Cayenne surprise

I didn't want to get caught with my pants down again, scrambling to make dinner.  Last night, I'm embarrassed to say, we had TJ Pizza Magherita and sautéed spinach.  Today, instead of doing whatever it was I supposed to do, I made chili - but first I had to go buy meat and beans.

I bought ground beef (hopefully E coli free) and turkey Italian sausage (just to kick it up).  For a little variety I bought a large can of kidney beans and a large can of pinto beans. I came home and went to work with my onion and garlic sauté - I went very heavy on the garlic and even added a red pepper and a bit of ginger; browned the meat; added tomatoes; seasoned - cumin, chili powder, misc seasonings...then I added the beans and more garlic, seasonings, etc.  After that simmered a bit I added some unsweetened cocoa and cayenne pepper.

I kept thinking that I needed something more but I couldn't figure out what I was missing, so I seasoned again and added crushed garlic and more cayenne for good measure - clearly I was out of control.  I let the pot simmer for a while and then dumped in some frozen TJ corn.

I made a bowlful, topped it with cheddar-jack and scallions - that's when I realized that I planned to use celery, so I dropped two tops (including leaves) in the pot - we'll see if the celery adds a new dimension.  As I was eating, I reveled in the subtle flavors and that's when the cayenne pepper caught me in the back of my throat.

A taste of Arabia

This weekend course is killing me...the fatigue is residual - all week I'm tired and unproductive and I don't think I've cooked a lick...that gets old, fast. I was determined to cook tonight so I went to Genaurdi's after class - I think they're more expensive than Whole Foods, and it's just a regular supermarket - with salona on my mind.

The first time I had salona, I was pleasantly surprised. It was simple, yet delicious - onions, tomatoes, potatoes, chicken, and of course mom's powder aka bizarra. I used to make salona quite frequently (with peas and carrots) but I don't think I've made it in almost a year. Back when I used to use boneless skinless thighs, it was a relatively quick meal...of course that wasn't the case tonight.

I arrived home after 7, who knows what time it was once the onions and garlic were sautéing in olive oil...needless to say, we didn't eat until 9:30pm (anyone who knows me is likely stunned and appalled). If only I had read the directions to the pressure cooker that I bought last month, we might've eaten much earlier. Alas, you certainly can't use a pressure cooker without reading the directions.

Terrific tilapia

I used to be famous for serving foil packet fish. I think I was influenced by my husband's father's family...they are big on fish and generally serve it at all family gatherings. I love BBQ (if the sauce is good) but I also like variety; typically at my BBQs, salmon and spinach (fillets and baby spinach) packets would be on the menu, and I always made a Mediterranean pasta salad (kalamata olives, tomatoes, red onions, tuna, shells, with a balsamic vinaigrette) on the side.


I'm no longer a big fan of salmon and I probably haven't made those packets in at least 5 years...but last night I revived the foil fish packet.

We eat a lot of tilapia, as I stated before it's quite versatile in terms of ethnic cooking...usually we have whole fish (head on)...my husband bought fillets and i couldn't think of any interesting preparations (tilapia is a bit delicate)...so I did a foil packet (colored peppers, onions, garlic, lime, olive oil, and my new hodge podge seasoning) with wonderful results. We had rice and peas (kidney beans & pigeon peas), sautéed string beans, and TJs Southern Green blend on the side.

Since some lunatic made enough rice and peas to feed an army; tonight will be a smorgasbord.

Omnivore's Dilemma

No, I don't think I'm Michael Pollan, but clearly I suffer from an ongoing dilemma as I ask myself daily what's for dinner? I have a novice understanding of the food production system, dabble in diverse ethnic cooking, but for some reason I never know what I have a taste for. That in itself is problematic; there are so many people that do not have the luxury to have a taste for anything because there is nothing for dinner. Conversely I haven't even scratched the surface of the many tastes with which I could pleasure my palate. To top it off, I somehow feel compelled to seek exotic flavors. Am I Ibn Battuta or Christopher Columbus? Or am I even more bogus than that, travelling the globe from my kitchen?

Honestly I haven't had the time or the energy to think of or investigate new options. I'm swamped with my many responsibilities and I am beginning to fear that we may be reentering the world of TJ cuisine. Sunday I was in another 9 hour class and ended up making a short cut pancit by using broccoli slaw and a frozen seafood mix. All I had to do was soak my rice stick, cut up onions, and have my daughter chop the garlic.

It was good but seemed so inauthentic. We had fried rice (yes heavy on the carbs) prepared with Normandy vegetables as an accompaniment. Then I crossed the line, I made chicken salad for lunch, again.

Ready roast

Today was a long day...a 9 hour class during which I managed to spend quite a bit of money - COSI's for lunch, a coffee and a muffin for snack.  Fortunately I had the good sense to marinate some drumsticks last night which precluded me from having to purchase dinner as well. 

I came home, put the chicken on convection roast, cooked the remaining marinade, then made okra.  Just as the chicken was finishing, I realized that we needed another side - grits seemed like a good solution. 

In hindsight, although I used a hodge podge of seasonings, the chicken was somewhat Liberian inspired - I included peppers and onions in the marinade...tilapia's on tap for tomorrow.

Fear of frying

My skin is still healing from that horrible blister I got from making poisson. That burn was so traumatic that I think I suffer from PTSD everytime I put more than an half inch of oil in a pan.  Sunday I made escabeche (heavy on the veggies) with savoy cabbage on the side.

I just couldn't get the tilapia fried right, for a couple of reasons -  I'm scared of the oil and I can't grip the tongs without my hand cramping up. My husband came to the rescue but the skin just didn't have the right texture. Next time I'm going to convection it, it'll be easier and healthier. The sauce was delicious, I think it's the best escabeche I've made to date. Come to think of it, just about everything I cooked last week was fantastic.

Oh how I lust for a commercial kitchen. If only I could muster up the courage to follow my dreams, abandon academia, and cook.... perhaps it's simply a fear of flying.

Fool me once...

Tonight the joke's on me.  If only I had followed my instincts my kids wouldn't be laughing at me.  I was in Wegman's last night, while I was getting orange juice, I grabbed a Dole orange-pineapple-banana and a new Dole Sensations watermelon juice caught my eye.  I was pleasantly surprised because we enjoy watermelon juice - first had it in Al Ain and now I make it at home instead of sorbet.  It's refreshingly hydrating. 

Obviously I knew that the carton of juice was not going to be like the fresh stuff, largely because I assumed it would be filtered.  We drank some this morning, my son loved it, but the rest of us thought it was  little sweet and lacked body.  At dinner, the juice returned to the table and once again, too sweet.  My sister read the ingredients - filtered water, sugar....what, sugar?  what do you mean, sugar?  That's when I noticed that the 100% label I saw in the bottom left-hand corner said 100% natural, not 100% juice...shame on me for getting fooled by marketing.

My son learned how to read nutrition labels in kindergarten, so of course he started with the nutrition facts and then exclaimed "it's only 10% juice!" - then they all started laughing because clearly I had not read the label at all.  My sister said, "it probably has the same amount of calories as high fructose corn syrup" and we laughed some more. 

This is not the first time I've been fooled when relying solely on brand recognition.  We drank Apple and Eve's mango passion for years until finally I grew tired of it.  One day, I unwittingly picked up a bottle of tropical juice...when I got home and put it in the refrigerator, I noticed that not only was it not 100% juice, but it also contained HFCS...I was shocked and returned it to the store on my next shopping trip. 

"Fool me once, shame on, shame on you...fool me, you can't get fooled again."