feel free to change it...

if you hate what i did to the blog colors.

borscht

The first time we ever had borscht (sp?) was at Kirk and Eva's place in SLC. Even though I'm not a fan of beets I really liked it, and the yummy bread we ate with it. Now that we live far from them we don't have the benefit of free borscht and have not attempted to make it on our own. However, lucky us, we have a Ukrainian friend (Lilia) who makes it. Hers is a little different from theirs, but also delicious.

Well little Sam is just beginning to discover the true meaning of food and today I introduced him to borscht made by Lilia. He loved it. I just gave him pieces of beet and beans which he devoured. Can I request a recipe post of borscht?

Pork Barbacoa - for the meatatarians

So, we're officially Cafe Rio addicts. They never should have opened one so close to our house.

In an effort to avoid the place, we've tried making our own pork barbacoa - so here's the recipe I've altered - it's not exact, but it's yummy and getting closer to the original each time we make it:

2.5 lbs pork
1/3 cup water
1/2 - 1 cup salsa verde (we use the small mexican cans)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (1/4 powdered, probably)
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper

Throw everything in the crockpot for a few hours. When the pork is nice and tender, drain the liquid into a small saucepan. Add a little more brown sugar (1/4 cup? I added 1/3 last time and Aaron said it was too sweet) and a tablespoon of ketchup. Let the liquid reduce until it's thicker.
Meanwhile, shred the pork with two forks. When the sauce is thicker, pour over the meat and combine.

Now's the best part - serve on tortillas with beans, rice, homemade guacamole, whatever you want. It's good, I swear.

potatoes eva

i had a request for this recipe, so here it is.

no, i did not make it up. and no, i did not name it. but i do really like it - even if i can only eat it about twice a year.

1. pour frozen hash browns (the kind with onions and peppers mixed in) into a casserole dish. pour a little at a time so that you can add plenty of salt and pepper as you go.

2. pour cream into dish until potatoes are covered.

3. cook at 350 until done. (could be an hour or two)

*if you thaw the potatoes, it won't take so long to cook.
* it's named after me because i accidentally bought the hashbrowns with onions and peppers, but everyone ended up liking it... so granny renamed it after me.

The People's Cookbook

While searching for the true meaning of food, Jenn and I had the idea to compile recipes for a cookbook that features typical peasant and pauper food from different parts of the world--what the People eat! Like black beans, corn tortillas, and chiles from Guatemala. I think the People understand better the true meaning of food than anyone else. The book can be divided by season and will feature foods that are popular during each season, like tomatoes in the summer and turnips in the winter. It will require a a lot of research and travel so if you want to help, let's get cracking!
I also have a suggestion to improve the blog. I think that the song from Oliver (the musical) should play while someone is visiting the blog. It approaches the true meaning.
Food, Glorious food
Hot sausage and mustard!

salad schmallad

i love salads. i had salad overkill for a while and couldn't stand the thought of eating another one, but now they are back in my good graces.

this one had romaine lettuce, shredded carrots and romano cheese, black olives, sun dried tomatoes (so much better than "fresh" tomatoes this time of year), and homemade vinaigrette dressing. kirk prefers to just drizzle it with some extra virgin olive oil.

p.s. i love that box the clementines came in! don't think i'll have the heart to throw it out.