Archive | November, 2010

Maoz Falafel

22 Nov

While staying with my sister in Southern Florida recently I did most of the cooking for about 7-8 people on almost a daily basis…  It was fun.  It gave me the opportunity to try out a bunch of new recipes and to showcase to a new audience a few old favorites.

But every once in while we needed to BREAK AWAY!!!!!  Borrow the car and go out into the sunshine and go some credit card damage…  That’s what brought us to the Mall at Boca Raton and Maoz Falafel.

I have seen and eaten Maoz Falafels before – eaten it in Madrid during my last visit and seen them in NYC.  But I have never seen them in Florida.  It was a VERY WELCOME surprise to go to the Food Court and see Maoz as an alternative for our lunch hunger.  I learned today Maoz is a Dutch chain…

They serve $5 falafel sandwiches that you can fill with a variety of toppingsthey have.  I went for the traditional vegetable salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions in a light lemony dressing and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.  Then drizzled with copious amounts of yogurt sauce to cool off the falafel’s cumin taste – which to me can be a bit overwhelming.

 

 

Maoz has a guy in front of their storefront serving sample pieces of their falafels for everyone to try… I do not know if it’s the samples or the growing vegetarian community in Boca, but Maoz had a long line consistently during the time we were at the Food Court.  Something the traditional fast food giants could not brag about that afternoon…

I am glad to say Maoz is expanding their operations in the US… and if you have a chance to see a Maoz store in your town or in your near future travels, give them a try.  They’re delicious!!

KarmaFree turns 3!!!!

17 Nov

It seems like it was just the other day when I decided to share the recipes I adapted from magazines, books, TV shows into delectable vegetarian concoctions all my friends and I would equally enjoy.

How quickly times go by, no??    Since that day in 2007 KarmaFree Cooking has grown into areas I never imaged then…

We have a new awesome logo and incorporated it into a brand new look…

 

We have a FaceBook page…

http://www.facebook.com/karmafreecooking

 

We have a Twitter account…

@KarmaFreeCookin

 

We have developed a reader base that spans the whole world around…

 

I am super proud of my US-based fan base, but it never ceases to impress me that people in Australia, India and even Russia are reading my posts here on a regular basis.  A great shout-out for you guys and feel free to say hi directly in the comments here.  I would like to know more about you all.

 

Now in year #3 I have a new goal…  I want to average 1,000 daily visitors.  I am not there yet, we need to work out a few things,  but with your help…  I am confident we can do this in the next few months. 

This is where you come in… I would like for all you KarmaFree Cooking regulars to share KarmaFree Cooking with your friends who like to cook, with those that would benefit from eating less meat in their diet, heck, just your friends that enjoy making easy and delicious recipes.  We want to grow and I need your help getting there.

Here are your favorite recipes in the last year…

 

Comme ci comme ca Salade Niçoise

Pasteles in Banana Leaves

Yuca con Mojo Cubano

Veggie Sancocho

Fried White Sweet Potato

  

Here are some of your favorite non-recipe articles…

 

Greek Food – a Great vegetarian alternative

Are there any rice cookers without Aluminum?

Vegetarianism as a way to lose weight

 

 Thanks a lot for your support.  Your positive energy fuels me to continue sharing everything I learn with you.

Oyster Mushrooms Chips

12 Nov

I have always been curious about oyster mushrooms, but I have never made them before myself because the ones we get usually here in Puerto Rico always look old and wet… not fresh and beautiful like the ones you see on TV or when you visit markets in the US when traveling.  So staying a few weeks with my sister in Southern Florida gave me the chance to use a few ingredients I have very limited access to in my homeland. 

Anne Burrell made these oyster mushroom chips in one of her shows and I was completely inspired by the simplicity but also because she mentioned these mushrooms, after roasting in the oven, tasted like bacon.  SAY WHAT?!?!??!  That immediately caught my attention…

These are so easy to make… my 10-year old “nephew” David helped me out making these.  He and his twin sister Marietta were wary because they both claimed they were not mushroom eaters.  Boy, were they in for a surprise…

 

OYSTER MUSHROOM CHIPS

½ pound of fresh oyster mushrooms
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425F
  2. Peel off each piece of mushroom from the stalk and separate them into individual “petals”.  Place them in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  3. Arrange gill-side up in 2 baking sheets side by side to allow the mushrooms to cook well and for the edges to crisp up.
  5. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes.  They will shrink up considerably.
  6. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool of a bit for about 2 minutes and scrape them off the baking sheet using a spatula.

If you’re not eating the right away… you can certainly place them again on a baking sheet and reheat them at 400F for about 5-8 minutes more.

 

We had to make this recipe TWICE because the first time we did them everyone was so excited that I did not get a chance to take any photographs.  David liked them raw and cooked alike.  Marietta was afraid of tasting them because “she doesn’t eat mushrooms” but was shocked and told me these did not taste like mushrooms at all.  Her parents were in awe…

Even the skeptics were impressed and mentioned unaided these mushrooms tasted like bacon.  I thought the crispy edges tasted more like “chicharrón” than bacon… so I can see more applications of these mushrooms in my future besides sprinkling them over a lettuce, sprout and cucumber salad.

Apple Crisp

10 Nov

We’re staying with my sister to accompany her and her husband for the birth of my first nephew…  it’s a whole family gathering here – my sister’s mother-in law, my mom, my dad, my uncle are all here, just to name a few.

Sio, my nephew’s grandma is staying here too and she looooves apples.  Good thing we’re in apple season and in every farmer’s market we go to there’s apples on sale.

To be honest, I know little about apples.  I am only familiar with Granny Smiths and Golden Delicious, my favorites and Red Delicious, which I know I do not like very much.  But the rest of the names, I have heard of – Macintosh, Gala, HoneyCrisp, Fuji, etc. – but I am not familiar with their distinctive tastes.

We found these Gala apples on sale for $1 a bag at The Boys Farmer’s Market.   I found Gala’s to be not as tart as Granny Smiths but crisper than Golden Delicious.  I can really say I can add Galas to my list of apples I like.  And to please Sio and her apple cravings I decided to use these newly appreciated Galas to modify my Plum and Blueberry crisp recipe to apples. 

 

APPLE CRISP

5 Gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced
5 tbs cornstarch
Zest and juice of 1 yellow lemon
1 cup of brown sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
½ tsp of vanilla extract
Canola Oil Spray

 For the Crisp Topping

1 cup of spelt flour
1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 cup of brown sugar
Sprinkle of cinnamon
2/3 cup of sliced almonds
½ cup of quick cooking oats

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
  2. In a large glass baking dish sprayed with canola oil, dump the cut apples and mix in the cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract.  Mix well to combine.  Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, almonds, oats with the pieces of cold butter.  Using your fingers, combine the butter with the rest of the ingredients until it becomes like the consistency of wet sand.
  4. Pour the topping over the apples evenly.  Bake in oven for about 30 minutes…  the apples will bubble and the topping will look cooked and somewhat golden.

 

I usually turn off the oven and leave it inside until we’re ready to eat… to me, it’s best served warm with a side glass of milk or vanilla ice cream.   

Lentil Soup Mom’s Style

8 Nov

I am a self-proclaimed non-lover of beans…  I have mentioned this to you time and time and time and time again…

But my first revelations into beans was a lentil cocido my mom made once when I used to live with her.  I just loved the flavors and I couldn’t believe I was actually enjoying eating beans BY THEMSELVES!!!  How could that be??

Last week my sister asked my mom to make lentil soup and this is the recipe she made…  I tried copying everything and watching everything as closely as possible.

 

 

LENTIL SOUP MOM’S STYLE

1 package of dried lentils
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
About 1 ½ cups of chopped pumpkin, about ½” cubes
1 can of stewed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
About 2 tbs olive oil
4 cups of vegetable broth
About 2 more cups of Water
1 tsp oregano
A pinch of cumin
About 1 tbs of Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper to Taste
 
  1. In a large stock pot on medium-hi heat sauté the onions, peppers, carrots, pumpkin and garlic with the olive oil.    When the vegetables soften a bit add the lentils and sauté.
  2. Add the stewed tomatoes, vegetable broth, and water.  Bring to a rolling boil.
  3. Season with the salt, pepper, oregano and cumin.
  4. Let the lentils boil for about 10 minutes.  Cover the pot for another 5 minutes and turn off the stove and let the lentils finish cooking with all the heat and steam inside the pot.  
  5. Allow the soup to rest for about 30 minutes before serving.  Before that it’ll be too hot in my opinion for people to enjoy the flavors.

 

My mom, in her interest to try the soup ASAP, burned the ceiling of her mouth.  I enjoyed it a lot with fresh pieces of tomato sprinkled in on top of the soup.  It’s amazing but I actually crave these lentils… amazing no?

Spinach Artichoke Dip

3 Nov

The other day I went to Olive Garden and I wanted to order an appetizer sooooo badly.  But I knew that…

1) I would not be able to eat a salad, soup, entrée and an appetizer in one sitting

2) the appetizers in these restaurants are not necessarily the healthiest ones.

So now that my sister has given birth and many friends and family are visiting her to see the new baby, Titi Madelyn is taking care of the kitchen.  People in this house are not-vegetarian, but they have been the last few days because I will cook, but only things I am able to eat too.

The weekend is when people are mostly visiting and I am making dips left and right to at least have something for people to nibble on while they visit.  Last Sunday it was my Veggie Dip – something I can make without even thinking, if I have all the ingredients.  Last night I made my Tomato Basil Bruschetta mix. 

Today…  my version of a Spinach Artichoke Dip.  I do not count calories…  that’s not my thing.  I am not really sure if it’s a “healthier” version of what they serve at Olive Garden.  But at least I do know all the ingredients it went into making it.  Super easy too… great to make ahead and just pop in the oven when guests and visitors arrive.

 

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package of frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup plain yogurt
¾ cup eggless mayonnaise
About ¼ cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
 
  1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix well.
  2. Transfer to an oven safe dish and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes.

 

Serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers or toasted bread.

Healthy Lifestyle Change for NOVEMBER – Do not buy any frozen meals or that have been cooked a long time ago.

1 Nov

 For exactly the same reason why you should not be drinking sodas anymore, frozen prepared meals have little to no nutritional value.  These meals, even thou they seem to be a real advancement in modern technology, in reality they’re a step backwards in terms of health and nutrition.

 Why?

 Frozen meals – a la Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and all the like – are meals that were cooked at very high temperatures really long time ago.  These two elements make their nutritional value close to null.  They’re basically hay that fills up your stomach, but doesn’t really nourish you.  If you read the labels closely, you’ll see they’re laden with artificial preservatives and sodium that only makes you retain water and affects your blood pressure and the way the heart functions.

Remember that this new lifestyle program is geared to getting used to eating foods that are healthier for us and will help us lead a healthier life.

But don’t fret… there are still many frozen things you can still enjoy: 

  • Frozen vegetables – super convenient to use instead of any canned vegetable
  • Frozen Fruits – great for desserts, sorbets and smoothies, and even better if you freeze them yourself
  • Fried Plantains and Tostones – I like the King’s Crown brand and they’re a real help in the kitchen sometimes or you can prepare your own.
  • I bread Eggplant Milanese  and freeze it to be able to enjoy them anytime I am hungry…
  • Frozen Breads – excellent when you’re in need to a sub fix…
  • Ice creams and Sherbets – but always eat these in moderation… 

 

Here are a few recipes of dishes made with frozen ingredients that are as easy to prepare as placing a Lean Cuisine in the oven, but I guarantee you, they’ll be much more delicious and nutritious:

 Spinach Empanada 4

Spinach Empanada – uses frozen puffed pastry and frozen spinach

 

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach Pinwheels - using frozen spinach and puff pastry too…

 

Empanada Gallega

Galician Empanada - with puff pastry and frozen tuno

 

Corn and Spinach Lasagna - using frozen corn and spinach

 

Yucca with Cuban Mojo - I buy frozen yuca, much easier than to peel fresh ones…

 

Very Berry Sorbet - using frozen fruits…

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