seis de mayo #3

since the birth of my blog didn't happen until this year i'll go back a few years to fill you in on the significance of this day. first off i do realize that yesterday was cinco de mayo and no i didn't get my days wrong. this story began on may 6th, 2007 when 6 girls were ready to embark on a 7 day mexican voyage. before boarding the ship we checked in and while checking in i may or may not have let a few words slip out about my friends carrying something suspicious in their bags. needless to say these words to me were funny and said in fun but that didn't seem to matter. before we knew it 3 of us were sequestered to a large room with several security guards waiting for the long beach police. that's right the police when i say police i mean 10 long beach officers. to make a very long story short we received the third degree and were detained for a few hours. after a strict security search of all our possessions we were finally able to leave and they let us board the boat with no legal action. what more can i say except that bad decisions make good stories and this story is worth celebrating for years and years to come.lucky for me i was able to turn this into a celebration of my/our independence from the law. i celebrate by throwing an annual bomb burrito party and feed my friends who love me endlessly even after this unforgetable situation.

bomb food 5-6-10

although i'm posting this recipe i didn't follow it.. hahaha!! i thought i did until now. i was a little sadened by my pork and wondered why it wasn't as flavorful as the one's i'd had before and i just figured it out. i normally make things up as i go and figure it out fine but i'd had this pork before made by someone else and mine didn't taste the same. what i did was add all the ingredients to the crock pot in the morning and let it cook all day instead of cooking it with a little water and then adding the ingredients at the end when i shredded it, MY BAD!! it was good but it wasn't as rich in flavor but overall still tasted fine. no one got sick or anything so it really did turn out but next year guys i'll do it right and it will be better than just ok. i really need to start reading directions and actually learn to follow a recipe!!
i also made homemade pinto beans for the first time, mexican rice and carne asada which i bought from the chavez market ready to cook. one of my friends even surprised me with a jug of mango mint mojito that was very good!

cafe rio pork

pork roast: put it in a crock pot with a little water and cook until very tender (about 8 hours on low).
shred pork and add:
1 can enchilada sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small can diced green chilies
1 can Coke (not diet coke)
1 cup brown sugar (or 1/2 cup, 1 cup is pretty sweet)
salt to taste
cook for one more hour

creamy tomatillo dressing

1 package ranch buttermilk dressing mix
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise (or half mayo and half sour cream)
3 fresh tomatillos
1 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
put everything in a blender and puree. refrigerate for a couple of hours and if you need to, adjust by adding more buttermilk to thin it out, or sour cream to make it thicker.

set it and forget it

not sure why or how i haven't let myself embrace my love for a crock-pot until now. i think it is due to the fact that i didn't grow up eating meals cooked in one so i didn't know how to do it. i've always heard people rave about how easy it was to use but i didn't really know how to tackle this daunting task. my fear for the crock pot decreased a little when i received the most adorable one ever from the griffins last year. i'll take a picture of it so that you can see for yourself but to me it's the best ever!! i love hot sauce and i have a collection of them from the places i visit so this allows me to leave the crock pot on display. i was previously overwhelmed with the idea of using it so i started with something easy.. hot wings. i fried the chicken on the stove and just let them stay warm in the pot while marinating in the hot sauce, cheating i know. since then i've only used the pot a few other times and only once other time to actually cook a full meal in it (which did not turn out very good). today i kicked away any remaining fears i had and now i submit myself fully to the use of this wonderful invention. i had a few friends over for dinner after church and i knew we'd be too hungry to wait for a meal to cook. so i woke up an hour early to prepped the pork roast. i started by placing the pork roast in a bowl with a package of mccormick pork seasoning with water and let it set. i then cut the potatoes and adding them to a bowl with baby carrots and flavored with a package of lipton onion soup mix. i added the roast, potatoes and carrots into the pot and topped it off with an onion. turned that baby on high to set it and forget it. i was gone for several hours and returned home to have dinner already cooked. the meat was so tender and the flavors i mixed made for a tasty meal. since this turned out great and i am no longer going to let my pot sit only for display.

pampas

tonight we celebrated a friend’s birthday by going to dinner in palo alto to a new place we’d never been to called pampas. it’s brazilian bbq and for dinner of course i chose the unlimited rodizio and side bar. with an endless array of meat such as but was not limited to: filet mignon w/parmesan, lamb chop topped with balsamic vinegar, spicy chicken legs, pork loin adobo, brazilian pork sausage, tri-tip, bacon wrapped turkey, leg of lamb, skirt steak and top sirloin.those are the meats i tried in the order that i liked them but there were several other options that i didn’t try. it was a hard choice to decide which meat was my favorite but in the end the parmesan put the filet just barely ahead of the lamb chops even with the edge of the balsamic vinegar. i did however eat 3 of those chops so that should tell you how close in the running for my favorite meat dish. aside from the meat the bar was ok but it only had a few options that made me go back for seconds. i really like cooked veggies but most items served on the bar were cold and i ended up not eating the veggies i normally love. at the side bar they did have a mango coleslaw that was good, some very tasty garlic mashed potatoes and even tastier coconut sweet potatoes. as if this food wasn’t enough ate too many cheesy bread balls and gilled pineapple. i seriously don’t know why more restaurants don’t have grilled pineapple available on the menu, it’s amazing!! i guess i was so excited about the pineapple that i never got a picture of it.. oops. we ended the night at the griffins for gelato and girl talk.

tyrone wells

i know i should be strong enough to walk alone. to make my own way down this winding road. but i am broken and i need you please to, pull me through. i need someone to hold onto. pull me through i don’t know who else to turn to. when life is a struggle and i am in trouble i need you to pull me through. thanks to tyrone these lyrics keep playing in my head this past week. i have been stuck in a mini pity party and this cd has helped make me happy. i couldn't find a you tube video to share but i think everyone should check out the metal & wood cd i purchased almost 2 weeks back and i'm in love with it! i enjoy the entire cd but the tracks i'd like to call your attention to are running around in my dreams, happy as the sun and the birds sing. tyrone has a few free shows in july around the hollywood area so if anyone is intersted.. hint hint.. i'd love to go.