Help! I need a food fight cover photo and I can’t decide which one to use. Hola Friends!!!
It’s Friday, it’s a food fight, it’s @foodfightfriday. My husband says “the best Friday of the week”. Thanks @jlsplatts and @Dandays for keeping this thing going. When the going gets tough the fighters keep throwing :)
So @dandays and I are in the middle of moving countries again. I know, like little miss “this porridge is too hot, this porridge is too cold, this porridge is too big…” we may never be happy. We are, however, excited to go see a completely different side of the world. It’s a side that my Dad was born and raised in too so i’m extra thrilled to check out his old stomping grounds. I just recently told Dandays that my Dad used to love to eat beans on toast. I know what you’re thinking “that doesn’t sound so bad” but I assure you, it is every bit as disgusting as it doesn’t sound 🤷🏼♀️ He’d relentlessly try to get me to eat a plate with him but I never wavered. Baked pinto beans over white toast was not my jam. Maybe I’ll try a plate in his old hood to finally see what the big fuss was all about…
Anyway, I ramble and I’ve got some food pictures to share so I’ll get to it. Wait… I don’t think I’ve chosen my cover image yet 🥴. My hang up is that the one I’m thinking of kind of looks funny. I assure you as gross as beans and toast maybe the below photo tastes like a cozy winters fireplace party in your mouth. What? People say that!
Nope, not stuffed old shoe with a side of fries, it’s a stuffed buttnut accompanied by mixed pecan greens and potato wedges. Totally different! (And yes, I just said “buttnut”).
The lentil mixture here is bomb too. I made lentils, carrots, potato, zucchini, and veg broth into a thick stew, scooped out the roasted buttnut, mixed everything together and restuffed the squash to finish roasting another 20 minutes then sprinkled with almond shavings and voila! Dinner is served 😋
Sticking with a similar color scheme above is my go to vegetable soup topped with fresh avocado for me, chopped tomato for Dandays and on the side, homestyle sweet potato fries. Yummmm
It was raining something biblical for about a week and a half so I took the opportunity to pretend it was soup, stew, chili weather. Sometimes you just gotta soup it up even though the forecast says “suns out guns out”.
Check out the focaccia bread I made to go with this pot…
Gluten free and full of flavor I might add…
Do y’all know what a potato bake is? What about a casserole? This is my vegan rendition of a potato veggie bake in an almond macadamia nut crust. So yea, it’s gluten free (I don’t mean to brag but the bechamel is vegan too). This dish was so freaking good. Dandays and I shamelessly killed it in one night. Okay, we left a small piece for the following day but only so we could pretend we weren’t inhaling the thing like it’s the first meal we’ve eaten in 6 months. The trick to this was to roast the veggies before layering them and baking together. So so so so delicious!
Can you tell what this is?
How about now? No, not the sweet potato fries… the sloppy joe. That’s right, I’m bringing back the 50s housewife with these casseroles and sloppy joes. Not only is this Joe made with lentils, but I made my own bbq sauce for it to eliminate most of the sugar. The lentils are mixed with shredded carrots to give a sloppy joe ness texture. Dandays thought they were a hit, I was more partial to the sweet potato fries :)
Now, if I was smarter I would have taken photos of the vegan dessert I got from across the street last night or of the homemade falafel and veggies I made tonight. So I guess that’s it. That’s all the pictures I have to share with y’all. I’m hoping this move doesn’t distract me for too long away from Steemit but if you don’t see me it doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about you. In fact @dandays and I regularly talk about @plantstoplanks and her coolness, @birdsinparadise ‘s gangster ass recipes, @lenasveganliving with her food photography , @jlsplatts and his dope personality, @janton and his storytelling abilities, @thebigsweed with his compound, his wife @farm-mom and all her maple syrup, plus @nickyhavey, @cityofstars, @paleotwist, @buttcoins, and many many more… we regularly talk about Steemit peeps so don’t think I’ve forgotten about you when I’m not on here. You all have a place at our dinner table wherever we are in the world. You too @weirdheadaches, wherever the heck you are these days 😉.
Happy Food Fight Friday y’all! Pura Vida ✌️
As is par for the course, everything you conjure up looks so delicious. Raining for a week and a half, that sounds like the weather we have been having here in NY.
The beans on toast I may have to try, very simple, you gotta like that.
Off to your dad's old stomping ground, England, must be excited. Is this the first time there?
Have been thinking about @puravidaville and @dandays also, wondering how they are making out. Still very disappointed with not being able to meet while you guys are in the city.
Be safe in your travels, and keep us posted on all the things you do, we are both very excited for you guys. LOL
No worries, we’ll catch you two in Thailand in November :). The rain has since left us and now it’s bloody hot here. The mosquitoes are rampant though… so that good 😏. I’m so so so excited to see London and England. I feel like I might see my Dad walking down the damn street or something. Haha… wouldn’t that be amazing. I’ve been bugging @dandays since last week saying “babe, I’m so excited, I just can’t hide it, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it”. Haha… poor guy. NY will be a much needed transition jumping point. It’ll be so nice to talk to people again, eat foods I’m accustomed to, just feel at home before heading out again. Plus I get to stock up on anything I think might be difficult to find abroad. We are very excited for this round of our journey. Keep an eye out for the crypto sticker we’ll leave on the subway- our way of saying hi. 👋
I'm so excited, great song by the Pointer Sisters.
As well you should be, a little taste of home before your next leg, should put you back into the right frame on mind.
I should think so. I wouldn’t mind a nice Scarface plate full of vegan desserts and fresh pressed juices before heading out 🤦🏼♀️
Awwwwwwww my Dear Pura!!! I think about you all the time too and I miss your delicious, healthy and super entertaining entries for FAVM. However, even if this is not for our contest, I am giving you an AWARD anyway. I also wish you and @dandays all the best with the moving and hope to see you back soon. Sending lots of hugs 💖😍💖
Oh my God!!! Yay!!! 👏👏👏👏 How wonderful to sign onto steempeak and read this little gem. @lenasveganliving you’re such a doll and I’m grateful to have met you :). One of these days I’ll have to have you over for dinner, when we are in your hood of course. Although I wouldn’t mind if you came over to England either 🤷🏼♀️ Sending lots of hugs right back at ya sista!!!
I would love to come wherever you are my sweet Pura and I said many times; I am planning to ravel!!! So let's see how it all works out for us. Have a great time in England. It will be a huge change compare to Costa Rica and California. Nevertheless, England has its charm and I hope you will share it little piece of it wit us. Altough, I ma very surprise about the sudden change. Bon Voyage! Mwah! 😘🛫
It will be a welcomed change. It’s much different living in a country verses vacationing in one. I had no idea that we’d have such a change of heart either. Then again I had no idea how divided the community is here. It’s shame! I’m definitely looking forward to discovering a country my Dad was born and raised in though. That’s the plus :) Thanks for all of your well wishes Lena 😘
Oh so you are not going back to Costa Rica? I must be missing something about the community, but you know best what works for you and what doesn't. You have always us! The Steemit community, where ever you are my Dear Pura 😍
No, we aren’t coming back. We decided we didn’t like Costa Rica and the customs that are practiced by locals and expats alike. Locals and expats don’t really integrate with each other. There are separate albeit more expensive grocery stores for North American expats, different restaurants, different prices to get into state parks, different prices everywhere actually… it’s something we didn’t notice while we were here on vacation. Also, the locals can be quite rude to us. They don’t like us here and more expats should talk about that. It’s like a lot of people moved here and invested in businesses or houses before realizing all of this and are fearful to admit it therefore chasing off a potential buyer for their investment. Almost all of the expat businesses or homes are for sale… it’s all kind of bizarre. Anyway, we look forward to discovering other countries and potentially finding our “home” somewhere else.
Oh my gosh! That is really disappointing! Wow! Well I hope you will find the place of your dreams Sweetie. Buy the way; why did you leave California?
Gosh dang, where do I begin? I think like our pal @birdsinparadise, I'll take a little of everything, too. You've totally got me craving sweet potato fries right now! Can you believe I actually haven't made any in a while? I do have some red potatoes that I think are destined for a potato salad, but it's been a bit since I made any fries. Well, other than another batch of the chickpea fries last week, which are nothing to sneeze at. I think a few of our little buttnuts might just about be ready. I don't think they'll grow super big in the summer time, plus I'll be happy to pull them off to enjoy sooner.
Delicious meals all around! My pal just got back from retreat in Costa Rica and really enjoyed it. Of course now she's talking about wanting to purchase property down there because she loved it so much, but I might have to share some of your experiences with her to make sure she explores all sides of the decision. Glad they enjoyed the trip, though. Safe travels as you make it to your next spot! Make sure to wave if you fly over Atlanta! ;)
Yum, I still haven’t tried those chickpea fries. They sound delish though. Since being here I discovered yucca fries too. They are bomb! So good dipped in hummus or guac or any other saucy thing you can come up with.
I bet the retreat was amazing! It’s a shame, we had the same perception as her just a few months ago. Living somewhere verses vacationing somewhere is so different. I wish more people were honest about living here. Maybe some people just don’t care about that kind of divide, I don’t know. Hopefully she has an opportunity to live here for a bit before making such an investment.
I’ll drop confetti from the plane :)
Oh man, you really do have to try the chickpea ones soon! I still love my starchy root veggies like that, but the chickpea flour is a pretty darn good way to mix it up.
Yeah, I think she might just still be in that post-vacation glow. I don't think they'll be buying anything soon, but I would imagine there's visions of permanent Costa Rican retreats dancing in her head. ;) I think a lot of people that only vacation in a spot really don't care as long as nothing negative impacts them. When you're only there for a week you don't have to worry about anything except for making sure to put on enough sunscreen. I'm sure it's a whole different ballgame when you are actually doing day to day interactions and needing to carry on actual business.
If that confetti is made from chopped up pineapple, I'll be waiting for the fly over...😜
Even better, it’s made with love 😉. @dandays has been very vocal to fellow expats about our experience to try and set an example that “it’s okay to say what you think”. A couple we just met 2 weeks ago said they thought about what we were saying and decided that we are totally right. They cancelled a check they had sent to a real estate agent and are deciding to look else where to buy their retirement home. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t move here but I am saying that people shouldn’t jump into the commitments without knowing what’s happening here. The problem is is that nobody talks about this so people don’t know. The expats that do talk about it are stuck here having invested a lot of money and it’s not so easy to sell here as it is in the states. I’m working on my “tell people what you’re thinking” now too. I see the politeness as a way to hide who you are. We need more people and less politeness (in my opinion).
Chickpea fries, chickpea balls, chickpea Cookies, I’m all about the chickpea goods. Send some fries this way and I’ll see what I can do about smuggling in some pineapple. Maybe I can dehydrate some pineapple and bring it ovahhhhh 😋
We really enjoyed it when we were just visiting too, you have to live here to realize the difference between visiting and permanent. The divide between locals and expats is gross. A vacationing attitude doesn’t notice getting robbed nor are you concerned. Vacation-mode is oblivious to the reality that locals don’t want you here.
Yeah, we had ‘plans’ too, thank God we engulfed ourselves in the culture before doing what everyone else does—regret!
Show her my how to avoid extortion article or the one I’m releasing today, I’d recommend she engulfs herself in the culture for six months and then tell you what she thinks. 👍🏿
Always good to hear the opinions of people who experience things first hand! I can imagine there are a lot of skewed opinions (for example those trying to sell you their property so they can get the heck out of dodge, haha). There are pros and cons to any place, so it is really good to find out what you are willing to compromise on before you jump all in.
I'll keep an eye out for your latest share!
Yummy yummy in my tummy
😋 Hell yeah!!! I’m a food cooking fool. Thanks for dropping a line @geneeverett!
Your Food Fight Friday Contender has been entered into Round 47
May your contender make it out alive and not be placed in a permanent food coma!
Good Luck
Your food recipes are amazing, I think I am gonna try that stuffed buttnut one. Wishing you and @dandays safe travels
Aweeee, thanks @farm-mom. I hope you guys like it, and don’t even think about splitting your half. @dandays and I ate one half each and still wanted more food 🤷🏼♀️ Haha.
Biff ! my hubby can eat, as well as all my kids, so I know better than to walk away without my fair share. Food is such an equalizer. I'll be back !
This looks really delicious and interesting, I could eat it for breakfast now!
You can have as much as you want @proanima! 🥰
🥰
Wow! I don't know where to begin! I'll just take it all!!!!! lol You are cooking up a storm on that Atlas stove of yours...soups, breads and killer fries :) Thats what rainy weather does to all of us. So glad to see you today @puravidaville!!! Can't wait to hear about your move....something with black beans and toast? hmmmm I'm sure it's good if you're giving it the thumbs up! You guys be safe, happy trails and see you in the next piece of paradise xx
I think I’m over doing it on the fries 🤦🏼♀️ but they are so dang good. And they pair with almost anything. Haha. Hi @birdsinparadise! It’s always so nice to hear from you. @dandays and I were just talking about your neck of the woods, Florida, as a good state to park in. What county are y’all in? I was looking at Port St. Lucie, the Keys, but I’ve never been to Florida so probably wouldn’t know the difference anywaY. My only requirement is to be by the beach, a swimable beach :) Anyhoooo, I hope this message finds you and your family well. Enjoy your weekend my friend!
Hello!! We're in Collier County! Definitely swimable beaches in and around us. We love camping in the keys! We've stayed in Islamorada, Marathon and Key West. All neat places. I think you would have fun visiting Key West, really charming, lots of personality! Tourists are mostly away right now so its the time to come! Often have daily rain, but the sun quickly follows! Not sure about the beaches and swimming you'll have to check that out. All of the beaches up the coast and into the panhandle are amazing. (We prefer gulf to atlantic) You could travel all around the beaches in state, they would keep you happy for quite a while! :) Happy Travels!!!
I just checked out the area via air B and B and craigslist, trulia, and realtor.com, it looks quite nice. I was also looking at places in Tennessee because we love the people there so much. For the same price you can get quite a larger home in TN. I guess it’s the price we pay to be by the beach, right?! Why do you like the gulf side better? Is it because the water is calmer? I’ve only ever experienced the Keys through tv and movies. It looks tropical like we like… as long as the mosquitoes aren’t as aggressive as here in all in. Haha
I assume no crocodiles in the beaches… we do see them here but very infrequently so they don’t bother us much. What life we are on, a constant journey searching for the perfect beach with the best falafel only to find out that it’s not the beach and the food that make the place cool, it’s the people.
Okay so we seem to find the people on gulf are so nice. It is pricey, obviously we're not living on the beach, lol Misquitoes aren't bad this year, they were horrible when we moved in 2017, we thought between Hurricane Irma and the Misquitoes we had made a huge mistake moving here :) Since then, it's been fine. No crocodiles here, only alligators, they're quite shy. None on the beach except in some state parks and natural areas. The keys are really beautiful. Lots of Key deer, iguanas and if you're into fishing...tons! People are important! we walk the beach every week and love it, but you're right, that's not all there is to life. Where we live it's all people like us, transplanted from somewhere else so everyone wants to make friends. Naples is definitely an older crowd, lol The Keys not so much. You definitely need to stop there some time, I think you would have fun Tennessee is really nice, we've camped and traveled through there a lot. We have friends who have cabins on Norris Lake, they love it! So many choices, I totally understand. We traveled for 3 years to decided where we would land. Not sure we'll stay here forever either! There's just too much to see and do! So glad you're able to explore this way!
That’s amazing! I like to hear you traveled for a few years before deciding where to park. It sounds like we’d like the gulf of Florida very much. We are very easy and like to do most of our socializing during the day so you get crowds don’t appeal to us anymore. Haha… I do like the sound of mosquitoes not being that bad though. It’s always a plus when you can watch a sunset in peace. Should our journey bring us over there you know who I’m calling for a fish fry bbq… it would be glorious :). Thanks for all of the input @birdsinparadise. It’s a good thing my home is always with @dandays or I’d be lost with all of these options. Haha
Oh wow! 😲 I'm so jealous right now, it looks amazing!! I wish I could taste it. It's seriously looks like what a high end restaurant would do. If you ever open a business here, it would surely catch! Will be right back for sure to upvote as soon as I'm back to a 100%
@pegarissimo you and your family are welcome to our dinner table anytime. I appreciate the compliments my friend. It’s so much easier to create a yummy meal when you’re cooking with love for loved ones. I don’t know if that would apply in a restaurant 🤷🏼♀️ Sounds like a nice dream though. Thanks for dropping a line!
😀
you and the people around you are lucky.. visually excellent and it promise the taste too.. 😋
That’s certainly a nice thing to say @sabari, thank you sir. Sometimes it’s just as satisfying to eat with our eyes before our mouths. :) Enjoy your weekend!
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