Cupid and Dia de Amor y Amistad

In our culture, we have what we call Dia de Amor y Amistad (Day of Love and Friendship). It's an excuse for me to do something a little different.....make treats to share and celebrate amistad (friendship).

 

I got some really fresh strawberries, at the local market.

 

 

I went ahead and got some butterscotch chips, to decorate the beautiful strawberries.

 

 

Of course, it just does not feel right without the traditional chocolate but I wanted something different for the chocolate so butterscotch it was. The melting began.

 

 

I wanted some different toppings too so I grabbed some Macadamia nuts and put them in a zip-lock bag.

 

I took a rolling pin and crushed them in the zip-lock bag.

 

For those that followed me on My Real Life Mi Vida Real, you may have seen that one of my last posts on that blog was my practicing cracking walnuts. I found the perfect reason to use them. 

 

I put those in a zip-lock bag and crushed them too. One can never have too many toppings for a girl's treat, I mean for Cupid treats.

 

It was time to start dipping and it all came together so perfectly. Melted chocolate and then butterscotch, or butterscotch then chocolate....just to shake it up a bit.

 

Later, I wanted to try making some squiggles, so I did......just for fun because obviously, I was not going for perfection. I mean strawberries and chocolate are already perfect so you cannot really mess that combination up.

 

 

I wanted to make them a bit nutty, so I did.

 

My 2.14, or Dia de Amor y Amistad, is not real until it includes some red velvet.

 

No difficult recipe or from scratch anything required. Duncan Hines has a little box and a genius added some magical stuff that results in pretty close to perfect red velvet. I added the icing for the cheating on the diet friends, and for the extra love of course. 

 

All the other days I diet, or I mean live the better life style.........but not on 2.14. I added some crushed nuts, just like so.

 

Good crushed walnuts and macadamia nuts.

 

I boxed some of it up and all I need now is Cupid and some diet cheating friends to celebrate Dia de Amor y Amistad with some good American tradition.

 

Come on Cupid, your treats await and bring some pretty flowers to make it look good.

 

Feliz Dia de Amor y Amistad!

Scallops

It was a rough start to the day in this panhandle area. Too bad we cannot all have snowmobiles, but a good Chevy works too.

 

 

I decided to have some scallops with snow peas for dinner. First, I steamed snow peas.

 

 

I then put the steamed snow peas, walnuts, and sliced almonds, some blush wine, with the scallops.

 

 

I added Agave nectar and some pancake syrup, until it caramelized and the wine had disappeared. Voila, dinner was served.  

 

Discada

Greetings readers!

 

I wanted some good home-made food. I made my version of Discada. I have to give credit to an old neighbor of mine, Alma or mi vecinita. I always think of her when I make this dish and my thoughts are always fun and good to remember.

 

I like to say that Discada is a poor woman's barbecue, or man too. In Mexican Spanish we have discos, disks, that we use for cooking sometimes. I do not mean the type you put in a computer either. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discada,

 

      "The disk for cooking the meats is usually a disk harrow made of either      iron or steel. Shaped like a Chinese Wok, the disk provides an even heat distribution ideal for cooking.^[2] The cast iron also provides a robust, earthy flavor to food cooked in this fashion. The original concave disk shape is unaltered, however the disk can have handles or a tripod welded to it for easy access."

 

I found the following Discada definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discada:

      "Discada is a mixed meat dish popular in the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Nuevo León. The dish includes a mixture of grilled meats cooked on an agricultural plow disk harrow, hence its name. The basic meats for a traditional discada include beef (usually a flank cut), bacon, ham, sausage, and Mexican chorizo.^[1] The disk is placed over an open flame, and the ingredients are introduced one at a time. The meats are seasoned and marinated according to the cook's preference and usually include salt, pepper, lime juice, and garlic. Aromatics including white or purple onions, bell peppers, Jalapeno or Serrano peppers, and tomatoes are also used to add flavor and color to the dish. It is usually served with tortillas in tacos or separately on a plate..."

 

In my one-man kitchen, I took a short cut and just used a skillet on the stove-top. I skipped all the propane and disk over open flame process.

 

You will need your favorite uncooked flank steak, bacon, and chorizo (Mexican sausage).

 

First, you get your bacon and chorizo ready to cook.

 

 

Cut the bacon in small cubes. Cook the bacon first. While your bacon is cooking rough chop your flank steak.

 

 

Once the bacon is cooked then add the chorizo, your favorite brand works just fine.

 

 

After the chorizo cooks with the bacon then add your rough chopped flank steak to cook all together. Cook to your desired liking, medium or well done (I recommend).  

 

Below, you can see the hot steam off freshly cooked meats. The smell is heavenly and if there was some type of app or way to share that then I would, but you may use your imagination if needed. 

 

 

Ready to serve. Serve on a hot corn tortilla.

 

 

You may top with guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheddar, onions, and your favorite hot sauce. This makes for a poor woman's exceptional taco.

 

When sharing with Alma, we always had this chile de Arbol hot sauce that we made with tomatillo. Yum, though I skipped this atomic recipe due to doctor's orders-you peel and boil tomatillos. Take boiled tomatillos, some dried chile de Arbol, one or two garlic cloves, and dried chile Japonés and add to a blender and chop/puree.

 

Until next time, enjoy.