March 25, 2010

Coachella jam #3, Little Dragon: fatbeats



excuse my vacation....tons of updates to come.

March 4, 2010

Stuffed Poblanos, Mexican Rice & Roasted Red Pepper Sauce: goodeats

This meal deserves the "I wanna eat this every day of my life" goodeats award.  It's REALLY good and easy to make, although it does take some time (we started cooking at 7:30 and didn't eat till about half past 9).  Just like the stuffed portobellos,  the poblanos can be stuffed with just about anything you like.  Here is the version we made for dinner the other night.

Stuffed Poblanos
Ingredients:
-4 well sized  poblano peppers
-cooked chicken, chopped
(we seasoned ours with s&p, cumin and chili powder)
-1 can of black beans, rinsed
-1/2 an onion, diced
-few cloves of garlic, minced
-cilantro, chopped
-Mexican blend cheese (cojita if you've got some)
-S&P
-EVOO
-fresh lime juice

Directions:
1) heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine EVOO, beans and garlic in a pot and begin to cook down on low heat.  The beans should start to cook down a bit getting soft, feel free to mash it up a bit with a fork.  Add in chicken, onions and cilantro and heat through for a few more minutes.  Set aside
2) To prepare the peppers for stuffing, cut a cross down the belly of the pepper.  Empty out seeds with your hands and give the peppers a rinse.  Keep the stems on for presentation :)
3) Stuff the peppers with a small spoon with the bean/chicken mixture.  Place in a casserole dish or on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake for about 40 minutes.  During the last 5-10 minutes of baking, top peppers with cheese.

Mexican Rice
adapted from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
-2 cups of long grain white rice
-3 cups of chicken stock
-1 cup of chopped tomatoes (about 2 roma tomatoes)
-half an onion chopped
-1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
-garlic, minced
-juice of 1 lime
-s&p
-about 2 tsp of cumin
-EVOO
-cilantro 
Directions:
1) in a large sauce pan, saute the rice in some EVOO until the ends are golden brown (about 4 minutes).  Mix in the garlic, jalepenos and onions.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Pour in chicken stock and bring to a boil.
2) as soon as the stock boils, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked
3) fluff rice with a fork and add in lime juice, cumin, s&p (don't be shy with the s&p, you will need a hefty amount to bring out the flavors).  Before serving, stir in cilantro.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO....
So the peppers and rice were delicious, but what brought this meal to award worthy status was the Roasted Red Pepper sauce Tom whipped up in his new cuisinart food processor!  This sauce is extremely addicting, so be careful.  You could use it on a steak or even as a dip with tortilla chips, it's that good.  For the recipe, you're gonna have to ask mistertom
 
 Hope you make this one...it's a keeper

Sunday afternoon at the Grand Central Market: goodeats

Good food & fresh produce... you can find it all at the Grand Central Market, LA's oldest and largest open air market and one of the city's many hidden gems.  You would drive right by the historical Homer Laughlin Building and fail to realize that a cultural Mecca resided on its ground floor.
Food vendors line the floor selling everything from Salvadorean Pupusas to Mediterranean kabobs to even Korean kimchi burritos.  The food options are limitless so make sure to arrive with an empty stomach.
The best part about the GCM is all of the fresh produce.  Walk the aisles and take your pick of the freshest, ripest and cheapest produce you will ever find.
After a few hours, our TJ's bag was full of the week's produce as well as 4 hefty slabs of skirt steak...and it only dented us about $40,  such a steal!
 
So next time you're in need of some goodeats and fresh produce... skip your local TJ's, hop on the metro with your reusable bag in hand and visit the Grand Central Market.

Say hello to your new weekend ritual!

Grand Central Market
317 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 624-2378

March 2, 2010

Coachella Jam #2, Feels Like the First Time- fatbeats



Jason Bentley has been showing Corinne Bailey Rae a lot of love on Morning Becomes Eclectic lately and I just can't get enough of her new album.  Catch her at the Vibiana or at Coachella next month if you're a fan :)

 click ME for more info on Corinne's show