Porky snack

A little experimentation. I've seen mushrooms breaded with panko but never pork rinds.

1egg well beaten 

1oz fatty pork rinds chopped finely in processor

7 crimini mushroom

Preheat oven to 350deg. Dip mushroom in egg then pork rinds, make sure tops are covered and place on cast iron griddle. Bake 25min or until crisp

Pinoy Spaghetti

1lb ground meat

1small onion finely chopped

2gloves garlic minced

2tbsp dry parsley

1tbsp oregano

1tbsp salt

1/2tbsp pepper

Preheat oven to 450deg. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and form into heaping 1tbsp sized balls. Arrange on parchment paper and bake for 10min. Remove from oven and set aside

16oz crushed tomatoes

4oz tomato paste

1/2 banana ketchup

1-2cups beef bone broth (depending on how thick you like)

1 bay leaf

5 hot dogs sliced diagonally

2cloves garlic chopped

1 onion diced

1tbsp lard

salt/pepper to taste

Over medium high heat add lard, onion, garlic, sauté till translucent Add hot dogs and cook till browned. Add meatballs, bay leaf, crushed tomato, tomato paste, ketchup and 1cup broth. Simmer till thickened, add more broth if needed, Taste for salt and pepper

Myeolchi-bokkeum, with a twist

 This traditional Korean dish is made with dried anchovies. I put my take on this recipe by using insects!

1cup dried mealworms

1 tsp lard

1 tsp hot pepper paste, sriracha or sambal

1 tsp coconut aminos

1 tsp cane vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1tsp toasted sesame oil

salt to taste

Dry fry worms over medium high heat for 90secs and reserve. Combine the next 6 ingredients, cook till bubbling. Remove from heat. Add worms and sesame seed, mix thoughly. Drizzle sesame oil over the top and taste for salt. Serve over cauli-fried rice, steam rice or as a side dish

Sour Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies

A friend gave me a bag of Meyer lemons and have always wanted to try lemon curd so this was my chance to give it a try. The curd was easy, challenging part was the cookie! Majority of gluten free recipes are made with nut flours which I can not have. Decided to coconut butter batter.

Took The nourishing gourmet's recipe and made a couple of changes to suit my tastes. Reduced the honey to 1tbsp and increased the amount of zest and juice. Just typing this me salivate. 

3 eggs

1 tbsp honey

zest from 2 lemons

2/3c lemon juice

6 tbsp butter cut into 24 pieces

Whisk eggs, honey and zest till well combined in a sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly. When it comes to a boil remove from heat and pour into Mason type jar. Mixture will thicken as it cools. Makes 1.5-2cups. Let me tell this is more than tangy, it's down right sour! and the way I like it!!

1c coconut butter softened

1 egg

1tsp baking powder

1/4tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325deg. Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly. Using a tablespoon form balls then make your thumbprint on a parchment line pan. Bake for 10-12min or until golden. Let cool completely before removing from parchment. Once cool fill with curd.

Cabidela: Braised chicken with blood rice

When the wife's away I get to play...in the kitchen. She does not like the smell of some things I prepare. Going through the freezer and pulled out 2qts of pig blood. Now what to make...

Cabidela! A traditional Portuguese recipe using chicken blood and rice.

1c jasmine rice

1.25c water

1c blood

1-2tbsp vinegar

1tbsp lard

1 onion chopped

2cloves garlic chopped

2 chicken hind quarters

1c white wine

salt to taste

hot sauce to taste ( I used habanero)

Cilantro for garnish

Cook rice (add more water if you like softer rice) 15-20min. Turn off heat then add blood and vinegar. Mix and set aside.

Saute onions and garlic in lard till softened. Add chicken, brown well then pour in wine and hot sauce. Cover and simmer for 30min or until juices run clear. When chicken is done add rice/blood mixture, cook till heated through (5min). Taste for salt, add more hot sauce (I did) if needed.

Typically the the chicken is mixed into the blood and rice.

Mango Coconut Balls

In the mood for a little treat. Rummaging through the cabinets to see what I have and find shredded coconut and dried mango. Put the 2 ingredients in the food processor and pulse. The unsweetened mango is too dry for the mix to bind together.

Next attempt, soak mango for 15min in water to rehydrate. Pulse till mixed thoroughly, form into balls and let rest for an hour to firm up (if you can wait that long).

1cup unsweetened dehydrated mango

1cup shredded coconut

1/2cup water to rehydrate