Once in a while, though, I just want something good and sweet and quick, something that’ll make the house smell like cinnamon, and be heavenly with a cup of coffee. These churros are just that. Fried batter rolled in sugar- how much simpler can you get?

Yes, you have to deep-fry them. If you have a deep fryer, all the better, but I’ve never needed one, and I swear that these churros are easy to make- as long as you’re careful, and take the usual precautions when deep frying.

Cinnamon Churros

A cup of water
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 whole eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

First, mix the white sugar and cinnamon in a dish. Set this aside. Then, start your oil: in a deep frying pan, heat about two inches of oil to 375 degrees.

In a separate pan, mix together the water, brown sugar, salt and butter, and bring to a boil- you want everything melted, but watch it, you’re not making caramel here. Turn off the heat, and add the flour, stirring it well into the mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla, making sure not to cook the eggs (add them slowly), and stirring well until good and blended.

Prepare a piping bag with a large star tip (or a sturdy freezer bag with one of the corners cut off). This is how you’ll pipe your churros- place your batter into it now. When your oil is hot enough, pipe some of the dough into it, around four to five inches long. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Now work quickly. You should be able to do four or five churros at once- they only need around two minutes in the oil… remove them when they’re golden brown to a plate covered with paper towels. While they’re still warm, roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.

Serve immediately with some good hot chocolate (the thicker the better), or a cup of dark-roast coffee.

The Husband’s Spicy Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can white beans, undrained
1 (16 oz) can tomato puree
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons spanish paprika
2 large fresh tomatoes, chopped

First, brown the beef lightly in some olive oil, making sure to stir so it crumbles. Drain about half the fat of this away, but not all of it. Yummy, yummy fat.

Add bell pepper, onion, celery, kidney beans, white beans, tomato puree, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, mustard, oregano, paprika and tomatoes.

Simmer for 25 minutes. Do not overcook… you want the celery to stay a bit crisp.

Sometimes, when he’s feeling particularly spicy, he throws in some dried red chilis (those small, hot ones). It’s all a question of whether you like it hot- or whether you can handle it.

I like to sprinkle mine with a healthy serving of grated Monterey Jack cheese…. mmm.

Got some chicken or pork? Some garlic? Vinegar? Then you can make adobo. Yes, that’s all you need.

Adobo is the Philippines’ national dish. Nearly anything can be “adobo-ed”- from chicken to pork (or, in most cases, chicken and pork), to squid, to spinach leaves.

The beauty of adobo is that you can go completely minimalist (as I described above), or add a lot of things to it, and still have a hearty, hot, absolutely awesome meal. Got a few peppers left from last week’s chili? Chop them up, add them in, and your adobo becomes spicy (and, dareisay, even better with rice). Have an open can of coconut milk in your fridge? Make it adobo sa gata, creamy and delicious. Or splash about a half-cup of light soy sauce (Chinese or Japanese- they’ll both be delicious) in, and make a darker adobo.

I’m not just saying that, either: this is how we eat in our house. Sure, we’ll have pasta or steaks or stir-fries, but at least once a week, probably twice or more, we have adobo. It’s just the easiest thing: put your meats, vinegar, garlic (lots of garlic, don’t be shy here), salt and pepper in a large pot, bring it to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer it until you can’t smell the sharpness of the vinegar. Serve with plain rice.

Here is another one of my concoctions. I actually got the idea from one of those recipe cards you get from the supermarket. They were promoting the use of McCormick spices and I thought I’d try them. I have never been one to follow a recipe to the letter, though, so I am sure that my version of this dish turned out differently. Anyhow, this dish is easy and quick to make, you will probably find yourself making it often.

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, sliced
1 small onion
4 tomatoes
½ cup light cream
Paprika
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil

Preparation:
Wash the chicken well and then drain. Season with salt, pepper, and some paprika. It really is up to you how much of the seasoning you want to use – I just threw everything in there. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a thick pan and then fry the chicken strips for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook the chopped onion in the same pan until translucent. Add the diced tomatoes. Cook this for about 5 minutes, stirring all the while. You can also add more paprika at this point.

Put the chicken back into the pan and let it simmer until the chicken is cooked through. This took about 10 minutes. Make sure you stir every once in a while. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if you want.

Add the light cream slowly and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add salt and more pepper and paprika to taste. For garnish, you can throw in some parsley.

This dish can be served over cooked noodles or rice – I chose the former.

Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, reserve juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2/3 cup tomato-based chili sauce
1/3 cup raisins
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 pork chops
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

What’s next
In medium bowl, blend reserved pineapple juice with cornstarch; stir in pineapple, chili sauce, raisins, sugar and cinnamon and set aside. In large skillet lightly brown chops in oil and drain. Pour pineapple mixture over chops. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until pork is cooked throughout