Super Bowl Eats

We always try to pick Super Bowl food based on the city where the game is played. Sometimes we base it on the team cities. (The crab cakes from when my beloved Ravens won are the stuff of legends.) Both Kansas City and San Francisco are both great food cities. For once Whit wasn’t feeling ribs (That’s never happened before) and to me San Francisco will always be about Asian cuisine. Which we eat at least once per week, so we went with game city this time.

Miami is one of my favorite food cities. Unfortunately I haven’t been there since the more recent influx of Brazilian immigrants. I would imagine the food is even more amazing. So we’re going with a full Cuban menu.

Cubanos (Natch. This is Whit’s fave sandwich. Which is saying something because the man LOVES sandwiches.) I wanted to do a Cuban-style ham, but got outvoted.

Moros y cristianos (Black beans and rice). Which I could eat every day of my life. Cubanelle peppers are just so YUM! Very fortunate to have Buford Highway Farmers Market nearby. If it grows and can be eaten, you will find it there.

Debating whether to fry my own churros or just pick some up on Buford Highway. I fear that if I ever start making my own I’ll eat little else. I’ve also got an amazing guava/coconut flan recipe I want to try, but my kids are not fans of coconut. (I have NO IDEA how that happened.) Might just do a plain flan instead.

And, of course, mojitos by the pitcher full. We’re not really rum fans for the most part—he loves Scotch and I’m all about bourbon—but mojitos are delish, especially with Cubanos, so there you go.

And, of course lots of coffee and at least one cigar. It’s Miami after all and since none of our teams made the cut, we can just suck back and enjoy the festivities.

Healthy Beverages

I’ve been working on drinking healthier beverages. As a lifelong southerner, I, of course, love sweet tea, and I’ve finally got to the point where I can drink it sans sugar. Yes, I know that’s blasphemy, but hey I’ll gladly relinquish my southern card for a few more decades of LIFE. Also, I bought these carafes at Target. They cost about $5 and I keep them on my dining room table filled with ice water. Every time I walk by it looks so refreshing and delicious I have to have a glass. Whit says the same thing, so we’re both drinking more water.

I also discovered the deliciousness that is Tazo Passion tea. It’s an herbal blend and so yummy. I make a concentrate of two quarts of water to about 4 tea bags, then I add that to my regular tea for a flavor boost. Or to my Lacroix water for the same. Sometimes I’ll mix it with a little lemonade for a special treat.

I love Lacroix water it’s carbonated but has no sugar or sweeteners and just a touch of natural flavor. The raspberry cranberry is incredible, but I like the grapefruit as well.

My Shea Butter Blend

In another post someone asked for my recipe for my shea butter blend, so I thought I’d share it here. In the winter time especially, I use this from head to toe, but I have crazy dry skin. In the summer I only use it on my hair. I start with raw natural shea butter. It looks like the picture, and I got mine at Walmart of all places. A pound costs about $5. Last time I was there I bought about $25 worth. Anyway, here’s the recipe:

1 cup of shea butter

1/4 cup of coconut oil (I buy it raw and unrefined at the grocery store)

1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil (same that I cook with from the grocery store)

1/8 Jamaican Black Castor oil

Rosemary Essential oil couple drops (don’t use if you’re pregnant or have high blood pressure)

Sage Essential oil couple drops

Melt the shea butter and coconut oil together over low heat. (I don’t use the microwave because I read somewhere that it can overheat the coconut oil and release free radicals. I have no idea if it’s true or not, but it doesn’t take long to heat it the old fashioned way.) When the oils are melted remove from heat and stir in the other ingredients. Pour into a lidded container and place in the refrigerator to solidify.

If you don’t like, or don’t have essential oils, don’t worry about it. I like the rosemary for growth and the sage for itchy scalp, and they’re a lot easier to find these days, but if you don’t have it, no worries. I sometimes add other essential oils for scent. I particularly like citrusy scents, and grapefruit is my current fave, but again, you don’t have to go out your way to get it.

That’s it. It’s awesome for my hair, but keep in mind if your hair has a finer texture (Mine is Grade A straight from the Motherland nappy) you probably only need to use a little bit, and it might be too heavy for you. My hair (and really dry menopausal skin) loves it! Let me know how it works for you.

Cowboy Beans

My mama was a very frugal cook. Can’t imagine why, six kids on a domestic’s salary. I still don’t know how she did it. One of our favorite dishes growing up was something we called Cowboy Beans. Being the frugal cook she was, my mama essentially mixed leftover spaghetti meat sauce with leftover great northern beans and man were they delicious! I make it now for my family and they love it so much. My mama’s spaghetti sauce was amazing.

1 pound of cooked ground beef with fat drained off

1 onion diced

4 or 5 cloves of garlic diced

1 large can of tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

2-3 tsps of worcestershire sauce

oregano

Cayenne pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1 pound of cooked great northern beans.

After browning the hamburger, brown the onions and garlic in the same pot. Add the can of tomatoes and tomato paste. Add worcestershire, oregano, cayenne salt and pepper. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add great northern beans, simmer for 30-45 minutes.

If you prefer, you can use a store bought spaghetti sauce with the cooked ground beef added, and, of course, canned great northern beans. Just rinse the beans well before adding them to the sauce.

My Mama’s Pound Cake

This is the pound cake my mama used to make. Only she added one teaspoon of mace (the outer shell of a nutmeg), you could just use nutmeg. It adds a certain mmmmm to the cake.

My Baby is Ten Years Old!!!

Thanksgiving Menu

I’m pulling together my menu for the holiday. Normally I would have done this last week, but I’ve actually been writing, so I’m a bit behind. That’s okay though since it’s just the three of us. I’m thinking about just getting a breast, or maybe two breasts. Of course, Whit won’t like that because he’s very fond of leftovers. Last time I scored a really small turkey he was unhappy because there wasn’t enough leftovers for sandwiches. Of course, there is also the issue of gravy. With a breast there would definitely be none. So, I guess that nips the notion of a breast in the bud right there. We will definitely be brining that bird, it does amazing things for it.

Turkey (fresh, hope I can score a free-range at this late date)

Cornbread Dressing (I’ll post my recipe after I make it. It’s a cathartic experience and I literally have to channel my mama to pull this one off successfully.)

Giblet Gravy

Rice (There are potato folk, and rice folk. We’re definitely rice folk, especially with giblet gravy.)

Green Beans Almondine

Crescent Rolls (The one day a year I bake bread. Not my strong suit, my sister inherited the breadmaking gene, but they love it.)

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Chocolate Pecan Pie

What’s cooking at your house?

Super Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mode Recipe : Rachael Ray : Food Network

Picture of Super Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mode Recipe

Super Stuffed Baked Apples a la Mo de Recipe : Rachael Ray : Food Network.

I’m posting this recipe for a friend who has to eat ice cream, though she doesn’t really like it. This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted. It’s like a caramel apple only better. It’s rich, I’ve never managed to eat a whole one, usually I just eat half an apple with a small dollop of ice cream. It goes without saying that I leave off the whipped cream and only use about half the amount of butter.

My Peeps!

I baked Lemon Coconut cupcakes today and they’re unbelievably yummy. I think I’ve started an Easter tradition. I told my loving husband that it’s not a good idea to feed cupcakes to a four-year-old before bedtime, but he wasn’t hearing it. Oh well, it’s his night to put him down. Of course, I’ve got an Easter basket to put together tonight, so he’d better hurry up.

One Cookie to Rule Them All

I’ve posted before about the yummified goodness that is Semi-Ho’s gingerbread cookies. We simply can’t stop eating them. So I got to thinking, What if I combined gingerbread and the oatmeal raisin cookies that we were previously addicted to? You guessed it, one cookie to rule them all.

I only modified the original oatmeal raisin cookie a little bit. Instead of the half a cup of white sugar, I used a half cup molasses. Instead of cinnamon, I put in three tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice. I thought the raisins might make it too sweet, that’s a trademark of gingerbread; it’s not too sweet. But it was okay. These cookies so totally rock. You’ve got to try them.

Yes Lisa, I’m sending you some. I’m still laughing about the fake gingerbread you got for Christmas. That’s just not right.