Breaking Bread
Bread love it or hate it you know you want it! Salads want bread too but in the shape of a sexy crouton ! I mean your salad needs something sometimes to dress it up a bit and so instead of throwing away that stale or leftover bread make some croutons or breadcrumbs with it. When you get take out and they give you bread don’t let it go to waste. Let it sit on your counter in a paper bad for a day then you’re ready to prepare some tasty croutons. In Italian breadcrumbs are called “Pangrattato”. This week I’m going to use my fresh batch I’ve made for Eggplant or Melanzana Parmigiana .They are also perfect for meatballs and breasts of chicken and turkey to make Cotoletta mmmmm… It literally takes less than 15 minutes to prepare croutons and bread crumbs. You can bake them on the same tray. The recipe is exactly the same, but for breadcrumbs all you’re going to do different is after slicing your bread pulse them in your food processor to get them into crumbs. You can pulse them finer but I like mine with a little “chunk ” to it. For croutons you can opt to remove the hard crust (I did on the sourdough) and just use the softer white center part . Drizzle both in olive oil , add whatever seasoning you like and bake for maybe 5 minutes at 375F or 170 c until they are toasty and that’s it! I did a batch with an olive oil butter mixture and added my spicy Piri Piri chili powder and it was so good! Grating fresh Parmigiana Reggiano or pecorino cheese on top is so good too. That’s all there is to it! They add such a delicious hearty kick to your salads, soups , or honestly just even to snack on ! A great way to use up leftover bread in a tasty way. XO Tera
Pad Woon Sen – Thai Rice noodles with shrimp!
Pad Woon Sen Pad Thai is probably the most famous of all Thai food dishes. Almost every Thai restaurant will have Pad Thai on their menu and it’s a go to favorite of mine to prepare for an easy lunch or dinner. When friends want to me to prepare a typical Thai dish but want a dish that’s not too spicy I make Pad Thai . A traditional Pad Thai recipe calls for some ingredients that I don’t always have on hand so enter my second favorite Thai noodle dish Pad Woon Sen. What you need for Pad Woon Sen This is an easy Thai noodle stir fry dish you can make pretty fast with easy kitchen staples. Glass noodles or bean thread noodles as they’re often labeled are simply just thin noodles made from either mung bean starch, tapioca , potatoes or sweet potatoes. On their own they have zero flavor so they work really well in stir fry dishes, soups, rice paper and spring rolls soaking up sauces and broths really well . These are great for low carb or gluten free diets since they’re not made from any wheat flour but it’s always a good idea to double check the package. I’m going to give you my own personal recipe for how I make this dish and how my mother taught me . A few tips I can add before would be it’s not necessary to boil glass noodles. They can be tricky to work with at times this is the number one complaint . Boiling them makes them a huge gloppy mess so I just fill a shallow bowl or pyrex type dish with warm water and lay them inside just covered. leave them for about ten minutes just until they soften then drain them . I usually snip them in half once they’re drained to make them more manageable . It also makes them easier to eat. Keep them in a glass container in your fridge if you want to use them for summer or rice paper rolls , or a salad. You can make Pad Woon Sen with any kind of protein. I’m using shrimp that I marinated in sesame oil, salt , white pepper , lime zest and red chili flakes . My Pad woon sen sauce is made up of; Soy Sauce – I use Thai sweet soy sauce or gluten free soy sauce depending . Oyster Sauce- A main ingredient in many stir fry’s which is rich and savory. Sriracha – adds a spicy component. Tamarind concentrate – for the tart balance. Coconut sugar – this won’t make your sauce sweet it’s more to balance out the salt and spicy . Tamarind is an ingredient in pad Thai but I like using it in my Pad Thai Woon Sen. Again it’s my own version. I omitted the fish sauce which is a key ingredient in most Thai stir fry’s . I don’t like it so I always avoid it and it’s more about personal preference here . I’m using one large yellow pepper that’s all I had on hand but tomatoes , cabbage , carrots , spinach all work great here. Use any combo of veggies you like.This is usually my “what I have left over in my veggie crisper ” kinda meal. You will also need two eggs . Now let’s cook! How to make Pad Woon Sen Prepare the noodles in warm water for ten minutes. I used veggie broth . Drain them and cut them in half then set aside. Mix all your sauce ingredients together . Stir fry your veggies , this is also the time to add in garlic and onion to them and cook them all together . Sometimes I add garlic if I feel like it my mother uses both . This is when I add my shrimp it cooks fast and I like to get the shrimpyness (random Tera word ) all over my veggies. If you choose chicken or tofu as your protein I advise cooking that first , transferring it to a plate then adding it back in at the end . Move your veggies to one side of your wok or pan and crack in both eggs. Cook them until they are scrambled . Now you can add back in your protein , noodles and your sauce using tongs. It’s easier to combine everything together . Make sure all of your noodles , veggies , and protein are covered in the sauce. That’s it! If you make it send me a picture and tag me on IG or Twitter ! Leave me a comment if you make it !! Enjoy XO Tera
Lockdown Round 1
Lockdown Two months In We are two months in of Lockdown .The time is passing so fast. Being at home all the time is way more work than working outside. I enjoy most of the same things I did before like errands and grocery shopping What I notice the most is that it’s very quiet in my city. No one is out and about only food markets and pharmacies are open so no one is having a coffee or aperitivo . It’s wild to see your city completely closed up with no life outside. The climate also has been very beautiful! It’s super warm and always sunny. I like to do a thirty minute meditation and yoga in the morning and night. It keeps me feeling healthy, peaceful. This is the time I connect with myself. If I don’t do yoga I don’t sleep good. Last year we had snow until May and the climate at this time last year was so cold but now it’s hot and windy. I don’t like wind it has always made me feel anxious and “prickly”. I’ve been passing my time with studying, and I’m really focused this go around with food chemistry. I’m studying soil and ecosystems. I never watch the news. I find that since March everyone is just consumed with it. So many people are either panicked, paranoid, stoned or drinking . I see people without healthy outlets… I’m not here to judge It may seem like I am but I’m not. I’m just making an observation on how I see people taking in what’s going on in the world right now. I mean what even is healthy anymore? What’s healthy to me may not work for you and vice versa. Many people on Social Media go down the rabbit hole with their “theories” about what’s really going on right now… I just observe never engage in discussion. I like to see people reading, researching and looking at things with open eyes or a “woke” mentality. That’s healthy. Life as we know is shifting and changing. It has been in the works for some time and there have been signs if you believe that .If we had a lockdown who’s to say that it just couldn’t randomly happen again? Are we prepared? How are you going to handle it? We have to learn how to evolve and be prepared. I’m not saying start shopping and hoarding TP and canned food, although that’s a start maybe! We have to stay mentally and physically strong. Don’t neglect your workouts whatever that may be. You can get such an effective workout in your home . Your brain is a muscle too and needs you to feed it. Instead of social media or binging on tv shows, try some documentaries. Crime ones are rad but they don’t do much for your psyche. I’ve been watching my classics at night. I love Black and White film noir. The lighting, the intelligent dialogue and how the interaction between male and female costars is romantic and mysterious, not lustful or graphic. Here’s a list of some of my favorites I’ve watched and rewatched so far; Movies for Lockdown 1. Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. This is one of Audreys more serious roles and this movie has so many plot twists! Walter Matthau plays a great bad guy again in this one and the number two on my list. I LOVE him in these roles! 2. Strangers when we meet with Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak. This movie is shot so beautifully. It’s sweet and sad .I could see all sides of each character and it’s always a pleasure to watch for me. I love how the women look and dress in this film. So elegant . 3. Wicked woman with Beverley Michaels (1953) It’s simply hot, kitchy, and fun to watch her hustle! https://youtu.be/BZSICG1L5x8?si=eTAZApbm9jKYFPdn 4. Killer Bait with Lisabeth Scott also known as “Too late for tears” This is a true Crime film noir. She’s such a femme fatale. I love how LA looked back then and seeing all of the locations. I watched it here on youtube , gotta love that!! https://youtu.be/LGD_Brjpmak?si=GcyxBtnW-Pqwp8LT 5. Sunset Blvd. Gloria Swanson How can you not LOVE Norma Desmond ! She’s the modern day LSP!! Ok maybe this is only a reference I get but it’s a brilliant movie and true classic. 6. Gilda Rita Hayworth .Rita is just perfection. I read her biography “If this was Happiness” and that was heavy. https://books.google.com/books/about/If_this_was_Happiness.html?id=IXVZAAAAMAAJIt made me deeply sad to know she endured so much in her life. Watching her movies now I think “wow she was going through all of that yet she made such an incredible career for herself. It goes to show how professional and devoted she was to her craft.” Like so many entertainers I guess………. 7. Strangers on a Train, Rope, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Spellbound, The man who knew too much. Every single Alfred Hitchcock movie is perfect to me but start with the ones I suggested. 8. The Killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_(film)1956 Sterling Hayden. This is I think one of Stanley Kubrick’s first films. Maybe his first? I watched this for the first time since I hadn’t seen this one and I loved it. Such a good story, so good!! 9. Phone call from a Stranger and Of Human Bondage With Bette Davis My two favorite movies with her:}} 10. Ok I’m just going to list a BUNCH of my favorite movies here. Some you may have seen or hey just rewatch them for laughs I mean what else are you doing right!!! Many are from the 80’s so some of you may think what !! But they are classics and so good ! At least I think so. Romancing the Stone (1984) Kathleen Turner -Michael Douglas, After Hours (1985) Griffin Dunne, Best in Show (2000) -Waiting for Guffman (1996) – Spinal Tap (1984) – A Mighty Wind All by Christopher Guest F$$$ing hilarious I think he’s brilliant,
Bordeaux, France Birthday!
Happy Tuesday! I’m getting ready for the next few weekends of travel and it includes heading back to Toulon France to shoot with my favorite photographers Caroline and Eric of RBB2. http://rbb2.com I will be shooting with my best girlfriend Charmane Star https://lnk.bio/charmanestar as well so it’s going to be an epic weekend of shooting! Charmane lives in Bordeaux, France and moved there about 6 years ago. It was about the same time I moved to Italy. We have visited each other quite often and recently we celebrated my birthday there over the summer. We do what most best girlfriends do. Wine tasting, spa days, fine dining , cooking , and shopping. You’d be surprised (or not) at how much we could talk… and what about? Pretty much anything lol Charmane and I had a fun catch up while making dinner last night on Face Time so here are some cute fun candids from that weekend XO Tera
Healthy Easy Tacos
My favorite easy healthy go to meal is tacos. Everyday is a great day for tacos and they are non existent where I live in Italy. We have a taqueria that just opened up in our piazza so I’m going to do a drive by and check them out I made some yummy tacos this week with some small adjustments so I wanted to make a post about them . We are overdue for an LA trip and you’ll find me at Trejo’s http://trejostacos.com Get creative and use any kind of protein. I’ve used Tempeh and Tofu when making vegetarian tacos but my favorite tacos are fish and shrimp .I don’t have a market that sells corn tortillas so I’ve had to tweek my tacos a bit. My sister Debra buys masa and hand makes tortillas and tamales. She’s amazing like that but me no. I don’t have the patience or skill to handle masa lol Christmas is when I gorge myself on her amazing cooking and let’s be real , It’s so much better when someone else cooks for you . I use a lettuce leaf and it’s like a hand taco salad. I don’t make fancy guacamole. I think avocados only need salt and Lime like Tequila. For salsa I just chop tomatoes, garlic, lime, salt, pepper and I roast one bell pepper red or yellow. I drizzle the yellow pepper with olive oil and cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Roast it in your oven for 15 minutes at 200c /400F . When it cools you can chop it up and add it to the tomatoes. It’s a nice smokey slightly sweet, salty, salsa. I don’t use onion in my salsa’s or garlic. If it’s added in at a restaurant it’s ok.I love garlic but onions not so much . Just scoop your protein on top of your lettuce leaf, top it with salsa and then avocado . Enjoy XO Tera
