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Posted by
yanti on Sunday, August 2, 2015
Can't believe it is already August! Summer always flies by and it is already half over. We're also halfway through the Columbus festival schedule, but plenty of fun ones yet to come!
The Dublin Irish Fest is a tradition for us... we have gone for ten years now! Nearly every year we listen to Homeland, eats some fish and chips, drink a few Guinness, and buy a few things from the vendors. One year we missed the festival and our summer just didn't feel complete.
Today we headed over to Seventh Son for the Columbus Flea. Tons of vendors with adorable stuff including jewelry, soaps, baked goods, plants, leather goods, and clothing. Then Challah and Native Eats food trucks were there, the crispy chicken sandwich was delicious!
My butterfly garden is in full bloom, although not a ton of butterflies (although the local hummingbird is starting to stop by). I started pulling up some of the spent veggie plants from the garden and went to the local nursery to buy some kale seeds to sow (since I've been making kale chips every week while it is in season)... came home with $130 worth of houseplants and herbs instead... oops! If my house didn't already look like a jungle, it does now!
This morning I tried lamb bacon for the first time. I used to only eat poultry and seafood from a meat stand point. After learning about factory farming practices, instead of going vegetarian, I decided to eat less meat, but when I did eat meat, it was humanely raised. Free range chicken, grass-fed cows, etc. Sheep are one of those animals that haven't gotten caught up in the factory farming, as far as I know. It's definitely a little pricier as a result. I get ground lamb from the grocery about once a month and it is really delicious. So when I saw lamb bacon through Green BEAN delivery (Smoking Goose), I wanted to give it a try.
The result? Pretty good. The strips are short (perfect for breakfast sandwiches) and well marbled (not too much fat). They cook up in about the same time as regular bacon. It is a bit saltier and chewier too. But the flavor is really good. I don't think I would cook with it (bacon dinner recipe examples here and here), but it is a good alternative for breakfast, especially since pork products aren't as well labeled as chicken and beef.
Alrighty, here is this week's meal plan...chorizo skillet breakfast for dinnercaramelized scallops with corn on the cob and capresepizza nightlamb burgerscreamy shrimp bowtieseggplant parmesan
More about → Weekly Menu
Posted by
yanti on Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Until this year, I thought everyone went camping when they were kids. I just thought that was part of growing up, your family spending a couple weekends, some times weeks, at a campground having fun outside. I remember organizing our family's "field day" competition one year complete with SkipIt and paper ribbons hand colored and cut by yours truly.
Maybe that's why I love to be outside, get my hands dirty in the garden, stare at the night sky, and why bugs really don't bother me (unless they're mosquitos, mosquitos bother me a lot). While I'd like to think of myself as a somewhat technically savvy individual, I can also disconnect from the interwebs and be okay (unlike these kids).
Since it is summer time, it's the perfect time get off the grid and recharge your batteries, literally and figuratively! :) Time to go for a hike, sleep under the stars, and cook over the fire.
For me, breakfast recipes need to be easy. I'm not fully awake, and if it isn't easy, I might accidentally cut off a finger or something. This recipe requires very little effort and includes minimal involvement of sharp objects. It is very similar to the breakfast in a bag recipe (that I forgot to post, so, coming soon), but no chance of the cooking vessel breaking or burning in the fire. If you like breakfast sandwiches, but would rather clean one pan instead of three... this is the recipe for you.Read more �
Posted by
yanti on Monday, July 27, 2015
Tam-is ang sabaw ug lami kaayo, maong paborito jud nako ning sinabawan nga kinhason. Higop na ta mga higala :-), ug ingon pa sa akong lola makapabaskog jud ni :-).Unsay tawag ninyo ani nga kinhason?
Mga Sagol:1 kilo kinhason1 sibuyas3 tasa tubig1 kutsarita luy-a (strips)1 tasa kamunggaysibuyas dahonasin
Pamaagi sa pagluto:1. Pabukalon ang tubig kauban sa sibuyas ug luy-a. Ilunod ang kinhason, padayunon lang sa pagpabukal sulod sa lima ka minuto para maluto, tilawi unya timplahi ug asin.2. Ilunod ang kamunggay ug dahon sa sibuyas, pwede na haunon.3. Manghigop na tag sabaw mga higala.
More about → Sinabawang Kinhason
Posted by
yanti on Sunday, July 26, 2015
It seems like everyone was camping, hiking, or doing something outside while enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend! So many fun pictures while catching up on my newsfeeds while camping at Lake Hope State Park. It was nice to have some time to unplug and get away from "the city" and all that city life brings (traffic, noise, light pollution, etc). Plus, it is fun try to cook on an open fire.
My husband wanted to take some star pictures with his new app that makes his phone a trigger for his camera. So while he was getting fancy, I took some handheld star pics... which is sooo hard. Definitely have more blurry or just plain darkness pictures than I have good ones, but getting any good ones by hand was better than I thought I could do! Here are a couple... one with moon beams (which I'm almost as obsessed with as sun beams) and another with hope furnace slightly lit by the moon.
We got home this morning, so I checked on the garden. Squash are still climbing... and I got four strawberries before the birds or slugs did! They were tiny, but soo tasty. Homegrown berries are the best for sure. :) Then we cooled off and ended the weekend with some Jeni's ice cream... My favorite is a trio of salty caramel, dark chocolate, and black espresso, but since Jeni's isn't at full production capacity, and therefore limited flavors, I tried the new root beer one. Tastes like a fully frozen root beer float.
On to this week's plan...
cilantro lime shrimp with mexican rice
shrimp po' boys and sauteed zucchini
chicken sour cream enchiladas and cilantro lime corn
roasted tomato and garlic pastaloaded shredded chicken nachos
More about → Weekly Menu
Posted by
yanti
Caldereta is a Spanish word for stew while the Filipinos term for stew is nilaga or sinigang. As what I have said there is no right or wrong in cooking because there are so many ways to cook a recipe, I think nilaga or sinigang is the original Filipino way of stewing, plain and simple, because stewing in Spain and other countries include a tomato sauce, that makes the Filipino caldereta delicious because this dish is a combination of Spanish and Filipino stewing. Caldereta was adapted from Spanish during the time when they colonized the Philippines.
In our family gatherings, caldereta is always a special treat, I can not say that my caldereta is perfect but I think it is good enough to share with you. :-) This is just a simple one, I will share the special , soon, God willing :)
Ingredients:
1 kilo chicken
3 med. size potatoes ( sliced to your desired size)
2 med. size carrots ( sliced to your desired size)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pack tomato sauce ( 200 or 250 grams)
1 small can liver spread mix with 1/2 glass evaporated milk ( this will thicken the sauce)
1 small size onion ( diced)
5 cloves garlic ( minced)
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Saute garlic and onion
2. Add the chicken, simmer for few minutes, then mix it well.
3. Add the soy sauce and tomato sauce, simmer for another few minutes.
4. Add the potatoes and carrots then simmer for few minutes. ( add water if necessary)
5. If all of the ingredients are almost cooked, add the liver spread and milk mixture, salt and pepper to taste, then simmer until done.
6. Serve it with rice and enjoy your meal.
You can add green peas and bell pepper
