Cultures, creations and cuisine

I'm blessed to have been raised in a family where my mom, dad, grandmothers and grandfather all cooked from scratch. My mom and grandmothers canned fresh garden vegetables, grape juice, and jellies and jams, as well as froze many other items. Trips to the grocery once a month entailed more things like paper goods and necessities than food items because we grew so much.

My grandfather's Philippine heritage also weighed heavily on the foods and dishes I grew up on. As I grew up and had a family of my own, I took all this influential food knowledge with me and prepared meals from scratch, froze vegetables we grew in my in-law's garden, made my own applesauce from apples I still pick from the unsprayed tree I grew up around.

Through my pursuit of good health and nutrition for myself and family I have remained focused on naturally grown foods by local farmers through farmers markets, bought free-range natural fed eggs from a farmer down the road, and the only red meat I consume is bison, with the occasional exception of natural raised pork and pork sausage. I also am a chorizo addict. I love this mexican sausage, especially when it's mixed in with white cheese for dipping blue tortilla chips in!

Over the years, I've learned and created my own dishes, recipes and educated myself along the way about numerous spices, herbs and flavors. Learned the best wines to cook with and most of all ... never been afraid to try something new by way of creation. It's like a painter with abundant paint and a new canvas. You never know if it's going to turn out well until you start painting. Cooking is no different. The most important element for me ... is putting on my favorite music and turning it up while I cook!

Through this blog, I'll post photos of the creations I make, share what I have learned about different items I've used. Show you gadgets I have purchased that work or don't and let you know my insights about the whole experience. Food is limitless. Everyone has different tastes, different preferences. I will never advocate that 'everyone' will love what I create, I will simply leave that to you to decide.

I cook with natural ingredients and prepare everything from scratch unless otherwise noted. I'll offer my thoughts on substitutions when that applies as well.

I hope you enjoy this new adventure along with me. I've been inspired by others who blog and I will share those with you too. For now, if you're interested, you may check out Mowielicious and the Foodie Road Show. Two of my top favorite bloggers and chef creators I know.

This was my last creation. A traditional English dish called "Bubble and Squeak". Traditionally made with left over potatoes, the English mix cooked cabbage with the potatoes, patty them up and then fry in lard or bacon grease. I chose a more healthy route and since I'm not a fan of cooked cabbage per se, I also improvised. Below is the recipe I put together for what's pictured above.

Left over mashed potatoes (I actually made mashed potatoes for the purpose of making Bubble and Squeak!)

Mashed potatoes Lorri style:
9 medium Idaho style potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled
Mash when just tender
Add 4 Tbsp of unsalted organic butter
1 1/2 c. of organic skim milk
sea salt to taste
1 Tbsp of cajun seasoning (I use McCormick, it's MSG free!)

Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight. You want your mashed potatoes to be slightly dry.

Wash 1/2 lb. of fresh, organic baby spinach, remove stems
3 small leeks, diced
Sautee spinach and leeks in 1 Tbsp. of organic unsalted butter until spinach is wilted

Mix your sauteed greens with your mashed potatoes. Once thoroughly mixed, take about 3/4 cup of mixture and patty like you would a burger. Lightly flour both sides and place in hot olive oil in a skillet. Once you place the patties in the skillet, allow them to cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, but watch so they don't burn. Then turn and let the other side cook. Remove and serve immediately.

This recipe I made created about 8 Bubble and Sqeak patties. I sprinkled cajun seasoning on them once they were plated.

Feel free to experiment with these. The term Bubble and Squeak came about by the apparent sound of the cooking noises that are made. Now, I can tell you I never heard this out of my skillet, but that may have been because I was playing the Beatles Yellow Submarine CD at high volume!

*You may freeze these patties once they are floured but not cooked! It does make it easier to keep them thicker and they fry up very well. A great morning treat if you're in a hurry!

~peace and enjoy~
Lorri