This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Stir Fried Japanese Eggplant With Miso!
Japanese eggplant is absolutely delicious stir fried with miso!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice!
Sometimes I cheat, and it’s ok. 🙂 I cheated with this Hainanese Chicken Rice and had so much fun with it!
#1, I used a ready made spice mix from Asian Home Gourmet: Spice Paste for Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice.
#2, I cooked the entire meal in a rice cooker! 🙂
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Wasabi, one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project!
We recently returned from a ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP TO JAPAN! The word “incredible” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I used this as an opportunity to try to knock off as many of the Japanese foods as I could that are listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton.
Basically I am trying my best to work my way through this book, and what better way to enjoy the Japanese foods than in Japan!
I learned Japan is COMPLETELY FOOD OBSESSED! I was in my element and had the time of my life trying some of the Japanese foods in the book.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Mushroom Tostadas!
I am always on the lookout for amazing and delicious vegetarian recipes. Although I do eat meat, I absolutely LOVE vegetarian dishes and was sooo happy to find this recipe from @marisolcooks on Instagram!
This recipe is called “TOSTADAS DE CHAMPIÑONES” AKA Mushrooms Tostadas. I enjoyed this last evening and cannot rave enough about the flavor and the beauty of this dish!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Barbacoa Tacos!
“Barbacoa” (Spanish) translates to “barbecue” in English. 🙂 Americans think of barbecue as a method of cooking that involves either smoking, grilling, or roasting. However, in Mexico barbacoa refers to a cooking method that involves steaming or slow cooking over an open fire until the meat is fall apart tender.
In Central Mexico, barbacoa very often involves meat such as goat, lamb or mutton, cooked in an underground oven which has been dug into the ground. There is a great article from The Spruce Eats which goes into much more detail about Mexican barbacoa which I highly recommend reading!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Pork Carnitas Tacos!
I love Mexican cuisine. One of my favorite Mexican meals, is Pork Carnitas. I’m excited to share this easy and delicious recipe with you, and hope that this will become one of your favorite Mexican meals as well!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Soba Noodles!
I am currently working on my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. This project is based on the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. The back of the book jacket states that the book contains “the tastes, ingredients, restaurants, dishes, and recipes (more than 70) that every food lover should experience or dream about.” As I am a food lover, I certainly didn’t want to miss out on anything, so I purchased this book and began my project.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Indian Spiced Tilapia in Coconut Milk!
I love dinners that are easy, quick, delicious and budget friendly. Indian Spiced Tilapia in Coconut Milk checks every one of those boxes!
Fish really is the original fast food. The tilapia cooks really quickly, however, I like to let it simmer awhile so that the flavors can infuse for a more delicious meal!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the a visit to the Mame Shiba Inu Cafe in Tokyo!
The Japanese love the Shiba Inu. They are a small to medium sized hunting dog that is native to Japan. In fact, they are one of Japan’s most popular breeds, and some of them are actually superstars!
The Mame Shiba Inu is a smaller version of the Shiba Inu. And as has become popular in Japan, you can play with certain animals in cafes. If you want to play with Mame Shiba Inus, you can visit the Mame Shiba Inu Cafe in Tokyo!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Mipig Cafe in Tokyo!
No visit to Tokyo is complete without a visit to Mipig Cafe!
Mipig Cafe is a micro pig house. Basically here you can meet micro pigs.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about my love for Korean Beef Jerky!
Korean beef jerky is also known as Yukpo. The making of this jerky takes time and love and care. From the cutting of the expensive beef, to the marinade, to the cooking. The beef is marinaded overnight in the most delicious of marinades, and then the beef is dried over the course of around 8 hrs until it is perfectly chewy, tasty, and AMAZING.
This also makes for a great dog treat!
I’m posting about this for several reasons…to inform you how delicious and precious this food is, to show you how much dogs would love it as a most incredible dog treat! But most of all…I’m posting about this because it became a BIG part of my journey to the Tokyo Marathon 2020 Charity Race and I have fallen in love with Yukpo and hope that you might fall in love with Yukpo too. 🙂
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Roasted Rutabaga and Carrots!
What is a rutabaga you ask? It’s a swede! What’s a swede? 🙂
In North America we call this vegetable, which is a cross between cabbage and turnips, rutabaga. My husband knows it as a swede, which is what they call it in England, where he is from.
Wikipedia has a fascinating article on rutabaga’s etymology, history, use in cuisine, and other uses which you can read here.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the Indian accompaniment called Cachumber!
I have an absolute passion for Indian food. I’ve only scratched the surface with my Indian cooking. However, I’m so happy to delve deeper into Indian cuisine!
Today I made a delicious cool and refreshing Indian salad called Cachumber. Cachumber is, shall we say, the Indian version of the tomato salsa, or Mexican pico de gallo.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the AMAZING Nara Deer Park!!
A visit to Nara Deer Park is a MUST if you visit Japan!
We recently completed a 3 week tour of Japan. I completely fell in love with this amazing country. There is beauty beyond compare, and such a fascinating array of things to eat and explore!
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Nara Deer Park. Nara is fairly close to Kyoto, so we were able to take a day trip to Nara from Kyoto, where we were staying.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a Pantry Mushroom Risotto!
I had heard about The Pantry Challenge a few months ago from a friend on Instagram. The Pantry Challenge is a time where you focus on using up what you have before buying any more food. The benefits are you will save time by not having to go out shopping, save money by not overbuying food, and be a better steward of the resources that you have! Every one of those benefits are definitely worth it!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a fantastic Korean side dish called Bellflower Root Side Dish!
Hands up if you are excited by BANCHAN! I have 2 hands up way up and I hope hands are going up everywhere! 😊
Banchan are the side dishes served at Korean meals. One of the most popular Korean banchan is the Bellflower Root Side Dish aka Doraji Muchim.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a fantastic Persian recipe by Louisa Shafia called Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime!
I can’t remember where I first came across this recipe for Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime, but I can tell you it was a LIFE CHANGING DAY! I was delighted to be able to bring a taste of Persian cooking into my own kitchen.
The recipe for Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime is from the cookbook The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia. Ms. Shafia is a chef, recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is of Iranian heritage, and her book The New Persian Kitchen is full of Persian recipes developed with a contemporary take on this amazing cuisine.
You must visit Ms. Shafia’s shop, Feast by Louisa! Her shop features signed copies of her cookbooks “The New Persian Kitchen” and “Lucid Food,” as well as an amazing Persian Spice Kit, and Rice Bonnet, which will help you achieve the PERFECT Persian rice!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Tilapia seasoned with delicious Hot Yuzu Sauce!
Are you ready for your taste buds to go zing?! Then try this absolutely delicious Tilapia with Hot Yuzu Sauce!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Yuzu, one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project!
We recently returned from a ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP TO JAPAN! The word “incredible” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I was supposed to run the Tokyo Marathon on March 1, 2020. However it was cancelled for all except the elite and wheelchair athletes. I am neither one of those, so I was unable to run. The cancellation was due to the coronavirus situation.
I had booked flights and had planned an extensive 3 week trip across Japan, and my husband and I decided to move forward with our trip. I used this as an opportunity to try to knock off as many of the Japanese foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS Indian Butter Chicken!
I’m SUPER EXCITED to share one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE recipes with you!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Korean Soft Tofu Broth With Shrimp using a seasoning pack from JayOne Foods!
The other day I went shopping at my local Asian Market here in San Antonio. My eye fell on this JayOne packet of Soft Tofu Broth Seasoning. The picture of the broth looked so enticing I just had to give this a try! I was definitely glad that I did it was delicious!
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Ram-Don from the film Parasite!
Have you seen the Oscar Best Picture Winner of 2020, the Korean film Parasite?
I didn’t know what this film was about before watching…however I knew that we weren’t in for something “normal” because we have seen two films recently by the director Bong Joon-Ho which were NOT what we expected.
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole!
Are you stuck at home and not sure what to cook for dinner tonight? Then pantry cooking it is! Pantry cooking is cooking meals from items that are in your pantry. I have seen some very extremely creative dishes that others are coming up with. It’s a true joy to see people doing the best with what they have on hand.
Are you in need of a delicious dish that is super easy, quick, budget friendly, and uses items you most likely have in your pantry? Then please consider this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole is the ULTIMATE pantry dish. All you will need is egg noodles or other pasta, and these canned foods: tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and peas. You will also need some oil to grease your pan, and some seasonings. This is the most basic version, however, if you have some CHEESE (yum!) then by all means add that in as well!
Please note that I am including links to Amazon for some of the ingredients in this dish. The links may be a substitution for the ingredients you see pictured in my post, if I could not find the same ingredient on Amazon. The links are simply included for convenience if you choose to order on Amazon.
I call this Super Easy because all you need to do is grease a 9x13 oven safe dish, mix drained tuna, drained peas, the cream of mushroom soup, and cheese (if using) and place it in your dish! I used Pam cooking spray to grease my dish. You could also use a little vegetable or olive oil. Add cooked egg noodles, give it a stir and season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then place in an oven that has been preheated to 375F for 25 -- 30 minutes.
If you happen to have some Panko in your pantry, I recommend you use it to put the finishing touch on this Super Easy Tuna Casserole!
All you need to do is add a little olive oil and some of your favorite seasoning to the Panko, and stir. I used Goya Sazonador Total. Then, after the casserole has been baking for 25 minutes, remove from the oven. Add the panko mixture spreading it evenly over the top, and bake for another 5 minutes.
After 25-30 minutes in the oven, remove and behold how beautifully browned the top is, and get ready to DIG IN!
This recipe is enough for around 4-6 people, and costs about $9.00 to make (with the brands that I used). So as mentioned it is budget friendly, super easy, and you’ll just have to trust me on this until you can verify for yourself…utterly creamy and delicious! It’s great to garnish with green onions if you have them!
I hope you will enjoy this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole soon! Oh and by the way…it is the PERFECT COMFORT FOOD AS WELL.
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Take care and stay safe.
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Borracho Beans!
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot more about pantry style cooking and Borracho Beans is the first thing that came to mind. My recipe does call for some fresh vegetables (onion and cilantro) and pork hock to be thrown in, but you could omit these for a true pantry meal!
Borracho Beans aka Frijoles Borrachos aka Drunken Beans. So called because these beans are made with beer! Borracho beans are a South Texas favorite. So, you can find these at many Mexican restaurants in South Texas. By the way, they differ from charro beans, in that charro beans are the version made without beer.
I usually make a huge batch to serve at Christmas and had really been craving these lately. Now we have a huge batch for mostly Steve, Toby, and myself…it will be fun around our household over the next few days. 🙂
Pinto beans are used in this dish, and traditionally you will add a Mexican style beer. I used a 12 oz bottle of Lone Star beer which is what I had on hand (TX beer!), and added it to beans and pork hock that had been simmering for an hour. I then added diced tomatoes, and onion. Throw in a generous handful of cilantro toward the end of cooking, and you will have the most delicious beans ever! Strong and bold statement but really they are good!
Oh, and the seasoning! It’s got to be Fiesta Brand Pinto Bean Seasoning! Made here in San Antonio, it’s my go to seasoning for whenever I make the these delicious beans. This seasoning is just the best and I absolutely love it! Click here to purchase this most delicious pinto bean seasoning on Amazon.
Don’t they look absolutely scrumptious? I generally eat borracho beans accompanied by rice or sometimes with tortillas. You can also serve as a delicious side to any Mexican main dish, or any dish for that matter! I hope you might give this a try sometime!
If you’d like to come along with me on a fun food journey, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers! Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
We recently returned from a trip to Japan. Our memories are full of this amazing country and its people, places, and of course food.
The very first meal we enjoyed was at an Okinawan restaurant in Narita, Japan. We had no idea when we walked in that it was an Okinawan restaurant. LOL The very first dish we tried was Okinawan Carrots, aka Ninjin Shirishiri.
We stumbled into the restaurant, realized they only took cash so had to go get money from an ATM. Once we returned, we were given a menu only in Japanese. Then when the waiter realized we had no clue what we were looking at, he presented us a menu in 4 languages (including English) with delicacies such as “3 Kinds of Fish Guts Pickled in Salt.” LOL
I have no idea how the Okinawan carrots ended up on our table. Maybe we ordered it? But I think the waiter just brought it over for us to enjoy while we were trying to figure out the menu! Whatever, it was delicious!!
My husband Steve ordered a delicious Pork stir fry with Vegetables after perusing the menu. I then tried to explain to the waiter what I wanted to order and we continued snacking on the delicious carrots. In the end, only the pork stir fry showed up, and unfortunately we couldn’t communicate with our waiter so my order never arrived! Never mind, I was just happy to be in Japan so all was good!
I was still dreaming about the Okinawan Carrots when I returned home. So I couldn’t wait to make this recipe and share it with others it’s THAT GOOD!
Just a very few simple ingredients are all you need for this most delicious of dishes! Carrots, egg, canned tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, pinch of salt and pepper, and water! Can you believe that’s it?!
The only fiddly part is peeling and julienning the carrots. Click here for a tutorial on how to julienne carrots. 🙂
The method to cook these is simply stir fry to soften the carrots, then add tuna, the seasonings, and finally stir in a whisked egg. Oh, and garnish with green onions on top!
Are you ready to try these? I promise you won’t be able to stop eating these they are so delicious! It’s also a very healthy and nutritious snack!
Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
If you’d like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken!
Roast chicken is one of my favorite foods, and I’m sure many people will agree. It’s delicious, easy to make, versatile and super budget friendly to boot.
My husband picked up this 5 lb bird at Trader Joe’s the other day, and I tried out a new seasoning (Asian style) for the chicken which turned out absolutely fantastic.
The seasoning consists simply of soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice, and honey. You can click through to purchase these on Amazon. After slathering olive oil on the chicken I simply basted it with that seasoning mixture and got it started. It is a bit hands on because I turned it quite frequently and continued basting with the dripping as well as more of the soy/honey/5 spice mixture.
The result? Succulent, beautifully colored and delicious roast chicken. Garnished with green onions and some sriracha sauce and served with rice, it was a very comforting and awesome meal.
By the way, do you know what makes up Chinese 5 spice? If not, it’s star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper. The intoxicating aroma is still around in my house today, as is leftover chicken, which won’t last long. Toby my St. Bernard will make sure of that. LOL
I hope you will give this recipe a try! Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken just may become your next favorite roast chicken. 🙂
Classic Filipino Chicken Adobo
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Sundays are movie nights at our home. Typically I cook a dinner inspired by the film we watch…very often the food is from the country in which the film is set. The star of the meal was this Korean Spinach Side Dish, or Sigeumchi Namul.
This week I chose a film called Okja, which is a Netflix Original film. My little bit of research told me that it it was mostly set in South Korea (yay! I get to make Korean food for dinner!), and the summary of the film was: A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend -- a fascinating beast named Okja.
Little did I know that I was in for a roller coaster ride of emotions with this film. It addresses the special bond between humans and animals, corporate greed, animal cruelty, environmentalism, and animal activism. Touching and hard to watch at times, this film is amazing and thought provoking and although a tough watch at times I feel better for having seen it and have much to ponder this week. It is a powerful film, not for everyone. And may I say the young Korean actress, Ahn Seo-hyun was SUPERB in the lead role as a young farm girl who loved her Okja enough to do anything and everything she could to bring her best friend back home. The film competed for the Palme d’Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
On to the food. We had chicken bulgogi..easily cooked up with Bibigo Korean BBQ sauce. The star of the meal for me was the Sigeumchi Namul, or Korean Spinach side dish which I made. This side dish is so very easy and so very tasty. You add blanched spinach to a mixture of garlic, Korean red pepper flakes, green onion, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, and soy sauce to taste. Click on the highlighted text which will take you to Amazon where you can find some of the ingredients needed for this dish.
We were all gulping it down…even Toby loved it!
This Korean Spinach side dish is a very popular banchan in Korean cuisine. Banchan, or side dishes, are an essential part of Korean meals. They are brought out in small portions, meant to be shared, and served with rice.
The method to make this couldn’t be easier! After blanching baby spinach in hot boiling water, squeeze out all the water. You will then combine all the ingredients (except for the spinach), and then gently mix in the spinach by hand.
I tend to favor spicy foods, so I’ve included quite a bit of Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru) in this recipe. If you prefer a non spicy version, simply leave out the gochugaru or reduce the amount to your taste.
Also please feel free to adjust the amount of soy sauce that you use in this recipe. I used around 1 tbsp of soy sauce, but by all means reduce this amount if too salty or add a bit more for more salty seasoning.
I really enjoyed this Korean Spinach Side Dish! Please view the video below and remember to eat this with chopsticks! 🙂
Serve with rice, and as an accompaniment to your next fabulous Korean meal!
Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone and have fun in the kitchen! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
I LOVE rice. So it should not come as a surprise that Biryani, an Indian mixed rice dish made with basmati rice, is one of my absolute favorite foods!
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A few years ago on Valentine’s Day, my husband Steve and I ordered Japanese Kit Kats from Amazon. We celebrated Valentine’s Day by trying out a couple of different flavors of Kit Kats, and each subsequent day we continued to enjoy the different flavors until the Kit Kats were gone (way too soon!).
We were aware that Japan had an assortment of Kit Kat flavors, so one of the things we did while on a recent trip to Japan was spend time trying to hunt down Kit Kats! As you can see we brought quite a few back!
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We recently came back from 3 weeks in Japan. The trip was an experience of a lifetime. I was especially pleased because I had the opportunity to try so many different foods. One of my favorites was Yurinchi Chicken!
Yurinchi chicken is the Japanese version of Chinese style fried chicken. It is usually made with chicken thighs with the skin on, coated with potato starch, then deep fried to a crunchy and crispy golden brown. It is served on a bed of lettuce, with a superb tasting Yurinchi sauce poured over it, and then topped with loads of sliced scallions!
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This post is purely for the love of Tabasco Scorpion Sauce.
I am a HUGE fan of Tabasco! Prior to visiting the Tabasco Museum on Avery Island, my favorite sauce was Tabasco Habanero Sauce. I LOVE the HOT stuff! So I thought that the Habanero flavor was the hottest in the Tabasco line until I visited Avery Island.
I then found my new favorite…Tabasco Scorpion Sauce! As I mentioned, I love HOT so this sauce delivers in a HUGE way!
We were able to try it at the Tabasco 1868 Restaurant, so named because that is the year that Tabasco was founded by Edmund McIlhenny. At the restaurant they provide all the Tabasco flavors that are available for you to sample! We tried all of them, and of course I was drawn to the Scorpion Sauce!
While there, I enjoyed dining on their Crawfish Etouffee (to DIE for!), and I smothered it with the Scorpion Sauce. Sweat was pouring down my face, but I was happy. LOL
The sauce has a hint of sweetness to it, and if you like super hot sauces you MUST give Tabasco Scorpion Sauce a try!
After dining at 1868, we headed to the Tabasco Country Store, where you can get all things Tabasco. 🙂 There we found what I was looking for…Scorpion Sauce! We were advised that the only place it was sold was at the Tabasco Country Store on Avery Island or their online store, so we purchased a few bottles to take home with us.
Those bottles went FAST! I loved it so much that I wanted to send it as a gift to some foodie friends. So I ordered some from the Tabasco Country Store online store, and sent it to a friend of mine on Instagram, @foodie_emilly, famous Singapore foodie. She tried it, then advised me that she thought about buying some on Amazon because she and her friends liked it so much.
Amazon? I checked it out and sure enough, found it on Amazon! YES!!
I later found out from a friend of Emilly’s @leptonyscript (on Instagram), that he found it in a grocery store in Asia (I think he is in Singapore as well). WHAT? I couldn’t find it in our grocery stores here in San Antonio in the US and he found it in Singapore?
But wait! We recently took a trip to Japan and guess what…I found it in a small grocery store in Japan!
I bought a bottle to bring home with us and thank goodness it didn’t break! LOL So I’m ready to smother my meals with Scorpion Sauce again. 🙂
If you are ready to give the Tabasco Scorpion Sauce a try, here is where you can purchase:
Amazon.com (this link will take you directly to the Scorpion Sauce)
Japanese Grocery Store in Osaka (no online option, must travel there :-))
I hope you’ll give it a try it’s SOOO SOOO GOOD! AND SUPER HOT!
Please visit the Tabasco Museum at Avery Island, LA sometime. If you love Tabasco you will love the Museum and Avery Island!
And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
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We just returned from a once in a lifetime trip to Japan. We spent 3 weeks there and it was absolutely amazing! In addition to seeing some incredible places, we also had the opportunity to experience many Japanese foods. Some of these meals were in restaurants, but some took place in the AirBnb’s in which we stayed. One of the meals in an AirBnb was particularly memorable – Easy and Delicious Gyudon!
I had wanted to cook a Japanese dish myself when in Japan, and my friend Makoto, of @kyushu.island.cooking on Instagram, came to the rescue!
This recipe for Gyudon, literally “beef bowl”, is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ingredients including sake, soy sauce and mirin. The finishing touch is some pickled ginger on top.
This is Makoto’s recipe, and she recommended that I make this dish. She took time to consider what meal may be easy for travelers to create and she steered me to Gyudon.
The ingredients for Easy and Delicious Gyudon are: thinly sliced beef, onion, ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, sugar, and some brightly colored pickled ginger as a garnish. 🙂 You can buy most of these ingredients in your local Asian grocery, or shop Amazon for pickled ginger, mirin, and soy sauce, as seen below.
Prep takes around 5 minutes. Cook time takes around 10 minutes. I used ready made rice that just needed heating up to keep things simple and voila! In around 15 minutes you will have a delicious beef dish served on top of rice (beef rice bowl) that your whole family will adore!
Whether traveling or not, you will absolutely love this Gyudon! Deliciously simmered beef in gorgeous spices and served over rice topped with pickled ginger. Enjoy!!!
I didn’t have a Donburi bowl (Japanese rice bowl) to serve this in when I made it, but I think serving this dish in a Donburi bowl (such as the one below) would definitely enhance the experience. 🙂
You want to follow Makoto on Instagram at @kyushu.island.cooking! Please view this link for a trip to her blog! She shares incredible Japanese recipes and also hosts genuine cooking experiences in Kyushu Island!
Find her recipe and link to Makoto’s blog here: https://japanese-food-cooking.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-to-make-gyudon.html
And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂
You may also enjoy these other incredible Japanese dishes!
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Cheers!
どうぞお召し上がりください
Dōzo omeshiagarikudasai (enjoy your meal in Japanese!)
Grace
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I LOVE to have fun in the kitchen and fun with food! I want to share a few of my favorite fun items, that make great gifts for your favorite foodies!
Super fun! May the food be with you! You will get one in red and one in blue, and can wage war with your favorite foodie if you wish!
Taco night will never be the same! Kids and adults alike will LOVE these Tacosaurus taco stands! Holds 2 tacos, or other food items such as sandwiches, pizza roll-ups, and other snacks!
We gifted these at Christmas to families with small children and they loved it! But super fun for both kids and adults alike!
Our dog Toby doesn’t quite know what to do with the jelly beans, so we have a fun time just watching the look on his face whilst eating them…so funny!
These socks are the perfect socks for the sushi lover in your life! They almost look good enough to eat!
Why not pair these with some Lightsaber Chopsticks? 🙂
Have a food fight on game night!
So this is a card game invented by a 7 year old! But it’s not just for kids, adults really love this too! In this game, players complete to create the weirdest and wildest meal. Takes about 10-15 minutes to play!
I hope that you might consider gifting one of these to a foodie friend, or perhaps splurge on yourself a bit!
Cheers!
Grace
Honestly I don’t know many people who would state that Brussels Sprouts are their favorite vegetable, but I found someone recently on Instagram who told me that! And pan frying produces Incredibly Delicious Brussels Sprouts!
Brussels sprouts are a member of the cabbage family. Don’t they look like little cabbages? 🙂 They have long been popular in Brussels, Belgium, and it may be this popularity that helped give these sprouts their name.
Please visit this Wikipedia link for more information on Brussels Sprouts.
I have to say maybe they are not my favorite veg, but I LOVE eating them every time I have them, so perhaps I should prepare them more often?
My sister June normally hosts Thanksgiving meals at her home. I am so grateful for my sister. 🙂 She puts on the most delicious and beautiful Thanksgiving meals.
One of my contributions to the Thanksgiving feast is pan fried brussels sprouts.
I really have to say I am so very proud of these for two reasons.
Reason #1: a die hard carnivore told me that he was impressed by my brussels sprouts!
Reason #2: my sister’s mother-in-law Margie gave me the ultimate compliment this year by saying that she had enjoyed last year’s brussels sprouts and she hoped that I would bring them again. I did. 🙂
I have roasted brussels sprouts before. They are FAB, don’t get me wrong. However, pan frying the sprouts is a quicker way to get absolutely delicious tasting sprouts in less time.
This method involves pan frying the sprouts in a combination of melted butter and olive oil. They are cut in half and then fried cut side down for a bit until golden toasty brown, and then turned over and pan fried again until the other side is golden toasty brown.
These are simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Simple, quick, easy and delicious. What more do you want in a side?
Try these pan fried brussels sprouts at Thanksgiving or Christmas, or ideally when in season which is from September to mid-February.
Ready to give these a shot? I hope so! Enjoy this most delicious and amazing vegetable!!!
You may also enjoy these other recipes for mouthwateringly delicious vegetables!
Roasted Broccoli With Parmesan
I was given 2 hams for Thanksgiving. These were not used at our feast at my sister’s house (she hosted yay!), so here I am with a huge amount of ham and what to do with it? Make Creamy Cauliflower, Potato, and Cheesy Ham Chowder of course!
The chowder also includes onion and garlic, chicken broth, and heavy cream. I used cheddar in the soup, and parmesan shavings to top the soup. Cheese and more cheese is a fabulous thing. 🙂 This really was absolutely delicious and was accompanied by a light salad and a French demi baquette.
The ham imparted such an amazing flavor to the soup and I’m happy that I have more ham so that I can whip up this soup again!
So turns out this soup is pretty good for you! It includes cauliflower, which is on a list of Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables from the CDC. I just discovered this list of produce ranked by nutrient density. These are supposed to be some of the best foods you can eat to help prevent chronic disease. Cauliflower is #24!
Cauliflower is a great source of fiber and vitamins, including the B-vitamins, C, and K. It also contains cancer fighting antioxidants. I’m going to work on incorporating more cauliflower into my diet after learning this!
You will absolutely love this soup! And you may also enjoy these soups as well!
The BEST Spicy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
New Hampshire Inspired New England Clam Chowder
Cheers!
Grace
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Spicy eggplant chutney is one of my favorite foods. Chutney is a condiment originating in India. Chutneys are found all over the world now, and include fruits and/or vegetables, and various spices.
My husband and I LOVE Indian food. The other day he had a day off from work, and decided to make this SPICY eggplant chutney. We have a Japanese eggplant plant that has been producing some pretty good eggplants. Therefore he made use of one of those along with an Italian eggplant and the result?
Delicious, spicy, savory, incredible eggplant (aubergine) chutney!
Ok, so the recipe for this chutney includes Bhut Jolokia, or Ghost Chilis. The picture above shows that we used dried Ghost Chilis from Melissa’s. It states on the package that it is the hottest chile in the world!
The ghost chile is rated at more than 1 MILLION SHU’s, or Scoville Heat Units. The Scoville Scale, which measures the pungency of chilies and peppers (based on the concentration of capsaicin), was invented by a pharmacologist named Wilbur Scoville. The higher on the Scoville scale a chile is, the HOTTER it is.
I can see that there are a couple of chilis that are higher on the Scoville scale, namely the Trinidad Scorpion and Carolina Reaper. But you know what? Doesn’t matter, my point is that the Bhut Jolokia is HOT HOT HOT SPICY SPICY SPICY!
If that’s not enough, we are also using a bit of a hot sauce called “The End,” which my husband purchased on a trip to San Francisco. A shop called The Pepper Palace, located at Fisherman’s Wharf, sells this product. I have linked to the item and to their site so you can check out their amazing hot sauces, if you are so inclined. 🙂
This is part of their product description of The End: “You try a drop of The End. The searing pain felt across your tongue brings tears to your eyes. You cry out for water. The panic sets in.” LOL
Long story short, if you use the sauce and the chiles called for in this recipe you are in for it. 🙂
I hope I haven’t put anyone off by the hot hot hot spicy spicy spicy description. Please know that you can make this chutney as hot and spicy as you want or as mild as you like. 🙂 You can leave out the ghost chiles and The End sauce, vary the quantities of these items, or substitute other chiles and sauce that rank lower on the Scoville scale. Whatever you fancy, just know this chutney is delicious!
Some of the other flavorful ingredients include: mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds, oh so good for you turmeric, garlic, sugar, and apple cider vinegar.
Doesn’t this just look drool worthy? I urge you to try this out when you have a chance. Best served with some freshly made puppodums. Enjoy!
If you like Indian food you may also enjoy these dishes:
Cheers!
Grace
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I just found my new FAVORITE condiment. Belizen Hot Pepper Onion Sauce!
Recently I relived our trip to Belize by cooking up some Belizean recipes. Eating the Belizean food took me back to Belize. I felt like I was visiting this amazing country just by sitting at my table and eating the food of Belize.
I made some Belizean Stewed Chicken, Rice and Beans and Stewed Beans. And the perfect condiment to go with them? Belizean Hot Pepper Onion Sauce. 🙂
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My dog Toby is my taste tester. Let’s see which Salted Egg Fish Skin he likes the best…
Ok, so I first tried these DELISH snacks when I was sent them by @foodie_emilly (care of @asiansnackguy), my Instagram friend living in Singapore.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to receive these snacks! Until I came across them on Instagram, I had never heard of salted egg, much less salted egg fish skins.
Taking my first bite of Salted Egg Fish Skin changed my life. 🙂
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Belizean cuisine has been influenced by so many diverse cultures. It truly is a melting pot. Some of these include Maya, Chinese, Lebanese, Mennonite, Carribean, British, East Indian, and Creole.
Located on the Caribbean Sea, it is obviously a place that is rich with delicious seafood…conch, spiny lobster, grouper, and shrimp to name but just a few.
The dish I would like to share with you is Coconut Curry Shrimp, and the recipe is from my Flavors of Belize cookbook, which I bought during a trip to Belize in 2013.
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Belizean Rice and Beans is a staple in Belize. When visitors ask a Belizean what the national dish is, usually the response will be “Belizean rice and beans, stewed chicken, and potato salad.” The other day I made some Stewed Beans. I used a pound of Camellia dried red kidney beans to make these Stewed Beans…and do you know what you have when you cook up a pound of dried beans? Enough food to feed an army!
I used some of my stewed beans to create a delicious rice and beans dish, a la Belizean style. In addition to the stewed beans, the ingredients include garlic, onion, cilantro, fresh thyme, coconut milk, chicken broth, rice, and seasonings. One seasoning I have used in this recipe is Goya Sazonador Total, which has become one of my favorite seasonings! Click here if you would like to purchase Goya Sazonador Total on Amazon.
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A few years ago we visited Belize, and I am spending a little time revisiting that trip by sharing some photographs, food memories, and Belizean recipes. Consequently, my hope is that you might be inspired to visit this amazing place! I also hope that you will cook up some Belizean food in your kitchen so that you can explore Belize from your kitchen table.
Stewed beans are one of the staples of Belizean cuisine and the beans are incredibly easy to make. However you just need to have a little patience to wait the 1.5 hrs before you can enjoy your first delicious bite of beans. 🙂 It seems in Belize many people enjoy beans 3 times a day, at every meal…they LOVE their stewed beans!
And I love them too. 🙂 So the ingredients are simple: dried red kidney beans (I used Camellia brand), onion, garlic, ham hock, bay leaves, olive oil, cilantro. I also added my new favorite seasoning, Goya Sazonador Total and salt to taste.
Please note, if you do not have access to the Sazonador Total no worries, you can just use salt and pepper to taste. 🙂 Or click here to buy Sazonador Total from Amazon.
We have 3 in our household…me, my husband Steve, and Toby (doggie). I think it will take us 1.5 weeks to finish these beans! Also, I look forward to pairing them with some other Belizean foods, and I hope you might be inspired to cook up a batch yourself.
This is delicious comfort food at its best!! And you will have enough to feed an army! Serve as a side dish with any meal. Even better, add to rice for a fantastic rice and beans meal! Belizeans love their rice and beans, and this dish will also be beloved in your home. 🙂
I hope you will try making this delicious recipe! In addition, you may also enjoy this recipe for incredible oh so good Belizean Stewed Chicken:
If you absolutely love beans, you MUST try this recipe for Borracho Beans! A favorite in South Texas, these beans are simmered with beer. 🙂
Cheers! I would be grateful if you could share any comments below or feedback if you make this dish!! Enjoy!!
Grace
PS. Dave Ramsey people…this is for us!!!
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I posted about Belizean Stewed Chicken on Instagram, and one comment I received, from @trinidadfoodtours, is “stewed chicken is life!”
100% agreed!!
A bowl of stewed chicken, served along with some rice and beans, is absolute comfort food at its best. I cannot imagine going through life without being able to enjoy this most humble of combination of foods. So delicious and the food that so many enjoy because of its affordability and also its simplicity.
One of my most memorable and favorite trips over the last few years was our vacation to Belize. I had never been to Belize before, and wasn’t really sure what to expect. Whatever I had in mind, Belize blew away all my expectations. It was absolutely amazing!
Please scroll through the Instagram post below to see some pictures of this trip.
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Linguine with shrimp is seriously one of the most delicious seafood pasta dishes. Fortunately I found the BEST shrimp pasta recipe. Honestly I don’t have the words to adequately describe how delicious this dish is. I initially found this recipe in a newspaper clipping a few years ago and have held onto it.
For me, this dinner is a HUGE treat. It’s luxurious, it’s scrumptious, it’s incredible. Got the idea? 🙂
The recipe comes from chef Giuliano Hazan’s “Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta: 100 Quick and Easy Recipes” cookbook, which tells you that you can create this pretty quickly. It is everything you could want in a shrimp pasta dish! Every mouthful is full of shrimpy, garlicky, and creamy delight!
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The book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton lists edamame as one of the foods to eat. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about. I am working my way through these foods, and edamame is food #29 that I am posting about!
Edamame are young soy beans that are harvested before they are ripened or hardened. Spicy Edamame is my favorite way to eat edamame
The first time I discovered edamame was at the cinema. They were offering this on their menu, I ordered, and happily shelled and munched my way through the film! These were salted edamame, and oh so delicious.
But I like SPICE. So I found a recipe for Spicy Edamame, from a Japanese restaurant here in San Antonio, which I tweaked a bit and let me tell you…I was in HEAVEN! These Spicy Edamame are absolutely addictive. They are bathed in a hot chili oil and ginger based sauce…need I say more?
I can sit and snack on these all day…and did I happen to mention that edamame is really good for you? Nutritionally sound..you can feel good about enjoying this most delicious and healthy snack, or side!
By the way you’ll make more of the ginger based sauce than what is needed for this particular recipe. So you can use the extra ginger based sauce as a dipping sauce for veggies, or even mixed into some rice!
The ingredients include soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger, green onions, hot chili oil, and garlic. Before I made this I wasn’t very familiar with mirin, but I learned that it is similar to sake. It’s an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking with a lower alcohol content than sake but with a higher sugar content. I used Aji-Mirin by Kikkoman, which you can purchase here on Amazon.
You will also need some hot chili oil for this recipe. Amazon has a good selection of hot chili oils, including Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp (Chili Oil Sauce) and it even comes with a little spoon. 🙂
I hope you’ll give this absolutely delicious Spicy Edamame a try.
All credit for this recipe goes to former culinary arts student Anthony Santonastaso!
Cold Soba Noodles With Dipping Sauce
Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! Visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page to view a list of the foods tried so far.
Edamame is #29 on my list of foods to try. 29 down, 971 to go!
If you’d like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers! Grace
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I’m soooo excited. At the time I write this, Thanksgiving is a couple of months away. My thoughts are already turning to what dishes I might be able to bring to the gathering at my sister’s home. The staple green bean dish for Thanksgiving is the very well known green bean casserole. I have nothing against green bean casserole. However I love to try new foods and I’m determined to bring lobio satsivi to Thanksgiving this year as a new side dish for friends and family to try.
Lobio satsivi??
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post sings the praises of Near East Tabouleh Grain Salad. 🙂
I researched parsley for my 1,000 Foods To Eat Project. Tabouleh is a Middle Eastern salad. I discovered this salad during my research on foods that utilize parsley. I made tabouleh for the first time due to this post and used Near East Tabouleh Grain Salad Mix as the base for my tabouleh. This tabouleh was excellent! You can buy this item here on Amazon, or you should be able to find it at large grocers.
Tabouleh is usually made with bulgur wheat, parsley, mint, onion, tomatoes, and lemon juice. Parsley is an essential ingredient of the tabouleh.
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. Here I discuss how versatile, delicious, and good for you parsley is!
Parsley is listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about. I am 26 foods in, and Parsley is food #27!
My research about parsley enabled me to see how versatile this delicious herb is. I also learned about how good it is for you! It most definitely deserves a place as one of the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die!
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One of my favorite spicy foods is Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts!
I honestly do not know when my taste buds turned toward spicy. My belief is that that some people just have a tendency toward highly spiced foods….and my husband and I are of this tendency.
This is a good thing for our marriage! So there is generally no fighting over whether to have spicy food or not. 🙂
Korean spicy bean sprouts can be considered banchan. I almost LOVE the banchan (Korean side dishes) more than I adore the main meal itself!
My sister is Japanese, and when I told her I made Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl she mentioned that was her favorite. I’m so happy because now I can make Katsudon for her!
I’m going to Tokyo in March 2020 to participate in the marathon. I say “participate” rather than “run” because I’m totally incapable of running the whole thing! I am yearning to learn more about Japanese cuisine to prepare for this trip short term. Long term, I want to be able to impress my sister. 🙂
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I have a folder that I keep printed off recipes and recipes from newspaper clippings. It’s a pretty thick folder, and I hope one day I will be able to work my way through each recipe. Some of these recipes I’ve had for years, and the recipe for The Best Tomato Basil Chicken is one of these that I come back to time and time again. Why?
Because it is a DIVINE combination.
I cannot remember where I got this recipe, but please know I assure you it is EASY. DELICIOUS. QUICK. 5 STAR.
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Za’atar Middle Eastern Spice.
Za’atar is listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about. I am 25 foods in, and Za’atar is food #26!
Za’atar is both an herb, as well as a spice mix. As an herb, it is native to the Middle East and the scientific name is Origanum syriacum. It is also the same as the biblical hyssop.
As a spice mix, the mix can vary depending upon what country it is from, according to flavor preference. However, it generally contains thyme, oregano, sesame seeds, salt, and sometimes sumac.
Take the time to smell this highly aromatic spice, and get a sense of the nutty and earthy aroma it has.
I’ve had the opportunity to sample 2 types of Za’atar so far. One is from a spice kit that my sister gave me, Chef’s Daughter World Traveler Gift Collection Travel Spice Kit – 12 Artisan Spice Blends. This one contained Lebanese Za’atar, and this particular mix included sumac. Sumac is commonly used in Middle Eastern cooking, and has a tart and citrusy flavor.
The second type I tried, was one I purchased from my local grocery store, by McCormick. This organic seasoning contained thyme and oregano, sesame seed, and lemon peel, and salt…no sumac.
Browsing around on Amazon, I can see there are quite a few varieties to choose from, and I have zeroed in on one called USimplySeason Za’atar Spice which I’d love to try! This one contains sumac, which I absolutely love.
Are you interested in making your own Za’atar spice blend? I found a recipe for Lebanese Za’atar Spice Blend from the blog Kevin is Cooking which looks amazing and I’ll have to give that a try sometime soon!
Za’atar is great for bread dipping and mixing into hummus. You can also add to flat breads and vegetables, and also great as a rub for meats or even to season seafood!
So far, I have added it to my hummus and eaten pita with it (scrumptious!). This is great as a snack and I will say PERFECT FOR BREAKFAST AS WELL!!
I have also tried it with tilapia, which was superb. The recipe for this is Lebanese Za’atar Spiced Tilapia.
I have really enjoyed getting to play around with this Za’atar Middle Eastern spice! In the future I’ll use it as a rub for lamb, which is recommended by Mimi Sheraton in her book.
Please follow along with me on this quest to try the 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! Visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project page to view a list of the foods tried so far.
Za’atar is #26 on my list of foods to try. 26 down, 974 to go!
If you’d like to follow along and be a part of the 1,000 Foods Project, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or suggestions I would be honored if you would share them below!
I am proud of my international family. I am Korean- American, and my husband is English-Norwegian. One of my sisters is Japanese. And my brothers in law are English, Hispanic, and Filipino.
So Roland, my Filipino brother-in-law, treats us to some amazing Filipino food at some of our family gatherings. Roland is a great cook and I really need to pick his brains more about Filipino food. And I yearn to learn more about this amazing cuisine!
I wanted to start off my exploration of Filipino cuisine with the classic Filipino Chicken Adobo. First off, chicken adobo is easy and simple to make, and is one of the most famous Filipino foods.
The word “adobo” comes from the Spanish word adobar which means marinate. Chicken adobo is chicken marinated in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar.
Certainly and thankfully I came across the BEST Filipino Chicken Adobo recipe on my first go! This recipe is from Marvin Gapultos, a Filipino American food blogger. Mr. Gapultos is bringing Filipino cuisine to a worldwide audience. I am grateful to Mr. Gapultos, who writes the blog Burnt Lumpia, for allowing me to publish his recipe in my post!
This chicken adobo recipe is from his book The Adobo Road Cookbook, which you can purchase on Amazon. And I really look forward to discovering more of his delicious Filipino recipes. Therefore I’ll consult The Adobo Road Cookbook, as well as Burnt Lumpia!
You will be amazed at the simplicity of this dish! For instance, there are very few ingredients in this recipe. And it comes together so beautifully. All you need is bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns. That’s it!
I would like to recommend Filipino Vinegar and Soy Sauce for the most authentic adobo experience! You can find a combo Filipino brand Datu Puti Soy Sauce and Vinegar pack here on Amazon.
So you must try this amazing recipe soon! In summary, enjoy this taste of the Philippines right in your own home!
Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime
Please sign up to get the latest recipes and culinary inspiration! Also come along with my on the 1,000 Foods to Eat Journey by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
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One of the most delicious of Southern dishes should not be eaten only on New Year’s Day. Hoppin’ John is for any day!
Hoppin’ John is listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about.
I am 24 foods in, and this is my #25 food. After 25 foods, I absolutely trust the judgment of Ms. Sheraton and am on a quest to try each and every one of these foods.
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I am on a quest to experience and enjoy the 1,000 Foods to Eat in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about.
Some of the foods are easy, and some of the food are hard. So.. this one is particularly easy…who hasn’t tried pasta?!?!?! My second question is who doesn’t love pasta?!?!? Pasta is food #24 on my quest to try each and every one of the foods listed in this awesome book.
Dictionary.com defines pasta as: “any of various flour-and-egg food preparations of Italian origin, made of thin, unleavened dough and produced in a variety of forms, usually served with a sauce and sometimes stuffed.”
Pasta has two broad categories that it is divided into: fresh and dried. The shapes and varieties of pasta seem to be endless…but actually in my research I found there are approximately 350 different types of pasta, and many many more names for them! For example, what one person calls farfalle, another may call bowtie.
The history of pasta goes back centuries, and although I am not sure how true the legend of Marco Polo bringing the first pasta over from China is, I love the story.
With 350 types of pasta, and seemingly endless varieties of sauces and ingredients, there is definitely a pasta dish for everyone!
Although I do like tomato sauce based pasta dishes, my tasted tend to lean toward pasta dishes that are not tomato based.
I have a few go to pasta dish recipes that I’d love to share, and they are:
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I confess…I am not much of a tea drinker. Even after spending 7 years living in England I never developed a taste for tea. That may change after Darjeeling though.
So I tried Darjeeling tea because it is listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton. She says that the foods she lists in her book are the tastes that every food lover should experience or dream about.
I am 22 foods in, and this is my #23 food. After 22 foods, I absolutely trust the judgment of Ms. Sheraton and am on a quest to try each and every one of these foods.
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I am working my way through the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. I’m on a quest to try each and every one of these foods.
Some of the foods (dishes) are very familiar, and some are new to me. This Belgian classic, Endives With Ham and Mornay Sauce, or Endive au Jambon Sauce Mornay, is both new to me, and a revelation to me!
When life gives you cucumbers, make Quick and Easy Cucumber Kimchi!
A good friend of mine has an incredible green thumb! I am so fortunate to often be on the receiving end of that green thumb. The other day, she kindly brought me some amazing home grown cucumbers, chives, peppers, and perilla (sesame) leaves, which are all perfect for Korean banchan. So I’m so excited to be making some awesome Korean side dishes over the next few days!
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Do you like Thai hot? Then you will LOOOOVE this recipe for Spicy Thai Chicken With Basil!
Thai cuisine is one of my absolute favorite cuisines in the world. The complex flavors and fresh ingredients captivate me. Fortunately, my husband loves Thai as well, but he likes his dishes “Thai hot.”
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Flaeskeaeggekage (aka Danish Bacon and Egg Pancake)…where have you been all my life? 🙂
Flaeskeaeggekage, is simply divine. This food is one of the foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. It is #21 in my quest to try each and every one of the foods in the book.
Learning how to pronounce “Flaeskeaeggekage” is probably more difficult than learning how to make this delicious dish.
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One regret I have is not having discovered Kotlety Pozharskie, or Russian Ground Chicken Cutlet prior to now. These Russian ground chicken cutlets are out of this world delicious! This couldn’t be simpler to prepare. You make the cutlets by mixing ground chicken, milk soaked bread, butter, and salt and pepper. Shape the mixture into cutlets, and then roll in breadcrumbs. Fry these delicacies in butter, and the results are incredibly moist and juicy cutlets!
You will always have a feast for your eyes when dining in a Korean restaurant. I am always filled with anticipation to see what banchan, or Korean side dishes, are brought out to accompany the meal I’ve just ordered.
I almost enjoy eating the banchan more than the main course. 🙂
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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Russian Beef Stroganoff!
This will age me a bit..but that’s ok. Some of my favorite memories of childhood involve going to the movies. I remember going to see movies like Star Wars, Gremlins, ET, and Jaws as a kid. Those movie going experiences were absolutely thrilling!
One of the most thrilling and exciting films ever is Raiders of the Lost Ark. I pretty much fell in love with Harrison Ford when I watched this film. It was an edge of the seat experience throughout this masterpiece of action and adventure film.
Several sequels followed Raiders of the Lost Ark, and I had the privilege of seeing them all. With one exception: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. My husband discovered that the Indiana Jones series is now on Netflix (yay!). Therefore last Sunday we chose Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to watch on movie night.
On movie nights, I love to cook a meal for that evening that has something to do with the film we are watching. For example either the setting of the movie, or food actually eaten or highlighted in the film can inspire the meal.
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The popularity of Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps just keeps growing, and it is easy to see and taste why! They are so delicious, and you’ll be pleased to know you can easily make restaurant style quality wraps at home!
This recipe is so tasty and very budget friendly as well. I hope you will enjoy it and make this your go to recipe for fast, easy, and awesome tasting Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Stir Fried Japanese Eggplant With Miso!
Japanese eggplant is absolutely delicious stir fried with miso!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice!
Sometimes I cheat, and it’s ok. 🙂 I cheated with this Hainanese Chicken Rice and had so much fun with it!
#1, I used a ready made spice mix from Asian Home Gourmet: Spice Paste for Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice.
#2, I cooked the entire meal in a rice cooker! 🙂
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Wasabi, one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project!
We recently returned from a ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP TO JAPAN! The word “incredible” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
I used this as an opportunity to try to knock off as many of the Japanese foods as I could that are listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton.
Basically I am trying my best to work my way through this book, and what better way to enjoy the Japanese foods than in Japan!
I learned Japan is COMPLETELY FOOD OBSESSED! I was in my element and had the time of my life trying some of the Japanese foods in the book.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Mushroom Tostadas!
I am always on the lookout for amazing and delicious vegetarian recipes. Although I do eat meat, I absolutely LOVE vegetarian dishes and was sooo happy to find this recipe from @marisolcooks on Instagram!
This recipe is called “TOSTADAS DE CHAMPIÑONES” AKA Mushrooms Tostadas. I enjoyed this last evening and cannot rave enough about the flavor and the beauty of this dish!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Barbacoa Tacos!
“Barbacoa” (Spanish) translates to “barbecue” in English. 🙂 Americans think of barbecue as a method of cooking that involves either smoking, grilling, or roasting. However, in Mexico barbacoa refers to a cooking method that involves steaming or slow cooking over an open fire until the meat is fall apart tender.
In Central Mexico, barbacoa very often involves meat such as goat, lamb or mutton, cooked in an underground oven which has been dug into the ground. There is a great article from The Spruce Eats which goes into much more detail about Mexican barbacoa which I highly recommend reading!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Pork Carnitas Tacos!
I love Mexican cuisine. One of my favorite Mexican meals, is Pork Carnitas. I’m excited to share this easy and delicious recipe with you, and hope that this will become one of your favorite Mexican meals as well!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Soba Noodles!
I am currently working on my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project. This project is based on the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. The back of the book jacket states that the book contains “the tastes, ingredients, restaurants, dishes, and recipes (more than 70) that every food lover should experience or dream about.” As I am a food lover, I certainly didn’t want to miss out on anything, so I purchased this book and began my project.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Indian Spiced Tilapia in Coconut Milk!
I love dinners that are easy, quick, delicious and budget friendly. Indian Spiced Tilapia in Coconut Milk checks every one of those boxes!
Fish really is the original fast food. The tilapia cooks really quickly, however, I like to let it simmer awhile so that the flavors can infuse for a more delicious meal!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the a visit to the Mame Shiba Inu Cafe in Tokyo!
The Japanese love the Shiba Inu. They are a small to medium sized hunting dog that is native to Japan. In fact, they are one of Japan’s most popular breeds, and some of them are actually superstars!
The Mame Shiba Inu is a smaller version of the Shiba Inu. And as has become popular in Japan, you can play with certain animals in cafes. If you want to play with Mame Shiba Inus, you can visit the Mame Shiba Inu Cafe in Tokyo!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Mipig Cafe in Tokyo!
No visit to Tokyo is complete without a visit to Mipig Cafe!
Mipig Cafe is a micro pig house. Basically here you can meet micro pigs.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about my love for Korean Beef Jerky!
Korean beef jerky is also known as Yukpo. The making of this jerky takes time and love and care. From the cutting of the expensive beef, to the marinade, to the cooking. The beef is marinaded overnight in the most delicious of marinades, and then the beef is dried over the course of around 8 hrs until it is perfectly chewy, tasty, and AMAZING.
This also makes for a great dog treat!
I’m posting about this for several reasons…to inform you how delicious and precious this food is, to show you how much dogs would love it as a most incredible dog treat! But most of all…I’m posting about this because it became a BIG part of my journey to the Tokyo Marathon 2020 Charity Race and I have fallen in love with Yukpo and hope that you might fall in love with Yukpo too. 🙂
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about delicious Roasted Rutabaga and Carrots!
What is a rutabaga you ask? It’s a swede! What’s a swede? 🙂
In North America we call this vegetable, which is a cross between cabbage and turnips, rutabaga. My husband knows it as a swede, which is what they call it in England, where he is from.
Wikipedia has a fascinating article on rutabaga’s etymology, history, use in cuisine, and other uses which you can read here.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the Indian accompaniment called Cachumber!
I have an absolute passion for Indian food. I’ve only scratched the surface with my Indian cooking. However, I’m so happy to delve deeper into Indian cuisine!
Today I made a delicious cool and refreshing Indian salad called Cachumber. Cachumber is, shall we say, the Indian version of the tomato salsa, or Mexican pico de gallo.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about the AMAZING Nara Deer Park!!
A visit to Nara Deer Park is a MUST if you visit Japan!
We recently completed a 3 week tour of Japan. I completely fell in love with this amazing country. There is beauty beyond compare, and such a fascinating array of things to eat and explore!
One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Nara Deer Park. Nara is fairly close to Kyoto, so we were able to take a day trip to Nara from Kyoto, where we were staying.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a Pantry Mushroom Risotto!
I had heard about The Pantry Challenge a few months ago from a friend on Instagram. The Pantry Challenge is a time where you focus on using up what you have before buying any more food. The benefits are you will save time by not having to go out shopping, save money by not overbuying food, and be a better steward of the resources that you have! Every one of those benefits are definitely worth it!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a fantastic Korean side dish called Bellflower Root Side Dish!
Hands up if you are excited by BANCHAN! I have 2 hands up way up and I hope hands are going up everywhere! 😊
Banchan are the side dishes served at Korean meals. One of the most popular Korean banchan is the Bellflower Root Side Dish aka Doraji Muchim.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about a fantastic Persian recipe by Louisa Shafia called Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime!
I can’t remember where I first came across this recipe for Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime, but I can tell you it was a LIFE CHANGING DAY! I was delighted to be able to bring a taste of Persian cooking into my own kitchen.
The recipe for Turmeric Chicken With Sumac and Lime is from the cookbook The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia. Ms. Shafia is a chef, recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is of Iranian heritage, and her book The New Persian Kitchen is full of Persian recipes developed with a contemporary take on this amazing cuisine.
You must visit Ms. Shafia’s shop, Feast by Louisa! Her shop features signed copies of her cookbooks “The New Persian Kitchen” and “Lucid Food,” as well as an amazing Persian Spice Kit, and Rice Bonnet, which will help you achieve the PERFECT Persian rice!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Tilapia seasoned with delicious Hot Yuzu Sauce!
Are you ready for your taste buds to go zing?! Then try this absolutely delicious Tilapia with Hot Yuzu Sauce!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Yuzu, one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project!
We recently returned from a ONCE IN A LIFETIME TRIP TO JAPAN! The word “incredible” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I was supposed to run the Tokyo Marathon on March 1, 2020. However it was cancelled for all except the elite and wheelchair athletes. I am neither one of those, so I was unable to run. The cancellation was due to the coronavirus situation.
I had booked flights and had planned an extensive 3 week trip across Japan, and my husband and I decided to move forward with our trip. I used this as an opportunity to try to knock off as many of the Japanese foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die by Mimi Sheraton.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS Indian Butter Chicken!
I’m SUPER EXCITED to share one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE recipes with you!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Korean Soft Tofu Broth With Shrimp using a seasoning pack from JayOne Foods!
The other day I went shopping at my local Asian Market here in San Antonio. My eye fell on this JayOne packet of Soft Tofu Broth Seasoning. The picture of the broth looked so enticing I just had to give this a try! I was definitely glad that I did it was delicious!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Ram-Don from the film Parasite!
Have you seen the Oscar Best Picture Winner of 2020, the Korean film Parasite?
I didn’t know what this film was about before watching…however I knew that we weren’t in for something “normal” because we have seen two films recently by the director Bong Joon-Ho which were NOT what we expected.
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about how to make Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole!
Are you stuck at home and not sure what to cook for dinner tonight? Then pantry cooking it is! Pantry cooking is cooking meals from items that are in your pantry. I have seen some very extremely creative dishes that others are coming up with. It’s a true joy to see people doing the best with what they have on hand.
Are you in need of a delicious dish that is super easy, quick, budget friendly, and uses items you most likely have in your pantry? Then please consider this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole.
Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole is the ULTIMATE pantry dish. All you will need is egg noodles or other pasta, and these canned foods: tuna, cream of mushroom soup, and peas. You will also need some oil to grease your pan, and some seasonings. This is the most basic version, however, if you have some CHEESE (yum!) then by all means add that in as well!
Please note that I am including links to Amazon for some of the ingredients in this dish. The links may be a substitution for the ingredients you see pictured in my post, if I could not find the same ingredient on Amazon. The links are simply included for convenience if you choose to order on Amazon.
I call this Super Easy because all you need to do is grease a 9x13 oven safe dish, mix drained tuna, drained peas, the cream of mushroom soup, and cheese (if using) and place it in your dish! I used Pam cooking spray to grease my dish. You could also use a little vegetable or olive oil. Add cooked egg noodles, give it a stir and season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then place in an oven that has been preheated to 375F for 25 -- 30 minutes.
If you happen to have some Panko in your pantry, I recommend you use it to put the finishing touch on this Super Easy Tuna Casserole!
All you need to do is add a little olive oil and some of your favorite seasoning to the Panko, and stir. I used Goya Sazonador Total. Then, after the casserole has been baking for 25 minutes, remove from the oven. Add the panko mixture spreading it evenly over the top, and bake for another 5 minutes.
After 25-30 minutes in the oven, remove and behold how beautifully browned the top is, and get ready to DIG IN!
This recipe is enough for around 4-6 people, and costs about $9.00 to make (with the brands that I used). So as mentioned it is budget friendly, super easy, and you’ll just have to trust me on this until you can verify for yourself…utterly creamy and delicious! It’s great to garnish with green onions if you have them!
I hope you will enjoy this Super Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole soon! Oh and by the way…it is the PERFECT COMFORT FOOD AS WELL.
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Take care and stay safe.
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Borracho Beans!
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot more about pantry style cooking and Borracho Beans is the first thing that came to mind. My recipe does call for some fresh vegetables (onion and cilantro) and pork hock to be thrown in, but you could omit these for a true pantry meal!
Borracho Beans aka Frijoles Borrachos aka Drunken Beans. So called because these beans are made with beer! Borracho beans are a South Texas favorite. So, you can find these at many Mexican restaurants in South Texas. By the way, they differ from charro beans, in that charro beans are the version made without beer.
I usually make a huge batch to serve at Christmas and had really been craving these lately. Now we have a huge batch for mostly Steve, Toby, and myself…it will be fun around our household over the next few days. 🙂
Pinto beans are used in this dish, and traditionally you will add a Mexican style beer. I used a 12 oz bottle of Lone Star beer which is what I had on hand (TX beer!), and added it to beans and pork hock that had been simmering for an hour. I then added diced tomatoes, and onion. Throw in a generous handful of cilantro toward the end of cooking, and you will have the most delicious beans ever! Strong and bold statement but really they are good!
Oh, and the seasoning! It’s got to be Fiesta Brand Pinto Bean Seasoning! Made here in San Antonio, it’s my go to seasoning for whenever I make the these delicious beans. This seasoning is just the best and I absolutely love it! Click here to purchase this most delicious pinto bean seasoning on Amazon.
Don’t they look absolutely scrumptious? I generally eat borracho beans accompanied by rice or sometimes with tortillas. You can also serve as a delicious side to any Mexican main dish, or any dish for that matter! I hope you might give this a try sometime!
If you’d like to come along with me on a fun food journey, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers! Grace
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We recently returned from a trip to Japan. Our memories are full of this amazing country and its people, places, and of course food.
The very first meal we enjoyed was at an Okinawan restaurant in Narita, Japan. We had no idea when we walked in that it was an Okinawan restaurant. LOL The very first dish we tried was Okinawan Carrots, aka Ninjin Shirishiri.
We stumbled into the restaurant, realized they only took cash so had to go get money from an ATM. Once we returned, we were given a menu only in Japanese. Then when the waiter realized we had no clue what we were looking at, he presented us a menu in 4 languages (including English) with delicacies such as “3 Kinds of Fish Guts Pickled in Salt.” LOL
I have no idea how the Okinawan carrots ended up on our table. Maybe we ordered it? But I think the waiter just brought it over for us to enjoy while we were trying to figure out the menu! Whatever, it was delicious!!
My husband Steve ordered a delicious Pork stir fry with Vegetables after perusing the menu. I then tried to explain to the waiter what I wanted to order and we continued snacking on the delicious carrots. In the end, only the pork stir fry showed up, and unfortunately we couldn’t communicate with our waiter so my order never arrived! Never mind, I was just happy to be in Japan so all was good!
I was still dreaming about the Okinawan Carrots when I returned home. So I couldn’t wait to make this recipe and share it with others it’s THAT GOOD!
Just a very few simple ingredients are all you need for this most delicious of dishes! Carrots, egg, canned tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, pinch of salt and pepper, and water! Can you believe that’s it?!
The only fiddly part is peeling and julienning the carrots. Click here for a tutorial on how to julienne carrots. 🙂
The method to cook these is simply stir fry to soften the carrots, then add tuna, the seasonings, and finally stir in a whisked egg. Oh, and garnish with green onions on top!
Are you ready to try these? I promise you won’t be able to stop eating these they are so delicious! It’s also a very healthy and nutritious snack!
Easy and Delicious Gyudon Japanese Beef Bowl
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
If you’d like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post raves about Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken!
Roast chicken is one of my favorite foods, and I’m sure many people will agree. It’s delicious, easy to make, versatile and super budget friendly to boot.
My husband picked up this 5 lb bird at Trader Joe’s the other day, and I tried out a new seasoning (Asian style) for the chicken which turned out absolutely fantastic.
The seasoning consists simply of soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice, and honey. You can click through to purchase these on Amazon. After slathering olive oil on the chicken I simply basted it with that seasoning mixture and got it started. It is a bit hands on because I turned it quite frequently and continued basting with the dripping as well as more of the soy/honey/5 spice mixture.
The result? Succulent, beautifully colored and delicious roast chicken. Garnished with green onions and some sriracha sauce and served with rice, it was a very comforting and awesome meal.
By the way, do you know what makes up Chinese 5 spice? If not, it’s star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper. The intoxicating aroma is still around in my house today, as is leftover chicken, which won’t last long. Toby my St. Bernard will make sure of that. LOL
I hope you will give this recipe a try! Chinese 5 Spice Roast Chicken just may become your next favorite roast chicken. 🙂
Classic Filipino Chicken Adobo
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Sundays are movie nights at our home. Typically I cook a dinner inspired by the film we watch…very often the food is from the country in which the film is set. The star of the meal was this Korean Spinach Side Dish, or Sigeumchi Namul.
This week I chose a film called Okja, which is a Netflix Original film. My little bit of research told me that it it was mostly set in South Korea (yay! I get to make Korean food for dinner!), and the summary of the film was: A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend -- a fascinating beast named Okja.
Little did I know that I was in for a roller coaster ride of emotions with this film. It addresses the special bond between humans and animals, corporate greed, animal cruelty, environmentalism, and animal activism. Touching and hard to watch at times, this film is amazing and thought provoking and although a tough watch at times I feel better for having seen it and have much to ponder this week. It is a powerful film, not for everyone. And may I say the young Korean actress, Ahn Seo-hyun was SUPERB in the lead role as a young farm girl who loved her Okja enough to do anything and everything she could to bring her best friend back home. The film competed for the Palme d’Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
On to the food. We had chicken bulgogi..easily cooked up with Bibigo Korean BBQ sauce. The star of the meal for me was the Sigeumchi Namul, or Korean Spinach side dish which I made. This side dish is so very easy and so very tasty. You add blanched spinach to a mixture of garlic, Korean red pepper flakes, green onion, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, and soy sauce to taste. Click on the highlighted text which will take you to Amazon where you can find some of the ingredients needed for this dish.
We were all gulping it down…even Toby loved it!
This Korean Spinach side dish is a very popular banchan in Korean cuisine. Banchan, or side dishes, are an essential part of Korean meals. They are brought out in small portions, meant to be shared, and served with rice.
The method to make this couldn’t be easier! After blanching baby spinach in hot boiling water, squeeze out all the water. You will then combine all the ingredients (except for the spinach), and then gently mix in the spinach by hand.
I tend to favor spicy foods, so I’ve included quite a bit of Korean red pepper powder (gochugaru) in this recipe. If you prefer a non spicy version, simply leave out the gochugaru or reduce the amount to your taste.
Also please feel free to adjust the amount of soy sauce that you use in this recipe. I used around 1 tbsp of soy sauce, but by all means reduce this amount if too salty or add a bit more for more salty seasoning.
I really enjoyed this Korean Spinach Side Dish! Please view the video below and remember to eat this with chopsticks! 🙂
Serve with rice, and as an accompaniment to your next fabulous Korean meal!
Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone and have fun in the kitchen! It’s an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂
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I LOVE rice. So it should not come as a surprise that Biryani, an Indian mixed rice dish made with basmati rice, is one of my absolute favorite foods!
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A few years ago on Valentine’s Day, my husband Steve and I ordered Japanese Kit Kats from Amazon. We celebrated Valentine’s Day by trying out a couple of different flavors of Kit Kats, and each subsequent day we continued to enjoy the different flavors until the Kit Kats were gone (way too soon!).
We were aware that Japan had an assortment of Kit Kat flavors, so one of the things we did while on a recent trip to Japan was spend time trying to hunt down Kit Kats! As you can see we brought quite a few back!
…This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
We recently came back from 3 weeks in Japan. The trip was an experience of a lifetime. I was especially pleased because I had the opportunity to try so many different foods. One of my favorites was Yurinchi Chicken!
Yurinchi chicken is the Japanese version of Chinese style fried chicken. It is usually made with chicken thighs with the skin on, coated with potato starch, then deep fried to a crunchy and crispy golden brown. It is served on a bed of lettuce, with a superb tasting Yurinchi sauce poured over it, and then topped with loads of sliced scallions!
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This post is purely for the love of Tabasco Scorpion Sauce.
I am a HUGE fan of Tabasco! Prior to visiting the Tabasco Museum on Avery Island, my favorite sauce was Tabasco Habanero Sauce. I LOVE the HOT stuff! So I thought that the Habanero flavor was the hottest in the Tabasco line until I visited Avery Island.
I then found my new favorite…Tabasco Scorpion Sauce! As I mentioned, I love HOT so this sauce delivers in a HUGE way!
We were able to try it at the Tabasco 1868 Restaurant, so named because that is the year that Tabasco was founded by Edmund McIlhenny. At the restaurant they provide all the Tabasco flavors that are available for you to sample! We tried all of them, and of course I was drawn to the Scorpion Sauce!
While there, I enjoyed dining on their Crawfish Etouffee (to DIE for!), and I smothered it with the Scorpion Sauce. Sweat was pouring down my face, but I was happy. LOL
The sauce has a hint of sweetness to it, and if you like super hot sauces you MUST give Tabasco Scorpion Sauce a try!
After dining at 1868, we headed to the Tabasco Country Store, where you can get all things Tabasco. 🙂 There we found what I was looking for…Scorpion Sauce! We were advised that the only place it was sold was at the Tabasco Country Store on Avery Island or their online store, so we purchased a few bottles to take home with us.
Those bottles went FAST! I loved it so much that I wanted to send it as a gift to some foodie friends. So I ordered some from the Tabasco Country Store online store, and sent it to a friend of mine on Instagram, @foodie_emilly, famous Singapore foodie. She tried it, then advised me that she thought about buying some on Amazon because she and her friends liked it so much.
Amazon? I checked it out and sure enough, found it on Amazon! YES!!
I later found out from a friend of Emilly’s @leptonyscript (on Instagram), that he found it in a grocery store in Asia (I think he is in Singapore as well). WHAT? I couldn’t find it in our grocery stores here in San Antonio in the US and he found it in Singapore?
But wait! We recently took a trip to Japan and guess what…I found it in a small grocery store in Japan!
I bought a bottle to bring home with us and thank goodness it didn’t break! LOL So I’m ready to smother my meals with Scorpion Sauce again. 🙂
If you are ready to give the Tabasco Scorpion Sauce a try, here is where you can purchase:
Amazon.com (this link will take you directly to the Scorpion Sauce)
Japanese Grocery Store in Osaka (no online option, must travel there :-))
I hope you’ll give it a try it’s SOOO SOOO GOOD! AND SUPER HOT!
Please visit the Tabasco Museum at Avery Island, LA sometime. If you love Tabasco you will love the Museum and Avery Island!
And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂
Cheers!
Grace
This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link.
We just returned from a once in a lifetime trip to Japan. We spent 3 weeks there and it was absolutely amazing! In addition to seeing some incredible places, we also had the opportunity to experience many Japanese foods. Some of these meals were in restaurants, but some took place in the AirBnb’s in which we stayed. One of the meals in an AirBnb was particularly memorable – Easy and Delicious Gyudon!
I had wanted to cook a Japanese dish myself when in Japan, and my friend Makoto, of @kyushu.island.cooking on Instagram, came to the rescue!
This recipe for Gyudon, literally “beef bowl”, is a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice topped with beef and onion simmered in a mildly sweet sauce flavored with ingredients including sake, soy sauce and mirin. The finishing touch is some pickled ginger on top.
This is Makoto’s recipe, and she recommended that I make this dish. She took time to consider what meal may be easy for travelers to create and she steered me to Gyudon.
The ingredients for Easy and Delicious Gyudon are: thinly sliced beef, onion, ginger, sake, mirin, soy sauce, water, sugar, and some brightly colored pickled ginger as a garnish. 🙂 You can buy most of these ingredients in your local Asian grocery, or shop Amazon for pickled ginger, mirin, and soy sauce, as seen below.
Prep takes around 5 minutes. Cook time takes around 10 minutes. I used ready made rice that just needed heating up to keep things simple and voila! In around 15 minutes you will have a delicious beef dish served on top of rice (beef rice bowl) that your whole family will adore!
Whether traveling or not, you will absolutely love this Gyudon! Deliciously simmered beef in gorgeous spices and served over rice topped with pickled ginger. Enjoy!!!
I didn’t have a Donburi bowl (Japanese rice bowl) to serve this in when I made it, but I think serving this dish in a Donburi bowl (such as the one below) would definitely enhance the experience. 🙂
You want to follow Makoto on Instagram at @kyushu.island.cooking! Please view this link for a trip to her blog! She shares incredible Japanese recipes and also hosts genuine cooking experiences in Kyushu Island!
Find her recipe and link to Makoto’s blog here: https://japanese-food-cooking.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-to-make-gyudon.html
And join us for more food fun by signing up for our email list here. 🙂
You may also enjoy these other incredible Japanese dishes!
Delicious Japanese Pork Katsudon and Rice Bowl
Cheers!
どうぞお召し上がりください
Dōzo omeshiagarikudasai (enjoy your meal in Japanese!)
Grace
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I LOVE to have fun in the kitchen and fun with food! I want to share a few of my favorite fun items, that make great gifts for your favorite foodies!
Super fun! May the food be with you! You will get one in red and one in blue, and can wage war with your favorite foodie if you wish!
Taco night will never be the same! Kids and adults alike will LOVE these Tacosaurus taco stands! Holds 2 tacos, or other food items such as sandwiches, pizza roll-ups, and other snacks!