Buen Provecho: Part 4 (Monday, January 31--Day 83)

Alright, Argentina. You´ve got one thing right: meat. Beautiful, thick cuts from grassfed ranging cattle that need only a touch of salt and a quick searing to be perfect. Bravo. But as for the rest of your diet...major upset. I would have taken Brazilian rice and beans every meal over this. Instant coffee, crusty white bread, and dulce de leche (a caramel sauce) does not constitute a fulfilling breakfast. Empanadas (meat filled pierogies) and milinesa (thin breaded meat in a sandwich with tons of mayo and an occasional thin slice of tomato) can only enterntain me for so long. And unless dinner is an asado (a BBQ of meats galore) then I am not buying it. What you need is a cullinary makeover, and Huerta de Vida can guide your way.

Here`s what we have to work with:

Endless amounts of vegetables. Wild greens from the garden (many have an asian flair to them). Fresh tomatoes. Bell peppers. A mountain of squash (it`s squash season. If you leave your windows down in a parking lot, someone will drop a bag of squash on your front seat just to get rid of them. We have a lot.) Potatoes. Carrots. Eggplant. All fresh. All local. Mostly ours.

Herbs and spices that would make your head spin (and that will pump up your immunity now in the summer so you can make it through the long winter). A variety of fresh basil. Oregano. Arugula. Curry. Cayan. Cumin. Lemon balm. Sage. Rosemary. Tyme. Mustard seeds in vinigar. Quinoa leaves (the seeds arençt ready yet). Garlic. Anything and everything flavorful.

Homemade browns. Sprouted grains. Soaking beans.

Add some creativity and a love of food and you have an endless amount of possibilities. Here`s the haunting food that this magic creates:

Homemade bruschetta on toasted homemade wheat bread. Sometimes we make the salsa with tomatoes, basil, onions, and olive oil or sometimes we`ll make it with tomatoes, sage, lemon, onions, and balsamic. It depends which herb we have more of. But the sage is absolutely fantastic.

Fried plantains. Heat up the oil with a little bit of garlic and chili pepper. Then cut up your plantain on diagonals and fry them on each side. Take them out, add more garlic and pepper, and squish the juice out. Quickly fry them one more time, and have them as a starchy side to any meal.

Enchaladas in mole sauce. Make a mole sauce of tomato paste, water, unsweetened chocolate, and chipotle. Dip tortillas in the mole and stack them in threes on a pan to put in the oven. In between each tortilla, put whatever your heart desires. Blackbeans and cheese. Onions and cheese. Tomatoes and cheese. Meet and cheese. All of the above. Be creative. Once they have baked to a point that will stimulate your senses (you should see them, smell them, and hear them sizzle), remove them, place a fried egg on top, and top it off with more mole sauce.

Melon wine. Cut a hole out of a fresh honeydew melon (smell the stem side to see if it is sweet and ready). Empty out the insides with a spoon. Pour in some white wine. Enjoy. If you`re feeling extra saucy, take a piece of dried cane, clean out the insides with a thin piece of metal, and use that as a straw.

Apple jam with rosemary and garlic.

Peach jam with ginger, nutmeg, cinimin, and clove.

Ground nut stew with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cumin, curry, and peanuts.

Vietnamese dish with rice noodles over fresh greens and topped with a mixture of hot pepper and olive oil.

Stugged squash with spicy rice and tomatoes and topped with a sweetened tomato sauce. The spicy/sweet combo really confuses your mouth. In a good way.

Fresh humus.

Black beans and rice (nicknamed Mores and Christians)

Peach cobler with a granola crust on top

Homemade yoghurt and homemade granola. Super easy. All you have to do is warm up your milk, add a bit of yoghurt with live cultures, and leave it out for the night. The next day, you have more yoghurt. It is like the miracle of fish and bread...except better because you can top it with fresh homemade granola.

Polenta encrusted eggplant.

Homemade potato dumplings topped with olive oil, oregano, and fresh tomatoes.

 Homemade pizza with white alfredo sauce.

Fresh homemade bread made with leftover rice and oatmeal.

And so much more. I cannot even give recipes for most of these things because there are no recipes. You have to trust your instincts, rely on your senses, and have other people taste test for you. It is incredible what you can come up with, and I am continuously impressed. I am learning each and every day about which foods taste better with certain spices, and I am gaining more and more confidence in the kitchen. Cooking is no longer a time consuming chore, but a fun activity that I look forward to each and every day. I hope that it can be for everyone else, too.