The Art and Life of Naomi Valdivia
This morning I was able to meditate and drink some matcha green tea. Surrounded by simple beauty and the leftovers of my kids playing back here during the summer, I was compelled to take pictures. Glad I did! I followed this by doing some yoga out here, as the sun was getting hot. Very intense. It’s like I could feel the Vitamin D and energy entering my body. Nice way to start the day!
Yassa Poulet (sometimes called Chicken Yassa) is a West African dish originally from Senegal, characterized by its spicy marinade of peppers, lemon, and onions. I was initially drawn to this dish because the marinade uses a crazy amount of onions, and they’re not wasted; instead, they are recombined with the chicken during cooking.
Many traditional recipes call for the chicken to be browned in a skillet and then braised with the marinade until tender. That sounds good, but our nice summer weather always compels me to grill, which left me with a conundrum; how do I reincorporate the onions into this dish after grilling? The answer turned out to be simple – caramelize the onions while the chicken is on the grill. Combining the sweet, delicate flavor of the caramelized onions and the bright, crispy grilled chicken was a pretty awesome move.
I’ve also found that this makes a…
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Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made with fried and smashed plantains. It is related to the West African staple starch dish called Fufu, originally made with yuca; slaves sent to the Caribbean originally brought this dish across the Atlantic.
Fufu made it into several Caribbean cuisines, with varying levels of alteration. In Cuba, it is known as Fufu de Platano, and in the Dominican Republic it carries the name Mangú. In Puerto Rico, it is almost always made with plantains, but yuca and breadfruit variations exist. The plantains are typically smashed using a wooden mortar and pestle called a pilon, and sometimes served directly in the pilon. My stone mortar and pestle gets the job done nicely.
There are many ways to enjoy Mofongo. It is often dipped in chicken broth or a sauce made with mayonnaise and ketchup (aptly called “mayoketchup”), or served with…
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I’ve tried food diaries in the past, but it’s too easy to sneak a few treats here and there, as well as forget to write it down after you eat it. Plus, you can twist the truth about portions and exact measurements. By taking pictures of everything that I consume throughout the day, there’s no lying! Trying out a new concept. I bet it will keep me from eating randomness throughout the day! Follow me at http://instagram.com/insta.food.diary or @insta.food.diary
Happy Monday everyone!
I had the opportunity to visit Carlos at his work. What a beautiful place! Pookie’s is a Thai place hidden in an office complex that is more of a nature sanctuary than any office complex I’ve very seen. Here’s a beautiful picture of our appetizer:
And here are some pics of the office complex:
Some of you may have read my previous post about Huggies® Snug & Dry Plus Diapers and Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes and what a great product it is. My son is still happy, clean and dry in his diapers! I wanat to share some great savings EXCLUSIVELY at your local Costco Warehouse. Get $6 off Huggies® Snug & Dry Plus Diapers and $5 off Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes!
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Savings valid 8/7-31
Here’s my Rocky playing care free with his Huggies® Snug & Dry Plus Diapers! He’s an active boy and these diapers provide complete protection with their trusted Leak Lock® system. They’re extremely comfortable and cloth like, so he’s happy all day long! Huggies Natural Care® Wipes are a dream come true, especially for the bigger messes. They’re thicker than standard baby wipes and don’t have that questionable chemical odor that other wipes have. So far both my toddler and myself have been very happy with both diapers and wipes from Huggies®!
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Using the Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes was like using pieces of wet thick, yet soft cloth. But of course, I don’t have to do laundry after these! The thickness of the wipes made it easy to clean up the mess. My son will be three in a few months, so dirty diapers can be an undertaking. These baby wipes clean efficiently without tearing. Huggies Natural Care® Plus Wipes come with 2 different kinds of refillable dispensers, plus 1160 refill wipes to ensure that you won’t run out at home or on the go. One of the refillable dispensers is the NEW Huggies® Clutch ‘n’ Clean* pouch, which makes it stylish to carry baby wipes wherever you are. The fun strap makes it accessible anywhere!
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Is it just me or are fast food companies making their already disgusting choices even worse? Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu? Subway’s nasty Fritos enchilada sandwich thingie, or Dominoes and their chicken dish that looks like puke on a paper towel? I expect cheeseburgers with way too much meat and cheese, but these places are taking these menus to new, nasty heights. It’s almost like they all got together and decided to market the most unappetizing recipes they could come up with and see if they could get people to want to buy them. Well done, guys. To anyone reading this, whether you eat organically or not, just based on how gross the food looks-don’t fall for the marketing. Think about what you’re spending money on and will be shoving down your throat. I swear, every time I see one of those commercials, my stomach turns!
I completely forgot my Friday post again but for good reason. We stayed up working on signs for the March Against Monsanto that happened worldwide on Saturday. So many people don’t know what corporations are doing to over 90% of the food we buy, and the worst types of GMO foods are being marketed and fed to our children! I’m not trying to guilt people for not eating organic 100% of the time, but I am trying to help educate people so that they can make an informed decision about what they eat and feed their families, instead of blind consumerism. Check out the pics from our march here in Ventura, CA!
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