thumbs down. big time

omg, dont ask my why i decided to try this- but ugh. vomit. this shit's nasty.

i should of known when the neon cheeseproduct has zero cholesterol that its probably not going to taste like cheese.

i didnt even finish eating it and i was like, "damn i gotta blog about this crapola" well, there you have it. i warned you. stay away.

great summer chops

so this is a great fresh summertime dinner- but really i dont see why you cant eat it all year long. its ridiculous how easy this complicated looking meal is..... sooooo i picked up two pork chops, gave them a quick rinse (always a good idea) and put them in a bowl and each side got a coating of garlic powder, cumin and a few drops of soy sauce. i set that down for a minute and loosely chopped an onion or two and a few tomatoes. then i put my large frying pan on the stove with barely a coatin gof olive oil, when it got hot I quickly lowered the pork chops in with a pair of tongs, braised one side, flipped them over to braise the other side(braising immediately flash cooks just the outer layer of the meat so it locks in all the juices and prevents it from drying out). I lowered the heat to just a simmer, filled the rest of the frying pan with the onions and tomatoes, covered it and let it sit. now after about 5-10 minutes i turned the pork chops over, but the easiest thing about this dish is when you see the onions are cooked down and slightly translucent, then the meat is done. cut a little side near the bone to double check if youre not sure but really its a fool proof way of preparing these. its great becasue like this you have the main course of the pork chop with a side of stewed tomatos and onions, and at the same time i made a side of plain white rice with olive oil (butter tastes better but obv not as healthy) and a fair amount of fresh parsley; corn on the cobb (which boils PERFECTLY in an asparagus steamer.. ill write about that another time); and a salad of tomatos onions and cucumber. this if great because you've got a lean meat dish, plenty of fresh in season produce, and its easy quick healthy and full of flavor.

pasta with chicken and dried tomatoes with parmiggiano in a cream sauce

a PERFECT last minute dinner thats soo yummy very impressive, a cinch to throw together and probably takes twenty minutes to make. just go easy on it if you have cholesterol issues. hi, yeah. so, put on your pot of water to boil your pasta (for a cream sauce i prefer rigatoni) by the time the pasta's cooked and you drain the water the sauce should be done- at the same time in a bit of olive oil sautee some chopped onions with a bit of salt, add 2 or 3 (depending how large) chicken breasts cut into small bit-sized pieces. give it a good stir, add some pepper and let it cook.. after a minute or two add a good two handfuls of chopped dried tomatoes (much easier to just go at them with kitchen scissors). after the chicken is cooked (if you cant tell by the look and feel, cut one of the pieces in half and just make sure it's not pink) pour in a pint of heavy cream (table cream or whipping cream work well too). lower the heat to a simmer and let that all cook together until the pasta is drained- aldente. put the pasta back in the pot, add the chicken and cream sauce, then raise the heat uner the pot to high- stir it all quickly so it wont burn or stick and to lock in all the flavors. add a generous amount of grated parmasian cheese, fresh parsley stir and serve.
its quick and easy, so great and will warm you up on any day.

such and easy paella and SOOO good.

i cheated a little on this but its so so so good and so so so easy. Unfortunately, no true Spaniard would ever call this a paella but for American standards and that yellow rice and seafood craving this will do the trick ;)
i got my large deep pan, quickly toasted some pine nuts in olive oil then toasted my washed rice (2-3 cups) for a few seconds. then i poured in probably 2 cups of white wine. now is when you add your saffron stamen, or goya seasoning packet- whatever.. salt papper. make sure the rice is just covered with water and as it continues to absorb it add more water. at this point i put in a handfull of peas and a diced tomato or two. stir occasionally and taste test the rice when its done.
about 10, 15 minutes into this, i sautéed d 1/2 a pound of peeled shrimp with 1/2 a pound of sea scallops in garlic and olive oil (the shrimp cook faster than the scallops so make sure you remove them). in a sauce pan with 1/4 inch of water i steamed about a dozen little neck clams.
the seafood is done around the same time as the rice and when its all finished i added the scallops, clams and shrimp, juices and all to the rice. a goof handfull of fresh parsley and i was done.
DELICIOUS!!!
so so good. obviously there are infinite varieties whether you want to use chicken or chorizo or octopus-- whatever floats your boat- it just so easy to cook whatever you want separately and add it to a flavorful fluffy yellow rice with plenty of fresh herbs.

got crabs?

i have not posted in a bit... and i really dont have time to start now. just wanted to let you know about the steamed crabs at the dupont farmers market. they're slammin. go to the fish lady at the north end of the parking lot. get there early cause the crabs go fast. theyre a dollar each and make a great lunch. you will never find chesapeake blue crabs in dc at this price. ask for them with the seasoning. my mouth is watering. mmm.