Tag: food

Meal Planning Reality Check

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 16 Comments

I feel like I go to the grocery store all the time. Seriously.

Lately, every two days or so I end up needing a main ingredient to make for supper – at 5:30pm. This is pretty equal parts due to getting settled in a new living area, and lack of planning..
With classes starting up in a week and a half (eek! *heart palpitations*), I’m going to end up having even less preparation and organization time.
So something’s gotta give.
The solution is that i’ll be hopping on the meal-planning-bandwagon.

There are all sorts of benefits that come from meal planning – budgeting being an obvious one, but also only buying groceries once or twice a month, eating more healthily, and mostly, just having an easy, already thought out meal that’s ready to be tossed together in my kitchen.
So much easier than going to the grocery store at 6:00pm and eating at 8:00pm – and better for you, too!

I just downloaded the Paprika App for Mac, and although I haven’t added in any info other than having a bag of potatoes in my pantry, it looks AMAZING already.Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 1.03.53 AM

I’m so excited to use it tomorrow! (It might be 1:00am as I type this, currently. whoops…. time management out the window with the night owl.) One of the reasons this app is so popular is because of its simplicity and effectiveness. I can add and save recipes that I either type out myself or that are pulled onto the app directly from the web, then add them to certain days of the month for particular meals (I will probably plan the whole rest of the month), and then the app generates a grocery list for me! Pure. Genius.

I think that the key for our utilization with us being a family of two, is going to be understanding where in our plan that we will eat leftovers, and ensuring that the recipes I choose aren’t too savory and amazing- resulting in a very expensive grocery store trip. You can’t eat a roast three times a week, you know? You have to throw in some lighter meals with less expensive cuts of meat.

I also think that this app may be a way for us (me) to experiment with a lot of recipes that I wouldn’t normally try. Yay for variety!

You’ll definitely be hearing how it goes in the near future!
Do you meal plan? How do you do it?!

 

P.s. Did you notice that I changed my blog logo from my (beloved) giraffe picture with the overlay of the flags, to just the flags?! I love it so much! I also added in an aqua vector pattern background. :) Oh, so much happiness!

Baffin Bay Speckled Sea Trout

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 5 Comments

As mentioned previously, we spent the weekend a couple of weeks ago with some (great) friends at their house on Baffin Bay, just south of Corpus Christi, and as all do when you have a pier right outside your door- you go out fishing- a lot.

Pier looking out to Baffin Bay.
Their boat- it’s a Haynie. :)

Luckily, we love fishing!

But, before ending up in Baffin Bay, we met up in Corpus Christi at potentially the most amazing fishing shop known to mankind- Roy’s Bait & Tackle Outfitters!

I mean- look at all of that inventory! They have any and every thing you could dream of needing for any kind of fishing! I even found a hook they use for Great White Shark fishing (permit required)!

THIS HOOK has caught SIX Great White’s in its lifetime!!

Once the first light came up the next day, we were in the boat and out on the bay until sundown. Unfortunately, we didn’t have so much catching luck – we only caught one little Speckled Sea Trout, that was too little to keep.

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However, under the green light (after I left the cold-bearing fishing crew and fell asleep) they caught several more Speckled Sea Trout that were above the length limit and were able to be kept.

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So we (husband) kept them, and they came all the way back to our house- where we cooked them that night! (Recipe below)
Maybe our next trip I will get to catch a Red Drum, or a Flounder!

Before
and after!

 

Speckled Sea Trout Recipe:

First, you gotta do what husband did and clean the fish- I was asleep for that part. Then, keep them on ice until you are ready to cook them- two days max on ice i’d say- then put them in the freezer for up to two months until you are ready to cook them.

Ingredients:
Trout
Baking Pan
Foil
Olive Oil
Sprigs of either fresh Dill (which we used), Tarragon, or Rosemary
Salt and Pepper, freshly ground to taste
Two large lemons, sliced into wedges
Additional deep pan, filled with warm water, to keep fish moist. (This is referred to as a ‘water bath’ when baking, mostly used with cheesecakes.)

Preheat oven to 400*F
Line your baking pan with the foil. In a bowl, mix together the olive oil and  seasonings. Rub most of it on the inside of the fish, making sure to get some on the bottom so that there is a surface of oil between the fish and foil. Place the lemon wedges along the inside of each fish cavity. Use remaining oil/seasoning mixture to cover tops of fish, and garnish with additional lemon wedges and sprigs of herbs.
Bake on the middle rack (with pan of water on bottom rack) until done- about 20 minutes. When the meat starts to easily flake off, it is done.
Make sure as you are eating that you don’t get any little bones- but ours easily fell right off without any problems.

Easy, pleasey, lemon-squeezy!
We enjoyed our trout with fresh broccoli and couscous – It was delicious!

Have you been saltwater fishing? What is your favorite fish??

As Close To Oblivion

~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

 Here I am, once again at Brooklyn mall, pretty tipsy off of one glass of TriBeCa’s house Sauvignon Blanc, listening to none other than Robbie Wessels’ Grootste Treffers- the one at the moment being “Leeuloop”.  I just finished eating some super awesome chicken strips (my favorite) and it was such a huge serving, that it could have easily fed two. My super amazing cappuccino just arrived, and I’ve gotta tell you, that is certainly one thing I’m going to miss in upcoming weeks- the amazing coffee everywhere you go in South Africa.
 Seriously- this culture enjoys their coffee! I have been exceptionally spoiled with gourmet, properly made, high quality, coffee in the variety of cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, and filter coffee that hasn’t been sitting in a pot since 6:00AM. Ah, South African coffee, how I will miss you so. Continue reading “As Close To Oblivion” →

Aunt June’s Peach Cobbler

~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

Because it’s Friday, we had company over, and in preparation for that I spent most of the day getting the house and everything else ready for making lots of pizza, so I didn’t really have just a whole bunch of time on my hands to sit down and think up a subject for a post much less write one.
So, you all get the recipe for what I made and served for dessert.
Lucky you, I made my Great Aunt June’s Famous Peach Cobbler.

Now, if you aren’t from Texas, you may not know what a cobbler is. My friends that just left our house here in South Africa told me it was like a pudding…. If you are from Texas, don’t take offense to that- they have odd ‘puddings’. Think bread pudding. :)

Regardless of what you do or don’t know about it, trust me when I say it is pure awesomeness and you need to make it. It’s super easy, and you probably have everything you need right in your pantry and fridge.

Now, just one more note… I failed completely at getting a final product picture. :( It got gobbled before I thought about taking one. Sorry about that…

Continue reading “Aunt June’s Peach Cobbler” →

Picadillo: Mexican Hash

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 4 Comments

Picadillo Tacos are one of my most favorite go-to lunch tacos.

When growing up in Southwest Texas, tacos are a staple for breakfast or lunch, and usually run you at about $2.00/taco and no more than five minutes drive away.
It wouldn’t be far from the truth to say I was raised on them.
Working out on the ranch all day, we would have breakfast tacos after rounding-up sheep, goats, or cattle, and then a variation of either bean and cheese or meat and rice tacos for lunch after a good amount of livestock had been worked. Most of the time, it was my grandmother or a workers’ wife who prepared these in the wee hours of the morning, or even the night before. So, it’s safe to say I have a fondness for tacos. ..I may or may not have had a taco place on speed dial in High School. Continue reading “Picadillo: Mexican Hash” →

Homemade Pizza Dough and Sauce

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 5 Comments

Hello there and Happy Heritage Day! I was going to do a post today on a recipe for a lamb potjie- but that will have to be for another time as we did not end up making potjie today. Instead, we went to a wine festival… but more on that later. :)

So, for your Thirsty Thursday post, you have below the most amazing pizza dough and sauce recipe known to mankind.

We love making pizza’s- especially since we built a pizza oven.
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It is SO much fun! and when you have your own pizza oven, it is cheap and easy to eat yummy pizzas whenever you want. Anytime I can eat Italian food and not have to put on makeup, i’m a happy camper. :) Continue reading “Homemade Pizza Dough and Sauce” →

Scones and Strawberry Creme

~ Victoria Dühring ~ Leave a comment

Ahhh.. the English culture spread its’ roots in South Africa long ago, and the best part of that would be the culinary influences it brought with it.  Tea time, anyone?

My husband loves scones. Absolutely loves them. Once I made them myself, I easily saw (or rather tasted) why. Warm yumminess that is similar yet sweeter than a southern biscuit, with strawberries and creme oozing out from the middle. You just have to eat them once to truly understand why tea time became a cultural staple- setting aside a time to sit quietly and enjoy some hot tea with a side of this wonderful creation is good for the soul.

Here is my recipe, that has been slightly adapted from the BBC Food’s original recipe.
It really doesn’t take long to make at all- give it a try, your tastebuds (and spouse) will thank you!
11999057_1013098722035212_5545152892292268337_n Continue reading “Scones and Strawberry Creme” →

5 Reasons My Children Will Hunt

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 10 Comments

*Gasp! “She said that she will teach her children to be vile, cruel, HUNTERS!”

Yep. I did. And hunters they shall be.
However, my experiences with hunting that define that word for me, connote not one negative word or emotion associated.

DISCLAIMER To The Reader:
Hear me out. 
Have an objective viewpoint.
Learn to live in love and appreciate those that have different lifestyles or opinions than you.

Whew. Now that we are over the modern popular social ideology that we need to hate all hunters…. maybe I can get to the point of this article. :) Sorry about that….

Continue reading “5 Reasons My Children Will Hunt” →

Flour Tortillas

~ Victoria Dühring ~ 3 Comments

Sometimes, you just need some comfort food, and tortillas are my ultimate comfort food.

Besides being totally scrumptious, they are extremely versatile.
You can use them to make breakfast tacos
(yes, it is a taco- burritos are deep-fried and folded on both ends),
enchiladas, lunch tacos, sopapillas, … the list goes on and on.

So, should you be on the great continent of Africa, I have figured out which ingredients (throughout many cups of various flour and many trials) work best to make tortillas.

Here is your recipe. :) Continue reading “Flour Tortillas” →