Eating Dinner With My Family

I wanted to clean up a bit and I had been wanting papusas, and since papusas are one of those dishes that are perfect for leftovers, it was perfect timing.  Yes you need a "specality" ingredient.  I put that in quotes because it is available at my local supermarket, but I still consider it a specality ingredient since it is not a staple in most homes.  It keeps and isn't expensive so you shouldn't worry about adding it to your pantry.  (besides it makes more than just papusas;)  I based the papusa off a food and wine recipe, but everything else was just lying around the kitchen waiting to go bad ;).  Pantry Papusas 2 Cup masa harina (see Note) 1 3/4 Cup very warm tap water Kosher salt vegetable oil for frying 1 c finely shredded jack and a bit of cheddar. 5 cloves of roasted garlic minced  In a medium bowl, using your hands, mix the masa harina with the water and 1/2 teaspoon salt until a soft dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wr...

I was super excited to have callaloo in this weeks FPP basket. I have seen it going out in the local basket, but it hasn't been in my basket on my weeks. Callaloo is a green. It can be one of several greens used to make a dish of the same name. (and I have no idea which particular one I got.  It can be used like spinach. However, as it is my first time with it, I wanted to use it in one of its traditional forms. What could fit the bill better the aforementioned soup named for the green?  Now, I was a little worried the boy wouldn't adore dinner. (He isn't a fan of greens in general and as a growing tween, he needed some extra calories!). Great call on my part. He really didn't care much for the soup. My husband and I (even the baby girl) really liked the soup. It was a bit spicy by itself, but served with the recommended rice mixed in to the soup it was perfect. (In fact we even added some hot sauce:).   It was a full meal even without the shrimp.  It ...

I was so very excited to have delicata squash in my Front Porch Pickings Basket.  I love squash but have never had delicata before.  (refer to my many previous posts advocating being in a csa or finding a purveyor of local/organic produce)  I knew going in however, that this dish was about as far out of the zone of types of food I like as you can get and I was worried a bit.  I say all the time I do not like sweet and savory together. (I do not like them Sam I am)  I am constantly being pointed out to, by my husband, that, that isn't true, I have found plenty of dishes I like that have both. (like the lamb and date tagine ) However, that doesn't stop me from having a prejudice and an inherent dislike of them mixed.  I did object to the flavor and texture to the apples, and I thought the over all dish was too sweet for me, personally.  (the delicata was very sweet and delicious all by it's self)  That being the said, I like the dish way more ...

My daughter, looking over my shoulder as I try to decided tonight's dinner, sees green pea soup, and declares that's what she wants.  Ok then.   I really enjoyed it, and if you omit the optional creme fraiche, and cooked the leeks in oil, it would be vegan.   One thing to note, my beloved immersion blender failed me!  It didn't make the smooth purée I wanted and it flung a good portion all over the place.  Next time I will use the blender and make another dish to insure less soup flinging and a better consistency.  Also, I didn't read the recipe correctly at first and had dumped in the salt and 2 cups of low sodium broth before I realized that the store bought stuff needed to he diluted and as a result it was on the salty side. All in all a solid 4!  Maybe even a bit higher...  I'm not feeling great today and that might cloud my perception but I'm sticking with the 4, for now:) Green Pea Soup   1 Tbl unsalted butter 1 medium leek root ...

For meatless Monday, I wanted to try this recipe from Field To Feast: Celebrating Florida Farmers . Chefs and Artisans.  I had kale from my Front Porch Pickings basket and, while I adore kale, my son just sees another green he isn't overly fond of.  That being said, he knew that this dish had kale in it and still ate 2 HUGE plates of it!  That isn't just surprising, it is un-freakin real!  Even the 3 year old, who hates all things green so much she breaks her green goldfish crackers rather than be made to eat them, ate a bit of it before switching to plain pasta.  That almost qualifies as a miracle in this house. It could even easily be made vegan; just leave out the parm.  I can't believe I am going to say this since I LOVE cheese, but I think it tasted good even before the addition of the cheese and wouldn't suffer much, if at all, taste wise with out the cheese.  It was a very thick paste before the addition of the pasta water, and I used the f...

Where to start?  I guess I will start with it was amazing!  We all loved it.  It didn't hurt that we had some stellar corn from Front Porch Pickings , but the whole combination was delicious.  My husband made a piggy of himself again, so he gives it his seal of approval.  That is saying something, since he likes his meat.  This was one of the best meatless Monday recipes we have ever had.  If you look at labels, you will see I have added two.  The first one, "Dad's Favorites", was added after my husband was looking at his bowl and declared, "that was good, too bad I won't ever have it again."  I pointed out that it has been a more than a year and I was willing to repeat every now and then.  He said he would never remember what he loved since there were so many dishes he has tried.  Now, he can click on his label and have a menu to choose from.  I also decided to label them with their average rating.  This one was 4.5 ...