than drinking

and eating.

simply the fact

that i'm a southern california girl

made me born with an innate 

 romeo and juliet

love affair

with 

mexican food.

i will celebrate

anything

that includes 

chips

and

salsa.

i'll devour your chile verde

inhale your asada tacos

shovel down your guacamole

and i will drink a baby pool

of your margaritas.

but let's get serious

tortilla soup

is just the tits.

I am  a big fan of this kind of soup and so i decided to take the plunge and master my own. if you're ready to make gallons of goodness for your body and spicy mexican soul, i urge you to get down with me on this recipe. prepare yourself for my tortilla soup.

shredded chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken

2 tbs oregano

2 tbs paprika

1/4 red onion

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/2 lemon

soup broth

1 can roasted diced tomatoes

3/4 small yellow onion 

2 tbs chiles in adobo sauce

1 large dried pasilla ancho chiles

3 cloves garlic

1 fist full of cilantro

4 cups chicken broth

grab your crock pot in the morning and set it to high. place chicken breasts at the bottom and pour in a cup of water and squeeze the half lemon all over. dump in all those delicious spices and chop those red onions and throw them in too. cover that shit up and fuh'gedda'boutit. after 3-4 hours or when your chicken is cooked through, shred the meat and lay it back in the juice. turn the crock pot off and grab a big soup pot and that blender you bought for "green smoothies". in the blender, throw in the entire can of tomatoes, and all our other goodies except the broth. turn that blender on high and crank that sucker till the sauce is smooth. heat up your soup pot to medium high with a little bit of olive oil to coat the bottom, pour in the creamy red sauce. cook this down for 5-8 minutes or until the sauce thickens.. or until you finish that margarita and make yourself another. you deserve it. once the sauce thickens, add the chicken broth and shredded chicken and lower the heat. its ready. as long as you didn't forget the chips to go on top... of course you didn't, you're perfect. 

i'm sorry

i disappeared into a busy frenzy.

i found myself

swimming in a sea of work

and then i treated myself

to a trip down south.

but i'm back

and i need to get my

healthy eating

back

on 

track.

stat.

when i splurge

on a week or more of 

fried

chicken,

okra,

cube steak

eating,

i come home

and make myself

a tub of easy to grab 

salad.

here we go.

my favorite,

easy to grab,

always satisfying,

light and clean

salad...

tabouli

1 1/2 cup fresh curly parsley (1 whole bunch), finely chopped

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 of 1 cucumber

1/2 of 1 roma tomato

1/4 of 1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup pepperocinis, finely chopped

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 sprig of mint

3 tbs. olive oil

juice from 1 1/2 lemons

ground pepper to taste

in a medium size pan, bring your water to boil with quinoa and a mint sprig (you don't NEED the mint in there, but i like the flavor it gives the quinoa, plus if someone is watching, it makes you look super fancy). once you reach a boil, drop the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about ten minutes. when its done cooking, let it sit for another five minutes, covered, over no fire.. then place into a bowl and let it cool in your fridge or on the counter. now your real skills are going to come in, now we start chopping the shit out of pretty much everything. this is the time where i play some gangster rap and take my frustration out on vegetables (i'm not crazy). take your bunch of parsley and get to chopping; i like mine pretty finely chopped, so i go hard for a solid five minutes at this thing. do the same to the mint. when they're both pretty much dead, toss them into a bowl and grab your lemons and give them a hard roll to loosen them up and release the juice. squeeze the juice from one and a half lemons, or more if you like the tartness, into your chopped parsley and mint. grab your onion, make sure to chop it into small pieces or you'll get bites that taste slightly spicier than others. then take the cucumber and slice it into strips, dice those strips slightly thicker so we get a nice crunch. now, i'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but i can handle them in this because the lemon kicks ass and makes everything taste like heaven. take your tomato, slice it into fourths and cut out the center and toss it out. then dice whats left and toss it in. we are coming to the end of this fun little journey.. grab some pepperocinis out of the jar, slice them into strips, toss them in. NOW, take your quinoa and lightly fluff it into the masterpiece. drizzle on that olive oil, grind that pepper... holy shit. it's done. it's time. eat it. if you have patience, it tastes better the longer it melds together, but i don't. i have no patience. so i eat it with a fork, with a pita chip, i eat it on a tuna sandwich, and i don't waste time.

"φρέσκος"

greek

"fresh"

tuesday

means it's time

for

totally tubular

tacos.

totally tantalizing

taco tastebuds.

i know, i know

everything i've been making

lately has been healthy

and green

and good for you,

but pork is good

for your soul.

pure pleasure pineapple pork shoulder

1 4-6 lb. pork shoulder

2 tbs. coarse sea salt

2 tbs. coarse ground pepper

5 chipotle peppers in adobo (chopped)

dry rub

2 tbs. paprika

1 tbs. cumin

2 tbs. dried oregano

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. olive oil

juice

1/2 cup chopped pineapple

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1/4 cup orange juice

start out by admiring this beautiful hunk of meat you are about to defeat. 

 flip the beast over and score the fat (cut criss-crossing lines about a quarter inch deep). season with salt and pepper, massaging the flavor into every nook and cranny of your scored fat. mix all ingredients together for the rub and liberally apply all over the other sides of the shoulder.

 take a large skillet and warm over medium high heat. place shoulder in the pan, fat side down. don't add oil because the fat is going to brown and melt into your pan and create a ridiculously gluttonous place for your meat to sear in. 

 sear fat side for 6-7 minutes, then flip the beast and sear for 4 minutes until entire shoulder is browned on the outside. this time consuming process locks in the flavor and creates a devilish crust on the outside of your meat.

 while your meat cools down, grab your chipotle peppers and get to choppin'. heat up your crock pot to "high" or "6 hours". grab your chopped chipotles and rub them all over your pork, fat side and everywhere. place your meat in the crock pot, fat side up (again while this cooks, the fat will melt down into the rest of the meat and make it, for lack of better word, moist).

 when the time is up, or your patience has worn thin, carefully lift the meat from the sauce. start shredding the it by using two forks and pulling in opposite directions. pour the juice into a large pot and simmer on low heat, toss your meat back into the sauce. mix it up until the juice seems to melt into the shredded goodness in your pot, grab a tortilla, or a bowl, or a fork, and eat. don't forget to include a pineapple or two in your taco because that shit tastes damn good together.

my heart beats for you

oh juicy taco.

"cerdo"

spanish

"pork"

creamy.

delicious.

put it in my mouth.

reel your mind back in,

i'm talking food...

again.

i like my salads

delicious

but my conscience 

knows it has to be

healthy.

my avocado goddess dressing

ends

the

game.

i have no desire

to eat

unless it tastes

like heaven.

trust.

"cremoso"

portuguese

"creamy"

i'm all for 

making food that

impresses people.

this breakfast/dessert is

quite the impresser

2 ingredient crepes.

yeah.

i said 2.

simple shit.

"zondig"
dutch
"sinful"

i worked out today,

straight through

an entire hour of boxing

without craving food.

okay, that's a lie.

the entire time,

i was thinking about 

pizza.

so

i

made

pizza.

what could taste better than fresh rosemary? crispy pizza topped with the fresh rosemary, that's what.

i mean, clearly i love me 

some gardenburgers.

i'm not a vegetarian,

in fact, i love meat.

but with three kinds of mushrooms,

brown rice, rolled oats,

and an array of seasoning

i can't deny their deliciousness.

"squisito"

italian

"yummy"

i ate breakfast like the french

at le pain quotidien.

carb-and-spread-o'load.

 i probably forgot to mention that there's a burger patty on this salad.

1 cup baby kale

1/4 lemon

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 garden burger patty

1/8 avocado

small handful of sprouts

pepperocinis to your liking

1 tsp. feta

pepper/salt/garlic powder to taste

this is hands down the easiest, and one of my ultimate favorite, lunch for one. 

warm a small pan over medium heat, drop in enough oil/butter to coat the pan. when hot, place your burger patty in the center of the pan. sprinkle some pepper, salt and a little bit of garlic powder on the side facing up. after about 4 minutes, flip your burger. while this starts to crunch up, grab your kale, olive oil, and lemon. drop the kale on your plate and squeeze that lemon all over. after another 3-4 minutes, remove the patty from the heat and place ontop of your salad. now we stack. i go sprouts, avo, feta, pepperocinis.. but it would be silly to tell you there is a right way to do that. after its stacked up high, drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything. i personally add more pepper because, like my reason for everything else, i just can't get enough. you are now allowed to eat.

which is insatiable inside me

you know when you go to your favorite spot

to get your favorite meal that you've been craving for weeks

and you go

and you get it

and they changed the recipe but they don't bother telling you

and they think the new new is better

but you know better and this is not better

because better is getting exactly what you've been dreaming

of tasting with your taste buds

for weeks and weeks?

or am i the only one who gets offended when it happens?