food – Page 52 – Looking to God

Guacamole

Posted on October 17, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Everyone likes new recipes. I mean, I love new recipes and I don’t cook that often. I cook once a week, typically on a Saturday, and I change things up by trying new ingredients in my recipes. But with guacamole—why am I thinking Whac-A-Mole?—there are a few things I do to spin the recipe on its head.

Guacamole inside the bowl ready for mixing

Football season is here and it’s all about guacamole today. If you enjoy food, this Freedom Friday post is just for you.

I learned how to make guacamole from watching master chefs on Food Network Canada a number of years ago when all I watched was Food Network. The thing that attracts me to this Aztec cuisine dip is its versatility in its use.

For instance, I use it for a Saturday night dip with broccoli. If you don’t like broccoli, you can use almost any vegetable and it’ll still make the snack extra special to munch. Just don’t try dipping something crazy like kale with it. Although, I haven’t really tried it, in which case it may actually be somewhat good. Have you ever tried kale chips? Oh, you have to—it’s to die for! I digress.

Let’s get to the recipe, as I know you’re probably wondering what it is.

Ingredients (Serves 2):

7-8 cherry tomatoes

2 avocado

½ lemon

1 garlic clove

4 slices of onion

Cilantro (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

Jalapeño (to taste)

Directions:

You can make this recipe two ways. The first way is to use a mixer and make it smooth. The second way is to use a fork, a deep bowl, and mix it by hand. If you go the mixer route, you can make the guacamole very smooth and creamy. It will go well as a dip. If you like chunky, I would suggest the second way—the one I prefer, as you’ll get a nice texture from the mix, but also a wonderful blend that you can taste the ingredients individually.

Prep work is easy. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves in order to have them blend properly in the mix. Add them to your mixing bowl.

Scoop the meat of the avocado; they’ll break down easier in the mixer, and by hand mixing. Into the bowl it goes. (Note: Make sure the avocados are ripe, otherwise you’ll end up with double the mixing time.)

Squeeze the juice of half a lemon.

Chop a medium garlic clove in fine, small pieces. Very small is what you’re going for—the smaller the better. Did I say small?

This is where it gets tricky, as I don’t really measure from this point forward. I rather eye it. Depending on the strength of the onion, I go for four slices but if you don’t like so many onion slices, go for less. Two will work as well.

Cilantro is one of my all-time favorite herbs. It goes well with salads, dips and as garnish for fresh vegetable recipes. It is so good. Just grab a couple of sprigs, wash and pat dry, and chop finely to add in the bowl.

Salt is up to you. Go light at first, believe me, guacamole doesn’t need too much of a kick to taste great.

Lastly, add your jalapeño. Cut a couple of small chunks, again, chopping finely, and add to the bowl.

Once all the ingredients are in, mix to your choice consistency. As I’d mentioned, I like mine chunky, but you may prefer smooth. It’s totally up to you.

This recipe takes me about 10-15 minutes max to make. It’s easy, tasty and ready to serve. Try it with broccoli, as it makes for a lovely snack.

Most of all—have fun!

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Do you make your own guacamole? What do you do to make it special?

Women Who Wow Wednesday

Marie Barone

Posted on September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 by Jack Flacco

In a middle-class suburb in Long Island lives Ray Barone (Ray Romano), sportswriter, with his beautiful wife Debra, and their three wonderful children. Across the street, live his parents.

Women Who Wow Wednesday once featured Everybody Loves Raymond‘s Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton) as the assertive, do-it-all homemaker who doesn’t take lip from anyone, including kids’ activity coordinators who’ve set themselves on a pedestal waiting for her to knock them off. Strong-willed, independent, Debra wears the loving mom moniker well. She also does it all.

Ray’s mom, Marie Barone (Doris Roberts), has the best job in the family. She spoils her kids rotten, except Ray’s brother Robert (Brad Garrett), but that’s another story. Perpetually caring for Frank (Peter Boyle), her husband of forty-five years, she’s learned a couple of things along the way. For instance, toenails don’t magically crawl into the garbage, nor does dirty underwear jump into the hamper all by itself.

A typical day in the life of the Barones goes something like this:

[Frank is eating lasagna from the platter]
Marie Barone: Frank! What are you doing? You can’t eat it from there! Your fork was in there! Now nobody can eat it!
Frank Barone: That’s all I have to do? In that case, the fork’s been in the ice cream, too!
Ray Barone: [comes in] Hey.
Marie Barone: Hi, Raymond. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? Only you can’t have lasagna… Or ice cream.
Frank Barone: [sticks his fork in cake] Or chocolate cake.
Marie Barone: Look at him! He’s like an animal, marking his territory!
[Frank sticks Marie with the fork]
Marie Barone: Hey!
Frank Barone: What? That’s a compliment.
Ray Barone: God, how I wish I could say this is the wrong house…

Her “Are you hungry?” line defines Marie as the selfless mom who is always willing to go out of her way to make life comfortable for Ray. Her relationship with Debra is a different matter. To Marie, Debra’s never been good enough for her son. In that respect, she has said less than flattering things about Debra’s cooking “Did another dinner get away from you, dear?” However, make no mistake; Marie loves Debra like her own daughter:

Marie Barone: I bought tickets for the whole family to go to Italy!
Debra Barone: Me too?
Marie Barone: Of course, dear. You’re family.
[Debra jumps with joy]
Robert Barone: Me too?

What makes Marie is not her intrusive, critical, overbearing attitude, although some may find that off-putting, but it is her unapologetic nature when defending her family. This is what makes her a formidable opponent, should anyone dare attack The Barones:

“I wanna tell ya something, there is nothing wrong with this family. We’re very close, we’re very open, we’re very loving, ‘cause I make sure of it.” ~Marie Barone

And it’s true. She may seem like someone you may not want to be with for long periods, but she certainly knows how to show her love. “Are you hungry, dear?”

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Have you seen Everybody Loves Raymond? What do you think of Marie Barone?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

My Snacks

Posted on August 29, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I love food. I mean, I really love food. By my appearance, you wouldn’t guess it. I stand a lean human whose weight wafts along that of disappearance. Yeah, I’m that thin. But regardless, I really enjoy eating food. That’s why for Freedom Friday I thought I’d give you a rundown of what I love to snack on, not so much to inform you what I think everyone else should be eating, but more to let you know how wonderful an experience it is to find a food worth eating.

Let’s start with the basics. I’m not a processed food kind of guy. I like eating chips now and again, but they don’t provide me with the comfort I crave to keep me going throughout the day. You’ll find, as you peruse the list, my thing is natural snacks. I’ve tried the chips and ice cream route, yet it doesn’t do much for me. If anything, I’m not satisfied.

Which brings me to the snacks I love—walnuts is one of them. There’s nothing quite like eating a handful of nuts to keep the energy going for the day. Nuts, especially, provide me with the protein I need to keep me focused and energized. I also enjoy the incredible taste. Who said you need salted nuts to satisfy a craving?

The energy lift doesn’t last long though, I suppose because I have a fast metabolism.

Next on the list is cheese. I gorge on cheese, particularly mozzarella. If anything is true, cheese makes Jack a happy boy. I’ll have it in chunks. I’ll spread it on a pita with some salsa sauce and away I go. Great snack. Really. I also love feta. I’ll talk about feta later, but it has such a well-rounded flavor, it’s hard to resists its draw.

Cucumbers are so high on my list of snacks that I’m surprised I haven’t placed it at the top of this post. Whenever I get the munchies, cucumbers deliver on the goods. They’re great on their own or simply with a little salt. Typically, I’ll wash the cucumber, cut it in half and eat it plain. Simple, right? If I’m really feeling adventurous, I’ll dice it, add salt, pepper, lemon, oregano, and feta cheese, sit on the couch and stuff my face while watching reruns of Love It or List It.

Next on my list are avocados. I have my wife to thank for introducing this fruit to our family a few years ago. Easiest way to eat this is to cut it lengthwise, add some lemon and salt and off you go. Great, great snack. Not only does it provide a good source of monounsaturated fat that reduces blood pressure, but also contains carotenoids, which protects against eye disease. I eat it because it’s a great snack.

I eat other snacks, but let’s limit the list to what I have here. Suffice it to say, my fridge and pantry are always full of snacks I like.

I know that real chocolate comes to mind, but we’ll not go there.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

What are your favorite snacks?

Freedom Friday, Photo Opportunities

Getaway

Posted on June 27, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

A few weeks ago, my wife and I left the northern climes of our small town and travelled to Mississauga, Ontario for our annual getaway. No kids. No family. And no responsibility. Just the two of us. We settled on a small inn off the highway where close by we had access to a huge commercial center featuring a movie theater, restaurants and a mini golf place. We were in our element. For Freedom Friday, let me tell you how it went.

For those of you who may not know, we’ve had our share of travelling and this time around, we wanted to stick around our own province. Nothing quite compares to exploring the surrounding region and having fun doing so.

Arriving at the inn, we unpacked quickly and that evening, we headed to an all-you-can-eat sushi bar. My wife’s never been to one and it was an experience for her. I knew exactly what we were in for, so I walked her through it. This particular sushi bar provided customers with iPads at the table to order their food. The uninitiated would find the food choices overwhelming. Folks, the point of a sushi bar is not to order everything in one shot, but to experience a relaxed atmosphere while eating at a leisurely pace. Customers tend to make the common mistake when they enter an all-you-can-eat restaurant to load their plates and then they have a table full of food they can’t finish. Guess what? The restaurant charges for leftovers. Surprise.

I’m happy to say, I taught my wife to pace herself. We ordered light at first, going for small avocado salads, headed for medium dishes such as maki and sushi, then we hit the big dishes like Salmon Teriyaki and chicken fried rice. By the time we were done, three hours had passed and we were ready for a movie. We took a long walk talking about our life together, the kids, our family, then went to see the new X-Men: Days of Future Past on opening night in 3D. Wow. Wow is all I can say. Great movie.

For all you romantics out there, yes, we held hands and yes, we snuggled.

The next morning, the inn provided a free continental breakfast where we had a chance to relax without the stress of being somewhere, having to do something or needing to finish quickly. We—wait for—took it easy. I’ll tell you something, whenever I hit vacation mode, something happens in me that always makes me want to sleep. A switch in me says, “Jack’s in vaca mode, time to shut down the factory.” I’m quite all right with it, too, since my wife’s the same way. It feels as if all the stress washes away like a blanket pulled from a bed.

Later that morning I hopped into the pool and had a nice one-hour swim, and followed it up with a long stay in the Jacuzzi. When I got back to our room, we hit a local Greek restaurant and talked for a long time about our future. I don’t know about other couples, but for us, we’re always thinking about what’s next in our lives. We purposely have long conversations mapping our destiny with little interference from anyone’s influence. If this is what freedom is, then I’m all for it.

After the restaurant, we went to see the new Godzilla movie in 3D. You can tell we’re avid moviegoers. Boy, were we surprise. Incredible movie in 3D is all I can say. By the way, the theater that afternoon was, how should I say, ice cold, it felt like I had walked into a meat packing plant. Do theaters really have to be that cold? But maybe it was me. After all, I had a T-shirt and shorts on, but I’m not complaining.

Yes, more snuggle time with my baby.

That evening we stayed in and had fun playing video games together on my tablet while sitting on the bed watching TV. Nothing beats that alone time I spend with my wife away from the stresses of the world.

The next morning, we woke up late, had breakfast, packed our things and left the inn refreshed and feeling great about the coming months. From there, we ended up at the glow in the dark mini golf place. My wife cleaned up the game. Eighteen holes of pure defeat for me as she pounded par or strokes under par to blow me away. She had her game face on and totally trashed my game. Gosh, I’m proud of her.

From there, we popped over to the same sushi bar from a couple of nights ago and feasted for hours until we left to pick up the kids that afternoon. By the time we got home, we had all we could do to keep from going to bed early. That’s when I knew we had an incredible time.

Writing this today, I can’t wait until our next getaway. I’m not sure where we’re going, but we’re certainly again going to have the time of our lives.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale October 21.

Do you take getaways with your significant other? Where’s the last place you’ve gone?

Freedom Friday, Other Things

Sweet Moments

Posted on May 9, 2014May 10, 2017 by Jack Flacco

That moment during a hot summer day when the clouds above you churn and you know it’s coming. The smell of burning wood on a cold winter night and all those memories flood your mind of how it used to be when you were a kid. How sitting on the park bench while the wind chills you reminds you of what a hot chocolate will taste like when you get back indoors.

They’re there. We just have to see them. Those beautiful junctures that make life all the more wonderful to live. Allow me to take a sliver of time from Freedom Friday to tell you about my sweet moments.

How the grass smells when I first cut it. How the house looks when it’s clean. How the garden looks when de-weeded. How I feel when I have a good movie I want to watch and have been waiting all week to watch it. How the sound of an ice cream truck brings me back to when I was a boy playing hockey with my friends in the street. How a sunset makes all the sense in the world, even when things at the time don’t make sense.

When the first snowfall hits, and my excitement builds knowing Christmas is right around the corner. When the leaves change, and I have my camera with me to take incredible shots of the colorful foliage. When the birds return after having spent those dark months away, and they sing their wonderful spring melodies at five in the morning.

The way my tongue dances after I bite into the most delicious dinner ever made in the history of culinary excellence. The silence I hear when I’m reading a good book. The joy I feel when a plan works as expected. The smell of an electronics store when I first walk in and all I want is the latest film release, but it tempts me with more. The sight of a dog chasing its tail and not knowing anything more complicated than that.

There’s more. Like those times I walk in on my wife, grab her in my arms, and tell her how lucky I am to have her. When I look into the eyes of my children and find myself staring back. That moment spending time with the extended family and someone tells a joke that everyone laughs. How the smile on someone’s face can make all the difference in the world when having a tough day. And how I try to see the good in others even when they’re terrible to me.

You see, I have many sweet moments in my life, and I’m sure you have them, too. If you look closely, you can see them. They’re there. They’re waiting for you to discover. When you do, it will amaze you by how it makes you feel knowing you’ve found one. Not everyone knows about them, but that’s okay. One day they will.

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, now on sale.

What are you sweet moments? What special place do you have that you can call your own?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Curry Chicken II

Posted on March 21, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

I’ve been looking forward all week to tell you about my curry chicken recipe. If you’re keeping track, this is my second curry chicken recipe I’m sharing with you for my Freedom Friday series. Born from the many Saturday afternoon meals I cook for the family, this dish will boost the spirit of any crowd looking for something fun to eat. So, sit back, put your feet up and allow the sweet smell of flavor to take over your imagination.

If you read my post Curry Chicken, then you will know I love cooking and eating. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. The big difference with this recipe has to do with the way I cook it. I wish I’d taken shots of the entire process, but I’m sure if I provide you detailed instructions, you’ll have no problem cooking it yourself. I’ll get back to the way I cook this a little later on. I don’t bake it like the first recipe, that’s for sure.

Let’s start with the ingredients:

Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Coconut milk
Curry powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Paprika
Salt

You’ll notice one ingredient missing from the original recipe and two ingredients added. That’s right I pulled the ginger from the list because I already had two different heats competing for your palette, black pepper and cayenne. You’re also correct if you’ve guessed I added paprika and coconut milk. You’ll see what I’ll do with those later.

Now for the directions:

Buying the right chicken makes all the world of difference. If you can afford organic skinless thighs, then I’d suggest saving some cash in order to make it a special treat. If you can’t go organic, try Costco chicken. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, and not wanting to sound like an ad, but they give you a lot for your money and you’ll have leftovers to boot.

The prep is super easy. Cut the thighs into smaller pieces about two inches in length all around. You’ll notice once you begin cooking, the pieces will shrink to bite-size portions. Toss your chicken in a cooking pot, preferably one of those deep two-handle ones with the glass cover. If you don’t have one of those, any deep pot will do. Make sure it can hold the chicken and the coconut milk.

This is the fun part, besides eating of course. Place the pot with the chicken on the stove and begin cooking it at a medium heat. No oils, butters or anything like that. Add half a can of coconut milk and stir with a wooden spoon. Plastic spoons do not do justice to this dish. Next, add the rest of your ingredients. Now, I have to say this, I’ve never measured how much of one thing versus another I should add. I always say “to taste” but you see the problem there, right? You don’t want to taste raw chicken as you cook it since doing so would make you violently ill or even worse, kill you. Don’t do it.

Then how do I measure the ingredients to add? Well, imagine all the chicken laying on the counter in a straight line. How would you go about sprinkling the ingredients on them? That’s how I imagine it. I add a lot of curry powder enough to cover each piece. As for the rest, add a few shakes of each ingredient except cayenne pepper. You don’t want to make it too hot. If you have fresh ground pepper, go with that. Nothing quite beats the flavor of fresh. Regarding the salt, up to you how much you want to add. If you add a little, it’ll taste bland. Imagine the chicken spanning the counter again. You’ll get the hang of how much to add.

Keep stirring the chicken in the milk every few minutes or so on medium heat. Leave it uncovered because what you’re trying to do is to allow the milk to reduce to a creamy gravy, which will contain all the flavors you’ve added. Cook for about forty-five minutes but it may be less depending on the stove. I tend to cook it until I see a thick gravy forming and that’s when I reduce the heat to simmer and cover.

On this particular Saturday, I made shoestring fries in the oven to compliment the dish. Rather than slapping the fries on a tray and shoving them in the oven like the instructions say, I add a couple of ingredients to the mix. I sprinkle onion powder and salt on the fries, then toss them in the oven. Believe me, if you have kids, they’ll love the restaurant quality fries you’ll serve them and may even brag about it to their friends.

As for the veggies, up to you what you want to serve with the dish. I had peas on hand and made those by steaming and adding some butter to them. They actually tasted great with the dish.

Before serving the chicken, grab a fork and knife and cut through a piece of chicken to make sure it’s cooked. If it’s white inside and the knife cuts the meat evenly without it feeling rubbery, then you know you’ve got yourself a winner. Try it before plating. If it’s missing flavor, more than likely you didn’t put enough garlic or onion powder. Add the missing ingredient to the pot and stir until dissolved.

When you’re serving the dish, make sure to add in the gravy, it makes for an awesome dip for the fries. Other than that, that’s all there is to it. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I had writing about it!

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, now on sale.

Have you ever had curry chicken? What do you like about it the most?

Food Favorites, Freedom Friday

Food Photography

Posted on March 14, 2014May 8, 2017 by Jack Flacco

Taking pictures of food has become a hobby of mine. For a long time, I took the photos not knowing what to do with them until one day it’d dawned on me. I didn’t need to do anything with them. The photos of the food not only represent edibles, but of times gone by. A single image floods my mind of all the good times associated with those meals. Let’s have a look at some of those photos and of what they mean to me for Freedom Friday.

Mamma's Penne Pasta — Mamma’s Penne Pasta

My mom’s pasta is to die for. I don’t know how she makes the sauce, and believe me, my wife’s tried to replicate it, I’ve tried, yet to no avail, we have never been able to duplicate it from scratch. In its place, my wife has her own recipe, which I love with a passion, but it’s not mamma’s sauce. Don’t worry, my wife knows how I feel, it’s no secret. The point being, this photo of my mom’s penne pasta coated with her delicious sauce represents a typical Sunday meal at my parents place. Whenever I look at this picture, memories of all those good time family gatherings come back to me. Every so often, we also have the typical Sunday meal here at my house.

Curry chicken, corn, green beans and marinated eggplant

Every Saturday afternoon I cook something special for the family. It’s my time when I treat everyone to a culinary creation of my choosing. One of my favorite dishes I enjoy making is chicken. I think I’ve cooked chicken in every way possible, yet, I’m sure someone will say to me, “Have you tried it this way?” I’m sure of it. This photo has all the fall colors wrapped in a delicious assortment of vegetables and chicken. For anyone curious, those are marinate eggplants. I enjoy this photo because it reminds me of our Saturday family time together.

Sushi reminds me of special occasions, long weekends and my absolute love for Japanese food. For those who don’t know, I make my own sushi. It took a long time to understand how all the ingredients worked together, their names and their distinct flavors. Nowadays, it’s second nature making this stuff. This photo is of one of the long weekends here at Casa Flacco, and of how I spent my afternoon. Salmon, avocado, sticky rice, all wrapped with nori. The other dish I made with cucumber, sticky rice and nori. I love long weekends because of our sushi binges.

Nothing quite tops a good ol’ fashioned salad in my family. Salads remind me of summer and fall. We make our salads from the choicest, freshest ingredients. All of it organic and most of it comes from our backyard. This photo captures the essence of what our meals are like in the summer. Every day is salad day with olive oil, feta cheese, Greek olives and onions as extra ingredients. What this photo does not capture is the hard work involved with tilling the soil, watering, babying it every single day to allow it to bring forth an incredible bounty for all of us to enjoy.

Now do you see why I take photos of food?

RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, now on sale.

Are you one of those folks who also take photos of food? What is your favorite food to shoot?

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