We will cook some chili today. Another American classic. I will make my chili with ground beef but you can also use stew meat. You cannot be in a hurry to make chili. And you should not be in a hurry to eat it your chili once cooked. This is because chili gets better over time. So let’s cook out slow motion chili.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound ground beef
½ can kidney beans (16 oz
1 can cubed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 tablespoons roasted chopped red pepper
1 chili pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
Some water
Some tomato paste
Some salt to taste

First we will heat the oil in a pan. When it is hot, we will add the green pepper and the onion. We will sauté them for some minutes. Then we will add the garlic and the ground beef. We will cook till the beef starts getting a brownish color. Now we will add the beans and the cubed tomatoes. We will turn the fire very low…

We will cook soup today. Something rewarding and delicious. I remember the fish soup my mom used to make. I loved that soup. I will make it today. A good Fish Soup with Rice.

Ingredients:

Some fish bones
Some little pieces of fish
½ onion
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons rice
Some drops of Tabasco sauce
Some saffron
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon dill herb
Some freshly ground pepper to taste
Salt to taste

First we will have to make the fish broth. To do that, we will put some water in a pan and we will add the fish bones, the pieces of fish, the onion and the bay leaf. If we want, we can also add some carrots, celery or leek. We will cook for about half an hour in a low heat. When the broth is ready, we will strain the broth through a colander to get rid of the fish bones. We can add the pieces of fish too to the broth. Once we have our broth in the pan again, we will add the rice to the pan. Then we will add the Tabasco sauce, the saffron, the turmeric, the garlic, the…

We will make an escabeche today. A delicious recipe from Spain. And I will use one of my favourite fish, mackerel, in Spanish caballa. Escabeches are popular in Spain. I love Spanish canned preserves. You can find wonderful fish and seafood (tuna, mackerel, mussels…) canned and preserved in escabeche. They are really good. Some people would say that a very good preserve improves the quality of the original. To this I have to say that some times this is true. Anyway, we will not make a preserve today. Let’s start cooking our Caballa en Escabeche.

Ingredients:

3 mackerel
1 carrot, peeled and cut in sticks
1 sliced onion
1 chopped green onion or 1 chopped leek
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
Some extra virgin olive oil
½ cup wine vinegar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon sweet pimentón
10 black peppercorns
Salt to taste

First of all we will prepare the fish. If the fish is not cleaned already, we have to clean the mackerel properly. We will remove the head,…

We will make a dessert today. Something refreshing and without many calories. Tangerines and bananas. But you can also use oranges if you want. The almonds and the mint will give us a special touch.

Ingredients:

2 tangerines
2 bananas
10 almonds, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon chopped mint leaves

This dessert is very easy to make. First we just have to prepare the fruit. We will peel the bananas and cut them in slices. Then we will peel the tangerines and we will split them into segments. We can cut these segments in pieces, but do not cut them too small. Do this preparation over a bowl where you will put the fruit and you will get the juice from the tangerines.
Now, with all the fruit in the bowl, we will add the almonds, the honey and the mint leaves. We will mix well but carefully so as not to break the fruit. We will taste it, and if we feel like it, we can add some sugar. If that is the case, mix again and serve. And enjoy!

**more pics**

We will go to Spain today. We will cook Empanada, a stuffed bread dish typical in Spain and also in Portugal. There are also little empanadas or empanadillas that are popular in South America too. Maybe the most famous Empanada is the Empanada Gallega. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

Dough,

1 cup and 1 tablespoon water
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon salt
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon Spanish pimentón
½ tablespoon yeast

Stuffing,

1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 chopped Spanish chorizo
3 slices of ham
1 tomato
1 roasted chopped red pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Spanish pimentón
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

To brush the Empanada,

1 beaten egg

First we will prepare the dough. I will use my bread machine to make the Empanada dough, but, of course, you can knead your dough by hand. I will use the machine because it is very convenient. You can use a stand mixer as well.
With the bread machine, we will put…

I know, I know. Cooking with Ramen Noodles? Why not? Cooked with some vegetables, Ramen Noodles make a healthy and tasty meal. Let’s cook this delicious Ramen and Vegetable Soup.

Ingredients:

A packet of Ramen Noodles
½ chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
3 sliced okras
5 frozen chopped green beans
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen broccoli
½ cup frozen spinach
8 frozen butter beans
1 boiled potato, cut in little pieces
1 small tomato, cut in little pieces
½ cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

First we will prepare the vegetables for our recipe. As I use fresh and frozen vegetables, first we will start sautéing the onion and the carrot in a saucepan with hot extra virgin olive oil. Just a couple of minutes. Then we will add the ginger, the garlic and the okra. Then we will add water to the saucepan. Now we will add the frozen vegetables: the green beans, the corn, the broccoli…

We will make some dessert today. A delicacy with bananas. And something very easy to make. Few ingredients but a great recipe. Delicious.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup rum
Some vanilla ice cream

First we will have to melt the butter. We will do this in a frying pan on low heat. We will add the sugar little by little. It is very important to stir continuosly. When the butter and the sugar are well mixed, we will add the cinnamon and half the rum. We will mix well and then we will add the bananas. We will cook the bananas. Do this always on low heat. Cook the bananas till they are tender.
Now we will heat the rest of the rum in another pan. Then we will pour it onto the pan with the bananas. Flame the rum very carefully.
Then serve it with vanilla ice cream. And just enjoy!

**more pics**

We will cook some Crab Cakes today, but they will have fish too. Crab cakes are quite popular in the United States. When I came to the States I learned to appreciate crab cakes. I will show how I make my Crab and Fish Cakes. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon mayonnaise sauce
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon regular mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ cup bread crumbs
1 chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon minced onion
1 (6 ounce) can crab meat
5 fish fingers, half cooked
Some flour
More extra virgin olive oil to fry the cakes

Let’s cook our cakes.
The preparation is very easy. We just have to mix the ingredients in a container, all of them except the oil to fry the cakes. We have to get a consistent mixture.
With the help of some flour we will…

A typical dish from Catalonia, in Spain. A wonderful vegetarian dish. Roasted vegetables served, of course, with olive oil. An explosion of flavor.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 tomato
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Some salt to taste
Some extra virgin olive oil

First we will prepare our oven. It has to be preheated to 400ºF. We will rub all the vegetables, except the tomato, with some oil. Then we will put these vegetables on an oven tray and we will take it to the oven. We will put the tomato inside the oven 25 minutes later. The vegetables must be in the oven for about 50-55 minutes. Then we will remove the vegetables from the oven and we will wrap the eggplant, the peppers and the onion with a newspaper or a paper bag. We do not need to do this with the tomato. Now we will let the vegetables outside the oven for about 20 minutes. The reason for wrapping the vegetables with paper is to make it easier to peel them afterwards. And this is what we will have to…

A Spanish dish today. From the Canary Islands, to be more precise. Potatoes and a delicious sauce. Simple but delicious. The Canary Islands. That paradise off the African coast. A bridge between Spain, Africa and America.

Ingredients:

4 red new potatoes
4 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
½ teaspoon Spanish pimentón
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
Some drops of Tabasco sauce

First we will wash the potatoes thoroughly. It is better if the potatoes are not too big. I prefer small red potatoes for this recipe. We will put the potatoes in a pot that can be closed with a tight-fitting lid. We will add water just to cover the potatoes. Now we will add the salt. It is not a problem to add so much salt. In fact, that will make our potatoes to be delicious and they will not seem too salty. I promise. We have to boil the potatoes on a strong fire. We will cover the pot with the lid. If the lid is not tight-fitting, we can…