food

Summer Reunion

/ Karina Pinella / 19 Comments

The Garden Hall Room at the Radish Hotel is brimming with activity. Laughter and excited conversations rise above the music. A classic color-changing jukebox is playing a 1960s song by The Platters, Under the Boardwalk. Atop a long banquet table is a generous spread of various foodstuff. A variety of fruits are gathered together, focused on their own animated chatter among themselves, as the following snippets are overheard:

Bananas: We about peeled when we learned we won for doing the best split.

Grapes: You know some people think we’re just a bunch of winos.

Pineapple: I hope you know that you’re always welcome to visit.

Watermelon: My doctor planted a seed in my mind to make me think it’s all water weight.

 Cherry: So one night my young lover and I agreed to go for it . . . for the very first time.

Peaches: We swear by the brand of that blade, which will cut through any fuzz.

 Oranges: Everyone thinks we’re so irresistible they can’t help but squeeze us.

 Kiwifruit: We prefer not to be called Chinese gooseberry anymore.

Pear: Okay, so I’m not from a shapely lot. So eat me.

Strawberries: We were left out in the fields . . . seems like forever.

Mumble

/ Karina Pinella / 5 Comments

“Ya got a big mouth on ya is yer problem, Eddie. How many people ya ate? Ya gotta pace yerself or we’ll get caught. I gotta do somethin’.” Royal, Eddie’s best friend glares at his shack mate, who is moaning at every chew.

Eyelids half closed, Eddie is too preoccupied savoring the last of his ill-gotten meat. There’s nothing like a good summer barbecued shoulder. Granted, it took him a few hours to wrestle it out of his prey who outweighed him by 65 pounds, but he triumphed, making him especially proud of his latest kill.

“I just looove tourist season,” Eddie mumbles, trying to keep in food from spilling out of his mouth.

With pressed lips, Royal saunters off to get his leather sewing kit. As he approaches his friend from behind, he says, “Sorry, buddy; this is fer yer own good.” Royal takes a swing at the back of Eddie’s head with a big sock filled with heavy rubber balls.

With Eddie stunned, he quickly proceeds to sew his friend’s mouth. As he almost finishes, Eddie’s lids flutter open. Eyes looking panicked, Eddie grunts, “Mmmph . . .”

“Oops, I forgot to ask if ya had any last words,” Royal mumbles, feeling a little guilty as he locks the stitches.

Grumble (50-word story)

/ Karina Pinella / 11 Comments

all you can eat
Dee’s abdomen churned all day and seemed to bloat by night. She rested in discomfort. Hours later it was no better. A membranous sac of creepy crawly critters burst out of her belly. Goodbye. No more all-you-can-eat feasts for Dee, observed little Tommy, who had been feeding his favorite mouse.

Mung Beans with Quinoa Stew Topped with Pork Rinds

/ Karina Pinella / 11 Comments

stew

Here’s a fairly quick and easy stew, which you can eat as a vegetarian one-dish meal, or non-vegetarian if you wish to have a taste of pork rinds blended in.

Start by mincing 4 cloves of garlic, chopping 1 onion, and slicing 6 Roma tomatoes. Set them aside. Rinse in a mesh colander 1 ¼ lb. dry mung beans. Set aside. Rinse ¼ cup quinoa in a fine mesh colander and set aside.

Put 3 tbsp of coconut oil in a stock pot, and then place it on a stove burner over medium heat. Sauté the minced garlic, follow up with the chopped onion. After a minute, add in the sliced tomatoes.

After the tomatoes look tender, put in the mung beans and pour in one 32-oz. low sodium vegetable broth. Cover and continue cooking over medium heat. After about 15 minutes, put in the quinoa and cover. After another 10 minutes, pour in one 32-oz coconut milk and 2-3 cups water. Stir. Cover and time for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, stir and time again for 20 minutes. While that continues to cook, chop a bunch of Swiss chard, which you will add when the timer goes off.

Add a few drops of fish sauce; you can always add more later when it’s cooked and you’ve tasted it. Continue cooking for 6 more minutes. When the timer goes off, turn the stove off and let the food settle for 5 minutes.

Serve in big bowls and drop a handful of pork rinds into each one, if you are so inclined. Just press them down into the stew with a spoon so they soften. Garnish with one sliced garden tomato.

Happy  dining!

Salad Bar Biopsy

/ Karina Pinella / 6 Comments
food

Image: Pixabay

Popular option
For weight, taste, and health reasons.
Carrots, berries, squash,
A plethora of choices
With a film of spit and slime.

Spam Lookalike

/ Karina Pinella / 11 Comments

spam . . . not
Freddy is excited about lunch because he gets to try Spam for the first time. His mom told him she would serve it sometime this week and it is the end of the week, so he thinks today must be the day. He runs downstairs toward the dining room. As usual, he doesn’t wear his eyeglasses because they’re uncomfortable. But his myopic vision discerns a plate sitting on the dining table, which isn’t set but they’re an informal family. The closer he gets to the table, the better he is able to make out a pinkish, rectangular shaped piece of meat in the plate. Eagerly, he picks it up and bites down, but the texture is rubbery and the taste isn’t anything he’s ever had before.

“Dumbo!” Freddy turns around to the sound of his sister’s laughing.

“You’re eating my phone case. I left it there to soak in baking soda to get the stains off. Now, you put your teeth marks on it.” His sister charges over to him and grabs her case from his hands.

“Next time, wear your glasses, so you can see what you’re doing,” she says, as she walks away with her phone case and a faint smile.

Banana Nice Cream

/ Karina Pinella / 11 Comments
sweet delight

Image by Anna

Frozen banana
Blenderize and add cocoa
Top with a brownie.

Or, other toppings:
Shredded coconut,
Fresh pineapple bits.

Concoction delight
Sweet in ev’ry bite
Good for day and night.

Tortilla Chip Casserole

/ Karina Pinella / 15 Comments

casserole close-up

What to do with leftover filling from another casserole dish? Improvise! Throw in some freshly shredded Cheddar cheese in between the layers, along with French-fried onions (Trader Joe’s brand) and half-heartedly crushed unsalted tortilla chips.

 Assume you have the following leftover filling: pinto beans, ground beef, shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped sweet potatoes and onions, with tomato-based sauce. Continue reading →

Chicken Chop Soupy

/ Karina Pinella / 24 Comments

chicken chop soupy
This recipe is similar to the Americanized concept of Chop Suey; its name based on a province in China where it originated. The dish is simply whatever you have on hand or leftovers assembled in one dish. What I had in the kitchen were white and sweet potatoes and 1 ½ cups of cooked chopped chicken. And so, Chicken Chop Soupy was borne, or made (but not in China). Continue reading →