So, funny story about our name, “A taste of Home”, a name I cleverly thought I had picked a few months ago as I set up Florida Girl. I was very excited about coming up with this line that invoked exactly what I felt and why I was starting this project.
For us it is bringing a taste of our Home to yours because we specialize in Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian and Dominican foods .As we continued on and started the blog which would have a broader array of recipes they would all still be made at home so we stuck with the name. Until………..
I get some advertising about a contest back home a few days ago, I contact it and they give me the standard question and then offer us some magazines at great prices. I ask what they have available and they start naming: Glamour, Marie Claire, Sport Illustrated, A Taste of Home, ESPN, Parenting ehhhhhkkkkkkk, WHAT! What was that name before ESPN?!?!?!? A Taste of WHAT?!?!!?!
A taste of home the nice lady says and my jaw falls. My very clever name was more clever when someone else thought of it and made it into a magazine of recipes, lol. So after finding this out and confirming it Ive decided to change our line to “A Taste like home”.
Let me know if you like it but in the meantime I leave you all with this very cool magazine so you may enjoy it with me and hopefully find humor in the irony.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/
http://www.facebook.com/tasteofhome
Have a safe and wonderful weekend!
Think outside the box, live outside the box you just might find it makes the box a whole lot fun~er =]
Your Florida~Girl in Sunny SoCal
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Hamburgers w/ apple & cucumber pieces
This is a new recipe we tried out this last weekend while grilling with the children at our home. I never conceived that it would come out this tasty but Im sure you will enjoy.Feel free to tweak it as you desire.
3lb of Ground beef [we prefer the 90% lean]
Apple, cut 1/2 into small pieces
Cucumber , cut 1/2 into small pieces
Basil, a full bunch [just like you get in the produce section. Cut into small slivers ]
You will add all the above ingredients into the ground beef [just in case you didn't realize it, I like taste and flavors,lol].
Then in a processor you will add the following until it becomes liquid:
~ Mojo, about three large spoonfuls [this is a primarily cuban seasoning sauce]
~ Apple, half a full one
~ Red onion, half a full one
~Parsley, half a bunch
~Olive oil , two spoonfuls
~Chives, two full pieces
~Ground Oregano, three spoonfuls
~Garlic, four spoonfuls
~Adobo, [a Caribbean seasoning] four spoonfuls
~Lemon. 1/2 of juice
~Cumin, three spoonfuls
~Paprika. one spoonful
~Mustard, I used regular and added about two teaspoons
~Celery salt, two spoonfuls
~Kosher salt, one spoonful
~White Pepper, three spoonfuls
One egg to hold them together.
Make them into small balls and with your hands gently press until it forms a patty of your liking [ remember the larger the patty the harder to cook]
We took a tray and once completed put it in the freezer so it would be more manageable [about 5 to 10 minutes] while we made the next tray, once finished we took out the first one and started grilling it. This is what they look like.
I know apples and cucumber sounds a bit off but the acidity in the apples tenderrizes it and gives it a nice subtle taste and cucumbers frequently used in Greek cuisine to name one of a few cultures that use it regularly.
This is how wonderful they looked while grilling.
The finish product.
We add cheese while it is still on the grill so it melts better but completely optional.
Because I can not have soy [or must minimize my intake due to my hypothyrodisim] I did not have any of the bread which had soy products in it. Instead I opted for a large piece of iceberg lettuce and wraped it around my burger after adding some blue chese dressing on top of the burger.
My children and husband stacked it with all the ingredients they like.
Everyone enjoyed it very much and it had the perfect amount of flavor. I am not very good at measuring so adjust for your taste [ I promise to be better as time goes by to measure more accurately,haha.but for now I have to catch up on the recipes I already have on file and then start anew,lol.] . This is a wonderful summer meal and very filling.
Buy locally, enjoy with love ones and make memories.
3lb of Ground beef [we prefer the 90% lean]
Apple, cut 1/2 into small pieces
Cucumber , cut 1/2 into small pieces
Basil, a full bunch [just like you get in the produce section. Cut into small slivers ]
You will add all the above ingredients into the ground beef [just in case you didn't realize it, I like taste and flavors,lol].
Then in a processor you will add the following until it becomes liquid:
~ Mojo, about three large spoonfuls [this is a primarily cuban seasoning sauce]
~ Apple, half a full one
~ Red onion, half a full one
~Parsley, half a bunch
~Olive oil , two spoonfuls
~Chives, two full pieces
~Ground Oregano, three spoonfuls
~Garlic, four spoonfuls
~Adobo, [a Caribbean seasoning] four spoonfuls
~Lemon. 1/2 of juice
~Cumin, three spoonfuls
~Paprika. one spoonful
~Mustard, I used regular and added about two teaspoons
~Celery salt, two spoonfuls
~Kosher salt, one spoonful
~White Pepper, three spoonfuls
One egg to hold them together.
Make them into small balls and with your hands gently press until it forms a patty of your liking [ remember the larger the patty the harder to cook]
We took a tray and once completed put it in the freezer so it would be more manageable [about 5 to 10 minutes] while we made the next tray, once finished we took out the first one and started grilling it. This is what they look like.
I know apples and cucumber sounds a bit off but the acidity in the apples tenderrizes it and gives it a nice subtle taste and cucumbers frequently used in Greek cuisine to name one of a few cultures that use it regularly.
This is how wonderful they looked while grilling.
The finish product.
We add cheese while it is still on the grill so it melts better but completely optional.
Because I can not have soy [or must minimize my intake due to my hypothyrodisim] I did not have any of the bread which had soy products in it. Instead I opted for a large piece of iceberg lettuce and wraped it around my burger after adding some blue chese dressing on top of the burger.
My children and husband stacked it with all the ingredients they like.
Everyone enjoyed it very much and it had the perfect amount of flavor. I am not very good at measuring so adjust for your taste [ I promise to be better as time goes by to measure more accurately,haha.but for now I have to catch up on the recipes I already have on file and then start anew,lol.] . This is a wonderful summer meal and very filling.
Buy locally, enjoy with love ones and make memories.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hello
Hello Virtual world,
I wanted to take a second to introduce myself and our blog, this has been a long time in the making, with support from my brother [ and the idea in itself from him] to start this blog + lots of subsequent encouragement from my hunny I find myself here.
I am a cooking aficionado, I find true and utter fulfillment in cooking for my family and anyone who drops in to be honest. I am notorious for always making more then I should but I whole heartedly believe that it is the Hispanic in me that simply wants to ensure there is ALWAYS enough for either seconds or for visitors.
We moved out to San Diego from Florida three years ago, a process which was very difficult but peaceful at the same time. When I arrived I found it very hard to find the food that I loved here. Even more tough to find it to either a) taste the way it is at home or b) priced affordably, so I did what any self respecting person would do....
I learned to cook it! I am Puertorican~Colombian which in itself brings a very distinctive palate to oneself but then add an eclectic array of foods at your easy disposition through either travels or by living in Miami for so long which allowed me to find a love in Cuban, Venezuelan, Thai foods and much more.
Fueled by the easy going life of Southern Cali which I have finally acclimated myself to. The yearning of "my" food and the inaccessibility of the southern american /Caribbean/south or central american foods we so love and a flair for culinary experimentation I started Florida_Girl, a cuban pastry side business which has allowed me to bring a lil of this "Florida Girl Lost in the hills of California" to you.
Part of all of that found me feeling a bit pigeon held by the simple fact that I cant cook for EVERYONE all the dishes that I love so dear or even more so I cant share all my new recipes with everyone I wish, I started this blog.
I hope not only that this resurrects the dishes and home made natural herbal medicines that were taught to me as a child and which I now eagerly share with my children but also to find new ones that I hope with this blog will have others enjoy them just as much as I do.
My biggest gift will be that in doing so with my family you the reader may find a bit of happiness in this journey, more so that you may find yourself sharing it with your friends and family.
In the end if no one sees it I hope that it may live with my children as times passes and one day they can have as much fun with these recipes and stories as I have.
Enjoy and Bon Appetite!
Sincerely,
Your not so lost in California, Florida Girl.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)