A Taste For Food

Picture Your Food: Photos, Recipes, and Tales from the Table

March 21st, 2012

Amazing Pork Roast

No Comments, Easy, en Español, Food, Main Course, Recipes, by Erin.

 

(en español más abajo)

For my birthday lunch, I decided to cook a pork roast.  It turned out to be the best one I’ve ever cooked, and it’s completely irrelevant that it was my first ever pork roast.  To start, I had to figure out how to buy a pork loin roast in Cusco, so I go to the carnicería (butcher shop) armed with my picture of a pig and its parts labeled.  Since I’m not great with my cuts of meat in the English-speaking world, I knew it wouldn´t be any easier here!

 

 

The lady that runs the shop is awesome.  She’s always friendly, helpful, and remembers me when I go to buy meat.  She got a kick out of my pig picture and said, ¡Así es cómo nos entendemos!  This is how we can understand each other!  So, after some back and forth about the exact cut, I leave with 1.12 kg, or 2.5 lbs, of pork.

 

Now, off to the grocery store to find some Herbs of Provence.  If you don’t know what that is, never fear!  I just learned myself.  It is a mix of herbs typically found in Provence, France, which may include savory, fennel, rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme, and lavender among others.  Not having a fully stocked herb cabinet or garden, I didn´t want to spend a lot only on herbs, so, for my blend, I used dried oregano, dried bay leaves, and fresh basil.

Back in the kitchen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C.)  Mix about 2 tablespoons of these herbs in a small bowl with a tablespoon each of onion powder (or a little bit of chopped onions if that´s not part of your stash), light brown sugar, lemon juice, two tablespoons of olive oil, and a teaspoon of crushed garlic.  Salt and pepper both sides of the pork, then rub the herb mix all over it.  Place in a roasting pan or a casserole dish (fat side up) and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until a meat thermometer shows an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (or 63 degrees C, the recommended internal temperature according to the USDA as of March 2012.)

Once the pork is in the oven, make the mango chutney.  If you are looking for shortcuts, it´s possible to find chutney in jars, but seriously…this is easy and worth the 30 minutes it takes.  All you have to do is throw the following ingredients into a pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer while stirring occasionally for about 25 minutes.

  • 2 mangos, chopped
  • 1 hot pepper, diced (aji, rocoto, Scotch bonnet, etc)
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ½ cup raisins

They say pork should take about 30 minutes per pound, but mine cooked a bit faster than that, so give it a check once your chutney is ready.  Once the pork has reached the appropriate internal temperature, take it out of the oven and cover with aluminum foil to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.  Here is my finished product:

Chanchito Asado con Chutney de Mango

Para mi cumpleaños, decidí cocinar un chancho asado.  Estuvo lo mejor que he cocinado en mi vida… ¡No importa que estuvo el primero!  Para empezar, tuve que comprar el cerdo.  Fui a una carnicería con la imagen arriba de un chancho con los cortes y sus nombres.  La mujer allí es increíble.  Siempre tan amable, me ayuda, y me recuerda cuando voy a comprar carne.  Le gustó mi foto y dijo, “¡Así es cómo nos entendemos!”  Compré 1.12 kg, 2.5 lb, de panceta de chancho (supongo) y después fui al supermercado para comprar Hierbas de Provence.  Si no sabes lo que es, no preocupes…tampoco yo hasta recién.  Hierbas de Provence puede incluir hierbas como el tomillo, la mejorana, el orégano, el romero, la albahaca, el perifollo, el estragón, el laurel, la ajedrea, y más.  Porque no tengo muchos hierbas en la cocina y no quise gastar mucho, solo usé el orégano seco, el laurel seco, y la albahaca fresca.

Regresando a la cocina, calendar el horno a 450 grados F (230 grados C.) Mezcla 2 cucharadas de estas hierbas en un bowl pequeño con una cucharada de cada uno: cebolla, azúcar marrón, y zumo de limón. Añada dos cucharadas de aceite de oliva y una cucharadita de ajo molido.  Sazona el chancho con sal y pimienta, ambos lados, entonces frota el chancho con la mezcla de hierbas.  Ponlo en un casserole o una cazuela para asados con el lado con la más grasa arriba.  Cocina al horno a 350 grados F (175 grados C) hasta un termómetro de carne registra una temperatura internal de 145 grados F (o 63 grados C, como dice las temperaturas recomendables por USDA a partir de marzo 2012.)

Mientras el chancho está cocinando, haz el chutney (salsa) de mango.  Si quieres un atajo, puedes comprar chutney, pero esto es tan simple y delicioso que no hay razón.  Pon los ingredientes siguientes en un sartén, hervir, reducir el calor, y cocer a fuego lento para más o menos 25 minutos.  Lo mezcla de vez en cuando.

  • 2 mangos, picados
  • 1 ají, rocoto, etc., picado pequeño
  • 1 diente de ajo, picado
  • ¼ cucharadita de sal
  • ¼ cucharadita de pimienta
  • ½ taza de vinagre balsámico
  • ½ taza de azúcar
  • ½ taza de pasas

Se dice que el chancho necesita 30 minutos per cada medio kilo, pero mío cocinó más rápido.  Lo cheque después del chutney está listo.  Cuando el chancho tiene la temperatura interna adecuada, remuévalo y cúbrelo con papel aluminio.  Déjalo descansar 10 minutos por lo menos antes de lo cortes.

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March 20th, 2012

Homemade Pizza

No Comments, Easy, Food, Main Course, Quick, Recipes, by Erin.

Cooking as a family or a couple can be a fun way to cook.  Tonight’s meal is PIZZA!  We start the easy way, with a ready-made pizza crust.  You use refrigerated biscuits to make mini-pizzas or can make your own dough.  Once you decide what to use for the dough, top it with spoonfuls of tomato sauce.  If you have basil or oregano, now is a good time to add those, or to make another shortcut, use seasoned tomato sauce.

Next comes the cheese.  You’ll probably want to grate more than you think you need because when it melts, it always looks like less than when you started.  Add the toppings of your choice: sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, cooked chorizo, pineapple, or anything you can dream of adding!  If you still have cheese left, I like to add extra after the toppings.

                                                               

Place the pizzas on cookie sheets or a pizza stone, if you’ve got one, and bake in the oven on 400oF (200oC) for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to tan.  If the dough comes with other directions for baking, use those!

And here is our finished product:

 

 

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September 15th, 2011

What’s For Lunch?

1 Comment, Country, Food, Main Course, Peruvian Food, Side Dishes, by Erin.

Thanks to Chinese immigrants to Peru in the 19th and 20th centuries, we have Chifas.  Chifa restaurants serve Peruvian-Chinese food.  I’m certain that it’s no more Chinese than American-Chinese food, but who cares if it tastes good!  Chinese style; Peruvian ingredients.  For lunch today, I really wanted some Sweet and Sour Chicken.  Unluckily, gone are the days of $1 per item at the Chinese restaurant on campus.  Luckily, there’s a nice place called Chifa Sipan right down the street.  Today I tried Tipakay.  Not only is it a fun word to say, it’s also very yummy.  It’s chicken, pineapple, and a red sauce.  And about the closest thing I’ve found to sweet and sour chicken.

 

Because they serve so much food on one plate, Darcy and I split a dish.  Tipakay on one side for me, arroz chaufa (fried rice) in the middle to share, and chancho al ajo (garlic pork) on the other side for him.

The appetizer was wonton soup, which I was a little late getting to for a picture, and a fried wonton is also served with lunch.

 

And to drink–good ole Coca-Cola.  I do have one comment about the coke (soda, pop, soda pop, gaseosa, etc…)  Why is mine smaller than Darcy’s???  Look closely and you’ll see the one on the left, aka-mine, is 295 mL while the one on the right, aka-Darcy’s, is 296.  And this is not the first time it’s happened.  This strange phenomenon has occurred twice for photo documentation, and perhaps even more often when I have been unaware.  The date and what I might assume to be an ID number of the packaging location are the same on each bottle.  Mysteries of the world, I suppose.

Well, enough about lunch today.  I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.  Tune in again for more random ramblings by yours truly.

 

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September 13th, 2011

Homemade Sloppy Joes

1 Comment, Easy, Food, Main Course, Quick, Recipes, by Erin.

The flavor of the beef is not the same here in Cusco.  Trying to make a good hamburger is disappointing.  HOWEVER…Sloppy Joes are great!  I was so excited to find US-style hamburger buns with sesame seeds at the grocery store that I decided to make Sloppy Joes last night.  Of course, I decided this walking home with the ingredients for hamburgers, so I was lucky that there was an onion and garlic in the kitchen.  After washing, poking, and starting the microwave for a couple sweet potatoes, I began browning the hamburger meat.  I guess technically it’s ground beef since it didn’t actually make a hamburger, but whatever.  To the 0.5 kg of ground beef, I added 12 spoonfuls of sugar.  I’d recommend brown sugar; although, what I use here is a bit of an in-between of white and brown in the States.  I also went ahead and sprinkled on a good portion of pepper and a little salt for good measure.

Once the beef was cooked, I added a generous amount of Worcestershire Sauce – probably 3 tablespoons worth – to the pan.  A clove of garlic (minced) and a small onion (chopped) went in the pan, also.  To that, I added about a one-half cup of ketchup.  I believe that tomato paste is traditionally used, but who am I to be picky after already leaving the store?

After stirring all of the ingredients together, starting a pot of what I wish were baked beans and not frijoles con tocino, and flipping the sweet potatoes over for 5 more minutes in the microwave, I covered the pan and sat down to a few minutes of TV.  If you’re curious, it was “Canta, Si Puedes” or “Sing If You Can.”  It’s pretty funny.  There are two teams that must take turns doing strange things or having strange things done to them as they attempt to sing an entire song.  Three judges choose to give points to either the red or yellow team each round.  At the end, the team with the most points wins.  Sounds easy until you see that the “strange things” consist of singing while 1. laying on the floor while live snakes are put on top of you, 2. being lowered into a pool of ice cubes, 3. walking through containers of various disgusting items barefoot, 4. wearing plastic pants that are being filled with cockroaches, or 5. having your hair waxed (guys), among other options.

And back to the food…at the commercial, I went to the kitchen, stopped the reminder beeping on the microwave, stirred the Sloppy Joes, took the buns toasting out of the oven, and served up a plate.  It was delicious.  Well, not so much the beans, but the Sloppy Joe – wonderful.  I ate one and a half last night and another for my lunch #2 today.  I got a little carried away and forgot to take a picture for you, but next time—and there will definitely be a next time—I’ll get that photo!

In the meantime, try it yourself!  I’m sorry if you’re the type of person that need specific amounts of each ingredient.  Being an engineer, you’d think that would bother me.  But in the kitchen, if it’s not baking, I just go with what looks right.  This recipe makes about 6 Sloppy Joes.  5 for me and one for you!  :)

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September 13th, 2011

Meatloaf with Quinoa

2 Comments, Easy, Food, Main Course, Recipes, by Erin.

Trying to think of a new idea for dinner, I remembered good ole meatloaf.  For some, it’s a comfort food.  For others, maybe it’s something that you mom made you eat.  I don’t recall having it often, but I do know that mine turned out differently than Mom’s.  I can’t honestly say which was better because it has been so long since I’ve eaten Mom’s meatloaf.  Mine includes quinoa.  It’s a wonderfully healthy food, and although it can be a little on the pricy side in the States, here it’s pretty cheap.  Where many recipes call for breadcrumbs, I used quinoa.  To keep things a bit healthier, try ground turkey instead of ground beef.  I added a few vegetables: red bell pepper, onion, and carrot to be exact; salt and pepper to taste; a little olive oil; and an egg and some milk to hold it all together.

Oh, and don’t forget the ketchup.  Lots of that.  For the garlic, I took one piece of a clove and set it on the cutting board.  Using the side of a knife, give it one good hit to get the skin to peel right off.  Then mince the garlic.  Add some salt and use the side of the blade of the knife to crush the garlic and salt together, making a paste.  This way you don’t end up with chunks of garlic and all the flavors can mix well with the meatloaf.  The fun part is next.  Put everything in a bowl – meat, veggies, quinoa, ketchup, milk, etc – and mix with your hands.  If you have kids, let them do it!

Once everything is mixed together, form it into a loaf to bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes to an hour.  I don’t have any fancy loaf shaped dish for meatloaf, so mine went in a small casserole dish.  About ten minutes before you take the meatloaf out of the oven, spread a mixture of ketchup, honey, and Worcestershire Sauce on top.  A variation would be to use a BBQ sauce instead.

 

Once cooked thoroughly, slice and serve.  I recommend mashed potatoes and more veggies on the side.

 

Recipe for Meatloaf with Quinoa

  • 0.5 kg (1 lb) meat, ground turkey or ground beef
  • 1/3 cup uncooked or 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1-2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • Salt & Pepper – to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Form into a loaf.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes.  About 10 minutes before removing from the oven, spread the sauce below on top.  Remove from oven.  Slice.  Serve.

Sauce on Top

  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Rocoto Molino – something a little spicy, perhaps Tabasco Sauce
  • Cumin – to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Spread on top of meatloaf about 10 minutes before it finishes cooking.

 

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September 1st, 2011

Oatmeal Cookies

No Comments, Desserts, Easy, en Español, Food, Quick, Recipes, by Erin.

My recipe for Oatmeal Cookies is edited from one of Paula Deen’s recipes.  Her original can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fluffy-oatmeal-raisin-sandwich-cookies-recipe/index.html.

I have simplified the recipe a little, based on the ease of finding certain ingredients and just making it a little easier to bake.

Servings: 36 cookies                       Prep Time: 15 minutes                      Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter (about 2 sticks or 225 grams)
  • 1-1/4 cups sugar (brown or whatever you have)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 cups self-rising flour (only use 1-1/2 cups for high altitude baking)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2-1/2 cups of quick-cooking/precooked oats (a 180 gram bag)
  • 1/2 cup of raisins, optional (about 90 grams)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.)  Lightly grease baking sheet.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add the egg and the milk and beat until combined.  Add salt and flour gradually, beating until incorporated. Stir in the oats (and raisins.)

Drop a heaping tablespoonful of the batter onto the prepared baking sheet, 12 cookies per sheet, spacing evenly.

 

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Esta receta es mi version de una de Paula Deen aqui:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/fluffy-oatmeal-raisin-sandwich-cookies-recipe/index.html.

Cuántos: 36 cookies                       Tiempo de Prep: 15 minutes                      Tiempo Cocinar: 15 minutes

Ingredientes:

  • 1 taza de mantequilla (225 gramos)
  • 1-1/4 tazas de sugar (marron o lo que tienes)
  • 1 huevo grande
  • 1/4 taza de leche
  • 2 tazas de harina preparada (solo usa 1-1/2 tazas cuando cocinas en alturas altas)
  • 1/2 cuchara pequeña de sal
  • 2-1/2 tazas de avena precocida (180-200 gramos)
  • 1/2 taza de pasas, opcional (90 gramos)

Precalentar el horno a 175 degradas C. Engrase ligeramente una bandeja para hornear.

En un bol grande, bata la mantequilla y el azúcar con una batidora eléctrica hasta que esta cremoso. Añadir el huevo y la leche y batir hasta que se mezclen.  Añadir la sal y la harina poco a poco, batiendo hasta incorporar. Mezclar la avena (y las pasas) con una cuchara.  Dejar caer una cucharada colmada de la mezcla sobre la bandeja de hornear, 12 galletas por bandeja, el espacio de manera uniforme.

Hornear hasta que las galletas están ligeramente doradas, unos 15 minutos. Dejar enfriar durante 2 minutos en la bandeja para hornear, y luego las transferir a los bastidores de alambre que se enfríe completamente.

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August 29th, 2011

Banana Nut Bread

1 Comment, Easy, Food, Recipes, Side Dishes, by Erin.

This recipe is from my Crock Pot recipe book; however, I decided to try it in the oven after burning the bottom of my bread in the Crock Pot.  As convenient as a slow cooker may be, I found this recipe worked better in the oven.

Cream 1/3 cup butter until fluffy.  A hand mixer works much better than mixing by hand!  I learned that the hard way when the mixer broke after I had already started making the bread!

Add 2/3 cup sugar, 2 well-beaten eggs, 2 tbsp dark corn syrup, and 3 mashed ripe bananas.

Banana Nut Bread fresh from the oven

In a separate bowl, sift together 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp baking soda.

Add dry mix into butter mix.  Mix well.

Stir in ½ cup chopped walnuts.  (I like to use pecans instead.)

Line the inside of the bread mold with a thin layer of oil sprinkled with flour to prevent the bread from sticking to the pan when you are ready to remove it.

Cook in oven at 350 F  (175 C) for 30-40 minutes.

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August 28th, 2011

A New Twist

1 Comment, Easy, Food, Main Course, Quick, Recipes, by Erin.

I recently decided to introduce my boyfriend to a family classic.  I remember calling it an “open-faced hot dog sandwich on toast with cheese,” although I think the name may have changed a little every time.  With that title, I shouldn’t need to describe it much more other than saying that we also put mayonnaise on the bread, sliced 2 hot dogs lengthwise, and melted the cheese.  Making this family favorite in a new country led to a new idea.  Why does it have to be open-faced?  Why can’t it have two pieces of bread and be eaten like a sandwich?  So, my boyfriend and I tried it that way.  He likes it, but I think it’s missing a little something that it had when I was a child.  The skill necessary to cut between the hot dog halves without them sliding off the mayonnaised bread while keeping most of the cheese on top and not on the knife is unnecessary now.  Now it’s just a sandwich.  I think I’ll let him eat it his way, and I’ll leave off that second piece of bread.

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August 26th, 2011

Kielbasa in Sauce / Chorizo en Salsa

4 Comments, Easy, en Español, Food, Main Course, Quick, Recipes, by Erin.

(en español más abajo)

I really have no idea what to call this dish, so I have kept it very simple: Kielbasa in Sauce.  I love quick and easy dishes that are also tasty.  This particular dish has 4 basic ingredients.  When I began making it, I used kielbasa.  Here in Peru, that’s not exactly common, so I use chorizo, which happens to be delicious too.  I prefer not using smoked chorizo since it already has a lot of flavor on its own.  You can choose kielbasa, chorizo, or another similar sausage.  After deciding which meat to start with, slice it into bite-sized pieces, and cook it in a pan.  If it’s pre-cooked, even better.  Once cooked, add enough wine to cover the bottom of the pan, plus a little bit more, and simmer over medium-low heat for about ten minutes.  Dry wines work better, like Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon.  I think I used white wine originally, but then one day I thought I had white wine when I actually only had red.  Since I’d already started cooking, I figured I would give the red wine a shot, and what do you know—it still tasted great!  So, Cook’s choice!

Kielbasa/Chorizo Cooking in Wine

While the kielbasa is doing its thing, grab a small bowl, brown sugar, yellow mustard, and a spoon.  For two servings of kielbasa, you’ll need about five spoonfuls of sugar and two big squeezes of mustard.  It’s more about the consistency than the measuring.  Once mixed well, the sugar-mustard mixture should be thick, but still fall off your spoon.  Give the kielbasa time to brown a bit on both sides, let the wine evaporate, and then add the sugar-mustard mixture on top.

Sauce for Kielbasa/Salsa para Chorizo

Cover the pan with a lid or a piece of aluminum foil, and simmer over low heat for five minutes.  Remove lid, and stir kielbasa to coat well with sauce.  Re-cover for five more minutes.

Kielbasa/Chorizo Cooking in Sauce

The sauce will thicken and become quite sticky.  This dish is wonderful served over rice, in pasta, or on its own.  This photo shows the kielbasa in sauce with rice.  It’s so delicious you won’t have any leftovers!

Kielbasa in Sauce/Chorizo en Salsa

No sabía que nombre a dar este plato, entonces es muy simple: Chorizo en Salsa.  Me encantan comidas rápidas y fáciles pero también deliciosas.  Esta tiene 4 ingredientes.  Empecé usar un tipo de salchicha se llama kielbasa de Polonia, pero aquí en Perú, uso chorizo para la parilla.  Eliges un tipo de salchicha que te gusta.  Rebana el chorizo y cocino en un sartén.  Si ya esta cocinado, ¡mejor!  Después de cocinar el chorizo, poner vino rojo o vino blanco en el sartén con el chorizo.  Vino seco es mejor, como Chardonnay o Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mientras el chorizo esta calentando con el vino, recoger un bol (un plato para sopa), una cuchara, azúcar marrón, y mostaza amarilla.  Para chorizo para dos personas, necesitas aproximadamente cinco cucharas de azúcar y tres cucharas de mostaza.  Mezclar el azúcar y la mostaza juntos hasta tiene la consistencia en la foto–puede caer de la cuchara, pero lento.

Después de que el vino se evapora del sartén, poner la salsa encima del chorizo.  Tapar con una tapa o papel de aluminio y cocinar con fuego baja por cinco minutos.  Quitar la tapa, revolver la mezcla, y tapar por cinco minutos más.

La salsa va a estar más gruesa y pegajosa.  Es maravillosa encima de arroz, con pasta, o sólo.  ¡Es tan deliciosa que no tendrás las sobras!

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August 24th, 2011

Advice from Taxi Drivers

No Comments, Alcohol, Country, en Español, Food, Peruvian Food, by Erin.

I had a lovely conversation with my taxi driver last week about food.  We discussed how the people here in Peru love to eat large, heavy lunches and how Southerners from the US like to fry everything, vegetables included.  He gave me a remedy for any stomach problems one might have after such a large and/or fried meal.  Alcohol.  Apparently, if one drinks a small amount, more or less one shot, of anisado after eating fried, greasy, or fatty food, you’ll be just fine.  He tells me it works for chicharrones (pork), trout, and cuy (guinea pig.)  If you don’t happen to have any anisado on hand, never fear—a shot of pisco, rum, or vodka should also help!

Consejo de un Taxista

Tuve un conversacion muy amable con mi taxista el otro día sobre de comida.  Hablamos de los almuerzos grande y pesado aqui en Perú y todo la comida frita, incluyo verduras, en el Sur de estados unidos.  Me dió un remedio para cualquier problema de estomago se puede tener después de un almuerso así.  Alcohol.  Evidentemente, si alguien toma un poco de anisado despues de comida frita o grasosa, no hay problemas!  Me dijó que funciona con chicharrones, lechón, trucha, y cuy.  Si olvidaste el anisado, no tienes miedo–un poco de pisco, ron, o vodka debe ayudar tambien!

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