Omnivores Unite!

Do you consider yourself an adventurous eater? Want to give Anthony Bourdain a run for his money?

I was brought up with a father who eats anything from cow stomach (tripe- (KirkK, thanks for the clarification!) to pig ears . Gross, I know. As a child, I was mortified by my father's feasts, and secretly hoped he wasn't some kind of scary beast. Love ya Dad! Now I suppose I'm glad I grew up in such an environment. I am willing to try anything at least once, though I admit that I've regretted it a few times

(i.e. chicken feet = bad idea).

I saw this post on Cate's Sweetnicks, and thought it was a fun post for a Friday afternoon. The Omnivore's 100 is a list compiled by Very Good Taste and includes foods that Andrew thinks every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list of foods ranges from the mundane (PB&J sandwich) to the totally obscure (at least to me - Lapsang souchong).

Try it out and let me know how adventurous your taste buds are! See anything I must try? Have anything you'd like to add to this list?

Here's the simple rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I'll try anything once, remember!)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

If I counted correctly, I have 62/100!

Omnivore's 100
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (does Boone's count? :)
19. Steamed pork buns (a staple in our house growing up)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I'd go back to SF just for this experience)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I may have eaten rattlesnake, but not a big mac meal!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores (sometimes a daily treat)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (ooh, I grew up with these as a snack! Hubby has never had them. Weirdo).
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (I'm no horse lover but this one kind of scares me!)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (rattlesnake sausage!!)

Smoky Chipotle Pasta Salad

Today's post is going to be short and sweet, because after spending an enjoyable summer in D.C. I'm going home!! As you can tell, I'm quite excited.

Though I had initially been a bit reluctant (and a little bit of a brat) to give up my dreams of a sunny beach summer, I admit that leaving DC will be a smidge bittersweet. Returning to an urban area has reminded me of the joys of public transportation, eclectic & ethnic eateries, and of course, the ability to walk to a destination beyond my mailbox.


Beyond the perks of city living, life in the kitchen is sure to improve. I'm ecstatic to be reunited with my KitchenAid mixer, my pots & pans, and of course all of my baking tools. Having a little counter space never hurt either. I was getting burnt out on baking muffins week after week and using Tupperware, stock pots, or any other cylindrical object I could locate as my mixing bowls.

As I'm leaving for the airport in just a few short hours, I decided to do one last roundup of the kitchen and use the leftover ingredients lingering in the kitchen: 1/2 box of pasta, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from the quinoa chili, 1/4 cup of frozen mixed veggies, some stray lemons and wilted cilantro, 1 clove of garlic and 1 link of sweet Italian sausage...a motley crew to be sure.

I thought of making a hot pasta dish, but instead settled on a pasta salad combining all of the ingredients above. It's truly a clear the pantry type of recipe, so feel free to modify with what you have on hand. If I were to make this again, I would use fresh corn as opposed to the mixed veggies. I'd also use cilantro that didn't look like it was on its last leg! The pasta tastes best at room temperature so that it stays nice & creamy.

Once I get settled back into the house, I'm sure I'll begin cooking up a storm and have plenty of recipes to share.

Smoky Chipotle Pasta Salad
2 cups uncooked pasta
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 -2 sweet Italian sausages (I only had one but would use two next time)
1/2 of a chipotle pepper in adobo, minced
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables or corn
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon adobo sauce
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil
handful of cilantro, chopped

1. Cook pasta per directions on box and drain
2. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil and saute garlic clove for 1 minute
3. Add in frozen vegetables and the chopped chipotle pepepr and stir. If needed, add a little water to help the veggies cook.
4. Once cooked, remove vegetables from the pan and cook the sausage in the same pan. Slice the sausage once browned & cooked until no longer pink, about 7-9 minutes
5. In a medium bowl, combine mayonaise, lemon, adobo sauce, brown sugar and salt and pepper.
6. Add veggies, pasta and sausage to the bowl. Toss gently and sprinkle cilantro on top.

Turkey Adobo Quinoa Chili

Not to be confused with Summer Quinoa Black Bean Salad, today's chili has many of the same ingredients but is in chili form. Chili's perfect for these sweltering summer days, don't ya think? :)

Now that I've overcome my trepidation of cooking with quinoa, I wanted to try the protein powerhouse in something other than a salad or at a cold temperature. I browsed the web for awhile, and of course, remembered that Kevin of Closet Cooking had posted some tasty recipes using quinoa. If you haven't visited Closet Cooking yet, first you're a little crazy and second, you certainly should as Kevin posts tempting & creative recipes nearly everyday. Using his Black Bean and Quinoa Chili as an inspiration, I embarked on creating my first quinoa chili.

Trying to make Kevin's recipe by heart, I knew I would forget some essential ingredients, but I tend to like cooking soups/chili on the go. Well, I erroneously thought Kevin hadn't included water in his recipe. While mixing the ingredients, I couldn't get over how thick it was. Though he used 2 cups of water, I only used 3/4 cup so mine's pretty thick in comparison. I tend to like it a little thick so feel free to add water if you're more of a soup gal/guy. I also added in some extra ground turkey I had on hand and liked the heartiness it adds. If you omit the turkey, you have an easy vegetarian meal on your hands!

Hope you all have a great weekend! It's been a tough week for me in between work issues & condo flooding so I'm glad some rest is finally on the way!

Turkey Adobo Quinoa Chili
Adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa (rinsed thoroughly) + 2 cups water for boiling
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
3/4 cups water
2 19 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped with 1 tbsp of sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)

Directions:
1. Rinse quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve until water runs clear. Toast the quinoa in a dry skillet for approximately 2 minutes. Combine quinoa and and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ground turkey. Continue to saute until turkey is no longer pink, but not cooked through completely.
3. Add cinnamon, chili powder, cumin and continue to saute an additional 4 minutes.
4. Add 3/4 cup water, tomatoes, black beans, peppers, zucchini, chipotle chili & sauce, oregano, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add the quinoa and corn and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.