So here's the plan

A lot of bloggers have been hosting incredible giveaways lately. Mrs. B has kept it up all throughout the month of October and I think she should be commended. She's put a lot of hard work and a lot of thought into this month. Plus, the people who sponsored giveaways have donated some amazing stuff. I won a great hat and will post pictures of myself wearing it as soon as it arrives.

All these giveaways have made me think about getting on the bandwagon. I live in Turkey, as most of you probably already know. That means shipping things costs a good bit and it takes 2-3 weeks for things to arrive. However, I send a box home for the holidays and will be sending out the annual box o' goodies sometime next month. What I do is included addresses and lists of who gets what and my mom is kind enough to send things to their final destinations once the box reaches the United States.

I would like to send a few Turkish goodies to someone. I was thinking of doing this if I reach 100 followers by, oh, mid-November. I'll send the box around the end of the month so it gets to the States on time. I have about 55 followers via Facebook now, I think. I don't know much about the random choosing and such but I can learn about proper giveaway hosting as time goes on. So, what do you all say? Care to spread the word about my silly little blog? I know it's not much, but I really don't know a lot about the world of technology. I just do the best I can and try to include pictures and stuff when I think about it.

I'm still working on my cookbook idea, but now that I've started teaching again, I've been using all my spare time to decompress and not think about classes! Plus, several recipes still need more testing and I can't test all of them where I am, due to lack of proper ingredients.

Y'all think about it while I go attempt to teach reading skills to my chilluns and I'll be back later. Ta!

Quick Question

I have a question for the more computer savvy of you. How does one go about making a blogger button? I have some buttons for the other sites that I visit, but I've no clue as to how or where they were made. How is it done?

Fanx! :)=

Fruits of the Season - Pomegranates

I am so happy that pomegranate season is here! I adore those lovely little seeds surrounded by juicy, garnet flesh. I've been meaning to get to a pomegranate post for a while now, but I first wanted to find a pomegranate seed meditation to share with you all. The one I had in mind is by Cait Johnson and it's in her Witch in the Kitchen book, which I don't have with me. I brought a few of my books back from the U.S. with me this summer, but I didn't have room for them all.

Anyway...pomegranates! In Turkish the word is "nar" and freshly-squeezed, antioxidant-rich juice is available all over the place these days. It's a beautiful deep ruby, deeper than blood.

Pomegranate juice is a symbol of blood, of life. The fruit itself is reminiscent of the womb, while the inside reminds me of an ovary, with the seeds representing the eggs. Seeds and eggs are both potential life forms, waiting for something to allow the life force within to burst forth and grow. It's no wonder the pomegranate is a symbol of fertility.



Pomegranates in Myth and Religion

Many of you know the story of Persephone and how she was abducted and taken to the Underworld. Her mother, Demeter, was distraught. She searched everywhere for Persephone, and in her sadness, refused to allow anything to grow. Zeus, in response to the cries of the hungry, forced the god of the Underworld to return Persephone. However, the Fates dictated that whoever ate or drank while in the underworld would have to remain. Persephone, having been tricked into eating a few pomegranate seeds, had to return to the underworld for part of the year - one month for each seed she consumed.

According to the Qur'an, pomegranates grow in the gardens of paradise.

In Judaism, pomegranate seeds are eaten at Rosh Hashana. The fruit is a symbol of fruitfulness. The symbol of the pomegranate is woven into the hem of the robe worn by the Hebrew High Priest. The pomegranate is also used in Christian religious decoration.

For Samhain

The pomegranate is a great food choice for Samhain. Decorate your altar with whole and cut pomegranates. Use the seeds as part of your ritual and simple feast. The red juice symbolizes the blood of life that continues throughout the coming winter.

The seeds can be consumed for physical or spiritual fertility. As you eat the seeds, think about Persephone and her time spent as Queen of the Underworld. Think about how this dark time of year is a time for reflection, a time to draw inside yourself and think about the goals you wish to realize in the coming year.

Here is a recipe that combines pomegranate seeds and nuts, both traditional foods for Samhain. Make these for your Dia de los Muertos celebration if you observe it.


Chiles en Nogada (Chiles in Walnut Sauce)
*Featured in Como Agua Para Chocolate


Chiles en Nogada (Chilies in Walnut Sauce)




You must start this dish one day ahead by soaking the walnuts for the nogada sauce overnight.
Ingredients

The Picadillo:
2 lbs of boneless pork
1/2 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbsp salt, or to taste

6 Tbsp of lard or the fat from the broth
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
The cooked meat (about 3 cups - note if you use more than 3 cups, you will need to increase the amounts of the other ingredients)
A molcajete (mortar and pestle)
8 peppercorns
5 whole cloves
1/2 inch stick cinnamon
3 heaping Tbsp of raisins
2 Tbsp blanched and slivered almonds
2 heaping Tbsp acitron or candied fruit, chopped
2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 pear, cored, peeled and chopped
1 peach, pitted, peeled and chopped
Method

1 Cut the meat into large cubes. Put them into the pan with the onion, garlic, and salt and cover with cold water. Bring the meat to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer until just tender - about 40-45 minutes. Do not over cook. Leave the meat to cool off in the broth.

2 Strain the meat, reserving the broth, then shred or chop it finely and set it aside. Let the broth get completely cold and skim off the fat. Reserve the fat.

3 Melt the lard and cook the onion and garlic, without browning, until they are soft.

4 Add the meat and let it cook until it begins to brown.

5 Crush the spices roughly in the molcajete and add them, with the rest of the ingredients to the meat mixture. (If you don't have a molcajete, you can use the blunt end of a pestle to crush the spices in a bowl.) Cook the mixture a few moments longer.

6 Add chopped peach and pear to the mixture.

The Chilies:
7 Put 6 chiles poblanos (and you MUST use this type of chili) straight into a fairly high flame or under a broiler and let the skin blister and burn. Turn the chiles from time to time so they do not get overcooked or burn right through. (See How to roast chile peppers over a gas flame tutorial using Anaheim chiles.)

8 Wrap the chiles in a damp cloth or plastic bag and leave them for about 20 minutes. The burned skin will then flake off very easily and the flesh will become a little more cooked in the steam. Make a slit in the side of each chili and carefully remove the seeds and veins. Be careful to leave the top of the chili, the part around the base of the stem, intact. (If the chilies are too hot - picante, let them soak in a mild vinegar and water solution for about 30 minutes.) Rinse the chilies and pat them dry.

9 Stuff the chilies with the picadillo until they are well filled out. Set them aside on paper towels.

The Nogada (walnut sauce)
The day before:
20 to 25 fresh walnuts, shelled
cold milk

10 Remove the thin papery skin from the nuts. (Note, these are Diana Kennedy's instructions. I have found it virtually impossible to remove the skins from the fresh walnuts that come from our walnut tree. The above photo shows the sauce which includes the skins. I think it would be creamier without the skins, but what can you do? We found that blanching the walnuts did not help get the skin off. Completely cover the walnuts with cold milk and leave them to soak overnight.

On serving day:
The soaked and drained nuts
1 small piece white bread without crust
1/4 lb queso fresco
1 1/2 cups thick sour creme (or creme fraiche)
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
Large pinch of cinnamon

11 Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until they are smooth.

To Serve
To assemble the dish, cover the chilies in the nogada sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley leaves and pomegranate seeds.


** Recipe source: www.simplyrecipes.com

Are Your Bones Chilled?

Is your spine tingling yet? Has your blood curdled due to the frightening pre-Halloween activities? Well, if so, I have concocted yet another hot chocolate recipe that will warm you through and through. Warning: This is a seriously spicy brew, so serve it if Samhain is chilly in your part of the world.

Zedral Z's Chocolate (pseudo)Mexicano:

1 1/3 cups milk
2-3 teaspoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
2 teaspoons good quality cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed hot chili (a pinch, really)

Extracts:
Vanilla
Almond

Measure these in the little caps from the bottles. You want less than 1/2 a capful, say 1/8 teaspoon or just slightly under

Heat the milk on low heat. Whisk in the other ingredients and warm until bubbles form along the sides of your pan. Remember to heat the milk slowly and whisk often. You don't want the milk to scald and form that weird skin on top.

Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish it with a cinnamon stick, sprinkle of cinnamon, chocolate curls, or whatever you fancy. Me, I drink mine plain. I'm having some right now and getting ready to watch a scary movie.

Bonus: Serve this one to a loved one to increase passion. Cinnamon, chocolate and chili together make a potent combination.

More Halloween Goodies - Eyeball Tacos

Since Halloween/Samhain is almost upon us, I thought I would devote another entry or two to fun foods for your celebration in addition to the posts about seasonal fruits and other edibles.

As I've mentioned before, I intend to put a Mexican twist on my Halloween party this year and sort of combine Halloween/Samhain and El Dia de los Muertos for my own personal celebration as well.

If you are interested in my hot chocolate recipe, Mrs. B has it in her 31 Days of Halloween archives under Oct. 15. You can leave out the instant coffee and add a pinch of hot red chili and a couple of drops of almond extract instead. Voila! Yummy Mexican-ish hot chocolate.

One of my previous entries included the black bean recipe I plan on using. Something else to do, especially if you're a sucker for Halloween-themed spooky/gross recipe ideas like I am is EYEBALL TACOS!

Since I'll be serving the beans wrapped in tortillas, I may just make my "eyeballs" without the benefit of a wrap. You, however, can use corn taco shells if you can find them. I, unfortunately, have only seen them at one store and they were verrry expensive.

For the EYEBALLS

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely minced onion (use a food processor if you have one)
1 envelope taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 F (If you need Celsius conversions, please let me know and I can find them for you. I'm sorry for forgetting!) Lightly oil a cookie sheet.

Put your finely minced onions into a skillet with about a tablespoon of oil and saute lightly for 3-4 minutes. Add to the rest of the ingredients. Combine with your hands and roll into 1 1/4 - 1 1/2-inch balls. Bake for about 12 minutes. This should yield somewhere between 12-14 meatballs, depending on how big you make them.

To serve these gruesome tacos:

Spread your taco shells with some refried beans (or my Halloween black bean dip) if desired. Add some shredded lettuce and grated cheese. Turn the taco shell on its side and tuck in two of the taco eyeballs. Add a tiny dollop of sour cream to each eyeball and decorate with a sliced olive iris. Bleack! I mean, Yum! Serve with extra sour cream and some salsa, if desired.



*Photo courtesy of Kraft, who recommends those nasty frozen meatballs.

My Favorite Curry

I decorated my blog for Halloween. Whaddya think? I've always loved zombie movies. I've been looking for the perfect zombie design for a tattoo and I rather like the zombie pinup style, don't you?

Anyroad, in honor of Halloween, I thought I would share with you a recipe for my very favorite curry. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

1 small can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1in piece root ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 mild green chilis
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground turmeric
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp yogurt
1 lime (or lemon)
a small bunch of coriander (cilantro) leaves
cooked Basmati rice, to serve

And the ingredient that really gives this recipe pizazz:




AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Get it? My favorite 'Curry'? Tim Curry! *wipes away a tear*
Well, I thought it was funny...

So, the first thing you need to do is catch your Curry. If you go to Los Angeles you stand a pretty good chance of bagging the Curry. Once you have coerced (or forced at gunpoint, whatever) the Curry into the trunk of your car, you must dispatch of it quickly. Curry is like lobster, almost. You really have to have it fresh. I recommend a quick blow to the head.

Next, you will have to wash your Curry. Rinse it well under warm running water. Don't scrub or you'll lose some of the flavor.

After the Curry has been rinsed and patted dry, you will have to shave the Curry. It can be a bit fuzzy, and wiry beard hairs are *not* good eating. Shave the Curry well and give it another quick rinse.

Next, take your sharpest, heaviest cleaver. You will also need your everyday kitchen chainsaw and/or hacksaw to cut the Curry into manageable pieces. I recommend 1 1/2-inch rounds for the arms and slightly larger on the legs. Don't worry about the bones, as they will be easy to remove once the meat is cooked.

As for the torso, I like to save half of it for stock and cut the rest into 2-inch cubes. This will take some time, as the meat will most likely be rather tough. Discard as much of the fat as possible. Save the organ meats for giblet stuffing for Thanksgiving.

Once your Curry is cut into nice cubes, you can begin preparing your sauce.


Finely chop your onion and fry it in a heavy pot for about 10 minutes, until it is soft and slightly golden. Add the garlic.

Grate the ginger or use a food processor. Finely chop the chili, removing the seeds if desired. If the chilis are very hot, you may wish to wear a disposable pair of latex gloves.

Add this mixture to the onions and garlic. Fry for a minute or two, then add the spices and fry for an additional 2 minutes. Don't let the spices stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Tip in the tomatoes and water. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add your Curry, cover and allow to cook for 30-40 minutes until tender. Stir in the yogurt and lime juice and taste for seasoning. Serve over cooked Basmati rice.

*Please note your Curry may taste faintly of Marlboro Reds. This is normal. He would enjoy being served with a full-bodied red wine.