Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Monday, December 17, 2012
More to be discovered… Christmas & New Year 2013.
I will update this blog January 2013… Some recipes to share for the last part of the year but will combine with Christmas and New Year once we lived through it…
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Swiss Medley Vegetable for Thanksgiving Day!
Without any hesitation a super recipe from Babita, a good friend of us, to celebrate Thanksgiving!!!
Thanks guys, dinner was excellent, company was exceptional and I could not have asked for more!!!
Ingredients:
1 Pack of frozen California mix veggies
1 Can of mushroom soup
⅓ Cup of sour cream
1 Cup of Swiss cheese
1 Can of French fried onions
½ Tsp pepper
Preparation:
1) Make sure veggies are not frozen by the time you use them.
2) In a baking pan, mix the veggies + the can of mushroom soup + the sour cream + ½ cup of Swiss cheese + ½ can of French fried onions + pepper.
3) Cover pan with foil and place in oven at 350oC for 45 minutes. Take out briefly.
4) Cover the mix with the rest of the cheese and French fried onions, take foil off and cook for 10 more minutes with the same temperature.
Hard to see on the plate but for sure tasty!!!
Thanks guys, dinner was excellent, company was exceptional and I could not have asked for more!!!
Ingredients:
1 Pack of frozen California mix veggies
1 Can of mushroom soup
⅓ Cup of sour cream
1 Cup of Swiss cheese
1 Can of French fried onions
½ Tsp pepper
Preparation:
1) Make sure veggies are not frozen by the time you use them.
2) In a baking pan, mix the veggies + the can of mushroom soup + the sour cream + ½ cup of Swiss cheese + ½ can of French fried onions + pepper.
3) Cover pan with foil and place in oven at 350oC for 45 minutes. Take out briefly.
4) Cover the mix with the rest of the cheese and French fried onions, take foil off and cook for 10 more minutes with the same temperature.
Hard to see on the plate but for sure tasty!!!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Already September?
Tequila Chicken-for about 4 people.
This is not a recipe given to me by another Mexican, it was given to me by Lee… Brian’s wonderful cousin.
I love this recipe and although I was unable to capture it perfectly I am sure it can be reproduced.
Ingredients:
3 Grilled chicken breasts
Onions
Bell peppers
4 Cups of pasta (penne noodles)
2 Jars of Alfredo sauce
Juice of 4-6 limes (or lemons)
Cajun
Onion powder
Cayenne
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic powder
Chipotle chili pepper
Salt
Other available seasonings/spices
Tequila
Preparation:
1) Grill chicken.
2) Fry veggies.
3) Cook pasta.
4) Combine chicken with veggies, all the seasonings/spices (to taste) and Alfredo sauce. Cook for a while.
5) Add lime or lemon juice and tequila (to taste) to the pot where everything is cooking, shortly before serving. Cook for few more seconds.
6) Combine pasta with the mix from previous steps.
7) Enjoy!!!
Uni (Sea Urchin).
I would not recommend this $20 dollars dish we got at Fujiya. Well, I did not get it, dear Jimmy did; he loves it and was very kind to share with us. It requires an acquired taste…
This has been an aphrodisiac in Japan for thousands of years. Sea urchin, or uni, as the Japanese call it, rose to popularity in North America in the late twentieth century.
Contrary to popular belief, the portion of the sea urchin sold and served as one of the ocean’s most opulent treasures is not the roe. It is the gonads of this hermaphrodite sea creature that are scooped out of the urchin’s spiny shell in five custard-like, golden sections.
From a nutritional standpoint, sea urchin is one of the most prominent culinary sources of anandamide, a cannabinoid neurotransmitter. Does this mean that eating uni will produce a similar effect to ingesting marijuana? Probably not, but it is possible that uni activates the dopamine system in the brain, humans’ built in “reward circuit.”
Ceviche Brian.
Brian found this wonderful recipe that we have tried many times by now. Of course, we learned about ceviche in Peru!!! It is great to cook fish this way…
Ingredients:
Fish (we used basa)
Lemon juice (enough to cover the fish)
Onion
Seeded tomatoes
Jalapeno
2 Tsp salt
Oregano
Tabasco sauce
Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients listed before.
2) Refrigerate for 4.5 hours.
3) Stir occasionally.
Vietnamese soups.
Vancouver is amazing when it comes to food. We discovered this great place in downtown Vancouver called “Next Noodle Bar”. Affordable prices and delicious food. It is located at 560 Robson St.
We ordered: Hot and chili chicken and Wor Wonton Noodle.
FANTASTIC!!!
This is not a recipe given to me by another Mexican, it was given to me by Lee… Brian’s wonderful cousin.
I love this recipe and although I was unable to capture it perfectly I am sure it can be reproduced.
Ingredients:
3 Grilled chicken breasts
Onions
Bell peppers
4 Cups of pasta (penne noodles)
2 Jars of Alfredo sauce
Juice of 4-6 limes (or lemons)
Cajun
Onion powder
Cayenne
Paprika
Cumin
Garlic powder
Chipotle chili pepper
Salt
Other available seasonings/spices
Tequila
Preparation:
1) Grill chicken.
2) Fry veggies.
3) Cook pasta.
4) Combine chicken with veggies, all the seasonings/spices (to taste) and Alfredo sauce. Cook for a while.
5) Add lime or lemon juice and tequila (to taste) to the pot where everything is cooking, shortly before serving. Cook for few more seconds.
6) Combine pasta with the mix from previous steps.
7) Enjoy!!!
Uni (Sea Urchin).
I would not recommend this $20 dollars dish we got at Fujiya. Well, I did not get it, dear Jimmy did; he loves it and was very kind to share with us. It requires an acquired taste…
This has been an aphrodisiac in Japan for thousands of years. Sea urchin, or uni, as the Japanese call it, rose to popularity in North America in the late twentieth century.
Contrary to popular belief, the portion of the sea urchin sold and served as one of the ocean’s most opulent treasures is not the roe. It is the gonads of this hermaphrodite sea creature that are scooped out of the urchin’s spiny shell in five custard-like, golden sections.
From a nutritional standpoint, sea urchin is one of the most prominent culinary sources of anandamide, a cannabinoid neurotransmitter. Does this mean that eating uni will produce a similar effect to ingesting marijuana? Probably not, but it is possible that uni activates the dopamine system in the brain, humans’ built in “reward circuit.”
Ceviche Brian.
Brian found this wonderful recipe that we have tried many times by now. Of course, we learned about ceviche in Peru!!! It is great to cook fish this way…
Ingredients:
Fish (we used basa)
Lemon juice (enough to cover the fish)
Onion
Seeded tomatoes
Jalapeno
2 Tsp salt
Oregano
Tabasco sauce
Preparation:
1) Mix all ingredients listed before.
2) Refrigerate for 4.5 hours.
3) Stir occasionally.
Vietnamese soups.
Vancouver is amazing when it comes to food. We discovered this great place in downtown Vancouver called “Next Noodle Bar”. Affordable prices and delicious food. It is located at 560 Robson St.
We ordered: Hot and chili chicken and Wor Wonton Noodle.
FANTASTIC!!!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Do you wonder what we cook in Canada?
We finalized our 26 months journey on the road through The Americas but that does not mean the “Journey” has ended. There is more, there is always more and we will find it…
We are now back in Canada and I want to make sure I start documenting some cool/simple/interesting things we eat. I will be sharing once a month couple of recipes/ideas with you… Please enjoy.
Cups…
I believe this dish has a different name but I usually name them however I like. This is a simple way of serving eggs if you have a muffin tin and an oven.
Ingredients:
Oil
Eggs
Ham
Green onions
Yellow peppers
Salt
Pepper
Cheese
Preparation:
1) Spray with oil the bottom and walls of a muffin tin.
2) Cut all the veggies in small pieces.
3) Add a slice of ham in each muffin space of the tin.
4) Add veggies accordingly (take in consideration the space you need for the egg).
5) Add one egg to each muffin space of the tin.
6) Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with cheese.
7) Bake at medium heat for about 10 minutes. It can take longer or less time depending on the setting of the oven. I forgot to write the temperature we used but I am sure you will be able to tell if the eggs are cooked.
The dish cost $12.95 CAD for 9 people: 2 eggs each person… Delicious and easy to prepare.
S’more.
This is the most delicious camping snack I have ever tried. Why did not I know about it? Why? Perhaps because it is dangerous: lots of calories.
It is basically a marshmallow sandwich except for the bread would be two cookies with chocolate and or two pieces of chocolate with the marshmallow in the middle. Brilliant. Of course the marshmallow has to be previously melted (cooked) in the fire pit.
Try it and you will love it, I could only take one, it is too sweet.
I forgot to mention, this recipe was shared by Carmen, a wonderful Canadian woman ;)
Affogato.
This is a delicious simple Italian idea. Vanilla ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso. Fantastic!!!
Price= $4.75 CAD plus tax, remember in Canada everything is PLUS TAX…
Baileys.
Have you ever thought of making baileys? I bet not. Here there is a simple recipe given to me by our cousins Lee and Jen.
Ingredients:
1 Cup of rye
1 Tbsp of instant coffee
1 ½ Cups of whipping cream
3 Eggs
1 Can of Eagle brand milk
1 Tbsp of chocolate sauce (Quick)
2 Drops of vanilla
Preparation:
1) Blend everything together.
2) Shake before serving.
Note: It keeps for approximately one month.
Spitz.
This is another kind of snack for when you are camping and around the fire pit. They are simply sunflower seeds with skin so you put them in your mouth and take the skin, spit it out and eat the sunflower seed.
I do not know the exact price but I do know they are really tasty.
Timbits.
At Tim Hortons you can get coffee and various items to accompany your coffee, like timbits. The middle of the donut does not go to waste, there are different flavours and although it is not a healthy snack it is for sure a sweet snack…
Price= 10 timbits for $1.99 CAD.
Pineapple upside down cake.
Thanks to Babita, a good friend of us I learned this simple and sweet recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Box of cake mix (white, yellow or French vanilla)
2 Medium pineapple cans
3 Eggs
Sherries
Brown sugar
Butter
Preparation:
1) Select a pan of about 13x9 inches to bake the cake.
2) Butter the pan.
3) Cover the bottom of the pan with brown sugar.
4) Lay the slices of pineapple on top of the sugar and place a sherry on each ring.
5) Follow the instructions of the box of cake mix but substitute the water for pineapple juice (from the can), as much as possible, the remaining amount (if you are missing pineapple juice) can still be water.
6) Pour the mix on the pan and cook as instructed in the box.
7) Flip cake on a flat sheet; soften the sides before you do so.
Julia’s cheese.
Julia is an awesome lady who keeps George happy and how couldn’t she? She cooks great dishes.
Here there is an example of a simple but tasty appetizer.
Pick any cheese you may like, the one we had was Brie and it was topped with nuts and caramel sauce, baked in the oven for about 10 minutes at a temperature of 250oC.
Enjoy…
We are now back in Canada and I want to make sure I start documenting some cool/simple/interesting things we eat. I will be sharing once a month couple of recipes/ideas with you… Please enjoy.
Cups…
I believe this dish has a different name but I usually name them however I like. This is a simple way of serving eggs if you have a muffin tin and an oven.
Ingredients:
Oil
Eggs
Ham
Green onions
Yellow peppers
Salt
Pepper
Cheese
Preparation:
1) Spray with oil the bottom and walls of a muffin tin.
2) Cut all the veggies in small pieces.
3) Add a slice of ham in each muffin space of the tin.
4) Add veggies accordingly (take in consideration the space you need for the egg).
5) Add one egg to each muffin space of the tin.
6) Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with cheese.
7) Bake at medium heat for about 10 minutes. It can take longer or less time depending on the setting of the oven. I forgot to write the temperature we used but I am sure you will be able to tell if the eggs are cooked.
The dish cost $12.95 CAD for 9 people: 2 eggs each person… Delicious and easy to prepare.
S’more.
This is the most delicious camping snack I have ever tried. Why did not I know about it? Why? Perhaps because it is dangerous: lots of calories.
It is basically a marshmallow sandwich except for the bread would be two cookies with chocolate and or two pieces of chocolate with the marshmallow in the middle. Brilliant. Of course the marshmallow has to be previously melted (cooked) in the fire pit.
Try it and you will love it, I could only take one, it is too sweet.
I forgot to mention, this recipe was shared by Carmen, a wonderful Canadian woman ;)
Affogato.
This is a delicious simple Italian idea. Vanilla ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso. Fantastic!!!
Price= $4.75 CAD plus tax, remember in Canada everything is PLUS TAX…
Baileys.
Have you ever thought of making baileys? I bet not. Here there is a simple recipe given to me by our cousins Lee and Jen.
Ingredients:
1 Cup of rye
1 Tbsp of instant coffee
1 ½ Cups of whipping cream
3 Eggs
1 Can of Eagle brand milk
1 Tbsp of chocolate sauce (Quick)
2 Drops of vanilla
Preparation:
1) Blend everything together.
2) Shake before serving.
Note: It keeps for approximately one month.
Spitz.
This is another kind of snack for when you are camping and around the fire pit. They are simply sunflower seeds with skin so you put them in your mouth and take the skin, spit it out and eat the sunflower seed.
I do not know the exact price but I do know they are really tasty.
Timbits.
At Tim Hortons you can get coffee and various items to accompany your coffee, like timbits. The middle of the donut does not go to waste, there are different flavours and although it is not a healthy snack it is for sure a sweet snack…
Price= 10 timbits for $1.99 CAD.
Pineapple upside down cake.
Thanks to Babita, a good friend of us I learned this simple and sweet recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Box of cake mix (white, yellow or French vanilla)
2 Medium pineapple cans
3 Eggs
Sherries
Brown sugar
Butter
Preparation:
1) Select a pan of about 13x9 inches to bake the cake.
2) Butter the pan.
3) Cover the bottom of the pan with brown sugar.
4) Lay the slices of pineapple on top of the sugar and place a sherry on each ring.
5) Follow the instructions of the box of cake mix but substitute the water for pineapple juice (from the can), as much as possible, the remaining amount (if you are missing pineapple juice) can still be water.
6) Pour the mix on the pan and cook as instructed in the box.
7) Flip cake on a flat sheet; soften the sides before you do so.
Julia’s cheese.
Julia is an awesome lady who keeps George happy and how couldn’t she? She cooks great dishes.
Here there is an example of a simple but tasty appetizer.
Pick any cheese you may like, the one we had was Brie and it was topped with nuts and caramel sauce, baked in the oven for about 10 minutes at a temperature of 250oC.
Enjoy…
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A boost…
After a long day!!!
When in the Curacanti Area in Colorado we met a nice couple from Denver who shared with us their beer, pop corn and sausage. What a nice couple and what a nice surprise to find that people still hunt their food like Warren and Marylou do.
Here showing some pictures of the before and after product, very tasty and a different feeling than eating the same meat coming from a package purchased at a store.
Enjoy!!!
If you feel sleepy once in a while.
Visiting with Linda and Bill in Kelowna B.C. Canada was very refreshing; our visit was full of energy. Linda shared with me her magical recipe to stay awake if you need to. Look at the picture and mix the ingredients up at your desired quantities.
When in the Curacanti Area in Colorado we met a nice couple from Denver who shared with us their beer, pop corn and sausage. What a nice couple and what a nice surprise to find that people still hunt their food like Warren and Marylou do.
Here showing some pictures of the before and after product, very tasty and a different feeling than eating the same meat coming from a package purchased at a store.
Enjoy!!!
If you feel sleepy once in a while.
Visiting with Linda and Bill in Kelowna B.C. Canada was very refreshing; our visit was full of energy. Linda shared with me her magical recipe to stay awake if you need to. Look at the picture and mix the ingredients up at your desired quantities.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Drunken Chicken.
Our friend Shawn in Colorado Springs is an amazing individual, he is a great cook, a survival man and just a simple-loving-friendly man. He cooks for his dogs very tasty and healthy food. Now imagine what he can cook for friends.
One of the recipes he cooked for us is this drunken chicken, although the original recipe is called BBQ Chicken Beer-Butt (aka: BBQ Chicken Beer Can).
I hope you try this and if you do, please thank Shawn when enjoying it.
Ingredients:
1 Medium whole chicken ($12.00)
1 Can of beer (Coors Lite, $1.00)
Some seasoning of whatever you like
⅓-½ Stick of melted butter ($???)
Preparation:
1) Clean whole chicken, remove innards and discard (or save for something else imaginative).
2) Pat dry internal cavity and exterior of chicken.
3) Rub chicken down with olive oil, inside and out.
4) Salt and pepper cavity to taste, smear it around.
5) Salt and pepper skin to taste if you want to (not required)
6) Separate skin from breast.
7) Pour some olive oil between breast and skin, smear it around (this allows seasoning to stick to the meat better, so I think).
8) Spread seasoning between skin and breast making sure to cover all the meat.
9) Put chicken into Ziploc bag and place into refrigerator. Overnight works best to ensure flavours of spices mix with. But three hours or so will work too.
10) Start BBQ. I use a gas grill, but coals will work too. There are some grilling tools that make the cooking part easier like this: http://www.williamssonoma.com/products/7630163/?catalogId=69&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Cookware&cm_pla=Roasters&cm_ite=Convertible_Chicken_Roaster&adtype=pla)
11) Or take a beer can, open it, drink half of the beer, and jam it up the chicken's butt. Don’t shove the whole can up its butt. The chicken should be resting on it give it a "tri-pod" appearance.
12) Use some twine (cotton) to stitch up the opening of the chicken’s neck. This helps to keep moisture inside the chicken as the beer evaporates.
13) When the BBQ is around 300-350oF, place chicken upright on grill. The chicken should look like it's standing up on the grill with the beer can taking the weight of the chicken.
14) Remember this recipe calls for indirect heat. If using coal, spread coals around so they're not directly under the chicken. If using gas, use burners to the side of your chicken.
15) Once the chicken is on the grill, close the lid.
16) Check the chicken every 15-20 minutes to make sure you're not cooking it too fast. Usually when I check it, I baste the chicken with some melted butter. Not too much, just enough to cover the skin.
17) Cook until internal breast temperature reaches 170oF. Usually takes me about 90 minutes to fully cook.
18) Let chicken stand for around 10 minutes to cool and get juicy.
19) Remove beer can from chicken's butt, enjoy...
Hope this works for you. It's not a secret family recipe. Experiment with different seasoning for the meat rub. I am kind of a fan of fresh garlic too. You can also separate the skin form the thighs and spread seasoning on that too.
This recipe was written by Shawn. You can calculate more less the total cost of the chicken (American Dollars).
DOG’S FOOD…
THE CHICKEN…
One of the recipes he cooked for us is this drunken chicken, although the original recipe is called BBQ Chicken Beer-Butt (aka: BBQ Chicken Beer Can).
I hope you try this and if you do, please thank Shawn when enjoying it.
Ingredients:
1 Medium whole chicken ($12.00)
1 Can of beer (Coors Lite, $1.00)
Some seasoning of whatever you like
⅓-½ Stick of melted butter ($???)
Preparation:
1) Clean whole chicken, remove innards and discard (or save for something else imaginative).
2) Pat dry internal cavity and exterior of chicken.
3) Rub chicken down with olive oil, inside and out.
4) Salt and pepper cavity to taste, smear it around.
5) Salt and pepper skin to taste if you want to (not required)
6) Separate skin from breast.
7) Pour some olive oil between breast and skin, smear it around (this allows seasoning to stick to the meat better, so I think).
8) Spread seasoning between skin and breast making sure to cover all the meat.
9) Put chicken into Ziploc bag and place into refrigerator. Overnight works best to ensure flavours of spices mix with. But three hours or so will work too.
10) Start BBQ. I use a gas grill, but coals will work too. There are some grilling tools that make the cooking part easier like this: http://www.williamssonoma.com/products/7630163/?catalogId=69&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Cookware&cm_pla=Roasters&cm_ite=Convertible_Chicken_Roaster&adtype=pla)
11) Or take a beer can, open it, drink half of the beer, and jam it up the chicken's butt. Don’t shove the whole can up its butt. The chicken should be resting on it give it a "tri-pod" appearance.
12) Use some twine (cotton) to stitch up the opening of the chicken’s neck. This helps to keep moisture inside the chicken as the beer evaporates.
13) When the BBQ is around 300-350oF, place chicken upright on grill. The chicken should look like it's standing up on the grill with the beer can taking the weight of the chicken.
14) Remember this recipe calls for indirect heat. If using coal, spread coals around so they're not directly under the chicken. If using gas, use burners to the side of your chicken.
15) Once the chicken is on the grill, close the lid.
16) Check the chicken every 15-20 minutes to make sure you're not cooking it too fast. Usually when I check it, I baste the chicken with some melted butter. Not too much, just enough to cover the skin.
17) Cook until internal breast temperature reaches 170oF. Usually takes me about 90 minutes to fully cook.
18) Let chicken stand for around 10 minutes to cool and get juicy.
19) Remove beer can from chicken's butt, enjoy...
Hope this works for you. It's not a secret family recipe. Experiment with different seasoning for the meat rub. I am kind of a fan of fresh garlic too. You can also separate the skin form the thighs and spread seasoning on that too.
This recipe was written by Shawn. You can calculate more less the total cost of the chicken (American Dollars).
DOG’S FOOD…
THE CHICKEN…
Bits and pieces.
El Rancho de Nuevo Laredo.
You are right, we do not have a ranch in Mexico especially in Nuevo Laredo but we did go to a restaurant called El Rancho infamous for the pork style meat recipe from Morelia they have. Fantastic. Thanks Roy for the invitation, we really enjoyed it.
Sorry we do not have pictures but I was a bit hesitant to take pictures there.
Whole Sale Foods in Austin
This is an amazing market in Austin Texas USA. You can find lots of choices for a quick bite, a formal dinner, healthy eating (ingredients) and lots and lots of things. Cheap? Perhaps not but affordable. If people can afford a burger from Wendy’s or MacDonald’s, they should be able to afford this excellent option.
You are right, we do not have a ranch in Mexico especially in Nuevo Laredo but we did go to a restaurant called El Rancho infamous for the pork style meat recipe from Morelia they have. Fantastic. Thanks Roy for the invitation, we really enjoyed it.
Sorry we do not have pictures but I was a bit hesitant to take pictures there.
Whole Sale Foods in Austin
This is an amazing market in Austin Texas USA. You can find lots of choices for a quick bite, a formal dinner, healthy eating (ingredients) and lots and lots of things. Cheap? Perhaps not but affordable. If people can afford a burger from Wendy’s or MacDonald’s, they should be able to afford this excellent option.
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