One quarter cup of cold, leftover brewed coffee sat on my countertop. So there would be no joe left behind, I decided to experiment and make a new kind of chocolate syrup. Over medium low heat, using an 8-inch iron skillet, I melted 1-2 tbsp of shortening (Spectrum organic, non-hydrogenated oil) and dropped in a cupful of dark chocolate chips. Then I slowly added the ¼ cup brewed coffee, turning down the heat to low to avoid boiling. Once everything was melted and fully mixed, I poured the concoction into a glass bowl and timed it for about 10-15 minutes to cool down. Finally, I drizzled the “chocojoe” syrup over my vanilla ice cream, took one taste, and SMILED.
food
Yellow Split Pea Soup w/Black Beans & Vegetables
Here’s a hearty soup for when you want something filling. For this delicious blend of legumes and vegetables, you can soak the black beans overnight. Then boil them the next day according to the instructions on the bag, or you can speed up the process considerably by using a pressure cooker. As a last resort, you can always use a can or two of black beans.
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Ay, Caesar Salad: American Style
The Makings of a Legendary Salad in Six Days
Day 1: Growing the greenest, lushest greens in a greenhouse
Day 2: Picking the greenest, lushest greens and washing them
Day 3: Packing the greenest, lushest greens into plastic containers
Day 4: Transporting the greenest, lushest greens to the supermarket
Day 5: Buying the greenest, lushest greens and putting them in a serving bowl
Day 6: Pouring your (store-bought) Caesar Salad dressing on the greenest, lushest greens in the serving bowl
Image: Pixabay
French-Toasted Bagel Sprinkled with Cheese
This is an easy recipe that anyone can make. Surprise a loved one with this dish, which may be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eat it with oranges and sausage for breakfast, or pair it with soup or salad for lunch or dinner. Or, enjoy it by itself as a snack. The recipe described below is for 1 bagel sliced in half. Simply increase the number of eggs per bagel, depending how well saturated you want the bagel to be. You might find 1 egg to be sufficient for 2 sliced bagels by increasing the amount of milk you mix with the egg. It’s how “eggy” you want your bagel to be.
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Swiss Chard Pancake topped with Swiss Cheese
This recipe is a pancake and omelet hybrid. I just made it up because I was hungry but didn’t want to go to the grocery store. I looked in the refrigerator and guess what I saw? A bag of Swiss chard, Swiss cheese, milk, and eggs. So, I thought why not create something lovely yet easy and healthy and downright quick?
Ground Beef with Kale and Carrots
Summer meals tend to be grill heavy, but after burgers and steaks almost every day, one can get weary of the same preparation. How about a change of pace?
Using fresh or frozen kale, take a bunch and chop (if fresh) and set aside; you can also use pre-cut bagged kale too. Peel and chop 5 carrots, 1 onion, and if you happen to have 2 yellow squashes or zucchinis, chop those also, but they’re optional. Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 or 2 plum tomatoes. If you don’t like tomatoes, replace this part with a sprinkle of lemon juice or zest. If you go the lemon route, just add this ingredient after everything is cooked. Continue reading
Please Pass the Sheep Butt
Ages ago I drove more than 10 miles just to look at a free-range chicken. It wasn’t even a live one; it was frozen. Those were the times when antibiotic-free meat or chicken was a rarity. It would cost an arm and a leg to buy a lean, but clean chicken that wasn’t an antibiotic addict. As a student with no cash flow at the time, I could only stare at the chicken and weighed the costs in my head. Do I spend the rest of the day panhandling for a healthy meal, or do I go back home and eat whatever there is and do my homework? Continue reading
Chicken Taco Casserole
This is a complete meal with protein, vegetables, and grains. The beans used here may be canned or dry. Dry beans would require an overnight soaking. You can use a 16-oz. bag of black beans or pinto beans. Before rinsing the beans, pick off any particles that don’t belong there, such as small pebbles. Cover the beans with cold water and let soak overnight.
The next day, the beans will need to be cooked first. The fastest way to do so is to use a pressure cooker, which is a specially sealed pot that cooks food quickly due to the physics of steam and pressure. Without getting technical or sidetracked here, I suggest you Google pressure cooker to learn more about it. It is an excellent way to make certain dishes quickly. For example, if you wish to make beef stew and use a cheap cut of meat, you can easily and quickly tenderize the meat by using a pressure cooker. Also, the pressure cooker makes excellent shredded pork or chicken. Continue reading
Bro’, You Heavy
My bro’ is stew, or in the sewers. I am sorry for what I did, but I was tired.
Bub, my bro’, weighed a ton. For breakfast, he would eat six bowls of Honey Monster Puffs, five fried eggs, four strawberry Pop-Tarts, three buttered waffles, two thick slabs of bacon, and a partridge in a pear tree. I exaggerate. He did not eat the tree. I will not bother writing the rest of what he would eat during the rest of the day; it will just make my journal look like a grocery list. And remind me how close to broke I was getting because food is not getting cheaper. It is a good thing I get to take home some leftovers from Hog Heaven, where I wash dishes and bus tables. I also get a 10% discount at the Food Mart, where I stock the shelves three days a week.
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Red Lentils with Cilantro and Shredded Chicken, Or . . .
The “or” in the name of this recipe indicates the many dishes you can make with red lentils; two variations of the recipe are presented below. Red lentils are great because they’re split and cook quickly, usually in less than an hour. The base of each recipe described below is a 16-oz. bag of red lentils (2 bags if you want to make more), chopped onions, and crushed garlic–1 or 2 onions and four or more garlic cloves, depending on your preference. If you want to make more, you can use two 16-oz. bags of red lentils. Continue reading
Karina Pinella 
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