Latest food experiences

I have not stopped cooking since I've gotten here. Mostly, the food is akin to that we in the States would normally make, only slightly more from scratch. Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, or other things you'd rely on Paul Newman or Prego for (I even made a peach vinaigrette with the right combination of smashed peaches, vinegar and salt) have all been undertook. I have some perfecting to do, but in general if all you have are some left over pasta, veggies and spices (and only a gas oven and stove), we can make it happen.

I had wanted to do something even more special for our German friends who came over last week. My cooking day is Wednesday, the day of their arrival. Could I possibly make some enchiladas? After a quick run to Wal-Mart, we found some spicy peppers and shredded cheeses other than Cremoso that happened to fit in our budget, gracias a Dios.

So.. three hours of tortilla and sauce prep leads to the above picture. I think they liked it, which is comforting. The better news is I hope to make more in the future, and when I get home I'll use more exotic meats like chicken! hehe. (Chicken is too expensive here, so we settle for beef, which is still good.)

I've also learned another magic trick to which I don't have a picture namely because I have already gobbled it all up. Oops :P

Eggplant. Introduced to me in middle school when my aunt Dulia prepared some for us, I have enjoyed other dishes including this vegetable especially on my trip to Greece. We've prepared a few meals with eggplant and most people don't seem to like it. It bugged me, because I still liked it, but I knew I had tasted better.

So today, I looked up how to prepare eggplant. A-ha! There is a process!! You're supposed to dice it and then place it in a colander, spreading salt on the surfaces. After about 40 minutes or an hour, you'll find all of the bitter flavors oozing out, and something else about clearing out air holes. I don't know. It's science.

After preparing said eggplant, I decided to take some of the leftover veggies in the fridge as well as dice up some parsley (I've read parsley brings out the flavor of eggplant), sautee and bam. Delicious. You can definitely tell a difference, and I look forward to preparing more eggplant in the future! Ahh, how I love learning more tricks of the trade!

Chau.