At Home With GG

It's really no secret that I'm a fan of Asian cuisine. I love Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai. Something I'm relatively new to is Filipino food. I went to Catholic school for many years while living in California, and 80% of my class was always made up of Filipino kids. I had a few friends, but we weren't close. Grade school was very cliquey.  I tried to hang out with them, but the fact of the matter was, 1) I was a nerd and 2) we literally had nothing in common. I have only tried a few things from Filipino cuisine. My two favorite are lumpia (egg rolls) and chicken adobo. I have a confession: I HAVE NEVER HAD ADOBO MADE BY ANYONE BUT ME. I found this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen, and I have made it a few times now. It is incredible. The coconut milk really makes it for me- and of course, the garlic. Ohhhh soooo much garlic! If this isn’t how you make adobo, tell me how you make yours. For those who have tried this recipe, what do you think of it?

I really have no idea where this recipe came from, as we're Italian, and its really not an Italian dish. If you do searches online, you will come up with Hungarian and Polish backgrounds. My grandfather's sister married a man of Hungarian descent. It could have come from there. However, my grandmother used to also work for a Jewish caterer. She made life-long friends with the ladies she served with. One in particular happened to be a Holocaust survivor. I remember as a little girl, the old ladies would gather once a month for lunch. I can remember my grandma brought me once and I noticed that one of the ladies had a tattoo on her forearm. This was so strange to me, because I wasn't real familiar with tattoos, and especially ladies with tattoos. (All of that will change as I get older.) I was so curious about this tattoo and like children do, my eyes became fixated on it. She noticed my curiosity and asked me if I knew what it was. "A tattoo!" I exclaimed, so p

This is not a happy post, but it is something that I have to write about. The past few months have been exceptionally rough for me. April 21st, the world lost a wonderful woman. My world lost one of the most important women. My grandmother, the one I have spoken so highly of in my previous posts, passed away from a massive heart attack. She didn't suffer, which is good, but instead, I have been suffering. I have not allowed myself to grieve at all. Its not healthy to not grieve, but for some reason, I guess I just wasn't ready to accept it. This stuff is all taken from my memory, so some things may not be correct. Virginia Ann Culotta was born January 11, 1928. She used to tell me that she and Mickey Mouse were the same age. 1928 was the same year that Walt Disney created his empire. It was a good year. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and was the youngest of 5 children. Her mother and father were both from St. Agata, Sicily. Her father, Antonino, was in the Sicilian Navy. T

With all the diet fads going around nowadays, its hard to keep up with all of the stuff that is actually good for you. Is it good for me? Is it a super food? Will it give me tons of energy? These are probably some of the questions that float around in your head... no? OK, that's just me then. Lately, with all this GMO Monsanto talk, there is also a rush on super foods. This stuff has been around for a billion years, and now, its just getting the press it deserves. A few years ago, it was quinoa. Pronounced (kin-wa) for those who still don't know how in the hell to say it. For those who have no idea what the heck it is, its a grain like seed, kinda like couscous, but more woody tasting. It originated in the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. It is an excellent source of both fiber and protein. I happen to like quinoa a lot. More foods that top the "OMG you must incorporate it into your diet NOW" list are coconut water, aloe vera, flaxseed, and chi

I'm 38 weeks pregnant today. In normal people and guy talk, that's two weeks left of this baby business. Lately I feel like I'm a damn bottomless pit. I eat and eat and I'm still hungry. Then, it all catches up with me and I hate myself for the next 4 hours. Food baby plus real baby in the tummy equals nap time. My husband always invites our friends over for the UFC fights and boxing matches. Every time we have people over, everyone brings a case of beer, drinks a few and we are left with the rest at the end of the night. This sounds like an amazing deal for people who actually drink... for us, it just means we have to find a place for it. We aren't really drinkers. That being said, I have to get creative and figure out what the heck to do with all of this beer. Mexican beer is perfect for boiling chicken in for tacos. A can of Bud Light up a chicken's ass makes for some delicious Beer Can Chicken. Guinness.... well, now... there is something to be pondered.

If you know me, you know that I'm a serious taco connoisseur. I love tacos. I don't discriminate either. Well, unless its something weird like lengua or cabeza. I know, I know.... It's all a mental thing to me though. I just can't bring myself to do it. Growing up, I have never really been a fish person. As an adult, I tried really hard to incorporate fish into my diet. I started out with mild fish like  Tilapia or Cod  then moved on to stronger, richer fish like Salmon. I am still a little bit picky about the way they are prepared. I really only like the way that I prepare Salmon. I like it broiled in the oven with a honey mustard glaze or grilled on the bbq. Mmm! Delicious! However, is seems like the grocery stores are carrying a bigger variety of fish now. A new one that I like is Swai or Basa . If you have never tried it, give it a go. It's a very mild fish like Tilapia . Over the past couple years, I have been working on perfecting a recipe for fish tacos,