Livin' La Vida Donya

We just wanted to sit in front of the couch and eat a bowl full of rice. I will always remember making this dish with such fondness. Why? Because I was the sous chef (second in command). My husband took the lead and cooked this while I was coaching and guiding him through each step of the process. I just had my spine surgery done and I was under a "soft food diet" for the first week. Carl did a great job feeding me mostly with soup, soft bread, chocolate pudding, and Jell-O. The first few days, I was just useless. Every movement hurt (I feared having to sneeze) and all I needed to do was rest, drink loads of water, and focus on getting better. As the following weekend approached, Carl asked me how to make fried rice because he saw we had bought some Chinese sausages that were in the chiller. By this time, I was able to stand and walk around a bit, with my cane of course. I was happy because Carl wanted to cook the dish and I was equally amused when he told me to just co...

A hearty casserole that pairs well with crusty bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, or even a salad. Remember all those pantry items you receive or buy and never know they even exist? Yeah... sadly, one of those items is that jar of sun-dried tomatoes. A lot of people like to give away baskets during the holidays and most of the items are gourmet products. I try to use them up but of course, some of them I even forget about completely. A few weeks ago, I bought 2 packages of sun-dried tomatoes when I wanted to make porchetta sandwiches. I forgot (again) about the second pack. I was bored of all the sun-dried tomato pasta dishes. Or pestos. Or making another sandwich with this just as an add-on. So... what to do? I decided to use them all up and make it into a casserole. This casserole is creamy and tangy and hearty. A touch of the basil brings out the freshness too. Since I also bought a few bunches of fresh herbs, I wanted to make use of them. I know herbs are fairly affordable b...

It should really be "Netflix and Brownie"... preferably while you're in pajamas. I honestly don't think I've met someone that hated brownies. Yes, there are some people that probably won't select this from a display right away. But if you think about it, once it's offered to them, they take it, take a bite, and zone out into their comfort zones.  Whoever made the first brownie must have thought, "Hhhmmm... this could go two ways. Do I share this with the world or keep this sinful treat to myself?" What a moral conundrum. I'm just happy this was shared with all of humanity! Hail the chocolate brownie gods! Of course, there are numerous accounts to how these came about. Brownies are said to have originated from the United States (I'm surprised the French and the Swiss didn't take a stab at this earlier). To be specific, at the Palmer House in Chicago in the early 1890's. And yes, you guessed it, it was named because of it...