That’s a picture of my Mom and me.  I’m her only child.  Our bond is unbreakable and as strong as a tsunami.  I think of what a wonderful parent she has been to me my whole life.  She raised me by herself and was a dedicated Mother who did her best to give me everything she could.  People always assume because I’m an only child I must have been spoiled.  I wouldn’t call it spoiled,  I would call it showered with love.  I didn’t grow up with a ton of toys but I did grow up with all of my Mom’s attention.  She always talked to me allowing open dialogue and valued my opinion.  She would recount stories to me of her youth and read me plenty of stories too.  I always remember her reading to me when I was a kid.  My Mom liked stories and she also appreciated good illustration. One of our all time favorite books to enjoy right before bed was an amazing book by the famed author Maurice Sendak called “In the Night Kitchen.”  It’s about a little boy named Mickey who finds himself in the surreal world of the Night Kitchen, when 3 bakers think he is milk and add him as one of the ingredients to make the morning cake.  Right before they are about to put the cake in the oven Mickey makes an airplane out of the dough and uses it to fly out of the cake and up to a big glass container of milk.  Then dives into the milk singing, and takes some of the milk from the container and pours it into the bakers batter so everyone can have cake in the morning. 

I think back on this book and wonder if it was one of the early influences that peaked my interest in baking?  I still love this book and find the illustrations to be close to perfection.  The picture of Mickey swimming in the milk pictured above is one of my favorites.  I am glad that I have found a new collection of modern books to read to my son that also involve milk and amazing illustrations.  Click here to download the books for free.  Who knows?  Maybe one of these books will not only encourage my son to drink milk before bed, which will help him sleep through the night, but they might also spark his interest in becoming an astronaut in search of the milky way or becoming a baker who will use milk in his cake recipe.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor Board and Latina Mom Bloggers. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

  I find it interesting when my Mom recounts the days of her youth.  She tells it in a very matter of fact tone.  For the most part it was an unfair childhood, but the way my Mom paints it you can tell she never felt sorry for herself.  I’m the one who gets crushed for her when I hear what she lacked.  One of the things I remember her telling me was that she never had money to eat in the cafeteria at school when she was a little girl.  She says they use to serve a rice dish with meatballs and gravy on top and it always smelled delicious, but not once did she ever try it.  When I started cooking I decided it was time for my Mommy to have her meatballs and gravy over rice.  Thank the cafeteria chief for making a simple child-proof dish that I jumped all over and vamped into an adult plate.  I added Wonderful Pistachios to the meatballs and rice to give it an extra bite of flavor.  My Mom use to love this dish before she became a vegetarian, but my man and our son think this is one of the best things I make. 🙂  Enjoy!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for meatballs: 

1 – pound ground beef

1 – pound ground pork

1 – egg

1/4 – cup chopped green onion

1/3 – cup Wonderful Pistachios (shucked and chopped)

1 – heaping tablespoon of minced garlic

1/4 – cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/3 – cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 – cup bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

Using your hands, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Then grab a small handful of meat mixture and roll into a ball. Repeat until done. Set to the side.

Ingredients for pistachio rice:

 4 – tablespoons butter

1 – tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 – cup onion

1 1/2 – cup long grain rice

1 -tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1/3 – cup Wonderful Pistachios (chopped)

1 -teaspoon salt

1 -teaspoon black pepper

3/4 – cup peas (optional)

3 – cups chicken broth

Over a medium high flame add butter and garlic to a sauce pan with a lid. Melt butter, then add onion and rice. Mix until rice starts to brown. Then add sesame seeds, chopped pistachios, salt & pepper and mix well.  Add peas if you like. Wait until rice is very golden brown. Then add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Once broth starts to boil, lower flame to low, and put the lid on the rice. Cook the covered rice for 20 minutes. Then remove from flame and set to the side.

While your rice is cooking, let’s start the gravy.

Ingredients for gravy:

4 – tablespoons butter

1/2 – tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 – cup chopped onion

1/2 – cup chopped mushrooms

2 – cups beef broth

1 – tablespoon corn starch

1/8 – cup water

In a small sauce pan over a medium flame add butter and allow to melt.  Then add garlic, onion and mushrooms.  Saute until onions are soft.  Then add beef broth and bring to a boil.  Once broth is boiling get a small cup and fill with water then add corn starch and mix until corn starch is completely dissolved.  Now add corn starch water to boiling broth onion mixture.  Mix well.  Broth will thicken and remove from flame.

Lastly… over a medium flame take a large frying pan and add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, and allow to get hot. Then add your reserved meatballs and cook on each side for 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked all the way through.

That’s it your done. I like to add a piece of pineapple to the plate for the perfect touch of sweetness! You could enjoy this dish either way!

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a sample of  Wonderful Pistachios to aid this recipe. The recipe and opinions are my own.