Gourmet Trailer-Trash Tacos

Our friend Joe Sib says he likes to starve all day if he knows he's coming over for dinner.  The Sibs are vegetarians, we are are omnivores.  I bought a vegetarian cook book years ago and never tried any of the recipes (the meals didn't seam substantial) so I have no real experience in cooking with 'meat substitutions'.  My daughter Bean tried to be a vegetarian over the summer, it lasted one evening.  Generally if I make a vegetarian dish, it just has no meat and tofu is just 'tofu'.



Okay note to Self:  check out more photos of food and learn from the pros, this is not a very good composition...

 

Fortunately my sister turned me onto the best (and only) 'meatless ground' for tonight's meal.  Through out the cooking process Peter and Biebs were assured that  the 'real meat' is for "us, right?!"  So there you have it tonight's dinner with our dear friends:  veggie tacos for The Sibs and sirloin-turkey tacos for 'us'.  I mixed in frozen succotash for flavor into the ground meat/meatless and it's another way of getting vegetables into my family's diet.

Tonight's dessert was inspired by the triple digit (102 F on Miracle Mile!) heat wave.  We are took advantage of the warm whether and celebrated the last days of Summer: Strawberry Shortcake.    

We had store bought taco shells and ground meat for a festive and glamorous version of "loose meat" tacos (...my husband hates those words).  More shortcuts: store bought salsa and re-fried beans, I 'doctor' the beans with garlic and olive oil. I also combine sirloin and turkey ground meat because I think it's a little bit healthier. 

Food Rookie Note:  Make it easy and fun for a casual dinner with friends and have your guests pitch in with dessert, everyone feels helpful if they can contribute.  I have the Monkeys (my kids) help assemble the dessert: store bought angel food cake, vanilla bean ice-cream, fresh glazed strawberries, fresh blueberries, and whipped cream (spray can or home made is fine).  The Sibs brought all the dessert fixings (and drinks!) for tonight's meal.  Love breaking bread with friends.

It's Not All Fun and Food

Life is stressful right now, my dad is fighting Cancer.  I went down to OC last Sunday morning to commemorate my Grandmother's (Dad side) passing (more than 2 decades ago) as part of my daughterly duties to honor the old customs.  My dad is going through another round of chemo therapy and the side affects were obvious. 

I am a third-generation control freak and it's painful to know there is not much I can do...but wait, cook and pray and wait, cook and pray and wait, cook and pray..............

...and over the weekend I made my dad his favorite soup.  I call it V8 Minestrone Soup:  inspired by the Olive Garden  which opened near our house in glamorous Buena Park, Orange County when I was in High School.    Nutritious and palatable for someone going through chemo therapy.  I packed up three containers so my mom can keep the freezer stocked.  The last time I made this was before I left home for art school over 15 years ago.

We took my parents to the coast of Maine this summer...my dad relaxing in the Atlantic Ocean.  Ahh.......

Pork Roast: Love at First Bite

What says "I love you, honey" more than coming home from a day of meetings at my corporate 'jobby job' to home made Pork Roast on a Monday night?!  Nothing that I can think of, that's what.  Did I mention it's a MONDAY...?!  Some will argue that food is not love (although I actually say it to the cat sometimes...) in our house serving one another great meals is integral to family bonding.  That's how my husband won me over, fifteen years ago.  He fed me. 

Tonight Peter made Pork Roast:  Carrots, onions, celery, pork loin, and lots of LOVE.  I sauteed brocolli and mushrooms for sides.  All served with mashed potatoes.  We didn't take short cuts tonight, saving that for mid week when we start to run out of steam...

Food Rookie Note:  Pork roast is similar to braised brisket, it needs a good deal of au jus to keep the meat tender and moist.  It's best to start the dish in some broth or liquid so it can make it's own gravy while it cooks.  "Low & Slow" is what I recommend for braising meat:  low temp so it cooks nice and slow.

Week END & Good Toast

Weekends are generally pretty busy at our house, we try to cram in as much family time as possible in addition to balancing it all out with ME time.  Peter goes to the gym and I get to yoga.  Today I checked out a new massage therapist at Grace's Healing Center on La Brea at Fountain.  Grace is a true 'healer'.  I went in for a Swedish and instead received an intense deep tissue with hot stone and cupping because I was so tense and STRESSED, Grace-the-healer insisted.  Grace also only charged me for the price of a Swedish.  Highly recommend you give Grace a chance when time permits...

As the weekend winds down homemade Sunday evening meals are mandatory in starting the school/work week off to a good start.  A game of scrabble while we prep dinner and enjoy some good toast!  We are inspired by The Hungry Cat (at Hollywood and Vine) to always try and serve quality bread, brushed with good olive oil (sometimes rubbed with garlic too) and toasted to perfection in the oven set on broiler.

We ran out of good bread so I served herbed goat cheese toasted on pita bread triangles with an arugula salad appetizer.

 

Sunday supper:  Simple pan fried Salmon (just salt and pepper!) with fettuccine alfredo and brocolli. Salmon inspired by my late friend Jim who taught me to "let the fish do the work" and that proves true for most simple meat dishes like tonight. Alfredo sauce by Emril from Foodnetwork.com and the Food Channel.

Food Rookie Note:  The left over salmon can be crumbled and incorporated in a Salad Nicoise the next day while the fettuccine with brocolli will go to school with the kids tomorrow in their lunches.  Peter baked some chicken breasts that can be sliced and added to complete the meal. 

Just Like the Incredibles

You know that scene in Pixars' The Incredibles where the family sits down to dinner and it's 'leftovers' night?  We had leftovers tonight, in a different form:  fried rice.  Leftovers is not the most exciting dinner but it makes me feel like a better person for eating the food God gave me.  I was raised Buddhist and coming from a third-world country I actually feel like it's a sin to throw away good food.  Trying to teach my kids the same value is a bit of a challenge. I bought bok choy to make a clear broth soup but got a little too tired to follow through...

Rice, brocolli, onions, steak, and frozen carrots and baby peas.  Not vegetarian friendly obviously...

Leftovers Night is fantastic particularly on a Thursday night, a.k.a 'Little Friday' in our house.  My husband and I are pretty beat from cooking all week so it offers a semi-break before the weekend when the Monkeys descend on us instead of being in school, we will need to provide them with nutritious meals 3 times a day AND snacks in between (!). Not that we don't do that anyway through packed lunches that resemble food coolers Alaskan lumberjacks tote to work daily, the Monkeys seems to require more feeding during the weekends.

Also working on four separate seasons right now and researching constantly for new Holiday 2011 collection which leaves me pretty drained by Thursday night....did I mention I really don't mind Leftovers Night?.  If you get a chance, check out Style.com for the latest Spring 2011 collections from New York Fashion Week.  Notable mention so far for color story:  Marc Jacobs (not Marc by Marc Jacobs), LAMB, and Carolina Herrera.  Will report back later on the rest of the collections...

Food Rookie Note:  Use a little less water if you're making rice from scratch, this will help keep the rice fluffy and not clump together.

Pre-Algebra & Italian Chicken Stew

Ack!  Pre-Algebra at my age is a challenge, relearning it so I can tutor my son is a priority and it routinely requires approximately an hour of intense dedication for both of us. Now that school is back in session, I am in the habit of cooking extra meals on the weekends and serving the meals throughout the work week, which allows me time to go over homework with the Monkeys. I made this Sunday night and stored it untampered in the refridgerator and reheated for tonight's dinner.

This dish was inspired by my friend Nancy (a REAL Italian) when I stayed with her and her husband in NYC.  Nancy served it with white rice and a salad.  Tonight we served it with penne pasta, store bought frozen garlic bread, and store bought Caesar Salad.

Food Rookie Note:   Meat sauces tend to marry and actually taste better after a day or two in the fridge.  Saves time and allows working parents to cut corners in feeding the family.  Also love to cut corners from store bought sides...just like Sara Lee's Almost Home Cooking on Food Channel.

First Blog & First Day of School

Finalllllly.....After MONTHS of talking about starting a food blog this initial post launches my blog!

My daughter started 4th grade today, and my son (we'll call him Biebs for now) is in his third week of 6th grade.  I took Biebs to ZARA today for some work I had to do and encouraged him to look at the 'Kids' section for something he liked, I want to upgrade his Fall outerwear (currently last year's  hand-me down from his cousin Chey-Chey) which he out grew 3 months ago and is not aware that it's a Girls' style.  Biebs selected a very respectable "just like New York" trench jacket.  ZARA carries amazing fashion-forward collections for kids size 2-14 for Boys and Girls as well as Baby.

Galbi garnished with fresh scallions.


We came home and had Galbi, marinated from a Korean butcher at "the southwest corner of 3rd and Western" according to my hubby who has the skinny on Korean marinated short ribs.

Yummmmm.  Pictured with rice and Asian inspired 'succotash' which basically consists of  fresh spinach, frozen corn, frozen baby green peas and fresh sauteed onions. (Darn, forgot the scallions for better presentation...a tip from Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential", always remember to garnish!)

 Food Rookie Note:  I've heard that frozen veggies are more beneficial than canned veggies because their nutrients are captured in the freezing process as opposed to steaming where the vitamins are lost in the 'water' in canning stages.