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5/2/2025 ; cuban birthday party flashbacks

do you have a meal that reminds you of family gatherings, birthday parties, and any kind of festivity? for most people, it's probably pizza, soda, and that big round tub of neopolitan ice cream. you know the one. and don't get me wrong, that brings back the bouncy houses and party games too. but no food to me is more synonymous to "party food" than arroz imperial.

for those unfamiliar with cuban food, arroz imperial is basically a sort of..... rice lasagna? made by layering chicken stewed in a tomato sauce, between layers of yellow rice, mayonnaise, and cheese. top this all off with some more cheese and mayo, stick it in the oven, and you've got a meal for everyone at the party, and more to spare. as a self-proclaimed mayo hater, this is one of the few dishes i can eat that i would PREFER more mayo than less. it's just so warm and rich and comforting, and the best part is that it lasted us like 4 days!

so i partially used this recipe as a reference, but i also consulted my aunt who makes it pretty damn good! i did take a shortcut and used prepacked yellow rice, because i've had it before and it's really yummy. and also, who has money for SAFFRON these days?

make your yellow rice as usual; i used my new zojirushi rice cooker and had the pleasure of hearing it sing "twinkle twinkle little star" to me to let me know it was done. while the rice is cooking, take some chicken breasts and season them up with sazon completo, adobo, a packet of sazon goya, and just a splash of olive oil. let that sit while you work on your sofrito! a typical cuban sofrito is onions, garlic, and a green bell pepper. i unfortunately did not have a bell pepper, so i didn't add it, but if you have it use it! sautee that with some olive oil, then add in a large can of diced tomatoes, let it come up to a simmer, and throw your chicken breasts in. you can add some pimento stuffed olives at this point as well, which i COMPLETELY FORGOT to do! anyway, cook the chicken all the way through, then take it out, rip it up, and throw it back in.

by this point, your rice should be done, so time to assemble! lay down roughly half of your rice mix in a casserole dish (mine was i think 9x6?), slather on a layer of mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and a layer of your ripped up chicken. cap this off with the second half of your rice, more mayo, parmesan, and then lots of mozzarella cheese and more parm.

there she is... in all her glory before being baked. so yeah throw this in the oven! i did 375 for maybe 25 minutes? keep an eye on it to make sure the top doesn't get too toasty. when you take it out, it should look like this!

this was, no lie, so fucking good. it honestly put the ones i've had at parties to SHAME. once everything gets warm in the oven, you can't even discern that the deliciously creamy layer between the rice is mayo. the cheesy top layer gets all toasty and the rice at the bottom gets crispy. it's just... the best.

we've been eating this since tuesday and we haven't gotten tired of it. this is definitely one of those things that gets better the longer it sits. the flavors just permeate throughout the whole thing once it's had like a day to rest in the fridge. hearty, filling, and yummy! along with this, i had some leftover guava paste that i got on a trip, and used it to make pastelitos! i didn't have enough to make them all guava and cream cheese, so half had guava, half just cream cheese. i don't miss much about florida, but damn do i miss the food.... there are so many things i can't find here, guave paste being one of them. so i have to either get it while i'm out of town, or have family mail me some.

these pastelitos are just as good as any i could get at any cuban bakery, and since there is a definite lack of them here, it's comforting to be able to recreate them at home. if there's one thing i dislike about the upper peninsula, is there is very little diversity in the food offerings. even just at the grocery store; all we've got is the "ethnic foods" section...

whatever, at least i can make some of these things at home and get a little taste of home!

4/28/2025 ; recent cooking adventures

since i've been bringing some of these lesser used pages back to life, i figured i would share some of my recent cooking here! i've been exploring a lot when it comes to cooking. i've mastered a few of my usual go-tos like pho, cuban masitas, beef stroganoff, and things of the like. i want to start delving into the world of cookbooks and expand my recipe collection! the one i've really been eyeing is the stardew valley cookbook, it looks like it has really cool and diverse recipes, that aren't just easy things like mac and cheese or some type of stew. anyway, here's what i've been up to these last couple weeks!

this yummy, delicious banana bread! i have a general recipe for banana bread, but to be honest, making it exactly like the recipe, it comes out a little plain. so i add in lots more spices like cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and vanilla. on top of that, adding chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, and unsweetened coconut flakes... it comes out AMAZING! i also let it bake just a tiiiiiny bit less than the recipe calls, because it'll come out a lot more moist, but depending on your oven it can vary. this was my after breakfast snack with my coffee for the entire week, and it was so good!

be it from the stress of moving, to mild change in climate/altitude, insane weather fluctuations, or whatever the case may be, i was feeling a little ill. it didn't last for more than a couple days, but this makeshift noodle soup was a lifesaver. i had leftover egg noodles from when i made beef stroganoff (didn't get a pic of this unfortunately, but it was delicious!), so i decided to make a soup! it honestly was originally supposed to be a sort of more soupy pastina, but then i just said fuck it and added a whole carton of chicken stock and it sort of became a soup. some "better than bouillon" roasted chicken base, pepper, frozen spinach, soy sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese later, this soup was born! it reminded me of my favorite wonton soup from this thai restaurant in town, and maybe i was unconsciously craving it, but it hit the spot in the same way! next to the bowl of soup, was also another creation i made that night. cheese bombs! super easy with a tube of those pillsbury biscuits; roll them out, put some cheese in the middle, bunch it up into a little ball, brush with a garlic, italian seasoning, parmesan, olive oil, and bake! they're really yummy as a snack dipped in marinara sauce, or as a little side like we had with this soup.

here was a yummy breakfast! we had a little pack of baby yellow potatoes that we had no idea what to do with, so i decided to make a breakfast hash! chop the potatoes up into cubes, fry alone in some oil and then set them aside. sautee up some peppers and onions, then fry some bacon that's been diced up, then once everything is cooked, season it all with old bay, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper! we had ours with 2 fried eggs, a dollop of sour cream, and pickled red onions on top! i feel like the sour cream and red onions is a must, because it's a fresh, zingy cut through the greasy and rich potatoes and bacon.

we're a very breakfast centered household here. i work late, so i usually have a big breakfast, small snacks throughout the day, and then finally have a big dinner around 6-7. this is a very delicious breakfast sandwich i make every once in awhile, except this time i had some frozen hashbrowns that i baked up and stuck in there. very good choice! also, garlic aioli and sriracha mayo are must haves in a bagel breakfast sandwich.

here's another meal from when i was feeling sickly. some good old pierogies that i boiled up, then tossed in a pan with browned butter, sage, black pepper, and frozen spinach! it's even better when you let the pierogies toast up in the butter and they get browned and kinda crispy on the edges. these were the potato, sour cream and cheese ones and they were SOOOO yum. on the side, just a simple steamed broccoli tossed in some salt, pepper, and everything bagel seasoning. is it just me, or are pierogies kind of just... ravioli? just... not italian?

and finally, we make our way to last night's dinner; chicken tenders with a corn, zucchini, and pepper succotash, smashed potatoes, and some of that leftover broccoli from when we had the pierogies! i've been doing something lately with my chicken tenders before frying them. slice up the chicken breasts per usual, but then put them in a marinade made of milk and pickle juice (this is supposed to substitute buttermilk, so of course if you have buttermilk do that), along with your other desired seasonings! a quick tip: i usually pound out my chicken breasts to flatten them out and make sure they cook all the way through! for last night's seasonings i used, old bay, black pepper, chili powder, oregano, garlic and onion powder, and curry powder. let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour, before taking the tenders out and dredging them in flour (add a little cornstarch to the flour to make them extra crisp!). i also seasoned the flour the same way as the marinade! another tip, when you're dredging your chicken, squeeze the flour onto the chicken and into all the nooks and crannies to make sure it sticks.

for the succotash, i sauteed up a can of corn, some red and yellow peppers, and half a zucchini in some butter and olive oil, and seasoned it up with salt, pepper, chili powder, and a bit of tajin, and that's it really! the smashed potatoes were some steamed baby yellow potatoes, and once they're soft, put them on a baking sheet and smash them with the bottom of a cup, or really any flat surface. then season them up with whatever you want! i went salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, olive oil, and a little bit of parmesan cheese. then stick them in the oven! i did 375 for 15 minutes, and they turn golden brown and the smashed edges get nice and crispy, while the inside stays nice and soft!

so yeah, i've been cooking up a storm since moving. the kitchen is very intuitive and there's lots of counter space, so it's fun to cook in here! i recently got a zojirushi rice cooker, and i'm veeeery excited about playing around with it and seeing what i can make in it. it's got all sorts of settings for sushi rice, brown rice, sweet rice, porridge even. i think in the little instructions guide there was even a recipe for oatmeal? and the best part... apparently it SINGS A LITTLE SONG WHEN THE RICE IS DONE. so yeah, i'm excited about that!

if anyone has any recipes they want to share with me, feel free to drop them in the guestbook and i'll try them out!!

8/27/2023 ; best balls soup on earth

it is time

it is time for me to talk about one of the best soups i've ever made (second to the italian wedding soup, that is). the matzo ball soup. first and foremost, i have never had matzo ball soup before. but i have always wanted to try it, so i thought i would give it a go. and since i've been sick as well, i just needed something comforting and hearty to get over it. and i feel like this has been a big part in me getting better these past couple days. i recommend everyone make it, because it was actually so simple and easy. it only took me tops 30 minutes cooking it in my instant pot. here is the recipe so yall can try it out.

so first and foremost, make the matzo dough. i made this on one of my breaks for work, and left it in the fridge to cool until i made the soup. the recipe makes a point to state that you gotta buy matzo MEAL and not matzo MIX. i'm assuming matzo mix is sort of an instant matzo mix, so making it with actual matzo meal would come out a lot better. i couldn't find schmaltz in my local meijer so i used avocado oil. looking back, i wish i would have used olive oil to give it more flavor. but definitely schmaltz would be preferrable.

so like i mentioned, i made this maybe a couple hours before i actually started making the soup. once i started the soup preparation, i measured out a tablespoon of the dough to make the balls. i lined them out on a baking tray and put them in the fridge again to set. while they set, i sauteed maybe the largest chicken breast i've ever seen in my instant pot with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried dill, thyme, and oregano. once it was cooked, i took it out and shredded it with 2 forks, and then threw it back in to brown some more. once i was ready to sautee my veggies, i removed it and added more olive oil and cooked down the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and all of the herbs. this was salt, pepper, dried dill, thyme, oregano, 2 bay leaves, and half of a chicken bouillon cube. i added a little bit of stock to deglaze the bottom of the pot, simmered everything a bit more to soften, then added back the chicken and all of the broth. once everything was in there, i set the instant pot to soup and let it run!

that was pretty much the bulk of the work! after the time is up, i opened it up, set it to sautee again, and threw in my matzo balls. i boiled them for about 10 minutes to get completely cooked through, and that's it!

once all my matzo balls weere floating to the top, i served myself a giant bowl of it, and wow... i have never felt my soul being instantly healed upon eating something before. it was so rich, hearty, warm, comforting, and just stick to your ribs yummy! the matzo balls came out perfect, fluffy, and so flavorful! they just soaked up all the broth while cooking. just very, very, very fulfilling and just gives you that warm, cozy feeling.

i've been eating it for the past 3 days to see if it helps with my cold, and i honestly feel like it has. especially when i reheat it and it's extra hot and it just warms you up from the inside. also helps with loosening the build-up in my sinuses. overall, for how easy this recipe was, it is amazing and something i will definitely be making again!

8/25/2023 ; chicago munches and world's best soup

we're back!

so i have a lot to post about in regards to cooking, but i'm first going to start with all of the food that i got to eat while in chicago! this was probably the best part of the trip, all of the delicious food we were able to try. so i'll start with everything from the trip!

first thing i had in chicago was breakfast! we went to this restaurant called 'yolk' for breakfast and i had a very tasty horchata oat milk cold brew, and a berry and greek yogurt french toast that was delicious! super fresh and tasty, and a really huge serving, there were 6 slices of french toast on that plate! the cold brew was so good, too. the best of horchata and cold brew in one drink. would love to have it again.

and then... the star of the trip... do-rite donuts. this little place was right next to our hotel, and it was SO good. while we were there i had a ton of different donuts, and the regular and spicy chicken sandwiches. listen, i am not a "chicken for breakfast" person. i've never understood how people have chick-fil-a for breakfast, it just doesn't make sense to me. but... these chicken sandwiches were something else. the chicken was crispy, but still so juicy inside. the coleslaw, the pickles, the brioche bun... they were just so damn good. and don't even get me started on the DONUTS.

from left to right the flavors are: cinnamon old fashioned, chocolate old fashioned, apple fritter, blueberry crumb cake, maple bacon, and olive oil and orange. these were probably the best fucking donuts i've ever had in my life. their old fashioned donuts are just something else... the cinnamon old fashioned had this like cinnamon crumb glaze, and it gave it the most amazing crispiness. dipped into hot coffee? literally heaven. all the others were fucking delicious too! but out of them all, my favorite had to be the cinnamon old fashioned.

another one of the days we were there, we went to this like mini food court with a bunch of different restaurants. from here i ate at one called 'the happy lobster'. i got fish and chips with a side of a malt vinegar slaw. the fish was pretty good, some pieces were still a bit doughy but still tasty. the fries were really good, and that slaw was AWESOME. i had never tried a coleslaw made with malt vinegar, but i was very surprised!

The Boyfriend got food from the indian restaurant in there, which had essentially chipotle-style bowls with rice, veggies, and a protein with your choice of sauce. i forgot what protein he chose, but i know he got the butter chicken sauce, along with a side of these spicy cauliflower with a green cream sauce drizzled over them. the cauliflower was SOOOO good. spicy, fragrant, soft, smothered in sauce... really, really, tasty.

and that was pretty much it for the highlights of the chicago trip when it comes to food! we honestly didn't really try very many places, it was crazy and chaotic, but i'm glad i was able to try what i did.

so now... on to what i cooked!

when i got back, i immediately came down with a cold. it was so damn hot when i got to chicago, and then out of nowhere it started to rain, and of course i got rained on pretty heavily. then coming back to marquette, it's been pretty cool and breezy, so it was a recipe for disaster. so, i decided to try out a new recipe for italian wedding soup! and oh boy... this one was probably the best thing i've ever cooked.

here is the recipe i used for the soup, obviously with a couple tweaks here and there. i hand made 2 pounds worth of meatballs using a pack of ground 80/20 beef and ground pork. i used a tablespoon to measure them out because i wanted them to be small for the soup. the rest i put in ziplock baggies in the freezer to use for spaghetti or another soup in the future (probably this one again). i sauteed all of the meatballs in my instant pot in batches and left AAAALLLL of that delicious fond at the bottom of the pot. this was a good move, because it gave such a depth of flavor to the soup. if i remember right, i don't think i used the meatball recipe in the soup recipe, i just made one up. salt, pepper, fresh garlic and onions, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, italian breadcrumbs, dried rosemary, thyme, and sage.

once the meatballs were all fried up, i threw in my veggies! celery, carrots, onion, garlic. the basics. sauteed those up with the herbs and seasonings, which were salt, pepper, italian seasoning, 2 bay leaves, dried thyme, rosemary, sage, a pinch of cayenne, and a quarter of a chicken boullion cube. added a bit of chicken broth just to deglaze and simmer the veggies, before dumping in 2 cartons of chicken broth into the instant pot. i threw in the ancini di pepe pasta, set that bad boy on soup mode, and let it go!

after the timer was up, i cracked open the instant pot and gave it a good mix before adding in the meatballs and 2 good handfuls of spinach. served it up with some parmesan cheese on top and my god.... literally the best soup in the world. hands down. every other soup can go home. i ate the entire pot over the course of a week. it was that good. i didn't even get tired of it either, it was so good every time. i highly recommend trying this recipe, it will water your crops, clean your water supply, grow your hair, put $100k in your bank account. all of it.

i am also a very big desserts person. i love me a good old tasty treat after a meal. being that i have an ingredients only household, i had to whip something up for dessert one day. enter: berry crisp.

if you're in need of an easy, simple dessert, this recipe was super easy! i had some strawberries and blueberries that were on the verge of going bad in my fridge, so i decided to throw them all into this. only thing i would do different in this recipe, maybe lower the amount of sugar you put in your fruit and add the juice of half a lemon. it was good, but the inside was just a tad too sweet with how sweet the crumb topping already was. the lemon will also add some zing to it which would go well with the topping just to balance the sweetness. but other than that, it was easy and pretty quick to make, and lasted me awhile too! i made it like a week and a half ago and i just ate the last piece today. would love to try this recipe with apples too... ooohhh...

last but not least, 3 days ago i made... garlic herb cheese bread. this was my first bread in a minute, i kind of took a bit of a break after coming back from chicago, but this bread justifies me having to make 3 more of this one this weekend. it was so easy, and so damn good... here's the recipe for this one.

here's that sexy beast before the oven. only thing that was a bit of a challenge was braiding the dough. all my cheese started flying out everywhere and it was kind of a mess. lesson for me to press the cheese into the dough next time so that doesn't happen. but it was so, so worth it.

i swear my apartment has never smelled as good as it did when i was baking this bread. and my sense of accomplishment and happiness when i took that bread out of the oven were unmatched. it looked so good, it took every ounce of self control to not cut into it the minute i took it out. i'm glad i waited, because the texture inside was perfect... so fluffy and soft. even without the cheese, this bread recipe was a winner. perfect for a loaf of plain bread for sandwiches.

suffice to say, i am very happy with how that bread came out and will absolutely be making it again. tonight is matzo ball soup night, i'll see if i can sneak in another post tomorrow about it. really excited, first time making it and the matzo ball dough already looks so good. but that's it for now, see ya!

7/23/2023 ; beef stew and honey wine

hello!

this is my very first cooking post and honestly, i'm so excited to finally be talking about my love of cooking that i don't even know what to write about first LOL so yesterday night i made a beef stew in my instant pot, and it's not the first time i make it, but i did do some different things from the last time.

so i guess i start from the beginning!

i first browned my stew meat in my instant pot with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. i always make this mistake, but BROWN YOUR MEAT IN BATCHES! it will release a lot of juices and it takes forever to evaporate until you actually get some caramelization. but anyway, once it gets nice and brown, remove it and you should have a nice fond (crusty bits stuck to the pot) at the bottom.

for my veggies this time, i used onions, lots of garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and baby gold potatoes. i threw in my onions with some more olive oil and tried to get them as cooked down and caramelized as i could. i then threw in the carrots, garlic, and mushrooms and let those soften up also.

once everything was looking cooked down, i deglazed with red wine. the type i have is a cabernet sauvignon, but any dry red wine is epic.

up there is just a picture of the pot after i added the red wine. for herbs and spices i added pepper, dried thyme, oregano, sage, and basil, 2 bay leaves, a baby bit of cayenne, half a beef bouillon cube, worchestershire sauce, and a squirt of dijon mustard. after i let all of that simmer for a bit to cook the alcohol off, i added back the meat and topped it all off with enough water to submerge everything. i then put the lid on and set my instant pot to meat/stew, which sets it to 45 minutes of pressure cooking.

after it finished, i set it to saute again and added in the potatoes and let it boil for a bit until they were soft. i had that for dinner with some instant mashed potatoes that i fixed up with half and half, garlic powder, pepper, and cheddar cheese and it was AWESOME! had it today for dinner also and it is so yummy. the rest i put in containers and stashed in the freezer.

after i finished up my hike today, i passed by the local farm store and picked up some of their house made mead!

it is delicious! i've been sipping on the birch pineapple sage one all night and it is just so refreshing and tasty. the mugwort mint lime one is also very good! i just know it would be amazing as a mojito with some seltzer and fresh mint leaves. and sugar on the rim... oooh

when i got home, i showered up and decided to make a banana bread! i had bought some bananas last week, and they overripened so quickly that i just said 'fuck it' and put all of them in ziplock baggies in the freezer. i perused on the ol' pinterest and found a recipe for a cinnamon banana bread that came out super tasty!

i really love how it came out because it used solely whole wheat flour, which gave it a nice nutty flavor. in the recipe, instead of 3/4 cups of plain sugar, i used 2/4 and then substituted the last 1/4 cup with dark brown sugar, and i think it added another caramely note to it. it would have been awesome if i had walnuts, but alas, i did not... i also did not make the crumble to go on top because i didn't have unsalted butter, but i imagine it would be awesome with it.

but yeah, that was my cooking escapades for today!