Month: August 2014

Eat Well On $ 4.00 A Day

>
>
I am not in the business of promoting cookbooks, but when I saw this today I thought sharing it would make a few folks happy, either by using some of the recipe’s themself or by re-sharing the book with other, less fortunate people 🙂
When I saw the first promo for this book I expected a crappy, “green”, self-help booklet of the forgettable type. Boy was I wrong ! The recipes, pictures and comments in this book are all first class. My chef’s hat off to Leanne Brown , for creating this jewel of a cook book with great, economically priced, attractive and yummy food. It is a tour de force of a smart and loving approach to unpretentious good food, which shows nothing but passion and great professionalism of the author. Needless to say, the recipes are all yummy enough even if you are not on a budget 🙂

For a FREE PDF download click here

>
>

>
>
>
>
>
>
>

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 40 – Fruit & Dairy

<
<
I woke up this morning with a huge craving for fruits and sweets.
Found the perfect ingredients in the fridge and cupboard. Lucky me.
>
(Of course, this would also serve, lunch, dinner, snack or dessert) 🙂
<
Happy Sunday ! Life is Good !
<
<

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 40 – Fruit & Dairy

<
<
Ingredients :
<
<

plum

plum & banana

plum, banana & cantaloupe

plum, banana, cantaloupe & raspberry

plum, banana, cantaloupe, raspberry & strawberry

plum, banana, cantaloupe, raspberry, strawberry, strawberry yogurt, whipped cream, cinnamon & milk

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 40 – Fruit & Dairy

<
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa/Tomato Sauce, With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

>
>
Last month my friend Curtis introduced me to a store which I have been missing all my cooking life. It’s the “Foodtown Supermarket” in Davie, corner sterling/dairy rd extension. Here I can find EVERYTHING my culinary cravings will ever desire as far as Asian and Latino food ingredients are concerned. EVERYTHING !!! 🙂 – Live frogs, live crabs, live shrimps, fresh fish heads, intestines, you get the idea.
(You can check it out online by clicking this link, especially read the comments) 🙂
Although Merguez sausage is neither Asian nor Latino, Foodtown has a great quality one on offer, as well as a small selection of other African/Mediterranean items.
So yesterday after work I stopped by there for a few goodies and amongst other stuff I got merguez sausage, harissa and pearl pasta (Piombi)
So here is what I had for lunch today :

Click here for more on MERGUEZ SAUSAGE

Click here for more on LAMB MEAT BALLS

Click here for more on HARISSA
>
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

>
>

Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa / Tomato Sauce With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

>
>
Preparation :
>
>

cook pearl pasta in salted water, strain, reserve some of the cooking liquid in case you need to thinnen the sauce

cut mild chilies, onion and blanched carrots into triangels

cut mild chilies, onion and blanched carrots into triangles

saute carrots and onions in a generous amount of herb / garlic butter and olive oil until starting to caramelize

add chilies and sliced scallions

add pearl pasta, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

add pearl pasta, kosher salt and cayenne pepper, mix well, check / adjust seasoning

remove merguez sausage from casing, form into small balls, saute in olive oil until medium, add 1/3 of harissa and 2/3 of tomato sauce. If too thick, add some of the pasta liquid, simmer for one minute, check / adjust seasoning

plate pasta, leaving a well in the center

add lamb meatballs and harissa / tomato sauce

sprinkle with finely crumbled feta cheese and sliced scallions

Lamb Meat Balls In Harissa / Tomato Sauce With Garlicky Pearl Pasta And Feta Cheese

>
>
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

Have a happy weekend y’all :-)

I thought this to be funny enough to share with you all 🙂
>
Cheers ! Life is Good !
>
>

Prost !

<
<
<
<
<
<
<

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

>
>
Rigatoni rigate, smoked salmon and a creamy velouté – nearly impossible not to like this combination ! 🙂
After we have learned how to make a velouté in my last post, (click here for recipe), and hopefully have a few small containers in the freezer to use at short notice (just defrost in the microwave), wonderful dishes like this one take only a few minutes from start to finish.
The reward for this relatively small effort is a dish which oozes flavor, presentation, elegance and class 🙂 All in a mere few minutes of preparation and cooking time.
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

>
>

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

>
>
Preparation :
>
>

Heat velouté (preferably fish velouté, but seafood velouté, chicken velouté or veal velouté will be just fine), add cooking liquid from pasta if too thick

add diced smoked salmon and grated horseraddish

add diced smoked salmon and grated horseradish

add dijon mustard

simmer for one minute

add freshly cooked, al dente pasta and sliced scallions

mix well, careful not to mash-up the salmon, check seasoning

to serve, sprinkle with more diced salmon and sliced scallions

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Horseradish/Mustard Cream

>
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

EASY DOES IT # 16 –Velouté (White Cream Sauce)

>
>
How to pronounce Velouté – click here
>
Here is a “Daughter” (added cream) version of one of the two white mother sauces (the other being Sauce Béchamel)
If you love to cook or just starting to learn, being able to prepare the mother sauces is a must.
The five french mother sauces are:
Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Espagnole, Sauce Hollandaise, Tomato Sauce, and Sauce Velouté.
Adding cream and lemon juice (and originally egg yolk) to a sauce made of stock, flour and butter will produce a “Sauce Allemande”
We have learned how to make tomato sauce in a previous “easy does it” blog, so let’s go straight to “Sauce Allemande”

Please note : This is beef (or veal) velouté (before adding the cream)
To make fish velouté, chicken velouté, seafood velouté, or fish velouté, replace beef (veal) with the appropriate protein.

>
>

Sauce Velouté

>
Preparation :
>
>

beef and/or beef bones, root vegetables, water, bring to a simmer, cook until meat is tender (if you use bones, simmer for one hour), remove meat (bones), set meat aside (discard bones)

strain stock through a fine sieve, discard solids

skim fat from surface

make a white roux of half butter and half a/p flour, add stock, whisk to avoid lumps, simmer for 15 minutes, strain through a fine mesh strainer

add heavy cream, kosher salt and white pepper, check / adjust seasoning

add heavy cream, lemon juice, kosher salt and white pepper, check / adjust seasoning

voilà – sauce velouté (with added cream)

>
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS # 39 – Steak & Eggs #2

>
>
After a work week (getting up at 4.00 am daily) of two bananas and a glass of iced tea for breakfast, I always welcome the time and leisure the weekend affords me to have a more elaborate but nevertheless easy and fast to prepare meal to start off the day. So here is what I had for breakfast today 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>

Steak & Eggs

>
>
Preparation :
>
>

season rib eye with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, brush with garlic oil and grill to your desired doneness, set aside

season blanched green asparagus with kosher salt and cayenne pepper, coat in garlic oil, grill until heated through

plate asparagus

top with rib eye

top with hard boiled eggs and herb butter

top with hard boiled (waxy) eggs and herb butter, sprinkle eggs with salt and chili flakes

Steak & Eggs

>
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons With Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

Here is a recipe sure to tempt you if you like to have a tasty and exotic meal but do not have the time nor desire to prepare an elaborate, complicated meal, which is what happened to me today. I just finished my first week of work after two months of vacation, so my spirit and energy has been slightly drained this weekend. After cleaning the apartment, taking care of Bella, doing the shopping and a bunch of other chores, cooking an elaborate meal was not exactly at the forefront of my mind. Eating a good meal on the other hand ……..
So here is what I came up with. This was very delicious, yet simple and easy to prepare. You will be able to easily knock this out in about 15 minutes 🙂
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>
For Peanut Sauce Recipe Click Here
>
>

>
>

Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

>
>
Preparation :
>
>

saute onions and garlic paste in peanut oil

saute onions, grated ginger and garlic paste in peanut oil

add blanched baby bok choy and mild chilis

add blanched baby bok choy and mild chilies

add oyster sauce, soy sauce, sriracha and sesame oil, simmer until bok choy is heated through, check / adjust seasoning

meanwhile, saute pork medaillons on both sides, when almost done, add peanut sauce and a few drops of water, remove from heat, mix well untill medaillons are completely covered with sauce

meanwhile, saute salt and pepper seasoned pork medaillons on both sides, when almost done, add peanut sauce and a few drops of water, remove from heat, mix well until medaillons are completely covered with sauce

ready to plate…

plate bok choy and a small side dish with peanut sauce for dipping

arrange glazed pork medaillons on bok choy

Peanut Glazed Pork Medaillons And Bok Choy In Oyster Sauce

>
>
Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>
>

Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus

>
>
This started out with the plan to make a simple potato cream soup with bacon. Soon I realized that I had no bacon in the house, so I tried to figure out another approach. Checking the cupboard revealed Spanish octopus in virgin olive oil. I also had a bunch of nice, sweet carrots. This might at first seems like an odd combination, but when you think about it – seafood, potatoes and root vegetables – surely a match made in heaven 🙂 The result was even more delicious and balanced as I had expected, so this dish will definitely be a new standby for me, either as a substantial main course or a small appetizer 🙂
>
>
Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>
>

Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus

$C:\Users\HANS\Desktop\To Post\Food\Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus$

Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus

>
>
Preparation :
>
>

saute onions and garlic paste in olive oil

add carrots, saute until starting to caramelize, but just lightly so that the soup does not get too dark

add the potatoes

add white wine and chicken stock, season with kosher salt and cayenne pepper

simmer until carrots and potatoes are soft

blend until very smooth

add heavy cream

add sriracha and maggi seasoning, check / adjust taste

season drained octopus pieces with kosher with garlic paste, salt and cayenne pepper, saute in olive oil until heated, add finely sliced scallion

season drained octopus pieces with kosher with garlic paste, salt and a good amount of cayenne pepper, saute in olive oil until heated, add finely sliced scallion

plate potato / carrot cream

garnish the soup with octopus

$C:\Users\HANS\Desktop\To Post\Food\Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus$

Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus

$C:\Users\HANS\Desktop\To Post\Food\Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus$

Potato And Carrot Cream With Spicy Octopus

>
>

Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video below. Thank you 🙂
>
>
>
>
>

Stew Of Cornish Hen In Merlot With Beans And Vegetables

>
>
Cornish Hen has very tender meat and does not need to be stewed – it can be grilled, roasted , poached or sautéed.
However, once in a while I like to braise (stew) one because of the delicious sauce this cooking method will produce. So then, this is what I had for lunch today, accompanied by a tall glass of iced tea. (No more booze for me, at least for the moment 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
>