Fresh Mango Salsa

Posted on 08/20/2012 by Walter Blevins

I’m always looking for new flavors and ways to make my usually penchant for “meat and potatoes” just a little healthier.  We all  know that more fruit and vegetables are good for us but the biggest thing is to make sure that the fruit and vegetables are good.

Over the years I’ve seen all kinds of TV chefs make mango salsa and use it in any number of different dishes.  And judges like Padma Lakshmi “oooh and aaah” and talk about the layers of flavor (yeah right—so says the lady who did a sultry ad for Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s).

So recently I decided to go ahead and give it a try.  I’ve always kind of hesitated because mangos aren’t necessarily the easiest food in the world to work with because of the pith and they’re so juicy when they’re ripe.

grilled pork with fresh mango salsa Continue reading →

Posted in grilling, side dishes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Geegoogie Man’s Homemade Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted on 08/15/2012 by Walter Blevins

My Mom has teased me many times over the years—well not recently because I’m over 60 and she’s over 80—about one of my favorite things when I was real little.

Seems like when I was 3 or 4 years old there was an old-fashioned (at least by today’s standards) ice cream truck that would cruise through our neighborhood in Ardmore, Oklahoma. (Mom’s going to read this and she’ll let me know if it was some other military base town in the mid-50’s).

Anyway, a lot of evenings I was already in bed when the truck would come cruising through.  But I could hear the bell on the truck from a block or two away.  According to my Mom, I would start hollering out “Geegoogie man, geegoogie man!” at the top of my lungs until my father would head out to buy his obstinate youngest son a treat—in order to get me to shut up and go to sleep.

 

There was a truck like that which would cruise our neighborhood in Tampa when I was older.  And know what?  There’s trucks like that right here in Vista, California still drawing the kids and their parents out to the curb on a hot evening for a frozen treat.  When I hear the now electronic music (for some reason “Turkey in the Straw”) I’ll turn to Carolyn and get a slightly goofy smile on my face and say:  “Geegoogie man!” Continue reading →

Posted in dessert, kids meals, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Posted on 08/13/2012 by Walter Blevins

It’s hot and muggy here in SoCal.  Hot enough and sticky enough to remind me of all those summers in Iowa.  But it won’t get as hot and it won’t last as long.  That’s good news because our apartment isn’t air conditioned and we know we can put up with it for a week or so at a time.

But that also means that the last thing I want to do is heat up the kitchen.  Last night I went so far as to cook bacon on my grill (on a small cookie sheet) and it turned out great.  It was too hot to want to eat anything heavy so we just made up some BLT’s.

grilled sweet potatoes ready to eat Continue reading →

Posted in grilling, side dishes, vegetables | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cuban Mojo Pork Roast

Posted on 08/10/2012 by Walter Blevins

Last week my grocery store (Stater Brothers) had bone-in pork shoulder roast on special for $.99 a pound.  That’s a good deal even with the bone-in.  So I got one figuring I could freeze it and slow cook it when the weather gets colder.

But, the smallest they had was a 9 pounder—too big to shove into my pretty much full freezer so that bad boy had to get cooked up over the weekend.  What to do?  Well, I was going to shred it but I wanted to try something a little bit different.  I’ve been wanting to try Mojo and this was the perfect opportunity.

Mojo is a traditional Cuban marinade and sauce.  It’s made with sour orange juice and it creates an incredible flavor.  It’s actually pretty easy.  If you can get sour oranges great.  Otherwise use a mix of orange juice and lemon or lime juice.

cuban mojo pork roast plated

The roast is going to take somewhere around 6 hours to slow roast in the oven.  The flavor was terrific and I’ve got enough shredded pork roast in the freezer for three more dinners (after dinner Sunday and BBQ pork sandwiches on Monday).  So here’s how I did it and how it came out: Continue reading →

Posted in Comfort Food, family meals, pork, Slow Cooker/Crock Pot | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

It’s Hot Dog Extravaganza!

Posted on 08/07/2012 by Walter Blevins

What could possibly be more “All American” than hot dogs?  Well, maybe a good John Philips Sousa march but there’s not a whole lot else.

As I little kid I loved eating “Coney” dogs for free at my grandparents’ A&W restaurant in Mt. Clemens, Michigan.  Maybe it was the dogs and maybe it was that sweet A&W root beer but it was good stuff.  And then in baseball I played one year for “Herman’s HotDogs” and another year for “Swift’s Sizzlers” in the Palma Ceia Little League in Tampa.

My daughter used to request hot dogs but she always said that she wanted a “naked hot dog”.  She loved giggling at the tiny bit of naughtiness (what the heck she was 6) when she placed her order at the Dairy Queen in Indianola, Iowa.  A “naked hot dog” by the way is a dog in a bun and nothing else.  When we would have hot dogs on the grill at home her dog could have grill marks but no other charring or else she wouldn’t eat it.  I think she still prefers it that way and she’s now 28.

And my wife, Mrs. CB concocted her favorite—“Hot Dog Extravaganza”.  What’s that you ask?  It’s chili dogs and sauerkraut dogs; dogs with tomato, onions and relish; dogs fixed anyway you can imagine.  Every couple of weeks or so I’ll ask her what she would like for dinner and she’ll raise her arms up waving her hands and sound out “Hot Dog Extraaaa-va-ganza!”  Add that with a can of baked beans and some oven roasted vinegar potato wedges and you’ve got quite a meal.

Hot Dog Extravaganza Platter Continue reading →

Posted in family meals, kids meals, party and entertaining food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s Hot Dog Extravaganza!