Thursday, May 29, 2014

Wheat Wraps

I don't like buying tortillas at the grocery store. It's not that I have anything against grocery stores or tortillas or anything like that. It's the tangy-yuck taste that store bought (pre-packaged) tortillas have (that I taste).

So, I let Alton Brown teach me the recipe of how to make tortillas. clickclickclickclickclick here for that do-dah I did awhile ago

Totally new story: I used to work at Jason's Deli (whaaat?!) And in that time there I cussed out a manager over a paycheck and time-stubs, quit twice, flaked out completely, and never made it to "make" position. Still lots of fun and good times were had.

Funny story (still referencing my Jason's Deli days): When I made "whipped cream" I left the mixer going - went back out on the line, took an order. Then someone said (his name is Alex) - Uhhhh. Who is making whipped cream? And I had a sinking feeling in my stomach because the way he said what he said, told me that something went amuck.

I went to the back and I guess I didn't have the bowl locked in tightly enough. There was whipped cream EVERYWHERE and I had successfully churned the cream to butter. I'm so talented.

Okay, but getting back to the wheat wrap - Every special occasion (once a month or so) Jason takes me to Whole Foods. The smell when I enter there! Oh man. I love it. I usually always go straight for the seafood salad they have - it's got roasted red peppers, shredded jicama and carrot - and the seafood included is calamari (tentacles are my fave), mussels, tiny shrimp, and bay scallops. It's so good. I can taste it right now just thinking about it.

I found a variety of wraps there that were similar to the wraps used when I worked at Jason's Deli. Problem was that the package of wraps (price range) at Whole Foods was somewhere around $5.49-$6.50. Each package yielded 6 HUGE wraps. But anyways, $1 per wrap was worth it to me usually every trip to Whole Foods. I got so sad though much too soon when I would end up using the last wrap. So, I did a stupid move and I would buy 2 the next trip. That was alright for a couple of trips back - but the wraps began to become too costly. I would also be careful in trying to save the wraps because I wanted to try and avoid that sinking feeling. Needless to say, this got to be a small prob and a big dilemma.

So I took it to the streets internet worldwideweb I looked inside my heart first. Then I got on the internet and scoured endlessly and very tired like (I'm so tired these days, it's ridiculous) BUT!

Long story short. I found a recipe that I like. Here's the link:Wheat Wrap Recipe


I wanted to show you how to roll it all out because that's always the tricky part for me. Anyways, I'll be posting more so staaaay tuned!

Wrap Recipe Combo Idears:
1. Turkey Breast, Guacamole, Alfalfa Sprouts, Chopped Tomatoes, shredded Asiago
2. Peanut Butter, Grape Jelly, smashed honey roasted Cashews
3. Chicken Breast, Honey Mustard, Cabbage Slaw, Shredded Raw Onion, & toasted Sliced Almonds
4. Cheddar Cheese, Avocado, Mango Chutney, and dashes of Tabasco

I made one today. (wasn't my fave but it was still decent) It had 1 and a half slices of Boar's Head Tavern Ham, 1/4c of store bought Guac (it was a buy one get one free deal), shredded asiago and then I had Ken's Italian dressing and French's mustard to dip and drag in.

ALSO! You can leave the wraps out to dry out. From there you could grind down for bread crumbs.
You can also bake them to make into chip-like dippable thingys. You could use them as a pizza crust, you could make them into a quesadilla. And they're good to feed birds with if you have left-overs and you don't want to see them thrown away and/or wasted.

And oh yah! Thanks for the supa-skillzed camerma man - Jason Anderson. Give it up!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

a Breakfast

This is the tale of Jason's uneaten breakfast. It's exactly 5:21am. I remember Jason mentioning his alarm (maybe being set to go off) at 5:30am. I remember because he said, "5:30am comes early, don't it?" >insert Jason's shitty-smiling grin here<

I have 9min. to make his breakfast. He likes to eat on the go, I think. He likes eggs. Eggs are hard to eat on the go, I back track. Croissant. One left over croissant. nigella Lawson croissant bread pudding. (inserts black satin pink back light with reds hues. as a visual of course) *I don't like bread pudding, I think. Lindsey likes it though. It's her favorite. Stomach turns. It should be my favorite too, I think. I bet Lindsey hated that part. Quit talking about her.
 
remember to always have familiar flavors
 
"to new beginnings"
 
choose your pan and heat level. It's okay, coffee isn't in the pic yet.
 
torn Croissant and one scrambled egg
 
looks like Hawaiian Rolls close up, doesn't it? I thought so anyways.
 
go-to fats are important

 
you know what else is equally important? Toppings. and finishing touches.
 
heat source
 
"gonna fry my baby gonna hold her tight gonna take an apple tomb be bite"
That's how the lyrics go, right?
 
Seriously though - Up to this point: Scrambled an egg, seasoned it with a smidge of vanilla (about 1/8th of a teaspoon) and then dunked the sliced/torn croissant pieces in with the egg mixture. The croissant will absorb as much of the egg mixture as possible and/or as much as you let it.

I wanted to go a funnel cake, Dutch-apple baby, flattened cinnamon roll - type of direction. Quick on my feet, I pre-heated some oil over high heat - and then dumped the croissant/egg/vanilla into the hot oil.
 
 
take cover
 
smashed
 
smoosh it down
 
bottom's up
 
doused in cream. This is Nigella Lawson's answer to most everything. I applied that here.
 
little cinnamon, perhaps?
 
I could've left this part out
 
guess I didn't
 
under harsh light with no morning sun in sight yet
 
I dusted the dark top with powdered sugar as if it were a beignet or funnel cake. I sprinkled a smidge of nutmeg and showered with a seasoning of coarse salt. Also, I fried an egg in case Jason wasn't feeling like trying something new.

Syrup, honey, jam, chocolate, Nutella, strawberries, caramel, ice cream, peanuts, ground red pepper, Chinese Five-Spice - all nice added toppings. Orange marmalade and a Maker's Mark or Amaretto with maraschino cherries (combo of sorts) don't sound too shabby either.
 
BREAKFAST IS SERVED!
 
This was literally just before Jason opened the door. I just happened to be there. coincidence? Your call.

Sad story: Jason didn't eat any of this. The egg turned into part of my lunch - and I ate part of the rest of it of the impromptu-croissant-pancake. I threw the rest/leftovers in the trash bin.

Yes. It says here, that. I was told to: "Rep your city."

I'm assuming "your" means "my" in this instance. Either way, I've been repping Troup, America's baseball team since I was 18. I have one other "Troup Baseball" T-shirt. It's more worn - but anyways. When you grill or BBQ, remember to take a load off and take a breather. Play & have fun, or else. (I just say this because usually when you have a good/rested attitude - the food or whatever you're cooking will reflect this and in turn yield a tastier dish.)
 
 
 
 
 
I thought I really looked like Rocky Balboa here. Does anyone else see it?
 
Laughing at myself.
 
this is my "rest" face. I've been told I look like a total bitch when I make it. I can't say for sure what I was thinking at this point in time. Probably - get the camera off of me Jason. or I hope Penny doesn't run over my face because when she pulls my hair it really stings.

Candid Camera is sometimes the best. 

Beer Butt Chicken cont'd

Yall didn't think that was it, didja?
 
did you guys see Inception? Yah, me too. I'm not smart enough to know what it was they were trying to make a movie out of. Leonardo DiCaprio - I wonder if he likes Volkswagons.
 
Penny's nose knows. *Crazy world. Lots of smells"

We're in the homestretch here guys. Notice the removal of the tin foil?

 
where the temp gauge go?
 
twisty-
 
-turvy
 
nother angle to the money shot. perspective.
 
Again, perspective people. It'll GETCHA!
 
also, paranoia will too if you let it. Jason snapped my face here.
 
notice my gentle touch. Pulling back the wing slightly to get inside the wing. Arm pits not need neglecting, I do declare.
 
pools and pool and pools
 
baste top to bottom
 
get in the nooks and crannies. Try not to tear.
 
careful
 
cupping
 
did yall hear about that "conscious uncoupling?" that Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow are doing/talking about? I don't trust them. And the music video to "Yellow" freaks me out. Bligh. I don't know what's more gross - the thought of how Chris Martin's hair smells after a set or having to kiss Gwyneth's frog lips. EWWWWWWWW!
 
sometimes it takes 2.
 
2 carrots, 3 small potatoes, half an onion, and half a head of garlic.
Flavored with bottled (that's right, bottled salad dressing is sometimes better than homemade) dressing. I chose Ken's Steakhouse Italian with Aged Romano
 
not sure what's going on here
 
 
oh yah. More basting.
 
 
ROCK FLAG AND EAGLE! side note: I can't believe I made it through one whole Memorial Day without seeing one Charlie Kelly quote reference on FaceBook. What's this world coming to?
 
*no words*
 
Rrreeeh.
 
roe.
 
Still not the end.