If you know me, you know that I love to cook and don't mind a challenge. I certainly don't accept the status quo and have issues in following a recipe. It is for these exact reasons that I took on the challenge to prepare food for my kids, with gusto. To this day, I refuse to believe in the idea of "kids" menus, purchasing baby food, or the whole idea of picky eaters.
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In theory, I have no problem with the idea of kids menus. Kids certainly may have different needs, portion size being one of them. However, it seems ridiculous that children "need" to eat different food than adults, especially when these foods are less healthy and more processed. If anything, it should be the reverse. Give the kids the healthy whole foods and let the parents choose the unhealthy fried, processed meals. If you still believe the notion that kids need their own meals, I think that you simply are not trying or have bought into the marketing that tries to sell us overpriced, over-packaged "kids" foods.Â
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Children are born into this world with very few, if any, preconceived notions about what things should taste like. Sure, they have an innate preference for breast milk, but other than that, the idea that one flavor might be more appealing than another is a learned experience, one that is sped up when adults make assumptions about what is yummy and what is not. Simply think about how babies experience the world. They stick things in their mouths. I can't even remember how many times my one year old daughter has stuck something mysterious from the ground into her mouth without the least look of disgust. Just today, she was eating a dandelion flower and screamed her head off when I finally took it away from her. I didn't say "yuck" as it was obvious that she was enjoying it, but if you haven't, try nibbling on a dandelion sometime and be prepared for your bitter taste buds to get lit up. It is unpleasant to many, but certainly not my daughter.
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Because of this openness to experience, we have the privilege to share all of the wonderful foods of the world with our children. We have the duty to start them out in life with a view of acceptance and diversity instead of limits and scarcity.Â
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Does this mean that kids are going to like everything you give them the first time? Not a chance. Not only that, you have no idea what they will like or not. My daughter loves pickles, olives and sucking on lemons, but wouldn't eat the applesauce I was offering the other day. She loved applesauce as a baby and sometimes still does. You just never know and do a disservice to your children if you assume that they might not like something. It is also folly to judge that they have the same food issues as you do. They probably don't. What is certain is that kids are still learning about flavors and therefore, may need to taste things 6, 7, or even 10 times before they accept it. My little boy did not like broccoli at all, but we kept putting the "little trees" on his plate and after quite a few tries and a number of them ending up on the floor, they found favor in his eyes. Not only that, he still begs for them in his mac and cheese. Alternately, a lemon may offer a novel experience at first, but may fall out of favor once kids get used to it.
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Besides the flavor of foods, keep in mind that kids are also still learning about textures. At first, they are fine with most foods being mush, but then start to want to experience new textures. The pop of green peas, the crunch of puffed rice and the chewiness of cheese all have their place and at different phases of learning about food, each may be favored. The only true lesson I can offer is to keep trying everything and give up nothing except the false notion that kids need food to be sweet to eat it. I also know that once you do give in and start kids on an imbalanced diet with lots of sweet or fried and fatty foods, it is hard, if not impossible to turn back.
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One way to encourage your kids to eat everything is to eat with them. Children mimic their parents in many ways, and eating is no exception. They are often not satisfied with their own foods, but are constantly reaching for yours. You can discourage this and lead them to being picky and unsatisfied or you can include them in the meal. Share with them and make them feel like they are part of the whole event. This applies to restaurants as well. There is no need to order off of the kids menu, when you can simply order good food, ask for an extra plate and share. This will save money, avoid unhealthy kids menu items like the ever present fried chicken fingers and hamburger and fries and encourage your kids to try new things. This is also your opportunity to improve your own diet if you need to. Often, we will not do something for ourselves, but might find it easier to change our behavior for our children...at least one can hope.
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Often parents worry that if they don't give in to the yummy kids options that their kids simply will not eat. Its funny, but when kids are hungry, they will eat. If they don't eat, it is my experience and opinion that they are not truly hungry. Don't worry, kids will not starve. Despite what one might assume, they have survival instincts. When times are still tough, the rewards of treats later as opposed to the treat being the meal, actually can lead to good eating during the meal. And in our house, the treats are not actually candy or super sugary desserts, but often consist of yogurt with honey and berries, dried fruit, and applesauce. We also offer cookies or ice cream at times, but you would be surprised how just a small amount is often enough to satisfy that sweet craving with no complaining.
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Just a quick note about "picky" eaters. I have run across a few kids who simply have aversions to certain foods. This is often coming from a deeper place and at first, it takes a lot of awareness to notice the difference between a picky eater and a real aversion. A real aversion always has other signs or symptoms. The most common is simply feeling unwell or gassy. I have seen this most often with children who at one time or another have a dairy intolerance. They can associate the consumption of milk and dairy products with an unwell feeling and will vehemently refuse at first. Be careful not to push too hard here, because children put an awful lot of trust in us and in the end, will usually give in, despite feeling awful. If your child is old enough, simply asking the right questions is enough to find out why they aren't eating certain foods. Never give up. Just because a child may not be able to tolerate certain foods at one stage in life doesn't mean that it will be a lifetime problem.
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Know that I am not writing this because I want to make feeding kids a chore or encourage adults to stress out every mealtime over whether they are doing the right thing. It is much the opposite. By developing a good eater early on, life becomes so much easier. It can be less work as you are not constantly making a separate meal for your children. Ordering at a restaurant is not stressful, ending in tantrums. The kids thrive, are healthy, feel good and have more consistent energy throughout the day.
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Learning to feed your kids.
For new parents, the idea of feeding kids can be a bit of a daunting mystery. For the kids themselves, eating food is definitely a strange and mysterious event. I would love to share what I have learned about food and eating with kids.
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First of all, there is the question of timing. All kids are ready for their first foods at different times. This is equally true for babies who are breast fed and those who are formula fed. There are certain signs to look for when trying to decide when to start experimenting with food. First are the teeth. Common sense tells us that when kids start getting teeth, they may be ready to start trying foods. Of course this doesn't lead to eating. Trying and eating are very different things and if you go into the first times expecting kids to eat you will be sorely disappointed.
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This brings me to the second sign. The food simply doesn't go in. Try as you might, you spoon the baby some food and it comes right back out, often with extremely funny reactions from the child and a bib full of what you just prepared. Don't sell your kid short. They often know when they are ready...don't ask me how. And don't be discouraged or take offense that you have failed as a cook. You should be glad that your child is telling you in their own way that, "well, that was interesting, but don't expect me to know what to do with it." Then suddenly one day, its like a switch is flipped and they eat up everything you made.
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It will help if you understand that babies don't actually need to eat solid food at first. For up to a year, babies will thrive on breast milk alone and will need nothing else, thank goodness. Can you imagine if we had to try and get all of their nutrition in the food we feed them? Seems risky and stressful to me, but luckily we are designed quite well.
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Next, there is the issue of what to feed your child. The basic rule is that any simple whole food that is not a common allergen (think peanuts, strawberries) is a good place to start. Common starters are yams, winter squash, pears, applesauce, avocados, peas, carrots, peaches, oats, barley and rice to name just a few. Notice the common theme there: vegetable, fruit and grain. Notice also, what is not on this list: fats, meats, acidic items (tomatoes and citrus), sulphuric items (cauliflower, broccoli, onions) and processed foods. I also leave dairy items off of my babies first food list, which is sacrilege to some, but the possible digestive upset that can ensue is not worth it to me. When it was time for dairy, we stuck to yogurt and shredded cheese (a favorite for our daughter). Bananas are a common and favorite first food and in moderation are good, but I hesitate to recommend them as they commonly cause constipation in small babies (and are not at all locally grown).
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Our basic food millA first necessary note. Try things yourself before feeding them to baby. It is unrealistic to expect your child to eat something that you would not. This also prevents you from burning your child or serving them something that may have looked good, but perhaps went bad.
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These first foods are all easy to create and keep, but you need just a little know how, some practice and a few tools. Our basic tool is a food mill to make our mush. It is easy to use and clean and always produces a nice consistency in a moment. Other than that, you should have everything else on hand. We have some baby spoons and some metal, wood or plastic plates and bowls for baby to throw around. We also use some extra ice cube trays to keep leftovers. Babies usually eat no more than 1 to 2 tablespoons of food at one time. If your timing is off, they may not eat anything at all. Be prepared for leftovers or you will throw away a ton of food.
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Grain cereals are a great first food for baby. Many stores have processed cereals that you just add water to and serve. These are very easy and ok if there are not any additives or unnecessary ingredients. Squash cubes!However, there is no reason that you cannot make your own. We often have barley, rice or oats on hand and/or cooked. Before we add anything to the cooked grains, we set some aside for the baby. Basically, overcook the grains until they get nice and soft and begin to fall apart let them cool and put them in the food mill with a little extra water. Grind them up and add a bit more water if necessary. As with any leftover baby food, we place the extras in ice cube trays, freeze the food and then bag up the cubes. This method makes for quick preparation and easy portion control. Just be sure to label the bags if you want to know what you are feeding your baby. It is funny how all the grains look the same in the freezer.
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As for the fruits and veggies, once they are nice and ripe or cooked, most (like bananas, avocados, cooked squash and yams and ripe pears can simply be mushed up with a fork once you remove the skins and seeds. The food mill also works great. I've read that it is a good idea to introduce just one food a day at first and not to combine foods. Once the child is eating well and you have a feel for how things are going, try things like oatmeal and peaches and other combinations. Even babies like a little variety.
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Once the baby is well on their way to eating these items, you can begin to add new items slowly and see how they "deal" with them. Around the 9-12 month area, babies will begin to want to eat finger foods and play with everything. Do not discourage this. I don't care if you have an immaculate house or a desperate fear of choking. If you are stressed out and have too many rules, your child will be too and will become quite neurotic around food. Many doctors and other professionals have noticed that kids who are let to play with their foods and make a mess end up being the best eaters. Kids are not limited to one way of experiencing their food. They want to smell, eat, smash, and throw it to fully understand it. Just have a broom on standby and everything will be fine. As for choking, simply keep things pea-sized and know that babies have an extremely sensitive gag reflex. This protects them a great deal. If you are still worried, learn how to deal with infant choking as it almost always happens to some degree. By 12-16 months, they are eating anything and everything...hopefully with the exception of processed foods, fried foods and sugars.Â
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Be sure to let us know what you have learned and share any tricks of the trade below in the comments section. We always appreciate a good conversation.
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For more great recommendations about what to feed your baby when, check out one of my favorites, Dr. Sears. There is a wealth of information about feeding infants and toddlers found on his website. http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-infants-toddlers
Also, check out this great resource:Â http://thefeedingdoctor.com/
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Lawrence Black is a writer and editor at Simple, Good, and Tasty. He has two kids and loves gardening and eating with them. His last article about kids and gardening was: Hey boy, don't eat all the rhubarb. He can be reached at lawrence@simplegoodandtasty.com.
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Source: http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2012/04/12/cooking-for-baby
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/11/coulibiac-page-308.html
Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery Jeff Gordon Wines No. 99 Estates Winery
It was a Saturday morning and I was gearing up for my lunch date with Julia. Nothing too complex--sandwiches with Black Forest ham and smoked Gouda and chips with homemade aïoli. I have a lot of Chilean white wine on hand for an upcoming tasting, but was really craving a rosé. Two hours before lunch, a driver showed up with a Chilean rosé sample. Mirabile visu.
2011 Montes Cherub Rosé of SyrahSource: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/2011-montes-cherub-rose-of-syrah.html
Source: http://dessertgirl.blogspot.com/2012/03/birthday-cake-oreos.html
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/06/garlic-and-rosemary-jelly-page-915.html
Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery Jeff Gordon Wines No. 99 Estates Winery
Muscadet is a light white wine from France traditionally paired with oysters. And I love oysters, but I really don't like shucking them myself. I know a few places around town where I can have dozens of Ameripure oysters for next to nothing, and while I like the restaurant standard oyster, I really miss traveling to other cities where I could try a dozen different east coast or west coast bivalves depending on what was in season. Tiny salty ones paired with a grapefruit granita or big buttery ones served with mignonette sauce... Anyway, I chose to buck tradition and regions and serve the wine with pasta and rapini.
2010 Domaine de la Tourmaline Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie
For the pasta dish, I started with olive oil and diced shallots and garlic, followed by red bell pepper and a big dollop of tomato paste. I added chicken stock and white wine, and after reduction, I introduced chopped rapini to let the leaves wilt and the stalks and blossoms to soften. At the last minute I introduced sliced salsiccia, sweet Italian sausage that I'd previously simmered then browned. A dash of dried pepper flakes, a little red wine vinegar, a few other touches of magic and a final toss of shredded Asiago cheese with the tongs, and we've got a good meal. Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/03/2010-domaine-de-la-tourmaline-muscadet.html

Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/04/cauliflower-soup.html
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/06/garlic-and-rosemary-jelly-page-915.html
For Christmas, Julia got me an assortment of gitfts including some looseleaf tea and a strainer from Teavana. Here you're looking at the Celestial Temple blend, a Chinese high-elevation mix of black tea leaves.
At right you see a double dose of the Celestial Temple in the Teavana strainer, resting in a Pyrex measuring cup. Normally you just use a mug for a single serving, but I wanted to capture the color of the tea while it was steeping. The tea is rich and aromatic, with notes of flowers and honey. It's nice because you get a full-bodied brew and the requisite caffeine kick but with great complexity and interesting aromas that will be fun for the wine enthusiast. 
Loads of gin for the win (great with brisket tacos)
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/DAzJonM4QXo/our-10-most-popular-stories-week
A survey of food and drink stories from the Web
Got a great link that's piqued your interest today? Either tip us off or tell the world in the comments.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/Um8t-Y_2Y8w/what-were-reading-wednesday-april-11
First we cover a little about the French wine industry and why it's so important (big $$ here!)
After covering major grapes grown in France, we talk about the history of the country and how it got its start as a wine juggernaut.
We re-address the concept of terroir and then get into the major regions and what you'll find in each. The regions we covered are:
It's a long one, but it will give you a good grounding in what you can find where. That way when we talk about each region on future podcasts, you'll have a reference point!
Here's a link: http://winefornormalpeople.podbean.com/2012/03/15/ep-043-france/
If you like the podcast, please review it on iTunes, drop a comment below, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
If you've got a question you want us to answer, post it on any of those places and we'll include it on the show!
Thanks for listening! We can't wait to hear from you!
Podcast music: "Café connection" by morgantj / CC BY 3.0, ©2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
Map: Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-43.html
Over the years I've reviewed multiple wine brands that collect various bottles from different parts of the globe under a centralized marketing scheme. It's a concept that I like, and if you buy the whole set you can pour an exciting "tour of the globe" if your guests are into geography and the romance of the vine. It's also a quick study for those hoping to expand their horizons a bit in a safe and inexpensive manner.
2009 The Seeker Sauvignon Blanc
2008 The Seeker Pinot NoirSource: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/seeker-wines.html
Over the years I've reviewed multiple wine brands that collect various bottles from different parts of the globe under a centralized marketing scheme. It's a concept that I like, and if you buy the whole set you can pour an exciting "tour of the globe" if your guests are into geography and the romance of the vine. It's also a quick study for those hoping to expand their horizons a bit in a safe and inexpensive manner.
2009 The Seeker Sauvignon Blanc
2008 The Seeker Pinot NoirSource: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/04/seeker-wines.html
Monticello AVA North Fork of Roanoke AVA Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA
And she's feeding me well. Yesterday, a delicious pasta sauce with broccoli and peanuts, and tonight a pie with more broccoli and sweet potato. And we made tiny macarons!
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/02/very-cool-table.html
e some interesting whites to be discovered. And Arneis (are-NAYS) is one of them. A pain in the arse to grow and known in the local dialect of the northwestern Piedmont region from which it hails as "little rascal" because of that, this grape has a solid comeback story. Since we all love the underdog, I think this one deserves a little love.
debutante ball, so reds didn't have much fame either. For most of its history the Piedmont, north of Tuscany, was completely isolated. People were born and died in the towns around the areas of the Langhe (said Lang-GAH, the heart of wine country here) without ever leaving. Tourism was non-existent and the wines, made of the elusive, difficult to grow red Nebbiolo, sometimes with a little of the Arneis thrown in to soften the tannic, acidic wine that resulted, weren't known the world around. The fog drenched mornings and cooler days made a nice place for the native grapes, but no one outside the region cared all that much.
alive in a small area called Roero and in the larger area called the Langhe. The grape went from 2 producers in the 1970s to multiple producers making more than 1 million gallons of the stuff today.
The Grape: 100% ArneisSource: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/arneis-born-again-italian-white.html

Malt vinegar: a British condiment worth its salt
If you've ever been to a place with fish and chips on the menu, malt vinegar is a good condiment to know and love. Malt is the term for germinated and dried grains of barley, used in adding a rich, nutty, toasty flavor to some of our very favorite things. Like beer. And milkshakes. And the vinegar we copiously shake onto fish and chips (which is made with beer batter and therefore also contains malt).
What's really great about malt vinegar is that it's made directly from ale, just like red wine vinegar is made from wine. When the booze is ready, it's fermented until it's vinegar. The result is a milder, sweeter and more complex flavor range than plain white vinegar, which is just acid and water.
Besides being a versatile condiment in the British fried food world, malt vinegar makes a great gastrique or simple salad dressing mixed with olive oil and fresh herbs.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/MkQcfoi3Q5U/what-malt-vinegar
This is a complement to the article I just wrote for Travel Belles so if you want to read and listen...
Here's the link to the article: TRAVEL BELLES
Here's the link to the podcast: Episode 35
And here is what the episode is all about
First we take a listener question from @mjgraves on Twitter about when to drink Cabernet Sauvignon. (Write in or call us and you'll be on the show! Call 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and I'll answer it in an upcoming episode!)

Listen and you'll get why I'll be lugging a suitcase around my block at midnight, while shoving some grapes in my mouth! Happy New Year!
If you like the podcast, please review it on iTunes, drop a comment on the Wine For Normal People blog, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2011/12/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-35.html

Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2011/12/wine-f.html


Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/03/cookbook-watch-highly-recommended.html
A survey of food and drink stories from the Web
Got a great link that's piqued your interest today? Either tip us off or tell the world in the comments.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FoodRepublic/~3/XHouJr5ZbsU/what-were-reading-friday-april-6
When we started this adventure to eat Latin foods, you might remember that we wanted to find out why we drive by all of these interesting places without stopping. We wanted to finally go in and see what we were missing. (Read our intro article for more) This could not be more true for my family than with the restaurant called Cocina Latina on 38th and Nicollet. We pass by this establishment probably three or four times a week and know nothing about what is inside. This almost criminal neglect had to end and it is only fitting that on this occasion, I was to go with my family.
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Yes, my partner in crime (eating criminal amounts of good food), Charles, was to miss his first Latin eating adventure due to a two week fast, which hopefully will turn into an article as he really enjoyed his experience. I also really enjoyed my experience: continuing to stuff my face with lovely Latin eats. I turned to my other partner in many of my eating adventures, my lovely wife Molly. She happily accepted and with baby and a last minute friend in tow, we set off to finally brave the unknown.
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The most striking thing about stepping into a new place can often be the contrast between expectations and reality. On its exterior, Cocina Latina is modest and simple. Inside, it is cute, quaint and really welcoming...and its menu is anything but modest and simple. It turns out that this establishment is a very interesting amalgamation of Mexican, Colombian and Ecuadorian. Its basically a short geography lesson through food. What this means is that you have a menu with things like plantain, goat stew, salsa verde, hominy, lulo, yuca and tamales. Places like this have me using the word adventure a bit too much.
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The menu is almost overwhelming with how many options there are. Steak lovers will find at least five options including NY, ribeye, t-bone, flank steak with a few options for sauces and bistec encebollado (pan fried steak with onions). There is also an extensive Mexican section with all of the normal favorites from tacos and burritos to enchiladas and huevos rancheros. Then, things get exotic, with the yuca frita (yucca fries), mote pillo (hominy and eggs), seco de chivo (goat stew) and guatita (Ecuadorian tripe stew with peanuts).Â
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We stuck to the rules and ordered a couple tacos to try, a couple tamales and then based on recommendations from the server ordered all of the above "exotic" items and some enchiladas. Its nice to go with three people!
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Let's start with the tacos. The lunch special was three tacos for $5 and so we ordered one of all three options: carnitas, asada and pollo. These were three of the most stacked tacos I have seen to date. There was so much meat as to be almost ridiculous and I loved it. The carnitas was very well done. It had a slight char from the grill and a perfect amount of fattiness, which was just beginning to caramelize. Yum. The asada was perhaps the most tender I have come across yet and very peppery and well seasoned. The chicken was sort of a stewed chicken with an excellent "gravy" that was savory and slightly spicy. These were good tacos and quite the value for how much food you receive.
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The tamales were pork in a roja sauce and chicken in a verde sauce. I liked the chicken quite a bit as it had a creamy and cakey masa with a subtle but tasty verde sauce. The pork was well seasoned and tasty, but was one of those tamales that had too much meat for my tastes and was more difficult to eat.
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Molly was working on the enchiladas, another lunch special, 2 for $7. These were filled with chicken and we ordered one with a tomatillo based salsa verde and the other with a chipotle based roja sauce. They were everything you want in good enchiladas. The tortillas were nice and thick, which I love. A little more tortilla to the tooth and I am a happy guy. Both sauces were memorable and the chicken could stand alone for its tastiness. Even the beans on the side were excellent. We can highly recommend these.
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GuatitaMoving on to the Ecuadorian and Colombian dishes, things get a bit more complicated. I was totally lost in so many flavors and new combinations. To start, I ordered a dish called the Bandera (pictured at top). It is sort of an Ecuadorian sampler with a taste of the goat stew, peanut based menudo (guatita), a shrimp ceviche, all topped off with some rice and a fried plantain. Everything was so different in its flavor profile, that I was a bit dizzy. First off, the guatita was like nothing I have ever eaten. It took me half the meal to realize that the sauce was peanut and potato based and then the rest of the meal was spent being slightly amazed at this. It was really very good and surprisingly light. The tripe was in no way overpowering as the peanuts kind of steal the show. The goat stew was also excellent. The meat was the type that comes right off the bones and melts in your mouth. The sauce was a nice and tangy tomato sauce that was, again, light and not overpowering. Finally, there was the ceviche. It too was unique in the fact that it was served with toasted hominy which was a great contrast, both in flavor and texture to the limey shrimp.Â
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mote pilloThe last two dishes were the mote pillo and the yuca frita. Both were considered sides or appetizers, but were quite filling. The mote pillo was a huge plate of hominy and scrambled eggs colored the bright yellow of something seasoned with turmeric. This dish was deceptively simple but addicting. The more I tasted it, the more I fell in love with the simple, earthy and tropical sense of it. But this was no mere appetizer, it was extremely filling.
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yuca fritaThe yuca frita were your basic yucca fries, starchy and delicious. They are a nice accompaniment to meat and other proteins, but in need of sauce. Be sure to order something with salsa, ask for catsup or find something to dip them in. I personally love yuca frita with a good plate of huevos rancheros.
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It was just about when we were starting to glaze over with extreme fullness when we heard a blender roaring away in the kitchen and saw, to our amazement, two milkshakes brought out to a nearby table. We quickly picked up our menu and could not believe our mistake. There, hiding on the back page of the menu, were milkshake options like passionfruit, lulo, mango, guanabana, blackberry and something called wine tree tomato or tamarillo. The also have juices with these same options and deserts like guava paste and cheese or figs and cheese. Since they have a wine list, I can imagine an evening with these deserts and a date with my lovely. I could also quickly see that I would be back with my six year old to try the exotic milkshakes and will definitely update everyone on what we find.Â
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What else would I come back for? That is a tough question. If I was waiting for the bus or needed a quick lunch, the taco and burrito specials with some of that chicken, carnitas or asada would be an easy choice. I would also have a hard time passing up the goat stew with some plantains or yuca frita. A few untried things on the menu need to be had as well, such as the made fresh to order chile rellenos, the huevos rancheros or the huevos Mexicana. There is also the tempting vegetarian plate with beans, rice, red potato, yuca, plantain and avocado and I am definitely curious about the whole tilapia "cooked your way." All in all, I won't be driving by this place anymore just wondering. I will know what I'm missing and have to stop.
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Here are the Details:ceviche
Cocina Latina
3764 Nicollet Ave S
Minneapolis
612-3542971
Hours: Mon 11-7, Tues-Thurs 11-10, Fri and Sat 11-midnight
Prices:
Lunch specials, tacos 3 for $5, enchiladas and burritos $7
Tamales $2.5
Mote pillo $4.5
Yuca frita $3
Burritos $9
Bandera plate $12
Steaks $12 or $13
Arepas/empanadas $4.5
Chile rellenos $11
Huevos $9
Milkshakes $3.5
A great kids menu features cheap and good options such as rice and eggs, plantains, soups, chicken fingers and quesadillas.
Surprise: the very expansive and interesting menu. Milkshakes and unique sodas.
Payment: cash or credit
Language: not a problem.
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Lawrence Black is a writer and editor at Simple, Good and Tasty.  He can be reached at lawrence@simplegoodandtasty.com. He has lately been consuming large quantities of hot peppers, so it may be advisable to stay at least three feet away...unless you are cold.
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Source: http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2012/03/29/the-latin-tongue-cocina-latina
Recently I was staring at my old baking sheet and marveled at its smooth, nonstick surface. It's not due to a Teflon coating or an anodized finish. Rather, food doesn't stick to it because it's been in continuous use for 40 years.
It was difficult to get a good shot of the cooking surface, since you're looking at black on black. So I took it outside and first snapped a shot of the bottom. Not quite as seasoned, but there's nothing shiny or gray. A little rust here and there.
When you're photographing something that is dark, it helps to go with brighter light, and you can't get a lot brighter than the sun on a clear day. In this picture you can see some of the patterns in the patina, but more significantly the nonstick coating that has built up over the years allowed me to see my own reflection. A white t-shirt, a big SLR camera over my face, and the blue sky behind me. Source: http://wine-by-benito.blogspot.com/2012/02/steel.html
Happy birthday Dagmar!
Source: http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2012/03/birthday-brunch.html
When we started this adventure to eat Latin foods, you might remember that we wanted to find out why we drive by all of these interesting places without stopping. We wanted to finally go in and see what we were missing. (Read our intro article for more) This could not be more true for my family than with the restaurant called Cocina Latina on 38th and Nicollet. We pass by this establishment probably three or four times a week and know nothing about what is inside. This almost criminal neglect had to end and it is only fitting that on this occasion, I was to go with my family.
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Yes, my partner in crime (eating criminal amounts of good food), Charles, was to miss his first Latin eating adventure due to a two week fast, which hopefully will turn into an article as he really enjoyed his experience. I also really enjoyed my experience: continuing to stuff my face with lovely Latin eats. I turned to my other partner in many of my eating adventures, my lovely wife Molly. She happily accepted and with baby and a last minute friend in tow, we set off to finally brave the unknown.
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The most striking thing about stepping into a new place can often be the contrast between expectations and reality. On its exterior, Cocina Latina is modest and simple. Inside, it is cute, quaint and really welcoming...and its menu is anything but modest and simple. It turns out that this establishment is a very interesting amalgamation of Mexican, Colombian and Ecuadorian. Its basically a short geography lesson through food. What this means is that you have a menu with things like plantain, goat stew, salsa verde, hominy, lulo, yuca and tamales. Places like this have me using the word adventure a bit too much.
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The menu is almost overwhelming with how many options there are. Steak lovers will find at least five options including NY, ribeye, t-bone, flank steak with a few options for sauces and bistec encebollado (pan fried steak with onions). There is also an extensive Mexican section with all of the normal favorites from tacos and burritos to enchiladas and huevos rancheros. Then, things get exotic, with the yuca frita (yucca fries), mote pillo (hominy and eggs), seco de chivo (goat stew) and guatita (Ecuadorian tripe stew with peanuts).Â
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We stuck to the rules and ordered a couple tacos to try, a couple tamales and then based on recommendations from the server ordered all of the above "exotic" items and some enchiladas. Its nice to go with three people!
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Let's start with the tacos. The lunch special was three tacos for $5 and so we ordered one of all three options: carnitas, asada and pollo. These were three of the most stacked tacos I have seen to date. There was so much meat as to be almost ridiculous and I loved it. The carnitas was very well done. It had a slight char from the grill and a perfect amount of fattiness, which was just beginning to caramelize. Yum. The asada was perhaps the most tender I have come across yet and very peppery and well seasoned. The chicken was sort of a stewed chicken with an excellent "gravy" that was savory and slightly spicy. These were good tacos and quite the value for how much food you receive.
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The tamales were pork in a roja sauce and chicken in a verde sauce. I liked the chicken quite a bit as it had a creamy and cakey masa with a subtle but tasty verde sauce. The pork was well seasoned and tasty, but was one of those tamales that had too much meat for my tastes and was more difficult to eat.
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Molly was working on the enchiladas, another lunch special, 2 for $7. These were filled with chicken and we ordered one with a tomatillo based salsa verde and the other with a chipotle based roja sauce. They were everything you want in good enchiladas. The tortillas were nice and thick, which I love. A little more tortilla to the tooth and I am a happy guy. Both sauces were memorable and the chicken could stand alone for its tastiness. Even the beans on the side were excellent. We can highly recommend these.
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GuatitaMoving on to the Ecuadorian and Colombian dishes, things get a bit more complicated. I was totally lost in so many flavors and new combinations. To start, I ordered a dish called the Bandera (pictured at top). It is sort of an Ecuadorian sampler with a taste of the goat stew, peanut based menudo (guatita), a shrimp ceviche, all topped off with some rice and a fried plantain. Everything was so different in its flavor profile, that I was a bit dizzy. First off, the guatita was like nothing I have ever eaten. It took me half the meal to realize that the sauce was peanut and potato based and then the rest of the meal was spent being slightly amazed at this. It was really very good and surprisingly light. The tripe was in no way overpowering as the peanuts kind of steal the show. The goat stew was also excellent. The meat was the type that comes right off the bones and melts in your mouth. The sauce was a nice and tangy tomato sauce that was, again, light and not overpowering. Finally, there was the ceviche. It too was unique in the fact that it was served with toasted hominy which was a great contrast, both in flavor and texture to the limey shrimp.Â
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mote pilloThe last two dishes were the mote pillo and the yuca frita. Both were considered sides or appetizers, but were quite filling. The mote pillo was a huge plate of hominy and scrambled eggs colored the bright yellow of something seasoned with turmeric. This dish was deceptively simple but addicting. The more I tasted it, the more I fell in love with the simple, earthy and tropical sense of it. But this was no mere appetizer, it was extremely filling.
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yuca fritaThe yuca frita were your basic yucca fries, starchy and delicious. They are a nice accompaniment to meat and other proteins, but in need of sauce. Be sure to order something with salsa, ask for catsup or find something to dip them in. I personally love yuca frita with a good plate of huevos rancheros.
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It was just about when we were starting to glaze over with extreme fullness when we heard a blender roaring away in the kitchen and saw, to our amazement, two milkshakes brought out to a nearby table. We quickly picked up our menu and could not believe our mistake. There, hiding on the back page of the menu, were milkshake options like passionfruit, lulo, mango, guanabana, blackberry and something called wine tree tomato or tamarillo. The also have juices with these same options and deserts like guava paste and cheese or figs and cheese. Since they have a wine list, I can imagine an evening with these deserts and a date with my lovely. I could also quickly see that I would be back with my six year old to try the exotic milkshakes and will definitely update everyone on what we find.Â
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What else would I come back for? That is a tough question. If I was waiting for the bus or needed a quick lunch, the taco and burrito specials with some of that chicken, carnitas or asada would be an easy choice. I would also have a hard time passing up the goat stew with some plantains or yuca frita. A few untried things on the menu need to be had as well, such as the made fresh to order chile rellenos, the huevos rancheros or the huevos Mexicana. There is also the tempting vegetarian plate with beans, rice, red potato, yuca, plantain and avocado and I am definitely curious about the whole tilapia "cooked your way." All in all, I won't be driving by this place anymore just wondering. I will know what I'm missing and have to stop.
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Here are the Details:ceviche
Cocina Latina
3764 Nicollet Ave S
Minneapolis
612-3542971
Hours: Mon 11-7, Tues-Thurs 11-10, Fri and Sat 11-midnight
Prices:
Lunch specials, tacos 3 for $5, enchiladas and burritos $7
Tamales $2.5
Mote pillo $4.5
Yuca frita $3
Burritos $9
Bandera plate $12
Steaks $12 or $13
Arepas/empanadas $4.5
Chile rellenos $11
Huevos $9
Milkshakes $3.5
A great kids menu features cheap and good options such as rice and eggs, plantains, soups, chicken fingers and quesadillas.
Surprise: the very expansive and interesting menu. Milkshakes and unique sodas.
Payment: cash or credit
Language: not a problem.
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Lawrence Black is a writer and editor at Simple, Good and Tasty.  He can be reached at lawrence@simplegoodandtasty.com. He has lately been consuming large quantities of hot peppers, so it may be advisable to stay at least three feet away...unless you are cold.
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Source: http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2012/03/29/the-latin-tongue-cocina-latina
Source: http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/2011/07/roast-turkey-with-herbed-bread-stuffing.html
No. 99 Estates Winery Terry Hoage Vineyards Pursued by Bear Wine
nd Twitter -- all amazing! We appreciate you all so much.Then, we address a question that I've been hearing a ton lately: What kind of additives are in wine? (As a preview, they're not related to Velveeta or Cheese Whiz, even though the name "additive" evokes those highly-processed foods!).
For the main topic, this week we take a practical look at how to taste wine to get more out of your experience.
If you like the podcast, please re
view it on iTunes, drop a comment below, or join the awesome conversation on Facebook (Wine For Normal People page) and Twitter @normalwine!
Thanks for listening! We can't wait to hear from you!
Podcast music: "Café connection" by morgantj / CC BY 3.0, ©2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0).
Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/02/wine-for-normal-people-radio-episode-40.html

io.
Alcohol: 11.5%
ing a little puzzling about the wine too. Yeah, I got the minerals, salt, and lemon but the wine, which never saw oak, kind of tasted like oak. It had a slight caramel thing going on. Could be from the slight sweetness/the touch of sugar in it. I don't know, but it seemed strangely oaky.Source: http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/sylvaner-another-white-grape-of-germany.html
Fine dining enthusiast.
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