've dealt with one car issue after another. Friday, my car wouldn't start again and I had to trouble my Grams to drive me to work. Once at work, my friend Glo offered to give me a ride home when she found out that my car was dead – again. Without hesitation, every time my car has gone out, she's offered to help. And when she heard that I was towing my car back to the auto body shop near her on Saturday morning, she offered to pick me from the shop and take me to the Golden Hill Farmers Market before driving me home.

Wanting to go since I found out one started up in Golden Hill, I was excited to be going with her. We got there so early that it wasn't at all packed and we were able to leisurely stroll from stall to stall talking with venders and tasting, touching, smelling their wares.

I picked up these lovely plums.

They were huge. And delicious. So when I got home, I decided to bake with them.

I spent Saturday afternoon trying to figure out what it was I wanted to make today, Sunday, my cooking day.

This awesome crumble from The Cilantropist has been on my mind since Amanda posted it. But then there was this dimple cake or pie from Smitten Kitchen that looked promising. Oh, and this plum jam from Kitchen Corners caught my eye, too. There was also this great looking plum tart from Sprouted Kitchen to consider. Oh the possibilities!

Reality check: Not having been to the groceries in a while due to lack of transportation, I surveyed my pantry and decided the cake was the best option with what I had work with.

So I adapted the recipe and forged ahead.

I'm pleased with the results but already have ideas on how I'm going to tweak it in the future. That's just me though. I love to take what I know and turn it on it's side, just a bit.

Because, sometimes, things that look askew, are really just lessons waiting to be learned.

Plum Cake
adapted from smitten kitchen

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (original calls for flavorless but wanted to try it with the EVOO)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon (original calls for orange, but I only had lemons)
2 large or four small plums, cut in wedges
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (see note)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Butter an 8 inch square pan. Line with parchment paper so that two inches comes up on two of the sides (to be used as handles to lift the cake out of the pan). Butter the parchment. Set aside.
Add room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until it's lighter in color. Use a small rubber spatula to scrape down sides of bowl if needed. Add sugar and beat on medium for about 3 minutes to cream the two together, using a spatula to scrape down sides if needed.
Add eggs, one at a time stopping to beat for 3 minutes between each one and scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Add oil, vanilla and citrus zest. Beat for 3 more minutes. Batter will be smooth and satiny.
In a small bowl, combine the flour and cinnamon until well incorporated. Bring mixer speed down to low and add the flour to the wet ingredients until just incorporated. Remove from stand and use a rubber spatula to incorporate any dry spots from the bottom or sides of the bowl.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Arrange the plum slices on top. Bake in center of the oven for 30-40 minutes, checking for doneness at the 30 minute mark. Mine was done at 32 minutes.
Once a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, remove cake from oven and set on a wire rack to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, grabbing the parchment handles, lift the cake out and place on the rack. Allow to cool for 25 minutes. Carefully flip the cake over onto a plate, remove the parchment, place serving dish over the cake and carefully flip back so that the cake is plum side up.
Cake will keep at room temperature for 2 days if covered well or keep in the refrigerator covered up to four days.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for the above measurement but of all-purpose flour and not self-rising. If you're using all-purpose, add 2 teaspoons backing powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. I have a lot of self-rising flour on hand left over from a previous photo shoot so that's what I used. Use above measurement if using all-purpose flour and combine them well in a separate bowl before adding to wet ingredients.

Until next time… be well, listen to your heart so that the lesson can present itself.

Ani

Cooking for One: Tortilla Española, aka – the Spanish Omelet {recipe}

2011-10-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

Traditionally served at tapas bars, Tortilla Española makes an excellent brunch option. Here, I served it with crème fraîche and a dusting of fresh chopped chives from my herb garden.

Potatoes. Eggs. Onions. Olive oil. What is this magic that happens when all of these come together in a pan to make the wildly popular Spanish dish, Tortilla Española? Magic, it truly is because after I made this dish for the first time about 6 years ago, it instantly became a go-to favorite.

I've written about this humble dish before but decided that singing its praises again was in order after sharing the tapa (Spanish for 'appetizer') at a recent monthly meet-up of the San Diego Food Bloggers (#sdfoodbloggers or find us on Facebook). I got the biggest compliment when our hostess, @reciperenovator, commented that the taste transported her right back to Spain, reminding her of her time spent there.

In Spain, this dish is also known as 'tortilla de patatas' (or papas depending on what region you're in both meaning potatoes).

I liken this dish more to the Italian fritatta than what we know here in the States as an omelet as it really bears no resemblance in taste or appearance to it's American, er, French cousins. And even though "tortilla" appears in it's name, it has nothing to do with the Mexican bread products made from flour or corn that I grew up with.

Often served in tapas bars, it makes a simple, satisfying dinner especially served with a slightly sweet chilled white wine (try a glass of Pinot Gris or a white Spanish Rioja). Traditionally this is served with crusty bread, either on top of a single slice or between two slices as a "bocadillo" - a sandwich. I personally enjoy it for weekend breakfasts and brunches and so far this month, have made this at elate four times: once as breakfast for a friend before heading out on all day excursion to Julian for apple picking, once for the meet-up, once for this post and then just this week again for dinner.

The classic look of the tortilla is dome-like resulting from the omelet pan this dish i cooked in. In Spain, there is actually a special plate reserved specifically for the tortilla flipping portion of this recipe. Domestically, you can order special pans for this dish from here and here. Thickness of the tortillas varies by region and taste. They can be as flat as an inch all the way up to 4 inches in depth. Now that's a tortilla!

This updated version is great for one (with leftovers for lunch the next day) or for two. If you'd like to try the full recipe that can serve 12-16 as a tap or easily satisfy a family of four as dinner or breakfast, click here.

Tips for success:

Use a nonstick pan if you have one. It should have slopping sides and a depth of at least 2 inches. If making this modified for one or two recipe, pan should be about 6 1/2 to 8 inches (mine is an 8 inch). If making the full version, you'll need a 10 inch pan. I don't own nonstick but I successfully use my Calphalon 8 inch omelet pan or my 10 inch (or 12 inch if I'm making it for a party) that I've used so much that they're very near nonstick now.
I've used russet potatoes and yukon golds for this dish. Both taste great but I find that the yukons hold up better during the cooking process as the russets tend to fall apart and turn mushy as they cook. Plus, the skin on a yukon is so thin, you don't even have to peel them. An added bonus!
Cooking this in steps is best, especially if you're not using a nonstick pan: cook the onions first, wipe out the pan, cook the potatoes, wipe out the pan and make sure that there is no food stuck to it. If there is, quickly scour the pan.
I find letting the potatoes "soak" in the egg mixture for 10 minutes seems to make for a more tender tortilla but it's not necessary. Just make sure the potatoes and onions are fully coated before placing into the hot pan.
To make it easier to slide the tortilla back into the pan, wet the plate that you'll be using to flip the tortilla out onto first.
Don't use eggs straight from the fridge. Take them out and let them come up to – or near to – room temperature. It will help keep them from sticking to the pan.
This dish is traditionally served warm or at room temperature making it an excellent dish for entertaining.
An authentic tortilla española is made with just these three basic ingredients: potato, onion and egg with olive oil and salt for cooking. However, feel free to experiment once you've mastered the technique. Like pancetta or bacon? Try adding cooked bits of it to the egg mixture. Love cheese? Try adding some near the end of the cooking process or topping it right before serving. How about peas? Those would taste lovely in this dish too.

Tortilla Española for One (or Two!)
INGREDIENTS

2 medium yukon potatoes, washed
1 medium brown onion, sliced thinly
3 eggs
olive oil
kosher or sea salt to taste

METHOD

Place an 8 inch nonstick pan on medium high and let heat up while prepping potatoes.

Slice the potatoes uniformly using either a mandolin or sharp chef's knife. You want the potatoes about 1/8th - 1/4" thick. Any thinner and they'll turn to mush while cooking. Any thicker and they will take too long too cook.

Add 1 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot pan. Swirl to cover all edges of pan. Once the oil is shimmering and starting to smoke, add the onions and sweat until translucent but not browned. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Wipe out pan. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to pan. Swirl to cover all sides. Once oil is shimmering and starting to smoke, begin layering the potatoes in the pan, seasoning each layer with a pinch of salt as you go. Carefully flip potatoes, lower heat to medium low cover pan and cook for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender but NOT browned (you're not making fries) stirring and flipping potatoes every couple of minutes. When potatoes are fork tender, remove and add to onion bowl and set aside.

Wipe out pan (scour if potato bits are stuck to pan). Return pan to heat. In a small bowl, gently whisk the eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the eggs to the potatoes and onion bowl stirring gently to combine and coat all the potatoes.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the hot pan. When oil is ready, pour in potato mixture using a spatula to press the mixture together to remove any air pockets. Shake pan vigorously and run a rubber spatula around sides to prevent from sticking. Keep heat at medium high and cook for five minutes, stopping to shake pan every 30- 45 sec. You want to make sure that the tortilla isn't sticking.

Once the tortilla starts to set up, wet a plate that is larger than the pan, put it upside on the pan and carefully flip so that the tortilla is now on the plate. Wipe out pan if necessary. Add more oil if needed. When oil is hot again, carefully slide the tortilla back into the pan and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes until the egg is cooked shaking the pan periodically to ensure it's not sticking.

Slide the omelet out onto a serving dish. Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.

Until next time …

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

A Forced Silence: Blackout Bean Salad {recipe}

2011-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Necessity and outside circumstances sometimes can lead to some tasty discoveries. When we were hit by a blackout one Thursday last month, I was home from work nursing the tail end of a bad cold. Originally, a friend had planned to take me out to dinner that night but with my cold and then the blackout closing up the restaurant he had picked out for us, we would have to fend for ourselves at home.

Hmm. What to make? Not wanting to open and close the fridge more than absolutely necessary, I took out short ribs that I had placed in the freezer less than an hour before the blackout hit knowing that they hadn't had time to freeze yet. I drizzled olive oil onto the short ribs, liberally sprinkled them with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, massaged it in and then placed them into a ziplock bag. I added cumin, ancho chili powder, minced garlic, worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, a little more olive oil, freshly chopped Greek oregano from my herb garden and sealed it up to marinate for an hour. When ready, I would cook it on the grill.

I looked in the pantry for inspiration for a side dish and found a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. In my fruit bowl on the dining table I had a red onion and roma tomatoes and with a few snips of cilantro from my herb garden in hand, plus a huge avocado my friend bought over that evening, the makings of a bean salad started to form in my head.

The house lit by candlelight proved to be unusually warm, even with my cold. We sat outside on the patio, our conversation lit by candlelight as we slowly sipped one lovely glass of wine after another. Around us, silence. No TVs blaring, no phones ringing, not even sirens blaring. Just the warm night air to keep us company and the gentle popping of the short ribs as they cooked on the grill. And when the patio motion light suddenly turned on around 11pm that night, bathing our little private party in garish light, we quickly turned it off and smiled as we realized, the dark, the candles, the evening had been perfect just the way it was.

The next morning, feeling so much more recovered from my cold, I walked the block-and-a-half to my corner market to pick up eggs for breakfast. "CASH ONLY" in big black letters greeted me at the entryway. Seems the store's cash registers weren't all back online yet let alone their credit card terminals. I stood in line, fresh tortillas and eggs in hand while all around me, people were sharing the stories of the evening before.

A lady in front of me said her son took a spare generator over and they plugged in an ipod and a portable skillet bringing out neighbors to their yard for a community potluck dinner. Another in line said he and his family also hosted an impromptu BBQ on their block, meeting neighbors for the first time in the five years he'd lived in his home.

Similar stories of little parties springing up everywhere as people gathered to share what they had with others continued all day as I went about my business. It seemed this forced darkness brought neighbors together in a way that I have never seen before.

It was a refreshing break from the normal routine but could I live like that always?

In silence?

In the dark?

As I sit here typing away on my MacBook Pro, iPod plugged into my stereo system with Bach softly pouring out of my speakers sipping a piping hot quad-shot latte just brewed with my KitchenAid Pro Espresso maker, dinner simmering away in the crackpot, the dryer filled with freshly laundered clothes for the week gently humming in the background, I don't even need to hesitate when I say, "Hell no." But for one warm September evening, finding the bright side of the dark made for a memory that will always warm my soul.

Blackout Bean Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 15 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 medium avocado, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup roma tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/2 kosher salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste

METHOD

Combine first seven ingredients in a serving bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over bean mixture. Taste, then add salt and pepper to your liking. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Note: We used the leftover salad in our scrambled egg breakfast burritos the next morning and might I add, D'Lish!

Until next time…
¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

Women's Empowerment International Success Story: Hasno Ali is a Somali Refugee with a Passion for Teaching Her Native Cuisine {+RECIPE}

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hasno Ali, a Women's Empowerment International (WE) STAR Client and chef, left, sits with Leigh Fenly, co-founder of WE. Hasno, a Somali Refugee has been able to start a catering business with the assistance of WE's STAR Center.

"My husband was a leader in our community," said Hasno Ali, a refugee from Somalia who was teaching an African cooking class as part of the Women's Empowerment International (WE) STAR Center's Cooking Class Series. "So lots of people were always visiting," she continued. "I cooked a goat–sometimes two goats–a day to feed everyone."

Leigh introduces Hasno to the students gathered at the Center for Healthy Living in Solana Beach, California.

This statement brought a round of laughter from the collection of nine or so women gathered to watch Hasno cook. Two women in the audience were also from Africa and came to learn how to replicate a taste of home. Another, an immigrant from China, was looking to expand her knowledge of international cooking. There was also a woman in attendance who had adopted two beautiful young girls from Ethiopia–both joining their mother for the class–and wanted to be able to help them keep ties with their native culture by learning some African dishes.

Hasno lead the class with an obvious enthusiasm to share her native cooking.

Not wanting to pound on the tables inside the Center's kitchen, Hasno walked outside to crush her African turmeric root for her spice mix.

Hasno's warmth and passion for cooking and teaching her native cuisine shines through her heavily accented commentary. Happily, she walked amongst her eager students encouraging them to smell the various spices which quickly perfumed the kitchen at The Center for Healthy Living in Solana Beach.

Hasno explains the differences between store bought Madras curry powder and her own homemade version. "I like to make my own," said Hasno. "It tastes much better. Fresher."

Hasno sells her homemade spice mix at a few farmers markets around the county.

Hasno's students for the day.

"I love to cook," said Hasno. She enjoys cooking the foods of her homeland which are healthful vegetable-rich dishes as well as the food of Ethiopia, where she lived until the age of 10. She learned much of her cooking from her Ethiopian grandmother. Her father's mother was South African and it's that cuisine that she shared on this warm Sunday morning.

Hasno was assisted during the class by a WE intern who often acted as interpreter when Hasno was at a loss for the right words.

When asked if her children also enjoyed cooking, she laughed and said no. In fact, her younger children used to be jealous of her spending time cooking for others. "Cook for us only!" they would tell her.

Hasno adds coconut milk to a hot pan.

With humor and an enthusiasm to share, Hasno sprinkled the class with anecdotes from her life and homeland. At one point during the class, she and her assistants realized there was not a can opener to be found anywhere. So Hasno, to the collective gasp of her students, took her 10" chef knife to the can of coconut milk. Upon successfully puncturing the can–twice– she turns to the class, holds up the can and says, "It's the African way to open." And everyone let out a sigh of relieved chuckles as she poured the milk into her pan.

Talapia is rinsed, patted dry and then dredged in Hasno's special spice mix before being added to a pan of hot oil that has been perfumed with more of her spice mix.

Preparing the batter for the fritters. Hasno insists on using the freshest ingredients possible. "We are all healthy in my family," Hasno told me. "We eat only the food I make and it's all good. We only go to the doctor once a year (for a check-up)." When I asked her if fast food or processed food ever made an appearance in her home, she merely laughed and said never.

Here, the black-eyed pea fritters sizzle in the pan. Similar to a falafel, however, because Hasno starts with dry peas that are briefly soaked, skins removed, and then immediately blended, the fritters are extremely light and fluffy in texture.

The morning's menu consisted of Black-eyed Pea Fritters with Hummus on Pita, Fish Stew with Coconut Milk, and Ugali (African Cornmeal Mush with Vegetables). It was all very delicious.

The class was held at the Center for Healthy Living in Solana Beach. It's an intimate setting perfectly suited to the warmth that pours out of Hasno.

As Hasno flittered between dishes like a master chef who clearly has been cooking for years, she continued with a few stories about her life.

Some ingredients for Ugali, an African cornmeal mush with vegetables.

Hasno, adding the kale for the Ugali to a pot of spices and garlic as her youngest daughter looks on.

Hasno's husband, a chief in their community in Somalia, was working with the U.S. Embassy when civil war broke out. The embassy helped the family escape the war and move to the U.S. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving in San Diego, Hasno's husband died suddenly of a heart attack. Hasno was left to take on the full financial responsibility of supporting her 11 children.

"It was bad but I was so happy we were already here (in the United States) when he died," Hasno told me, voice cracking with emotion. "If we were in Africa when it happened, some of my children would have died of starvation. We would have gotten no help from the government. From no one. But here, we got assistance."

A few years ago, to help earn some money to support her family, she took on helping a woman who was selling food at the Hillcrest Farmers Market. Clearly a better cook, Hasno was put to cooking the entire menu solo, creating dishes that became sellouts to an eager crowd. The woman gained a reputation for providing scrumptious authentic African dishes – only she wasn't cooking. Hasno was. And for all of her work, Hasno was only being paid $20 for the day.

It was Hasno's elderest daughter, now 22 years old and in college, who, after three months of this, told her mother, "Enough! You need to be doing this for yourself not cooking for someone else." Together, they went and applied for the permits and licenses needed to begin selling at farmers markets.

After the cooking demos were complete, students were encouraged to make their own plates after being shown how to serve it.

Samples of Hasno's spice mix for students to take come with them.

Currently, Hasno sells her food at the following farmers markets often cooking it onsite for people to watch and learn:

Euclid Farmers Market (600 Euclid Ave, SD, 92111, Fridays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
City Heights Farmers Market (Wightman Street between Fairmount and 43rd St, SD, 92125, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Escondido-Welk Village Farmers Market (8860 Lawrence Welk Dr, Escondido, 92026 on Mondays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.)

Now with assistance from the Star Center, Hasno has her own catering business, East African Cuisine and has recently purchased a food truck. "We already have a space Downtown on 16th Street," she told me. "We are just finishing all the paperwork for the permits."

Hasno recently catered a few events including one for the Peace Corps where she prepared a meal for 200 guests and one for World Refugee Days which found her cooking for 500 people.

"I love to cook," she said again. "I can cook beef, lamb, chicken, goat, fish, everything. Give me some time, and I can show you how to cook everything, too."

About Women's Empowerment International

With the goal of helping the 3 billion people in our world who live on $2 a day or less, WE, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization, is committed to improving the economic lives of women and their families by providing grants, microcredit and education to women in Mexico, Honduras and Africa. Working with nonprofit banks in the countries in which they provide aide, WE helps fund loans as small as $50 so that women entrepreneurs can sell their food stuffs, clothing and housewares at local markets thereby empowering them to support their families.

No salaries are paid. The organization is 100% volunteer run. "We didn't want to be like so many non-profits that automatically skim 25% off the top of their donations to pay staff or a director," says co-founder Leigh Fenly. "We're run by volunteers committed to the cause and all of the money donated goes to the women who need it."

For female refugees living in San Diego, WE provides support through their Star Center. From the WE site:

In San Diego, the WE Center for STAR (Support, Training and Assistance to Refugee) Women enables refugee women to start modest businesses, augment their families' incomes and reduce or eliminate their dependence on public assistance. The Center, a partnership with the International Rescue Committee, provides technical support, business training and access to loans and grants. And WE volunteers work individually with clients to help them develop their businesses.

In just two years, the Center has launched or expanded 36 businesses and assisted 57 refugees with their business needs. WE is committed to the STAR Center's success because it is a pivotal resource for women in San Diego's growing refugee communities.

How You Can Help

Consider becoming a member of WE. By doing so, you're helping to cover the organization's overhead. Or you can make a tax-deductible donation to help with loans and services. You can even request that 100% of it goes towards the women in the country of your choice. You can also volunteer your time by contacting womens.empowerment@cox.net.

To make a donation, go to http://womenempowerment.org/donate.php.

To become a member, go to http://womenempowerment.org/join.php.

For more information about WE, visit http://womenempowerment.org.

Black-eyed Peas with Hummus on Pita
(courtesy of Hasno Ali and WE)

For Hummus

1/2 package (8 ounces) dried garbanzo beans
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup mayonaise
5 whole canned jalapeños, chopped, with 1/2 cup juice
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup lemon juice

For Fritters

1 16-ounce package dried black-eyed peas
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 fresh jalapeño peppers, chopped
15 cloves of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

For pita sandwiches

1 package whole wheat pita bread
Red leaf lettuce, washed and separated into leaves

Directions:

For Hummus

Rinse the garbanzo beans and drain. In a deep saucepan, bring beans and water to a full boil. Add water as necessary to keep covered. Cook on high simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until barely soft. Drain.
In a blender, combine salt, sesame oil, mayonnaise, canned jalapeños and juice. Blend until smooth. Add lemon juice and garbanzo beans and blend again. Set aside.

For Fritters

In a bowl, cover black-eyed peas with water and let soak for 5 minutes. Pulse in a food processor with some water in small batches. Remove all the peas to a large bowl and add cold water to cover. Skins will rise to the top. You may need to rub the peas between your hands to separate all the skins. You can add more water to help separate them. Remove skins and discard. Drain peas.
Use a blender to blend black-eyed peas, onion, fresh jalapeno peppers, juice and garlic in batches. Remove the pea batter to a large bowl, add salt and stir. You may need to add water to achieve the consistency f a smoot, thick paste that will cling to a spoon.
Heat olive oil in a deep skillet. Beat the batter with a wire whisk or wooden spoon for a few minutes. Make fritters by scooping up a spoonful of batter and using another spoon to quickly push it into the hot oil. Fry the fritters until they are golden brown, turning them once.

Warm pita bread. To serve, fill pita bread with two black-eyed peas fritters, a generous dollop of hummus, and a lettuce leaf.

Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!
Ani

*Note: With the success of the last few classes, WE is planning on holding more in the near future. Once details are worked out, I'll post a schedule here and on our Facebook Fan Page.

Ghirardelli's Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign & {Recipe} Making Mexican Mole with Intense Dark Chocolate

2011-10-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

Did you know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month? In honor of it and to help raise awareness and funding, Ghirardelli is donating $50,000. Plus they're donating an additional $1 (up to a total of $100,000) for every code input from specially marked packages of Intense Dark Chocolates to the National Breast Cancer Foundation from now until December 31, 2011.

Look for the pink ribbon on Ghirardelli Intense Dark bars to participate in this awareness campaign.

The special packaging for Evening Dream™ 60% Cacao, Twilight Delight™ 72% Cacao, Midnight Reverie™ 86% Cacao, and Toffee Interlude™features a pink ribbon on the outside and has a code printed on the inside of the wrapper. This code can then be input here and for every properly inputted code, Ghirardelli will make the donation. That's $100,000 to educate women about early detection and provide mammograms for women who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford them. As a woman with friends who have fought this disease–and too many other forms of cancer to count–this is definitely a movement I can get behind.

So, how can you help spread the word? Buy some chocolate and input that code. Also, how about hosting a party? Buy a few extra bars, invite some friends over and have a pairing party. Try the chocolates alone, with wine, nuts, crackers, olives. Here's some ideas from wine expert and head Thirsty Girl, Leslie Sbrocco to get you started:

For more ideas plus a downloadable pairing party kit, log on to http://www.ghirardelli.com/intensedark/.

What I did with some of my chocolate
Since cooking is my passion, I wanted to take it one step farther and try cooking WITH the chocolates. Since my go-to cuisine is Mexican, it seemed only natural that I would try it with one of my favorite Mexican comfort foods: mole. Especially yummy this week because it got cold and rainy for a few days in our otherwise sunny San Diego.

Homemade mole doesn't have to be intimidating. With a few ingredients and about 40 minutes, you could be enjoying this hearty traditional Mexican meal. What are you waiting for?

Mole makes me think of home. Mom makes the best. I can't remember the last time I had hers. I usually cheat and make it semi-homemade using this. You can pick it up at most major grocery stores with a Mexican Foods section. It takes all the guess work out of making mole. Just open it up (a trick in itself! Use a bottle opener and inch your way around the cap with it. The container itself is a reusable juice glass. I have a collection of them.) and add it to a pot containing a quart of warmed chicken stock (ratio is four parts stock to one part mole paste). Stir to dissolve, taste and adjust salt to your liking. Add some chicken that you've pre-browned, cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes until chicken is cooked. Easy-peasy.

A few years ago, while hosting a tamalada, I texted messaged mom for her recipe so I could make her mole for the pork tamales. I text messaged mom instead of calling because mom is deaf and praise be the baby fifa for text messaging! It's our favorite form of instant communication. Anywho…Naturally, there were no measurements in that text just a list of the ingredients in the order added. I come from a family of intuitive cooks. There is no measuring. It's all done by feel and years of perfecting recipes. Doesn't make my job very easy in trying to replicate them and record them here for everyone to share. But I try. The night before the tamalada I made the mole and was surprised at how close I was able to replicate it. Not exactly. But close.

There are many different kinds of mole. Every Mexican family has their own version. Some with chocolate. Some with peanuts. Some with tomatoes. Some made from re-hydrated chili. Some from fresh. And some, like my family's, made with our chili powder of choice: California.

If mole recipes with 20+ ingredients and the need to re-hydrate chilies or dealing with purees and toasting nuts seems a bit daunting, then this recipe is for you. You get the satisfaction and taste of homemade without investing in ingredients you'll most likely only use once. If you follow this blog at all, you know I use two chili powders a lot: California and New Mexico. So you probably already have them in your pantry if you've attempted any of my recipes.

Using Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie with 86% cacao in this recipe changed it from our traditional Mexican chocolate version. It really brought out the taste of the chili and made this mole taste all the more complex. It was a definite winning combination. One I'll try again.

Soon.

And often.

I served my mole on a bed of white rice with some refried beans topped with queso seco and cold hot carrots to add variety of heat, crunch and temperatures.

Mexican Mole featuring Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN
6 chicken quarters
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil

FOR THE MOLE
36 oz. chicken broth
4 tablespoons California chili powder
1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 bar Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate: Midnight Reverie 86% Cacao, hand broken in to small chunks
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

METHOD

Place chicken on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the chicken. Flip and repeat. Massage oil and seasonings into chicken. Set aside.
To a stock pot or dutch oven, add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add the chili powders, cumin, garlic, salt and bouillon. Whisk to combine well. Add the chocolate, sugar, cinnamon and peanut butter. Whisk until chocolate is melted and peanut butter is combined. Bring heat down to low, cover and let simmer while you brown the chicken.
Bring a large skillet up to medium hot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot and shimmering, add chicken working in batches so as to not overcrowd your skillet. Brown on all sides. As chicken is browned, remove to a paper towel-lined platter until all chicken is browned. You're only searing in the juices and crisping up the skin at this point. The chicken will finish cooking in the mole.
Once all chicken is browned, carefully add to the mole ladling the sauce over all the chicken to make sure it's covered in mole. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring the chicken every 10 minutes or so.

SUGGESTIONS

Serve the chicken mole over a bed of Spanish Rice or white rice (my preference as it soaks up all the excess mole and is oh-so-good!). Add refried beans or a side of simply dressed peas to complete your meal.
I found that a nice glass of sangria goes really well with this complimenting both the chili and the Ghirardelli chocolate in the mole.
You'll most likely have extra mole after all the chicken is gone. Strain it and use it in the morning to smother your fried eggs with it. Yum!

Next up? Brie and Chocolate Quesadillas with Fig Jam. Oh, yay Baby!

How are you going to use your chocolate?

Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

The fine print: I received sample chocolates as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemakers program and directly from Ghirardelli.

{ Wordless Wednesday } Sunday's Frittata Breakfast

2011-09-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Asparagus Spinach and Homemade Crouton Frittata

{ Portrait shoot } Phil and Mary Ellen

2011-09-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Photography was my first love and photographing people was the first aspect of it that I gravitated towards when I first started taking pictures way back at the age of 10. So it is a real treat for me when I can take a break from cooking and styling, graphic design and writing to reconnect with my first love.

Phil hired me at the word mill more than 20 years ago now. He took a chance on a gal who was a custom black and white printer with NO color printing experience to print color ON DEADLINE (yes, the old fashioned way in wet darkrooms, not digital ones), who had a stronger art background than journalistic and came from a commercial lab instead of another newspaper. Under his guidance in those early years, I flourished – truly – for the first time. He retired back in '99 and I occasionally see him in the building for visits and I thank Facebook for making it even easier to stay abreast of what's going on in each other's lives.

In fact, it was through Facebook that Phil contacted me recently asking if I would have time or interest in photographing he and his wife who are celebrating 50 years of marriage. Seeing as he is still in contact with so many current and ex staff photographers, I was honored that he asked me to document this special time in their lives. He wanted informal photos in Balboa Park and said he liked my style of shooting. So I grabbed my camera, asked my nephew to come and assist me and off we headed one Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. It was the least I could for the first person in my professional life who truly wanted me to succeed and went out of his way to make sure I did.

Happy 50th Anniversary Phil and Mary Ellen.

Happy Monday everyone! Until next time…

Ani

Pass the Ketchup Please! {recipe} An experiment in making homemade ketchup

2011-09-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Homemade ketchup is more orangey than it's commercial counterpart. The added bonus? Tailor it to your tastebuds. Like it more spicy? Sweeter? Less sweet? More tangy? Less tangy? The possibilities are endless!

My love affair with ketchup began as a child. I loved the ritual. After all, when this love affair began, there was no such thing as a "squeeze" bottle. No, back then, ketchup came in thin, Coca-Cola-like glass bottles that required turning them upside down and smacking their bottoms with your free hand and then exclaiming in surprise when it gushed out in a huge stream, giving you triple the amount you intended.

It was incredibly sweet and the good ones were thick and rich and RED. Yes, that's the ketchup I grew up with.

Whilst the rest of my family drowned their food in my Dad's homemade salsa, I used ketchup. It went on my eggs and in my bacon tacos, I drowned my refried beans with it and smothered my tamales with it. Ketchup would even grace my mashed potatoes in place of the gravy that I hated. It was, by far, my condiment of choice.

As an adult, I am loyal to a particular brand but my excursions to a few local restaurants and their artisan ketchups made me re-evaluate my loyalty. Tastebuds now a little more refined have found commercial ketchups a bit sweet.

Beautiful tomatoes of varying sizes from Dad's garden.

Enter Dad's Garden

Every year, Dad grows several varieties of tomatoes. Every year I am offered some of the bountiful harvest. Every year I take just a handful. The single gal in me didn't think I could use them all before they spoiled. I'd take home two or three and pray I would remember I had them and actually incorporate them into my meals.

This summer was different. My realization that I could use some of Dad's gorgeous crop for an experiment in homemade ketchup was a real "duh!" moment. Why hadn't I thought of it before?

So I told dad early on before his plants had even taken off that this year, yes, I'd be very happy to take a few pounds of tomatoes off their hands for my kitchen experiment.

A few weeks ago, he called. Dad hardly ever calls. So when I saw the caller I.D., I nearly had a heart attack thinking something might be wrong. Instead, I chuckled as I realized he was simply calling to tell me he had harvested his first round of tomatoes and they were waiting for me.

"Yay!" I thought. "Homemade ketchup! Here I come!"

Of course, what better vehicle for my newly made ketchup but pomme frites?

Tips & Suggestions

Pre-chopping tomates helps with consistency issues later on. Use a spoon to scoop out some of the seeds and juices.

I collected the juices and seeds in a small bowl. Use it to flavor other foods. I used mine to make some Spanish Rice for the following night's meal.

This slightly spicy, tangy homemade ketchup is easily going to replace the commercial variety I have been buying up to now. Yum! Thick, rich and totally customizable.

Spicy Homemade Ketchup
makes about 4 cups

INGREDIENTS
5 lbs tomatoes, chopped and seeded.
3 red onions, rough chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, rough chopped

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons celery seeds

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp sweet paprika

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 tablespoon whole cloves

YOU'LL ALSO NEED

wand blender or standard blender
cheesecloth
Fine mesh sieve or food mill

DIRECTIONS

Place tomatoes, onions, garlic and bell peppers in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on medium low for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender stirring occasionally.
Using a wand blender, puree the vegetables in the pot. If you don't have one, carefully, in batches if you have to, puree the vegetables in a blender returning to pot after each batch.
Add ginger, white pepper, celery seeds, salt, sugar, paprika and vinegar to tomato pot and stir well to combine.
Place mustard seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, allspice and cloves in a cheesecloth. Tie together and add to the tomato pot. Simmer on low for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours of cooking, remove cheesecloth, grab your sieve, large bowl and a wooden spoon. Place the sieve over the bowl and pour in the tomato mixture a cupful at a time. Use the back of the wood spoon to push as much of the liquid through the sieve as possible. Discard the solids (this mainly would be any seeds you missed and vegetable skins). Repeat until all the mixture has passed through the sieve. Note: If you have a food mill, use it in place of the sieve/spoon process. I don't have one so I improvised and it worked out well albeit a bit time-consuming.
Return tomato mixture and cheesecloth to pot and simmer on low for another hour or until your ketchup has reached the consistency you want. Adjust salt to taste. Discard cheesecloth.
Allow to cool completely before transferring ketchup to containers. I bought plastic condiment squeeze bottles from Smart & Final for mine but you can also jar them in mason jars or other tightly sealed glass containers. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 months or freeze for later use.

I hope you enjoy your ketchup! My next condiment to attempt? Homemade mayonnaise. Anyone out there tried it? Suggestions? Share them with me in comments.

Until next time…

!Buen Provecho!

Ani

{ life with a dog} sporting a new skirt

2011-09-16T17:50:00.001-07:00

Been a while since I have posted a Life w/a dog shot. My fur child has a new 'do and I just had to share. And yes, ok, more than half of my feed photos on Instagram are of my fur child but c'mon! She's cute! And I simply can't help it!

Wordless Wednesday: Seattle, Washington {iPhoneography}

2011-09-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Cooking & Baking with Olive Oil, Part 2: {recipe} Apple Upside Down Olive Oil Cake

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look yummy?

Apples. Cinnamon. Vanilla bean. Olive Oil.

Olive oil?

Oh, yeah baby! This slightly dense cake turned out super moist with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla with the extra virgin olive oil adding a nice, slightly nutty flavor as a counter balance to the sweetness of the apples.

This cake was my first foray into baking with olive oil. It's the second part of my two part experiment with three new olive oils I received* from Crisco. In the first post I replaced my regular butter or vegetable oil in my tortilla recipe with light tasting olive oil to much success so I was very much looking forward to using olive oil in a cake recipe.

It's a simple cake that comes together rather quickly. I found the inspiration here and changed up the recipe to the ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe calls for quinoa, almond and rice flours – none of which I had on hand – well, actually, I pretty much NEVER have those on hand. Instead, I used plan old all-purpose flour.

I took this cake in to work to share and it was such a hit that I've made it twice again since.

And if I might add: It's also excellent the next day with morning coffee.

Heavenly, in fact.

Apple Upside Down Olive Oil Cake
Makes one 9-inch round cake
MODIFIED FROM LA TARTINE GOURMANDE

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for pan
3 to 4 medium-sized apples
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup light brown sugar + 2 tablespoons for carmelizing
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 vanilla bean, cut in halves, seeds scraped out (or 1 1/2 tsp good quality extract)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/8 sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan with one tablespoon butter. Set aside.

Peel and core 3-4 medium sized apples. I had Fuji one time and Granny Smith the other and both worked quite well. Thinly slice the apples. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet and add apple slices. Sprinkle the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the sugar over them. Flip slices often to make sure they are fully coated and as they soften up slightly, remove the slices to a plate. Once all are cooked, line the bottom of the springform pan with them. Set aside.

To a large bowl, add the yogurt, vanilla seeds (or extract) and the eggs. Mix to combine well. Add the olive oil. Mix well. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, use a fork to combine all the flour, cornstarch, salt, soda and powder. Add this to the wet mixture. Stir to combine. Pour batter over the apples and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Until next time…
Eat cake.

Ani

* The fine print: As part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program, I received olive oil samples from Crisco to experiment

Cooking and Baking with Olive Oil Part 1: {Recipes} Pesto, Tortillas and Empanadas

2011-09-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Mexican style empanadas filled with ground beef and potatoes.

I jumped on the olive oil bandwagon before there was a bandwagon to jump onto.

Growing up with primarily American and Mexican cuisine meant that lard, corn oil, bacon fat and butter showed up to the cooking party most often. All tasty for sure, but none the most heart-healthy of ingredients. Olive oil did make an appearance on occasion. And when it did, it meant that an Italian meal was on the horizon: dad's famous lasagna or his fabulous meatballs with marinara the two most likely suspects. Both are legendary dishes in the Arambula household.

Recently I was given the opportunity to try a product relatively new to the Crisco brand: olive oil. And not just one, but three: Extra Virgin, Pure and Light Tasting. Having used olive oil as my primary cooking fat for more than 20 years now and not being particularly brand loyal to any up to this point, I was up for the taste test.

Quick & Easy "Bruschetta"

I used the Pure Olive Oil to make use of some of the basil growing in pots on my patio for a pesto pasta dinner one night. It was a tasty success!

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil I used for a late afternoon snack of quick bruschetta. It's super easy and not really a recipe per se. I learned this from an Italian friend years ago and every time I make it, I think of him. It really is the perfect vehicle to highlight the oil.

Start by toasting up a couple of slices of sourdough.
Take a clove of garlic, slice it in half and rub the cut side on one side of each piece of toast.
Take half of a tomato (or whole depending on it's size) per toast and place them on the each piece of toast.
Carefully slice, then chop the tomato while it's on the bread so that it soaks up all the juicy goodness. Spread the tomato evenly over the toast.
Chop some fresh basil and sprinkle over the tops of each toast.
Sprinkle some dried Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste over each slice.
Finish by drizzling Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil over your creation.

Crisco Light Tasting Olive Oil takes the prize

My favorite by far was the Light Tasting. Not because I don't like the taste of olive oil. Quite the contrary in fact. But what I found so surprising was just how light it was and therefore all the more versatile. My test to see just how mild tasting this oil could be?

There could only be one true test in my latina culinary bag of tricks: flour tortillas. Then, to really push the envelope, I opted to make those into empanadas - the kind I grew up with - which meant pan frying the tasty creations.

I used a quarter of the masa (dough) for the empanadas and rolled the rest out for my week's worth of tortillas. I have to say, I not only didn't miss the taste of butter (my fat of choice when making tortillas) but rather enjoyed the consistency produced by substituting it for the olive oil. The dough itself had great elasticity (think pizza dough) and rolled out beautifully. The finished tortilla had just the right amount of chewiness that a good homemade flour tortilla should have.

Once the meat and masa is made, next comes the fun part: assembling the empanadas! Start by rolling out the masa to about 4" in diameter.

Next, place about 2 tablespoons of meat on one half of the tortilla, staying away from the edges.

Fold the tortilla and using your index fingers and thumbs, start at one of and roll the edges up making your way around the half-moon shape pinching to seal as you go. You can use your thumbnail to pinch down afterwards or take a fork and use it to press the seal together ensuring it's tight.

Coming up next time
In Part 2, I share with you a recipe for Apple Upside Down Olive Oil Cake that really shines. Until then, enjoy my recipes for flour tortillas, Mexican Beef & Potato Empanadas and pesto.

Ani's Homemade Flour Tortillas
INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup flour for rolling)
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3.5 oz of Crisco Light Tasting Olive Oil plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup of hot water (as hot as you can stand to touch it)

METHOD (FOR STEP BY STEP PICTORIAL, REFER HERE.)

Add first three ingredients to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add oil (reserving the 1 teaspoon for later) and use your hands to combine well. Flour will be crumbly. Add the hot water a third of a cup at a time combining well between additions. Using your hands, gently knead the dough until it holds together and pulls away from the bowl. Once it holds together, knead the masa (dough) for three to four additional minutes. Masa should be smooth and have a good amount of elasticity. Pour the reserved teaspoon of olive oil over the masa and smooth it over the entire surface with your hands. Cover with a clean warm dishtowel and let rest for 15 minutes.

NOTE: If making Empanadas, now that the masa is made, skip to the Empanadas recipe. If making flour tortillas, continue this recipe.

Heat griddle. While it heats, prepare masa for rolling. Remove towel. Wrapping your hand around the masa, gently squeeze the masa between your index finger and thumb, pinching away about a golf ball size of masa. Continue until you have about 18 - 24 small balls of masa returning them to the bowl as you go. Keep the pre-formed balls covered while rolling to keep them from forming a "skin" and drying out.

Place one ball of masa into a shallow bowl of flour. Holding the ball over the work surface, using your thumbs to form a disk turning the masa clockwise while pinching in order to keep it round. Once it's about 1/4" - 3/8" thick, place a little more flour on work surface, lay the masa in the middle of it and use a rolling pin up and down a couple of times while applying a little bit of pressure. Masa should be an elongated oval shape. Flip the tortilla turning it a quarter turn. Roll up once, then down. Repeat the flip and turn until the shape is round and about 1/8" thick. As it gets thinner, take care not to be too rough as the thinner the tortilla gets, the more easily it will "tear." If it tears, use your fingers to pinch the tortilla back together.

Place the tortilla onto a hot griddle. After about 30 seconds, it should start to bubble up like a pancake does. Once the tortilla is covered in little bumps, carefully turn over. Using a clean towel, dab the tortilla applying a some pressure the surface to force hot air pockets to form (careful! If they pop on you, you'll get a steam burn). Flip once more and allow to puff up. You want some of the bigger bubbles to turn golden and the rest of the tortilla to become opaque. Take care not to burn them. Remove tortilla and place in a cloth covered bowl or tortilla warmer. Continue with the rest of the masa.

Mexican Empanadas with Beef and Potatoes
INGREDIENTS

For the meat:

2 tablespoons Crisco Pure Olive Oil, or to cover pan
1 large russet potato, diced
1/2 cup onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon California chile powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
6 oz canned tomato sauce

For assembly:

prepared tortilla masa
prepared meat
extra flour in a small shallow bowl
1/2 cup Crisco Light Tasting Olive Oil

For the meat: Heat a large skillet to medium hot. Add 2 tablespoons (or enough to cover) the pan. Once shimmering, add potatoes. Reduce to low, cover and let cook for three minutes. Remove lid, stir potatoes and add onions. Sprinkle the vegetables with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes (or until the potatoes are fork tender) stirring occasionally. Remove cooked potatoes from pan. Set aside.

In same skillet, add ground beef breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add cumin, garlic, coriander, paprika, chile, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Add back the potatoes. Add the tomato sauce, stir and remove from heat. Place mixture in a bowl and set aside.

For assembly: Wrapping your hand around the masa, gently squeeze the masa between your index finger and thumb, pinching away about a walnut-sized ball of masa. Continue with remainder of masa returning pre-formed balls to the bowl as you go. Keep masa balls covered while working to keep them from forming a "skin" and drying out.

Place ball of masa into the flour, covering the ball with flour. Remove and while holding the masa over your clean dry work surface, use your thumbs to form a disk turning the masa clockwise while pinching in order to keep it round. Once it's about 1/4" - 3/8" thick, place a little more flour on work surface, lay the masa in the middle of it and use a rolling pin up and down a couple of times while applying a little bit of pressure. Masa should be an elongated oval shape. Flip the tortilla turning it a quarter turn. Roll up once, then down until your tortilla is about 4" round.

Take about 1 - 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture and place on half of the tortilla in a half moon form. Gently pull over the other side of the tortilla to cover the meat, making sure you have a bout 1/4" of meat-free edge along the seams. Starting on one end of the seams, gently roll up the masa to fit snuggly against the meat and pinch as you work your way around to the end. You can use your thumbnail to "score" the rolled seam to make sure it's a tight seal or use a fork. Place on a platter. Cover and continue until all the meat and/or masa is gone.

Heat a skillet to medium hot. Add 1/2 cup of oil or until oil is about an inch high. Once oil is shimmering and hot, gently lay in the empanadas, always starting at the back of the pan and laying them in AWAY from you so as to not risk splashing yourself with oil. Place enough of the empanadas into the pan to fry them without them touching and leaving enough room for you to flip them easily. These will cook fairly quickly -- about 3 minutes on each side or until nice and golden brown. Always flip them away from you and once they are ready, remove to a paper towel lined platter. Continue until all the meat pies are cooked. Serve immediately with a side of Spanish rice and re-fried beans. Garnish with any combination of fresh salsas, sour cream, guacamole, chopped fresh cilantro or pico de gallo.

Basil & Spinach Pesto

INGREDIENTS

2-3 cups fresh de-stemmed basil (packed)
1 cup washed, de-stemmed spinach leaves (packed)
4 cloves garlic, peeled (more to taste if desired)
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Romano cheese
½ cup pine nuts
½ cup Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil or more as needed
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

METHOD

To start, pan toast the nuts. Add pine nuts to a dry, nonstick heated skillet shaking the pan constantly to keep them from burning. Remove from pan when they're lightly brown (this will bring out their nutty goodness. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Once the nuts are cooled, place them and the garlic into a food processor, pulsing a few times to get them into a coarse consistency. Add the basil and spinach a little at a time, pulsing between additions. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula (add a few tablespoons more oil if it’s too thick/dry). Add the grated cheeses and pulse until well blended. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Place in an air tight container, pouring a little olive oil over the top to just cover so air won't come into contact with the basil. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (or freeze for up to three months).

Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

***The fine print: As a participant in the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program, Crisco provided me with samples of their oil for this post.

I used to be a monkey in another life: {recipe} Banana Bread with Mexican Chocolate

2011-08-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

I am bananas for bananas. Yes. I did just say that.

I have loved them since I was a child. But I'm one of those weird folk that prefers my bananas JUST BEFORE they are ripe: nice, firm and just starting to develop their sweetness. Yes, I'll eat them fully ripened but my preference has always been the former.

Sliced into bite-sized pieces and floating around my cereal, sliced and snuggled between two slices of bread smathered (yes, I did just make up a word, go with it, please) with peanut butter, a peanut butter and banana quesadilla - sans the queso of course cuz I'm not that odd - are just a few of my favorite ways to indulge.

Last week, I bought bananas hoping to haul my buttocks out of bed a half hour earlier than usual so I could enjoy a bowl of cereal with them before running off to work.

Good intentions, surely, but the lure of a little more sleep kept me snuggled up with my fur child who also had no desire to get up earlier than I'd trained her to. So come the weekend, my nice firm bananas were nice and brown and gave way too much for my liking when I touched them.

Now what? Wasted money?

Lightbulb moment.

Banana Bread.

And not just any banana bread, but chocolate, no MEXICAN CHOCOLATE banana bread. Yes! That will do quite nicely, thank you very much.

The recipe I had on hand called for 7 bananas. Hmm. I had a mere three.

Google and my favorite bloggers to the rescue. I found this one over at Simply Recipes and thought, yes! This one I can adapt.

I brought it into work today. It was gone in no time.

Which only means, I'll have to make it again. Soon.

Banana Bread with Mexican Chocolate
makes one standard loaf
(adapted from Simply Recipes)

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed with a fork
1/3 cup unsweetened butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
half a disk Ibarra Mexican chocolate, finely grated (see note)

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Prepare a loaf pan by greasing the bottom and sides with butter. Cut out a sheet of baking parchment to fit the long width of the pan and have it oversized enough to come up at least 2 inches on both sides of the pan. These will be your "handles" allowing you to easily lift the cooled bread out of the loaf pan (see photos above). Grease the parchment.

With a wooden spoon, stir butter and bananas together in a large bowl until well incorporated. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda over the entire mixture and stir well. Add salt. Stir well. Add flour and chocolate. Mix to combine. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Use parchment to lift bread out of pan and place on a serving dish. Slice and serve.

•NOTE: if you follow the link to the Ibarra chocolate, you'll notice another popular brand, Abuelita. You could use it but I have to say, there seems to be camps on the matter. Yes, camps. Liken it to those who prefer Coke to those who prefer Pepsi. Clearly Coke is better but there are still those poor folk who keep hanging onto Pepsi. In this scenario, Ibarra is Coke and Abuelita is Pepsi. And I'm sure by now you can tell that I'm a Coke person, not Pepsi. Seriously, to someone who has grown up drinking Mexican hot chocolate during cold winter evenings, my palate can tell the difference and it clearly prefers, as does my entire family, Ibarra. But if you can only find Abuelita in your local ethnic market, by all means, go ahead and use it. Just don't tell me. :)

Until next time,
Ani

Wordless Wednesday: Cupcakes in Port Townsend

2011-08-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Caring for your cast iron + { Recipe } Skillet Cornbread

2011-08-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just one post last week. Seriously?

Where have I been, you ask?

I wish I could blame it on my day job.

Or freelance overload.

Or out-of-town guests.

Or tell you that I was abducted by aliens.

Or that it's because my kitchen was swallowed up by a black hole and I've been living on takeout.

But, alas, it’s none of these. Truth be told, the excuse is a bit frivolous, really.

The real reason Confessions of a Foodie had only one post last week is …

Drumroll puh-leezzz …

Netflix.

More specifically, my (late) discovery of the NBC drama, “Friday Night Lights.”

The beautiful Tami Taylor who plays a guidance counselor at West Dillon High and her compassionate husband, Coach Eric Taylor. NBC only has the last five episodes online and they're only available until September 18, 2011. I think I see a DVD purchase come Black Friday. (Screen capture of nbc.com's FNL site.)

“FNL?” you ask.

Yuppers.

I never in a million years would have thought that I’d ever get so caught up in a series that on the surface was about nothing more than a bunch of high school jocks. It held zero interest for me during it’s run on network television.

But in the same week it became recommended viewing on Netflix, I also saw a tweet about it in my Twitter feed and I decided it was a sign. Plus, after just having finished viewing the last season of “The Tudors,” I was eager to find another engrossing drama.

I just hadn’t counted on finding one that would wind up being quite THIS time-sucking, can’t seem to turn it off engrossing. And I gotta say, the first episode didn’t grab me. I had to watch it twice. But half-way through episode two, I was hooked.

So last week disappeared on me faster than I could say “I’ll have a quad shot extra hot nonfat latte, please.” Because, seriously, a quad shot is what I needed in the morning after watching the show back to back all last weekend and almost every night this past week into the wee hours of the morning.

This show created a monster.

Such a monster that I was quite upset to find that Netflix only had seasons 1-4 and that there was a fifth season and that NBC only had the last five episodes of season five available on their site so I watched it there and grew exasperated with the commercials (I swear they up the volume for those dangnamit things!) but I HAD to know how it all ended so I watched them even though I missed most of the season prior to those last five episodes.

Phew! That was quite the run-on sentence but that’s how passionate I became watching this show that made me root (I hate football, but I rooted anyway) and cry and think and wish I had a relationship like Coach Taylor and his wife Tami.

But I made it through and have come out the other side.

Hello. My name is Ani and I’m a Netflix addict.

Welcome, Ani.

{ And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. … So to speak. Hehehe. }

I've had this cast iron pan for more than twenty years. It has survived many a roommate unfamiliar with caring for cast iron. This pan is so resilient! And it just keeps getting better.

Cast Iron Dreaming
One of my favorite, and most often used, tools in the kitchen has to be my cast iron skillet. I absolutely love it! It makes the best fried eggs and omelets. It provides quick and excellent searing on steaks that can then be put directly into the oven to finish pan roasting. It’s also excellent for dry toasting seeds, nuts and herbs.

The beauty of cast iron is two-fold: it conducts heat evenly and with proper care and use, develops it’s own nonstick (or, a-hem, “low” stick) cooking surface.

Seasoning a new cast iron pan
My Lodge cast iron skillet and griddle I bought brand new before Lodge released their pre-seasoned line of products. If you buy one that needs seasoning, it’s really easy to do:

Place two racks in the oven. Place a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil on the center of bottom rack.
Using a paper towel, apply a thin even coat of lard, bacon fat or solid vegetable shortening (Crisco is a good choice) to the cooking surface of your pan. Do not use any kind of liquid oil or nonstick spray as the burning point on these are not high enough and will leave a sticky, gummy residue on the surface. Be sure to go all the way up the sides of the pan.
Place the pan in the oven upside down on the top rack centered over the cookie sheet. Turn the oven on and set the temperature to 400˚ F.
Bake for one hour.
Turn off the oven and leave the pan in the oven to cool.
Remove pan from oven. Carefully wipe with paper towels. Your cast iron pan is now seasoned and ready to use.

If after a few uses, food is still severely sticking to the pan every time out, simply scrub the pan out and repeat the seasoning steps above.

Using cast iron
The first several times you use your pan, try using it for things that are of a higher fat content such as for frying bacon or chicken as it will really help promote good seasoning.

The best way to use your pan is to begin by wiping your cooking oil on the cooking surface of a pan with paper towels. Then use add desired amount of cooking oil to the pan, place on low heat for the first couple of minutes, slowly turning it up to medium heat until it comes up to the proper cooking temperature. Always allow the pan to come to temp slowly. Once your pan reaches the desired temp, you're ready to start cooking. Remember, cast iron gets very hot. Never touch the handle without proper pot holder or pan handle cozy.

Caring for cast iron
A beautiful, well cared for cast iron pan will become even more seasoned – smoother, blacker – with regular use. And as it becomes more seasoned, it will become naturally nonstick. But it won’t become this way if you make the biggest mistake so many cast iron novice users make in caring for it: washing your cast iron with soap or using an abrasive sponge to scrub off burnt on food. Doing either of these will remove the seasoning (and any nonstick properties you’ve built up) from the pan forcing you to start the seasoning process all over. It’s at this point, that most cast iron haters have given up and moved on to other types of cookware.

To help ensure a good return on your investment, here are my tips for clean up:

After cooking and removing all food from the pan, immediately wipe the interior of the pan with a wadded up wet paper towel, careful not to burn yourself in the process as the pan will still be hot. Then turn the heat back on to high and let the pan heat up for five minutes to burn off any moisture. Turn off the heat. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of oil and use a paper towel to rub it over any surface of the pan that might come into contact with food and then continue to buff it out with a clean paper towel. This will provide a “shield” from air moisture that could allow rust to form on the pan while in storage awaiting it’s next use. 90% of the time, this is all that needs to be done.
If your pan is a little crustier and a paper towel wipe down is not enough, you can add some water to cover the bottom of the pan, bring it to a boil and use a wooden spoon to carefully loosen up the burnt on food. As soon as it’s loosened though, stop and carefully dump out the hot water then proceed with the instructions above to burn off moisture and provide a rust shield.
If you're uncomfortable with just wiping out the pan as in step one above, use a stiff nylon brush to clean the pan under HOT running water. Never place a hot pan in cold or lukewarm water as it can cause the pan to crack. Carefully scrub with the brush but NEVER use soap.

Cast iron cookware does take a little TLC initially but it’s really easy and I believe, the payoff well worth it. And with a little care, they’ll become treasured family heirlooms for generations.

Skillet Cornbread is quick, easy and tasty
I first saw the recipe for Skillet Cornbread over at Pioneer Woman. It was love at first read. I've made some tweak's to Ree's recipe because I love to bit into real corn kernels in my cornbread.

Ready? Let's get baking.

Add cornmeal and all-purpose flour to a large mixing bowl.

Add one teaspoon salt.

Add 1 tablespoon baking powder.

Use a fork to stir. See those lumps? Lumps bad. Use the fork to break 'em up until…

those lumpy bumpies are all gone and the dry ingredients are nicely combined.

Next up, dairy goodness: milk (I happen to drink nonfat but you can use whole or lowfat), buttermilk and one large egg.

Add the milk, buttermilk and egg to a bowl.

Whisk it baby, whisk!

Add 1 level teaspoon of baking soda to the milk mixture and whisk again.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour bowl.

Add 1 cup of frozen whole kernel corn and stir to combine.

Stir in melted butter.

Slowly warm up your cast iron skillet. Mine is 10 inches so my cornbread was a bit on the thin side. I like it thicker so if your pan is 8 1/2 inches, you'll have thicker bread.

I'm jealous.

Add pancetta to the pan and render out the fat. Once rendered, remove the ~~bacon~~ pancetta bits. If they aren't too terribly burnt, save 'em to add to your scrambled eggs the next morning. Trust me. Yum.

Add butter or shortening to the pan and melt. Now the next time I do this, I'm using Crisco shortening instead of the butter for this step. The butter made for REALLY crispy crust.

A bit too crispy for my liking though I hear it's preferred this crispy by most southerners.

Carefully add batter. Even it out with a spoon. Cook on the stovetop for 1 minute then transfer to a preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Oh! Yeah! Baby! Bring on the BBQ!

Skillet Cornbread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole kernel frozen corn
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons pancetta
2 Tablespoons butter or shortening

METHOD

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Stir together.
Measure the buttermilk and milk in a measuring cup and add the egg. Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir.
Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently stir in the corn.
Place 1/4 cup shortening into a small bowl and microwave to melt. Slowly add melted shortening to the batter, stirring until just combined.
In an iron skillet, cook the pancetta to render out the fat. Remove the pancetta bits and save for breakfast (taste yummy in scrambled eggs). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter or shortening to melt careful not to burn. Carefully pour the batter into the hot skillet and spread to even out.
Cook on stovetop for 1 minute, then transfer to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I hope you enjoy the cornbread!

Until next time,

Ani

Wordless Wednesday: Today's U-T Food section on cooking with herbs

2011-08-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

The final designed page:

Another fun use of my hand-painted backgrounds. This story was a freelance piece and therefore, no art existed. I came up with this art direction approach and made the pasta, styled the shot and photographed it. The day I sat down to design, I felt the story & presentation were just a tad on the fluff side. To add more useful information, I wrote the blurbs for each herb which gave a little more weight to the overall presentation.

Read story here.

Outtakes:

Wordless Wednesday: Raspberry Sorbetto in Pizzelle cones

2011-08-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kodak Gallery: Making my own personal photo-filled cookbook { plus, a 40% discount for my readers!}

2011-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

My 20 page collection of recipes sampled from this blog made possible with Kodak Gallery's Photo Books software came in the mail today and I was so excited to see the printed results. I was not disappointed in the quality one bit!

I close my eyes and see myself walking through a bookstore, perusing the cookbook section and stopping when I find this: Confessions of a Foodie: A Latina in the Kitchen. The book is slickly designed and filled with gorgeous photos of dishes inspired from my childhood styled and shot in my vibrant palate with short stories paraphrased from this very blog introducing each recipe.

Then I wake up and realize it's only a dream … well, a dream for now anyway.

Until then, I'll have fun sharing my trial run "cookbook" that I had the pleasure to produce last week courtesy of FoodBuzz's Tastemakers Program and Kodak Gallery's Photo Books software.

The photo book comes with a slipcover, making it feel all the more special.

I've made photo books before and this Kodak interface is just as easy to use as what I've used previously. Easier, in fact, because while I was laying out the book, I realized I needed a vertical instead of a horizontal for this page or that page and it was a cinch to add more photos from within the page layout window even after I started the design process. They automatically loaded into the photo tray at the bottom of the design interface. The software also alerted me when a photo I was using was too small for proper reproduction. Since I keep all of my full-size photos on a separate backup drive, it wasn't a big deal to go back and switch out the lower resolution file for a better quality one. If all your files are optimized for web, you might want to go back and locate your original files before uploading the photos you want to use.

Here's a peak at what the interface looks like:

Considering that this is Kodak, I really shouldn't have been surprised at the quality of the book itself. It's quite lovely. I picked a high-gloss black cover and the pages themselves feature a thick satin finish paper. Color is spot on (I uploaded files with an sRGB color space) with only a little gain in the darks.

This is the opening spread. While designing, you can change easily between a photo page, a text page or a combination of both. Also, the page templates allow for multi-photo options though aligning multiple photos is a bit of a crap shoot. You can see from this shot that the right-hand photo of the upside down margarita glass doesn't line up with the larger photo on the left. I finally gave up trying to get them right.

My only complaint – and it should be noted that the average user will most likely not be bothered by this – is the inability to manipulate character styles. What I mean by this is that I did not have the ability to italicize or bold individual words or change headline size. Any changes I made to the text affected the entire text block. Considering that I am a professional graphic designer, not being able to off-set my recipes from their introductions was a real frustration. But like I noted earlier, the average user familiar with basic word processing will not note this as a problem. And it defnitely won't be one if your book is primarily photos with captions or short introductions.

Ready to make a book of your work?

Here's a discount Offer from Kodak thru August 31, 2011!

I would definitely recommend this service if you're looking to put together a collection of recipes, document a family vacation or special occasion. It makes a lovely gift, too. And what's really awesome is that Kodak is offering all of my readers 40% off on a medium or large hardback photo book creation of their very own from now until August 31, 2011.

40% off! Yay!

Use this link, www.kodakgallery.com/creativity, to redeem your discount.

Go. Create. Enjoy! And share here with me if you take advantage of this awesome opportunity.

Until next time,

Ani

* THE FINE PRINT: I received a discount for the creation of this book as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program with Kodak Gallery.

Tea for Two is sweeter with Earl Grey Scented Shortbread Cookies {recipe}

2011-08-08T09:28:00.000-07:00

I love having girlfriends over to chat it up over a little something to nosh. And sometimes, when that little something is a little sweet, all the better! These earl grey shortbread cookies are light and crumbly with just a hint of the earl grey flavor and are ever-so-slightly sweet.

Shortbread is one of my favorites. It’s a super basic, easy dough that is great all by itself but also serves as an awesome base for add-ins such as these earl grey tea leaves but also lavender buds, mini chocolate chips, crushed nuts or half dipped in chocolate (aka, Royal Shortbread). This particular recipe is lighter and more delicate than the classic 1-2-3 version (one part sugar-two parts butter-three parts flour) due to the addition of the cornstarch.

I wrote about my attempts at perfecting my shortbread over at Tree.com for a post I did on lavender shortbread. Now with my basic dough figured out, I can experiment with various add-ins to my hearts content.

Ready? Let's bake!

Cream powdered sugar and room temperature butter. Add vanilla.

Is a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch and a dash of salt.

Add a third of the flour to the butter mixture.

Carefully fold to combine. Repeat with the second third of flour.

Earl grey is hands down my favorite tea. I've been out of loose leaf for a while and due to finances, found this alternative bagged tea from Fresh & Easy. Considering the difference in price from what I used to use, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I made it at how tasty it is. For my shortbread, I cut a bag of it open and it gave me just shy of 2 teaspoons.

Add the last third of the flour to the dough bowl and the earl grey tea leaves. Carefully fold until all is combined.

Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic cling wrap. Form it into a ball then pat it down to about a 1/2" thick disk. Completely wrap the dough with the cling wrap. Pre-flattening the dough saves you from spending too much time rolling out the chilled dough. This ensures the dough has less time to come up to room temperature before baking. Place the disk into the fridge and allow it to chill for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 300˚F.

Working with a quarter or half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured board using just enough flour to keep it from sticking. Too much flour will toughen the dough so be a bit stingy here. I use a 3 inch scalloped edge biscuit cutter to cut out my dough after rolling it out to about 1/4" thick. Combine the scraps from each roll/cut stage, flatten it out, wrap it in the cling wrap and place it back in the fridge while this first batch is baking.

Place the cut out cookies 1/4"or so apart onto a sheet pan lined either with parchment paper or a silicone cookie pad. Bake for 18-20 minutes just until the cookie is set and just starting to get lightly golden around the edges, but not browned. It's such a tragedy to over-bake shortbread so keep an eye on it and start checking at about 16 minutes. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Some tips for success:

Use the best unsweetened butter you can afford. The butter, is after all, the main flavor in shortbread.
Don’t add too much extra flour when forming ball or rolling. Use minimum needed to keep dough from sticking. Adding too much flour at this stage can result in a tough dough.
Work quickly to keep butter from warming up to room temperature.
To ensure that cookie won’t “spread” while baking, after cutting out cookies and placing on cookie sheet, put cookie sheet into refrigerator for 5 minutes to add back some chill.
Unless your cookie sheets can fit on one rack, bake only one sheet at a time to ensure cookies bake evenly.

Until next time!

Ani

Puppy Break! A gorgeous evening at the dog park

2011-08-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

Time for a puppy break!

This is at Dusty Rhodes Park in Ocean Beach, San Diego. Lovely. Large. Fenced. Our favorite place to chill after a long day of recipe testing, cooking, shooting. Starbuck and I love it here.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Feeding Unexpected Company is Easy with a Well-Stocked Pantry: Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken & Ricotta {recipe}

2011-08-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

Weekends or mid-week, a good friend drops by and you get to talking and talking and talking and the next thing you know, it’s dinner time. Uh-oh! You haven’t been grocery shopping yet. What to do? Don’t upset the rhythm of your lovely leisurely visit by leaving the comfort of your home and heading to a restaurant (especially if that talking included sipping on wine or cocktails). Instead, if you have a well-stocked pantry with essential easy to throw together ingredients, simple, yet satisfying dinners are a snap such as this Baked Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken & Ricotta.

I’ve written about pantry staples before but part of the fun of having this site is the joy in sharing ideas on what to include in a well-stocked pantry and then what to do with those ingredients.

My previous list of must-haves included:

long grain white rice
pinto beans
canned stewed tomatoes
peanut butter
eggs
white flour for tortillas
masa harina for corn tortillas
frozen chicken breasts
butter
milk
canned albacore
olive oil
onions
seasoning including Knorr's chicken bouillon, dried oregano, dried basil, ground cumin, California chili powder, Spanish paprika, kosher salt, black pepper

I had a “Duh!” moment when I went back and read this list from last year. I realize it was meant as a sampling of the staples I try to keep in my pantry and not a complete list. Some of the items that I left out – most of which are in today’s recipe – include:

Trader Joe’s jarred sauces including basil pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, masala and korma
assorted Italian pasta shapes with an emphasis on penne and thick spaghetti
cheese including parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella (usually fresh such as ovoline or buffalo), shredded mild or sharp cheddar, jack cheese and cotija (a Mexican hard, aged cheese)
pine nuts
chicken
vinegars including balsamic, red wine, apple, rice and white

Now, let’s get cooking!

Boil pasta in salted water to al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water and add to a large bowl. Tip: To prevent the salt from staining your pans with that hard to remove white ring, don't add salt to water until it's already reached a boil.

Add leftover cooked chicken, jarred pesto and pan toasted pine nuts. Stir to combine. Personalize it: Any leftover cooked meat will work. I've made this with both chopped steak and even chopped leftover pork chops. Or leave the meat out altogether and use canned beans – or not. The point is, don't be afraid to customize to your taste. As for the pesto, I've also used basil pesto and it's just as tasty.

Turn oven on and preheat to 400 degrees F. Coat the inside of your casserole dish with olive oil. Place a layer of the pasta to just cover the bottom. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Use a spoon to add dollops of ricotta.

This is olovine. It's a fresh mozzarello made from cows milk and comes packed in a brine. It's soft and has a creamy, milder taste taste than it's semi-hard counterpart that most people are familiar with. And even considering that it sits in a salt solution, it's actually less salty than it's counterpart as well.

Hand shred some olovine over the ricotta.

Add another layer of pasta and repeat the parmesan, ricotta, olovine steps.

Add the last layer of pasta, sprinkle with more parmesan and add the last of the olovine.

Bake in a 400˚ F. oven for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and the top has a golden crust.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

{ Sharing the Kitchen With } Glo shows me her doggy tested recipes for homemade dog food

2011-07-29T22:15:00.001-07:00

I am the proud mommy of a fur child.

So proud, in fact, that 75% of the photos on my iPhone are of her and I probably have about 10 gigs of photos on my backup drive that I shot with my 5D. It didn’t take long for me to become one of those people who post photos of their dogs on Instagram, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter, have photos of them all over work stations and screensavers and wallpaper on computers. Starbuck even has her own blog (though it’s been a bit neglected of late) and I post a lot of photos of her on my other blog. Yes, this blondie has become my center and I’ll admit that sometimes, even being on as tight of a budget as I am some months, I will go cheap on my own groceries so I am not skimping on the quality of her dog food (and, ahem! treats). I occasionally will buy her wet food but most of the time, she’ll sniff it, taste it and walk away. So when my friend Gloria told me about her two super simple homemade dog food recipes she makes for her fur child, I jumped at her offer to share them with me.

Happy Anniversary, Starbuck

Starbuck on the day I brought her home from the Humane Society one year ago.

Today is the one year anniversary of the day I rescued my little Starbuck from the Humane Society. I’d been looking for a dog for more than a year. Once a week, I’d pour myself a glass of wine, fire up the laptop and peruse the pages of our local Humane Society, Animal Shelter and dog rescues.

Over the course of a year or so, I’d met several dogs but had yet to make a connection with any of them. I was beginning to think that because I’d always been a cat person, I would never find a dog that I could commit to. I’d given myself one more month to look. If I came up empty, then I figured I’d change course and bring home a kitty instead.

One Wednesday evening, I came across a photo of a white and brown spotted cocker spaniel on the Humane Society website. The next day, I left work during my lunch break to see the dog in person. When I reached his “apartment,” I couldn’t believe how cute he was. But he already had 7 holds on him. Disheartened, I moved on to the next apartment where a very vocal jack russell was at the window trying to get my attention. So I stopped to give him some when I noticed he had a roommate. A smallish blonde puppy was lying on the floor playing with a chew toy completely ignoring the terrier. I looked at the info posted on the window. Lettie was her shelter name and she was a 10 month old cocker spaniel. You’d never know it by looking at her. She had this crazy Nina Blackwood head of hair and the fur covering her body was short and choppy all over.

By Halloween, there was no mistaking that Starbuck was a full-blown cocker spaniel.

I asked to see her immediately and found out that she had just been released from observation that morning and didn’t even have a profile online yet. She came up to me, tail wagging, butt wiggling, licked my hand and then sat on the floor watching me as I wrestled with her roommate who was determined to keep my attention all to himself.

And that was it. The fact that she acknowledged me but wasn’t so aggressive as to fight the terrier for my attention made me fall in love with her and her sweet temperament. I knew I’d met “the one.”

Spanish Landing is one of Starbuck's favorite spots: she watches the sailboats go by, chasing the seagulls and enjoys all the loving she gets from folks out exercising who stop to pet her.

Two days later, I got to bring her home. Little did I know then, or in the frustrating early two months of training, exactly how much this buff cocker spaniel would add joy and love to my life. I take her nearly everywhere with me. She’s won over everyone who has met her. And now, a year later, I can’t imagine my life without her.

Making Homemade Dog Food

This is Glo.

This is her dog Bonnie. Isn’t she adorable?

Glo told me that she started making Bonnie’s dog food – and Clyde’s, too, who they lost suddenly a while ago – when the dogs where a year old. It was just about the time that she and her finance, Sean, moved to California.

“I couldn’t stand the smell of it,” said Glo of the first time she opened a can of wet dog food. She decided then and there that there was no way she was going to feed it to her “kids.”

Faced with the dilemma of finding an alternative, she did what most of us do when faced with a question: She Googled. The recipes she’s sharing with us today are modified versions of what she found all those years ago.

“The beauty of these recipes are that you can substitute any veggies (that are safe for dogs) for ones that are just about to turn. You can even use leftovers,” she says. In fact, the potatoes used for one of these recipes were from dinner the night before. As for the meat, she buys whichever ground meat is on sale come shopping day.

I asked what Bonnie’s vet said about her feeding these homemade dog foods to her. “Oh, the vet’s fine with it completely,” said Glo. When it’s time to eat, Bonnie gets a bowl made up of half good quality dry dog food and half homemade dog food.

Easy Peasy

Nena, Glo's beautiful little girl, kept us company in the kitchen while we cooked up this first batch.

Isn't she lovely? Her eyes are the first thing you see. Large, round and a gorgeous shade of blue.

Ok, baby break is over.

First up: Ground turkey with brown rice and carrots

Heat up a pan and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil (Glo used olive oil).

While the oil heats up, chop the carrots in a food processor.

When the oil is hot, add the meat and begin to break it up.
Once it starts to cook, add the carrots and cook until the meat is almost cooked through.

Add water to help steam the carrots.

Add pre-cooked rice. Glo was a little short on leftover brown rice so she added some white rice to get the right amount and then finishes the dish with a pinch of salt.

Mmmmm. What is that smell?

Starbuck was circling me when I moved the bowl of food over to the coffee table to take the "finished" shot. She could hardly wait to taste.

Next up: Ground beef, zucchini, potatoes

Use a food processor to shred the zucchini.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan. Add the ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon to begin the browning process.

Add the zucchini. Stir to combine.

Add the pre-cooked potatoes.

By this time, the girls were circling Glo. They could smell something yummy cooking.

Glo added a dash of salt to the pan. And this recipe is ready to serve up.

A couple tablespoons of dry food and a couple of this homemade dog food and …

dinner is served.

(CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE CARDS)

Have an awesome weekend!

Until next time,

Ani

The Hemingway Diaquiri: My new favorite cocktail {link love}

2011-07-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

Last Monday I tweeted that I was up early shooting a cocktail in my home studio for a cover story for the newspaper and how said cocktail will be THE drink of my summer.

The story published today and this is the completed page. Staffer Robert York wrote a sweet story on Hemingway and how this recipe became the author's favorite. You can read the entire story here.
How did I get here?
I will admit it right here to all of you (in case being a casual reader of my blog hasn't already clued you in): I am a control freak. Yes, yes I am.
But they say, the first step to recovery is acknowledging there is a problem.
But I ask, is it a problem? Seriously?
Because those times I am in complete control of my creative process – from deciding on the most visual recipe to reproduce, recreating that recipe in my own kitchen, shopping for props and then art directing the page design in my head while I am shooting the image makes for a real sense of freedom and creative satisfaction. And let's face it, with the economy pushing companies these days to consolidate in a quest to cut down costs, where individual talent is often thwarted under the guise of efficiency, having a day when you are satisfied with the outcome of your efforts is priceless. Well, almost priceless, anyway. If it fails, I fail alone. If it sings, however, everyone is happy and I have the satisfaction of a job well done.
I started prop shopping two weeks before my planned shoot weekend. This included buying new wood for a fresh off-white background, deciding on the right "shade" of white (which took three trips because I was being indecisive), painting it and then finding the right tray and V-shape cocktail glass (the shape of my martini glasses were really shallow and I wanted glasses with a nicer profile that would allow me to show off some of the color).
I tracked down the liqueur needed, bought the fruit and shot the recipe the day before I needed the final shot. And as is my usual control freak way, I stopped shooting when I realized I wasn't getting the shot.
I slept on it. Woke up super early the next day – which was of course the Monday I was to start design on the page – and re-shot it.
I find sleeping on it always helps. I discovered that in art school where I pushed my deadline all the time because I wanted time for ideas to "gel" in my head before attempting them and then gel some more after my initial efforts.
I'm just weird that way.
Here are some outtakes:

Until next time,
Ani

Sunday cooking: Two Color Pepper Steak with Potatoes for the week {recipe}

2011-07-19T09:00:00.001-07:00

On Sundays, I like to carve out time to cook some dishes that will reheat well (and pack well for lunch) during the work week. It isn't always easy finding this time but when I can do this, it saves me from eating poorly during the week. You know what it's like, right? Come home late from a long day at work and no matter how much you love to cook, after walking the fur child, there just isn't enough energy left in you to make an elaborate meal. So you either stop on the way home and pick up overpriced fast food that lacks anything resembling nutrition. Or if you're like me, you have just enough energy to scramble an egg, wrap it in a tortilla, pour yourself a glass of wine and call it dinner.
Hence the Sunday cooking marathons whenever I can. One of my favorite dishes to make is pepper steak. It's also one of those dishes that reminds me of home. My mom makes the best. It's been a very long time since I've seen her make it and can't quite remember how she does it. So I came up with my own version from what I remember Mom's tasting like and although I am not too proud to admit that there's something about mom's that I can't quite replicate, my version is nonetheless quite yummy.
Maybe some day, I'll have Mom make it for me while I take notes. And then I'll post an update.
Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Hear that Mama?
Until that day, I'll share my version.

Let's get the party started: Since the potatoes will take the longest, I get them going first. Peel and cube one large russet potato. Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan. Heat to medium hot; oil should be rippling and shimmering when ready. Test the pan by placing one cube of potato in the pan. If it sizzles and bubbles, add the remaining potatoes. If it doesn't even so much as burp, wait a little longer for the oil to reach the right temp. Cook the potatoes covered, keeping a watchful eye so that they don't burn. You don't want them to crust up or even brown but you do want them almost fork tender. While they cook, move on to prepping the other components.

Prep the veggies: What's pepper steak without the bell peppers? You'll need to matchstick two. They can be whatever color you have on hand. Since we all know that we eat with our eyes first, I like to make it colorful by using one green and one red. You'll also need to slice a small onion - white or yellow - whichever you have on hand.

Prep the meat: I like to use a thin steak because it cooks fast but you can use whatever kind of steak you like. I usually buy the least expensive cut they happen to have on shopping day. You'll need to cut it into bite-sized pieces. Put flour, salt and freshly ground black pepper into a large ziplock bag. Add the cut meat and shake.

Shake. Shake. Shake. (Did K.C. & the Sunshine Band just pop into your head or am I, like, totally dating myself?) Shake until all the little bits of steak goodness are well coated.

Shake off excess: I like to use a strainer over a paper plate to shake off the excess flour.

Cook the veggies: Once the potatoes are almost fork tender, remove from the pan, set aside and wipe out the pan. Add another tablespoon or two of olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent (about 5 minutes).

Add the peppers and cook another 8 minutes. Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.

Meat browning time: Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and once the oil is hot, carefully add the floured meat. Sauté until all sides are slightly browned.

Add back all of the veggies. Stir to combine. Add 1/3 cup water, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half and the potatoes are fork tender.

Serve with a green salad. And a glass of wine is always welcomed.
Pepper Steak with Potatoes
Ingredients

1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
1 small yellow onion, sliced
1 small green pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 small red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 - 1 1/2 lb steak, cut into bite-sized pieces
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until oil is shimmering. Add cubed potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir potatoes to turn. Continue cooking and stirring until almost fork tender but not browned. Remove from pan, set aside and wipe out pan with a paper towel.
Add another tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add peppers and cook for 5-8 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
In a large resealable plastic bag, add flour, 1 teaspoon each of salt and ground black pepper. Shake to mix. Add cut steak. Shake to coat steak well. Turn steak out into a fine mesh strainer and shake off excess flour.
Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot pan. When oil is shimmering, carefully add the meat. Brown on all sides. Return vegetables to pan. Stir to combine.
Add 1/3 cup water, cover, reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 15-20 minutes until liquid has reduced by half or until potatoes are fork tender. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Until next time... ¡Buen Provecho!
Ani

Farewell to a great gig and as my parting gift? This awesome Spanish Sangria recipe {link love}

2011-07-15T12:51:00.001-07:00

Just when I was in dire need of a kick in the behind to dedicate more time to writing, cooking, shooting for my blog, along came Tree.com and it's initiative to expand their sphere of influence by starting up a Food & Dining Channel. The Channel Leader, the awesomely talented Darlene, approached me about becoming a Featured Contributing Writer for the new site and I was so excited and honored to have been a part of this great bunch of passionate folks. Tree.com will no longer be devoting energy to this initiative but the site remains up and the recipes still available to inspire you to cook, get healthy and make life a little bit tastier.

My final story on making this luscious fruity spanish sangria published today. Head on over for the recipe and enjoy it this summer at your next BBQ.

Pork makes everything better: Simple Carnitas Tacos with Salsa Cruda {recipe}

2011-07-13T00:59:00.001-07:00

Most of my fondest memories growing up involve food. I have little pictures in my mind of barely being able to reach the counter and "helping" mom roll out tortillas. I see our family sitting around the kitchen table assembling tamales. There's the picnics at the beach with grilled burgers, grilled corn and homemade treats; my best girlfriend and I combing over my childhood cookbook trying to decide what to make next –that is, of course, after we graduated from using our Easy Bake ovens. There's also mom getting up at an insane hour to make bean and Mexican rice burritos for our 2 hour annual road trip to Disneyland; Dad coming home in the middle of the night from his carpet laying job, waking us up with the smell of banana pancakes to entice us into the kitchen to eat with him. There's the birthday cakes of all shapes and sizes that mom made for us: from Mickey Mouse to Cinderella, and because we got to choose our birthday dinner, from lasagna to beef stew, the food was always special.

There's also the days of preparation for holidays, family get-togethers, and just because. And in this latter group - the "just because" - lies a picture in my head of my dad, chair pulled up to the stove, two giant - no, ginormous - thick bottomed pots with the sounds of crackling and bubbling escaping from them and, there's dad, holding a huge wooden spoon - no, paddle is a better word - with a handle at least two feet long that he hand made for this special application: the ritual known as homemade carnitas.

Carnitas are super easy to make. Some folks like to add spice but traditionally, it's just pork butt, salt and water. I believe Dad brines his meat in milk sometimes and his ALWAYS come out the best. I think the secret to his success is his watchful eye and his intent: everything is made with so much love, how could it not be anything other than delicious?

Simple Traditional Carnita Tacos with Salsa Cruda
serves 6-8

2 - 3 lbs of pork butt
2 teaspoons kosher salt
water

2 dozen corn tortillas, for the tacos

To make the meat:
Cut the pork butt into approximately 2" cubes. You don't want them too small or they'll disintegrate during the rendering process. Place them into a heavy bottomed pot in as close to a single layer as possible (my dutch oven is big enough for "mostly" one layer). Sprinkle the salt over the meat and add water to just cover the meat. Bring pot to a rapid boil then drop the heat down to medium-low and slowly simmer the meat until the water has evaporated, about hour to hour and a half depending on the size pot, amount of meat, etc. While it's simmering, stir the meat to turn it every 15-20 minutes.

Once the water has evaporated, the fat on the meat will begin to render out. Continue cooking and stirring every 20 minutes or so on medium-low, about an additional hour to hour and a half. Once the most of the fat is rendered out, remove the meat onto paper towel lined baking sheet. Set aside.

For the Salsa:

1 medium tomato, rough chopped
1/2 small to medium Spanish onion, finely chopped (approx. 1/3 cup)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, leaves only
juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste
optional: 1 small jalepeño, seeded and finely chopped

Toss all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.

To assemble:
Chop the meat into bite-sized pieces. Use a griddle or large skillet to warm the tortillas. Place some meat on the tortilla and top with the salsa cruda. Serve immediately.

Some tips for success:

When it comes to carnitas, fat is your friend. While shopping for your meat, if you have a choice between lean and one with more visible fat, get the visible fat cut. I usually pick the one with the most fat in the bunch. And when you bring it home, don't trim it off. The fat will keep the carnitas moist on the inside, flavors the meat and provides the "lard" that will render off during the final cooking stage to give that awesome crunchy exterior that good carnitas always have.
If you dread stovetop braising because you're having to constantly adjust the heat on your burners, it's not your technique that needs to change, it's your cookware. Your cookware has probably also trained you to move the food around because this part of the pan burns browns the food too quickly. So, use a heavy bottomed pot that conducts heat really well and very evenly. A heavy cast iron, a good quality dutch oven, a heavy copper bottom pot is what you need as opposed to a thinner stainless steel or aluminum pot for this recipe. And you don't have to spend a lot of money. I bought my Lodge enamel dutch oven from Walmart for under $50 and it's paid for itself several times over since I'm no longer burning food due to a thin pot.
Do cook on the stovetop. Don't cheat and put it in the oven. This isn't brisket. You want the meat to slowly simmer UNCOVERED on the stovetop.

Tequila Lime Grilled Shrimp: For a gal learning to like seafood, this shrimp ain't too shabby! { recipe }

2011-07-06T16:00:00.001-07:00

This Tequila-Lime Grilled Shrimp is easy to make and, considering I was not a shrimp eater the first time I had it and now love it this way, I'd have to say, it could quite possibly convert any non-seafood eating person into a shrimp eating person.

There used to be a time where my very first reaction to anything from the sea – other than canned tuna – was "YUCK!"

Growing up with a dad who's father/daughter time included early morning pier fishing, you'd think I'd have acquired a taste for seafood as a youngster. But I didn't. No, what I loved was the father/daughter time: Dad would take turns taking one of us three girls out (sisters 4 and 5 came later). He'd pack breakfast for us and I remember feeling so grown up because I got my very own thermos of hot chocolate. Then we'd head out before the sun came up while the rest of the house was still asleep.

Other times it was a family affair and the whole lot of us would pile into the station wagon, each of us girls with our own fishing poles and we'd head to Mission Bay to fish and picnic.

But even if we caught anything, us girls would never eat it. Any caught fish was for mom and dad. Especially after we'd catch a glimpse of dad cleaning the fish. The thought of eating it after seeing its life-force all over the chopping block dad used was just not something I'd easily forget. Nope. Us girls would have hamburgers or hot dogs on fish night.

Fast forward to college where by the time I made it to the cafeteria for lunch, all that was usually left was tuna salad. Luckily, this was something I was familiar with.

It came in a can.

I never saw it whole.

And best yet, it had a texture like chicken salad and not that opaque look of "real" fish. So tuna became a college staple.

Then in my early 30s, my best friend and I discovered The Marine Room in La Jolla. It was much too out of our price range for causal dining but for quite some time, it did became our to-go-to place for birthdays. The first time we went, Dan ordered surf and turf. I ordered just the "turf." He coaxed me into taking a bite of his lobster tail. Prepared to be completely grossed out, I held my breath and went for it.

It was like nothing I'd ever had before. What was this? Why hadn't I had it before? The next birthday there, I ordered surf and turf too.

Next came my introduction to fish tacos. For a community known for them, it's a shame I waited until my mid-30s to try them. Again, it was because of Dan. He took me to happy hour at The Brigantine, a local seafood restaurant chain. They had $1.99 fish tacos on the bar menu. Crispy beer battered, they were over filled with cabbage, salsas, some kind of dressing reminiscent of thousand island dressing that the fish was all but camouflaged. And I loved them. A few months later, I started up on fish tacos from Rubio's which highlight the fish much more than the toppings and now enjoy them every lenten season.

Shrimp came only recently. About five years ago or so, a friend of mine made grilled shrimp during an impromptu weekend gathering and they were so delicious. I'd tried shrimp before and had not become a fan of it all. But Lisa's tequila-lime grilled shrimp was so flavorful my tummy forgot that my head said 'we don't like shrimp.'

To be honest, there are still ways I won't eat shrimp. I will not eat it in pasta sauce. I do not like it cold with cocktail sauce. I do not like it scampi. And forget about serving it to me the day after it's been grilled. Ew. Shudder.

The main players: 16 medium to large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on, Mexican Oregano, limes, garlic, cilantro and not pictured but nonetheless IMPORTANTE! -- tequila.

Make the marinade: Add the olive oil, tequila, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, chili powders and oregano into a small bowl.

Whisk!

Marinate: Place the shrimp into a resealable baggie and pour in the marinade. Place in refrigerator and let it sit around and get happy for about 30 minutes.

Skewer me baby! Thread the shrimp onto bamboo skewers that have soaked in water for at least 30 minutes beforehand.

Grill: Place on a hot grill and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until shrimp is pink and opaque.

Serve immediately.

Tequila Lime and Cilantro Grilled Shrimp

serves 2 for dinner or 4 as an appetizer

16 medium to large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails on
1 1/2 oz of tequila
juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon California chile powder
1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 tablespoon whole mexican oregano
4 wooden bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Place shrimp in a large ziplock bag. Set aside.
In a small bowl, add the next eight ingredients. Place the oregano in the palm of your hand. Rub hands together over bowl to crush leaves and flower buds. This releases the essential oils from the oregano. Use a whisk to combine well. Add to shrimp. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat grill to hot (450˚F).
Thread 4 shrimp onto a skewer. Continue until all shrimp is threaded. Place on grill and cook for 3 minutes with lid open. Carefully flip shrimp using tongs. Cook for 3 minutes on this side or until shrimp is bright pink and opaque. Remove and serve immediately.
Recipe can easily be doubled.

As for loving fish in general. Well, I'm still not there yet. I don't like salmon. But I do have a new-found appreciation of good fresh fish & chips. I wrote about enjoying them during my Pacific Northwest Adventure here and a while back at a local restaurant here.

YOUR TURN: Are there any foods that you absolutely hated as a kid but love now?

Until next time,

Ani

Seen on our walk today { life with a dog }

2011-06-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

First we saw a cool old Chevy.

Then a sweet red truck.

As we were nearing the end of our walk, this kitty, maybe six months old, jumped off her porch and came right up to Starbuck to nuzzle her nose.

Starbuck, always curious about kitties, went into complete happy wiggle butt mode. Kitty let her smell her butt and rubbed up against my legs to say hello then returned her attention to Star.

You could totally tell kitty is being raised around pooches cuz when Star got really excited, kitty turned over and exposed her belly. My fur child was in heaven. Kitty didn't have a collar. I almost brought kitty home with us.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Starbuck was so exhausted from all the excitement that she promptly jumped up on the sofa for a nap. Her little paws were batting at the kitty in her dreams. So cute!

So are those strawberries on your grill or are you just happy to see me?

2011-06-23T09:30:00.001-07:00

Auntie texted messaged me Sunday night to let me know that she had picked up strawberries at the strawberry fields in Carlsbad just in case I wanted any. Did I want any? Uh, yes.

So Monday, after work I stopped off to pick up my baby,

who is right now trying to distract me from typing by being super duper cute.

She’s learned how to jump up on to the dining chair next to where I sit typing away at my keyboard. And she licks and licks until I pet her. Mission accomplished.

So, anywhoooo …
I picked up my baby and headed over to Grandma’s to pick up the strawberries from Auntie.

As usual, they did not disappoint. They were big, red, juicy.

And although they were delicious as is, I was itching to try something.

Something extreme.
Something Auntie suggested when I picked them up:
"What about grilling them?" she asked.
Grilling them?
Now that sounds interesting.

So I did.
I grilled a banana and some strawberries and served them
with a scoop two scoops of French vanilla ice cream.

Heavenly.

Grilled Banana & Strawberries with Cream

serves 2

1 banana, peeled and quartered
6 large strawberries, stems cut off, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon melted butter
4 scoops French vanilla ice cream
2 tablespoons preserves, any berry flavor on hand

Heat grill to medium high (400˚F)
Place the butter in a bowl. Add the bananas and strawberries. Stir to coat.
Using tongs, carefully place fruit on grill. Cook for 4 minutes and use a spatula to carefully flip. Cook for 4 minutes and then remove strawberries. Cook bananas for an additional 2 minutes.
Divide fruit between two serving dishes. Add 2 scoops of ice cream to each.
Place preserves in a microwave safe dish and warm for 15 secs. Remove, stir and drizzle over each dish.

Until next time …

Ani

Pacific Northwest Part 2: More Good Eats { link love }

2011-06-22T21:19:00.001-07:00

The piping hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip with freshly fried pita chips was so delicious, I wish I hadn't ordered a sandwich so I could indulge and eat the entire appetizer by myself.

It's from this place:

The oldest bar in Seattle located in Pioneer Square.

I also inhaled some fish.

Yes.

Me.

The one who says, "Yuck!" to fish. I was temporarily possessed.

It was so yummy, that I was almost finished with the goodie basket when I realized I hadn't shot it yet.

I also tried this:

The meat. Not the guy. That would have just been weird. He's married. And young. And I'm old.
So old that I'm easily side-tracked. What was I saying... Oh, yeah!

Head on over to Tree.com's Food & Dining Channel to read what the heck this all means. Especially if you're planning a trip in and around Seattle. I promise, more pretty pictures, too.

Until next time…

¡Buen Provecho!

Ani

Pacific Northwest Part 1: Pike’s Place Market & the Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Adventure

2011-06-18T02:35:00.001-07:00

Last year’s birthday adventure was a drive up the coast that, by happenstance, took my auntie and I on a partial California Mission tour. It was loads of fun. And I still haven’t finished culling through all the images I took. Wow. I just now realized, I haven’t finished culling through all the images I took until I wrote that sentence. Where did the time go? Because here it is, a full year later and I’m talking about this year’s adventure with my auntie: we headed even farther north this time around to Seattle, Washington. Auntie was turning 50 and that meant getting outta dodge for a little fun, a little something new, a little adventure.

I'd been to Seattle twice before but always on the way to somewhere else so other than driving through Pike's Market Place, Indian food in Capital Hill, trinket shopping along the Pier, I hadn't spent much time there. So I was looking forward to our adventure.

Pike's was fun. There was so much to see. I only wish I hadn't been saddled with a cane and still recovering from a bum knee because the place is H-U-G-E! We only just scratched the surface.

Of course, I had to get some iconic images like this one…

and this one…

and of course, these guys. Every time they threw the fish though, I kept missing the shot because I was distracted by something else around me.

I saw lots of things I've never seen before. Like these Fiddle Fern Heads. They look strange to me. What the heck do you do with them?

The fruit, and there was LOTS of it, was amazing. Everything looked vibrant. And large. Must be all that friggin' rain.

And there was a lot of it. Like, pretty much every day we were in town. How do the natives deal with it?

There were more unusual items. Can you read that sign on the right? Yes, you are reading that correctly. Chocolate pasta. Mr. Pasta man was trying to get passers-by to taste it. I love chocolate. But raw pasta? Not so much. I passed.

But I did try this:

Gourmet olive oils. Gourmet dipping sauces. Gourmet vinegars. Like this 18 Years Aged Fig Balsamic Vinegar. Now we're talkin'. This stuff was oh-so-yummy! I'd like to bathe in it.

Ok, so maybe not. But you get the picture. It was tasty.

Auntie bought cashews from this nut lady. Pike's Place Nuts. Freshly roasted. Literally. They burned my tongue. But it was a good hurt.

There were more flower stands than I could count. They were gorgeous.

And ginormous. Seriously. These tulips were big. Really big.

I loved the artisans. This dude was sitting in for his friend who made all these awesome cuffs.

This is the one I bought for me. Love it. I feel like Wonder Woman when I wear it. Kinda.

All this walking around and lookie-louing got us hungry. So we went on our hunt for sustenance. And quickly fell into indecisiveness because there were so many choices.

Cold weather means comfort food.

So when I saw this cheese shop, Beecher's Handmade Cheese. That was it. Mmm. Cheese.

They make it on the premises.

They've got sandwiches …

and they have cookbooks…

and cheese … Lots of cheese. We ordered lunch. But there was no seating. We grabbed our lunch and went in search of a place to hunker down with our goodies. Took us almost a half hour to find a place. One that wasn't wet.

Beecher's is known for their mac and cheese. It's in the cookbook up there. Auntie likes mac and cheese too. I ordered it. It was made with Jack cheese. Just Jack, they say on their signage. But when I say it, "Will & Grace" episodes float through my head. Hear him? "Just Jack!"

Flavor was decent. But do you know my favorite part of mac and cheese? The crunchy bits on top. This didn't have any. They served it from this huge pot thingy. Think cafeteria style. Not fresh. Not baked. So it was borderline mushy. Pasta should be al dente. So even though this had flavor, it lost points for lack of texture. It fell flat. I wouldn't buy it again.

And then there was grilled cheese.

I would buy this again. This is my sandwich. It was the Flagship Sandwich: flagship cheese, just jack, basil, tomato and their Beecher's spread. It was crispy and buttery on the outside, ooey-gooey on the inside.

And that Beecher's spread, I wish they bottled it. Look at those mustard seeds. I'm adding them next time I make homemade grilled cheese.

Auntie's sandwich. She got the classic Grilled Cheese: flagship cheese and just jack. Look at the ooey-goodness. I had a bite. Again, crunchy buttery outside. It was good but after eating mine with the basil and mustard seeds, it was too one note for my taste buds. I think Auntie liked it, though. She didn't try mine.

A few days after I got back to San Diego, while I was laid up due to the horrendous cold I caught the last night in Seattle, I was watching Martha Stewart on the Hallmark Channel. And the first guest was Beecher's owner. Talk about coincidence. He was on making their mac and cheese with Martha and talking about the Beecher's that's due to open in New York this summer. So they're going by-coastal.

Now they just need to open one up down here. Because even in sunny San Diego, there's no such thing as too much comfort food.

Summer means it's time to grill up some corn! { link love }

2011-06-11T11:25:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

My latest contribution to Tree.com's Food & Dining channel gives you a step by step on grilling up some sweet tasting corn-on-the-cob. Just in time for summer BBQ's. Super simple, super tasty. The trick is to… find out here.

Until next time...
¡Buen Provecho!
Ani

Say hello to the “Mother Grain” { recipe } Quinoa

2011-06-08T16:19:00.001-07:00

Quinoa salad, here with red peppers and cilantro, makes for an nutritious work lunch.

Heard of quinoa (pronouced KEEN-wah) but not sure how to use it? Ready to discover a delicious and nutritious grain that is high in protein, magnesium and potassium? This salad by America's Test Kitchen, republished in the Union-Tribune's Food section today is a tasty introduction to this healthy ancient grain.
Quinoa, technically, is not a grain but a seed (grains are harvested from grass, this comes from a broadleaf plant) and has ancient roots in South America.* To the Incas, who cultivated this plant prior to 3000 B.C., quinoa was sacred. They referred to it as the "mother grain."
A good source of protein, magnesium and potassium (8 g, 118 mg and 318 mg respectively, per cooked cup**), this nearly complete "superfood" (quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids) does take a little effort to prepare: the hull of the seed is rather bitter resulting in the need to rinse well and rinse again. But the fluffy texture, filling nature and nutritious value of quinoa make it worth the effort.
The trick is definitely in the rinsing, and rinsing again. Another tip picked up from Darlene over at My Burning Kitchen, is the addition of a final steaming, which produces the lightest, fluffiest quinoa so far tested.
As I've mentioned before, sometimes I have to step out of my role as page designer for the newspaper and cook, style and photograph dishes for cover presentations in our food section. Such was the case for this wire story which provided mediocre art. Not having tried quinoa prior to this, I stuck to the original recipe for the creation of this photograph but have since incorporated some techniques picked up from Darlene and a few modifications for personal taste (original recipe calls for jalepeño. bee-yuck!).
This is salad has become a staple for me as it packs great for lunch (I often am so swamped, I'm forced to eat at my desk for a "working" lunch). Also, the preparation for the quinoa can be easily adapted to include any of you favorite flavors and "add-ins."
Have fun experimenting and feel free to check back in and let me know what awesome recipes you've come up with, too.
Quinoa Salad with Dijon Mustard Dressing

1 cup quinoa, rinsed and dried (see step 1)
1 1/2 cups cold water
salt & ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons red onions, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Prep the grain. Place quinoa in a large bowl. Fill with cold water to fill. Swish and wash the quinoa. Empty water and repeat, two more times. Line a cookie sheet with a linen dish towel and spread out the quinoa in a single layer. Allow to dry.
Prep the veggies and herbs. Seed and finely chop the bell pepper. Mince the onions and cilantro leaves.
Prep the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime, mustard, garlic, and cumin.
Cook grain. Place dry grain in a large skillet on medium heat and stirring constantly, dry toast until lightly golden and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Fill a small pot with 1 1/2 cups of water, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the quinoa had place on high to bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Steam. Drain quinoa into a metal sieve. Refill pot halfway with water, return to medium heat and place sieve with grain over pot being careful that water doesn’t touch grains. Cover and steam for 15 minutes. When done, rinse under cold water to cool, add to a bowl, fluff with fork. Add veggies and herbs. Give the dressing another quick whisk and pour into bowl, stirring to combine everything well. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Particularly tasty the next day after all the ingredients have spent the night together.

Until next time,
Ani

*Agricultural Marketing Resource Center
**Self NutritionData

Hey! Where'd all the images go?

2011-06-08T01:13:00.001-07:00

The bad thing about using Posterous to multi-publish to my various blogs? When they go down for maintenance (which is more often than I like), all the images on my many sites disappear. So not happy. This time they're moving servers. Hopefully, it won't take too long. I think I might have to return to linking images manually from flickr...

Stay tuned. Come back again and hopefully, all my images will be back.

Cooking for One: Cheesy Egg & Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms { recipe }

2011-06-05T11:11:00.001-07:00

Well, hello there.

It’s been a few weeks, I know.

First it was due to vacation. Then, well, I should say, now I’ve been sick. All week. Like, can’t get out of bed during the day because I was up most of the night hacking up a lung.

A quick iPhone shot of Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park

I got ill the last night of my Pacific Northwest adventure (more on that adventure another time, or two). I know exactly when it hit me. I was driving on the 104 in the Olympic Peninsula on the way to the ferry for our return trip to Seattle when it hit. I thought my throat was scratchy from the pretzels and chips I was munching on during the 2 and a half hour trip from Forks, WA to Kingston, WA where we’d pick up the ferry across the Puget Sound.

This is me, resting, er, taking an iPhone self-portrait of me pretending to be resting while on the ferry. I wish I could sleep that peacefully now.

There I was. On the ferry. Coughing. I decided to lay back and try to relax for the 30 minute trip, concentrating on not coughing. "Man, I ate too much of the Munchies Mix," I remember telling my auntie once we checked into our hotel in Sea-Tac.

Yesterday, I slept ‘til 1:30pm, getting up only because I had to take my fur child to her grooming appointment. I used the opportunity to make a quick stop at the grocery store. My appetite has been lacking this week, but I knew I needed something high in protein and meat didn’t sound good. Which is surprising coming from this confirmed meat-eater.

I love mushrooms. In fact one of my favorite appetizers to take to parties is sausage stuffed crimini mushrooms. It’s a hit. Every time.

Sausage didn’t sound good. But mushrooms did and the giant portobello’s on sale at the market looked great.

As a single foodie living alone, I often find that many of the recipes I want to write about means I’m eating it for dinner, lunch, dinner and sometimes even lunch again. It gets kinda boring. The lovely thing about this recipe is that it’s perfect as a generous portion for one or paired with toast and some hash browns, a good recipe for two.

This makes me happy. It’s super simple and fast which is great because I didn’t have much energy.

Don't they look yummy? I didn't have the energy to fire up the grill and go outside. I know some folks don't like grill pans. They complain you can't get a good char.

Yeah, right. I love mine. And look at those lovely grill marks.

Heat a little olive oil in your trusty cast iron skillet. You're gonna sauté the onions, a little garlic and some spinach and you'll smile, like I did, from the fragrance filling your senses. Mmm-mmmm. And a note on spinach. Being that I'm single, I often rely on good quality frozen veggies because I don't always get through an entire bunch of anything before it goes bad. I am a huge fan of Trader Joe's Chopped Frozen Spinach. Trust me, I've tried lots. But the TJ's variety is frozen loose leaf and not in chunky blocks and is quite yummy.

Goodness gracious do I love eggs! And I love 'em soft scrambled (brown tinged eggs away with you!). Seriously, a little sour cream and some green chilis in there and the creamy goodness is simply heaven.

Come together! Right now! Eggs, spinach and my favorite cheese mixture. Oh, yeah baby! And not wanting to sound like I'm particularly promoting Trader Joe's but I love Trader Giotto's Quattro Formaggio (a shredded mix of parmesan, asiago, fontina and mild provolone cheeses and it's also great in quesadillas and pizzas).

Split the mixture between the two mushrooms, top with some shredded parmesan, broil in a toaster oven until lightly browned and bubbly and break out the utensils …

Cuz, seriously, I think this has become my new favorite breakfast. Of course, since I slept all day, it was actually dinner time. No matter. It was delish and even with the snapping of the few pictures along the way, beginning to end this took all of about 30 minutes.

Cheesey Egg & Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
serves 1 or 2
Ingredients

2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
olive oil
1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed of excess water
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon light sour cream
1 - 2 tablespoons diced (Ortega) green chilies
1/4 cup of your favorite hard cheese, grated
1 tablespoon shredded parmesan cheese, divided
kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste

Method

Heat a grill pan to medium hot. Brush olive oil on each side of the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place on hot grill pan and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side or until slightly charred. Remove from grill and set aside.
Heat a sauté pan to medium hot. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and stir to keep from burning. Add spinach and stir to heat through. Remove and place in a bowl.
Wipe out pan and return to heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons olive oil. In a small bowl, gently beat eggs, sour cream and chilies until combined. Add to pan and soft scramble. Cook until eggs have just set. Remove and add to bowl with spinach. Add cheese. Stir to combine.
Fill each mushroom cap with the egg mixture. Top each with the parmesan cheese and place on an oven safe pan. Place under the broiler or in a toaster oven for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and parmesan has lightly browned. Enjoy immediately.

getting ready to set sail {iPhone}

2011-05-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

Thirsty Girl is coming to San Diego: Get your discount code here and join the fun

2011-05-21T13:16:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, May 26th, at Donovan's Circle of 5ths, you'll get the opportunity to mingle, mix and munch with the Thirsty Girl crew and have an opportunity to meet the head Thirsty Girl herself for wine and food tasting.

What is Thirsty Girl, you ask? It's a community of like-minded Thirsty Girls who live life to the fullest and come together to share and inspire each other to follow their passion wherever it leads.

And who is a Thirsty Girl? In an interview with Ashley Lauren of Sacre Bleu Wine, founder and head Thirsty Girl, Leslie Sbrocco, explains:

"When life hands you lemons and you make lemonade … with vodka …you're a Thirsty Girl. Jump on a plane – or out of one – at a moment's notice? You're a Thirsty Girl. If fantasizing about celebrity chefs only results in gaining 10 pounds, you're a Thirsty Girl. Though Thirsty Girls crave libations and laughter, there's more here than meets the lips. We're a movement of like-minded women who thirst for fun, adventure and fulfillment.…"

The Head Thirsty Girl. Leslie is an award-winning author, speaker and Tasting Notes columnist for Epicurious.com. She's the host of Check Please! on PBS (which garnered her a James Beard award and three Emmy's). She is the co-founder of WineToday.com, the wine website of The New York Times and her work has appeared in numerous publications.

Events. Passionate about sharing her adventures in food, travel and wine, Thirsty Girl hosts live wine-tasting events around the country. And they're headed here to San Diego.

The night will include a tasting of seven TG select wines paired with seven appetizers. And it's for a great cause. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to the San Diego Chapter of DRESS FOR SUCCESS.

Discount. The gals over at Thirsty Girl are extending a discount for my readers. Head on over to http://tgsandiegolive-auto.eventbrite.com/ and enter coupon code TGME to receive a $5 discount.

And when you have time, head over to the Thirsty Girl website and take a read at some of the articles on their Crave (eats & travel) or Quaff (sips to savor) blogs for a wealth of inspiration.

Follow TG on Facebook and Twitter.

Thirsty Girl Live! Tasting in San Diego
Thursday, May 26th from 6-8pm
Donovan's 5th Circle

333 5TH AVE

SAN DIEGO, CA 92101

PHONE (619) 906-4850

http://donovansprimeseafood.com/

And as they say over at Thirsty Girl: Life. Drink it up!*

Until next time,

Ani

*A trademark of Thirsty Girl.

Using available light for food photography – a tutorial, Part 2 of an ongoing (occasional) series

2011-05-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

You don't need expensive studio lights to successfully photograph food.

In fact, for editorial work, some magazines like Food & Wine and Cooking Light as well as some of the more prolific food photographers and food bloggers all praise the more naturally appetizing look of food when using window light to photograph. That's not to say that strobes are bad. There is a market for it. Look at magazine covers like Food Network Magazine or bon appétit and that highly lit, almost advertorial look, is prevalent.

Personally, I go back and forth between strobe and natural day light depending on the final look I have in my head or the time of day I am able to shoot or the conditions of the kitchen (or dining room) I'm shooting in. However, even when I shoot with strobes, my goal is always to simulate natural window light as much as possible. This takes a certain level of skill and comfortableness with studio lights and an understanding of the quality of light that the big golden orb in the sky produces at different times of the day. Since I've been working with studio lights for more than 25 years, I feel fairly confident manipulating them for most conditions. Not to say that I'm an expert – there is always something to learn. That is the beauty of being humble and open to improve and continuously work at your craft.

That said, I know plenty of working, successful photographers who would rather not fumble their way around studio strobes and prefer working with natural light. If you fall into this category or if you can't justify the need for them, not to worry. With a few tips at your disposal on manipulating natural light, knowing how to perform some basic post production (SOOC camp, get over it. I was a professional darkroom printer for more than 10 years and believe you me, we did a lot of manipulation in negative printing to get publication and exhibition worthy prints; every shot you publish should first get some post production love and it doesn't have to be over the top), you can make some lovely food photographs using nothing more than window light, a white Foamcore board, small mirrors or silver / gold reflectors, a tripod and an adventurous spirit for trial and error.

I've posted on using natural light before. That post not only eschewed the merits of window light but also pointed out that you don't need a fancy camera either. The shots for that post were made with a Canon Digital Elph on macro mode. This post, going just a little deeper than that post, will illustrate the point by showing the setup and the affects achieved with and without the fill.

The camera settings are the same for all three photos:

camera: Canon 5D
lens: Canon 85mm f/1.8
manual -- I ALWAYS shoot on manual
white balance set at 5600k (pretty much standard for me when I shoot with daylight or my Alien Bees strobes since they are rated at 5600k. Shots have the amount of warmth I like SOOC. AWB tends to run on the cooler side. When not shooting at 5600k, I create a custom white balance setting.)
ISO: 400
shutter speed: 1/25th
f-stop: f/9
shot RAW format (I shoot EVERYTHING in RAW)

This shot is SOOC with no fill. It was converted in Adobe Camera Raw and I just accepted the defaults, opened and saved it as a JPG. I almost always have my main light behind or to the side of my food. Never in front and RARELY above which was actually the way I was taught back in school more than 25 years ago. That is pretty old school – throwing a large softbox directly overhead or at a 45˚ angle in front of the camera facing the subject. Too me, that flattens the food out. Food needs to stir our appetite and looks best when it has light and shadows giving it dimensionality not flattening it out. I think that's what my problem is with advertorial shots and food magazines that shoot with heavy obvious flash. Works fine for edgy fashion shoots. Not so much with food. I say this as I sit here looking at a bon appétit issue on the top of the pile of food magazines on my desk. Yuck. That steak shot with a hard overhead flash looks greasy, not yummy. I also don't like my fills to be the same quality. Which brings me to the next photo.

This shot is also SOOC but shot with a white fill card to camera left and a silver reflector to camera right. Again, converted in ACR accepting the defaults and opened and saved as a JPG. Why a white card and a silver? Why not two silvers or two whites? Because the white is a softer fill and the silver a little sharper. Using the same on both sides would again flatten out the food. In this setup, my main light is the window light coming from behind. My next brightest "light" is the silver reflector to camera right which acts to throw brighter specular highlights on the shinier surfaces. The white card acts as my third "light" and is the softest in intensity just lightening up the deeper shadows enough to bring out some detail.

An iPhone capture of the scene with the fill cards both in place: I move my table over to catch the southern light coming in from my half windows in my dining room.

From this angle, you can see the surface of the silver reflector.

So this is the final shot (same as the one at the start of this post). Most of the correction was done in ACR: I lightened the exposure a few points, bumped clarity and vibrance up a bit, opened up the shadows a few points and then once in Photoshop, I dodged the tomato bowl ever so slightly just to open up those shadows a bit more to accentuate detail, brought in my watermark and then saved. I use Camera Bag for the Mac just to put the rounded corners on the photo because I like that finished for presenting the images on the web. My print portfolio is all full bleed. (Note: Rarely do I use the filters in the Camera Bag program. I prefer creating Photoshop actions for the grunge and retro looks I like when I'm working with image captures from my 5D. Actions give me much more control.)

To recap:

Shoot manual to get the best combination of focus and speed.
Set a manual or custom white balance if your AWB is giving you an unwanted color cast.
Use a tripod so you can use slower shutter speeds giving you more options to control your DOF.
Use a combination of white cards, silver or gold reflectors to throw light back into the areas you want to "open" up. Move the cards around and watch the light move.
Have a main – or key – light either coming from behind or from the side for maximum impact.
Have fun!

P.S.
This set up is a behind the scenes look at a shoot for a blog post I wrote for the Food & Dining channel on Tree.com. The recipe I created is for the tortellini pasta salad I posted photos for earlier this week. It looks kinda like this one:

You can find the recipe for this dish here.
Until next time,
Ani

Simply Grilled Garlic Chicken Sandwich with Honey Goat Cheese {recipe}

2011-05-19T14:00:00.001-07:00

Company was coming.

I am still handicapped with a bum knee. All of my energy was zapped just from cleaning my week-long neglected house in preparation for said company.

Well, I exaggerate. But only on the “company” part, that is. It isn’t like I was having a party, for goodness sake. My good friend, @jpadillabowen, was coming for dinner and a DVD. We try to have a girl’s D&D night periodically and it had been a while. I always cook up something fabulous like this, this and this. But truly, this bum knee has slowed me down. I was a bit worried about what to make. What tastiness could I come up with that was fast, easy, healthy and low effort?

One thing to narrow the field: Jess is not a meat eater. Just chicken and fish. And I don’t care for fish. A quick inventory of the pantry and freezer told me I had frozen sandwich rolls that I had saved from a photo shoot a few days before, boneless chicken breasts, whole wheat elbow macaroni, sugar snap peas, grape tomatoes, honey goat cheese I’d picked up at Trader Joes after having tried it at this party, shallots and a couple heads of garlic.

A plan was forming.

I love it when that happens.

I literally only let the chicken sit with the garlic rub for a mere 10 minutes. Just long enough for the grill to reach the 500˚ that I like to grill at.

The macaroni boiled while the chicken was grilling (sorry, no photo! But see this photo of my dinner this week? It is basically the same thing only it has tortellini in place of the elbow macaroni. Can you picture it?). I blanched the sugar snap peas, cut them on the bias and dressed it and the pasta with a super simple balsamic vinaigrette: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cp balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar, a generous squirt of dijon mustard, 1 clove of garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons of minced shallot, salt and pepper. Give it a good whisk and viola! An eeehhhxcellent vinaigrette for almost any baby greens, pasta or rice salad.

Dinner was a hit. It took all of about 30 minutes from beginning to end to prepare. We inhaled it and then sat down to watch a chickflick which tends to be what we watch when we get together. It turned out to be rather entertaining.

I love it when that happens, too.

Simply Grilled Garlic Chicken Sandwich with Honey Goat Cheese
serves 2
Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 sandwich-sized ciabatta rolls (french will suffice)
4 tablespoons honey goat cheese
2 thin slices of red onion
handful of arugala
2 tablespoons mayonaise
dijon mustard to taste

Directions

Take goat cheese out of refrigerator, measure and place on counter to come up to room temperature.
Pound the chicken. Place one chicken breast between 2 sheets of clear plastic wrap at least 3 times the size of the chicken. Maker sure the chicken is centered then use a meat mallet or similar (I use the end of my rolling pin because I don’t have a meat mallet) to pound out the chicken so that the thickest part is the same thickness of the thinner part (about 1/2” thick). Place pounded chicken into a shallow dish. Repeat with second breast.
Massage. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the chicken. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and massage into the breasts being mindful to cover all of the chicken with the seasoning. Set aside and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. In the meantime, start grill.
Grill. Once grill is hot (gas grill to at least 450˚ - I like it to reach 500˚; charcoal grill is ready when the briquets have turned ash grey - or red if grilling at night), place chicken on grill. Don’t move it. Once it’s down, leave it. Don’t poke. Don’t smash with the spatula. Cover grill and let cook for 6 minutes. Chicken should release from grill easily indicating it’s ready to flip. Flip and cook for 6 -8 minutes on this side. Because the chicken was pounded so thin, it will cook up rather fast and evenly. Remove chicken from grill and place on a plate. and tent with foil.
Prepare rolls. While chicken is cooking, slice the ciabatta rolls lengthwise in half. Brush olive oil on cut side and place on grill to warm. Flip so both sides get those yummy grill marks.
Assemble. Once bread is ready, spread 2 tablespoons of goat cheese on each of the two top halves of the rolls. Spread 1 tablespoon of mayo on each of the bottom halves. Add mustard to taste. On the bottom half, place a layer of arugula on each. Next add the onion, then a chicken breast then the top of the roll.
Serve with a glass of ice cold sangria or other fruity wine or rosé.

{ food photo } Farmers' Market + Sugar Snap Peas = Dinner!

2011-05-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

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What did you have for dinner last night?

{ a quick look at… } Baking mixes don't quite rise to my expectation

2011-05-07T11:01:00.001-07:00

Scones. Sometimes with fruit. Sometimes with chocolate. Sometimes with butter. Always with coffee (I know, I know, tea is much more British but I am a self-proclaimed coffee addict).

I've never made them from scratch. Nor I have I ever made them from a mix. I have not made them at home. I have not made them anywhere.

But I've been tempted.

And I finally gave into the temptation while doing my weekly shopping at my local Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market when they had the canisters of bake mixes on sale (buy two get the third free).

I am a huge fan of Fresh & Easy. There is little that I've tried that I don't like. As for the baking goods, I love their pancake mixes (both the buttermilk and their blueberry make excellent waffles!). So I picked up the chocolate cupcake mix, the banana bread and the English-style scone mix.

The first one I made was the chocolate cupcake mix. Instead of making cupcakes though, I poured the batter into a loaf pan so I could have slices of chocolately goodness with my morning coffee. Of course, after it cooled long enough not to burn, I had to taste them, morning or not. First bite was nice and moist and I was quite pleased. But the third bite, well, it was not so good.

On the third bite, I crunched into something.

Hmm. Eggshell? Was I that messy preparing the mix? I wrote it off as eggshell.

Next morning, I cut myself another slice. First bite this time. Crunch. What the?

Ok, I have to be more careful, I thought.

That night, I thought I'd have a little something after dinner. And just as I started to bite down, that familiar crunch feeling was there so I took the piece out of my mouth this time (I know, TMI, but bear with me) and squished the piece in my hand.

I was a bit shocked.

I couldn't quite tell if it was glass or plastic but one thing I was sure of: It wasn't eggshell.

Needless to say, I figured I couldn't prove it was in the mix to begin with so I decided to chuck the rest of it not wanting to risk injury.

A couple of days ago, chocolate cupcakes mix disaster now in the past, I moved onto trying the English-style scone. Admission time. I sifted the mix into the bowl JUST IN CASE.

No foreign objects. Yay.

Craving chocolate, I decided to add chips to the mix but other than that, I stuck to the recipe on the box.

This time the disappointment comes from the actual end result. I really wanted to love them. However, I found the scones dry and bland, with the only burst of flavor coming from the added chocolate. Even toasting them and spreading some butter on them doesn't help. Maybe this is why the British eat scones with cream? I don't know.

Anyone out there have a good recipe from scratch they love? Send it my way. I'm dying to try a good one now and conquer the homemade scone successfully.

In the meantime, I'll satisfy my scones craving with a trip to Rebecca's Coffeehouse for their yummy raspberry or blueberry scones. Now those are scones! I'll just hope that craving will hit in the morning, when they're fresh and hot.

Oh! And what about the banana bread mix, you ask?

Uh, well, I kinda haven't worked up the nerve to try it yet.

Until next time,

Ani

{ promo love } Forget reservations? Head over to Smashburger for a free meal for Mom.

2011-05-06T22:01:00.001-07:00

Mmmm. Burgers.

For Mother's Day, Smashburger is honoring San Diego area mom's this year with a special offer: Children 12 and under who bring in a photo of themselves with their mom score a free entreé, side and drink for mom with the purchase of a kid's meal. How cool is that?

Smashburger, named for the way the burger is prepared (half-pound ball of beef is smashed on a flat grill in order to sear in all the juices), also has plenty of non-beef offerings as well including chicken sandwiches, hot dogs and salads. So Mom has plenty to choose from.

Oh, and while you're there, don't forget to try the Sweet Potato Smashfries. They're my favorite!

Located at:
Mission Valley
7610 Hazard Center, Ste 507, San Diego, 92108
La Jolla
1000 Prospect St, La Jolla, 92037
Del Mar
1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, 92014
Photo Courtesy of Elle Communications for Smashburger.