Bittersweet / Agridulce

This week at work was filled with mixed emotions for me. We said goodbye to my best friend at work, Brian, who was promoted to a better, more important job.  Although I'm very happy for him and I wish him the best in his new job, I'm feeling very sorry for myself because I'm going to miss him a lot.

Let me introduce you to my friend: 

His name is Brian but it should be BRAIN. He is one of the smartest guys I've known. Brian loves computers and he is very good with most computer applications, his favorite is Microsoft Excel. I often walked into Brian's office and started talking to him about an idea I had to make the job easier but I needed a spreadsheet or a special tool made in Excel. He would ask me; "what do you need?" and while I was talking, he would have his fingers on the keyboard and before I knew it, in a matter of minutes he had my tool and had given me a crash course on how to use it. He is that good!

He was my fellow supervisor for several years and we enjoyed a friendly rivalry. He didn't like it when I didn't know how to do my job because he had to help me but he secretly enjoyed telling me what to do. I let him think I didn't know my job so he could feel good about himself.  Brian loves football games. I knew when he attended one because he always lost his voice from yelling too much. He pretended to be sick but I knew he was at the game the night before. 

I had a lot of fun all these years and I was very fortunate to have worked with Brian. During challenging times I could always count on him to listen and to give good advice. Everyone in the office is losing a good asset and I'm losing a fine friend. 

On the other hand, I'm extremely happy for Brian; he deserves a big promotion and a big celebration! We said goodbye to him with a potluck to celebrate his promotion and to let him know how much everyone appreciates him. Potlucks in my office are the best. We always have delicious food and lots of it! Here are some pictures of the food we had and the recipe of the dish I prepared for my friend.

Mediterranean Salad

Watermelon

Turkey Wraps

 Turron Filipino

Baba ghanoush

Oriental Salad

Fresh Strawberries

Multicolor Beans

Multicolor Bean Salad

8 sundried tomatoes (I used the ones packed in a bag, without oil)

1 can black beans (29 oz.)

1 can white cannellini beans (15 oz.)

1 each; red, yellow and green bell peppers

1 red onion

½  cup chopped parsley

Finely chop sundried tomatoes and place them in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water and soak for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile drain and rinse beans in cold water. Drain well and place them in a salad bowl. Finely chop peppers and onions and add to the bowl. Drain chopped tomatoes and add to the salad bowl. Stir in the parsley and set aside.

For dressing:

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon sumac (can be substitute with lime zest or any other dried herb)

½ teaspoon salt

Place all these ingredients in a jar, cover and shake well to blend. Add to bean mixture. Toss to coat all the vegetables. Serve at room temperature.

Fluffy Pancakes with Kumquat Mermalade and Blueberry Syrup / Esponcojitos Pancakes con Mermelada de Kumquat y Jarabe de Arándanos

Another lovely Sunday here in beautiful San Diego. There is nothing better then to start the day with my breakfast tradition (which I adopted from my father's); delicious Sunday pancakes. 

A while ago, I read a post in Pity's blog where she posted recipes for glazed kumquats and blueberries. I have made Pity's recipes many times because I love them, but today I gave them a twist of my own and we had them over pancakes for breakfast. They were de-li-cious!

Kumquat Marmalade

2 lb. kumquats, thinly sliced and seeds removed

1 C. sugar

2 T. water

In a saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes stirring several times. You know it's ready when you run your finger through the back of a wooden spoon coated with the mixture and it doesn't come together. Place in a sterilized jar. 

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 egg, beaten

1 C. buttermilk

1 C. all purpose flour

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 t. sugar

1 to 2 T. melted butter

1/2 t. vanilla

Combine egg and buttermilk. In a larger separate bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add egg and buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla; stir with a few quick strokes just to moisten the dry ingredients. Ignore the lumps - do not over mix! Cook pancakes on a hot, well greased griddle. Serve hot topped with kumquat jam.

Blueberry Syrup

2 pt. blueberries, cleaned

3/4 C. sugar

the seeds of 5 cardamon pods

2 T. lemon juice

In a saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes stirring several times. You know it's ready when the fruit starts to break and the sauce has thickened.

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

1 egg

1 C. plain yogurt

1/2 C. all purpose flour

1/2 C. blue cornmeal

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 t. sugar

2 T. melted butter

1/2 t. almond extract

Combine egg and yogurt. In a larger separate bowl sift flour, blue cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add egg and yogurt; stir with a few quick strokes just to moisten the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and almond extract; stir until well incorporated. Cook pancakes on a hot, well greased griddle. Serve hot topped with blueberry syrup.

Para Las Madres Mexicanas

¡Muchas Felicidades en su día!

No Lard and No Cheese / No Manteca y No Queso

Last week someone from my husband's family said; "I love Mexican food but if I eat it every day I will probably gain a lot of weight." Why? I asked. "Well, because Mexican food is very rich and with all that lard and cheese..." Not all Mexican food is heavy and not everything has lard and cheese, I said. "Really?"

I think it has something to do with their misconception that all Mexican food is prepared with lard. The Mexican food I have shared with my American family is mostly the dishes that they like and that they have eaten in a Mexican restaurant in the United States. They like my food and they always want me to cook beans and salsa for them. When I first made chilaquiles for my husband's family, they thought it was the best thing they ever ate. Until this day every time I visit them all they want is for me to cook chilaquiles; they even have the ingredients ready for when I arrive. I told them I know how to cook other things but they don't care, chilaquiles is all they want!

I hardly ever use lard in my dishes but I guess the person that made the above comment thought I did. The last thing I want is to scared people away from real Mexican food for fear of gaining weight. So, from now on, I'm taking those comments as a challenge. Next time I visit my in-laws (or when they come to visit me), I'm going to prepare a new Mexican dish for them; one that does not include lard or cheese in its preparation; and since there are many, they will be surprised and I'm sure they will enjoy discovering new and delicious Mexican dishes.

This dish may be perceived as unhealthy because part of it is fried. But I assure you, the end product is not heavy or greasy at all. It is a nice vegetarian dish with a light feel and is delicious. Ah! and includes neither lard nor cheese.

Cauliflower Florets in Broth

1 large head cauliflower

4 egg whites and 2 egg yolks

3/4 cup flour

Vegetable oil, enough for frying 

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 cup tomato sauce (homemade or purchased)

1/2 cup vegetable broth (can use chicken broth or water)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped (can use dried oregano)

Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets, not too big and not too small. Drain and pad dry.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks and continue beating until just incorporated.

Put flour on a dish and season with salt. Dip the florets in the flour, then into the beaten egg and then fry in hot oil. Place on paper towel to drain excess oil.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and sauté the sliced onion until translucent. Add tomato sauce, vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the oregano and cauliflower florets. Simmer until the flavors are incorporated, about 10 minutes.

Serve hot.

Buckeyes / Ojos de Venado

María María

A couple of weeks ago I was celebrating my 50th birthday. This year my birthday fell on a Wednesday so my husband and I decided that we were not going to celebrate it until the weekend. However, my crew took me out for lunch and after work my sister, Grace, invited me over to her house for cake. Her daughter and I have the same birthday so she baked a cake for both of us. I really enjoyed my day. 

When the weekend came, on Saturday, my husband told me he made a reservation at María María, a Mexican restaurant relatively new in town. This place is really good - we have eaten there before. The day was very cold and it had been raining thoughout so I really didn't feel like going out. I told my husband we didn't need to go, I was happy to cook something nice at home but he said; "oh no, this is a special birthday and I want to take you out". So, we got ready and headed out to the restaurant. To my big surprise, all my sisters and their husbands were there waiting for me! My husband had been planing this dinner for me all along. I had no idea! This was one of the most precious presents he could have given me. I love my family and having a surprise party at a restaurant with all of them was just so beautiful to me. I adore my husband for being able to keep this a secret and for not letting me stay at home that night. What a great thing to do for me!

Till this day, I think about my birthday dinner and still enjoy memories of the fun we had. So, I wanted to make something nice for my husband to thank him for such a nice birthday present. I made his favorite candy - Buckeye. This is a candy I learned to make a long, long time ago. My mother-in-law taught me how to make it. She makes Buckeyes every Christmas. It is a candy traditionally made for the holidays but my husband loves it at any time of the year. It's made out of peanut butter and chocolate - delicious!

Buckeyes

1 lb. creamy peanut butter

1 lb. confectioner sugar

1 stick of butter, melted

3 C. Rice Krispies (optional)

Mix above ingredients by hand and roll into small balls. Add more melted butter if too dry. Place on a cookie sheet or tray and refrigerate until firm.

In a double boiler melt:

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips 

8 oz. milk chocolate chips

1/2 bar of paraffin wax

Pick balls with a toothpick and dip into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper and refrigerate or freeze. They are ready to eat as soon as the chocolate sets.