Mediterranean quinoa salad

• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 chopped cucumber (peeled)
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbs. chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup feta cheese
• salt and pepper
• your favorite salad dressing (about 1/2 cup)

Mix all the ingredients together and serve. 

Mediterranean olive and oregano chicken

• 3/4 cup chopped  green olives
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano (chopped) or 1 tsp dried
• Salt and pepper

Whisk these together and season with salt and pepper. Be sparing with the salt.

• 4-5 lb chicken pieces, bone in, skin on

Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper then coat the pieces in the olive mixture, cover and chill for 2 hours to overnight. 

bake covered at 375 for 75 minutes then uncover and finish until chicken is at least 165 degrees internally (about 30 minutes). 

When its done, put the chicken on a plate and pour the juices into a pot. 

• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp cornstarch 

whisk in the remaining ingredients. Simmer the sauce till thickened and pour over the chicken to serve. 

Chicken Salad

• about 1 lb of diced chicken or turkey meat- cooked
• 3 stalks celery- chopped
• 1 green apple-chopped
• 1 cup chopped grapes
• 1 bunch green onions-diced
• 1/2 bunch cilantro-chopped

Sauce: these are approximate measurements, add in small amounts and taste until its how you like it. 

• 2 cups mayo
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• dash of onion powder 
• dash of garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• dash of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper 
• optional: curry powder

Mix everything together and serve on croissants as a sandwich or eat on the side. You can mix in your favorite type of lettuce to make it a more classic salad. 

Arugula Salad

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 6-8 cups washed arugula leaves
• sea salt

Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice and sugar well. Toss with arugula. Just after serving, grind fresh sea salt over the top. 

This makes a great salad, good with breakfast quiche, and great on pizza. 

You get salty, sour and bitter from this salad.

scalloped potatoes

• 1 sweet potato, 
• 6-8 medium golden potatoes
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1.5 cups grated cheese plus 1/2 cup

Slice potatoes thinly.

Melt butter in a medium size pot.Add in the flour and whisk till smooth. Slowly stir in milk, still whisking. Add in salt and cayenne. Slowly add in cheese till melted and smooth sauce. 

Put half the potatoes in flat layers in a greased 9x9 pan. Pour half the sauce over it. Layer the remaining potatoes and pour remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle the leftover cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or till potatoes are cooked through. You may need a cookie sheet underneath to catch drips if your pan is very full. 

This is a pretty classic scalloped potatoes recipe but the mix of sweet and golden potatoes give it a slight twist. 

flourless chocolate cake

• 8 eggs
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325

 Whip eggs for 3 minutes or till light and fluffy. Slowly add in the cocoa then drizzle in melted butter and slowly add sugar all with mixer on low speed. 

Bake in a 9 inch spring-form for 35-40 minuted. It will still be moist in center but as it cools it finishes setting up. 

Quinoa Avocados

• 2-3 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 cup chopped/shredded chicken
• 1 cup salad shrimp (optional)
• 1 lbs. chopped mushroom
• 1 diced onion
• feta cheese
• 1/2 can chicken stock
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 3-4 avocados, sliced in half, pit removed. 
• 1 lbs roasted asparagus
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

Saute the mushrooms and onions. Mix in the chicken, 1/2 can of chicken stock, quinoa, and feta cheese and cilantro. Cook till liquid reduced almost gone. Mix in the shrimp. Spoon the mixture over half an avocado and top with roasted asparagus and green onion.

universal studios orlando

We had lunch in the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley at Universal. My mom is a British food in America snob because, well, she's eaten it in Britain many times. It was probably the best bangers and mash she's had in a long time because as she says, they have have proper bangers. Shepherd pie, fish and chips, stew, all delicious.

We had dinner outside the park at a great pizza place. Red oven pizza bakery. Their pizza was some of the best I've had. The arugula and pricuitto combined salty, bitter, cheesy and wound up overall delicious. If you've never tried arugula salad on your pizza you should. We tried a few other pizzas but after trying mine I don't even remember the others. Mine was too good.

Disney world

Disney World has some amazing food and after about a week days in Orlando I need to share some of the deliciousness. Day one was spent at Universal and that post is coming up next.

Our hotel was the Pop Century and because of the time we booked we had a free dining plan with hotel which gave us refillable drink mugs, 2 quick service meals and two snacks per day per person. Often we had breakfast at the hotel. After a day or two of getting the full breakfast we decided that for most of us, getting the pastry, drink and fruit combo instead made more sense. A light breakfast using our refillable mug for a drink left us with a snack of fruit and drink for at the park. We would get some quick service lunch wherever when we got hungry, a snack if we really wanted, then saved our bucks for a nice dinner. After the week we still had tons of food credits saved up so we got sandwiches and pastries from France in Epcot and caramels from Germany.

Our first day at Disney World we had dinner at The Sci-Fi dine in cafe in Hollywood Studios. We went there for the ambiance but the food was actually really good. The buffalo popcorn chicken was spicier than anticipated but the flavor was good. The chicken pasta was a great creamy sauce and well cooked.

Day 2: Marrakesh-Epcot
Delicious Moroccan food with great ambiance and a fun belly dance show. We tried both the chicken and seafood B'stilla and they were great, not the best I'd had but good. The lamb dishes were also great. Well spiced and tender.

Day 3: Sanaa outside Animal Kingdom
This became my new favorite. The view is amazing. The restaurant looks out over the middle of the hotel where they have a small nature preserve area where you can see zebras, giraffes and other animals from your dinner table.  The food is Indian and African fusion with a definite lean towards Indian. The bread starter is a much but there is nowhere near enough bread. Everything else we tried was great. Curry sauces, well seasoned rice and overall a little too much food. We probably could have shared more than each having their own dish after big lunches but the food was so good we didn't care about over eating.

Day 4: Tony's Town Square-Magic Kingdom
This was unexpectedly delicious. Starting with the zucchini fries which were good but a bit dry. I had the seasonal ravioli with mushrooms which were absolutely delicious. Everyone else quite enjoyed their food too.

Lunch: Be our Guest -Magic Kingdom
We got an email invite for a special fast pass seating at Be our Guest which was awesome because there was no room for anyone without advanced reservations and those fill up fast. You order ahead of time too so as you show up your food comes out just minutes later. We did indeed try the grey stuff cupcake and it was good but not great. However the rest of the food was very good. We all tried the Tuna nicoise, croque monsieur, roast beef sandwich, quiche, and braised pork and an assortment of desserts. Every dish was great.

Day 5: Teppan Edo- Epcot
This place is all about the show with dinner. Volcano onion towers and flying pepper grinders keep you entertained while you see your steak, scallops, chicken or whatever else prepared before your eyes. While the quality of the food what not quite as impressive as some of the other restaurants, the food was still delicious and the show was great.

Overall, there wasn't a meal I didn't enjoy from breakfast to dinner to snacks.

Oh, and the ever famous dole whips were also awesome.

fire pizza

Fire Pizza is an Artisan wood fire pizza restaurant located at 1022 N Columbia Center Boulevard in Kennwick Washington. 

While their menu has some of the typical pizza fare (pepperoni or all meat) what is really delicious is their more unusual fare. 

The costs for the pizzas range from about $13 to $16 dollars and you get a little more food than a personal size size but not quite as big as a medium from chain pizza places. They serve delicious cucumber water right off and have a selection of cocktails too. 

So far I have tried four of their pizzas. 

First there was the Parma. It has prosciutto, Gorgonzola, pecorino, Romano, and provolone finished with truffle oil. Take a top notch cheese pizza and amp it up with some slightly salty prosciutto. Delicious

Next came the Murphy. This pizza has slices of yellow potatoes. Sounds odd, totally works. Its like a combination of pizza and the best loaded baked potato ever. It even has chive and sour cream. 

After that there was the Gordy which has dates, Gorgonzola, mozzarella, olive oil and a balsamic drizzle. The epitome of a salty sweet pizza. 

The final pizza I tried was the Mahalo, This one had pork, mango, with a spicy sweet Hawaiian barbecue sauce. Just the right spice (a little but not much). The sweetness of the sauce was nice. However the menu described a mango chutney but it was really just dived mango. 


Comparing this to my favorite pizza place from Montana (http://gourmetgood.blogspot.com/2013/07/bitterroot-pizza.html), Fire has more interesting and unique offerings but I think Bullmans is one step up in quality.