cowboy food

Some of the most tasty and healthy foods are also some of the most simple, for example: beans with green chile and cornbread. These are pink beans that were cooked with garlic, salt, pepper and vegetable boullion until just tender then jacked up with a big heaping spoonful of green chile.



How can it get more simple than this, mix the batter in the pan and bake it.



We dont have any superbowl sunday plans since we are not the biggest sports fans in the whole world but it is a food day so we shall see what what we shall make and we shall make things in honor of the day.

wanna' see my cookies?

Kids and bakes sales are synonymous or are they homonyms or are they allegorical or are they just a necessary evil? Whatever they are I have been participating since I am the alpha dad. The class is raising money for the 5th grade trip to Washington, D.C. The alternative school my kid goes to celebrates diversity in all peoples and their school mascot (for lack of a better term) is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Every year they put on their big talent show called the " Honoring the Dream Celebration" and it takes place the week of Kings birthday, so you can imagine how exciting this trip to DC is going to be and its my sons last year at this school. I made chocolate cheesecakes, my kid special requested them, for the last two bake sales so I thought I would change it up a little and make cookies, plus they are easier.



These cookies are vegan, yup vegan but with a cookie that isnt hard to do, no eggs no dairy.


Oatmeal, coconut with a carob glaze.

I've got the blues

Blue corn, chicken and cheese enchiladas kind of blues. Blue corn meal has been a part of my life since I was a kid in New Mexico, I like it mixed into pancake batter, I like in a quesadilla, I just like it. I dont usually make the casserole version like this but I did not feel like making them to order, so make a big pan and scoop it out like a lasagna, lazy easiness.



Fried quickly then stuffed with cooked chicken and a mix of monterey jack, cheddar and queso de oaxaca, rolled up for layer number one.



Repeat for layer number two.



Cover in green chile sauce.




More cheese on top and bake until bubbly.




This is a portion cut out after it is completely cooled so you can see the twists and turns of the delicious layers. If you dont finish this all off in one sitting it is great the next day.

I've got hats

Hats, hats hats, the only time these hats are popular is when it is bitter cold. For 10 bucks you get to look like a million dollars.



These pictures are from two years ago.



There many colors and fabrics to chooose from. The are so warm and they double as a balaklava if it is exceptionally cold. I wear one as a balaklava and top it off with another. Lauren Bacall once saw me on the street and commented how nice she thought my hat was, she said in her deep voice 'nice hat, I mean really nice hat' the people that were with me could not believe it. Its true!

too late now

Go check out these two videos if you want. I dont know why I didnt tell everyone to begin with. I had a girlfriend that once told me 'you can sell more cats if you stand on a hill and yell than if you holler in a well' I seem to keep on hollerin' in that well.



Dunceness seems to prevail - looks like I never had plan b.



Maybe next time

old fashioned

Very few things are more old fashioned than bread pudding. The reason I think bread pudding is old fashioned is because the first time I ever had it was with my grandmother and back then I always thought it was something that old people ate, since my mom never made it.



My grandmother made it on Sundays in the usual way with eggs and cream and all but she did something different, she grated cheddar cheese on top that got all melty and delicious mixed with the sweetness of the bread pudding. I didnt make it that way this time.



I make this often, well if two to three times a year is often and it always comes out great. It is after all french toast in a bowl and probably easier to make, even though this did get a little too brown. I put a scoop of some nice rich vanilla ice cream and drizzle a little maple syrup over the whole thing and give it to the kid, he loves it.

mail call

I got something in the mail today from Norway, isnt that the best thing ever?




My friend Anette sent me some tongs because I commented on how cool hers were. How bizzare will it be to ever meet some of our wonderful blog friends?



Her family has a really cool cabin in the Norwegian Woods, I wonder if I tell her how cool that is - you think she might give me one? Thank you Anette. Let me know if there is anything I can send you.

me first

I invented shepards pie! I know that sounds ridiculous but its true. I have never made this before and I probably have tasted it only once. The reason I have only tasted it once is I am not a big fan of ordering leftovers at a restaurant and isnt that what this is after all? (I tasted it because someone else ordered it, I had the steak au poivre.)



This is not even regular shepards pie because it is made with chicken so this further enhances my claim of invention.



I used some cooked chicken, some peas and carrots and I riced some potatoes for the crust, I never knew inventing could be so easy.



While there were some 'secrets' and some 'tricks' for the most part it is exactly like I said, and I invented it.


Cute cards, right? Not to fear I will not be sending out cards. I get asked for recipes every now and again and I dont mind sharing them even though I never really post them, so if you want a recipe for anything at anytime all you have to do is send me an e mail and you will get some haphazardly written codified thing with food in it in a haiku kind of stanza set up.



Nothing beats cracker love. Lets call this a 'studio shot.' This shot will help with the scale and to show that even a casserole can be 'fussy'.

chicken mass

Or should that be massive chicken. Massively ugly chicken. This is definitely not something you hear everyday, "Hey, I'll meet you at the ugly chicken mass" and "Hey, I'll meet you at the ugly chicken mass" will not become popular any time soon. Chicken has such negative connotations in english vernacular. Nobody wants to be called or considered a chicken, but you could probably translate this into a sexual barrage of strength outside of the english language. With all this in mind:



I present to you: Chicken For The Masses.



Chicken in all its lustful ugly glory.



Big Fat Chicken.

Stay tuned

Tomorrow? Tofus' Perversions Today!

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If it wasnt for Wii we wouldnt go anywhere.

pre - face

Live! On Stage!

Stripped Down
and Raw - Its
MILLI VANILLI EXTRACT.....

After looking over the vanilla extract post I sensed there were some missing details. The first detail is that this is not as extravagant as it seems, The vanilla beans were purchased online and I mentioned it a few days ago for a very good price making this batch costing about 5 bucks my cost. (the reason it is so expensive is because I purchased the miniature cognac)The second detail is the bottles size, it is a 4 ounce miniature Martel Cognac. The third and final detail is the rum, it is Pirate rum. I paid 9 bucks for a 750 ml bottle of a rum named Whalers Rum and it is as dark as you see it. It tastes great but it is not a high priced rum. My point is that homemade vanilla extract is by far CHEAPER than any thing you can buy, and it is PURE and it is BETTER and it is EASIER THAN EASY to prepare.

be still?

If you thought I was making moonshine, you wouldnt be far off.



While this vanilla extract is far from 'whisky squeezins' it is a fine steeped and mellow brew.



Premium grade vanilla sliced lengthwise, slightly scraped and packed into this cute little cognac miniature bottle.



Pour in some pirate grade extra dark rum and we wait, and we wait, and we wait, we taste it and then we wait some more, after 8 weeks it should be ready.

Delightful

I opened my mailbox today and what did I see, a package from foodbuzz and that can only mean one thing - swag. I knew I scored something and I couldnt wait to see what it was. You know foodbuzz its that online food community I talk about every now and again, well this food community is world wide so it is a far reaching community to say the least. foodbuzz has partnered up with Quaker to test drive some new granola bars they have coming out and since I am in the Tastemaster Program I get to be one of the drivers.


True Delights - Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut



True Delights - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond

True Delights - Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry

Quaker True Delights are exactly that, a true delight, you can forget what you knew about granola bars these bars are a cut above, visit the website they invite you to be delighted and they will send you a sample, visit them on foodbuzz and become a fan.



If you want a complete play by play of the flavor profiles The Last Bite does a great job delivering.

good at looking

The more you observe and look at things the better you get at observing and looking at things and this website is no exception. Poptophorror has evolved since its inception and the photos are updated often. I get insipiration from all kinds of sources and who doesnt like to look at pictures so I spend time researching recipes and cooking techniques often by looking at pictures and looking at pictures often will take me on tangents whereby I am now only looking at pictures, pictures that have nothing to do with cooking.



Here is another example of looking at things good. I like things to be good looking and I like when good lookers keep on looking, try to say that 5 times fast.



Here is a pretty picture I took a few days ago.