Chorizo and pea hash

hash6After a weekend in Atlantic City, I’m ready for a major life-detox.

We checked in to Cesar’s Palace Thursday afternoon and spent two days hiding in the casino until we FINALLY decided to sneak onto the boardwalk.

The sun was so bright. The fresh air burned our lungs.

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And we realized we’d essentially been hiding out in an old basement filled with flashing lights and Elton John slots that had saturated what was left of our brains (and wallets).

My stomach has been in a mess ever since. It’s the weirdest thing. First, I’m feeling good. So, I obviously eat something (that’s how I celebrate all good-feeling things in life). The next thing I know, I’m ready to lay on the floor grasping my stomach and begging for mercy.

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What gives?

Was it the lingering cigarette smoke? The complimentary slot-machine ordered mimosas? The lack of Vitamin D or any other nutrient in sight?

Whatever it was, I’m happily sipping my Tazo Zen tea and hoping for calmer stomach adventures ahead. In the meantime, please enjoy this hash I whipped up before our trip.

The beautiful thing about has is that it’s open to interpretation. Mix in whatever you’ve got.

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Recipe for chorizo and pea hash

  • 2 tablespoons each of olive oil and butter
  • 2 chorizo link
  • 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 1 cup of frozen peas
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon oregano

Melt the olive oil and butter in a large dutch oven.

Remove the casings from the chorizo and crumble the meat into the dutch oven. Cook until browned.

Add the onion, potato and garlic and cover with a lid to let steam for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the spices and let it continue to cook down.

Stir in the peas for the final few minutes of cooking. Serve immediately. An over easy egg is optional but encouraged.

Amish popcorn isn’t every color of the rainbow

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Indian or Amish popcorn is a bit deceiving.

You take a look at the colorful kernels and imagine you’ll get little blue and pink pillows to munch on.

It’s a lie.

But that’s OK because it’s still tasty. And I love popcorn just about all the time.

My favorite way to cook popcorn is as follows: 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Heat the oil, add 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels or enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover with a lid but crack to the some air inside. Move the pan around and around and around over the burner until the kernels start to pop. Keep them moving so they don’t burn.

Toss the completely popped kernels in salt. Continue reading