Casado

Casado means "married" in Spanish. The story behind this meal is that it was traditionally eaten by newlyweds on their wedding night. Since they hadn't lived together before and didn't know what the other liked, the meal featured a little bit of everything so they could learn what the other did and didn't like. I've also read that it got its name from "marrying" a bunch of different flavors. I like the former explanation because it makes me laugh that people didn't talk about what foods they liked during courtship. I feel like that would be the easiest discussion to have.

"My favorite color is green and my favorite food is fried chicken."

"That's really interesting. I hate fried chicken. Date and possible marriage is over. Bye."

Maybe that's why they didn't talk about likes and dislikes during courtship...

Ingredients

4 pork chops

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup beef broth

2 plantains, peeled and sliced

1 small head of lettuce, chopped. I used iceberg.

1 sliced tomato

1 carrot, grated. I didn't do this because I didn't feel like grating a tiny carrot.

Vinaigrette, for salad

3 cups white rice, cooked

3 cups black beans, cooked

4 eggs, fried or hard boiled. I hard boiled 2.

1 cup queso fresco, sliced

Tortillas

Season the chops with salt, pepper, and crushed garlic; set aside. Heat veggie oil in a pan and cook the chops to your liking. Deglaze the pan with beef broth and let it boil. Reduce to 1/3 cup and set aside.

In a separate pan, fry the plantain slices in oil until golden brown.

Prepare the salad by seasoning the tomato and grated carrot with S&P and the vinaigrette. Set aside.

The recipe said to assemble the meal on a banana leaf but I didn't have banana leaves. The portions should all be served side by side.

I was expecting this meal to be really heavy with the fried chops, plantains, and egg but it wasn't. Everything melded together to create a really tasty, filling meal. I prepared the beans by boiling them with a bay leaf and cumin so they were a little more flavorful than usual but I don't think that made a huge difference overall. 

The girls ate everything but the plantains, which isn't surprising. They're not fond of bananas so I wasn't expecting them to be into the plantains.

Another fantastic, easy meal! Also, I'd like to point out that if I married a guy and then found out on our wedding night that he didn't like any of the components of this meal. I'd ask for a divorce.

Bean Escabeche

This was our last Peruvian meal. I had planned it in the hopes of inviting our Paleo diet following neighbors over for dinner but I kinda forgot to invite them over...I think this is Paleo friendly, except for the rice. Okay I just took the time to Google "Paleo Diet" and no, this is not Paleo friendly. I thought you could eat beans when paleo but I guess not. I guess it's a good thing I didn't invite them over.

Ingredients

2 cups canary beans, soaked overnight. These are also known as Peruvian or Mayocoba beans. I used one cup and soaked for six hours.

1 lbs 2 oz smoked pork ribs. I used just under 1.5 because I didn't use the pork jowl.

11 oz pork jowl cut into 3 even sized pieces.

2 tbsps veggie oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbsp Panca chili paste

2 cups Peruvian Style white rice to serve

S&P to taste

For the sauce:

2 red onions, sliced. I didn't have a red onion so I just eliminated this part.

2 yellow peppers, seeded, membrane removed, and thinly sliced

2 tbsps veggie oil

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsps Panca chili paste

1 tsp honey

2 bay leaves

3 tbsps red wine vinegar

1/2 cup veggie broth. I also ran out of veggie broth so I used chicken stock instead.

Drain the beans and cover with cold water. Add the pork ribs and jowl, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and then simmer for 45 minutes, or until the beans are cooked. Set aside.

Heat the oil and add the onion and garlic; saute until the onion is soft. Add the oregano, chili paste, S&P, and cook until the paste has thickened. Add the beans and the bean cooking liquid, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for another 45 minutes. I cooked for an additional 20 minutes. You want to cook until the sauce has thickened and reduced.

For the sauce, saute the onion and peppers over high heat for a few seconds. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and chili paste. Cook for 1 minutes, then add the honey, bay leaves, vinegar, and stock. Cook until it has thickened and reduced.

When serving, pour the the sauce over the beans, with the rice on the side. 

This was probably my least favorite meal of the week but not because it wasn't good, it just wasn't as impressive as the others. The meat was extremely tender and the sauce was sweet and tangy but it just didn't blow my mind the way the others did. It was still better than anything we ate during Finish or German week but just not as great as its predecessors.

Like I said in the last post, we will definitely revisit this cuisine. I kinda regret NOT buying this cookbook but thankfully, that's what Amazon is for.

Arroz con Chancho

This recipe is called Arroz con Chancho, which translates to rice with pig. Spanish can sometimes be confusing because it often varies from country to country. I was once speaking to some Cubans about roasting some meat and one mentioned what they had roasted over the weekend. I didn't hear him clearly so I asked him to repeat himself. His friend said "Oh, si aquí se dice oveja." Translation: oh, yeah here they say oveja" Oveja means sheep. I asked what he had originally said and he said "Borrego" which technically also means 'sheep' but specifically it means 'lamb.' It can get confusing.

Off the top of my head, I can think of three ways to say 'pig' in Spanish: cerdo, puerco, and marrano. Growing up we always called pigs 'marranos' and pork was 'puerco'; cerdo wasn't used very often. I bring this up because when I saw the name for this recipe, I had to look up 'chancho.' Based on context clues, I quickly figured out it meant pork but I was curious to learn more. It appears that 'chancho' is more common in South America, which explains why I'm not familiar. So moral of the story: Español is muy dificil. Spanish is very hard.

Ingredients

2/3 cup veggie oil

2 1/4 lb pork, cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks. I used 1 lb pork loin.

1 red onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped. I used 2.

3 tbsps Panca Chili Paste.  I wasn't able to find panca peppers or anything similar so I ended up buying the paste itself. I'm glad I did because I think I'll be able to use it again. It reminded me of dulce de tamarindo, which is a tamarind flavored candy popular in Mexico. I believe it's made of tamarind and chili powder and it's awesome! Ancho chili would be a good substitute.

1 tbsp Mirasol Chili Paste. I couldn't find mirasol peppers or anything similar so I just eliminated this.

1 tsp tumeric

3 1/2 cups  veggie broth. I used 2.

3 cups white rice. I used 1 1/2.

1/3 cup peas.

1 cup chopped cabbage.

1 carrot, diced.

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, membrane removed, thinly sliced.

1 yellow pepper, seeded, membrane removed, thinly sliced.

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

S&P

Heat the oil, season the pork with S&P, and fry until brown on all sides. Remove the pork and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the chili pastes and cook until the pastes have thickened; add the tumeric. Stir in the pork and veggie broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until the meat is tender, roughly 20 minutes.. Add the rice, peas, cabbage, and carrot, cover, and cook for another 30 minutes until the rice is fluffy. Stir in the bell and yellow pepper and let it sit for a few minutes. Scatter the chopped cilantro on top and serve.

I was originally going to make a heart of palms salad from the book but I wasn't feeling it. I decided to make my own with quinoa, red onion, red bell pepper, heart of palms, and lemon juice. I wasn't sure how it'd turn out because I have zero experience with cooking with heart of palms but it turned out well. If you've never had them, heart of palms kinda taste like artichokes.

This meal was de-li-cious! The panca sauce tasted like tamarind so it was a little tangy. The cabbage made it buttery and the carrots and peas added a sweetness. It was so good, James went back four times. Four times! He never does that. The girls even liked it, too!!

I'm really impressed that we've yet to have a bad meal. Peru is supposed to be a foodie's dream and I can see why. Their cuisine is so vast because they have so many different climates and while there are often similar ingredients, each meal had been unique. With Nepal, I used a lot of the same spices over and over again so there wasn't a lot of variety in flavor but that has not been the case with Peru.

We might revisit Peru later in the year because I feel like we haven't even begun to experience this mind-blowingly good cuisine!

Stir-Fried Beancurd and Beansprouts, Stir-Fried Chayote, and Fried Rice with Peas

Welcome to Myanmar, the Land of the Golden Pagodas! I didn't research Myanmar and learn this, I got it from the title of my cookbook The Food of Myanmar: Authentic Recipes from the Land of the Golden Pagodas

If you haven't picked up on this by now, we are trying vastly different cuisines from week to week for no other reason than to give our bodies a break! German week was heavy, lots of creamy sauces and meat, and my body is dying for some veggies that are not covered in butter. I love butter, butter is great, but my heart is begging me to stop.

This meal was quick and didn't require a lot of prep work; total time, with prep, was maybe an hour. What took the most time was making the rice but the recipe actually called for old rice so if you follow that, you'll cut your time in half.

Stir-Fried Beancurd and Beansprouts

The book says this is served as an accompaniment but we made it our main meal.

10 oz beancurd cakes, soaked. Beancurd is tofu. I used 16 oz because let's get real, it's tofu. Those extra 6 ounces are not going to kill you.

1/4 cup oil. I used sesame because I thought it would add some extra flavor.

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 clove garlic

3 cups beansprouts

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

1 tsp light soy sauce

Drain the tofu and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into cubes. The book said 36, I think I made 24.  Heat the oil, add the tofu, and deep-fry over medium high heat for 5 minutes, until golden on all sides. Remove and set aside. Stir in the oyster sauce and stir-fry the garlic. Add the tofu, sprouts, and salt. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cornflour paste and soy sauce. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes and serve.

Stir-Fried Chayote

I'd never had chayote before so I was really looking forward to trying out this new squash!

4 1/2 oz boneless pork, diced. I used a half pound.

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp rice wine. Btw, rice wine and rice vinegar are the same thing. I learned this after only seeing rice vinegar at the grocery store and then I Googled it. What would we do without Google??

1 tbsp oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chayote, peeled, deseeded, and sliced into 2 inch strips. I probably used 2 1/2 cups but it was fine.

3 tbsps water

1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Marinate the pork in the salt and rice wine for at least 10 minutes. Heat the oil over high heat, stir-fry the garlic and pork for 3 minutes. Add the chayote and water and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cornflour paste, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes.

Fried Rice with Peas

The books says this is a common breakfast dish. I'd be okay with eating this for breakfast all the time!

1 cup dried whole green peas or pigeon peas, soaked overnight. I used frozen peas.

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

5 cups water. If you're using frozen peas, you don't need the baking soda, salt, or this much water.

1/4 cup oil

2 tbsp finely sliced onion

1 tbsp light soy sauce

3 cups cooked rice

1/2 tsp salt

Drain the peas and transfer to a large pot with baking soda, salt, and water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender. Or do what I did and throw the peas on the skillet, pour a little water, and wait for them to thaw out. Heat the oil and stir-fry the onion until golden brown. Add the peas and soy sauce, cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and salt, cook and stir gently for another 5 minutes.

It's not a colorful meal but it made up for it in flavor! It was a little salty but that's because everything had soy sauce. I really liked the chayote though. It was a little crunchy, don't know if that's how it's supposed to be or if I just didn't cook it long enough, but it was good. The baby really liked it and preferred it over the rest of the meal. It was a little sweet so I'm sure that's part of why she liked it. The three year old didn't touch anything except a few peas and pork. The sprouts and tofu grossed her out and she spent most of dinner talking about how she didn't like it. I love that she doesn't have a problem with voicing her opinion but sometimes I wish she'd shut up. I know that's not nice but luckily she can't read this so I can say whatever I want. I need to enjoy her illiteracy while I can.


The meal was good and not too complicated. Yesterday didn't go as I had expected so I was a little frazzled. I had planned my day to where I'd have an hour or two to just relax but that didn't happen and I ended up driving all over Austin unexpectedly. I wasn't really looking forward to cooking but luckily this was an easy meal and I was still able to talk to my husband and kiddos while cooking. Sometimes the recipes are so involved that I have to focus, which takes time away from catching up with the husband when he gets home from work. Those are my least favorite recipes but this one allowed us to be a family and for that I'm grateful.

Wow, that was so emo! *flips bangs*

Aune's Pork Casserole

This dish is named after Aune Merikallio, a Finnish home economist. I guess she lent her recipe to the author for his book. I couldn't find anything about her on the internet so there's not much of a story there. Sorry.

This did not feel like a casserole to me, it was more of a roast, but maybe casserole is Finnish for roast? I dunno, just not very casserole-y (that's a word!) to me.

I just Googled "casserole" and the definition is "a kind of stew or side dish that is cooked slowly in an oven"  And a "roast" is "a cut of meat that has been roasted or is intended for roasting" but "roast" as a verb is "to cook by prolonged exposure to heat in an oven or over a fire." Well, there you go. It is both a roast and a casserole. Boom! English lesson!

The ingredients, of which I forgot to take a picture:

1 4-5 lbs fresh pork shoulder. I bought a pork shoulder that was just under 3 lbs because I knew there was NO WAY we'd eat that much meat. Also, the only pork shoulder I could find was some that was meant for carnitas so it was broken up into a few pieces. Don't know if that's the norm for pork shoulder but just wanted to mention that.

2 tsps salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsps prepared mustard

3 cups drained sauerkraut

3 medium apples, pared, cored, and sliced. I used two.

1 tbsp sugar

4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced. I used five small red potatoes.

Trim the meat of excess fat. Rub all sides with salt, pepper, and mustard. Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for an hour; drain fat. Remove meat and rack from the pan. In the pan, make a layer or sauerkraut. Sprinkle apples with sugar and layer on top of sauerkraut. Top with potatoes. Replace the meat in pan on top of potatoes. I just realized I didn't do this, I put the rack back. Woops. Cover pan with lid or foil, return to oven, and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Since I didn't have as much meat, I roasted for a little over an hour.

I also made some Mushrooms with Sour Cream.

1/4 cup butter

2 tbsps grated onion or 1 medium shallot, sliced thinly

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

1/4 tsp white pepper. I used black because I forgot to buy white pepper.

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sour cream

Melt butter and cook onion for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, s&p, and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat until mushrooms are brown and liquid almost evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Reheat but do not boil.

The pork was kinda dry. Maybe it would have turned out a little juicier had I put the meat directly on the veggies...The flavor was great though. A little on the spicy side but still tasty. Both my husband and I enjoyed how the apples made the sauerkraut less bitter. I'm not a huge fan of sauerkraut so this was an appreciated take on it. The mushrooms were amazing! I also love sour cream so that might have had something to do with it. As good as they were, they were very heavy. I hadn't eaten lunch that day so I was starving and had two large servings. I was pretty miserable afterwards.

The baby also really enjoyed the mushrooms; the three year old not so much. And I know I mention how she doesn't eat most, if not all, of my dinners but I promise you, the kid is healthy! She does eat breakfast and lunch so that makes up for  not eating a big dinner. She did eat some pork though so that was good.

If I make this again, I won't add the potatoes because I don't feel they really contributed all that much and I will put the meat directly on the veggies. Definitely making the mushrooms again, I just won't eat so much next time.