What we have been up to!

I have not blogged in a long time! Erin has entered her third tri-mester and we found out she has gestational diabetes! This will be making quite a change in our diets and our cooking! Basically she needs to stay away from sugars and keep track of her carbohydrate intake. We went to a class at Sharp Mary Birch this morning and got some good tips!


The other thing I have been doing on the weekends is:

Working on the baby's room! As you can see above we are doing wainscoting all they way around the room with chair molding and new base boards. We also did crown moulding all around the top. In the top picture you can see we cased the window and built a bigger window sill. The bottom is the other wall we finished! So we have two walls completely done with one more long wall and a short wall to go. The other thing we did is new casing around the door and added casing around the closet which has no doors. We plan to leave the closet doors off and add some type of shelving inside. Will post more pics as we get closer!

As far as cooking we did make some pork chops last night. I just made a quick paste with the following:

1Tbls Maldin's Salt

2-3 Tbls Fresh Rosemary

2 tsp salt

1 Tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Just mixed them all together in my motar and ground them toghether with the pestle until a thick paste was formed! We rubbed it on the pork chops and let them sit for about an hour then grilled them up! Gave a real light rosemary taste. They were wonderful!

Slow-Cooker Chili Con Carne

Erin and I had a real quiet weekend. We went bowling with some friends on Friday to celebrate my 40th birthday which was last Wednesday. Saturday was spent around the house recovering from Friday, for me at least. My brother in law Owen came over so we could layout a plan for the babies room. We start painting next weekend, wains coating and trim the weekend after that and we end it all up with carpet on the final weekend. Should be quite a project. Can not wait to use me new Mitre Saw!!!

My sister has been sick so we decided to bring her family dinner on Sunday night. We have been buying Cooks Illustrated at our local Costco whenever we see a new one. This is our favorite cooking magazine. The recipes are great. They going into detail about why they chose what they did for the recipe. They also always put a side dish with the recipe. The one we just picked up was titled "Soups and Stews". They chili made it on the cover!

We went to the store Sunday morning to pick up ingredients. We did not need much, we has almost everything in house! I did make a call to Bishers (butcher) to see if he had boneless beef chuck eye roasts he could trim for me. Randy confirmed he had them. So after the market we went to see Randy and explain what we needed. He sliced one into 1-1/4" cubes, and took the other sliced it in half lengthwise then made 3/4" cubes. We then headed back home to start cooking!


Here is the recipe and detailed instructions:

6 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes with juice
5 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 (3-1/2 to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck eye roast, fat trimmed, 1 roast cur into 1-1/4" cubes, the other cut into 3/4" cubes.
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
3 medium onions, chopped medium
3 medium jalapeno chiles. stemmed and minced
6 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
8 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press(about 8 teaspoons)
3 (16oz) cans pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Chuck eye roasts are fatty, so don't be surprised if you trim off a pound or more from each one. You should have 5-6 pounds of meat when you start the recipe. Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapenos canned in red sauce called adobo. They are available in the Mexican food section of most supermarkets. This chili is authentically spicy; for milder chili, reduce the chipotles and jalapenos by half.

Browning the meat and sauteing the vegetables and spices before they go in the slow cooker brings out their flavors. If you would rather not do this in the morning, you can complete this step the night before. Prepare the recipe through step 3. Instead transferring the meat, vegetables, and other chili ingredients to the slow cooker, refrigerate in separate air tight containers. In the morning transfer everything to the slow cooker, The cooking time will run to the high end of the range given in the recipe.

1.) Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tortillas, overlapping them as necessary, and cook until blistered on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining tortillas. Tear tortillas into 2-inch pieces and combine with 2 cups chicken broth in microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high until tortillas are saturated, 2-3 minutes. Puree mixture in blender or food processor until smooth, then transfer to slow cooker insert. Add tomatoes and chipotles to blender or processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to slow-cooker insert along with remaining cup chicken broth and brown sugar.

2. Dry beef thoroughly with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown 1/3 of the meat thoroughly on all sides 8-10 minutes. Transfer browned beef to slow cooker, return skillet to medium-high heat and repeat with 2 teaspoons more oil and second batch of beef. Transfer to slow cooker insert and repeat with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining beef (NOTE: it took us 4-5 batches in our LeCruset). Transfer to slow cooker. Add 1/4 cup water to skillet, scraping up any browned bits and return skillet to medium high heat. Cook until almost all water has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet contents to slow-cooker insert and wipe skillet dry with paper towel.

3. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, jalapenos and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder ans cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until spices are deeply fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Transfer vegetables to slow cooker insert. Add remaining 2 tablespoons water to skillet, scrape up any spices, and transfer contents to slow cooker insert. Stir ingredients to combine thoroughly.

4. Set slow cooker to high, cover, and cook until tender 6 to 7 hours. (Alternatively, cook on low for 9-10 hours) Stir in beans (if using) and cook 15 minutes. Stir in oregano and add salt and pepper to taste; serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for several months.

ENJOY!

Grilled Hamburgers and Parmesan Fries

Erin and I grilled hamburgers with some friends the weekend of the last Chrgers game. We ended up havin some left over so we froze them and decided to have Jim and Sue (Dad and Stepmom) over for dinner on Sunday. We found the recipe on recipezaar.com. We had a lot of comments from everybody!

from recipezaar.com

Uncle Bill's Hamburger Patties

Ingredients
2 lbs lean ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup crushed soda cracker or fine dry breadcrumb (we used crushed saltines)
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons hickory barbecue sauce

Mix all the ingredients together and make patties. Grill them they way you like them. We did bacon, cheddar cheese or jalapeno jack. The burgers had good flavor and stayed together on the grill. I think the saltines gave it an interesting texture. Sometimes you would see little chunks of cracker as you bit into it.

Parmesan French Fries

from Cuisine at Home:

3-4 Russet potatoes cut into wedges (lengthwise) makes about 8 per potato
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tbls paprika
1 tbls cayenne pepper
salt to taste
3 tbls olive oil
3 tbls chopped Parsley

Preheat oven to 475 degress with baking sheet in oven. Mix parmesan, paprika, cayenne, salt in a small bowl. Cut potatoes and place in a large bowl. Pour 3 tbls of olive oil over potatoes and mix. Add parmesan mixture and continue to mix until potatoes have a good coating of the mix. Remove tray from oven and brush lightly with oil. Place fries on sheet and bake for 15 minutes, remove tray and flip potatoes and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove potatoes and put in another bowl and toss with chopped parsley.

I HATE PETA!

In a letter sent Wednesday to PBAU (Palm Beach Atlantic University) President Dr. David Clark, PETA urged the school to change its mascot from the Sailfish to Sea Kitten “to reflect the gentle nature of its current marine namesake.” The suggested name change is meant to promote empathy for fish and other marine animals.

Below quote from Ashley Byrne, PETA campaign coordinator:

“If Sailfish became Sea Kitten and everyone in town started calling fish sea kittens, fewer of these gentle animals would be violently killed for food, painfully hooked for sport or cruelly confined to aquariums,” said PETA’s “Save the Sea Kittens”

I do not even know what to say!!!!!!!

Crock-Pot Pulled Pork

Erin and I have done this recipe 5-6 times now and it always turns out great! This time I tried a home made BBQ Sauce to drizzle over the pork before topping sandwiches with bun. I am not going to post that recipe because I am still reffing it. The BBQ sauce was good, but needs a little work. Basic ingredients were sauteed onion and garlic, ketchup, mustard, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, chili powder, water, vinegar.

Ingredients:
2 onions, quartered
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 4 to 6 lb boneless pork butt or shoulder roast
2/3 cup cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Hamburger buns
Cole Slaw (optional)

Directions:
Place onions in stoneware. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper rub over roast. Place roast over onions. Combine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne stir to mix well. Drizzle 1/4 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture. Cover cook on Low 10 to 12 hours or on High 5 to 6 hours.(NOTE: I used two 2-3lb and it only took 3-4 hours on low) Remove meat and onions and drain. Chop or shred meat and chop onions. (I leave the onions and sauce in the crock pot and remove meat and pull with a fork and put pork back in and mix with onions and sauce) Serve meat and onions on buns. If desired, top sandwiches with coleslaw. Pass remaining vinegar mixture to drizzle over sandwiches. or you your favorite BBQ sauce!

Dinner at our Parents House

Tonight Erin and I had dinner at my parents house(Jim and Sue). It was one of the best dinners we have had in a long time. The fact is we do not go over there for dinner as often as we should. I got my love of cooking from my dad. When I was a child he worked a lot and my mom did most of the cooking. After the divorce I lived with my dad and he was always expiramenting in the kitchen. The two things I remember the most about these years, when I was finishing high school and before I left for Chico, was him making me chicken fried steaks for breakfast and his popcorn and white wine diet! the chicken fried steaks were awesome (dad, you need to make them for me again) and the popcorn and wine diet was an excuse to drink wine! Just kidding! I remember he did slim down around that time.

As usual they had a great menu planned. We had fried green tomatoes made with fresh green heirloom tomatoes from the Poway Farmers Market. My dad dipped them in egg, then a mixture of corn meal, flour, salt and pepper. I do not like tomatoes but tried these and they were really good! Dish number two was a porcinni mushroom risotto. My dad has a college buddy (Glen Lucci) that ran a B&B in Mendocino, Ca with his wife. My dad sends them wine and in return they send a great selection of dehydrated mushrooms from the northern California coast. The main course was a flank steak in what my dad called a "California Marinade" which is a mixture of paprika, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. There may be more, I will be getting the recipe from him and I will post it here! The last dish was a great salad with greens, tomatoes, and beets from the Poway Farmers Market with fresh arugula from our garden!

Desert??? We are all to full! We did find some room for some lemon cookies they had bought from Von's.

Smoked Chicken Breast for Those Bored with Grilling, Frying or Baking!

Today we decided to break out the smoker that Erin's Aunt Jane from South Carolina gave us. We have not used it much in the last 6 months. I had defrosted 3 bone in chicken breasts the night before to use some time this week. I had never smoked chicken before so I decide to give it a try. I also had a pork loin roast that I threw in so we could make sandwiches during the week!

Wood chips used: Mesquite and pecan (no reason, just what I had on hand)

The first thing I did was mix up a quick rub.

3 tbls brown sugar
4 tbls paprika
1 tbls garlic powder
1/2 tbls celery salt
1 tbls kosher salt
1 tbls cayenne pepper

I have made a few rubs from recipes but never from scratch. I know all the different ingredients that can be used so I felt pretty comfortable throwing one together. I rubbed the chicken and pork about 1 hour before putting in the smoker. I put both on the smoker for about 3-4 hours. For some reason my smoker runs a little hot. I would like it to be 175-200 degrees but usaully runs in the 250-275 degree range. I pulled the pork of at about 155 degrees and the chicken at about 160 degrees.

Both the chicken and the pork had a great smokey flavor with a little heat on the back end. Erin said it was just yummy! The chicken was incredible! Especially the skin. I know it is bad for you but as you can see from the picture below it had a nice crust on it.

Erin ended up making a smoked chicken quesadilla with cheddar and dipped it in a pepper sauce we had. I did the same thing with the pork. Like I said above we will make pork sandwiches for lunch this week. We are going to use the chicken to make smoked chicken salad for sandwiches.

Side note: We planted some Arugula for the winter and it is growing like crazy. Whenever I am outback I have to pull a couple leaves and munch on them! We like to mix it with spinach for our salads.

Chicken Enchilada Caserole

Here is a quick and easy recipe I got from my sister! Great for a rainy day!

3-4 cups crushed tortilla chips
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 16oz container of sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 7oz can diced chiles
1-2 jalepenos diced (optional)
1 package corn or flour tortillas

Cook chicken and chop into pieces. I usaully salt and pepper, fry in a pan to get a nice crust then finish in oven. I then take a cleever and chop into small pieces, enough to cover a 13x9x2 baking dish. In a seperate bowl mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, diced chiles and jalepeno. Layer bottom of baking dish with crushed tortillas, then add the chicken. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on top of chicken then add sauce mixture and top with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes and finish on broil until a nice crust froms on top. Serve with warm tortillas.

Thanks Debbie!

Bon Apetit!

I am still here!

I have not posted in awhile because we have been busy. We went to the doctor last Friday 12/5/08 and everything with the baby is good! We go on 12/30/08 to get the ultrasound so we can find out the sex. This is Erin's choice. I would rather not know. It is just one of the mystries in life that I think should be kept a mystery! I understand why Erin wants to know with all the decorating and the baby showers. It really helps with gifts so people know what to get. I told her the baby wants a Nintendo WII but she does not believe me.

As far as in the kitchen we have not done to much lately. We have been mostly eating quick fix meals. For example we buy the ham steaks from Costco. We BBQ one and have with fresh or frozen veggies.

The last thing I did was a roasted red pepper tomato sauce. Just took a can of diced tomatoes a jar of rosated red bell peppers, some garlic cloves and basil and blended it. No real recipe, just kind of threw it together on a whim. Turned out real good!

Hope to add someting new soon!

SWEET POTATO AND CELERY ROOT GRATIN WITH FONTINA CHEESE

Here is a great recipie we found over the Thanksgiving weekend. We were up in the Bay Area at Erin's aunt and uncles house and wanted to contribute to the meal. This was the hit of Thanksgiving dinner!



from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 1-pound celery roots, peeled, halved, thinly sliced
2 pounds potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced (NOTE:WE USED TAN SWEET POTATOES)
2 cups whipping cream
1 cup canned chicken broth
8 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400° F. Mix salt, pepper and nutmeg in small bowl. Sprinkle half of shallots in 16-cup oval gratin dish or 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Top with half of celery root and half of potatoes. Sprinkle half of spice mixture over. Repeat layering with remaining shallots, celery root, potatoes and spice mixture. Bring cream and broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Pour over vegetables. Cover tightly with foil.

Bake until vegetables are almost tender, about 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° F. Press potatoes with spatula to even thickness. Bake uncovered until juices thicken, about 10 minutes. Top with cheese. Bake until cheese melts and browns, about 15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Politics - President Elect Obama and his Economic Advisory Team

I do not post much about poltitics. I like to keep my news watching and reading to sports and food. Not to say I do not know anything or read anything it's just not my favorite thing to read, discuss or blog about. When was the last time you had a political discussion and the other person all of a sudden said "you know your right and I am wrong".

Anyways I found this great blog from Mark Cuban. He is currenlty owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and chairman of HDnet and HDTV cable network. He made all his money from the sale of Broadcast.com in 1999 for 5.9 billion in Yahoo stock. I thought this was a great view about Obama's Economic Advisory Team.

Mark Cuban is also in a little bit of trouble with SEC as of today

From Mark Cubans http://www.blogmaverick .com 11/17/08


PE Obama’s 1st Big Mistake
Nov 8th 2008 3:08PM

Its great to see President Elect Obama aggressively taking on the economy prior to his taking office. Unfortunately, the economic advisory team that he has put together looks more like a semester’s worth of great guest speakers for an MBA class than an economic advisory team that can truly help him.

There are a lot of great minds on the list.

“Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Laura Tyson, who served as Clinton’s top economic adviser; former Fed Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson; Time Warner Inc. Chairman Richard Parsons; former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman William Donaldson and Xerox Corp. Chief Executive Officer Anne Mulcahy.

Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Roel Campos, an ex-SEC commissioner, and Warren Buffett are also on the advisory board.”

Notice anything missing ?

Not a single entrepreneur. Yes Warren Buffett started a business, but he will be the first to tell you that he “doesn’t do start ups”. Which means there isn’t a single person advising PE Obama that we know of that knows that its like to start and run a business in this or any economic climate. That’s a huge problem.

If we are going to solve our current economic problems, our President needs to get first hand information on the impact his proposed policies will have on real Joe the Plumbers. People who are 1 person companies living job to job, hoping they get paid on time. We need to know what the impact of his policies will be on the individually owned Chrysler Dealership in Iowa. The bodego in Manhattan. The mobile phone software startup out of Carnegie Mellon. The event planner in Dallas. The barbershop in LA. The restaurant in Boston.

Entrepreneurs that start and run small businesses will be the propellant in this economy. PE Obama needs to have the counsel of those who will take the real risk inherent in creating companies and jobs. Those who put their money and lives on the line with their business.

Without it, the rules of unintended consequences of any economic policy could hit you in the mouth in ways you never expected. Things like forcing companies from being taxpayers to the underground cash economy, or forcing new hires to be independent contractors to avoid having to pay their insurance or higher matching social security amounts. Your current group has no one with 100pct of their networth on the line. I promise you that the possibility of losing it all will provide a completely different perspective than any of the “knowledge” the esteemed, learned members of his current advisory team offer.

PE Obama, I’m always available to help, but my recommendation would be to randomly go through the new incorporation filings and ask for volunteers to give feedback. Ask the people who are actually starting new businesses what they need.

Entrepreneurs will lead us out of this mess. Talk to them.

Alton Browns Baked Brown Rice

I have never been a fan of brown rice. Then when day I was watching Good Eats and saw this way of baking brown rice so it is nice and tender. Now I can not get enough brown rice!




1-1/2 cups brown rice, medium or short grain (I used a brown/wild mixture from Henry's or Whole Foods)
2-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the rice into an 8-inch square glass baking dish.

Bring the water, butter, and salt just to a boil in a kettle or covered saucepan. Once the water boils, pour it over the rice, stir to combine, and cover the dish tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove cover and fluff the rice with a fork. Serve immediately.



Recipe courtesy Alton Brown/foodnetwork.com

Let me know what you think if you try this!

Make sure you all get out there and vote today!

Carne Asada and Sun Vista Frijoles

Erin and I are big fans of Mexican food! I have been grilling fresh Carne Asada for a few years now. I do not know how traditional this recipe is but we love it! Since it was a rainy day and a little cool we thought this would warm us up a little!

1-1.5 pounds flap meat
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 1/2 orange
Juice of 2 limes
2-3 jalapenos
1/2 of 1 onion sliced
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Place meat in a low profile dish cover with jalapenos, onion and garlic. Pour juice over top cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. I added a couple slices of all the fruit for the looks! When done marinating we throw the meat on the grill for 3-4 minutes per side. The flap meat is pretty thin so not much cooking time needed!

The bean recipe came from some of the ladies at my work. It is a great quick way to make beans. They end up looking and tasting like refried without all the work!

3 cans 15oz Sun Vista Frijoles Pintos (I drain two and use the juice from 1)
2-3 jalapenos diced (if you like hot add more!)
6 oz Monterrey jack cheese

Pour beans in pot with the diced jalapenos and put on med-low heat. I usually let sit for 20-30 minutes. Then cut about 60z or 1/3rd of the Monterey jack cheese into 1/2" or 3/4" inch cubes. Slowly add the cheese in and keep stirring or the cheese will stick to the bottom and burn. After all the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes I take my Braun hand blender and blend it until what I would call chunky. You do not want to puree it. You still want some whole beans in there. We use soft taco size tortillas, sour cream, pico de gallo, cheese and any other fixings you may want. Makes a great meal and you have some wonderful leftovers also!

PS: Erin is about 11 weeks now and she is feeling pretty good. No morning sickness which is nice! She is tired and hungry! As you can see I am keeping her fed well! Our next appointment at the doctor is this coming Thursday. I read part of a book she gave me and it mentioned that she could be more affectionate in the first tri-mester. Well I think I may write the author and debate that with him! I am kidding of course! In the morning she has been taking her vitamins and I have been making fruit smoothies for us. We bought the bulk frozen fruit package at Costco. It has strawberries, mango, pineapple and papaya. I put about 2 cups of that with 1 cup of pineapple orange juice, and 1 package of orange cream yoplait, and a banana and blend it. it makes for a nice addition to breakfast!

Pork Chile Verde

Saturday we did our usual trip to the Poway Farmers Market to pick up fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs and anything else that looked good. While making are usual walk through the market we stopped at the stand that sells roasted peppers. He actually roasts them on the spot. I saw a little cardboard sign that said "X-Hot New Mexico Green Chile Powder $4.00". I am familiar with chili powders but had never seen a green chili powder. Instantly I think about Bishers, which is the butchers right across the street. Side note: I have them on my cell phones auto dial, you never know when you need to chat with your butcher! So we picked up the green chili powder and headed for Bishers and picked up some boneless pork shoulder which Randy cut into 1 inch cubes for us. now the challenge was to find a recipe. We have a huge collection of cook books at home. We were digging through all the usual books, Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Julia Child, the New York Times Cook book and really could not find anything of interest. So then we hit the Internet and had the same results. So back to the cook books and I found a Betty Crocker Mexican Cookbook with recipes by a chef named Jose Leopoldo Romero. Who? I had not heard of him either. He is chef/owner of a authentic Mexican restaurant in Boston of all places! Here is the web site http://www.casaromero.com/. The book was published in 1981. So we look through it and find a great recipe for what he calls Puerco en Salsa Verde (Pork in Green Sauce).


Puerco en Salsa Verde

2lbs pork boneless shoulder cut into 1" cubes
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 can (13 ounces) tomatillos, drained and mashed (I used two 12oz cans)
1 cup water
1/2 cup cilantro (I hate cilantro so we did about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup chopped green chiles (we used a 7oz can of diced green chiles, drained)
1 tbs dried oregano leaves
2 tsp instant chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Note: not in recipe but we added 2 tbs of the x-hot green chile powder!

Coat pork with flour. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet (we used our 5qt LeCreuset) until hot. Cook and stir pork over medium heat until brown.; drain and return to pot/pan. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat until boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until pork is tender. We put this on our smallest burner and let sit on low for 2-3 hours instead. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a touch of sour cream!

EXCITING NEWS

We found out that Erin is having a BABY! It will be the first for us so we are extremely excited! A few of our friends have been having babies so we will have some other children in the same age range! My sister also has 2 kids under 2 years old!
Erin is about 7 weeks and the due date 1s 6/1/09. She has been feeling pretty good. She seems to be hungry as soon as she gets home, I mean the second she walks in the door! So I have been trying to be ready to cook dinner as soon as she gets home. She has not had morning sickness which is nice.

Will keep you up to date!

Hawaiian Vacation

I have not been posting lately for two reasons. First , we have not done much cooking worth posting about. Second we were in Hawaii for a vacation. We were on the big island and spent time around Kona ans Waikoloa.

In the picture above Erin and I are at the outdorr bar at Ruth Chris. They had 1/2 of appetizers during their happy hour. We had some great carpaccio, crab cakes, crab stuffed mushroom and some BBQ shrimp on top of gralic mash! We also had a great bottle of 2004 Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon http://www.shafervineyards.com/

Above is an "IMU PIT" for a Luau. http://www.primitiveways.com/Imu1.html The pig is seasoned the Hawaiian Alea salt only. I did not find the pork to be all that good. One thing i did not like was that they served it "pulled" or "shredded". I thought we would get some nice chunks of the pig with skin and all the good stuff! I also tried the Poi and it was pretty bland. One of the best theing was the Lomi Lomi which is like a ceviche. They also had mahi mahi, teriyaki ribs, potatoes, salads, just a ton of food!

Above is a beautiful Hawaiian sunset! We took this at the bay across from our condo!

Below I listed some of the meals we had!

1.) Hawaiian Styles Cafe Waimea - The best local joint we found. Huge portions and great flavors I had the kalbe ribs (Korean Style Ribs) with rice and potato salad. Erin had the Big Mok which is white rice topped with spam, portugese sausage, pork sausage, egg and brown gravy! Hert attack anyone???

Hawaiian Style Cafe65-1290 Kawaihae Rd, Kamuela, HI 96743 (map)(808) 885-4295

2.) Fresh Ono Fish and Chips. We just had this a local sports bar, but it was the best fish and chips I have ever had!

3.) Maui Onion and Ale soup at the Canoe House @ Mauna Lani Resort. Had a great rib eye and lobster tempura also! Just a beautiful location, see picture below!

More to come!

Penne with Fresh Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

Awhile ago I picked up a Tastes if Italia magazine at Borders. I had never seen the magazine before. Since we were in Italy a few years ago and the food was so incredible I figured I would buy it and see what it had to offer. Tonight we tried one of the recepies and it was wonderful!



1/2 pound penne (We used Fusilli)
4 tablespons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, minced (we added extra!)
6 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Cook penne according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large saute pan. Add pine nuts and cook on medium heat until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. In large bowl combine tomatoes, pine nuts, garlic, blue cheese, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Drain pasta and put in another bowl. Add the sauce mixture to the bowl of pasta and mix. Garnish with fresh basil leaves!

Bon Apetit!

Organic/Sustainable Basil

Erin & I have been shopping at the Poway farmers market for about a year now. About 2 months ago a new vendor turned up with the most incredible basil plants we have ever seen! It is grown at a farm in Escondido http://www.archisacres.com/. They say it lasts 4-6 weeks. You keep it in some type of container, we use a vase with a flat bottom. Each morning you take the plant and rinse the roots with water then return it to the vase and add a splash of water. My parents are on their 2nd or 3rd plant now! We have never seen basil like this before. We have a small herb garden and our the leaves on our plants are about 1/4 the size of these.

The Olympics

I know this is not food related but I thought I would post anyways. Erin and I watched a ton of the Olympics this year. I am not sure why but it just kind of pulls you in. One night I even found myself on the couch @ 1:00 am watching a great ping-pong match! We really enjoyed the opening and closing ceremonies. There were a lot of rumors about things being fake and lip-syncing, which turned out to be true. Not to mention the Chinese gymnasts that were 12,13, or 14! I mean 16 years old! I think it made it a lot easier for me to watch the Olympics because I realize it is all about the $$$$$$$ for the TV channels and gold medals for the countries no matter how you get them! Nothing else matters! I do not agree with it, but I can not change that. The IOC is such a dirty organization I do not think it will ever be fixed! I found this great article from Ray Ratto on http://www.cbssportsline.com. I thought it was a great read:


Well, the Olympics are over, and we only dislike and distrust the Chinese and Russians a bit more than we did before, thus making the Games a success.

That is, if not getting the planet incinerated is your goal for any Olympics. If you're looking for fair play, honest competition, understanding and the joy of young people gathering together to give the peoples of the world hope for the future -- well, the Olympics have always been a bad place to shop for that anyway.

As a place to cash in and meet scads of young attractive women, the Olympics can be very helpful. Ask Michael Phelps. As a place to become inundated with NFL offers to get one's brains beaten in returning kickoffs, they can work quite well. Ask Usain Bolt.

But as a place to find 14-year-old gymnasts, 12-year-old gymnasts, 10-year-old gymnasts and even zygote gymnasts, the Olympics are the best. A place to find corrupt boxing officials who are so helpless now that they even fight in press conferences to prove it, you can't find a better spot.

For athletes who object to their results by kicking the referee in the face, it is Nirvana. A place to find Jacques Rogge lecturing one man on inappropriate celebrating while one entire sport is being judged by drunks, pimps and rounders ... well, where else would you find Jacques Rogge?

To find media people who alternate between raving about the charm of a new culture and slagging it through ignorance, you've found the right window. To find twelve-hour old events passed off as live ... well, the NFL Network shows three-day-old exhibition games, but that's hardly the same. And specifically this time, it was a good place to find repression with a smile.

The Beijing Olympics did, on a slightly grander scale, what every other Olympics has ever done -- make some people rich, irritate others, and remind us in general that sport doesn't change the world, it just entertains it a while before we all get back to our principal duties of misunderstanding, slandering, swindling, punishing and killing each other. That it provides a little something for everyone along the way is just an added bonus.

Phelps will make upwards of $100 million in a sport most Americans care nothing about under any other circumstances. That will be a fraction of what NBC takes in for glomming on to him early, flogging him like he was Miley Cyrus with gills, and having him crush the hype for an entire week. Bolt won't make nearly so much, because of the lack of buildup, the lack of American citizenship and our eagerness to assume that any track person is one with a needle, but he'll get rich, too. A couple of American gymnasts might cash in a bit, and a couple of others will be stalked by people with iPhones hoping to catch them in bathing suits.

Some athletes will take their nanosecond of fame and their lifetime memories and be happy. Others (the U.S. softball team comes immediately to mind) will have one bad day stick in their throats for years. Many will take their seventh-place finish in a quarterfinal heat and go on with their lives. Why, some might even find a use for their share of the 100,000 condoms the Chinese Olympic Committee provided for them.

In short, what we're saying is this: If you're looking for a greater enduring meaning from these Olympics, you won't find it. The Olympic machine is getting closer to the NFL ideal, which is that you can have a hundred scandals and still pass them off as paper cuts and get a lot of people to go along with you. It hums along as it has since 1984, when the U.S. showed the world how to turn a buck (which is what we have always done best), and now that it staggers the Winter and Summer Games, it cashes in twice as often.

Beyond that, the Olympics' true gift is that it gives a little something for everyone, while providing nothing close to what the pundits and officials say it does. Glory and shame. Triumph and humiliation. Semi-truths and quasi-lies. Spectacle and embarrassment. Nobility and corruption. All the things that make us one of the more interesting subsets on the planet, right there between jellyfish and plasma televisions.

Oh, wait, there is one thing we learned from these Olympics, and it is a lesson we should all embrace and hold as our own for all time.

If you're looking for a kid singer for your next wedding, anniversary party or sporting event, always always always check her teeth first. The prestige of nations have risen and fallen on bad orthidonture, and you know we'll go for the cute nine-year-old with straight, white incisors over the truly talented eight-year-old with asymmetrical overbite every time.

Ray Ratto is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

My last comment regarding the Olympics is as we were watching swimming, track and field, boxing, taekwando or any other sport I was amazed how many foreign athletes have scholarships at U.S. universities and actually train in the U.S with U.S. coaches to compete against us! If it were my choice I would have them banned from the training facilities and universities athletic facilities 1 year before each Olympiad, and any U.S. coach caught coaching them within that year would be banned from being involved with U.S. athletes. Let them pay for their own training and training facilities