#fuckyeahtostones

Tacos with halloumi, pico de gallo, and guacamole 🇲🇽🇨🇾

I first had halloumi in a breakfast sandwich in London when I was there for work in 2015. I noticed it years later in my supermarket and since then have cooked with it numerous times. My favorite use of this cheese is in tacos. Browned for a bit in a cast iron skillet, halloumi almost has the flavor and consistency of chicken. It is expensive but can be purchased at Costco for almost half the price at any supermarket chain.

The salsa was made in a food processor using 5 roma tomatoes, 2 good sized shallots, 2 serrano peppers, 1 jalapeño, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 or 2 limes of juice, a couple generous pinches of salt, and a nice big handful of fresh cilantro. The garlic, hot peppers, and lime juice go in first to get pulverized, followed by the shallots and then the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients. I highly recommend removing the seeds from the tomatoes to get a chunkier, less liquidy pico de gallo.

What we’re listening to:

Pizza! 🇮🇹

I’m still going through the delicious lentils I made the night before so here are a few of the pizzas I’ve made over the last few months, including prosciutto and pineapple, pepper and onion, mushroom and tomato, and a good old-fashioned regular cheese. I always prefer a homemade oblong pizza to a round one. And never forget the semolina for the bottom of the crust!

What we’re listening to:

Spanish lentil stew 🇪🇸

Tonight’s dinner was something my mom always made throughout my childhood. After she became severely debilitated and could no longer cook I spent years trying to track down this recipe. I didn’t know what the dish was called… we just called it “lentils.” After a late night Google inquiry listing the ingredients I remembered, I came across a YouTube video that I’m linking here.

This dish is easy to make and can accommodate different ingredients and substitutions. The primary ingredients are green lentils, tomato sauce, a vegetable or meat stock, onions, garlic, and lots of paprika, traditionally followed by bell peppers, potatoes, and carrots.

Chorizo is also a relevant ingredient in this dish. Mom had always used kielbasa, in all likelihood because chorizo was not available in the supermarkets like it is today. I had neither of these sausages and instead chopped up three strips of bacon that allowed me to sauté my onions in their rendered fat, yielding a subtly amazing flavor. I also added a comically large jalapeño, a few hefty dashes of turmeric for flavor and color, and some pimento stuffed green olives.

What I was listening to:

Tostones 🇵🇷

Welcome to my first post! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything online after ditching my Instagram last year. I started seriously cooking a little over 10 years ago after moving into my own place as a 40-something year old. My early attempts at it stemmed from the necessity to not spend money every night. It wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed doing. Besides all the cleaning up after, I was annoyed by how long it took to make anything that I could put away in a few minutes.

In time however, with help from Youtube and numerous failed attempts, I learned to actually enjoy the process of cooking. Now it has become one of my favorite things to do and since I’ve become adept at it, I’ve been attempting to recreate meals from my childhood, particularly those made by both my late mother and grandmother.

With proper respect to the title of this blog, here are some photos from a couple batches of tostones I’ve made over the last couple weeks. Tostones are my favorite salty fried starch next to french fries and are easy to make. Just make sure your oil is hot enough and don’t forget to make a batch of mayoketchup to go alongside them.

A good traditional recipe is here.

What I was listening to: