PICI WITH BREAD AND PECORINO

INGREDIENTS

7 oz stale French bread
1/2 cup extra virgin olive-oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
salt
1 1/3 lb pici or other thick long pasta
5 tbsps grated pecorino cheese
minced parsley

PREPARATION

- Grate the crust of the bread and chop the crumbs into pieces
- Heat olive oil in frying pan with garlic and add the bread. Continue cooking over low heat until golden and add salt
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pici. Once cooked, drained and transfer to the bread mixture.
- Serve hot and topped with grated pecorino, and sprinkling of minced parsley.

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 pounds cubed beef
6-8 cups water
2 heads of garlic
2 beef bouillon cubes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups of cubed potatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 cubed tomatoes
2 kernel of corns

PREPARATION

- Combine beef and water into pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Skim foam from surface
- Add bouillon, smashed garlic, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours or until meat is tender
- Remove meat from broth; cool until easy to handle. Skim fat from broth.
- Stir in celery, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and corn. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, simmer covered for 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Add beef back into pot and stir.


Bon Apetit!

GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

When I was in Thailand, I realize that green papaya salad is so easy to make that I learned how to make it simple at home. It is one of my favorite dishes and I hope you guys enjoy this simplified version.

For people that are wandering what the difference between green papaya and regular papaya is, there really isn't that much of a difference. All it is is a non-ripe papaya, so it has a crunchy consistency versus a soft one.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup green papaya, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup ground dried shrimp (as much as this is important, for people that don't enjoy that taste you can take it out or use a little bit)
1 dried chili/chili
7 peppercorns or 3 Tbsp of freshly ground pepper
6 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice

PREPARATION

- Pound the green papaya lightly in a mortar (if you do not have a mortar you can use a bowl) Remove and set aside.
- In another bowl, pound the garlic, dried chili/chili, and pepper thoroughly and transfer into a mixing bowl.
- Mix fish sauce and sugar together and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat and cool. Add lime juice and pour into the chili mixture and stir well.
- Add papaya and the dried shrimp into the dressing mixture and toss well.


Bon Apetit!

SPINACH, MUSHROOM, AND SALMON PASTA

INGREDIENTS

Olive Oil
Butter to crisp
Mushrooms
Salt and Pepper
Salmon fillet (diced)
Spinach
Heavy cream
Garlic
Parmesan cheese or Romano
Pasta

PREPARATION

* You are going to need at least two pans to make this dish

- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 3-4 minutes. In those minutes, add the garlic and lower the heat.
- In another pan, add olive oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the salmon. Let the salmon cook through and get a good crust.
- In the first pan, add salt and pepper to the mushrooms to season and add the salmon and spinach and cook for a couple minutes.
- Add the cream, stir around and remove from heat.
* For the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until soft.
- Drain and toss the pasta and cheese with the sauce.
- Return to the heat and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle with pepper and serve.

Bon Apetit!

CAJUN BOILED SHRIMPS with GRILLED POTATOES with PORK

Being from the South, I love anything spicy, anything Cajun, anything with butter, and anything yummy. Which is why this dish is very close to my heart, this is my idea of comfort food.

INGREDIENTS

3 Russett potatoes
10 large tiger prawns
4 slices of meat of choice
Parmesan Cheese
Cajun seasoning
Shrimp/Crab boil
Garlic

PREPARATION

- Take a pot and fill it halfway with water
- Once the water comes up to a boil, add your shrimp/crab boil mix, garlic, and cajun seasoning into the pot. Add as much as you want depending on how spicy you would like your broth.
- Add your quartered potatoes into the broth first since it will take the longest to cook.
- After about 10 minutes, add in your other choice of meat.
- Once all has been cooked, add in your prawns last as they only take a few minutes to cook.
- Once everything is cooked, use a strainer to strain the water and you are left with your wonderful meal.
- Add Parmesan cheese or any cheese of your choice for that extra flavor.

This is a very simple recipe and you are more than likely able to find all these ingredients in your local grocery store.

Bon Apetit!

MULTI-BEAN DIP

found on feedmephoebe.com

I have made bean dip a few times but I only decided to make this blog recently so I don't actually have a picture of what mine looked like, which is why I have cited a picture that I have found on pinterest. The recipe however, is from my head. 

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup black beans 

1 cup pinto beans 

1 cup kidney beans 

1 cup black-eyed peas 

1/2 cup of garbanzo beans 

1 cup lemon juice 

salt 

pepper 

2 jalapeños 

1/4 cup greek yogurt 

1/4 cup sour cream 

Cilantro 

chopped tomatoes 

green peppers 

garlic 

PREPARATION

- Soaked assortment of beans overnight.

- Boil beans until tender

- Once all beans are tender, blend beans all together in a food processor or blender. 

- Add in cloves of garlic, jalapeños and lemon juice until blended completely

- Add greek yogurt and sour cream until blended completely

- Add cilantro and sliced green peppers until blended completely 

- Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Generally, if you were to keep it casual as a dip I would suggest nachos, pita chips, or tostadas as a dipping companion. 

Bon Appetite! 

DRAGONFRUIT, ORANGE, STRAWBERRY AND MANGO JUICE

Alright guys, I have a thing for juices. I like combining different fruits to see whether they would taste good. Obviously, it is a bit of a trial and error, but because fruits are generally mostly all sweet, there aren't major problems.

One of my favorite juices to make is the one that you see above. It is a combination of common fruits that you can find in every part of the world and fruits that are predominantly found in Southeast Asia. However, most stores now-a-days have these fruits in their produce section.

INGREDIENTS

1 dragonfruit
1 orange
8 strawberries
1 ripe mango

The juice is simple enough, obviously if you want to put your own spin on it, go right on ahead. But, this combination has proven to be a very yummy one.

You can add ice cubes to your glass and drink it like that or you can add it to your blender and make it a smoothie.

Bon Appetite!

SPAGHETTI with MINCED MEAT and HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCE

I am one of those people who loves to cook, but hates spending hours making one dish which is why I decided to make a very simple pasta sauce that probably only takes about an hour at the most.

The portion size that I am putting in this recipe really depends on you. I like to make extra and store in it the fridge for later use.

PASTA SAUCE

2 heads of garlic (I really like garlic, if you don't then minimize the amount)
4 red onions
butter
olive oil
8 regular tomatoes
10 cherry grape tomatoes
1 lemon
salt
pepper
1 cube of chicken bouillon

PREPARE:

- Mince one head of garlic while chopping the other. If you like, you can add one full head of garlic     and take it out once you are ready to serve.
- Dice your onions into thin pieces
- Chop your tomatoes into quarters
- Halve your cherry tomatoes

TO COOK

- To begin, add a splash of olive oil into a heated pot.
- To the pan, add your onions and sweat them down.
- Add your garlic and lower the heat so that the garlic does not burn
- Stir for a while and add in your tomatoes
- Once you have thoroughly combined all the ingredients, add four cups of water into the pot
- Let the contents simmer for at least 30 minutes, checking and stirring every 10 minutes.
- Once the sauce has been simmering for 30 minutes check to see if you need more water
- If not, add salt and pepper to taste.
- For that extra kick, add the juice of 1 lemon into the sauce. If you like extra lemon flavor you are       more than welcome to add more.
- For an extra flavor that people might not expect, add one cube of any bouillon flavor. Preferably         chicken or beef. If you want more of a hint of that taste feel free to add one more.

TO COMPLETE

- Once your pasta sauce is complete it is time to put the dish together.
- To a saucepan, add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Ladle some pasta sauce into the pan and bring it to a boil.
- Lower the temperature and add your meat of choice. (Minced meat of any kind is normally the best     way to go) or vegetarian whatever you prefer
- Let it cook through and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add your pasta into the saucepan and mix through.
- Once everything is mixed together, it is time to serve.

Bon Appetite!