WHERE THE HEART IS....

So as some people may know (or will now) I have high blood pressure.  No need to go into the stats on how this affects black people because the reality is HPB is a problem for many people. What’s crazy is how much I never realized how serious this disease is.  Maybe I should’ve paid attention when I spent some time temping in an emergency room and noticed how every individual who came into the hospital who had a heart attack or stroke under 40, DIED!  Recently, I have maintained a blood pressure of 145-160 over 85-100.  Yeah, I know, HORRIBLE.  I could feel the effects by waking up with headaches, my heart racing and a general fatigue. 

Now I realize that I’m getting older, but I am by no means old.  So I had to do start doing something.  Well, I’ve read all the documentation my doctor told me and started going to the gym regularly.  Hit the doc’s again, no change in the blood pressure.  He made me realize that the biggest part of blood pressure is diet.  Uggghhhh!!!  I knew that would be the hardest part for me, but I had to buckle down.  So, I tried Atkins.  Works like a charm.  Blood pressure dropped 12 points across the board.  Problem tho….ATKINS IS DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO FOLLOW IF YOU LIKE ENJOYING GOOD FOOD!!!  Sorry Atkins fans.  I can admit that it’s an effective diet, but its just not reasonable for people that enjoy pasta, rice and potatoes (which makes up damn near EVERYBODY!)  While cooking at home and preparing my meals ahead of time might help, I just don’t have the time….who does.  So I looked up those healthy eating sections in the supermarket.  What I noticed is that while many of these dishes are low-calorie and low-fat, they are not necessarily HEART HEALTHY.  Why?  Because they are ridiculously HIGH in sodium which is a major contributor to high blood pressure.  Well, I guess I need to go back to preparing my own food then.  I think that’s the way to go.  Next time, I’ll hit yall off with a dinner recipe or two.  And oh yeah, check out this video on ways to lower your blood pressure.  You’d be surprised how many different factors can improve your heart health outside of just losing weight.

GM

HOOK IT UP....FOR BREAKFAST

So, to expand the repertoire, I decided to try a breakfast item.  I love corned beef hash.  However, the canned version is pretty lame.  So I wanted to jazz up my corned beef.  Below is my own special recipe for corned beef hash. I didn’t include a pic because, to be honest, it doesn’t look very gourmet, but IT IS OFF THE HOOK!!!  Probably one of the best tasting items I’ve had, in a restaurant or what someone has cooked.   I think what makes it special to me is the andouille sausage and the Cajun seasoning.  It picks it up a notch and gives it a bigger flavor that immediately hits you from the first bite to the last.  Please give it a try and I’d love your feedback on it.

GM

Cashmere's Corned Beef Hash

1 cup pepper medley
1/2 medium onion (roughly 1/2 cup)
1 andouille sausage (roughly 1 cup)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
4 cups shredded hash brown potatoes
1 12 oz can corn beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp oregano

Chop peppers and onions coarsely
Chop sausage into cubes
Heat butter over medium heat until melted
saute peppers and onions for 2-3 mins
add sausage and cook for 2-3 mins stirring occassionally
Add potatoes and seasonings and mix well
Let cook for 3 mins and then mix again
Let cook for 5 mins and add corned beef
Mix corn beef in well and stir occassionally making sure the meat cooks completely usually about 10 minutes.
Turn heat to medium-high and let cook on one side for 3-5 minutes. 
Serve with spatula and flip so that the crisp bottom is showing.

Money Where My Mouth Is.... Part 2

So after 1 hour of preparation it's finally done!!!!  Gotta say that I will enjoy playing around with this recipe to get more of the taste directly from the pork chop and not as much the sauce, but still the SAUCE IS AMAZING.  The sweetness of the mango and pineapple has a nice smoothness in it because of the butter and adds just the right tang to the meat.

I will say the biggest surprise is the roasted potatoes.  THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!!  Anytime that I've baked sweet potatoes, well, actually, I've never baked sweet potatoes.  I've always boiled them for a sweet potatoe pie or souffle.  Well this was a fantastic side.  Sage is a very savory spice, very similar to oregano, but fills your mouth with a little more with flavor.  I think that was the touch that made this such a great recipe.

And not to be forgotten was the asparagus, which outside of me adding a little too much black pepper, they came out great.  Crispy and tender at the same time. 

All and all, I will say that my journey into creating fine cuisine is starting out pretty good.  If you'd like the recipe, just comment and I'd be more than happy to give it to you.

GM

Money Where My Mouth Is....Part 1

So as I get more and more excited about pursuing my passion and expanding my culinary skills, I figure I’d take y’all on the trial and error journey that I’m about to take.  So for all 6 of y’all :D I’d like to announce my next meal, Pork Chops with Mango Pineapple Sauce (doesn’t that just sound good).  I’m figuring that should be an undertaking alone as I’m going to have to use a sieve and as of writing this blog I have no idea what it is.  :D

With that as my entrée I have to have the accompaniment be an equally delicious sounding side.  So to go someplace I’ve never gone before I’m doing a Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sage with my girlfriends Roasted Asparagus recipe.  To be honest, I’m only doing the potatoes because its going to give me an opportunity to use my newest 8” knife (yeah, I’m getting chef specific on yo’ azz, lol) because I have to cut them into ¾” squares.  Tomorrow, don’t be surprised if they’re 5/8” or something like that. 

Its really amazing how excited I get over the opportunity to make something different, but hey, I believe that enjoying great, not just good, food is something that can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of bank account size.  Pursue your passion.

GM

FOLLOW YOUR PASSION....

You hear all the time about following your passion.  I remember advising a high school graduate getting ready to pick out their major for college that they should pick a major doing something that they love (although at 18 I don’t think there’s a texting and partying major, :D).  The point is to pursue your passion.  There is probably no higher achievement or greater happiness than earning a living off of what you love.  That’s not a job.  That’s not work.  That’s a REAL CAREER.  That’s smiling when you wake up in the morning (or afternoon, depending on your passion) to start working.  That’s smiling WHILE you’re working.  And even when it gets hard, you’re still driven because you’re doing what you love.

Well at some point, I had to put this into practice for myself.  I’ve been notorious for GIVING great advice and not taking it.  Well, I’m starting to put an end to that.  So I had to think.  What is my passion?  What do I love to do more than anything?  And it hit me.  Eating and cooking.  I mean, I’m a big guy.  I LOVE eating and LOVE coming up with new recipes (yeah, that’s a real fatboy admission right there, lol).  But what I love more is watching people enjoy something that I’ve made.  And I know so many people do too.  There’s nothing like that look when someone is really getting pleasure from something you’ve created.

So I’m getting my skills up!!!  Taking some classes, learning the art of presentation, improving my palette (I love that word!) and expanding the repertoire.  As I’m doing that, one of the first things I noticed was how ineffective I was cutting things.  I actually base that on watching those cooking shows and seeing the Iron Chefs chop things up like ninjas without as much as nicking a fingernail when the back of my hands look like Freddy Krueger woke me up.  So I thought this video on knife cutting techniques would help some people.  This guy, Norman Weinstein, makes it seem real easy, but the way he explains it and demonstrates it is very easy to follow.  He has a DVD that you can purchase and I suggest going out and getting it or taking a class on knife cutting techniques.  You’ll be surprised how much this helps and is the start with getting your culinary on.

GM

MOTIVATION....

So I’m off of one of the worst weekends I could have.  Bad things happening to good friends and issues myself that definitely were messing with my thoughts and derailing my focus.  It happens to the best of us.  Its life. Being a friend and dealing with other people’s problems and then being overwhelmed with the wild things that life throws at you can definitely distract you from the things that you want to accomplish.  I know as I write this my mind is racing thinking about 1 million things and unfortunately 999,990 of them are negative.  Everyone needs a boost though.  Everyone needs a little motivation to get you back on track and focused.  It’s not about not ever losing focus, it’s about how quickly you wipe your eyes and get back to seeing clearly again.  Sometimes it’s a pep talk from a good friend.  Sometimes it’s a scripture or prayer.  It could be anything.  For me today it was this video from Tony Robbins.  Yeah, Tony Robbins!  Funny he’s a motivational speaker and that’s exactly what he did to me today. 

And he was especially tailored to my issue.  Focus.  About finding what you seek.  He helped me to get back to remembering what I was looking for.  When all these negative thoughts were circling around in my head, his little 6 minute and change video helped me get back to seeing clearly again.  I hope it helps you.

Enjoy.

GM