Food is a family affair

Our lives revolve around food. Some of the best times we have are in the kitchen, preparing everything from simple lunches to all-out feasts - with the freshest ingredients we can find.


Special occasions usually find us with several generations in the kitchen together and various extended family members contributing to a fabulous feast.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Coffee, Amazing Coffee

Some people are trend-setters, while others are dyed-in-the-wool followers of every trend known to man.
I am a simple creature, and nowhere is this more evident than in my coffee.
Now, I love coffee, but I am not really a snob about it. Years ago, I worked at a company where our coffee pot was one of those big 50 cup urns. The sludge that came from that monster looked like the La Brea Tar Pits.
I drank 5-6 cups a day of that crap.

These days, my stomach can only handle one cup a day, so I have to make it count. (One of the many 'perks' of aging.) Store-bought coffee of any type just wont do it.
And, seriously, what is up with these $100 machines that yield, what is essentially, a cup of instant coffee?
It's weird!

I have had a French Press for several years. It was a Valentine from my true love, because he knows I'm not a flowers and chocolate kinda girl.
The French Press is coffee-making at its most old-school.
Boil water.
Grind coffee.
Pour boiled water over ground coffee.
Wait 4 minutes.
Press.
Coffee.

It used to be, finding fresh, whole-bean coffee was the most difficult part of this process, but, as with so many other food issues in my life, Fresh and Easy solved that one for me. San Francisco Gourmet, in a two-pound bag. It is always fresh and still reasonably priced.

Usually, I add a dollop of half and half to my coffee, but occasionally I enjoy it black, savoring the smoothness going down, with the slight bitterness of the aftertaste.
Nothing irritates me more than someone who claims to love coffee, and then desecrates it with powdered cream, sugar, or worse, those flavored creamers.

There's an old saying, "If you wanted a cup of cream and sugar, why'd you ask for coffee?"
Whoever said that is my hero!


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Monday, January 31, 2011

How to build the perfect shrimp ceviche tostada

Depending on where the shrimp comes from, its a family project in our house. We are serious shrimp snobs, and have become such wussies, we can't eat shrimp that has any sand vein at all, or we are convinced we have food poisoning. So we have a family shrimp de-veining session, and we can knock out 4 pounds of shrimp, pretty and clean in no time.

Now, purists will cry foul if you boil your shrimp, we do, only because these days, unless you see that shrimp come out of the ocean, you can't be sure of the freshness. 'Cooked' in lime juice is just fine if you have really fresh shrimp, otherwise you are asking for pain and suffering.

Lots of fresh cilantro, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapenos. A pinch of salt & pepper, cumin and a generous squeeze of lime juice, and you have a shrimp ceviche fit for a king.

Take a tostada shell, smear with mashed avocado, pile on a scoop of ceviche, more hot sauce, if that is your thing, and crumble some queso fresco.

Simple.
Yummy.

And another family bonding experience.



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Sunday, January 30, 2011

The world's best meatballs

I said before that I'm lucky to have an entire family who cooks. Friday's dinner was meatball sandwiches.

My 13 year old attends Charter School, which means he has Homestudy on Mondays and Fridays, so I asked him if he'd like to make meatballs for dinner.

1. I said 'meat', so he's all over that. (We've been sneaking in alot more meatless meals lately)
2. He gets a break from study.....uh, yeah, something like that.

Mostly, he loves to show off his mad cooking skills.

I called him from work about noon, so that he could make sure we have all the necessary ingredients: Ground beef, ground pork or sausage, eggs, onion, garlic and bread crumbs.



Seriously. That's it. So, what you see in the picture is a pound each of ground beef and sausage, so you'd chop half an onion, one or two cloves of garlic and 2 eggs. If you are using the seasoned bread crumbs shown in the picture, 1 cup is perfect and no other seasoning is necessary.

Mix with your hands (thoroughly washing them first, of course).
Its the only way. It's cold and icky-feeling, but it really is the only way.

Some people form their meatballs and drop them, raw, into sauce to cook. This works, but I don't care for the mushiness. I make golf ball-sized meatballs, place them in a pan, and when the pan gets hot, pour 1/4 cup of water and slam a lid onto it. In about 2 minutes,lift the lid and continue to brown the meatballs, turning occasionally for about 10 minutes.

You can also arrange them on a cookie sheet, spaced apart and bake for about 20 min in a 300 degree oven, turning occasionally.

Throw cooked meatballs into any marinara sauce, home made or canned, and then pour over cooked spaghetti or shove into a roll for a meatball sandwich. Freeze the leftovers, if there are any!

Oh, and I call these "The World's Best Meatballs" because I don't have to make them.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Back to Basics

Recently, there was an article online, saying that most families don't eat dinner together. That when they do, it is a hurried-up process, with members of the family each eating their own nuked, frozen meal- while texting, playing games and watching TV.

I don't get that. Well, yes, I do, because I know of people who do that. But I can't accept the idea that THAT has become the norm.
If it is then my family - all extended versions of it,is the anomaly.

We are a weird bunch, this is true. My 13 year old Cheeto-addict was doing the dance of joy when my husband brought home eggplant for dinner. My 2 year-old grandson will eat just about anything, as long as you put hot sauce on it. He also adores ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. His newest nickname is "Condiment".

I grew up eating sit-down dinners nearly every night of the week. My mother was not a fabulous cook, and meals were pretty basic, and -forgive me, mom- awfully bland. But it never occurred, even to the most rebellious of us kids(ie, me.), to complain about the food, get up from the table before we were excused, or ask for something different to eat.

Dinner at our house is a looser model of my dinners growing up. No phones or other personal gadgets, and you eat what is put in front of you. Period. And you can get up from the table when you are finished, provided you wash your plate, flatware and glass.

The fare, however, is what makes the dinner! Last night was basic- Hamburgers and Curly Fries. All homemade, the ingredients purchased mainly at our neighborhood Fresh N Easy. Fries were baked, not fried, and sliced fresh tomatoes, lettuce and avocado were among the accompaniments. (The Cheeto-addict HAS to put a veggie on his burger.)

The previous night was Eggplant Parmesan. When my husband brought home the 'celebrated' eggplant, I made enough Parm for more than one meal, so, Wednesday's meal was "Leftovers". I know people who turn their noses up at the idea of leftovers, but seriously, it's what gets us through the week and saves us from fast food.

None of this is possible, without help. My husband cooks, as well as my 18 year old stepdaughter. The Cheeto addict is often recruited, though he is relegated to sous chef- chopping, peeling, or de-veining shrimp. He is learning fast, and will soon be one more Master Chef in our family kitchen.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth". Not in OUR KITCHEN!