Meals & Feels: Carnita Tacos, Friends, and the Unemployment Life

Have you ever noticed the types of conversations you have when you're enjoying a meal with friends? Drink in hand, taco in the other, I've heard people talk through future plans for music festivals, current job happenings, and everything in between. That's why I believe when you share a meal with someone, it's a special moment to gain insight about people and life in general. That's why I want to start "Meals & Feels", a series of posts to discuss my learnings about  life by sharing a meal with friends.

Recently, a bunch of my friends got together and I catered the meal. On the menu: Sourdough Focaccia Bread, served with a Fig and Onion Jam and Butter; Mexican Restaurant Style Rice; Carnita Tacos; and Slutty Brownies (chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, oreos in the middle, and brownie on top).

When I was explaining the menu to my friends, one in particular asked for a speech. I took a second and then spoke about my recent lay off. I shared with my friends that through everything that has happened, I have been able to pursue documenting my life as the Hangry Chef, as well as look into the food or travel industry in my next step in my career. I hope that my friends was able to hear my message that your job does not necessarily have to be your life, as you never know how long it's going to last. But if you're happy and pursuing what makes you happy, then that's all you can really do in life. Other than devour the brownies:

Fortunately, my friend Roman Gutierrez Correa made an AMAZING video for you all to enjoy! If you enjoyed the video, please check him out on Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/romanguco/edit-your-raw-footage-into-a-fun-video?gig_id=66380539)

Music by Panthurr - https://soundcloud.com/panthurr

Recipe for Fig and Onion Jam:

Ingredients

25 Dried Figs, stemmed and sliced

1 cup water

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium red onion

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Rehydrate the figs by tossing them in boiling water. Leave the figs on medium high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until all the water has been absorbed.
2. Place the butter and olive oil in a shallow pan and place on medium heat.
3. Slice the red onion and toss in the oil and butter combination.
4. Leave on medium heat and stir every few minutes, until caramelized.
5. In a food processor, combine the figs, onion, and balsamic vinegar and blitz until combined (I decided to skip this step to make the jam more rustic… aka I was lazy to jammify it).

Great topping for bread, pizza, and anything else you can think of!