Happy autumn, foodie friends! I haven’t posted in what seems like forever, but this hiatus has been an intentional one. I have actually been spending some time examining the impetus behind my most beloved creative expression, cooking.
Don’t worry, I haven’t decided to go and give it up! It’s quite the contrary, in fact….
Happy summer, foodies! It’s been a very chaotic season for me, hence the sporadic postings. We have officially made the transition from Austin to Houston and I’m absolutely loving it so far. Don’t get me wrong, Austin will always be home and my favorite city in Texas, but this Houston! Talk about a food scene. I haven’t really been cooking much lately because a) moving is rough (where is my freaking immersion blender? for the love…) and b) so.many.good.restaurants! …
There is something about the Mexican culture that simply warms you from the inside out. Their passion, resilience, festive spirit, and genuine calidez are traits that are indisputably unique to the Mexican people, and have been the subject of my cultural envy (and subsequent adoption) for several years now. Of course, I take great pride in my own culture, which is a combination of German, Native American, and Welsh (and I’m probably leaving a few out). However, my closest relative that most recently immigrated to the US was my great grandfather who traveled aboard the George Washington steam liner from Germany to Ellis Island in 1921. Apart from my German roots, I have the tendency to feel devoid of a (or perhaps just far removed from) true culture.
…
When the fall months roll around, it’s second nature for me to start dreaming up recipes for heartwarming soups, satisfying stews and all of those dishes that mae you want to curl up next to a fireplace with some fuzzy socks and a captivating book. However, much to my chagrin, the forecast doesn’t anticipate even a hint of a cold spell anytime soon. But I’m not going to let that stop me from making soup! This avocado and cucumber soup is a refreshing, light, get-you-back-on-track kind of meal and it’s perfect for this late-summer, early-fall in-between season. ¡Buen provecho!…
I don’t know about you, but I am a big fan of one dish meals when cooking at home. They are fuss-free, require minimal preparation, and can easily feed a crowd (or a family of 2 for a few meals.) When you have seasonal, jewel-toned produce like these crisp green beans, succulent red tomatoes, and vibrant purple basil, you don’t need much else; the ingredients do the work for you. The cook’s job is to accentuate their natural beauty, so to speak. No need to break your back over a soufflé or distort lovely ingredients into crazy gastronomical experiments (unless that’s what you want!) Keep it simple. You won’t sacrifice any of the flavor; I guarantee it….
Happy summer everybody! I don’t think the season change even dawned on me until I stowed away the last of my teaching materials and turned in my keys for the summer. First year of teaching in the bag. Shwew! I survived. While my homepage was looking particularly sad and static for weeks on end, I believe every type of energy imaginable (kinetic, creative, frenetic, potential, etc.) was seeping into and out of room B3. (Now, if only we could find a way to store the energy that runs amok in elementary schools, I think we could really be onto something…)
Anyhow, I haven’t forgotten about you, though it may appear that way. I’ve still been cooking up a storm; however, I was in the market for a new camera lens, hence the hiatus (I would consider it sheer torture to read a food blog post without any accompanying pictures, wouldn’t you?) But alas, the search is over and I am ready to capture some gorgeous, delicious art! …
Is it really already August?! This is a special month, folks, as it marks Gouramanda’s 1-year anniversary! I can’t believe it’s already been a year. So much has happened! A year ago, Gouramanda was just a seed of an idea. I wasn’t quite sure what my end goal was (which is often still the case), but I realized if you do what you love and constantly seek growth with an open mind (watering and nourishing the seed) you will end up surprising yourself. As Julia Child put it, “You never know everything about anything, especially something you love.”…
Is it just me or does it seem like every other person I talk to is part of the Paleo diet craze? A few months ago, I wasn’t even sure what Paleo meant, so I wanted to do a bit of research before automatically discrediting it as a fad diet, which is something I am generally wary of. Anyhow, after further investigation, I now know that the basis of Paleo is pretty solid; it’s rich in whole fruits and vegetables, protein, and mono and polyunsaturated (good) fats. I am always trying to incorporate more plant-based food into my life and eliminate the processed junk. It can certainly pose a challenge, but the key is in the preparation. Let’s take this kale salad as an example. I used to think I hated kale. The word itself caused me to turn up my nose. Well, that’s no longer the case. This refreshing salad was a “kale game changer” for me, so to speak (which sounds like an oxymoron, but I am literally addicted.) Easy assembly and lasting freshness add extra bonus points to this healthy summer staple. It doesn’t wilt so you can eat it for days if you are so inclined! Who knew kale could taste so good? ¡Buen provecho!…
The first time I experienced the exquisite combination of cured pork and melon was while dining at a street side café in Oviedo, Spain. I can’t remember what course it was or the name of the restaurant, but I certainly recall how the unimaginably thin and salty slices of jamón iberico were draped over the sweet slices of piel de sapo melon. Perfection to the eyes and to the taste buds alike. My fiancé and I both laugh when we look back at pictures of ourselves in Spain because of how bloated we were due to the obscene amounts of jamón we consumed (well, it’s not all the jamón’s fault…)…
From summer sunshine and ample free time to benchmark testing and dry ice experiments, my life has done a complete 180 over the course of the past few weeks. The majority of my days now revolve around 29 fifth graders, and I love every lively second of it. While some might expect a certain mourning of my beloved college schedule to occur, I try to find the silver lining in every day, which isn’t very difficult to do, really. At least not yet!…