Yena’s Birthday Cake

Yena’s Birthday Cake

An old pic I've been meaning to post here. Yena turned 4 last December, but I didn't have time to make her cake until 4 days later, in the middle of packing for another trip the next day. My poor kids. Last year none of them got their birthday portraits, and their...

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Brazil Exploration:  Peixe Frita Fortaleza

Brazil Exploration: Peixe Frita Fortaleza

Peixe Frita Fortaleza (Fried Fish Fortaleza) Based on a recipe in Tasting Brazil by Jessica B. Harris This is a simple fried fish dish from Fortaleza on Brazil's northern coast, a city known for its beaches, baby clothes, and handmade linen. My family was asking if we...

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Brazil Exploration:  Mungunza

Brazil Exploration: Mungunza

This recipe is a slightly-modified version of Margarette de Andrade's. Mungunza 2 cups cooked hominy, drained 4 cups milk 3 whole cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar, or less (I only used 1/2 cup) 1 tablespoon butter 1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts 1...

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Brazil Exploration:  Basic Rice and Sopa de Mariscos

Brazil Exploration: Basic Rice and Sopa de Mariscos

Like most of you know, I'm a rice gal -- we have rice most days and we usually feel a meal isn't a meal unless there's rice somewhere. So I'm naturally curious about all the different rice preparations that other cuisines have. Like this one from Brazil, which is just...

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Wheatless, Sugarless Blueberry Pie

Wheatless, Sugarless Blueberry Pie

This doesn't look very good but it was surprisingly yummy -- not I'm-in-heaven yummy, but thank-goodness-here's-an-allergy-free-recipe-I-can-actually-eat-and-enjoy yummy. The pastry is very difficult to work with, but with a little work and a few practice sessions, it...

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Wheat-Free Pancakes

Wheat-Free Pancakes

based on Rice Flour and Yogurt Pancakes from The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook 2/3 cup brown rice flour1/3 cup cornstarch1 tablespoon sugar1 teaspoon baking powderpinch salt1 large egg2 tablespoons vegetable oil1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt1/2 cup low-fat milk...

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Spicy Squid

Spicy Squid

This was supposed to be my Lasang Pinoy 6 entry, but the move just proved too hectic for me to sit down and write anything about it. It's spicy squid! Maybe one of these days I'll edit this to post the recipe. Right now I have to clear these pics off my hard drive!

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Heart Healthy:  Peach Bread Pudding

Heart Healthy: Peach Bread Pudding

6 peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped1/2 cup maple syrup, apple juice concentrate, or honey (or to taste)3 tablespoons lemon juice1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg1 1-pound sourdough loaf, torn apart and "stalified" (let stand for a day so it gets...

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Brazil Exploration:  Empadinhas de Bacalhau

Brazil Exploration: Empadinhas de Bacalhau

This recipe comes from Margarette de Andrade's Brazilian Cookery (an excellent book, and the one to buy if you only can have one book on Brazilian food). She lived in Brazil for over 40 years, and the book is very well researched, written in English and indexed in...

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Brazil Exploration:  Bolinhos de Bacalhau

Brazil Exploration: Bolinhos de Bacalhau

Today we start a culinary adventure to Brazil! The kids and I are doing a month-long exploration, so I thought I'd do it through food as well. Oftentimes when we do our country unit studies we do it for a week or two, and at the end we always somehow feel that we...

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Lasang Pinoy 7:  Almusal (Breakfast):  A Trio of  Silogs

Lasang Pinoy 7: Almusal (Breakfast): A Trio of Silogs

TapsilogWhen I was a child, tapa, tosino and longganisa weren't usually part of our breakfast routine. I preferred pan americano or pan de sal, slathered with Dari Creme. If rice was served, it's usually with reheated leftovers from last night, understandably...

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Heart Healthy #2:  Tabbouleh

Heart Healthy #2: Tabbouleh

The first time I tasted tabbouleh it was not at the hands of a Lebanese chef, or even a Lebanese. It was a Filipina who was co-owner of a Mediterranean restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri's Central West End. Hubby and I were dating at the time, and out on a Friday...

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The Easiest Lobster Dish You’ll Make

The Easiest Lobster Dish You’ll Make

It was supposed to be a labor-intensive dish to celebrate St. Honorat's feastday. St. Honorat(us) founded a monastery in France -- the place is now called Ile St. Honorat -- and the dish associated with him that Ernst Schuegraf (Cooking with the Saints) describes...

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Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Today, my kids and I are reading about Martin Luther King, Jr., so we've cooked up some African-American dishes to go with our studies: greens and beans! There are LOTS of African-American dishes that we love, esp. pickled shrimp, crab boil, and ham biscuits, but we...

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