Tag Archives: homecook

Traditional Tuesday – Carbonara

Posted on by

Ten years ago I have had the privilege of traveling to Italy for vacation. At time the Euro was stronger than the dollar so most things were pricey. Throughout my time there, I was approached as being “giapponese” which means Japanese. I went to Rome, Florence, Umbria, Vatican City and Pisa. We went to many churches, most of them were labelled as minor basilicas. We attended many masses unintentionally, maybe it was a blessing. A lot of people spoke English but they don’t want to speak English, so I spent time during my 9 hour flight there learning the basics and if I can’t speak it in Italian, I spoke Spanish. We hit the major tourist spots such as the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square, Duomo, Tower of Pisa and Spanish Steps.

Now to the food, I have the privilege of tasting authentic Italian cuisine and wine throughout the trip. Given the cost of food, I resorted to what the Italian’s call “the poor man’s food” – Spaghetti Carbonara.

What is Spaghetti Carbonara?

Carbonara is a dish that consists of eggs, spaghetti (any pasta), cheese and leftover pancetta, guanciale or bacon. This dish was invented by a chef from Bologna, Italy named Renato Gualandi in 1944 just approximately at the end of World War II. During this time access to food and resources were very limited and he had a banquet to prepare for. Therefore, “he concocted a sauce for spaghetti made of bacon, cream, processed cheese and dried egg yolk, topped with a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper”.

During quarantine I’ve been creating dishes with the food that we have. I had leftover bacon along with onions, cheese, eggs and pasta so I made carbonara. I searched for authentic recipes and I came across the simple recipe from Lidia Bastianich and I almost followed it to the “T”. So here is what I did:

Ingredients set up: bacon, onions, whole grain spaghetti, olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, two eggs (yolks were used), salt and pepper.
1) Boil water 2) Chop bacon and cook it over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes.
Push the bacon to the side and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions for five minutes.
As the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Combine the bacon and onions. Ladle 2-4 cups of pasta water (depending on serving size) to the bacon and onions.
Bring it to a boil and reduce.
Whisk egg yolks and add 1/2 cup of hot pasta water.
After the pasta is cooked add it to the bacon and onion mixture. Combine until well mixed.
Remove from heat and immediately add in the egg yolks. Stir until it’s creamy.
Add parmesan cheese and toss.
Serve immediately!!

Recently, I came across a recipe that was a low carb and even keto friendly from Food & Wine called: Asparagus Carbonara. There are so many health benefit to consuming asparagus. Asparagus contain antioxidants, which prevents inflammation, improve the immune system, remove excess water from the body. They treat ulcers, kidney stones, and depression. They also lower sugar levels, prevent wrinkles and breakouts, maintain skin elasticity and improve reproductive health. So, here is what I did with this recipe provided by Melissa Clark from Food & Wine magazine.

Heat skillet and cook chopped bacon for approximately 4-5 minutes.
Add asparagus and two tablespoons of water. Cook for 2-4 minutes.
Remove from the heat immediately and add the egg yolks with butter. Note: Pan was still hot and the egg yolks started to cook.
After the butter is melted, add in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
Toss and serve immediately!!

For the last 75 plus years, carbonara has become a staple dish in Roman Italian cuisine. The dish is easy to make and it does not break the bank, therefore it is budget friendly. I am happy to be finally posting and blessed to do it on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Cheers! Enjoy! God Bless you all!

“COVID-19 Lockdown” Game Plan Week 2

Posted on by

Happy to say that Week 1 of the COVID-19 Lockdown was about 80% successful. I have been able to keep up with the steps which is essentially my meal schedule rather than food prep because my brain was not there to organize my meals. Part of that is just getting back into the groove and gaining momentum to eventually food prep for bigger and better meals.

Here are my pictures from last week’s game plan meals including the Rye French Toast:

Rye French Toast
Alpha Food Pot Pie Beefy Chedd’r (vegan)
Kodiak Cake Chocolate Chip Protein Waffles
Lentil Stew
Fettuccine with Mushroom and Steak Sauce
Fishpeople’s Cod with garlic parmesan potato bacon topping
Bacon wrapped carrots
Parmesan Bacon Orzo with Roasted Carrots and Onion

We have entered week 2 of the COVID-19 Lockdown and things in New York City has gotten worse. The lock down has now extended to another two weeks. There will be no Holy Week services, which I look forward too. However, I have been spiritually more involved in watching live streaming services online.

Given all that is going on I feel lucky and blessed. I am very thankful to God and the good spirits that I have a roof over my head and a job at least for two months. So making every effort to work for the glory of God because HE controls our fate.

In order to stay in compliance, my other half went to the supermarket while I worked from home. This week’s game plan also has ingredients from last week because there were some changes to the steps from last week.

We would love to hear any feedback regarding this week’s game plan. Stay tuned for pictures of my journey through this game plan. Everyone stay safe and may God Bless America!

Sunday Game Plan – Diet plan for one week

Posted on by

Hello everyone! So tomorrow is July 1st and this is the perfect time to make a change with the end goal being weight loss and eventually getting into my dresses comfortably.

After doing some research I read an article from Woman’s Day regarding a 6 day summer weight loss program and as much I want to replicate the plan, I have to do some modifications because I had to work with what I had. In addition, I will be traveling back and forth so planning healthy meals will be tough. The article set a plan where the most calories come from dinner. The calorie outline listed on the article was 300 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch, 500 calories for dinner and 150 calories for snacks. Therefore the total calorie intake is 1350 calories.

For this week’s game plan, I have listed meals for 7 days instead of 6. In addition I didn’t count calories so I am unsure if I went over the total calorie intake. So below is the list of breakfast, lunch and dinner meal plan for the week.

Pictures of these proposed meals will be posted on my Instagram: tablespoonsandteaspoons.

Wish me luck and stay tuned!!

Sunday Game Plan – Superbowl 2018

Posted on by

After months of obligations and commitments, today is my lucky day. I visited Stop & Shop to do my weekly grocery shopping and I decided to go crazy by buying items that was applicable to the Blood Type Diet such as ground lamb and turkey wings. In addition I had plan B if either or both dishes failed, which was Kidfresh Little Jammin Chicken Sliders and Gold Metal Sliders rolls, both on sale this week.

Let’s cut to the chase and show you the plan for this year’s high protein Superbowl feast.

1) Roasted Turkey Wings inspired by Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli

2) Lamb Meatballs with Lemon Cumin Yogurt inspired by Chowhound

3) Kidfresh Little Jammin Chicken Sliders

Keep in mind this is the first time I am making the Turkey Wings and lamb meatballs.

For the Turkey Wings, I marinated the wings with 5 tablespoons of canola oil, salt and pepper. There was difficulty cutting the wings into smaller pieces that my mother had to help. The wing pieces were placed on a greased baking sheet.

The wing pieces were baked in the oven for 90 minutes (1 hour & 30 minutes) to 105 minutes (1 hour & 45 minutes) at 375 degrees.

While the wings are cooking, the baste/sauce was prepared using the following mixture:

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons Datu Putu (sugar cane vinegar)

1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce

Curry powder

Before mixing

About 10 minutes before the wings are completely roasted, place a table spoons of the mixture and baste across each wing.

While the Turkey Wings were cooking, prep the lamb meatballs. To prepare the lamb meatballs, mix the following until blended:

1 pound ground lamb

1/2 red onion, chopped

Cilantro

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

Cinnamon

Take 2 tablespoons of the mixture to form a ball.

Place the meatballs at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the lemon cumin yogurt sauce by mixing:

4 tablespoons plain yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cilantro

Cumin

Then with plan B, the sliders were prepared using Kidfresh Chicken Sliders according to packaging instructions.

Toast the slider rolls with butter until toasted.

Meatless Monday – 2 ingredients – Sauteed spinach & Garlic

Posted on by

Here’s a quick pick-me-up that is cheap, healthy, gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian side dish.  Recently I brought a bag of Dole Baby Spinach, on sale at Shop & Shop (buy 1 get 1 free) and homemade minced garlic (thank you dad) and put a quick side dish together.

Spinach has many health properties, which were previously mentioned on a past Meatless Monday post.  In addition, spinach has one of the highest if not the highest level of folate, which helps prevent depression, neural tube disorders during pregnancy, and dementia.

 

Garlic has been considered to be medicine food especially in India and China.  It was used to aid respiration and digestion.  It helps reduce inflammation and even prevent cancers.  It also contains neuroprotective properties that helps with visual memory and performing executive functions.  It is also an immune system booster, which helps treat colds and flu.  It helps with high blood pressure and may help treat diabetes.

1 bag of Dole Baby Spinach, washed = 20 calories for 3 cups.

2 tablespoons of minced garlic = 30 calories

  1. Spray the pan with cooking spray

2. Add minced garlic and saute until starts becoming golden brown

3. Stir in spinach gradually until wilted

20171022_2006081419705258.jpg

At various Chinese restaurants I’ve eaten at, this dish or any other green vegetable dish and garlic would cost over $10 (family style) and they use vegetable oil, which is less healthier than olive oil, and grapeseed oil.  This dish can be made with other vegetables such as bok choy and watercress.