Product Recommendations | FOODalogue

Piquillo Red Rice, Jumbo Shrimp, Goya + Me

March 10, 2011
| 15 Comments

I’ll never get an award for brand loyalty. You might say I’m commercially fickle. I fly whichever airline will get me there in the least amount of time for the least amount of dollars. I lease a car just so I can try a different manufacturer and model every 3 years. I buy whatever detergents and other staples attract my eye or are on sale. And, of course, I’m always on to the next and newest brand of anything. There are very few products that I’ve remained true to over the years — and they’re all Goya. Continue Reading

Veggie Rice Bowl

February 26, 2010
| 10 Comments

Here’s another 1-2-3 quick + easy vegetable meal…born of necessity. I had 2 days of leftover veggies in the refrigerator that I wanted to use and I wanted a healthy lunch.

It’s no big deal. It’s not the über recipe. And you’ve probably done meals like this yourself many times. However, it was tasty, colorful and it made me feel like I was taking good care of myself…and that’s a good thing. Continue Reading

Green Bamboo Rice + Sweet Onion Sugar

February 19, 2010
| 16 Comments

The minute I saw this green rice, I knew I had to make it with something in the red-toned family, like salmon or shrimp. And that the fish had to be caramelized with sweet onion sugar!

I found both items in The Spice and Tea Exchange, an interesting little shop – especially for foodies. You can wander around trying various herb, salt, sugar and tea blends.

1-2-3 Quick + Easy Vegetable Meals!

January 29, 2010
| 3 Comments

This one is so simple! And quick. It involves 2 products and little-to-no cooking. Spaghetti Squash is an interesting vegetable, especially when you pair it with something tasty like black beans. You can roast it in the oven or – equally satisfying and quicker – microwave it as I did this time. It takes less than 10 minutes and during that time you can open the can of beans.

A Culinary Tour Around the World: Mongolia

March 14, 2009
| 21 Comments

Kudos to Mongolia’s Betsy Ross. Isn’t this an attractive looking flag? Wikipedia notes the current flag dates back to only 1992 when they removed the socialist star. The right-side red band with yellow figures is ‘soyombo“, the national emblem, which depicts fire, sun, moon, earth, water and Tajitu or the Yin-Yang symbol. Interestingly, for a country that not too many people know anything about, Mongolia is the world’s largest landlocked nation and the 18th largest country. In 2006 the population count was 2.8 million and more than 50% were under age 30. They have a literacy rate of 98%.

Food and Culture Facts

• Mongolian people are big meat eaters…beef, lamb, mutton, marmot, boodog and, yes, gazelles.

• The marmot is cooked whole but from the inside out because they stuff the animal (whatever a marmot may be) with hot rocks.

• Historically nomadic herders, Mongolians have relied on a meat diet as fuel to stave off their cold climate.

• They also have a diet heavy in dairy and use the milk of all domestic animals: sheep, camels, goats, cattle and horses.

• Dairy is the base for Mongolia’s 2 alcoholic drinks: Nermalike, a vodka-like drink made from yogurt, and Airag made from fermented horse’s milk.

• For the tea-toters among you, try Suutei Tsai, said to be a salty tea made from water and mare or yak’s milk, butter, rice, salt and tea.

• And, while I could not find the Mongolian equivalent of “cheers”, I did find this proverb which kind of says it all (in any culture). “He who drinks, dies; he who does not drink, dies as well.”

Recipe Development

Research into traditional Mongolian recipes rendered instructions like “quarter the goat“ or an ingredient list that included “1-half medium sheep“. I think not. Anyway, I wanted to do Mongolian Beef and found this PF Chang* recipe (not a cop out, well, maybe a little) but it is purported to be as good as the original.

While the Himalayas are a bit south of Mongolia, they are close enough to imagine some mixed marriages. And as with every mixed marriage, a little of the culture from both sides goes into the melting pot.

So maybe a male descendant of Chinggis Kahn met a sweet young gal from the Himalayas…and their ‘offspring’ was Mongolian Beef & Himalayan Red Rice.

The Himalayan Red Rice comes from Marx Foods, a fine online purveyor of interesting and exotic foods and spices. I chose to try it as an accompaniment to the Mongolian Beef. It was a perfect blending of counterpoints…the nuttiness of the rice balanced the sweet layer in the beef sauce.

Recipe Critique/Tweaks

Mongolian Beef: For my palate, I would have preferred some ‘heat’ to balance the ‘sweet’ in this sauce. The recipe did not call for salt and I thought perhaps the soy sauce would give it what it needed. It didn’t and I had to add salt at the table.

Red Rice: Very nutty, great texture and bite, and pretty on the plate. I did, however, find that it needed a little more than the recommended 35 minutes cooking time.

And I LOVED, LOVED what I did with the Leftovers!

Himalayan Red Rice with Black Beans and Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin Puree: Sauteed a garlic clove in some olive oil, added a little bacon bits, a can of pure pumpkin, some chipolte powder, smoked paprika and drizzle of cream.

Rice & Beans: Mixed leftover rice with black beans, minced garlic, cumin, chili powder and sauteed. Once again, I was very pleased with the rice which held up well to a second cooking.

This meal was delicious! If Mongolian Beef and Himalayan Red Rice was a good pairing, this was a marriage made in Heaven!

Mongolian Steak Salad

Just what I needed! Some ‘heat’ and fresh greens to counteract the ‘sweet’. I topped my current favorite greens – curly endive – with quickly pan-heated leftover steak, a drizzle of Hot Pepper Sesame Oil and Red Pepper Seasoned Rice Vinegar and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.

*For international readers, PF Chang is an upscale Asian bistro popular in some areas of the U.S.A.

Round-Up: March 18.

Next Stop: The Philippines on or about March 23.

Leftovers anyone?

December 20, 2008
| 15 Comments

Me? I can’t bear to throw them out so when faced with the predicament of all those recorded meals that I cooked, ate and photographed and never posted, I decided a year-end round-up was in order. BTW, it’s a month short of a 1/2-year since I started blogging. My first official post was July 31 and, after 5 months, it’s interesting to re-read. I think I stayed fairly true to my mission statement. Click here if interested.

Anyway, rather than throw the leftovers in the ‘trash’ like table scraps, here’s the lonely little entries that languished in my draft folder waiting to be chosen. Their leafy green or spicy piquant voices crying ’pick me, pick me’. So sad. Too bad. I know I could post them in 2009 but I’ve always been all about ‘out with the old, in with the new’. (And those that know me well are shaking their heads up and down and laughing now.)

Baked Sausage: pork sausage, fennel/carrots/potatoes/pimentos, crusty ciabatta…vino!

Stuffed Chicken Breast with broccoli rabe and white bean puree.

Tuna Melt: Like Frank, I did it “my way”. Tuna mixed with capers, olives & cheese.

Fresh Italian Plum & Toasted Walnuts Tart.

My one foray into pastry wound up getting nicknamed “A tart Tart”.

Lobster Monster Roll at Lemongrass Bistro (one of my 2 favorite decadent foods; the other is Salade Royale of fois gras, prawns and other over-the-top delicacies

at a waterfront restaurant in Cannes).

Chicken Burger on a Ciabatta Roll: Meant to be a product recommendation (I bought in Costco but I haven’t seen it lately). Boo-hoo.

Spinach & Apple Salad: Spanish-inspired with sherry-saffron-mustard vinaigrette & toasted almonds.

Spinach & Apple Salad with feta, walnuts and rice wine vinegar vinaigrette.

Fresh Roasted Tomatoes, Leftover Broccoli and Pesto Oil Pasta…with a scoop of ricotta.

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad: chicken, various veggies, toasted ramen noodles & almonds, rice wine & sesame oil vinaigrette

Cabbage & Lima Bean Parmigiana: savoy cabbage, sauteed onions, lima beans, breadcrumbs & cheese

Tapas: chistorra, morcilla & garbanzos with pan de tomate.

Asian Seafood Pouch: seafood, veggies, udon noodles, nuts, various oriental spices.

Somewhere along the way I had a brilliant(?) idea to create a collection of B&W with 1-color added (a nifty feature, I thought, that my camera offered). Interesting? Crazy? Perhaps, this should have been relegated to the trash. Looks like science lab gone wrong, very wrong.

Stuffed Roasted Vegetables: Eggplant Rolotini; couscous/lentils/cheese & herb stuffed red pepper; olive & bread stuffed mushroom

Spinach Spaghetti with Scallops and fresh tomatoes.

Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps: ground pork, Asian spices, chow mein noodles.

Spicy, but in a good way.

A YUMMY, HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

Joan aka ‘culinista @ foodalogue.com’

P.S. If anyone wants a full recipe for any of these featured items, email me at info@foodalogue.com and I’ll be happy to send it to you.

Spanish Fig Cake

August 31, 2008
| 1 Comment

Product Recommendation:
I discovered Spanish “Fig Cake” not too long ago and have been a devotee ever since. It is pure figs mixed with almonds and anise flavoring. Nothing more. Nothing less.

It is a delicious and healthy alternative to processed and sugar/fat laden desserts — and the hint of anise adds a mysterious layer that makes you stop, think and say hmmm?. For me, a nibble is all I need to satisfy the sweet tooth.

Spanish fig cake is sold in plastic-wrapped wedges and is available in specialty food stores. I get mine in the Italian produce market in my neighborhood. Hope you can find it in your neighborhood. Let me know!