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The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz: January 2006

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Happy Islamic New Year!

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Photo from: www.islamicvoice.com

I wish you happiness, prosperity, good health and all the best.

For those who celebrate this new year, what do you do? What traditions do you follow?

Paz

Monday, January 30, 2006

New York Monday #11 - Stone Faces of the City

Here are a few stone faces in the city.

Paz

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*It's De-Lurking Month! Go ahead, leave a comment!

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Happy Chinese New Year!

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Photo from: www.ifrance.com


The Year of the Dog!

I wish those celebrating a prosperous, healthy, and happy New Year!

Best,
Paz


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*It's De-Lurking Month! Go ahead, leave a comment!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Weekend Herb Blogging # 17 - Carrots

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I like the vegetable carrot in all it's forms -- regular sized, baby sized, cooked, raw, chopped or whole (even one of my dogs likes it, too!).

I like carrots in salads (oh, so colorful and crunchy!), soups, and I can't forget cake. Hmmm... I should try to make a carrot cake sometime. I've never made that before.

There's only one thing I don't like about carrots -- carrot juice. Can't drink it.

Carrots are rich in good stuff for the body like anitoxidants, beta carotene, vitamin A and dietary fiber. And let's not forget: If you like to build snowmen, they make an excellent nose for the snowman. ;-)


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Here's a dish that includes carrots -- Calderada de Galinha. It's a chicken stew dish my cousin made when she visited us. The ingredients included carrots, green and red peppers, black olives, tomatoes, onions, garlic, bay leaf, potatoes and chicken pieces.


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The chicken pieces are covered with pepper, salt and chicken spice of choice. Onions are sauteed in olive oil, then the chicken added. Later, the carrorts, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, tomato paste and a chicken maggie cube are included. Allow the food to cook till ready. Serve with rice.

You can substitute the chicken with any kind of meat or fish.

Paz

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*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables, or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn's Kitchen, Sunday.



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*It's De-lurking Month!

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Five Food Challenges for 2006

Okay. So, Ed Charles of Tomatom has tagged me for this Five Food Challenges for 2006 meme. Thanks, Ed. Here it goes:

1- I’ve been cooking for a whole year now. I’d like to refine the meals I’ve learned make. Keep getting better at what I cook.

2- I’d like to continue to make different recipes. I've recently received new cookbooks on Austrian, French, and Spanish cuisine. I look forward to trying the recipes from these books this year.

3- Bake. I want to learn to bake some really cool stuff, like the things I see on Cindy’s Kitchen, KUIDAORE, Cream Puffs in Venice, and many of the other blogs. Okay, I know I’ve set my goals pretty high for a beginner but I’ve stated before that all the bloggers are inspiring.

4- I’d like to delve into Asian cuisine. Haven’t tried that yet. I would like to make at least one simple yet tasty dish.

5- Continue my quest to make a decent parathas and meat and dessert empanadas.

I tag:

Angelika of The flying Apple (I know the memes are piling up now! Take your time. ;-) )

Raquel of Raquel’s Box of Chocolate

Tülin of Domestic Cat

Pat of Up a Creek without a PatL

Magnus of Tummyrumble


Paz


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*It's De-Lurking month!

Monday, January 23, 2006

New York Monday # 10 - More NYC Buildings

More NYC buildings.

Paz


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*It's De-Lurking Month!

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Delurking Week extended to Delurking Month!

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Sheryl at Paper Napkin created De-Lurking Week, which fell on the second week of January (The year before, it was De-Lurking Day.). Since I only found out about it a few days ago, I obviously missed it. I think it's an important event, which should last a little longer. ;-)

So, with Sheryl's permission, I'm extending the event till the end of the month. Perhaps, next year it will officially be De-Lurking Month. Below are a few buttons that Sheryl and other bloggers made. You can see all the buttons here. Very creative. Thanks, Sheryl! Cool idea!

In case there are any lurkers around, I'd love to hear from you. Come on out and say hello. It won't be painful at all. I promise.

Paz


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Weekend Herb Blogging #16 - Peas

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Matar Pula (Peas Pilaf) from Hooked on Heat


Peas, peas, peas!

Here are three recipes I recently made containing peas. All good, they definitely add an extra special taste to each meal.

Paz



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Matar Masala (Green Peas Masala) from My Dhaba


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Beef Caldereta from CJ's Food and Discovery


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*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables, or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn's Kitchen, Sunday.


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Tuesday, January 17, 2006

A Meme in Fours

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Como Agua para Chocolate/Like Water for Chocolate (1992)

Cyndi of Cooking with Cyndi has tagged me for this meme.


Four Jobs You've Had in Your Life:

  1. Lawyer
  2. Investigator
  3. Baby Sitter
  4. Mediator


Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

  1. The Tango Lesson (1997)
  2. Whale Rider (2002)
  3. Bossa Nova (2000)
  4. Como Agua para Chocolate/ Like Water for Chocolate (1992)


Four Places You've Lived:

  1. Russia
  2. Italy
  3. Belgium
  4. Egypt


Four Websites You Visit Daily:

  1. Lucullian delights
  2. Nami Nami
  3. The flying Apple
  4. Oswego Tea


Four Shows You Love to Watch:

  1. Walker, Texas Ranger reruns
  2. Law & Order series – Original, SVU, CI
  3. The Closer
  4. Avatar: The Last Air Bender


Four of Your Favorite Foods:

  1. Plantain
  2. Mangoes
  3. Rice
  4. Plantain

Four Albums You Can’t Live without:

  1. Jorge Aragão – Da Noite Pro Dia
  2. Terra Nostra Soundtrack
  3. Djavan (Ao Vivo) – CD 1 & 2
  4. Johann Strauß (Sohn) – Berühmte Walzer

Four Places You’d Rather Be:

  1. Italy
  2. Spain
  3. Brazil
  4. Greece

Four People You Tag:

  1. Pille of Nami Nami
  2. J of KUIDAORE
  3. Boo_licious of Masak Masak
  4. Ruth of Once Upon a Feast

The Seven Meme

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Taj Mahal
Agra, India


Ivonne, Jasmine, Darla May, and Chef Michele have tagged me for the Seven meme. Thanks, Ladies! Here it goes:

7 Things To Do Before I Die

  1. Travel to India, see the Taj Mahal, other places of interest, and enjoy the cuisine.
  2. Travel to Austria, twirl around the spot where they filmed The Sound of Music and sing ‘The Hills are Alive,’ just like Julie Andrews (perhaps Angelika will sing with me!)
  3. Make decent parathas, meat and dessert empanadas.
  4. Sample laska with Stephanie in Singapore and visit the enticing-sounding food stalls.
  5. Travel to Kay-El, Malaysia and sample some of the delicious foods that Boo_licious blogs about.
  6. Travel with my friend Nancy to Portugal as we mentioned ages ago.
  7. Go to a Jorge Aragão concert in Brazil and travel all over the country – Bahia, Manaus, Minas Gerais – and see the sights – Iguassu Falls, Sugar Loaf Mountain, and much more.


7 Things I Cannot Do

  1. I cannot make decent parathas.
  2. I cannot make decent meat or dessert empanadas.
  3. I cannot ice skate.
  4. I cannot ski.
  5. I cannot say no to a good meal.
  6. I cannot say no to a good dessert.
  7. I cannot be pass up watching An Affair to Remember, Cinema Paradiso, The Big Blue, and Ben Hur.


7 Things That Attract Me To Blogging

  1. The chance to document my cooking adventures and progress in a different way
  2. Getting the opportunity to learn about cooking
  3. Getting the opportunity to learn about different foods
  4. Getting the opportunity to meet others with similar interest
  5. Finding lots of wonderful recipes
  6. Being a part of an amazing online community
  7. Food bloggers are INSPIRING!



7 Things I Say Most Often

  1. Time to walk the dogs.
  2. Thanks!
  3. Buy me some olive oil.
  4. Tomorrow is another day.
  5. Hush!
  6. Hi!
  7. Have a good day/evening!



7 Books I Love

  1. The Bible
  2. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
  3. The Color of Water – James McBride
  4. Call of the Wild/White Fang – Jack London
  5. The Prophet – Kahlil Gibran
  6. The Memoirs of Cleopatra – Margaret George
  7. The Stone Boudoir – Theresa Maggio

7 Movies/DVDs I Watch Over & Over Again

  1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
  2. The Sound of Music (1965)
  3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  4. Coming to America (1988)
  5. Guys & Dolls (1955)
  6. Amor Bandido (1979)
  7. Todo Sobre mi Madre/All About My Mother (1999)


7 Tags

  1. Mona of Mona’s Apple
  2. Angelika of The flying Apple
  3. Stephanie of Mana Makan
  4. Melissa CookingDiva of Cooking Diva
  5. Meena of Hooked on Heat
  6. Sailu of Sailu’s Food
  7. Kel of Green Olive Tree

Monday, January 16, 2006

Common Cold Remedies Meme

Raquel of Raquel's Box of Chocolate tagged me for a Common Cold Remedies Meme. She writes:

"This is the time of year we start grabbing for those Kleenexes more and more. A cough here and a sniffle there. Your throat starts to feel itchy and your bones feel achy, you just want to stay in bed. Ahchoo!! God Bless You!

So for this Common Cold Remedies Meme I want to know what you do when you find you have the sniffles? Do you have any family home remedies? Medicinal remedies? Do you practice aromatherapy or yoga? I would love to hear about your cures and soothers. Please share any recipes too!"


I don't have a real remedy, but usually when I get a cold I try to double up on my vitamin C and drink lots of liquids like orange juice, tea, and soup.

Spicy Tomato Chicken Soup is a recipe I'll make again if I get a cold. I found the recipe on My Dhaba. The main ingredients are basic -- chicken, garlic, dried rosemary, tomatoes, vinegar, butter, green chilies, and tomatoes. I like spicy foods, but if you don't, I suppose you can leave out the green chilies when preparing the soup. The soup ingredients do not call for tomato paste, but I think that the next time I make it, I will include it. It's a quick and easy soup to make. Thanks, VK! You'll find the recipe and an appetizing-looking photo here.

I would like to tag the following for this meme:

1- Angelika of The flying Apple
2- Ilva of Lucullian Delights
3- Rosa of Rosa's Yummy Yums
4- Gia of Gia-Gina in Italy
5- Mae Gabriel of rice and noodles
6- Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen


Thanks,
Paz

Too Much Information Meme and 10 Things You Never Knew About Me Meme

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Young Flute Player by Judith Leyster
c.1635 - oil on canvas
National Museum, Stockholm



Hi everyone. I've been tagged for five different memes. So, let's call this week, Meme Week, and please bear with me as I post the responses. ;-) Here are the first two:

Mona tagged me for the Too Much Information meme. Simple rules: post ten weird and random facts about yourself. At the end, list the names of the five people you tagged. It doesn't have to be food related.

Also Ilva tagged me for the 10 Things You Never Knew About Me meme. This one is self explanatory.


As the memes are similar, I'm going to do a two in one meme. Hmmm... Let's see what I can come up with....

1- I used to play the flute, cello, piano, and guitar -- not at the same time, of course.

2- I've been known to leave the Christmas tree (it's artificial) up, at least a month after the Christmas season if over.

3- I like to play Christmas music in the middle of the year (or any other time after Christmas).

4- I like tripe a lot!

5- My favorite place to watch the sunset is on the Greek island of Santorini.

6- I hate to shop (except for books).

7- I love to watch the 1990s Batman and Superman cartoons.

8- Like Mona, Fall is my favorite season.

9- I used to belly dance.

10- I like to watch people dance the tango. I like the music, too. A long time ago, after seeing the movie, The Tango Lesson, I took lessons. I thought that I'd get an attractive male teacher (like the one in the movie) and maybe we'd fall in love (like the characters in the movie). I was wrong. I got a woman teacher who always seemed grouchy and barely tolerable of my two left feet. I didn't last long in the classes, but it was fun to try.

Okay, I seriously think this is really too much information AND 10 things you never knew about me. I wish to tag:

1- Mebeth of Hold the Raisins
2- CJ of CJ's Food & Discovery
3- Eggy of Greedy Goose
4- Lera of MyriadTastes
5- Grace of The Kitchen Journal

Choose whichever meme you'd like to participate in and blog about it.

Now, on to the other memes for which I've been tagged,
Paz

New York Monday #9 - Various City Architectures

Various city architectures.

Paz


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Sunday, January 15, 2006

Weekend Herb Blogging #15 - Tomatoes

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Tomatoes are the subject of my Weekend Herb Blog.

Peixe com mollo de tomate is Portuguese for Fish with Tomato Sauce. I got this recipe from Grace who lives in Angola (Southwestern Africa). She writes that it’s a similar sauce to what they have in the Philippines called sarciado, which includes eggs.

I liked the simplicity of this recipe – fish, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and tomato paste. After making and eating it, I realized that I’ve tasted this type of sauce many times before in West African cooking. It goes perfectly with white rice.

Since Grace’s recipe doesn’t specify a fish fillet type, I used tilapia fillets. My additions to the recipe included hot sauce (I like spicy food) and a handful of chopped Italian flat parsley (I wanted to see some green).

You can find the receipe here. Thanks, Grace!

Paz



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Peixe com Mollo de Tomate (Fish with Tomato Sauce)



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*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn's Kitchen, Sunday.


Weekend Dog Blogging #17

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Happy Sunday!


* Check out the roundup of Weekend Dog Blogging posts at Sweetnicks, Sunday night. Check out the lineup of Weekend Cat Blogging posts at Eat Stuff.


Monday, January 09, 2006

Heart Shaped Scones

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I made scones, for the first time, this Monday morning. I got the recipe from Cindy's Kitchen. Her original food blog is in French. Luckily, she started an English version so that now I can actually read the blog instead of simply admiring the delicious-looking photos.

You can find the easy recipe for Flower Shaped Scones here. I had the ingredients and didn't need to go shopping for anything, so I decided to make the scones for breakfast. I don't have flower-shaped cookie cutters and used my heart-shaped ones.

Putting the ingredients together was easy, baking it was another story. I suppose my oven was too hot by the time I'd prepared the scones and put them in. Also, I cut my dough a little on the thin side and placed them on the lower rack. As a result the bottom of the scones burned very quickly -- they all turned black! Yikes! Not good.

I wasn't ready to give up. Since it was easy to put the ingredients together, I decided to try again and made a new batch. This time the scones turned out very well. I watched them closely in the oven and had no problems. They tasted really good.

I spread cream cheese and pineapple preserves (the preserves I used for some of the empanaditas) on my scones. Oh, they tasted good, especially when coming straight from the oven!

Thanks, Cindy, for the English version of your blog. It is much appreciated!

After my scones-making success, I'm now ready to make the scones that Fran prepared sometime ago -- Cranberry Scones with Orange Glaze. Yummm! I've had my eye on that recipe for quite some time.

In the meantime, I'd like to extend a hearty welcome to Ivonne, who has started a new food blog called Cream Puffs in Venice. She's started off with some really nice recipes and a glimpse of her interesting cookbook collection (over 90 and still counting), from which she'll use for her blog. Go check it out. My future project will be to make cream puffs (and pretend I'm in Venice as I eat them!)! Yes!

Paz


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New York Monday # 8 - Holiday Season Coming to a Close

For many, the holiday season is coming (or has come) to a close. There are a few light decorations still up in some parts of the city. Many people are throwing away their Christmas trees and wreaths. They leave them at the curb for garbage collection or take them to designated locations in the city where the trees are turned into wood chips and then mixed with leaves to make compost. The compost is processed and spread all over the city parks, community gardens and ball fields. Have a good week, everyone!

Paz


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Saturday, January 07, 2006

Weekend Herb Blogging #14 - Asparagus

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Asparagus is a vegetable that has been used from time immemorial. A recipe even exists for asparagus in De re Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking), the oldest known cookbook that dates back to the 3rd century A.D. in Roman times . Written by Apicius, a well-known 1st century gourmet, De re Coquinaria lists the recipes of leading chefs from that time period.

Nutrition wise, asparagus is a good source for folic acid, rutin, potassium, and fiber. It is also low in sodium, calories and is fat and cholesterol free. You can read here for more interesting info on asparagus.

Several months ago, I came across a delicious breakfast recipe that uses asparagus as part of the ingredients from Joey. Thanks, Joey! The recipe called Soft Boiled Egg with Asparagus on Toast, originates from British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

I've mentioned in previous posts about foods I've never liked before until I started to cook. Asparagus is one of them. However, I've found a lot of nice recipes for asparagus, as is the case here.

The ingredients for Soft Boiled Egg with Asparagus on Toast consist of ripe plum tomatoes, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil, pancetta (I used bacon since I didn't have any pancetta on hand), eggs, butter, rustic cottage-style bread (I used chiabatta bread), and of course asparagus.

After you place the asparagus, pancetta (bacon in my case), and egg on top of the bread, the recipe calls for allowing the yolk of the soft-boiled egg to dribble over the asparagus and bread. I'm not crazy about uncooked yolk, so I prepared mine fully. Still delicious!

Jamie Oliver suggests using different eggs, such as goose and duck. Helen, do you still have those duck eggs? This might be a good recipe for them. ;-)

You can find Jamie's recipe for the Soft Boiled Egg with Asparagus on Toast here.

Paz


*One can blog about herbs, plants, vegetables or flowers for Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB). To see the list of other interesting WHB posts, go to Kalyn's Kitchen, Sunday.



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Soft Boiled Egg with Asparagus on Toast
Check out 80 Breakfasts for a better photo!




Weekend Dog Blogging #16

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* Check out the roundup of Weekend Dog Blogging posts at Sweetnicks, Sunday night. Thanks, Sweetnicks! To look at the lineup of the Weekend Cat Blogging posts, check out Eat Stuff.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Happy Three Kings Day (Empanaditas de Gayaba and Pineapple Mini Pies)

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Three Kings Day (also known as Día de los Reyes, The Epiphany, The Adoration of the Magi, and The Manifestation of God) is celebrated on January 6 (12 days after Christmas).

This holiday is observed in Mexico, Puerto Rico, the greater Caribbean, Latin America and throughout the United States. It commemorates the Bible story of the Three Kings (Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar) who followed the Star of Bethlehem to bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (see a photo of a friend's three kings version here) to the Baby Jesus.

After my first failed attempt to make Empanaditas de Gayaba and Pineapple Mini Pies, I decided that this holiday would be a good excuse to try making the dessert empanadas again. Earlier, I'd put the delicate dough, that wouldn't work under my hands, back in the fridge. A few days later, after making the meat empanadas, Empanadas Chilenas, I pulled dessert dough out to give it one more try.

At first, the dough was nice and firm, but within a few minutes it turned super soft and glue-like, again. I was only able to form three (three!) guava empanadas before giving up and throwing the rest of the dough in the garbage can. :-(

I put my three poor-looking Empanaditas de Gayaba in the oven and waited (I didn't even have a chance to make the pineapple version!). When they were ready and I'd pulled them out, I found that they'd lost their shape. What a disaster. The guava had exploded out of the center and the shells had opened up, turning into a blob. I shook my head and placed them on the stove top to cool.

A few minutes later, I tasted one of my disappointing-looking empanaditas. To my surprise, despite its look, it tasted delicious! What a surprise! The dough was sweet, creamy, flaky, and the combination of the dough with the guava filling tasted very good. I finished the three empanaditas by myself. ;-)


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Mishapened, unsuccessful but tasty Empanaditas de Gayaba and Pineapple Mini pies


For Three Kings day, instead of the Empanaditas de Gayaba dough, I decided to use the dough recipe from the Empanadas Chilenas to make the dessert empanadas. I had no problem with the dough. I put the guava and pineapple fillings in the shell and baked them.


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Gayaba (Guava) filling - Goya brand found at local supermarket



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They came out fine (perhaps still a little thick) but not bad. However, the dough tasted different. I found that for a dessert empanada, I prefer the dough from the recipe which gave me trouble in shaping it. Perhaps it was the extra ingredients like the cream cheese and sour cream that made the difference in taste.

So, while my dough from the Empanadas Chilenas turned out well, in the future, I'll only use it for meat empanadas. I'll go back to the Empanaditas de Gayaba recipe once more to try to make a successful dessert empanada. I think the effort will be worth it.

For a nicer photo of a successful Guava Empanada and its recipe, go to Melissa CookingDiva's blog here. If any of you try it, let me know. I'd love to read about your success story.

Paz


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Ed. Note: According to Angelika and Cindy, this holiday is also celebrated in Austria and France. In France, Cindy writes that they make a galette de rois and she wondered what others make. According to the Wikikpedia encyclopedia, "In Mexico, it is traditional for children to leave their shoes out on the evening of January 6, sometimes filling them with hay for the camels, so that the Kings will be generous with their gifts. In Puerto Rico, it is also a tradition for children to fill a box with grass or hay and put it underneath their bed, for the same reasons. This is analogous to children leaving mince pies or cookies and milk out for Santa Claus. In some parts of northern Mexico the shoes are left under the Christmas tree with a letter to the Three Kings. In the afternoon or evening of the same day the ritual of the Rosca de Reyes is shared with family and friends. The Rosca is a type of sweet-bread made with orange blossom, water, and butter; decorated with candied fruit. Baked inside is a small doll representing the baby Jesus. The person who finds the doll in his piece of rosca must throw a party on February 2nd, Calendaria Day, offering tamales and atole (a hot sweet drink thickened with corn flour) to the guests." Look here for more info.


Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Keema Matar and Plain Parathas

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There have been a lot of wonderful Indian cuisine blogs and I've been having fun reading them and saving many of the recipes that catch my eye. After my two successful meals (see here and here), I continued my next cooking adventure by preparing Keema Matar (Ground Meat with Peas) served with plain parathas. I got this recipe from Meena. By the way, she recently posted all the results of her fun "From My Rasoi" event. The listing of Indian cuisine meals is mouthwatering. Check it out!

Back to my meal: I liked the idea of the ground meat and peas. I'd never had parathas before but they looked easy to make, so I decided to make them to serve with the keema matar as the recipe suggested.

Making the keema matar went well. I had all the ingredients in the kitchen and they blended well together: Ground chicken, onions, tomatoes, mixed with spices -- green chilies, cumin seeds, green cardamoms,cinnamon stick, bay leaves, black peppercorns, whole cloves, red chili powder, cumin powder,garam masala, salt and fresh chopped coriander leaves to garnish them meal.

After I prepared the ground beef, I turned my attention to the parathas. The ingredients and directions were very simple -- whole wheat, salt, mixed with water and fried in oil.

My only problem with the parathas were that they came out kind of thick. While I'd never tasted parathas before, I had a feeling that they weren't supposed to be that thick. I believe I didn't roll the dough thin enough. Can anyone tell me what I may have done wrong?

Despite its thickness, the parathas were still edible and went well with the keema matar. It's another meal to try again.

Here are the recipes for the Keema Matar and Plain Parathas. Thanks, Meena!

Paz


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Ground Chicken which is prepared first and then set aside


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Ground chicken mixed with the vegetables and spices

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Parathas dough

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Preparing the parathas in the pan

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The end parathas products


Monday, January 02, 2006

New York Monday #7- Krispy Kreme, Broadway & 125th Street

At Ghone's request, here's a photo of a Krispy Kreme store, or more correctly a store that sells other things and Krispy Kreme donuts. There used to be another KK store in my neighborhood, but they closed. There's a KK store that I know about at Penn Station and another, I believe, in the Village. When I pass that way, I'll be sure to take pictures.

The rest of the photos are of a rainy day in NYC.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!

Paz

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Sunday, January 01, 2006

Arroz com Peixe Frito (Rice with Fried Fish)

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This is my submission for the New Year's Dinner Recipe and Photo Swap event that Melissa CookingDiva is hosting with Cannella, Marcela and Elvira. Read here for more information about the event.

My cousin Raquel is visiting from Holland and this is one of the New Year's meals she prepared for us - Arroz com Peixe Frito (Rice with Fried Fish).

Take fish fillet of your choice. My cousin used cod fish (bacalhau). Cover the fish with mashed garlic, pepper, lemon (and salt if desired). Dip the fillet in beaten egg, and then flour (all purpose flour) before frying.

Prepare rice: Saute a chopped onion in olive oil. After a few minutes, add shredded carrots, and then add rice. Stir, then pour hot water over all the ingredients. Add a bay leaf and salt to taste. Allow the rice to cook. When ready, remove the bay leaf.

You can serve the rice and fried fish with a salad of your choice. In this case, leafy green salad, carrots, tomatoes, red onions, and a handful of sunflower seeds.

Use any salad dressing you want. Here she used extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard. Mix and pour over the salad.

Garnish the meal with green olives.

Simple and delicious.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,
Paz


Ed. Note: Visit the round up list of other recipes here.