Lunch in the rain

We went out to the food trucks for lunch Friday and got caught in about the only rain we've had in months. It didn't even occur to us to pull open the blinds to see if it was raining, because ... why bother?

We didn't score one of the two tables with umbrellas but we toughed it out anyway, because we are men. And we were hungry.

(That's Nate in the lower right, and Brian next to him.)

My favorite food truck is Pig Vicious, which has an excellent pork-oriented menu. But the one I eat at most often is a Mexican taco truck because it's the only one that's open every day. Most of the rest are only open Fridays and evenings.

Fondue for two

Andrea and Jeremy offered to watch the munchkins so Rachel and I went on a date.

Rachel had desert with her cousins at a Melting Pot restaurant years ago, and has been interested in trying a full meal there ever since. It just so happens that we live less than a mile from one...

I'd say it was worth trying ... once. The cheese appetizer was only okay, and the main course of meat was difficult to avoid overcooking--and even if you were better at that than I, there's only so much you can do with boiled meat anyway.

But dessert was fantastic. The brownie was especially good when re-dipped in the chocolate. We'll keep it in mind when we're going out (1) just for dessert and (2) without the kids. Those two don't align very often.

Dinnertime

Isaac would rather eat raw oatmeal than roast beef.

Mama Mia!

Homemade spaghetti sauce is one of the very few foods I cook that Isaac loves to eat.

Matthew likes it, Melissa hates it, and Isaac will eat it by the bowlful.

With noodles, without noodles- he doesn't care!

 

Three bowls later...

Portrait of a happy Pumpkin.

The donutburger

IMAG0211
Originally uploaded by jbellis

This was lunch on my last Atlanta trip. I have to say, it was pretty good.

Entertaining Isaac

We tried a new (to us) Filipino restaurant last night. It's on the other side of San Antonio, so it wouldn't usually be worth the drive, but it was just a couple miles away from Lackland Air Force Base where we picked up Rachel's brother Chris.

The help was (first generation) American, but the food was good. And in the back Isaac found a place where the rain from the day before had pooled: two year old boy heaven.

Entertaininh Isaac
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Two-fisted bean eating

Two-fisted bean eating
Originally uploaded by jbellis

A milestone

I was raised on a bland diet: neither of my parents is fond of spicy food, so my mother never cooked it. We didn't eat out to speak of, so I wasn't exposed to it that way either.

I didn't feel like I was missing anything. Why eat food that was painful? But when I started dating in college and going out to more restaurants, I found that I really liked Asian food, especially Thai food. Most Thai food is spicy, although I understand that American restaurants tone this down for wimpy white person taste buds. So if I had to learn to like spicy food to eat Thai, that was a trade-off at least worth considering.

So I've been working on this for years now, slowly, and now I'm mostly on a par with Rachel, who had the advantage of growing up with Tabasco sauce. Tonight I made Thai beef salad with Serrano peppers (substituted for the "thai red peppers" it called for; I'm pretty sure they are not to be found in San Antonio), and our guests commented that Serranos are spicier than Jalapenos.

I was pleased, because when I was a kid I thought Jalapenos were very, very spicy. Of course I knew by now that Jalapenos are really at the bottom of the minor leagues for spiciness, but hey: progress.

(Only recently did I learn that "the whole point of spicy food is that at first it is painful, causing the release of endorphins to the brain. With time the pain goes away and you still get the endorphins." A light turned on...)

Beef barley soup

He enjoyed himself thoroughly.

[Updated: Rachel's beef barley soup

*(this is an approximate, because I'm terrible about measuring. I'm more of a dash of this and some of that type of cook)

1/3 package dried pearl barley
1 left over roast (1-2 lbs) + any beef stock from the roast
1 chopped onion
2 medium potatoes cubed
3 carrots sliced
1 c frozen green beans or corn
4 cans of tomato sauce
3-5 bay leaves
5 or so bullion cubes
1/4 c Worcester sauce
1 tsp diced garlic
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp Italian seasoning
water as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pearl barley ahead of time and set aside. (Alternatively you can cook it with the sauce and seasonings but before you add any vegetables) Dump tomato sauce, basil, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, beef stock, garlic, bullion cubes, Worcester sauce, and 6 to 8 cups of water into a large pot and cook on medium heat. While that is warming, saute the onion in butter until translucent and put into the pot. Toss in the potato, carrots, and beans (or any veggie you like). Turn the stove down to low. Chop up the roast and add to the pot along with the barley. Cook with a lid on and stir periodically, and be careful not to let it stick to the bottom. Add more water as needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Get distracted by children. Soup will stick to the bottom. Taste soup. If it doesn't taste burnt, carefully transfer the soup to a new pot and avoid scraping the bottom. Vow to watch and stir more diligently. Cook till the vegetables are softened but not mushy.

Serve piping hot soup with warm bread on a wet or cold day.]

Cooking has never really been my strong point

Photo152
Originally uploaded by jbellis

An embarrassing new low occurred while I was boiling some eggs for Melissa. They are one of the few foods that meet my definition of "quick," Melissa's definition of "tasty," and Rachel's definition of "healthy." Melissa eats a lot of hard boiled eggs for breakfast, is what I'm saying.

So I put them on to boil. And then I went back to fixing my bug, until bang! this egg here exploded, knocking the lid off the pot and landing on the floor. The rest of the eggs were all charred and blackened; all the water had boiled off long ago.

Rachel is still miffed about the charification on her pot, but I have two words to that: beef soup. She knows what I mean.

Another Ellis likes potatoes

Photo113
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Korean barbeque

While I was in San Jose for OSCON I had dinner with Oscar, an old friend from my days teaching at Northface (now Neumont). We had Korean Barbeque, and I had two surprises: the price ($30 each) and the service -- they had a buffet of meats to choose from, which you then cooked yourself. There were no signs, so I have no idea what I ate other than what animal it came from.

Tasty, though. And so far I don't seem to have come down with samonella or trichinosis.

Mama Mia!

(Or Isaac's first big people table food)

I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce with fresh vegetables and sausage on Sunday- none of this sauce in a jar stuff. As I cleaned up the kitchen, I put the big wooden sauce spoon in the dishwasher and turned to wipe counters. It was then that I heard happy baby noises. Uh oh. Isaac took the spoon from the dishwasher and was happily slurping away. He had sauce all over his face and hands. He proceeded to lick that spoon clean and was looking for more!

We sat down for dinner and Jonathan gave Isaac a noodle to keep him occupied until a small bowl of sauce cooled. Isaac eagerly downed the cooled sauce and begged for more. So Jon fed him more sauce and noodles.

The boy loves to eat! Matthew and Melissa were such picky young eaters (Melissa still is for that matter), that it warms my heart to have a kid who truly appreciates good food.

More Kitchen Concoctions

Jonathan and I both love Thai food. I decided to try my hand at a red curry dish tonight. Tried to make masaman curry about a month ago with poor results, so Jonathan was hesitant. When he saw me dicing some sweet potatoes in the kitchen, he sceptically went hunting for Doritos. Fortunately, as he later admitted, he was unable to find them and had plenty of room for dinner. I was rather pleased with how it turned out. It was moderately spicy with sweet, tangy, and creamy undertones. A good curry indeed! I found a fairly easy recipe, which I substantially altered to suit what I had on hand, and our particular tastes. Here is my take on red curry with beef.

Red Curry with Beef
(Serves about 6)


1 small can of bamboo shoots
16 oz can of coconut milk
1 c water
2 tbls + 1 or 2 tsp red curry paste
1/2 onion, chopped
1 lb cubed stew meat
1 small sweet potato chopped in medium chunks
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 tbls fish sauce
2 tbls lime juice
2 tsp soft brown sugar
several stalks of basil leaves (according to taste)

Start your rice cooker now so the rice will be ready when the curry is done.

In a wok combine the coconut milk, water, and curry paste. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally.

In a separate frying pan, cook stew beef in a tablespoon of cooking oil until no longer pink. Add a dash of salt.

While beef is cooking add the sweet potatoes and cook over medium heat until the sweet potatoes are nearly cooked.

Add the red pepper, zucchini, and beef and simmer for another five minutes. Add 1/2 cup water if the sauce gets too thick.

Lastly add the bamboo shoots, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and the basil leaves. Stir well and serve on rice.

Enjoy!

Experimenting in the kitchen

Jonathan likes to try out new Asian recipes whenever we have company over. After spending two years in the Philippines, he's developed a taste for all kinds of Asian dishes. Last week he made a very tasty Thai beef salad, after trying it from a local restaurant. San Antonio has a surprising number of fantastic Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. It's not all tex-mex here. Sadly there are not any great places to get Filipino food, just one place that is only OK. This Sunday he tried his hand at lemon grass chicken, which was a huge hit. Delicious!

The recipe comes from "New Asian Cooking" bought from Borders on clearance.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Lemon Grass, Ginger and Chili

(Vietnamese)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Total cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 4

2 tablespoons oil
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 in piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 stems lemon grass, very finely sliced (you can use frozen chopped lemon grass instead of fresh we found, but do not use dried out lemon grass stems)
2-3 teaspoons chopped green chilies
1 lb chicken thigh fillets, thinly sliced (chicken breast works ok too)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce

garnish
extra green chilies, fresh cilantro, and Vietnamese mint leaves (we didn't have mint leaves and it worked fine)

1. Heat the oil in a wok and add onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chilies. Stir for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until the mixture is lightly golden. Take care not to burn the mixture or it will taste bitter.

2. Increase the heat, add the chicken slices and toss well. Be sure to cook this stir fry quickly in a very hot wok, or the chicken will stew in its own juices. Sprinkle the sugar over the chicken and cook for approximately 5 minutes, tossing regularly until just cooked.

3. Add the fish sauce, cook for another 2 minutes and serve garnished with sliced green chilies, fresh cilantro, and mint. Serve with steamed rice.

Speaking of rice, I dropped the lid to our old rice cooker a week ago and just shattered it. Jonathan has had this cooker for 9? 10? years and it's worked well, so I felt a little bad about it. Jon's old roommate and best friend from college, Ellis, bought it for him because Jonathan kept scorching the rice when he used a pot. Jon would start the rice, get distracted, and before you know it the rice was burning. If you've ever burned rice you know how terrible that smell is! Ellis, tired of smelling scorched rice, gave him the rice cooker.

Anyway after I broke the lid, Jonathan said not to worry, he could just use the pot method. Well, just like his college days, he burned it. So I immediately ordered him a new one. I bought a low end Zojirushi after reading the reviews, and we put it to the test yesterday. So far, so good.

Our kids are much less adventurous when it comes to food, so for them we made chicken skewers. My hat's off to my friend Kim for this easy, kid friendly recipe. Thanks Kim!

Chicken Skewers

3 chicken breasts
1 cup soy sauce
2 cups brown sugar

Soak your wooden skewers in water ahead of time for a few hours so they don't burn in the broiler. Combine the soy sauce and brown sugar. Cut the chicken into long strips, about 1/4 inch thick. Put them in the soy sauce mixture for a couple of hours. Thread the chicken on the skewers and place in the broiler for about 10 minutes.

Easy, easy, and the kids loved them.

Matthew, Melissa, and I went to an Asian grocery store Saturday night to collect the harder to find items like lemon grass. Unfortunately there isn't one nearby, so it was a good half hour drive. The one we found had a pretty good selection though and we walked away with more than we had on our list! Matthew spotted the pearl tapioca and just had to have it. I also found lumpia wrappers, various rice noodles, curry pastes, fat straws (for the pearl tea- which can be made as a fruit drink or a tea), cans of coconut milk, seasame oil, and more.

Today Matthew begged me to make bubble tea (minus the tea). We first tried it at a place called Pearlberry here in San Antonio and it's really a fun drink. At the bottom of a clear glass are large pearls of tapioca, and the drink is made of a milk based fruit smoothie. You use a large straw and the tapioca comes up through the straw, which you chew. The pearls are kind of like a soft gummy candy. Sounds weird, but it's very tasty.

Matthew decided to call it "bubble fruit" since we don't use tea.

Bubble Fruit

Cook tapioca according to directions and make the syrup. I found a good site here at Bubble Tea Supply with good directions.

Sugar syrup:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups water

1. Mix sugar and water in a pot.
2. Cook on high heat
3. Once the mixture starts to boil remove from heat

After you've cooked the tapioca and the syrup, cover the tapioca with the syrup, reserving some for the drink. Let sit for a few minutes while you make the drink.

Strawberry/Mango Fruit drink (Rachel's concotion)

2 cups ice
2 fresh mangos (or frozen)
1-2 cups frozen strawberries
1 tbsp powdered milk
1/4- 1/2 cup sugar syrup

milk to cover the mixture in the blender

blend until smooth

Now put it all together!

Use four clear glasses. With a slotted spoon scoop out the tapioca pearls and place roughly 1/4 cup in each glass. Pour the strawberry mango drink on top and place an extra wide straw in each glass. Enjoy!

It's really a beautiful drink and I wished I'd remembered to take pictures. Oh well, next time.

Valentines day food

I get Rachel a present on Valentines day. (At first I thought this might be sort of optional seeing as how it's an entirely artificial holiday, but I was wrong.) I discourage her from trying to reciprocate, though; guys -- and me in particular -- are hard enough to buy gifts for as it is, without adding another occasion into it.

So instead, Rachel goes all out on the food.

We started the day with German apple pancakes, a completely unhealthy and entirely delicious concoction of basically butter, topped with whipped cream. Also there are some apples for decoration. Delicious. (We first tried these at the Magnolia Pancake Haus here in SA, but Rachel's are better.)

Nobody was hungry for lunch, although Melissa did completely polish off her box of chocolates. That girl is a chocolate fiend.

For dinner we are having steak, with an ice cream cake for dessert. The valentine's day ice cream cake is our longest-running tradition as a couple, dating back to our very first valentine's day together. (Rachel still remembers walking to Baskin Robbins in Provo from the Glenwood.) That was a good cake.

That could have gone better

Today I decided give Isaac a taste of avocado. I tried to just give him a tiny mushy sliver of it, but no, he wanted to do it himself. He eagerly grabbed a fistful and managed to get a small taste in his mouth.

He worked his jaws for a few moments and looked thoughtful. Then his face screwed up in disgust. Before I could prepare he spit up copious amounts of milk along with the avocado all over himself and me.

Well darn. Guess I'll wait another week or two. Maybe he would prefer banana...

Why is this woman eating dinner in bed?

Why is this woman eating dinner in bed?
Originally uploaded by jbellis

An experienced husband knew immediately: she's hiding from the kids.

My Garden

Mom cooked roast and potatoes for dinner tonight. (I've missed Mom's cooking!) Matthew helped pick and husk the corn and collect some of the tomatoes from the garden for dinner. We've eaten carrots, beans (purple beans! and some plain green ones), and zucchini as well so far. Today I picked the first cucumber. I'm rather proud of my little garden. I've been making grand schemes for a big garden when we have a little more land, someday.

The tomatoes are really producing! We've harvested several large bowls of them already.

Mmmmm...

I just discovered the dark chocolate covered, vanilla ice cream Haagen-Dazs bar. It was love at first bite. Then I turned the package over. Hmmm. It's going to have to be a long distance relationship. Total fat 25 g, saturated fat 16?g, total calories 350. But oh, it was good! Plus it had ingredients I actually recognized (cream, milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, Belgian chocolate....). Always a good thing.

Mmmmm.