The Yum Yum Factor

We love edamame. If you have ever eaten sushi, you have probably had steamed, salted edamame in the pod and might not even know what edamame is apart from the fact that it is a tasty snack. Let me give you quick answer: it is the preparation of immature soybean in the pod and it's packed with protein, fibre, folates, vitamin K and more. In North America, we just call the actual soybean edamame, regardless of how it's prepared or whether it's in the shelled or removed. One of my favourite, quick lunch bag items, we go through this stuff like an ape goes through bananas. As much as we love the stuff, I am becoming increasingly wary of the soybeans coming from overseas because I can't really be sure about the quality. I keep reading all kinds of stuff about GMO's and other sketchy practices in production, never mind the fact that they are coming half way around the world to land in my freezer so who really knows how fresh they are? It is widely reported that 99% ...

Oddly enough, Filipino food is quite new to me. Just when I thought I was pretty familiar with every sort of Asian or Southeast Asian food that's out there, I got my first real taste of Filipino food this year and I am on a mission ever since. Because it's a mix of Malaysian, Chinese, Spanish and Indian you would think that I would have come to this party a lot sooner, but better late than never, right? Crispy Pata now runs neck and neck with Chinese roast pork when I need my fix of crispy pork skin and I could take a bath in a big bowl of Arroz Caldo if I could find one big enough. Because of my new found love of Filipino food, I jumped at the chance to snag a box of sauces and marinades from Pulo  , hoping that I could come up with some fresh recipes built around them. I know, I know, you think that I don't generally use bottled sauces and marinades but that is not true. If the product is not full of preservatives and other things that make my dark litt...

We celebrated Easter a while ago and for us that means that there was a ham bone hanging around the house the next day. For a really long time I always made split pea soup but for the last few years I have been making black bean soup instead. I love split pea soup but the boys seem to prefer black bean so that is the route I have taking. I recently started adding the chipotle because my kid was a wimp before but now that he likes a bit of kick to his food, AT LAST, I can spice things up around here. I usually do a chipotle crema but this time the chipotle could go in the actual soup and since that makes it a bit hot, I needed something creamy and cool but that wasn't just a drizzle of plain yogurt or sour cream. While looking at some other black bean soups to get inspired, I found one with an avocado cream on Eats Well With Others and loved the sound of that.

I feel crazy posting a recipe for guacamole because it isn't really a recipe but I am asked for one so many times that I guess it's a useful thing to do. I am also going to share my method for making those pickled red onions that are served all over the Yucatan with many dishes. When Little Shack was about 9, we were in Mexico and he said he hated onions but he ate these pretty pink onions every day because I told them they were cebelloas. I did not lie to my son, it's not my fault that he didn't know that cebello is the spanish word for onion.