Besties

After weeks, no, months of almost no rain, the weather gods have decided we are due for precipitation. Of course, with rain and occasional bouts of thunder and lightening, it means our outside dogs spend time on the porch, in the house, and generally being underfoot.

And while they frequently spend their days sleeping, no matter where they are, sometimes the monotony becomes too much and some wrasslin' needs to happen.

Sigh, we're bored. What should we do?

BWAHAHA! This is what happens when you say I wrestle like a girl.

Sorry, you know I was just kidding.

What were doing before this? Oh yeah, sleeping.

And by the way...

There has been a slew, a bevy, a veritable plethora of culinary experiments going on for The Wright Table. Check them out, whenever you have a moment.

Vinegar Braised Chicken

Pasta with Shrimp and Chorizo

Ricotta Stuffed Pork Chops

Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Homemade Pici Pasta

Man the Barricades

Our fence line has recently come under attack, necessitating the creation of barricades.

Along various sections of our fence, sticks have been driven into the ground to keep the intruder at bay.

And who or what might this intruder be? This wily little creature:

It's our next door neighbor's dog. She has been getting out of their yard and coming by to say "Hi!" to our dogs. As she runs around our fence line, she figures out a spot she can dig under the fence to come on in and play. 

It's obvious that she's lonely and wants to be friends, going so far as to immediately fall to the ground with her belly up to show she isn't to be feared.

And while I feel sorry for her, every spot she digs under the fence means an opportunity for our dogs to get out. Hence the barricades.

We've brought the situation to the attention of our neighbors, but results have been rather hit or miss. Some days she stays in their yard, other days, not so much.

One might ask about contacting an agency, such as animal control, to help resolve the problem. The thing is, there are no such agencies like that here. Matter of fact, the overriding attitude toward dogs is pretty abysmal. Not many dogs are considered pets, but rather four-legged alarm systems who live their lives chained up. Most dogs have never been to a vet, had shots, been fixed or even adequate nutrition. Strays roam almost all the streets scrounging for whatever scraps they can find. It's sad, disheartening, and difficult to deal with. 

There are some grass roots efforts taking place to raise awareness about animal welfare and some slow, but steady progress is being made. 

In the meantime, we have sticks at the ready to build more barricades.

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Updates to The Wright Table

Even when living in a tropical paradise, there are days/weeks that feel like I've been given a free rail pass for the Crazy Train. To regain some balance, I spend time in the kitchen.

Here are some dishes that soothed my soul and appeared on The Wright Table:

Chicken Tinga

Nicoise Toasts

Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

Whitefish with Citrus-Olive-Caper Sauce

The Wright Table

For those of you that love spending time in the kitchen or for those folks who just like checking out recipes, I invite you to pop over to The Wright Table blog. 

Here is just a sampling of what has appeared on our table, with each title being a link to the post:

Chicken with Bacon and White Wine

This recipe contains some of my favorite things, meaning chicken, bacon, and wine.

Cultured Butter

When there is no butter to be found, I realized I could make my own!

Tomato and Lime Shrimp

It only took one bite to know this was a keeper. 

Finnish Cardamom Rolls

While these rolls do take a bit of effort, the reward is a super tasty treat.

Ginger Fried Rice

Can't wait to make this again.

Slow Cooked Curried Chickpeas

This was a fun dish to make and big on flavor.

“Cooking is at once child's play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.” 

-- Craig Claiborne

Quick Bites - January 2015

One might think that living in developing country would mean limited home cooking options to experiment with different cuisines. And while it is true that some ingredients can be hard to come by, it's more than possible to adjust and adapt any number of recipes to produce some pretty awesome dishes. Here are just a few I whipped up over the last several months.

Home made pasta with corn, tomatoes, and garlic confit

This is a great summer meal and super easy to do. First I made the garlic confit by taking 12 unpeeled cloves, making a small hole in each one, then popping them into a saucepan with about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down to a simmer and let the garlic mellow away for about 15 minutes. Your knife should slide easily into the cloves and that's how you know they're done. Let the garlic and oil cool.

Once the garlic could be handled, I put about 5 tablespoons of the oil into a large saute pan and squeezed out the garlic from their skins. Gave the cloves a good mash with the back of my wooden spoon, then turned the flame to a medium heat. With the oil hot, I dumped in some diced tomatoes, corn, and a pinch of salt.

After cooking the pasta, I strained it and dumped it into the sauce. Gave it a good mix, then onto the plate and garnished with some fresh basil.

So, so good! There was a bit of sauce left over and we ate it as a quasi-bruschetta the next day on some lightly toasted bread. Will definitely do this dish again.

Apple Flowers

A friend of ours posted this recipe video on my Facebook timeline. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to try it. 

The process is pretty straightforward, just be sure that your thinly sliced apples extend a little bit over the edge of the pastry. If they don't you'll end up having something that looks more like a piece of sushi than a flower.

These are the perfect sweet bite and would be an awesome addition to a dinner party. 

View the recipe here. 

Tuscan Basil Chicken

This is a super easy and fast meal to make and the taste is delicious. And with the carrots, onion, and celery in it, I could check off the veggie component of the plate! I served this over rice, but it would work just as nicely with pasta.

Go get this recipe! 


Rosemary and Garlic Roast Leg of Lamb

We were gifted with a leg of lamb, and having never made one before, off I went looking for recipes. I landed on this one from Emeril Lagasse and wasn't disappointed. The smells coming from the oven were amazing. But how can you go wrong with garlic and rosemary?

Final plating of the roasted leg of lamb. The meat was so juicy, and the red wine sauce added just the right amount of richness. This meal was a real winner.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

From time to time, it's near impossible to find a loaf of wheat bread. It's one of those things like butter that will disappear from grocery shelves for a bit. I decided it might be high time for me to try making my own loaves. 

The result? Using this recipe I may never buy whole wheat bread again. Matter of fact, I've been turning out loaves on a regular basis. There's a slightly sweet taste and the crumb/density is perfect for sandwiches. And when slices are toasted? Oh man, it just seems to bring out all the flavors.


Dinner Rolls

For as long as I've been cooking and baking, dinner rolls -- for some unknown reason -- have been a challenge for me. I've tried different recipes over the years, but frequently the end result were dry, almost cracker-like disks. 

Then I found this recipe and decided to give it another try. And voila! They turned out great! Soft, light, and buttery. I found a winner!

Oh but here's the irony - after nailing the recipe I came to find out that David isn't a big fan of dinner rolls. After being together for 17 years, how could I not know this? Guess that just means more for me!

French Sponge Cake

On a recent BBC baking show, a chef was making a Genoise cake, which I was unfamiliar with. Turns out, what sets this sponge cake apart is the fact it's made with butter (how bad can that be?). I had been casting around for ideas on what to make for a New Year's day party and figured I would give this type of cake a go and found a recipe.

With only five ingredients, the process of putting the cake together is pretty straightforward. Once the cake had baked and cooled, I took a round cutter (about 1 1/2" dia.) to make individual portions. Between the top and bottom layers, I spread some strawberry jam. To make them all a little more festive looking, I dusted the tops with confectioner's sugar.

The end result? Considering this was my first attempt at making a sponge cake of any kind, I was pleased with the results. The cake itself was very light, moist, and, hey, spongy!

I want to make this again and try other fillings and presentation methods. This one is a keeper.

Menu Planning and Quick Bites

While I've been posting a bunch of pictures and recipe links of recent meals on Facebook, I realized it's been some time since I did a food-related post here on our blog. But before we get to the Quick Bites portion of our program, I want to take a short detour to talk about my menu planning.

I have a compulsion about making lists. Whether it's planning for a move, a trip, a house project, whatever, if a list or a project plan is needed, I'm your girl. Back in the day, I even used to make a list for what outfits I would wear during my work week. And even if a list isn't needed, I'll make one. This list obsession carries over to our dinners and weekly shopping. We do our shopping on Tuesdays, so starting about Sunday, I begin to think about what I want to make for the coming week. I peruse my online recipes (scanned a boatload before we moved here), troll my favorite food sites, and come up with a menu. Then I figure out what we need to buy at the fruit/veggie markets, grocery stores, butcher, chicken purveyor, and wherever else we need to stop. 

When I first mentioned this obsession/compulsion with lists to friends we've made here, they looked at me like I was absolutely bonkers. Turns out that most of them shop on the fly. But here's the thing: while I can figure out how to improvise if I can't find an ingredient or two, I need my structure. I need my menu. I need my list. I really, really don't like surprises, and prefer planned spontaneity. I know, I am one twisted sister. But be that as it may, I have found that making a weekly menu and shopping list eliminates lots of last minute runs to the stores and markets. 

And because some folks here just can't believe I do this, here is my menu & shopping list for this past week:

Now in days of yore (like when we lived in the States), I would have the grocery list compiled by aisle. I. Am. Not. Kidding. But because we never know what store will carry what items on any given week here in Corozal, and none of the stores seem to have a rhyme or reason as to how they organize things, I've had to let that list making element go, sorta'.

And in case you're curious, for those of you who might be used to one-stop shopping, it ended up taking seven stops to source most of everything on the list. Struck out finding radishes and celery seed/salt.

Now one might presume that my organizational skills would carry over to other areas of my life and, as such, my home would be the epitome of everything in its proper place. Think again. 

While I do tend to keep my kitchen area tidy, that's about as far as it goes. One peek inside my closet would tell a completely different story. For instance, people near and dear to me over the years have tried every possible method to get me to organize my shoes. Shoe trees, those bags you hang over the door, you name it, I've tried 'em all to no avail. Somehow the shoes always end up in a big heap on the floor. As I don't own anywhere near the shoes I did before moving here (but there are still quite a few), I have at least corralled them into a big, plastic bin...except for the ones that you'll find on the porch, or the living room, or next to my side of the bed. In short, I can be a real slob when I want to be. But when my stuff starts veering out of control, I just make a list of what needs to get done and get things back in place...until I fall off the organizational wagon again. 

At this point, you're probably hoping I'm making a list for where I can get some serious therapy. So to temporarily distract you from that thought, here are some meals I've recently made. For all but the sauce for the pasta dish, all the meal titles are links that will take you to the recipes:

Quick Bites


Beer Braised Chicken Thighs

This was a very tasty dish and the sauce was amazing. I didn't have any andouille, but substituted spicy Italian sausage. I ended up serving it over some boiled potatoes to sop up the juices, but the dish could easily be served on its own if starch isn't your thing. And if it isn't, I'm sorry to hear that.

Kung Pao Shrimp

Oh. My. Goodness. Do try this one. It's sooooo much better than whatever take-out you've had. I mean it. And don't get wigged out by the short cooking time for the shrimp. So many times they get left on the heat way too long and come out rubbery. This quick sear is perfection.
 

French Apple Cake

I decided to make this to satisfy a sweet craving my dearly beloved was having and to take half of it to our weekly Happy Hour gathering. Having both cake and custard elements, the texture is a nice alternative to a regular pie. I don't have a microwave, so instead of nuking the apple slices I steamed them in two batches for about a minute. Worked out great! After testing out a small slice of the cake, said dearly beloved made it very clear he wasn't interested in sharing the cake with others. Yeah well, half a cake is better than no cake, and I packed some slices for the Friday crowd. Must have been decent, 'cause there wasn't a crumb left to bring home. This might be a nice alternative to an apple pie for the holidays. 

Ciambotta (Italian Vegetable Stew)

Okay, even though I am totally ambivalent when it comes to veggies, even I recognized the potential yummy factor with this recipe. And we weren't disappointed. There were a couple of things I did differently though. As I just mentioned, we don't have a microwave, so using it for the eggplant wasn't going to work. Instead, I tossed the eggplant cubes with salt and let them sit and drain for about 45 minutes to extract the moisture. I also decided to roast the eggplant and zucchini (425 degrees for 20-25 minutes) before adding it to the pot. That really gave a nice layer of flavor and next time I'll roast off the potatoes as well. With the number of rainy days we've been having, this was a great comfort dish.

Pasta with Vodka, Tomato Cream Sauce

While living in the States, there was always a pint container of heavy cream or at least half-and-half in our fridge. Always. I mean next to bacon and butter, cream is an essential life ingredient. But when we moved here, finding cream was a challenge. As a result, I went through withdrawal, gnashed my teeth, shed tears, and got used to cooking without it. Okay, so maybe I exaggerate just a tad. But it was an adjustment. 

And then the most wonderful, amazing thing happened. A friend of ours, by the name of Cathie Kelly, happened to mention that there was a Mennonite farmer selling cream in town on Friday mornings. As she was going to pick some up anyway, I asked her to snag me some as well.

To pay tribute to this unexpected windfall, I decided to make some homemade pasta and bathe it in a vodka tomato cream sauce. When it came time to pour the cream into the pan, I was ready for it to do just that...pour. But this cream, this cream was thick and rich and plopped into the sauce. It also has more of a pale yellow color and a slight tang. It's the real deal. It's what cream is supposed to be in its natural state. It is my new best friend. 

The sauce turned out ridiculously good, so much so that I'll make it again and again. And just this past week, I discovered that one of the veggie places we frequent carries this very same cream on a fairly regular basis. Time to dig out all those cream sauce recipes that I thought were doomed for all time. YEAH!

Vietnamese "Banh Mi" Chicken Burgers

There were a couple of really excellent elements to this burger dish. For starters, the pickled carrots and cucumbers. Super easy to do, with a great sweet/sour taste. They also added a wonderful crunch to the sandwich. The soy sauce/sesame oil sauce was also nice, and one I could easily see being used over fish fillets and shrimp. Now as to the burgers. I wasn't thrilled with them. I mean, they were okay, but very bland. I have two in the freezer and when I make them, I plan to incorporate some of the sesame/soy sauce into them to see if that helps give them some kick. Another option would be to make the Asian Chicken Burgers I've done before.

As far as the potato salad, well, this is probably one of my favorite recipes. The sour cream element gives a great tang and is a nice alternative to mayo. I had way more dressing than I needed for the potatoes, and am thinking about incorporating it into omelets. 

Now I'm off to work on this week's menu...one aisle at a time.

Slices of Life from Belize: September 16, 2013

Don't Know Why, There's No Sun Up In The Sky -- Stormy Weather

Well, it seems my Open Letter to Invest 93L produced results, just not the ones I was hoping for. The storm made a name for herself, now known as Tropical Storm Ingrid, and it has been pounding Mexico, along with her brother, Tropical Storm Manual. And here in Corozal? It's still been raining. Matter of fact, as I write this there is a rather large cell hovering over us, and we're just waiting for the skies to open up...again. And unfortunately, the forecast doesn't look too promising for the next couple of days either. Rumblings of ark building are starting to take over many a Facebook chat. A number of people who have lived here far longer than we have say they can't remember it being this rainy for so many consecutive days. 

And if you recall from my note to Invest 93L, I posted some pictures of the road in front of Dave and Dianna Rider's house. If you want to find out more about what it's been like having a quagmire at your doorstep, then pop on over to their blog and read the latest entry, "Stuck in the Muck Again." 

Photo courtesy of Lynn Nichiporowich 

All I know is that this weather has gotten really old and my laundry pile is almost out of control.

Art In The Park

On Saturday night David and I decided that no matter what kind of weather we might have, we were going to check out the Art In The Park Festival in downtown Corozal. Specifically, we wanted to see the latest paintings from Ashani and see what other vendors might have to offer.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a bust. The rains put more than a damper on the turnout, and it wasn't the best weather to display water-based paintings. 

But I thought I would share a painting I bought from Ashani last month:

David made the frame and we have it hanging out in our porch. Of course, he had some help with the installation.

Miss Bronte (a.k.a. KitKat, a.k.a. #$%&^&% when she is really bad, which is frequently) found out that ladders can be great playthings. However, it does make it a bit more of a challenge to do anything while she's on it.

Temporary Guests

As a result of the rain we've been having, we had an unexpected visitor on the outside of our screen door:

And yes, it is a tarantula. I named her Clarice, and she hung out with us, shielded from most of the rain, for the entire day and part of the evening. Bronte showed some initial interest in her, but quickly tired of that game and left Clarice in peace.

The other visitor we had was...

...this incredible moth. With no exaggeration, its wingspan was at least six or seven inches and it's coloring was exactly like tree bark. 

Thanks to my fellow blogger and Facebook friend, Papi Thomas, he enlightened me on what it was: "We've been visited as well. I think it's called the Black Witch Moth. "Mariposa de la muerte"...in Mexican folklore, a harbinger of death. But in Yucatek Maya it is X-mahan-nah which means "borrow house". Ours just borrowed the bathroom for a few hours before we released him."

And hey, speaking of Facebook, feel free to send me a friend request so you can find out some of the whacky and not-so-whacky stuff that goes in our lives here in Belize between blog posts.

Quick Bites

I had fun in the kitchen last week making some old favorites and trying a couple of new recipes. Here are some of the things that appeared on our dinner table:

Asian Chicken Burgers with Cabbage Slaw - the burger is a riff on a recipe from Sara Moulton. It's nice change of pace from a beef burger, and the soy sauce, ginger, and sesame oil add amazing flavor. For the slaw, I used the leftover cabbage from the burger, julienned some carrots, and made a cooked dressing that included eggs, apple cider vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, and a bit of crema.

Black beans, Tomatoes, Italian sausage with white rice - One of the things I love about this dish is that it is incredibly versatile. Have leftover chicken bits or ground beef? Substitute it for the sausage. Want a veggie version? Skip the protein altogether. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll soak and cook dried black beans. But if you're looking for a quicker method, canned beans work just fine. Saute some onions, stir in some cumin, a touch of cayenne pepper, the beans with a bit of their juice, tomatoes, and browned sausage, and you've got dinner! If David had his way, we would have this once a week, every week.

BLT with Fried Egg served on Homemade Cuban Bread and Pan Fried Potatoes - These are all my favorite foods right on one plate. Swoon! This is the dish I would eat at least once a week, every week. I want to send a shout-out to Mardi and Mike Rathbun for sharing this sandwich recipe with me on Facebook.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp with Sherry-Tomato Sauce served over Homemade Pasta - I often make garlic roasted shrimp. Super simple to do, too. Just smash up about four cloves of garlic, throw them into about 2/3 cup of olive oil, and saute until the garlic starts to brown. Discard the garlic, then pour the garlic olive oil over the shrimp and pop into a pre-heated 425-degree oven for 8 minutes. But this time, I wanted to try a different direction. I made the shrimp as noted above, but also put together a sherry vinegar and tomato sauce that we had in another fish recipe not too long ago. For that, I put some chopped tomatoes, onions,  sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper into the food processor. Whizzed it around for a bit, then added about 1/2 cup of the garlic olive oil the shrimp cooked in. After cooking the homemade pasta, I piled on the garlic shrimp and drizzled the sherry-tomato sauce over everything. Very tasty! Next time, I'll try to remember to sprinkle some chopped parsley over the top to add some color contrast to the plate and be able to say in all honesty that there are greens in the meal.

  
 Pan Grilled Fish Fillet Sandwiches with Onion Strings - That sherry tomato sauce I used in the pasta dish? Well the leftovers got used on this fish sandwich. And please don't ask me what kind of fish it is. None of it is labeled in the stores, and when I've asked the most common reply after, "I don't know" is "It's seafish." But whatever it is, it tastes great and only takes about seven minutes of cooking per side on medium(ish) heat. However, the real star on the plate, in my humble opinion, are these onion strings. They are so seriously good that you can't stop eating them and may not want regular ole' onion rings again.