chefdeethomas

Spur of of the moment vacation or call it, What the soul needed.

Life is not all about work, sometimes we need play time.  Time to stop and smell the roses of life.  STOP – that daily grind.  Relax, meditation and self reflection.  Life goals don’t have to be achieved through hard work and mental exhaustion.  Life goals can be achieved by jumping feet or head first into your dreams, just make sure that you can swim.

living, truly living.  Right NOW, this MOMENT.  Yesterday was yesterday and tomorrow will be tomorrow.  Loving this moment right here, right NOW……

https://instagram.com/p/B04O0nWnncY/

Im here, still trying to navigate this life thing.  Compassion…… what is that.  Having a love for something….yet not understanding nothing.  Here, that’s where I’m at.

FOOD, cravings from the heart.  Masterpieces created from fire and multiple desires. Creativity, in the eyes of the beholder.  Smolder, those yummy pork chops that were gently fried and then drowned in that chicken……gravy that made my heart ❤️ ❤️ stop.

Grandma, she was the first, Who….. show me the ways…… Fascinating, it’s the only wY that I can describe it.

Heat, oil,sauté…. browning….those flavorful results of cooking with soul in your heart.

I can’t explain it, damn can’t forget it, the sounds of those ingredients searing to optimal pleasures that will entrance gourmetifically all that Experience It.

 

 

Having casual conversations with coworkers, we were listing our favorite foods we enjoy eating.

I can clearly say that I like slow cooked chicken wings, oven broiled ribeye steaks, and freshly roasted vegetables.

one of my coworkers said they like tuna fish.  I agreed but said that it has to be cooked perfectly not to done, not to rare.

This is when the conversation took a left, it was explained to me that they were referring to canned tuna.  Not any kind of canned tuna, but tuna from their island, Cape Verde.

Being very skeptical of any food that comes out of a can, I quickly moved out of a dead ended conversation.

Weeks later, a can of this tuna was brought for me to try.

TONIGHT,  tonight was the nite in planning to try this product out.

My ingredient list included lettuce, tomato, celery, red onion, avocado, boiled eggs and fresh lemon juice.

i started preparing my salad and lastly dug my handheld can opener out of hiding.

Now, this is the test.  Is this tuna as good as all my coworkers swear by.

The tuna comes in a big red can and it sits in its own oil.  It is recommended to use the oil as well.

Opening the can, I flip the contents out into a bowl.  Using a fork, I flake the tuna to separate it.

Have to taste this, one little morsel on the tip of my tongue and an explosion of flavor.

OMG, by far this is the best flavorful tuna that I have ever tasted.  Thumbs Up!!!!!

There really is no need to season it anymore, a little drizzle of lemon juice and I just ate away.

Bye, Bye Starkist and Bumblebee, this tuna has got me hooked.

A little brief history of tuna from Cape Verde:

Cape Verde cuisine is a mix of mainly African and Portuguese influences. Big fishing area and what comes out of the water, they eat in Cape Verde.

Tuna is the national fish and is prepared several different ways. Other seafood includes lobster, squid, swordfish, grouper, sea bream, octopus and mackerel all caught daily and ready made.

 

I find making Bone Broth an interesting adventure.  Years ago, while studying Culinary Arts and The Culinary Institute of America, our first actual class within a kitchen was making stocks and braising a lamb shank.

This class was an intro into cooking, taught by a dearly missed Chef instructor known by the name Chef Natale.

We made gallons upon gallons of veal stock, later to be turned into Demi-glacé, chicken stock and fish stock.  Little did we know at the time that not only were these training classes at the Culinary, but it was a fine tuned institution.  All the stocks we made were divided up and shared in all training classrooms utilizing stocks in their recipes.

We used the terminology (beef, chicken, veal or fish) stock simply as that.

Now, fast forward to present day and “Bone Stock”  is being used.  Not only for use in soups, stews and other applications, but we are now drinking it straight as meal replacements and for medicinal purposes.

Who would have known that in 1994, while back in those kitchens what this sauce of gold, reference to what Chef Natale, use to call it, would truly be a gold mine.

We have always used bones to make stock or broth.  And we have always simmered the shit out of it.  The only difference in the two terminologies is that Bone Broth is supposedly made without the use of mirepoix (carrots, celery, onion and herbs).

My question is “But Why”, the more flavor the better the Broth.

CHEF, technically speaking…………

so the decision was made.  Dee Thomas would yet again try to attempt to grow another home garden.

Two years prior, after spending lots of time planning what to grow, placing it in planned spots throughout my raised garden bed, watching my crop come to Blume.  I was excited, elated.  The tomatoes looked so yummy.  Little did I know, something else had plans for my crop as well.  Visiting my garden bed on a daily basis, I would start to notice problems, someone, something was eating my crop.  Just as it would come close to harvest, a local groundhog would beat me before I could get to my fruits of labor.

That summer the whole crop went to feeding the neighborly groundhog.  I gave up, until this summer 2018.

I have hope….. I have dreams…….

In my, I started planning my new summer crop.

my choice planting’s would be simple.  Cucumber, Eggplant, Broccoli, Callaloo, Red onion, Ginger, Mint, Basil and Aloe.

I also found a cage online to cover my garden bed to keep neighborly wild animals out.

keeping my fingers crossed, I went and planted my crop.

Now the wait, to see if it will grow.The cage was easy to install, and I hoped that it would do the job of keeping animals out.  I sprinkled cayenne pepper around the base of the garden bed, I read that groundhogs hated cayenne pepper.

Beautiful, It is August and everything is growing.  I harvested my first crop, small but proud.  I few eggplants, Cucumber, Mint, Basil and some Callaloo.

I look forward to using everything in this garden to make some delicious dishes and reel the rewards of my harvest.

Update, I see the groundhog walking around in the backyard, he doesn’t go near the garden, keeping my fingers crossed…………

 

 

 

 

Fat bombs are  treats that deliver a very high dose of healthy fat with very little protein or fat.  You can use them during your afternoon slump or as a pre- or post-workout

Since they’re mostly fat, keto fat bombs provide steady energy and stable blood sugar levels.

Fat bombs are excellent for anyone following a low carb or keto diet and those craving higher energy levels without upping their caffeine

Fat bombs are roughly 85–90% pure fat, you can snack on them when you’re hungry or slightly less energized without worrying about your carbs.

These little treats are fun and very easy to make.

Pictured is my favorite: Coconut Chocolate Fat Bomb.  I infused a little peanut butter into it, since peanut butter is one of my guilty pleasures.

Ingredients:

one cup of coconut oil, 1/2 cup of cocoa, one teaspoon of vanilla, pinch of salt.  You can add a teaspoon of sweetener (stevia or monk powder).

Myself😬, snuck in a few unsweetened chocolate chips.

You blend all ingredients together in a blender and pour in rubber molds, Freeze

Again, another cheat of mines😬.  I mixed unsweetened coconut flakes with peanut butter to form a thick paste.  I only filled the molds halfway to freeze, saving half the chocolate mix.  Once frozen, I put little dollops of the coconut/peanut butter mixture in the middle of each mold and topped it of with the emailing chocolate.  Frozen it again and I got something similar to a receese peanut butter cup.

so, it’s been over a month since I have almost…..eliminated carbs from my diet.  I have been living a part-time Keto lifestyle.  This is my last weekend and then I am going full blown.

bye, bye Tito’s, I will miss you.

i have already started prepping my menu’s and will start looking for an exercise planning.

Cardio Boxing???

#keto #Paleo #aip for life,

 

 

it,s been awhile but let’s do this.  Sitting here on the eve of Boston Carnival thinking about Food Concepts and what Dee is going to do in 2018.  I like to do it big and let people know that I’m not sleeping.

With that being said, I have to ask…. What’s hot or rather what my executive chef would say What’s sexy???

I’m interested in the Toast and Avocado bar concept and just leaving Boston Carnival I sampled a couple of Trini tables and noticed that all of them were selling this fruit marinaded with herbs and garlic.  I bought a Mango one and it was interesting to say the least.  I wanted to take it home and use it as a salsa on a freshly fried piece of Snapper fish or King Fish.

i really do enjoy my Caribbean food it’s my second love, first love being Asian Cuisine. When I started cooking, I always imagined myself to be a Chinese Chef.  My first teip out of the country landed me in Jamaica no I fell in love all over again.  I remember returning back home and running to the tropical market buying salt beef to make my Red Beans and Rice and to the fish market to buy my Red Snapper, I was to Escovitch this fish in a way that no American had ever.  Escovitch, what a sexy word.  I’m going to Escovitch you!!!!

I also experimented with beef patty’s, Fish Cakes and Brown Stew Chicken.

i would later visit other international places and do the same thing.  I think that I should travel solo, because my only purpose of visiting a place is on how the food taste and what I can duplicate.

Chow Chow

Fitness Goals.  Not a resolution but a way of forward thinking.  We all start our year saying “This is the year that I am going to have a better body, feel great and lose some weight”.  The lucky ones still have that dying vision in February.

The gym’s make a lot of money on full year memberships that the participants never use again past February or March.  During that time the regular members either take a vacation or fight for their regular machines, shaking their heads praying for March.

Myself, Unfortunately I had a bump start in my weight loss goals later in 2016.  It was the perfect opportunity to keep riding the wave, once my strength and energy level came back.

The Unknown secret weapon in my arsenal of get fit videos, eating fads, Teas, Smoothies, must I list more was Walking.

Walking, what a Blessing.  My walks started out slow and steady.  In the backyard, up and down my street, in the park, around the block.  My next adventure walked me down to the local square in my neighborhood.

Currently, 6 months in, I am doing 4 mile walks a day.  Not only is it exercise for the body, but also envigorating for the mind.  Breathe in/ Breathe out, meditate.  Thoughts of what once was and what is in store.  Capturing the moment, storing it away for future memories.  Visit the roads that were less taken and view the roads that should never been driven.  Face realism, accept in your truest form what is is and what to do next.

Eyes Wide Open, Mind Focused and Clear with the Strengh of a Lion……..

Happy New Year