Doll Face Daily

uhuh

2012-01-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

Kitchen and an Elf

2011-12-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Max

2011-11-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

October stuff

2011-11-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome Home Maximus.!

2011-09-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Bub The Motorcycle Cop, Pre-Mother's Day Picnic, Renaissance Festival

2011-05-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here comes Bopper Cotton Tail!!!!

2011-04-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Henderson Park on a Wednesday in April

2011-04-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

Yard 3.11

2011-04-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Zoo Fun Fun with Mommy!

2011-04-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Desmond Lee How Old Are You ? I'm Two!!!!

2011-03-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Here Comes The Choo Choo!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Stone Mountain Date

2010-09-28T11:35:00.000-07:00

Car Driving, Playground Playing, Doggy Kissing

2010-09-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Love at the Zoo

2010-08-01T18:06:00.001-07:00

2010-06-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

Six Flags, Pool.....

2010-04-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

3/10

2010-04-14T05:26:00.001-07:00

4/10

2010-04-14T05:06:00.000-07:00

Dog Pile, Snowman

2010-02-12T13:36:00.001-08:00

2010-02-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's Been Such a Long Time...

2010-02-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

Desmond Laughing His Ass Off.

2009-12-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

Desmond Thanksgiving and Christmasness

2009-12-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hockey and Nai Nai?

2009-11-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

Halloweeny

2009-11-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Bopperween

2009-10-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

baby

2009-10-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

he pushed the box over to the crate and then climbed onto the box to get to what he wanted!

Latest pictures of my little BUB!

2009-10-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Thrasher Fan, Bounceroo Mechanic, Dog Whisperer, and All Around Stand Up Guy

2009-09-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

All suited up and ready for his first Thrashers hockey game.
Haven't actually been to one yet.

Givin' the ol' bounceroo a tune-up with Daddy

Bops best friend.

A snap ya fingas!

Do ya step!

You can do it all by yo self! Lemme' see ya do it!

Sitting Tiger Hidden Dragon

2009-09-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Devil Danger Doo Doo Baby!!!! Sticking His Tongue Out (His New Favorite Thing)

2009-09-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

Bop

2009-09-12T19:22:00.000-07:00

Beer, Wisconsin, Crawling, Doggy, Prunes, & Snowboarding. What an odd grouping.

2009-09-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Desmond likes to drink water out of my big cup but at the Indian restaurant he tried to drink my beer.

Lovely day, chair, weather, and baby in Wisconsin. I wish there were days like that here, and I wish I had a chair like too.

Hi mommy!!! I see you.

Now lets get serious, I gotta work on my crawlin' skills.

Almost there. He just has to figure out how to scoot his legs underneath himself.

Chloe thinks shes the baby's boss.

Hey man! Ya like my soul patch.

Desmond likes prunes. Me too.

I got a snowboard and boots and a bag for 50 bucks on craiglist. Gotta love it. Snow here we come. Well maybe not anytime soon, but eventually were coming Snow. So you better watch out. Now I have to find a deal for some snow stuff for Kevin.

Christelle's Scones with Strawberry and Lemon (The best scone recipe ever)

2009-08-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 cup white sugar + 1 tbsp sugar reserved
* 5 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins, dried strawberries, or whatever you want.
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1 egg
* 1 tablespoon milk

*zest of 2 lemons, or an orange, or a lime, again whatever you want

strawberries and lemon are good, and blueberries and lime are good.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and sugar into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a cheese grater or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants or whatever fruit you choose. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Grate your zest into this mixture. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until mostly blended. A little flour not fully mixed in is about when you should stop. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
3. With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. The dough is very sticky so just do the best you can. They don't have to be perfect. Place onto a baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Do not grease sheet, there is plenty of butter in the scones that will take care of the sticking and you may end up with burnt bottoms if you grease. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash, and sprinkle each with a little bit of sugar.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Allow to cool slightly before eating.

I made this batch into 4 big scones and if you do that then they are 10 weight watchers points a piece. Ouch!!!

Danger!! Ninja, and a video at the bottom!

2009-08-15T10:07:00.001-07:00

Wisconsin Trip

2009-08-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

Lime Cheesecake with Ganache Layered Crust and Berry Topping

2009-07-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

OK, I am going to make a lot of changes to the original recipe for this desert, for the benefit of anyone who actually tries this at home. I was really looking forward to this desert and when I tasted the end result, I was disappointed. I don't think the flavors came together well at all. The problems are easy to fix however and I will give you my revised version of the recipe here. With these revisions you will have a really tasty treat. Instead of the called for bittersweet chocolate for the ganache I recommend semi-sweet or even milk chocolate. The bittersweet dark chocolate I used was just too bitter. I also recommend that you use a store bought graham cracker crust. They are easy to use, and tasty too. The last thing that I am changing is the fruit. The recipe called for raspberries but I don't think they were sweet enough. I recommend blueberries and/or strawberries.

Ingredients

1 graham cracker pie shell
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (softened to room temp)
8 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate bits
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 limes
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
the fruit of your choosing macerated in sugar & water
maybe 1 pt strawberries sliced and a small thing of blueberries

Macerate your fruit

Melt your chocolate over medium heat in the heavy cream.

When the chocolate is melted and smooth and shiny its done.
Pour this into your pie shell and refrigerate until it has solidified.

Add sugar to your cream cheese and blend

Add lime juice and blend some more

Add vanilla and... you get the picture.

Pour your cream cheese mixture into your crust and refrigerate again until cream cheese sets.
Cover with your fruit and serve.

Desmond at Work

2009-07-22T06:49:00.001-07:00

Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

2009-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

While enjoying a cup of coffee and a bowl of cherries one day with her son, a young woman (OK, not sooo young woman) STUMBLED upon a recipe that quite took her fancy. If your were a reader from the start you may already know about the woman's penchant for a certain dark chocolate, caramel, sea salt creation from a trendy store that's all the rage, I'm sure you've heard of it. That Trader Joe's. Well anyway, the recipe she found reminded her of those very chocolates. She thought perhaps even more extraordinary.
Out the door she ran, fur flying. She nearly took off the dog's tail with the door in her haste to get to the store!

OK, so really she waited for her mother-in-law to arrive, checked and double checked to make sure the baby had what he needed, put the dog outside (tail safe, intact, and still a dangerous weapon), and slowly backed down the driveway, hoping that she had remembered to put everything on her grocery list. The chocolate, almonds, and sea salt especially!!!
(Read to the end of recipe for the end of the story)

8 oz 53% Cacao Dark Chocolate Baking Bar

(I couldn't find this so I bought a 10 oz bag of 62% and used the whole thing)

1/2 cup smoked almonds coarsely chopped

(save a few to sprinkle on top)

1 tsp sea salt

2 hours and $175 dollars worth of groceries (for just one week!) later, the lady was back home and ready to tackle her latest desert.

Dark Chocolate, Smoked Almond, & Sea Salt Bark

It became clear very shortly that this beauty would take mere minutes. A major plus for a mommy with a 4 month old.

Melt the chocolate in a glass microwave safe bowl for 40 seconds. Stir. Replace in microwave, cooking in 10 second intervals, stirring between, until chocolate is almost but not completely melted. A little bit more melted than in the picture. The more you stir the chocolate the more it will melt. If you heat it too much the chocolate will seize up and you will have to start over with new chocolate. (I don't personally know how to save seized chocolate, or if there even is a way.)

Stir in the almonds.
(I added a handful of raisins to half of my chocolate mixture because I began to think that maybe something a little sweeter might break the monotony of all that salt and dark chocolate. Totally up to you.)

Spread the chocolate over a sheet pan covered with wax paper. Tap the pan to spread out the chocolate. (My pan was too big and its an 8 in)
Sprinkle with the reserved almonds and the salt.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.

When the woman removed the bark from her Frigidaire later that evening, broke the bark into pieces, and tasted her latest treat, she fainted right there on the floor, in the kitchen, and that is where her husband found her when he got home. With dark chocolate all over her face and a stupid grin from ear to ear.

The end!!!!!

Kevin's Post Race Smokeout!! Turkey Legs, Ribs, Boston Butt

2009-07-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

A Light Lunch and Then Some Toes

2009-07-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Desmond Catches Up On His Automotive Periodicals

2009-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Me and the Mano

2009-07-03T20:18:00.001-07:00

Dairy Free Mocha Mocha Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2009-07-01T19:02:00.001-07:00

This recipe does not come out tasting like coconut one bit. Its just as good if not better than store bought dairy ice cream. My ice cream maker is pretty small so if yours is a big one double this recipe. Also, if you leave out the egg, which is totally fine, this recipe is vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1 egg yolk
1 13-15 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 cup or more strong coffee cooled
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp Nutella

In a pot that is not Teflon coated combine the sugar and the water and heat over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved. This is called a simple syrup. Remove pan from heat and whisk in the egg yolk. Add the coconut milk, coffee, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Whisk together. Return the pot to medium heat. You want to see steam coming off the top but you don't want the mixture to be boiling. Reduce the mixture for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a container and cool. Add to your chilled ice cream maker and churn as directed. When the ice cream is nearly done add the nutella and continue to churn so the nutella is spread throughout.
Please note that I did all these ingredients to taste so just add as much or as little of whatever you want until the unfrozen mixture tastes good to you. If it tastes good hot it will taste good frozen too. :))

Exersaucer and Bath Time Video and pictures

2009-06-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

2009-06-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

My Birthday Picnic (There is a video of the baby at the end.)

2009-06-20T13:46:00.001-07:00

My family is so cool. Great dog, great Kevin, great baby. Look how awesome we are. :)

Kroger grocery store cake.
Yuk!!!
29 freaking candles. Even more yuk!

Mano is practicing his kung fu

Dez got Kevin two cigars and a bottle of whiskey for Father's Day
We are going to make a tradition of it.

Hot Sauce Marinated Panko Breaded Fried Chicken Extraordinaire

2009-06-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

I added salt and pepper and Tony's to the hot sauce and marinated for a few hours.

Add tons of salt, pepper, cayenne, whatever you want to the flour. I used Tony's Chachere's.

Heat oil over medium heat. Fry chicken till the crust is a deep golden brown. Check the doneness of the chicken.

Racheal Ray's Recipe Shrimp Scampi Bread Bowl.....

2009-06-18T15:21:00.001-07:00

So last night I made my first RR recipe. I was pessimistic. For some reason I assumed that her recipes were shit. I don't know what gave me the idea. Maybe because she is a little foolish, and sometimes her recipes lack sophistication. Who knows? Anyway, I made "Shrimp and Bread Bowls" . Basically shrimp in lemon, butter, caper sauce, but this recipe uses anchovy, and clam juice. It came out really delicious. Very, very rich, but really nice. I added some leftover pasta that I had in the fridge just to get rid of it. The sauce was great for bread dipping. I didn't really follow her directions because if I would have the shrimp would have been very overcooked. Terrific otherwise. I recommend the clam juice and anchovy addition to any lemon, butter, caper sauce. I just wanted to share that.
You can find her recipe here

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=1625

Danger-ous!!!!!

2009-06-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

New Squeezy Pizzyz HA! HA!

2009-06-17T09:23:00.001-07:00

Pasta Fagioli

2009-06-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

OK, so I just saw this recipe and it looked delicious and I decided to try it. I do not claim any knowledge of Italian cooking. It is pretty yummy though, and jam packed with a ton of shit thats bad for you. Italian sausage, pepperoni, meatballs. It also has tons of stuff thats good for you. onion, garlic, peppers, fresh basil and oregano, and pasta and beans. Pretty hearty pot of goodness. Probably better suited for a winter day, not a 90 F day in the middle of the summer. Oh well. I'm sweating my ass off over a hot stove today. At least the end result is worth the work.

Ingredients

1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 peppers (red, yellow, orange)
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
6 oz package pepperonis cut into quarters
2 tbsp oregano
2 tbsp basil
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
32 oz box of chicken stock
28 oz can of stewed tomatoes
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
10-15 frozen meatballs
15 oz can white beans
15 oz can chickpeas
1 lb small pasta like macaroni or these piccolini mini whatever the hell they are called

Heat your dutch oven over medium high heat.
Chop your onion, garlic, and peppers add to pot

In another pan cook your sausages.

When they are done and cooled a little bit, slice them and add to the stew.

Cut your pepperoni into quarters and add to the pot.

If you have it use fresh basil and oregano. Chop and add to pot.

This is how you should look so far. Yummy. I know you've already been munching on the pepperoni and sausage.

Add the chicken stock and the tomatoes to the pot. Crush the stewed tomatoes with your hands.
Let simmer for 30 to 60 minutes

Before you eat drain and rinse both cans of beans and add to the soup.

Cook the pasta.
To serve, pour the soup over the pasta in a bowl.

Bath Time Cuteness

2009-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cute As A Bug

2009-06-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Italian Sausage and Broccoli Marinara Over Polenta

2009-06-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

This was surprisingly delicious. I was, of course, juggling baby, dog, Kevin, laundry, and a million other things while I was making this so...no picture.
I feel that I have to share this recipe with you, picture or no. Why? Cause its yummy. Duh! Pretty easy too. I had never made polenta before. Easy peasy. I though it was some complicated crazy thing that only fancy people made but guess what...it's just cornmeal and water. Hullo! It's kind of like grits but thicker with a finer meal. I always add so much cheese to my grits that they turn into a brick they are so thick anyway, so polenta is right up my alley. I think I like them better than grits because of the thick texture, and no need to add a pound of cheese here. Alright, alright, the recipe.

1 pound of broccoli florets
4 tbsp olive oil
1 lb Italian sausage
1 chopped onion
2 chopped cloves of garlic
1/4 white wine
1 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp thyme
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
4 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 cups cornmeal

Now I just wrote in the previous post that I always like to use chicken stock instead of water where I can. Well I didn't try it with the polenta because I wasn't sure what was gonna happen because I had never made it before but next time I am going to do it with stock. If you try it that way before me let me know.

In a large pan cook Italian sausage until browned and cooked through.
About 10 minutes

Add onions and garlic to the left over fat and cook until translucent.
Add the wine and simmer. Return the sausage to the pan and add the tomato, broth, thyme, and 1 1/4 tsp salt
Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes
Add the broccoli and pepper and continue to simmer until the broccoli is done.

Meanwhile bring water and remaining salt to a boil. Pour in cornmeal slowly while whisking. Add the remaining olive oil and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring frequently until very thick.

To serve make a bed of polenta on the plate and then scoop the sauce into the middle.

Enjoy.

Spicy Chicken and Chickpea Stew Over Couscous

2009-06-07T10:07:00.001-07:00

So I don't have any cute pictures of the baby to post, or any pictures of yummy food to share with you. I have been making a new recipe every day but keep forgetting to take pictures. There was only one that was really noteworthy anyway.

Spicy Chicken and Chickpea Stew Over Couscous.

Pretty yummy. Kevin was impressed. Best reaction out of him to any of the new things I've been making, and I've been making a lot, so it must be good.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
8 chicken drumsticks
3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 onion thinly sliced
1 turnip peeled and cubed
2 tbsp tomato paste
(I didn't have tomato past so I actually used some cocktail sauce I had laying around)
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne
4 cups chicken stock
3 carrots pealed and cut
1 15 ounce can of chickpeas
1/2 cup parsley chopped
Couscous
(However much you want, you poor the soup over it so its good to have a lot. I used two boxes of Near East flavored couscous. I think Parmesan was one and some pine nut one was the other. I just mixed the two. Yum. It wasn't quite enough though. You could do three boxes.)

In a big deep pan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Cover chicken liberally with salt and pepper.
Brown chicken well. 10 minutes. Turning half way through.
Remove chicken. Reduce heat to medium low. Add the onion and turnip and cook until onions are translucent. Add tomato paste, spices, and 2 1/4 tsp salt.
Cook for another minute. Add the 4 cups of chicken stock, the carrots, and the chicken. Bring to a simmer.
Cover and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add the chickpeas and the parsley and simmer another 5 minutes, or until chicken is done.

Meanwhile make your couscous as per the instructions. I usually replace water with chicken stock whenever I can and this is a great time to do it. Rice, couscous, anything that is going to suck up moisture will also suck up flavor so why use something flavorless like water when you can use stock.

Serve the stew ladled over the couscous.

Enjoy.

Squenze at the POO!!!!

2009-06-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

Squanomeany Manosqueeny

2009-06-01T07:50:00.001-07:00

We went to Six Flags this weekend with Kevin's work. Mano road the train and the carousel. He was good and slept most of the time. It was nice.

Manny Desquenzo

2009-05-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

My Scaly Little Manfish

2009-05-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Asian Inspired Pork, Veggie, Rice Bowl

2009-05-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

This recipe is really good and uses tons of fresh veggies. It is so colorful and has a very interesting and distinct flavor. Radishes and lime juice added at the end make for a very unique dish. Enjoy

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 green pepper sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 red pepper sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1/4 lb shitake mushrooms sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 tsp salt
1 lb ground pork
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp white wine
3/4 cup short-grain rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 scallions chopped
10 radishes thinly sliced
5 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 lime

Saute peppers, shitakes, and 1/4 tsp salt in cooking oil until they start to brown
Remove from pan.

Add the pork to the pan and cover with 1 tbsp each of sesame oil and white pepper.

Add 1 tbsp of white wine and cook until completely browned

Return the vegetables to the pan

Add 3/4 cup short grain rice, 2 1/2 cup chicken stock

Add 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.

Simmer covered until rice is done, about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes
Toss with the radish, cilantro, and lime juice.
Enjoy

Blueberry Banana Bread Hmm...

2009-05-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe I found for banana muffins a few days ago and I had so much other stuff going on that I completely forgot to put in the butter. I also added 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar that was not called for, and guess what...They were awesome!!!!! They have strudel on the top which is probably why. Anything with strudel is good usually. I also added fresh strawberries from my garden. They were really yummy. Today I am making them as a loaf instead of muffins. I am leaving out the butter again and changing the sugar to half cup brown half cup white because I think the extra brown sugar was good but maybe a bit too much, they were kinda sticky. I am also adding 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries.

OK. Lets discuss the outcome. There is a ravine running through the middle of my bread. It seems that all the berries dropped to the bottom creating a very soggy messy blueberry puddle, and the whole loaf is structurally unsound. Flavor wise the bread is good. Like I said, strudel, but the blueberries really don't add much. The strawberries were much better. I did cut it while it was still hot so maybe...ultimately though the strawberry muffins were much better. Maybe the batter just cant stand up as a whole loaf of bread, only in muffin cups. Wont be using blueberries again. Wont be using a loaf pan again. Will be using strudel and brown sugar though even though it makes it sticky.

Ingredients

3 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Strudel

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(I forgot the cinnamon this time OOPS well see what its like)
2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven 375 F

In a large bowl mash up 3 very ripe bananas with your mixer

Add 1/2 cup white sugar

Add 1/2 cup brown sugar

Add 1 egg

Beat until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp baking powder. Mix until combined

Add 1 1/2 cup frozen blueberries. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

In a food processor if you have one, (if you don't just use your hands or a spoon but try not to overwork and melt the butter) add 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbsp butter. Process until butter mixes into sugar and flour evenly.
Sprinkle over loaf and bake in oven at 375 F for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Bopper Being Cute

2009-05-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

Cubano Inspired Tamales

2009-05-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

In lieu of actually having a picture of the finished product, which although tasty, was not the prettiest thing to look at anyway I have a picture of Danger Butt in his outfit for Kevin's sisters wedding. He was not amused.

Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds trimmed boneless fresh pork shoulder or butt
2 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 onion quartered
1 carrot quartered
1 celery stalk quartered
1 bay leaf
salt
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup masa harina (corn flour)
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 crushed red pepper flakes
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

In a medium sauce pan cover your pork with water and stock.
Add your onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and peppercorns.

Simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is fork tender, but don't let it fall apart in the broth.
Transfer the meat to a bowl and once it has cooled shred the meat with a fork.

Strain the stock and get rid of the veggies. Over high heat reduce the stock to 1 1/2 cups

Once you have 1 1/2 cups of stock lower the heat to a simmer and add1/4 cup milk. Next, whisk in 3/4 cup cornmeal, 1/3 cup masa harina, 1/3 cup vegetable shortening, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, and 3 tbsp cilantro

Stir in the pork. Place in the freezer for a few minutes to cool the mixture down. When it is cool enough to handle for corn mixture into 8 ovals. Wrap each one in aluminum foil and steam over boiling water for 30 minutes until the cornmeal is no longer gritty.
Enjoy!!!

Happy Late Mothers Day Carrot Cake

2009-05-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

I made this carrot cake with carrots from my garden. It was the first time I have ever used this recipe. I am used to carrot cake being a layered cake, not a sheet cake. I feel like the frosting layer for this cake was almost as thick as the cake itself and I didn't like this ratio. Also this recipe is not very spicy. It was good but I feel like it needed some clove or something. I think I may try another recipe next time. It tastes good, its moist and carrot cakey. I just don't think its the best recipe out there.
(The flowers and strawberries are from my garden too)

Hes not from my garden but hes growing like a weed thats for sure.

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

Add 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Add 2 cups white sugar and 2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix in 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp cinnamon

Add 3 cups grated carrot
(forgot to take picture sorry)

Pour into prepared pan.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool

To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

Roasted Garlic, Avocado, and Brie Baguette

2009-05-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Roasted Garlic, Avocado, and Brie Baguette

So again I was slacking, (actually I was so busy trying to make dinner for guests, take care of the baby, and look fabulous) that I did not manage to take pictures of the rest of the process. It is very simple though really. No need for pictures.

Ingredients
1 clove garlic
2 or 3 ripe avocado
1 package of good brie cheese
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper
lime

Break apart one whole clove of garlic
(I forgot to break mine apart)
Leave the skin on the cloves. Cover with about 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a oven safe dish. Cover with tin foil and roast in the oven on 400 F for 30 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting cut your avocado into cubes and toss with a little lime juice and salt and pepper to your taste.

When the garlic is finished remove from stove and let cool.
Once cooled, slice open each cloves skin and pop out the garlic into the olive oil you cooked with. Once you have all the skin removed start to smash up the cloves until you have a consistent paste. Spread this onto your baguette.
Place the baguette back in the oven to toast slightly, until the edges start to brown.

Once they edges are brown remove bread from oven. Spread your avocado mixture over the garlic. Slice your brie however thick you like, and top the garlic avocado toasted baguette with cheese. Place back into oven until cheese just starts to melt. You don't want the cheese to melt completely and run off the sides of the bread.

Banh-Mi Style Vietnamese Baguette

2009-05-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

I don't really have much to say about this other than that it was super delicious and if you enjoy Asian flavors at all, you have to try it. It's very health, full of veggies, and soooo good. I mean anything with fresh basil and cilantro is good in my book. It's very spicy if you add the jalapeños so if your sensitive definitely leave them out. I think that this dish is traditionally a meat dish. I have never had it authentically but am now in search of the real deal in order to see how this recipe compares. I will let you know.

SANDWICH

2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh cilantro with stems
1/2 medium cucumber, sliced into thin strips
4 sprigs fresh Thai basil
2 (7 inch) French bread baguettes, split lengthwise

RELISH

2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 carrot, sliced into sticks
1 daikon (white) radish, sliced into sticks
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup cold water

SAUCE

1/2 cup chilled lime juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 400 F (230 degrees C). Slice the mushrooms into strips then place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.

While the mushrooms are roasting, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Plunge the carrot and radish sticks into the boiling water and after a few seconds, remove them and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. In a separate bowl, stir together the rice vinegar, 1/2 cup of lime juice and 1/2 cup cold water. Transfer the carrot and radish to the vinegar and lime marinade and let them soak for at least 15 minutes, longer if it's convenient.

In a small bowl, stir together the remaining lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. This is the sandwich sauce.

To prep, slice a half a cucumber thinly, and a whole jalapeño thinly. If you end up with a mild jap, the whole thing will be fine on the sandwich, but test it first because we ended up with a pretty hot one, and had to take a lot of them off the sandwich. Of course if you don't like spicy, forget them.

Snap the stems off the basil and wash the leaves. I ripped them up a bit as I added them to the sandwich but you don't really need to.

To assemble the sandwiches, sprinkle a little of the sandwich sauce onto each half of the French loaves.

Place the roasted mushrooms onto the bottom half of each roll and sprinkle with a little more sauce.

Top with a few slices of jalapeños, a few sticks of carrot and radish (minus the marinade), cucumber, basil, and cilantro.

Close with the tops of the bread and serve.

Pork Wontons

2009-05-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1 small can of water chestnuts finely chopped
1 bunch scallions chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp white pepper
1/8 to 1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
Pack of 60 wonton wrappers
Good chicken stock
1 small bowl of water
(you can also add chopped up shrimp)

In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well

With chopsticks or a small spoon if it is easier for you, place a small amount of the meat mixture in the center of wonton wrapper.

Dip your finger into the bowl of water and run finger along two sides of wonton wrapper. This will allow the wonton to stick together and stay closed when you boil them. Try and make sure you have a clean seal all around with not pork breaking the seal. If this keeps happening you may be using too much meat mixture.

Fold wonton over onto itself, connecting the wet sides to the dry sides, forming a triangle.
Again make sure you seal is clean, and make sure that it is completely sealed all the way around.

Take the two 45 degree points of the wonton and bring together. Wet this with your fingers also to make them stick.

The finished product should look like this.
Does the Pope wear a funny hat?
When you are assembling these, to keep them from sticking together place them on a tray or plate, and do not let them touch.

Cook in some good chicken stock. I just made my own and it is freaking delicious. You should try making your own. They cook pretty quickly and only need to be cooked at a gentle boil, not rolling and not a low simmer.
The wontons are done when they float to the top.
These freeze well also, but freeze them on the tray, not touching. Once they are frozen you can dump them into a freezer bag. No need to thaw them before cooking, just dump them into the hot chicken stock.

ENJOY!!