Living on $2.50 a day

This morning I was scrounging the pantry for something to eat, and nearly came to the conclusion that I didn't have anything.  Then I remembered one of my favorite meals; rice and beans. It is easy, good and way cheap.  I used pinto beans since that's what I had, and spiced them up with paprika, pepper, and a Chiltepin pepper.  This is considered one of the hottest peppers in the World so only one the size of a pea was enough for the whole dish.

Turned out great, and can't believe I almost thought there was nothing to eat when I could make one of the most consumed meals on the planet.  Sometimes we lose sight of how wealthy we really are, and think there is nothing to eat in a pantry filled with food.  Over three billion people (half the earth) live on less than $2.50 a day.  I bet they could find some meals in my pantry.

Ballast Point Smoked Lager

I ran into this Abandon Ship Smoked Lager at Green's in Columbia SC.  I first had some brews from Ballast Point when I was visiting my brother in San Diego a few years ago.  This was a cool brewery that was inside a home brew shop.  They had tastings and growlers, but not really a bar.  Now my growler station in Columbia has picked up a keg which is awesome.  Growlers really are taking over, cans and bottles are going the way of Urban Meyer.

Scotch on the snow

You don't get many chances at this in Greensboro NC, but this weekend provided a rare opportunity.  On the snow is Dewers which is an especially snow worthy Scotch.  Had I known I was drinking this on the eve of Josh McDaniel's final day at the Broncos, believe me I would have had another.

Butternut squash soup

After having some butternut squash soup at Whole Foods last week, I decided to make a little for myself.  This time without the unshaven pretentious college dropouts that inhabit an otherwise good grocery spot.    I mean really, who eats vegan buffalo wings.  My soup was pretty easy and was in no way a political statement. I didn't really have a recipe but here are the basics.  Now I get to eat it in my hotel room for a few days and don't have to go out.   

1 butternut squash peeled and seeded

1 onion

fresh garlic

salt/pepper

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoon thyme

chicken broth

Once cooked and pureed, add some cream, brown sugar and butter

Y Fenni - Red Dragon Cheese

 Bush tax cuts are extended, time to break out the $25/lb cheese. This is a great cheddar cheese with mustard seeds and Welsh ale. I like cheese and beer and when you put them together that works too. I would really like to try this on a grilled ham and cheese some day.

Coffee Cake

I made this Bisquick coffee cake for breakfast this morning. Not everything has to be super hard or time consuming to be good. Some things just require butter and a hot cup of coffee. Both went perfect with the Sunday Morning Show and a snow covered yard.

Cookie day 2010

Yesterday was cookie day 2010, the twenty-first consecutive year my mom and her friends have got together to bake Christmas cookies. While I did not bake anything, as I usually do not, I continued to serve in my all-important role of tester. This year I helped cook a little lunch to keep the bakers well nourished and a maximum production. Here are a few pics of the results, which I've been grazing on every few hours since.

BBQ Pork and shrimp - Pho Viet

Second time to the Vietnamese place for lunch this week. Had the Pho the first time, which was much better than this. Both left me with a mouth of fire from the Sriracha sauce.

Duck Confit at Hunter Gatherer

Enjoyed this duck confit at the Hunter Gatherer in Columbia SC for dinner tonight. Duck was atop a polenta which didn't go to well with my low carb diet, but neither did the Ye Olde Bastarde ale I took down with it. Sometimes you just have to get a good meal and a good beer and shelve the low carb B/S. Finished off the other half of my growler from last night for good measure.

Butternut squash soup

It's finally getting cold in Columbia, so I've been craving some soup all morning. This is a pretty good apple butternut squash soup from Earth Fare. Just glad my organic bowl didn't have a Wikileak in it.

Growler stations reduce the deficit

Now that we're in the middle of the depths of a long harsh winter, it's time for an Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Although the winter stuff's not true here in Columbia, maybe the real catalyst is the store next to my hotel that has a growler station with growlers for only $10. Maybe one day we can live in a World where growler stations will outnumber gas stations. The first politician to propose that gets my vote in the next election. This could allow a savings so substantial that we may not have to freeze federal employee salaries or raise the retirement age to 150.

Day after Thanksgiving

Day after Thanksgiving included a big plate of leftovers for lunch, that's a given. For dinner however, braised lamb shanks were the centerpiece. They were braised in red wine, beef and chicken stock, and spiced with fresh rosemary, thyme, garlic and onions. They were delicious and went great with a bottle of Pinot and some Champagne cocktails.

Thanksgiving

Once again, ate way way too much food. Also as usual had to fight dad off from trying to cut the turkey right out of the oven. Crazy how he can sit in a recliner all day long, then the second a piece of meat comes out of the oven he springs up and is ready to slice like Edward Scissor hands. Next year I may cook a Cornish hen on the side just so he can have something to slice on while the other meats rests a bit. Pictures include sausage dressing, and cheddar pineapple casserole with cranberries. Not pictured were the stuffing (must go inside the turkey to be called stuffing), cheese onions, cranberries, acorn squash, and mashed potatoes of course. Desert was a chocolate bread with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

One down, one to go

Enjoying some brews at Hunter Gatherer in Columbia SC. Had a pale ale and their Ye Olde Bastarde. Pale ale has great balance and the Bastarde is pretty much a porter. Best part is you don't have to go through a 20 page beer menu like Flying Saucer, and watch some duffis stand on a table to get his "I drank 150 different beers" plaque. When I finish a 150 beers, I go for a whiz and start over, no ceremony necessary.

Chicken salad in a Cantaloupe

Gourmet shop in Columbia again. I've had this twice now and it was great both times. As suspected, ordering fresh fruit in the winter is a gamble. I'm 50/50 on the cantaloupe actually being ripe, but good none the less.

Gourmet Shop in Columbia SC

Fast becoming my favorite lunch spot in Columbia the Gourmet Shop knows how to make some soup. Forgot what the sandwich tasted like before I finished swallowing, but the red pepper Gouda soup will occupy a place in my palate memory for some time to come. Texture was very different with little pieces of unmelted cheese to go along with great red pepper flavor.

Meat and cheese in Columbia

Found a new gourmet shop in Columbia that required my patronage. Had some meat and cheese for dinner in the room, of course with a little wine to accompany. The prosciutto was a La Quercia Coppa Americana and the cheese was an aged Mimolette. The prosciutto was not too salty, and perfect on the bread. Cheese was very mild and not so hard I couldn't chew it. Supposedly Mimolette was originally made as a request of King Louis XIV. Now I want to try the cognac that carries this cheese connoisseur's name.

Kung Fu Academy

Right above "my" Starbucks in Columbia. Just incase you need a little extra kick in the morning.

Cheeseburger w/fried egg

This is one of my favorite burgers, and especially for breakfast. Goes perfect with a Belgian beer.

Brats in Columbia

Had some Brats at the Flying Saucer in Columbia SC. Not nearly as good as the Maredsous 8 Belgian Beer I had, but what really is. This place has about 200 beers, and not one of them is Bud Light. Here's to you lots of beer place, kicking some Bud Light ass every day of the week.

Chili

Made some chili to bring in the fall and to go with some Sunday afternoon football. There are probably 1000's of ways to make chili, but the recipe I used was my family recipe with one can of kidney beans substituted for pinto beans. Other than that, topping it with Frito's is a must in my opinion.

Barleywine Sunday Football

What's better to get the fall started off right than some home-brewed barleywine and an afternoon of football? Nothing, that's why I'm doing it.

Cooking Scallops

Cooked a bunch of seafood for dinner last night, and finally mastered the scallop. I've cooked these many times before, but was never able to really get them right. First to know on cooking scallops is don't over cook them, seriously only about 2 min a side. Next is don't use too much butter or oil, you just need enough to prevent them from sticking not enough to baste them. Finally, and what I was missing was don't use a non-stick pan. Use something that will get a little char going, and create the perfectly browned scallop. They can also be wrapped in bacon and broiled, that's perfectly acceptable too. Also had a king crab leg and baby lobster tail to go with it.

French Toast

Don't throw away leftover French bread, when you can have this for breakfast. I made this quick French toast for breakfast with some leftover French bread from my spaghetti and meatballs. For the batter, I used egg, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Not pictured is the giant slab of butter slathered on every piece.

Meatballs

Inspired by the current issue of Bon Appetit, I made my first batch of meatballs. Not really too hard, as long as you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty. By dirty, I mean squeezing raw meat and egg through your fingers. This recipe was half pork and half beef and has the meatballs cooked in the sauce. The sauce was good, but next time I'll probably make something a little more adventurous on the sauce front. Glad I gave them a shot, and will be making more in the near future I'm sure.

Prime Rib

Love some prime rib, especially when someone else cooks it and invites you over for dinner. My friends Mark and Ashley invited me over for dinner last week and had this gem piece waiting when I got there. The beef was awesome, and so was the salad which had grilled pear and blue cheese for a topping.

Pumpkin Break

Had this big piece of pumpkin bread at Boston Common Coffee Co for breakfast. Haven't had a good piece of this since freshman year of college when my roommate's mom used to bring it to us.

Ahh Bordeaux

Ahh some Bordeaux at my Columbia wine spot. Food doesn't compare to the wine, but the hummus with a little olive oil on top hit the spot after a grueling run in humid Columbia. Actually had to have a second to make sure I liked it, and turns out I did.

Cooking with spices

Had this great meal Sunday night. Got some spices and a new cookbook for my birthday so tried to make use of both. The spices below were used for the kabobs and were clockwise, starting with the orange turmeric, garlic powder, garam masala, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt, and paprika. The lentils were cooked with onion, garlic, carrot, tomatoes, and spiced with thyme and garam masala. Looking forward to spicing things up a bit in the near future, and gaining an understanding of why people were willing to sail across oceans in the 1400's just to spice things up a little.

Youngsville Lamb Chops

Absolutely best lamb chop in Youngsville, not to mention the greater NC Piedmont. Gigi's Bistro has something special going in this small spot in downtown Youngsville. The chop was crusted in thyme and mustard sauce and cooked perfectly. It also came with polenta which was crisped to perfection.

Fried chicken?

Nope, fried duck at the Mr Friendly's in Columbia SC. Fried to a perfect medium this made the perfect lunch with some mashed potatoes.

Hotel Sandwich

Just because you live in a hotel doesn't mean you can't make a mean sandwich. This one is chicken and Havarti with sprouts and tomatoes on multi grain bread. Bread sorta sucked so I had to heat it in the microwave for a bit and put on a decent amount of hot honey mustard to make it palatable. In the end, not a bad sandwich and way healthier than going out every night which I'm growing tired of. In Columbia anyhow.

Broccoli Robb ravioli

Had this for dinner the the night at Gervais and Vine in Columbia SC. Overall, very bitter as I had expected, but even more so with the addition of the watercress.

Peach Tilapia Salad

Had this peach tilapia salad at Mr Friendly's in Columbia SC. Great lunch salad that is a full out meal. The raisins obviously had to be pushed aside so as not to gag me. Can't see it, but it also has some blue cheese and candied pecans.

Clam Chowder and Grouper

Had an excellent clam chowder the other night. First time making this, and glad I did because it was great and pretty easy. Used this recipe from Epicurious and added a can of corn and left out the Sherry. For the grouper, I cooked it after a dish I had at Il Migliore in Miami which I was fortunate enough to enjoy a few months back. I salted the grouper well, then pan fried it in some great olive oil. When it was about done, in another pan I sauteed some chopped garlic, grape tomatoes, and basil. That's all there is to it, and it only takes about 5 minutes for a simple but awesome grouper entree. Sometimes it's not about fancy sauces or marinating something in some overpowering marinade for 4 days, but just some great ingredients, proper seasoning and a good frying pan. And good wine of course.

Smoked salmon

Back from a recent trip to Colorado where I smoked some salmon, I still had a taste for it with more dill butter of course. This one was topped with dill, olive oil, and lemons before smoking. It smoked for about an hour and a half, which is the max. Next time I'd do a little less to make it more of a medium. The potatoes were cooked in the smoker for a while as well with olive oil and rosemary. My summer favorite is brochette which only works with great tomatoes and good olive oil. I had good olive oil so I made due with the crap tomatoes from the Harris Teeter.