Recipes

Fried Eggs With Last Night’s Eggplant Leftovers

by Aaron on December 11, 2012 · 0 comments

As I said in my last post on Cape Hake and Eggplant, I was excited about the leftovers and using them in my breakfast the next morning. Well, it’s the next morning and I used the left overs along with some fried eggs.

Nothing too fancy. I simply emptied about 2/3 of the leftovers in a frying pan, cracked a couple eggs in there and made me a great breakfast. Topped it off with some toasted bread and some pinapple/grape juice.

One thing I really love about the eggs in Spain is how orange the yokes are.

And of course, I am totally in to blending the tastes to create a harmony of flavor, so this is how I eat my eggs and leftovers.

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Cape Hake with Eggplant Recipe

by Aaron on December 10, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes

Wow, did I make something great for dinner tonight! I was flipping through a cookbook I bought at the street market this weekend and I saw several pictures of eggplant and others of fish, so I decided to combine the two. Here is what I decided to create.

First I went to the market to see what fish they had available. I like white fish, so I ended up buying about 1 and 1/3 pounds of Merluza del Cabo. I had no idea what it was until I was able to get home and look it up online. Turns out it is Cape Hake, which I’ve never heard of, but it’s in the same category as a Cod or Haddock. This fish is a really nice, mild, white fish.

To start, I decided to bake it, so I made a quick white sauce. Of course I never measure anything, so I put the ingredients in a bowl and took a picture of it before I mixed it together. Here’s what’s in it: mayonnaise, extra virgin olive oil, melted butter, wine vinegar with raspberry juice, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Hopefully you can look at the picture and get an idea of the quantity of each item I used, but hey–that’s what I like, and it will probably change next time, so if you try it, be creative and add what you like.

In a casserole dish, I coated the bottom with a layer of extra virgin olive oil, laid the fish out, and spread the sauce on them.

As usual, I have to add my vegetables to my dishes, so here is what I added; garlic, onions, mushrooms, spinach, eggplant, and tomatoes.

I sliced up the garlic, onions, and mushrooms first and spread them over the top of the fish.

Then I added a layer of torn, not cut, spinach. However, after the fact, I think I would have doubled the amount of spinach that I added. I liked the taste of the spinach in the dish, there just wasn’t enough of it.

I sliced the eggplant lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick and created a full layer on top of the contents. I knew this would help contain the moisture from the other ingredients and create a very moist fish and vegetables. Then I sliced the tomatoes and laid them on the eggplant to add moisture on the top to help the eggplant cook better. I topped it all off with some more extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and some more parsley for garnishment.

At this point I thought about adding some “good” European cheese on top, but my kids still have not delveloped a taste for “good” cheese but still like that cheap pre-grated stuff in reclosable packaging…yuck! So I opted not to waste my cheese on them and give them an excuse for not liking it. I felt like I was already pushing my limits by not dicing the mushrooms so they couldn’t see them and placing big slices of eggplant on the dish. Our oven here is not the most accurate, so I believe I cooked it somewhere between 325 and 350. I baked it for 10 minutes uncovered and then I placed a cookie sheet on top of the casserole dish for another 20 minutes. Here is what it looked like when I pulled it out.

Results: well, it all disappeared except for one piece of eggplant, a few vegetables, and some sauce, just enough to add to my fried eggs tomorrow morning for breakfast. I can’t wait. Everyone loved it except for Silas, but then again, he’s still too young to like much of anything that’s good for him. He ended up eating some of my left over spaghetti from two nights ago.

Give it a try or some variation thereof and let me know what you did differently and how it turned out for you. I think a good variation would be to use zucchini instead of eggplant.

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Best Meatloaf Recipe . . . So Far

by Aaron on October 31, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes, Uncategorized

I have thought of making meatloaf for some time now and I recently read a friend’s post on facebook, and that was all the nudging I needed. My friend posted his recipe, but while I referred to it, I mainly used meat, ketchup, rice, salt, and pepper, and the rest I just kind of made up as I was shopping for things to add.

In order to stay with my philosophy on meat, meat being used as a flavor, not as the main ingredient, I added a lot of vegetables. To me, vegetables make a meal healthier and better. Since I am currently in Spain, I had to add some Spanish flair to it also. Here is what I added.

But let’s back up. The first thing you will need to do is start cooking some rice, since you’ll need one cup of cooked rice to add to the mix when everything else is ready to be blended together. A half cup of uncooked rice and one cup of water will make a little more than a cup of cooked rice. I made more so could use it as a side dish. My kids love rice anytime.

Now for the vegetables:
1 diced onion
3 chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 diced red bell pepper
1 diced poblano pepper
1 grated carrot
2 medium grated potatoes
salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning if you have some in your cupboards

Sauté the above ingredients in about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. I didn’t really measure it. I just kind of poured what I thought would work or taste good out of the bottle. Whether you add 2 or 4 or 1 tablespoon(s) will not change the results too much. So add what you feel is good for you.

When the bell peppers are soft, add about 1/2 cup of ketchup, stir and let it sauté for about another 5 minutes.

While the vegetables are finishing, mix together in a large bowl,
800 grams of ground beef, which is about 1-3/4 lbs.
200 grams of ground pork sausage, which is about 1/2 lb.

Now, add the vegetables and one cup of cooked rice to the meat and mix it all together and place it in a large casserole dish in two rows and bake it at 350 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I’ve never made meatloaf quite this way before, but I’ve been thinking about blending different meats together for some time and adding more vegetables than I normally would. The result … my kids said it was the best meatloaf they had ever had. I would have to agree. It turned out really great and tasty. One of the problems I have had with other meatloaves is that I thought they were too heavy on the meat. This combination turned out really well; the vegetables and rice turned out to be about one half of the total, which made for a very tasty and light meatloaf. I normally add ketchup to the top of my meatloaf when I eat it, but this meatloaf was tasty enough and light enough that I did not feel the need to do so.

To top the meal off, my wife made a really nice and simple spinach salad with grated carrots, grated mozzarella, croutons, and ceasar dressing. Take a little risk, modify this recipe, make some great meatloaf, and let me know how it turns out for you. Some things I would like to try next include adding bacon or chorizo to the meat and adding a layer of cheese on the top. I would also like to try adding some squash to the vegetable mixture. Good luck.

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What’s for Breakfast Today – Chorizo and Fried Eggs

by Aaron on October 8, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes, Travel

I love breakfasts and I miss the great breakfasts that I could make in the U.S.with our waffle maker and griddle and ready access to Mexican food products like corn tortillas. However, Spain also has a lot to offer. This morning I had one of my favorite meats, readily available here at any of the corner markets: chorizo. Chorizo is a slightly spicy pork sausage. I like to cut it open and fry it so that the fats cook out a little to add something to cook my fried eggs in. I guess it’s kind of like cooking the bacon first for the pork fat, only it’s a little orange-ish/brown in color.

We don’t have a toaster here so I always butter up a piece of my baguette with butter and a little olive oil and place it on the skillet to toast it. The eggs here in Spain are a little different also; the color is a little more orange and they cook up a lot faster. If I leave them on as long as I do the eggs from the U.S., the yokes cook up too hard, but I like the flavor a little more. Add a little salt and pepper and WOW!!! I had a wonderful breakfast this morning.

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Egg Plant, Pork Sausage, and Chorizo Spaghetti

by Aaron on October 5, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes

Last night at 4:00pm Tessa announced that she had invited a friend for dinner and that he would be here around 6:00pm. Two hours, not a lot of time when you live in Spain and the size of your refrigerator is big enough to hold maybe two days’ worth of food, if you’ve planned well. My wife and I quickly went through what we had to decide what we could make but couldn’t come up with anything. We chose spaghetti because “I” could quickly make it, so off to the market I ran. I actually ended up making a trip to three markets to get the needed ingredients. Now, in Spain, when I say three markets, all three markets were next to each other. Markets here in Spain specialize in narrow lines of products.

While at the first market, I decided on the meat that I would use. With such a large selection, I couldn’t decide on just one meat, so I got a little of two types of meat, pork sausage and chorizo. I also picked up some bread, the spaghetti noodles, and ice cream. I went to the second market only for the drinks. I found some great fruit drinks there for a great price and that is where I get my drinks now. And for the vegetables, I like to go to the local fruit and vegetable vendors because they usually have the freshest items for a good price. While there, I decided to add egg plant to the mix along with the usual onions, red bell peppers, and garlic.

I took Silas with me and he took the kid’s camera. I did not realize how many pictures he had taken until later that night. He posted on his blog this morning also about the pictures he took while he went shopping with me. Click here to view some of the pictures he took.

With not much time left, I went to work. Here is a picture of what I used. Of the items pictured for this meal, I only used half of the egg plant, onion, and bell pepper and four cloves of garlic, and I did not end up using the canned stewed tomatoes because the tomato sauce was enough.

I first cut off the outer membrane from the sausages and chorizo and placed the meats in the skillet to get them browning.

While the meats were browning, I cut up the vegetables and then added them to the skillet.

I covered the skillet to help hold the heat and moisture in so the vegetables would soften faster. Once the vegetables were softened, I added the tomato sauce, mixed it all up, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. I also found some italian seasoning mix that Becky must have picked up at some market ealier and added some of that along with some salt and pepper.

I cooked up some spaghetti noodles and cut some bread.

And within just a little over two hours from finding out someone was coming over, I/we decided on what to eat, went and bought it, fixed it, served it up and it was very tasty. I especially liked the taste the chorizo added to the flavor.

Maybe I should start importing chorizo when I return to the states.

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Breakfast the Morning after Spanish Tortilla

by Aaron on October 3, 2012 · 0 comments

in Recipes

As I meantioned in my Spanish Tortilla post, I made extra vegetables to use for my breakfast. Here are two pictures of what I had this morning.

And what a great breakfast it was. Two eggs over easy, some of my mixed vegetables, three slices of Salchicón, skillet toasted bread, olives, and a large glass of peach necture. It’s so nice to be able to add flavor to my breakfast without having to cut up more vegetables in the morning.

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My Version of Spanish Tortilla

October 2, 2012

When I lived in Spain 30 years ago, I learned how to make Spanish Tortilla and have made it many times since then. Now that I am back in Spain, it has been a lot of fun to make it again. Here is how I made it this time as well as the ingredients I used. [...]

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Kabocha Squash and Shrimp Tacos

August 31, 2012

Here is my newest creation, Kabocha Squash and Shrimp Tacos. Kabocha Squash? Have you ever heard of Kabocha Squash? Me neither, until about a week ago. One of my favorite markets to buy my vegetables is 99 Ranch Market in Fountain Valley. It’s an Asian market with a bunch of vegetables I haven’t seen at [...]

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I Make a DANG Good Quesadilla

August 22, 2012

I know the title says it, but I have to say it again. I make a DAAANG! good Quesadilla. Quesadillas are one of those items that I reserve for when I’m in a hurry or neither my wife nor I planned on anything for dinner at it’s already 7 at night and we look at each [...]

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Sloppy Joes with a Mexican Twist

August 14, 2012

I came down for dinner and I asked what was planned and my wife said she was going to make Sloppy Joes, but was in a bit of a hurry so I said that I would cook. She handed me a Rachael Ray Sloppy Joe recipe and said “Here you go. Have at it.” Of [...]

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