Everyday life

This is how we started; “peel the garlic” my mom said to me. Then, she starts to wash, peel, chop, boil and grate… meanwhile, I still peeling garlic.  

All right, maybe I am overstating, but it is very close to reality, trust me. The truth is I am really slow; I take my time to do things carefully and well. That is why I missed what was happening, as well as the details and little secrets of the homemade cuisine.

I must make an effort to pay attention, if I want to learn to cook. Because I have a very loose memory, it helped me to have a notebook and pen to write down every single recipe.

It’s not all bad though. For peel garlic, I learn a trick; however is not a new one. Before I used only a knife, now, it is all about garlic crush, and let me tell you… it is more fun! 

I have a pasta recipe, but I will not give you today. I still have to translate the entire recipe and it is a lot a work to do. Please accept my apologies.

Trial and Error

Usually, I am not very good making dessert, believe me. Consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know, I ruined it. For example, if the recipe requires four egg yolks, I use two whole eggs, logical in my view. Naturally goes wrong and I conclude by saying to myself “I’m no good at this thing”.  The next day I get over it and get back in the kitchen. 

I know the principal idea was to do mom’s recipe, but sometimes I like to experiment. Today I really want to make something with chocolate, but I didn´t know what to do. I found the solution, Hervé This’ Chocolate Mousse. Amazing how easy it is, use water and chocolate only. Really blows my mind.  

With this recipe, you thought that the most important is chocolate, I agree, but a whisk is the key, I think. It’s not so obvious. I try with an electric mixer, doesn’t work, the texture becomes grainy, I don’t like it. 

I love to see the mixture thickens before my eyes. It’s exciting. I am crazy about simplicity and this is so simple!

It is important choose a high quality chocolate. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow this friendly advice. So I got a mousse with a good texture like I wanted it, but without chocolate’s exquisite taste.

Here we go!

Chop the chocolate. Pour chocolate and water in a saucepan. Stirring with a wire whisk until chocolate is melted. Put the saucepan into a bowl filled with ice cubes, and then whisk again. Continue until desired consistency.

Done!

 

I feel Powerful

A long time ago my mom told me some advice, Fried eggs over low heat. Maybe is not the right way, but I put it in practice and it worked. Previously I cooked fried eggs over high heat. Hot oil always splatters and I don’t like it. I think nobody likes that. Till today I guess it is a good tip. Also I take it for other recipe: Omelet, or as I know “tortilla”.

If you ask me I don’t know where my mother got this version. She adopts and adapts. So this version is too easy that I did so and succeeded, with method that I told you already. I felt powerful. I will not give numbers, only ingredients. I know it is unorthodox, but it’s like when you serve for yourself a meal, you will serve until it is enough.  In case, I just want to tell you a little secret; you will need an egg for person at least.

The reason why I love it, is because onion and parsley. Onion gives such a crunchy feeling and sweet flavor, but parsley is the stars in this recipe, because if I do not have any I do not make it. It is that simple!

Tortilla

·       Eggs

·       Onion

·       Cooked –deli- ham

·       Parsley

·       Salt

Chop the onion and parsley. Grating (or chop) cooked deli ham. Mix all of them in a bowl with the eggs and salt.

In a hot pan add as little bit of cooking oil. Lower heat to medium-low, then put the mixture and cook until well browned on both side. Serve.

Opening

First of all, I’m sorry. English is no my native language; even I try my best to write well. This is a sort of experiment, a double experiment I had to say. So the idea is I want to learn how to cook homemade recipes and the other hand I want to improve (a lot) my English.  My mom cooks very well; she is a kind of person that everything goes right. I think she has no one but two superpowers. The first “al ojo por ciento” it translate literally (I think) “the percent eye” it means that she can cook without measure at all, for example when she make a cake she adds flour until seems enough. It is not the best method but usually works.  The second “sazón” this is a word that I can’t translate for many reasons, it difficult to find a word that fit and the sound in Spanish is stronger like I want it. I can only explain this with an illustration. Picture this: I follow the same recipe soup that she does, with same ingredient, same everything. But when I finish my soup is pretty bad and bland, but her soup is delicious, is perfect, so different. So she is going to teach me all about cook, and I hope you are going to teach me (or correct me) all about the other thing. I beg you not be compassion with little thing, but please be polite.

That said; you can call me RV.