A love letter, straight from my heart

Pictured is Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet, 1986


Rest In Peace Dennis Hopper. Without you, I wouldn't have been so trancended by the world of David Lynch. Frank Booth was a character that spoke volumes...he lived and breathed pain, fear and sentiment within the wicked story of Blue Velvet. Your characters were always filled with passionate life. You are one to be cherished, remembered and studied.

Other memorable characters Dennis Hopper played were in movies such as Easy Rider, The Rivers Edge, Rumble Fish and countless others, all which have made an impact in American Cinema. xoxo

A true cinematic genius has past:

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni2643363/

Quesadillas

A favorite dish of mine to eat are quesadillas con aguacate, which are tortillas filled with cheese, grilled and topped with fresh sliced avocado. I use corn/wheat tortillas (yes 1/2 and 1/2) filled with Mexican Cheese (Panela or Asadero or a mixture of both). I grill the tortillas in natural organic butter - they are simple and delicious.

oh mandolin

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was a gift I picked out for myself, and it was on sale sale (double sale) only cost $10!!!! My sis got it for me, and I get such good use out of it :)however, I will need to upgrade soon to a mandoline that can utilize different cuts/thickness of veggies and fruits. For now, this one works great for potato gratins and julienne veggies for quick stirfrys.

baked bread with basil and tomato

heat olive oil in a skillet

cube french bread (or bread of choice, maybe cibbatta)
toast bread cubes in skillet, then add cubed tomatoes, fresh cut basil and top with fresh grated parmasean cheese. add kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. toss together, place in a baking dish and cook for 10 min.

DELISH!!!!

Calabaza

Calabaza is a very simple dish; it's more of a stew, rather than a guisado. You can add anything you'd like according to your taste, however traditionally calabaza has well, calabaza (squash). I enjoy using a yellow squash, as well as zuchinni, sweet onions, garlic and roasted corn off of the cob, plus a tomato base. Calabaza can be served as a vegetarian dish, or with chicken, beef or pork. Here is how I prepared calabaza de rez:

1 large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Heat oven to 450 and place ears of corn on center of baking rack for 20 min
cut up pieces of round steak, or pot roast (you can even buy pre-cut beef used for stews)
dry each piece of meat individually then dust with flour
place meat inside of pot of olive oil and brown on each side
take meat out of pot, and add 1 cup sliced onion and 4 cloves of crushed garlic, once translucent add 4 cups of diced squash/zucchini
once zucchini is slightly tender, take corn out of oven and slice off of the cob, then place in pan with zucchini/onion mixture. Also, place meat back into the pan, and add 1 can of either crushed or stewed tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, about 2 tspsns of cumin and 2 tspns of chili powder, stir then cover and cook on low for 30 min.