Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Thursday, 16 March 2023

Do you Know Some People Eat Alligator Meat? - Part 1 – Food 40

I went to Walmart Neighborhood a couple days ago, a nearby grocery, just few minutes from my house.



Image 1- Alligator fillet sold in Walmart

I wanted to pick fish fillets, and surprisingly that I saw fillets of alligator in the cold room of the store.

I thought this kind of “meat” sold in the specific market only, never expected that they are available in grocery stores like Walmart.

Yes, Louisiana has a great number of alligators:

- 2 million wild alligators
- 300 thousand farming alligators.



Image 2- Just for illustration

In Louisiana, alligators may be found in any places such as lakes, canals, rivers and even small ponds.



Image 3- Recipe to cook alligator fillet (back packed).

# To be continued to Part 2

# Previous postings:

Tuesday, 28 February 2023

Have you Tasted Broad Beans? - Food 39

I knew broad beans in the 4 forms that are baked, roasted, fried and dried. When I visit an ethnic grocery, I saw fresh broad beans, look like a long bean with green color.



Image 1- Dried broad beans

Americans call broad beans with other names, some of them are English bean, Faba bean, Windsor bean, Tick bean, field bean, Horse bean, Pigeon bean, Fava bean and Bell bean.

People eat broad beans with some reasons:

- source of nutrients
- weight loss
- improve immune system
- a lot of health benefits



Image 2- A single broad bean

# Important postings:



Image 3- Fried broad beans

As suggested by Rumwell (2021: Brilliant benefits of broad beans) that broad beans rich in vitamins and minerals.

Some important vitamins include vitamin C and B. Moreover, few examples of minerals in the broad bean are copper, zinc, iron and magnesium.



Fig 04- Fresh broad beans, sold in the grocery

Have you tasted broad beans? If so, do you like its?

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Saturday, 18 February 2023

The Crazy Chicken Pollo Loco at Neighborhood – Food 38

As you know that Pollo Loco is a Spanish word for crazy chicken in English. We have the franchise restaurant called as “El Pollo Loco.”



Image 1- Food truck of Crazy chicken.

The “El Pollo Loco” has headquarter in California with about 500 branches all over the USA.

A food truck called as “My PolloLoco” always visit our neighborhood from afternoon (around 5 PM) until night (before 10 PM).

We believe that “My PolloLoco” is not part of “El Pollo Loco” franchises. It is a local owner, a kind of small business to sell Mexican foods with Louisiana or American flavors.

Sure, the price is quite reasonable.



Image 2- Grilled chicken, one of menus

Food trucks like restaurants must pass inspections from relevant agencies for their cleanliness, food qualities and even locations or hours of business.

We have been eating from variety of local food trucks for over 15 years; never had cleanliness and food quality issues.

In addition to grilled chicken, I love several menus such as Taco, Quesadilla and many other Mexican cuisines.



Image 3- Quesadilla, other menus.

Have you this kind of food truck in your areas?

# Previous postings:

Tuesday, 14 February 2023

The United States Produces and Exports Dates Fruit – Food 37

I know the Middle East countries are the main producers and exporters of dates fruit in the world. In fact top 5 producers come from this region.



Image 1- Dates sold in the American grocery.

Here the top 5 dates producers in the world, data from FAO (2019):

- Egypt, 1.60 million tons
- Saudi Arabia, 1.54 million tons
- Iran, 1.31 million tons
- Algeria, 1.14 million tons
- Iraq, 0.64 million tons

What surprising me that USA not only produces dates, but also exports the fruit to some other countries.



Image 2- Dates in the boxes

America is ranked 15th as world date producer. Total production was 56,000 ton in 2019.

The production is quite higher compared to other middle east countries such as Israel, Qatar and Jordan.

In term of export, USA sent dates fruit to Canada, Australia and Mexico in 2021 to 2022.



Image 3- Dates, ready to be consumed

Have you tasted dates?

# Previous postings:

Tuesday, 7 February 2023

How often Should we Consume Blueberries? - Part 2 – Food 35

You may read the previous post about blueberries and berries:



Image 1- Blueberries, ready to be consumed

It is because they are healthiest berries. I have mentioned 3 kinds (excluded blackberry) of berries. Then, other 5 kinds of berries are:

- Goji berries
- Bilberries
- Acai berries
- Cranberries
- Grapes



Image 2- Magnolia, Illustration only

In case of blueberry, there are a lot of health benefits, just some (Megan Ware, written in MedicalNewsToday, 2017):

- Lowering blood pressure
- Managing diabetes
- Protecting against heart disease
- Preventing cancer
- Healthy digestion, weight loss, and feeling full



Image 3- Butterfly, just for illustration

The question then: How often Should we Consume Blueberries?

As recommended by Harvard Health Publishing (June 17, 2020): “Eat blueberries three times per week.”



Image 4- Blueberries sold in Walmart, US$6.97

# Previous Postings:

Monday, 30 January 2023

Sugarcane Sticks Sold in the Mexican Grocery – Food 36

I used to chew sugarcane sticks, off course after removing its outer layers, when I was a kid long time ago.



Image 1- Sugarcane sticks sold in the grocery.

Fun memory to select a good tree, cut tree with proper sizes, peel off the outer layers, and chewing its. Tastes so sweet.

I loved to drink sugarcane juice as well. As suggested by Raw Pressery (2021: 13 Amazing Health Benefits of Sugarcane Juice) that sugarcane juice has plenty of health benefits.

Just for few examples, sugarcane juice contains highly minerals, high source of vitamin C, low fats and low Glycemic index.



Image 2- Pine fruits, illustration only

By the way, when we visited an ethnic, Mexican grocery recently, we found sticks of sugarcane on the shelves.



Image 3- Sugarcane juice, sold in Walmart

Yes, USA has sugarcane farmings which produce millions ton of sugars, but first time saw sugarcane sticks on the market.

Have you chewed sugarcane sticks?

# Previous postings:

Thursday, 26 January 2023

White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 3 – Food 32

You may read previous posting (Part 1):



Image 1- Sweet white hominy pearls tossed with coconut shreds

Hominy is a product of corn, so it is free from gluten, high fiber, low fat and low carb.

Just for your illustration that one cup (165 g) of hominy contents about 120 calories, and 4 g(16% daily value) of fibers.

For today consumption, I use hominy from Juanita's. I empty hominy into the pot, rinse, and cover with water. 



Image 2- A nutcracker, illustration only



Image 3- The raw corn, illustration

Put the pot on medium high and bring to boil, then add some sugar, stir a few times. When the texture is softer, we should drain, and toss with coconut shreds. Ready to enjoy!

Do you like hominy? What is your favorite hominy recipe?

# Previous postings:

Saturday, 7 January 2023

How often Should we Consume Blueberries? - Part 1 – Food 35

We have talked about how important to eat blueberries:

- The Rainbow : Blueberry is One of Fruits Rich in Antioxidants – Food 13



Image 1- Blueberries in the bowl, ready to be consumed

Actually, there are a lot of berries species in the world. By internet searching, we found no less than 400 different kinds of berries either farming or wild ones.

In term of colors, the berries could be:

- black
- purple
- white
- yellow
- red



Image 2- Just another berry, wild berries at yard

Blueberry is one of my favorite fruits in the berries “group.” I don’t know why I love this type of berry.



Image 3- A cookbook, Illustration only.

Sure, I consume others. Some my favorite berries include:

- strawberry
- blackberry
- raspberry



Image 4- Cranberry, another suggested berries to eat

Ruairi Robertson (published in healthline, August 19, 2020) suggest to consume at least 8 kinds of berries.

We may wonder: Why should we eat many kinds of berries?

# To be continued to Part 2

## Previous postings:

Thursday, 29 December 2022

White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 2 – Food 32

You may read previous posting (Part 1):

- White Hominy Pearls Tossed with Coconut Shreds – Part 1 – Food 32



Image 1- A Mexican style of Canned hominy

This weekend, I just stay home, love in my “small bubble,” then enjoy reading several books and doing little cooking at kitchen.

I cook my own snack. I would like to share with you my special sweet snack recipe. It can be a snack or an appetizer.

Do you Wonder what is it?

It is white hominy pearls covered with coconut shreds. A kind of a sweet food from white maize or known as field corn too.



Image 2- White flowers, illustration only

The taste of hominy is heavenly, I believe. Sometimes, I cook chicken soups with adding of hominy or posoles.



Image 3- Popcorn, just illustration

Many times, I make hominy porridge with sweet condensed milk and or coconut milk. I also like to add hominy in my salads.

# To be continued to Part 3

## Previous postings:

A little cutie Bunny at the Corner

 When jogging in the Saturday morning recently, we saw a bunny. She is very s uper friendly critter! Image - A super friendly bunny. We beli...