hummingbirdkiss

how fun this coincides with the fact we have a family tradition this time of year that includes ceviche! and today I have off and can manage to pull it all together.. I just scored my late summer batch of freshly caught salmon..it is a mixed bag of very pink and fairly trout like colored fish and I never know what type is what so I apologize I am just grateful to be able to have this much fresh fish and a moment to take care of them properly..most importantly a moment with my family to enjoy this I have salmon resting in brine for later this evening when I will dry them off and hot smoke them over alder and apple... while letting these beauties smoke we will be sitting outside eating ceviche and looking at the water that they just came out of! proper respect will be given as a toast... the two best fish have been minced up like tartar are marinating in the fridg I am not sure if you want to see a picture it is not at all as lovely looking as what you guys have made that is for sure..but it is the way I know ceviche pure and simple ..fish...salt....fresh lime juice...habanero's and an onion mixed up together and left for hours to chill ..(usually overnight but today for about 6 hours...) I also have the bones of the salmon I scraped for the ceviche roasting in the oven for chowder tomorrow so our late summer tradition just matches right up with this cook off!!! let us recap! because this is so freaking fun for me!!! me and mine.. .. a rustic ceviche on saltines...salmon smoking ..outside starring at the water and of course beer!!! oh yeah life is good!!!

for me ..food prep is much easier with a double sink two bowls gives you two areas for washing and trimming things it also gives you a clean side and a dirty side there are just so many reasons I appreciate a big double sink that when I embark on my kitchen build next year I am going to go for the biggest best double sink I can find! good luck to you and please let us know how you choose!

I think being polite and making the odd meal for her in her honor is fine ....however as a rule and as a 23 year old one time myself ..I was raised that a pollite guest of any age when they go to someones home for a meal.. they eat what is served ...appreciate the fact someone went out of their way and is grateful as they leave leave that someone thought well enough of them to have them in their home. So you are in a dilemma for sure ...on the one hand winning her over is not a bad idea ...and on the other catering to a brat is not great at all ..there has to be mid ground and a 23 year old is not too old to learn to a pollite and grateful adult! ..that said I have a few large dinner parties a year and I have two ways of doing this the first is a theme meal of some kind ...I will pick a theme and invite people ..."I am making Ethiopian on blah blah night" I sometimes include the menu in the invitation sometimes not... then I throw myself into it and prepare an all inclusive feast for my friends ..I have never one time had someone make a special request..I think because it is so obvious what I am making that they just dont come if they do not want my food! (and really I have never had that happen either!) the other type would be "in honor of" and those meals I cater to the guest/guests of honor whatever they request or they love then I make it ...it is all about them and not me so I have the sit down with them prior ..arrange the menu around them and no matter what they want I make this meal according to them... I assume that everyone who accepts my invite loves well prepared foods and make sure there is a large variety to choose from (to include veg dishes and a healthy dessert choices) ...buffet or family style serving helps solve all of this... only rarely to I plate food and that is usually for lunches hope this helps in some way

I love all these tips!!! I have issue with celery octopus's all the time so that foil thing I will try! so here is my favorite tip and I am sorry I can not remember what food mag I read this in so I can give credit but it was almost a year ago I think ... if you want to peel lots of garlic all at one time ..break up the cloves put them in a pot with lid (I use my cast aluminium rice pot) then shake it hard for a several loud and sometimes annoying (only to other people I think it is musical and fun!) shakes just grab the pot hold the lid and shake away! in just a minute or so... voila! all the skins are apart from all the cloves just pick them out and they are ready to use! good excercise and I have not found a limit to how many cloves you can do at one time!

me too I love those guys ..did you notice the dessert theme..even my old man who does not pick up on it commented "what is with all the eating and desserts!!!" flipping funny movie and a much needed relief!!!! I also loved "Shaun of the Dead"

"Christmas" Stacked Red and Green Chile/Chicken Enchiladas This is the recipe my kids/coworkers/friends all demand around the holidays and is the single most requested recipe I make ..you can vary the ingredients and tweek this anyway you want to...but this is the basic so enjoy! "Christmas" Enchiladas roast a big chicken (or two small ones) and then bone it/them out and chop the meat up set aside large package of corn tortillas fried briefly in hot oil until soft and a little crispy set aside lots and lots of grated cheese of your choice (I use at least two lbs in this recipe) ...for me jack/mozzarella mixed but you can use whatever you like for the red side chile Colorado 3 tbl lard or olive oil 3 tbl flour 1/3 up good NM ground red chile (heat as desired) 3 cloves of garlic 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin 2 cups water 1 cup red wine 3 Knorr chicken cubes (Mexican style) I mix all the spice and flour together then heat a pot and put the lard in ..then add the mixed spices and garlic and kind of stir it around to make a toasted paste then add the water and wine bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 15 min stirring well for the green side Green chile sauce 3 tble lard or olive oil 3 tble flour 3 cups chopped roasted peeled green chiles 6 tomatillos roasted and chopped 3 cloves of minced garlic 2 cups water mixed with 2 cubes of Knorr chicken 1 tsp cumin heat the sauce pan put the lard or oil in and then add the garlic and cumin and saute around a bit then add the chiles, water and cubes ..bring to a hard boil then simmer 15 min ..set aside in a large baking pan line the bottom with tortillas then add a layer of chicken a layer of cheese then on one side of the pain add a layer of the red sauce and on the other a layer of the green sauce...another layer of tortillas, chicken, cheese and sauce until you top with tortillas ..cheese and any remaining sauce they are better if assembled on one day and baked the next ..I always make and freeze an extra pan ... bake until done ..hot bubbly ...about 350 for 90 min let sit for at least 15 min before cutting and then just cut it up like lasagna traditionally we eat left over enchiladas with a fried egg on top the next morning ( RG2017 )

ok there is a a food perhaps better said as a dessert theme in this movie!!! it is absolutely hysterical I think!!! ...and the neatly placed desserts begining with a black forrest cake ..ice cream and more cake!!!... imagine a cop being punished for drunk driving by having to bring ice cream to work? I will say no more... check it out and see if I am right ..or just that I am so food obseesed I see a food theme even in a cheesy very funny action flick? perhaps I need some special medication but really I just loved this movie www.hotfuzz.com

just be careful who eats them I brought a green apple crisp to work ...once and only once will I feed them to a crowd .. ..I eat green apples off the tree and just love them so does my family ..however ..my crisp went fast and so did the people who's tummies were not used to eating green apples! I will never ever live that down!

I understand your being busy that is for sure!!! I was worried I was the only one shopping for and eating all this good food here

that is absolutely beautiful!!! I am so happy for you!!!

Speaking of Indian food...BUMPING to ask ...Does anyone know how Pabla's in Renton did with that horrible fire? I did not see they were affected it looked like it was more down by the parrot store? the news was vague ...I am worried about them ..when I travel north I love to stop there for 12 samosas a tub of mint chutney..and a good dose of the brothers arguing I hope they are ok???? I just love that place

Ok so we had a famous guy living and cooking in Tacoma Jeff Smith AKA "The Frugal Gourmet" but he got into some kind of trouble and passed away ... back in the day he was vibrant and fun to watch and not a Julia or a Jaques (in a league of their own of course) but still one of my favorite TV cooking shows I learned tons and when I went to meet him he met me with open arms and lots of great info....he lived near us back then and was very good to my family ...made sure I had signed first editions of all his books not only for myself but for my parents as well I can not believe I am the only one in the south sound here? you guys should really come visit and eat...but only if you love great inexpensive food and want to dig deeply into the heart and history of Tacoma

I just saw the passion fruit at Guadalupe in White Center I know they had it less than a week ago did you check there?

my enchiladas ..they are stacked ..New Mexican style "Christmas" one side red and one side green ....completely unique where I live now so everyone wants the recipe when I make them ...

my dad loves bread so yes we always tried to have some for dinner ..but .... and still funny to talk about when we gather .. ..my dad was always asked to grab a loaf on his way home from work from one of the Italian bakeries in our hood...I could hardly wait for a piece and was usually the first one to grab it ...well he was such an expert tunneler and then would put the bread back into the bag the other way so no one would notice that when I pulled it out of the bag and went to rip a piece off there was nothing inside but a very clean crust in the shape of the bread... second to that my step mother would try to make rolls and always after starting dinner my dad would yell "where is the bread???" she would jump up with panic on her face run into the kitchen (and this was so often it was hysterical) as smoke billowed out of the stove there were the black rolls ...really black not just scrape to your own color kind yes I still love some kind of bread with meals ..the table is just not complete with out it! ...and yes I have mastered the art of tunneling a loaf myself ..so the tradition is carried on in that respect as my kids tease the hell out me for trying to make it seem like the loaf must have come empty! I dont burn rolls however like my step mom..but could if I really wanted to! btw we were city dwellers and not depression era we just all loved bread for generations I think because both my grandfolks and cousins everyone partakes in this

chutney poured over the top of cream cheese with crackers is really good ...or bay shrimp with cocktail sauce poured over cream cheese...same idea with creackers

all this rain made all my tomato plants that finally had bunches on them ..drop fruit this is the last year for me to try this I am giving up on tomato growing for sure ...

Abra..In my minds eye ... Salvadoran like most food from Central America it is not supposed to be very spicy food ... homey food ..in my opinion....pupusas are ok and I enjoy them especially if they have lots of loroco flower in them... but it is for me the soups and stews that make Salvadoran food... they are very comforting..it makes me want to suck my thumb and twirl my hair when I dive into a bowl!!! if you are looking for spicy foods Salvadoran is not it ..if you are looking for a great filling down home meal to dive into... then not do much afterwards in the way of moving.... then yes this is the food for you and as much as I adore spice in life sometimes this is just the food I need!!! I went to the Salvadoran bakery very recently and had a big bowl of prawn and fish soup that made my eyes roll back it was so yummy!!! they did give me jalepenos and lime to add along with their very mild hot sauce ...so good and so inexpensive!!! I feel so lucky we have all this food around us here that is for sure!

congratulations on moving to one of the most beautiful places on earth! my sister lives there and I just emailed her to ask if she knew where you could find it .. I honestly can not imagine it is not sold someplace! I will let you know asap she has every store in the area pegged for what it has in it! she is as bad as I am about looking for food! OT if you are a birder as your name implies then you will be in heaven living in NM

it is easy to turn your nose up at something like a bag of mixed frozen veggies but you know what from poverty has come some of my best meals ..and when I was broke...ages ago ... my friend from Figi taught me to curry a bag of mixed veggies and what a great cheap and yummy lunch it was ..and still is ... fast and easy.. .this is her her process and I still do it for a quick lunch it is great just start with oil saute a diced onion then add garlic and cumin saute around well then add the veggies and some curry powder (I use BetaPac Jamaican) but any Madras curry would do ..then saute ..then add a little broth just to make a thick sauce ...(I just use a knorr cube mixed with water) serve in a bowl with a pile of warmed flour tortillas she also folded half a tortilla like a samosa and would seal them around the curry and deep fry them the price kicks butt and why not ..frozen veggies are usually picked at the peak of ripenss try to curry them ...you will not be wasting time or money!

I use Goya brand passion fruit puree it is really good and quite inexpensive and easy to find in Hispanic markets

I bet the tea you buy then is safe after all it is processed or something I bet and there are "rules" right??? LOL I am thinking of Odwalla now sorry... ..it is just making it on your own that can be risky! but then we make sourdough ...sausage ...bacon ...ceviche....and do fine so whatever if that tea claims to give you energy I should go buy some now because I am plummeting fast!!!

My fig gave me a bunch of fruit this year so did can 6 pints of gingery fig jam ..omg this is not going to make it into the winter I keep eating it straight out of the jar! amazing stuff this is the first year I have tried home made fig jam and I am absolutely sure I will never buy a jar of it again!!!

does that tea have the fungus or the seaweed? I know there is a kombu seaweed now I am confused!

I live almost exactly half way between Tacoma and Olympia and notice most of the posts about WA ..well in general here in this section ...are all about Seattle and yes Seattle is a fantastic City I used to work at Harborview and have walked and eaten all over the place...I also worked at a clinic in Burien for years so I know the Burien.... White center well and still love to venture up as often as possible .. Granted you got us in the Seattle area nice high end joints...famous chef's cookbooks and whatnot but for daily eating and shopping in markets... we can authentically eat our way around the world in the South Puget Sound! ...we have fantastic Korean food...Southeast Asian all you can imagine Vietnamese, Thai Cambodian... ..we have decent Italian (but you have to dig for it and really know what to order) ...Ukrainian ..German....Philipino .. Pacific Island food ...meaning also we have the best Samoan sweet bread in the world is baked on South Tacoma Way buy a guy with a recipe who knows exactly what to do and how to do it!!!..when he is open and baking it you can smell it on the road!!! ..Salvadoran ...insane Mexican (one place in the South Tacoma area makes the best Posole I have ever eaten!!!)....Caribbean food markets and restaurants galore!!! we also have real bbq on the hilltop that is made when the owner makes it and you can buy it only when you smell it! ...we have home cooking all styles ....even an Evangelical minster who sets up a Q and preaches serving BBQ in an empty lot I absolutely love where I live!!! and feel lucky that I can prepare any meal any time....although we are sorely lacking in anything Middle Eastern I know for a fact even though I have crawled all over this area there are tons of places I have not found or visited... does anyone want to converse with me about the wonderful food scores in the South Puget Sound?