Pupusas

Less than a year ago I had never even known what a pupusas was.  Insert my great friend Lindsey to help educate my poor pupusaless soul!  Aside from her bring my Zumba wife, she is also my partner in crime, and bachelor watching comrade.  She also loves food as much as I do but doesn't cook.  I'm ok with that because I can cook and she can tell me how awesome I am.  She also does the dishes like a champ!  I HATE doing dishes after I have cooked!  The perfect partnership!

Probably about 4ish months ago, she drove me about an hour out of town to try her favorite food called Pupusas.  I was pretty sure she said Poop on Us... never heard of it before but I am always up for a new culinary adventure.  We walked into this junky little Salvadorian hole in the wall and ordered our food.  Basically pupusas are a hybrid of a tamale and a quesadilla.  They are yummy!  They are served up with a cabbage slaw.  These humble little corn flour happiness disks are pretty damn tasty. After this food adventure, Lindsey demanded that I make these for her.  No pretty please.  Just gimme the pupusas.  It took a bit of time but I decided that I was going to kill a few birds with one stone. 

I have a small fear of pressure cookers.  They freak me out.  Cooking something in a pressurized vessel is weird.  The fact that I can't check on what I am cooking isn't cool either.  But carpe diem bitches.  I am smarter than the appliances in my kitchen.  I run them and not the other way around.  So I figured I could cook the meat in the pressure cooker and get my food requests out of the way. 

My first official stab at my pressure cooker!

Browning meat like a champ!

At this point you take the meat out... put it on a rack with onion and garlic and 4 cups of water. Put the top on and start pressure cooking.

This is the tomato mixture that would be added to the shredded meat to make our blended meat paste. **If you look up other pupusas recipes they say just to shred your meat but I have been told that it needs to be blended.  I used my immersion blender for this and it worked out very well!

 First you roll into a ball.



Then you poke a hole in the ball and fill it with goop.  We had meat paste, refried beans, and cheese.

Then find a handy dandy kitchen assistant to flatten the balls into patties.

Grill away... the left side are ones that haven been flipped and the right 6 have been flipped.

Finished product!

Make sure to make the coleslaw!  It really makes the difference!

Enjoy!

Now for the recipe. This from start to finish took about 6 hours with about an hour break in the middle.  So make a big batch and freeze the extra.  I ended up shredding the pork and saving half in the fridge for dinner the next night and then blending the rest and I still had about half of the blended pupusas meat left which I froze for the next pupusas night.

Cabbage Slaw

1 bag shredded cabbage mix (the one with carrots and purple cabbage)

1 bag shredded purple cabbage 

1/2 onion thinly sliced

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 bunch cilantro, washed and finely chopped

Combine cabbages, onion and cilantro in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, mix remaining ingredients until sugar and salt are dissolved.  Pour liquid over cabbage and place in the fridge.  Leave in the fridge for at LEAST 1 hour.  We ate ours after about 4 hours and it was perfect!

Pork Filling

8 qt pressure cooker

2 tablespoons oil

4.5 lb pork shoulder

2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon each chili, cumin, coriander, garlic

4 cups of water (6 if not using a pressure cooker)

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1/2 onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeño

1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and cinnamon

First, in a small bowl add salt, pepper, chili, cumin, coriander, and powdered garlic.  Mix until evenly distributed.  Season your meat with half of your spice mixture.  Then turn on your burner to high and add oil to the bottom of the pan.   When the pan is hot, brown your meat on all sides. Once complete remove your meat and add your pressure cooker rack if you have one.  Then lay your onion and two garlic cloves on the bottom of the rack. Season your meat with the remaining spices and return the browned meat to the pressure cooker.  Add the water.  Seal the pressure cooker according to directions.  Bring your pressure cooker up to high and then lower the heat until you get a gentle amount of steam coming out of the pressure cooker.  Once this is achieved, cook at this level for 55-57 minutes.  (we are cooking at high altitude so we have to cook on the high side of times.). If you don't have a pressure cooker you can still make this meat.  Just follow all of the steps, and when you turn your burner on get your water to a low simmer and put your lid on.  The meat should cook within about 3 hours. (You could also do this in your slow cooker)

Once your hour cooking time is up in the pressure cooker, let the pressure cooker loose pressure naturally. 

While this is happening, grab a blender and add the diced tomatoes, onion, remaining garlic, oregano and cinnamon. Purée in a blender.  Set aside.

Once your pressure cooker has lost it's pressure and is safe to open, you can remove the meat from the liquid and shred into a bowl.  **I took half of my meat at this point and saved it in the fridge for BBQ pork!**

Take half of the meat and add about 2/3rds of the tomato mixture.  Blend until you have a sticky meat paste.  You are now ready!

Masa Dough

7 cups masa harina

4 1/2 cup warm water

2 teaspoon salt

Olive Oil

In a bowl, mi the masa and the water together.  Let sit for a half hour.  Stir in about a 1/2 cup of cold water and the dough should become soft and not sticky.  Shape into golf ball size balls.  I used two cookie scoops to make 1 ball!  Set formed balls under a damp towel as you go!

Other ingredients

1 can refried beans

1 package cotija cheese or mozzarella

ASSEMBLY TIME* See pictures earlier

Grab a ball of dough and poke a hole in the middle.  Stuff with a bit of fillings (any combination of beans, meat, and cheese) and then roll the dough over the fillings.  You hopefully wont see the filling.  Carefully with oiled hands start to carefully flatten the dough between your hands.  Once a thin disk has formed, you can cook on a hot grill.  I used my pancake griddle set to 400 degrees, make to grease your griddle.  Each side takes up to 4-6 minutes.  Flip when one side is browned and crispy on the bottom.

At this point you are ready to serve.  I served mine with the slaw, guacamole, and Pico de Gallo!

Needless to say Lindsey was VERY happy with my results.  She has decided to keep me as her friend!  They were delicious!  These are very time consuming but totally worth it.  Especially because both Lindsey I have about 15 in the freezer!

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Spinach Balls

The mixture before running the food processor

Sorry there is no finished picture (got distracted with party guests) but this little buggers are delish!  I first had these tasty treats Christmas of 2013.  I fell in love with them.  I demanded the recipe from a friend and just finally got the recipe.  THANK HEAVENS!

They look like a falafel. They kinda taste like one too! They are a great appetizer to have at a party when all you have is a crazy amount of dips and fatty items.  They are the perfect finger food.  I frankly will eat most appetizers that is shaped like a ball.  There was actually a suggestion at my New Years Party that we have a party where people must bring food shaped into balls.  I see no problem as long as you describe the party parameters clearly.

This will be a recipe that I will try to play with... ;) I think I can even improve on this recipe even more!  I want to try it with Feta instead of the cheddar cheese.  I love those flavors!  I also want to make a garlic dip for these bad boys.  

Go ahead and make them for Superbowl.  Nobody will question that you are feeding them onions and spinach!

2 pkg frozen spinach, thawed

1 pkg frozen onion, thawed

2 c bread crumbs (could be gluten free if you wanted)

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

3 eggs

 1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

8 crushed garlic cloves

1Tblsp. Salt

Mix together in a food processor until combined. Create 1 inch balls of the mixture ( I used my cookie scoop) and place on a  cookie sheet. At this point you are supposed to refridgerate over night.  I didn't do this but if you skip this step you should put them in the freezer for a bit so they can harden up and keep their shape when you cook them.I used a silpat. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until browned.  Serve warm.  

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Cardamom Ice Cream

 

 

 

 

 

I have an ice cream maker and I don't make it enough.  However this last summer I found an ice cream company that makes cardamom ice cream.  I don't enjoy spending 4 dollars for a small pint of ice cream that I can make at home.  So I set off to make my own.  I had to freeze these in two batches.  The second batch had too much cracked cardamom so I would keep an eye on that but the flavor was AMAZING!  I will be making this again.  It tastes great with my ginger cookies.   Even if you don't make your own batch of these you should buy a pint if you see it in the stores.  I get mine from Whole Foods!



Adapted from Savory Simple

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
splash of pure vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons cardamom seeds, cracked (Like you would black pepper)
6 egg yolks
5 ounces granulated sugar

Directions:
Add the milk, cream, and vanilla to a saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in the cardamom. Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
Vigorously whisk the yolks and sugar together in a bowl. When the cream is just starting to simmer (don't boil it), slowly pour some of the liquid into the yolks while whisking.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and turn the heat down to medium-low. Stir in a figure 8 motion with a wood spoon or rubber spatula for several minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool for several minutes, stirring periodically. Cover with plastic wrap that’s pressed directly against the liquid to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until very cold, preferably overnight.
Prepare ice cream according to the manufacturer's instructions.


© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Nutri Ninja Review

Blenders.  Never had one growing up and once I graduated I got a blender as a gift from my mom.  I thought there wasn't a huge difference between blenders.  Oh how wrong I was.  May I introduce to you my newest kitchen addition, Nutri Ninja Auto IQ.  

There was a ton of parts to this blender and at first sight I was thinking that this was ridiculous.  I typically only make smoothies and margaritas in my old blender so I think 5 different blender cups was over the top.

I started by making a smoothie using the togo cup.  The best part of this is the fact that you make the drink right in the cup that you are going to take with you.  When you are done blending you put the sippy top on and you are ready to leave for work.

The first smoothie had mixed berries and pineapple with some tart cherry noosa and a bit of orange juice.  YUM.  The nice thing about the IQ Ninja is that you just lock in the cup and press a button and it blends it for the perfect amount.  

I was really happy with my first attempt so I wanted to see how the smoothies would work out if I put spinach and kale in my smoothie.  With my old blender there would be chunks of spinach and there would always be some part of my smoothie that was blended.  With this bad boy everything was blended evenly.  WHAAA????...a blender that properly blends.  Who would have thought.  I am so impressed and it is a great way to hide my veggies.  I want to try carrots and cabbage in my next smoothies!

 Now onto the food processor bowl.  I already have a food processor and I have frankly never used anything that is marketed as a blender to make pie dough and to make Graham cracker crust.  I was very impressed.  Everything was evenly blended and the graham crumbs turned out great.  I even processed cranberries for a family recipe of cranberry fluff.  I love it.  I won't be getting rid of my food processor which slices and has a few other functions that this blender does not have but I was so impressed with this magical fancy blender.

 All this comes down to is...would I buy or recommend this to a friend. HELL YES.  It is a powerhouse of a blender.  The most versital blender that I have ever owned.  I can't imagine how I lived so long with my other blender (sorry mom).  

Go out with your gift cards from Christmas and buy yourself one of these bad boys!

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Ariana- 5 year wedding anniversary

It is nearing the end of the year and I wanted to write a quick food porn post of my 5 year wedding anniversary!  First, I have to say that my husband is a saint to put up with my crazy antics!  I love him dearly and am excited to see what the next 5 years brings us!

Matt and I went to Ariana Resturant to celebrate!  This is one of my favorite places to eat!

These had a fancy name to them but it was a fried risotto cheese ball thing with a butter sauce on the bottom and crispy sage leafs.  It was weird but tasted good!

Carrot Soup with Cumin and a cilantro oil on top.  This was so good and I need to remember to try to recreate this when I get the chance!

I got too excited to take a picture of this before I started eating it.  This was pork picatta with arugula and a fried egg.  It was crunchy and delicious!

This is one of my all time favorite desserts.  This is an Almondrado Cake with a cherry sauce on the bottom.  I will master this cake one day.  I must!  I have dreams about eating this cake!  Matt got a trio of ice creams in the back!  I was really nice and shared!  This was the last little cake they had in the back!

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Meatballs

These bad-ass balls of meaty love came out of the need to make a paleo friendly meatball that I could use in multiple types of recipes and was still yummy to eat!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I knew right away that I had to make these.  I fell in love.  I think you can use them in pretty much anything.  I have frozen these meatballs and they are still great.  That's my kind of meal!  There are a million ways to use these meatballs.  I have put them in tomato soup to make it more hearty and filling.  I have served them on spaghetti and in Beef Stroganoff.  You could serve them in Teriyaki or BBQ sauce.  The possibilities are endless.

Make sure to add these to your go to meal list.  They are awesome flavor bombs!

Adapted from Damn Delicious
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup Panko or gluten free break crumbs
2 large egg yolks
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tblsp. ginger
1 teaspoon Soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Spray cooling rack with nonstick spray,
In a bowl, add all of the ingredients and mix together with your hands.  Use a cookie scoop to measure out meatballs and place on the cooling rack. 
Bake until golden brown 20-25 minutes.

Serve immediately.  If you don't want to eat these immediately you can cool them completely and then you can place them in the freezer. I recommend you place the cooling rack that you baked the meatballs on in the freezer until them are semi frozen and then you can transfer them to a Ziploc bag.  Make sure to label and date your Ziploc.


© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal

Cookie Butter cookies

I have had a jar of cookie butter sitting in my pantry for weeks...actually it's been months.  I am completely terrified of opening it.  I have no self control around the jar.  I will sit down in front of the TV and shovel spoon full after spoon full into my mouth.  It's not pretty to watch but it is damn tasty.  I figured that the cookie butter may be safer in cookie form.  I usually freeze the cookies I make for unexpected company or for those nights were dessert is NOT an option.  All you have to do is pop one in the microwave for 20 seconds and heaven awaits.

100% honesty here.  These cookies are good but I was expecting them to have more cookie butter taste to them.  I think if I were to do these again I would add cinnamon and ginger to the batter to make them a bit more spicy.

Please make sure not to over bake these.  I over baked the first round and I can say the crunchy version of these are not super enticing!

Overcooked but were good dunked in milk!

Either way...I love me some cookie butter and these were delicious.
Recipe from The Coterie Blog

Cookie Butter Cookies
1/2 c. cookie butter (Found at Trader Joes)
1/2 c. butter
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla
*extra cookie butter for drizzling at the end
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl beat butter and speculoos with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup of the flour, the sugars, egg, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-9 minutes or till bottoms are lightly browned.

Cool cookies on a wire rack. After the cookies cool for at least 20 minutes, melt about 1/4 c. speculoos in microwave and drizzle over cookies with a spoon.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

© Kim Bohme and A Bohme Cooked Meal