Creativity?

Are the levels rising at this point or are we just stretching ourselves to no end. you can tell me.

pasta caprece

So, the other night some friends came over to help me make some carnitas & pasta caprece. Here’s the video of the pasta caprece prep.

Hope you enjoy and let me know if you would like to see prep for any other meal.

Passion Pit “The Reeling” Widget

Did somebody say Chorizo?

I grew up eating Chorizo and eggs for breakfast all my life, and till this day it is one of my favorite dinners to make for Elora and Me. It is simple and harkens to our hispanic childhood. Me being 1/2 Mexican and her being Scandinavian growing up in San Antonio. The problem is being able to find the chorizo that I love from the store, and since we shop a lot at Whole foods, they have this thing about being healthy. I don’t know about you but, just because I can’t cut it into a steak and grill it. It doesn’t mean its not healthy to me. So this left me in a quandary. Until I started my Garde Manger class at TCA. It dawned on me like a brick to the head, why can’t I just make my own chorizo. So started my research in history and recipes.

Disclaimer-this is the first run on the formula, in the future it will probably grow and change, but I am happy with the turn out on this recipe. (It will need to sit for a few Days to develop its flavors, if you plan on smoking or storing it, let me know and I will give you more info on safely drying and storage.

2 dried ancho chilies
3 Fire roasted and skinned green chilies
2 lbs. pork shoulder
2/3 cup rendered bacon fat cool but liquid
1 T. Sea salt
1 tsp. ground chipotle
1 T. fresh ground black pepper
1 T Paprika
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried Mex. Oregano
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. fresh ground allspice
6-8 Cloves Garlic Finely minced
1/4 C. Sherry vinegar
1 C. Chopped Cilantro Leaves

Rehydrate your dried chilies by pouring a pot of boiling water over them in a bowl, cover and let them set for an hour. They should be tender and skins and seeds should come off easily. Use 1/4 Cup of liquid to help puree the meat of the chilies.

Add all chilies and dry ingredients to mixer with paddle attachment. Mix on medium low, slowly pouring fat in first, and then vinegar. continue mixing until mixture pulls away form side of bowl, make sure to shut down the mixer half way through the process and scrap the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. The mixture should be evenly distributed.

You should always test your sausage, for this I would suggest heating a skillet and browning an ounce of chorizo, you are tasting for salt, the rest of the flavors will develop and even out after two or three days if you haven’t eaten it by then or you can freeze it, portioned out and rolled in film and stuffed in freezer bags to use as you like.

*You can use ground pork but be aware that over all the fat content should be around 25-30%, but for you health folks stick to the bacon fat it works nicely in lean pork (95%), should only drop the lean percentage down to 90%
If you have a grinder and stuffer you can use pork shoulder or like i would like beef check mixed in with the pork and replace the bacon fat with fat back and grind together.

A Retrospect on Food Inc.

Let me state at the beginning that this start out as simple extra credit questions for my pastry chef. But, as I started writing, I saw how much I really had to say. As a Chef in training, my foundation and views are based in the search for better food quality and better taste. But, in this search, it leads in one direction. Stay away from processed foods and buy Locally when you can. As a Christian, I started noticing how we as people like to tinker around and try to improve on what God made prefect in the beginning. Not only is this destructive to ourselves personally but it has adverse effects socially.
So when others I know found out about the heath risk associated with artificial sweeteners (ie. Sweet and Low/Equal), they searched out for the “New and Improved” artificial sweetener (ie. Splenda) instead of going back to the way God intended, real sugar just not a lot. We really don’t what to get in to the issue of Splenda, that is a whole other blog. I started thinking a long time ago what’s wrong with the real sugar? So with what started as a Question, “whats wrong with sugar” to thoughts on Food Inc. Its been a long journey. So read this as a Q and A. Maybe you will agree with me, maybe you wont. But, hopefully it will spark some questions of your own.

How do you think you can be part of creating a healthier food system?

My wife and I are trying in part to create a healthy food system for ourselves. In a minute effect, this bears weight on the economy and our friends. I think most of our choice are made to have better tasting food and less processing; we have been going this way for the better part of two years. In my search for better quality food, better tasting food, I impact our local growers, economy, and food system. That’s a win/win for everybody.

What did you learn most from the film?

What I learned from the film was mostly visual affirmation of what I already knew. It ties the ends together when you know information but get to see it in action. For instance: corn, one of our greatest contributions to the world, is also the down fall to our nation on an economic and health basis. Why do we have to the need to categorize, divide, label and quantify, every aspect of piece of food to the level we have? We have a problem with trying to pervert natural gifts of our world, so far to level of breaking down the natural coding into something it was never meant to be. As chefs we manipulate, force, bend and coddle food into what we want it to be, all the while it retains the essence of what that food is. That takes a lot of ego. I understand that but what kind of God complex does it take for us to force corn in to sugars, plastics, and fuel and it to never be what it was meant to be, all at risk to consumers and a profit loss to the farmers who grow it?

Since viewing the film, will you make any changes in the way you eat and purchase foods?

I refer to question 1 for the part of my answer. Yes, I have prior to watching the film made changes and I have made a lot more after watching the film. We have made two major steps, the first being the biggest. Elora and I have given up all; if we have any control in it, high fructose corn syrup. The major source of that being Coca Cola. First knowing that they are in the top ten “Evil” companies in the world, we were big Coke drinkers, but it took a little more knowledge about the health issues for us to say no more. And, if you know Elora, that was a big deal. If we have to have soda, we try to get one made from Cane Syrup, or not at all. 
The second change we made focuses us in our purchases. We look for local, natural, organic in any combination of those three. We have already noticed a difference just in the nutrient density in “slow food” method. You just don’t need to eat as much to feel full. Along with that eating has turned into more of an event, than the old rushing around it use to be. It harkens back to a past culture.

What was the three most alarming things you learned from the film?

1) I use to be a huge supporter of Capitalism-that was a few years ago. I am not a supporter of government imposed socialism either, but I never realized that the majority of our food was produced by so few companies, and they fight to retain all control, even to the point of censoring what really happens behind their doors. Who knew that such secret police tactics, pulled from the play books of Nazi Germany, were prevalent in our country? What is the real purpose of Monsanto having roaming informants to take down any small town man, with the governments backing?

2) I just love how all these companies like Kashi which seems like it cares about it purpose in quality natural foods and the community, are really owned by Kellogs; which was one of the major pushers of corn, nutrients, quake methods in the earlier 20th century (read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan) All that is to say they bought Kashi just to have a little more profit margin and a new niche. There is a growing segment of the population that are not buying “kellogg” products for healthier Items; most have no idea it is the same company with a different mask.

3) I find it shocking that the government has subsidized the corn industry to such a point that derivatives of corn is found in almost all processed foods on the shelfs of our stores, and at much cheaper price than “whole foods” in the produce aisle. This forces the lower income levels to buy those products purely based on the affordability of them over heathier items, which leads to other health problems like diabetes which in turns makes them pay for medications to fix that problem and lower the amount of liquid funds available to make food purchase. As you see this lead back the beginning of the circle, making it easier to buy processed “junk” food. This is something that I have seen in my family. My Dad and his family came to America from Juarez in the late 40’s. Just the distance of a few miles, a border and western eating habits has changed my family for ever. My abuelita (great grandmother) stayed in mexico living a peasant life. Eating what she could grow and raise, she lived to at least 105 (long story about her age but that is a minimum) and only in her 90’s did she start taking medications due to knees wearing out. Her Daughter, my grandmother, came in to America post WWII and followed western eating habits of processed foods, and quickly came down with diabetes and host of other problems. Enough problems to have a tote bag full of medications that she took till the end of her life. Of course the eating habits followed the generational lines. All of her children have more medical problems then they know what to do with. Which leaves me in a bad place for the future if I don’t change things now for me and my children.

Just a little inspiration

This was brought to my attention from a friend, and it is an inspiring video for any of us that are creatively centered. give it a watch and let me know what you think. (I had nothing to do with the making of this video and take no credit for any of it)

Genuine Communion in the Streets of Chicago.

On Friday I was with about 400 people that were on a quest throughout our country to bring to light the atrocities of child soldiers. (We are skipping to the end of the journey for this story.) After standing outside of Harpo Studios 6 hours silently to grab Oprah’s attention, she put us on her show for the first ten minutes and put all the media weight that is Oprah into Invisible Children. The moment of completion was something that we never be recreated. Being able to enjoy the moment with with friends that had meet and grown since the start of our trip in Boston, was like reaching the end of our journey with our goals met.
As we turned to leave the block there was a van sitting across the street loaded with coffee and bread that was gathered by donations from across the country. This bread was not your Mrs. Bairds or Wonder bread for the people in the east. This was real oven baked artisan bread. Grabbing a loaf it dawned on me that for the last week we have been living in community driving across the country, sharing our lives, sharing our meals, sharing any comfort we could provide for others. This is what we have been craving, longing, and searching for. With loaf in hand I ran down the street searching out those people that I had journeyed with, this was the time for real communion. Looking through the crowds, scanning the faces for my fellowship. One by one a came across friends from The Rescue, offering them bread and asking them to have communion with me, breaking bread. The strange feeling of true understanding came across all of us, those that have a strong faith with Christ, those that look at the church with questions, and those that were in between, understood there was something special in that moment. Offering the bread I recited the the words, “this is Christ body, broken for you.” Some people just took the bread, some just looked at me and said, “thank you Brother,” others only replied with, “do this in remembrance of me”
Did we bring church with us to the streets, or did it happen through focus of goals, and sacrificing of self to reach those goals? I am sure the answer is obvious. In contrast to friday, we had communion at church this Sunday, There was a palpable difference in the two experiences. It did mean something to me to share it with my wife, know what we had been through this week, but difference came from others. There just was no sense of shared experience no completions, or family. I do not want to down play the meaning of communion for others in the church but for me there was a definite contrasting experience, form the streets of Chicago to the church building in Temple, Tx. I sure it is obvious what was missing, but how do we gain that back in our lives. How is it that I felt closer friendships and better community with a group of people that I didn’t know at the start of the week then with a church that I have been active in for four years?
I personally think the difference came down to genuine action. Wether it was a known christian i was breaking bread with, wether it i was well received in my actions, I gain genuine responses from my fellow Rescue Riders. I think there is a lot to learn from this, I hope that I have taken to heart what I experienced this week, but I hope that someone else saw Jesus in me; for that is the real reason for riding, to try and live out my faith.

Beast Coast United

Road Trip 2009

It seems that we are loading up in van from Boston, heading to Harrisburg, PA. If I understand right, this is an over 6 hours away. What are we thinking?

Barb, My Movie Sherpa

I come from a small town, which isn’t all bad. You get to know a lot of the people that work in the stores in your town, especially those that frequent. It was the same for me when I worked at Potts’ Hardware for four years in college. I got to know a lot of my customers that would come in four or five times a week. Over time these people would come to a level of trust that they would direct at me. You know that person you go to when you have a leak in your bathroom, and you go “fix it.”
Well I over the years I have spent a lot of time in video stores looking for entertainment, love, life stories, adventure, and laughter. The problem is from an early time in life I grew a fondness for the indie flicks and not all the block busters. I have an affinity for british comedy. I like Bollywood. Yeah I said it. I like Bollywood. Most of your video store employees, lets face it, are in High school. It’s like trying to find help at Lowes or Home Depot, most of the time you’re on your own.
Lucky there is one person, named Barb who is the store manager at our local video store. Over the last few years of visiting the store putting out feelers for that lone obscure story on film that called to me, she has been there learning who I am and what I like, which directors I admired, which screen writers told life stories. Barb has taken the time find out what makes me tick. I trust Barb in her movie recommendations. Can you say that about a lot of people?
Barb has taken the time to grow a relationship with me. This is a relationship I enjoy; I look forward to my trips the video store. No longer is it a rush to fight my way through the families. Now I make time to sit and talk. Talk about movies we both have seen and movies we haven’t. We discuss documentaries, we laugh at mockumentaries. We talk about our families and our lives.
Who would have ever thought that a relationship would have come out of a movie store? In a few weeks we are moving to Austin. What am I going to do with out my movie sherpa in our new town?
Better question: When was the last time we built a relationship out of the everyday people we run into?

Succor for the Soul

I sat by the hot tub this afternoon after a long and fast pace lunch rush, getting some time to myself. We had just got Wide Awake by E. R. McManus in the mail, and I had some music plugged in to my ears. With feet soaking in the warm water and a cool breeze blowing in my face, I cracked open the pages and read the dialogue between David and Elijah from “Unbreakable.” Elijah states that the sadness we feel could be from “not doing what we are suppose to be doing.” I love that movie, I have seen it twenty times through out college and a few times since I have been married, but it never really struck me in the way that it did today. I know that it has a lot to do with where I am at in my life. The funny thing? While I was reading this, “Dreaming Lucid” was playing in my ears. I think that is what has been going on in my previous life. Dreaming the dream of vivid colors, taste, sound and feeling but not truly being awake, not truly being awake.
After coming in from the hot tub, I found Switchfoot’s “Live From San Diego” DVD and popped it in while I was cleaning. If any of your remember the Beautiful Letdown album – it could have been their zenith, their most personal album as a band. Amazing musically and lyrically, it played loud and proud from any set of speakers I had. It was without a doubt the theme music and anthem for my generation at that time. But, when I put in on today it was almost like hearing it all for the first time, but it was de’ja vu. I had heard it before but from somewhere in the past maybe in a dream. I knew it to be true but now it had real meaning to me. Through the strange concoction of Franz Fredinand, Erwin McManus and SwitchFoot mixed in with life experiences were all these things mixing into succor that I needed.
These days I am waiting tables at a chain that is holding its own, but is not busting out of the seams like when I was in high school. I don’t have the normal problems of going to work minus the effort it takes for me to get up. I like what I am doing, but at the same time I know for a fact this is just step to my true dreams.
A few weeks ago I waited on a few nursing students who had come in after class to relax. I struck up conversation with them pretty easily given our common back ground. After a while one of the girls looked at me and said, “I like you, you look like your at peace with your self.” I have to say I think I am. I am looking forward to schooling, I am very excited about moving, and on pins and needles to find out what God is going to do in the lives of Elora and I and through us. I feel like we have woken up from our dreams, to see that there is more than just living, there is more than just dreaming. We can really wake up and take an active part in this world. It seems like a big thing, but with that I am at peace.