Happy Mother's Day + Bruschetta, Rethought

Ooops... let's pretend it's still Sunday... This is late but I want to start this post with a shout out to all mothers in the world.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers out there! You are all beautiful, amazing, wonderful, and all of us wouldn’t have made it through life without you.

Mama, Sally, Nanay Claire, and DFJ's mom, we celebrated you today with a delicious breakfast that we would have made for you if we were all together:

sweet and savory crepes

SWEET: apple+banana+honey+cinnamon+vanilla

SAVORY: butter+tomato+mushroom+alfalfa sprouts

don't forget the basil and No Woman cheese

To my beautiful Mama… we have not seen each other in almost four years and I miss you every day. I wish we lived closer to each other instead of a thousand miles away… Someday, I will manhandle you and drag you on a plane to come stay with me and see what my life is like over here. We will cook together, go to yoga classes together, take long walks, go on hikes, go shopping, and get on each other’s nerves at the end of the day (just kidding, or not!). Ma, there are so many things I want to thank you for… but most of all I thank you for loving me always, always, always (even when I was a very unlovable teenager), for teaching me how to be strong and to stand on my own, and for always reminding me to work hard. I am who I am because of you.

To Sally… thank you for all your love and support through the years. I have known you since I started understanding what my mother was saying to me and you have always been the angel godmother to my family back home. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to start anew in this promising country. I am forever grateful to you and Bill for helping me get to where I am now. Many times I find myself daydreaming of the days I spent living with you… those were very special times in my life that I will always cherish. Thank you for being my family here! 

Fast forward a day... now it's Monday:

Happy Food Matters Project Monday my friends! This week’s recipe, Bruschetta, Rethought, was chosen by Laura of chef laura at home. To see Mark Bittman’s original recipe, visit Chef Laura’s beautiful blog. Thank you for choosing a great, versatile recipe Laura! I definitely had fun coming up with different toppings for my bruschetta. To see other brilliant bruschetta ideas, check out what the other FMP members came up with at our website.  

First of all, I have to admit that I did not closely follow Bittman’s directions for preparing the bruschetta. I cut my bread into thin slices, rubbed raw garlic on both sides, toasted them in the oven at 400 degrees F for a few minutes (just until the bread felt warm ), then dropped teeny droplets of olive oil on one side. Second of all, please pardon me for promising to share my recipes later, I have been sick for the past three days and just started recovering today.

This morning, I made my own Nut Whole Wheat Bread to use for the bruschetta… (recipe will be on the next post).

The first round of bruschetta was on the savory side… Greek Yogurt Lentil Bruschetta (lentil recipe will be posted sometime this week). The flavor combination in this lentil dish was new to me and everything together was refreshing and lovely.     

The second round was on the sweet side… Grape and Goat Cheese Bruschetta. One of my all-time favorite snacks or lunch is a piece of delicious bread with some fruit and cheese. So, it was just natural to put all three of my favorite food ingredients into a bruschetta. It is so simple: mix goat cheese with sliced grapes and put it on top of the toasted bread. Every bite is a delight! (Hey, that’s a rhyme!)    

Do come by again in the next few days to check out my Nut Whole Wheat Bread and Greek Yogurt Lentil recipes. Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you all have a great week!

Once again, to all the mother's out there: Happy Mother's Day to you! This day should be celebrated everyday because you all deserve nothing but the best.

Rhubarb Spelt Bread

Getting sick is not fun. After a run and a Body Flow class at the gym on Wednesday, I tried to lift weights but had no energy to even do one set. I figured I just had a long day and needed to take it easy. However, as the night wore on my throat started feeling weird and coughing fits started. The kind that wears your throat dry and raw. Painful.

The next day, I made it to work just long enough to help one of my students go through his culminating project presentation then went home. I spent the whole morning sleeping and woke up to eat lunch and some soup. A fever had started building up in my body and I was cold. I fell asleep again and woke up with enough energy to bake this Rhubarb Spelt Bread and make some dinner.

Since yesterday was Friday, I decided to suck it up and go to work despite feeling crappy the whole day. My throat hurt like crazy and coughing hurt so much. As soon as I got home, I slept for two hours… Friday afternoon yoga class was not at all possible. Today, I am still sick and even though I spent the entire morning sleeping, I don’t have enough energy to muster a simple task, such as taking decent pictures of bread slices. My apologies, this is all I have.

My Rhubarb Spelt Bread recipe was inspired from Tessa Kiros’ Berry and Buttermilk Cake. Her cookbook, Apples for Jam, is one of my favorites… the recipes are simple and beautiful. Most of her desserts don’t require much sugar and I appreciate that. Sure I love decadent desserts every now and then, but most of the time, I just really want simple and wholesome desserts. A dessert that is sweetened by luscious fruit or dollops of honey.

This bread is not cake sweet but it is versatile and can be eaten as a breakfast, snack, or dessert (if you add sweet embelishments). Very simple… a slice of comfort and love. It has a nice nutty texture, moist from the rhubarb slices, and just a hint of sweetness. 

One of the best parts of making this bread was the smell of rhubarb cooking… to me it smells like sweet, super creamy milk… delightful!

Rhubarb Spelt Bread

Inspiration from Tessa Kiros' Berry and Buttermilk Cake, Apples for Jam

2 ½ cups spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ cup brown sugar

zest of 1 Meyer lemon
seeds of ½ vanilla pod (save the pod)
1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
juice of 1 Meyer lemon

1 tsp coconut oil
3 long stalks of rhubarb, chopped
1 tbsp honey
used vanilla pod  

2 large eggs
4 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
1 tbsp honey

a tad of unmelted coconut oil


In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Pour the sugar in a small mixing bowl and rub in the Meyer lemon zest and vanilla seeds. Do not discard the vanilla pod, you will need it for one of the next steps. Move the sugar mixture into the flour mixture and whisk well.

In a measuring cup, pour milk, whipping cream, and the juice of the Meyer lemon. Stir for a few seconds and let sit for at least 15 minutes until the mixture curdles (you will know it has curdled when clumps form).

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, throw in the chopped rhubarb and cook for 2 minutes. Add the honey and the used vanilla pod and cook for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and immediately move the contents of the pan (including the juices) into a bowl and let cool.

Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on low in a medium size mixing bowl, until it changes into a light consistency. Pour in the curdled milk mixture and mix on low until well incorporated. Add the melted coconut oil and honey and continue to mix on low until well incorporated.  

Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and beat on low until everything is well combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the cooked rhubarb including the juices.

Spread the unmelted coconut oil all over the inside of a cake or loaf pan (I used an 8x4 inch loaf pan). Bake for 34-38 minutes. It is done when the top and outer edges turn into a nice golden brown.   

Serve this bread with a drizzle of honey and a cup of tea or a glass of milk. Pat it with butter and serve it for breakfast with eggs and a cup of coffee. Use the bread for a fancy French toast. Eat it as an afternoon snack with peanut butter and jam. Top it with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Or simply eat it with some fruit on the side. Enjoy!

Carnitas

I made these carnitas while singing and dancing to the UB40 station on Pandora. Cooking and baking with fun music in the background are some of the things I live for. While the meat pieces were cooking in the oven and on the stove top, I did some dishes, laundry, and yoga to kill time. Quite an eventful Sunday afternoon!

Hope you didn’t get enough of Mexican food this past weekend because I have a great carnitas recipe to share. After reading Gina’s carnitas pizza and Adrianna’s mulitas posts last week, I decided that I needed some meat to nourish my body as I haven’t had any in more than two weeks. I’m not a vegetarian, but I find the meat sold at grocery stores kind of gross. First of all, they are not fresh and it makes me sad to think of the way these poor animals are treated for meat production. It was a big disappointment to find out that even most of the meats sold at the local butcher shop are still from the big industrial companies. There is a very meager selection of good meats from real farmers that they sell. Also, meat is expensive so I rarely buy it. Anyway because my body was asking for meat (and I felt bad for poor DFJ being meat-deprived), I stopped at the butcher shop on my home from work last Friday and got my hands on whatever local meat I could get, 3 pounds of pork loin.

Handling the raw pork reminded me of why I don’t like dealing with meat very much. However, after it turned out into these wonderful carnitas it was all worth the effort!

Tender, juicy, flavorful carnitas, with hints of sweet, sour and a little spicy kick. The combination of cumin, hot spices (cayenne and paprika) and bay leaf; orange, lime, and the pork’s own juices; and the onion slices that melt into the meat will turn the pork cubes into taco truckesque deliciousness right in your own kitchen!

I used a slightly different method for cooking these carnitas because I don’t have a Dutch oven. Instead of cooking it in the oven at a steady temperature for a long period of time, I first cooked it in a glass baking pan and then moved it into a pot on the stovetop and cooked it on medium low.        

Carnitas

Adapted from More Best Recipes, From the Editors of Cook’s Illustrated

Spices:

1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp cayenne
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, as much as you prefer
1 bay leaf

1-1  ½ pound pork loin, cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup water
juice of 1 medium orange (about 1/3 cup)
juice from 3 key limes

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
½ tsp salt
pepper, as much as you prefer


Mix all the spices in a small bowl.

Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Cut the pork loin into one inch cubes and move into a glass baking pan. Rub the spice mixture onto the pork cubes. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic into the pan. Stir together the water, fresh orange juice, and key lime juice in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the pan. Put the pan in the oven and cook for an hour. Halfway through cooking time, remove the pan from the oven and flip or stir the pork cubes and return to the oven.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium size pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic until golden brown. Add the onion slices and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then. Season with salt and pepper.

After an hour, turn off the oven and take the baking pan out. Move the pork cubes and all the juice into the pot of sautéed garlic and onions. Turn the heat down to medium low and let cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, covered. Stir every 10-15 minutes. After about an hour, almost all the juice will have evaporated. During the last 5 minutes of cooking time, pound the meat pieces with a wooden spatula. The meat should be soft enough to fall and tear apart into strands. Turn off the heat and continue to pound until the meat is torn into shreds.

Serve on warm tortillas with queso fresco (I used feta, it’s great), guacamole, salsa, what have you! I even heated up leftover carnitas in a skillet with veggies (broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, and tomatoes) and served it with rice.

Enjoy!

DFJ’s Blackeye Pea Relish

This weekend, I am proud of myself for refusing to be upset and sulky. Here are the redeeming features of my weekend that started out disappointing:

1. This salsa: DFJ’s Blackeye Pea Relish. DFJ is very proud of it and rightly so, because it is delish! So, when we initially thought we were going to a barbeque this weekend, DFJ was excited about making this salsa to share. Coincidentally, this week’s Food Matter’s Project recipe, chosen by Alissa (BIG EATS... tiny kitchen), is Mark Bittman’s Five Quick Salsas for Chips, Dips, and Other Stuff. Miss Alissa definitely thought ahead and picked something that would be a hit at a Cinco de Mayo or Derby Weekend party. Just perfect! Thank you Alissa! To see the original recipe, visit her beautiful website and make sure to check out how other FMP members made their salsas.

Even though the barbeque did not happen, we still made this salsa and are enjoying it immensely. This recipe is actually quite close to a combination of three choices in Bittman’s recipe: basic pico de gallo + tomatillo-black bean salsa + corn salsa.  Here is a recipe of DFJ’s relish that has been a hit everywhere we brought it to.

DFJ’s Blackeye Pea Relish (Makes a lot… a whole lot)
(slightly adapted from DFJ’s uncle’s recipe)

Mix together in a small bowl:

¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup ketchup
1 tbsp hot sauce (or more to taste), (see note #1)
1 ½ tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
juice of one Meyer lemon or a small lemon
 

Mix together in a large bowl: (see note #2 on dicing vegetables)

1, 15.25 oz can blackeye peas, drained and rinsed
1, 15.25 oz can yellow corn, drained (see note #3)
1 large green bell pepper, diced
4 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 medium red onion, diced (feel free to use any onion)
1, 2 oz jar diced pimientos
2 red chilis, seeded and diced


Pour the dressing into the chopped vegetables and mix thoroughly but gently, taking care not to mash the tomatoes and the beans. Taste and add more hot sauce and/or salt to your preference. Let sit 1-2 hours before serving… or better yet, make this the night before or the morning of. The longer it sits, the better it gets, just make sure to give it another gentle round of mixing before serving.   

Notes:

1. I recommend using either: Tapatio, Tabasco, or Frank’s RedHot Sauce. 
2. When dicing the fresh ingredients, make sure to chop them as small as you can get (like corn kernel small).   

DFJ had to include his beer in the picture...
NOTE: 
After this picture was taken, these onion pieces were chopped some more.

3. When corn is in season, I will definitely try Bittman’s suggestion and get them fresh, roast them, shave the kernels off the cobs, and then add them into this salsa.

Warning: This makes for a lot of salsa…

The salsa overflowed from the huge bowl...

into this tiny one.

 2. A delicious Saturday lunch of all the leftover goodies from this week: homemade pita bread that turned into puffy balls with grapes and Brie. Leftover pasta with phad thai veggies (from my Phad Thai Veggie Tacos recipe). It was a surprisingly wonderful combination especially with the added leftover spicy honey cashew sauce (recipe to be posted soon) and some freshly grated Pecorino Romano.

 
3. Saturday Workout: Biked to the gym + 30 minute walk on the treadmill while reading my Steve Jobs book + quick weight lifting session + 1 hour bike ride with DFJ + Frisbee at an awesome park we randomly found.

me and Alyssa (my bike)

4. Watched Melancholia (incredibly sad) while enjoying some chips and the salsa.

5. Sunday Workout: Biked to the gym + 1 mile run on the treadmill + weight lifting session + 20 minutes on the elliptical with my Steve Jobs book + 7 lap swim + biked back home + 1 hour of yoga while waiting for carnitas to cook. 

6. The carnitas turned out great and we had another fabulous Mexican dinner at home. I will be sharing the recipe this week. The salsa was a perfect addition to the tacos!

7. This rye shortbread with raspberries that just came out of the oven. I would love to share the rye shortbread recipe but I found this in the freezer earlier this evening and it is a leftover half from something I made a while ago, which I unfortunately lost the recipe for. The raspberry filling is just some frozen raspberries from last summer that needed to be used up. I cooked two small bags full of it in a pot with about a teaspoon of vanilla sugar, a tablespoon of honey, and some blueberry agave nectar.

8. Phone conversation with my sweet sister, Therese.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone!