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Archive | 2008

Poached Pears with Almond Pralines

This is an awesome dessert… I love fruity desserts much more than cakes or other baked goods. And even though pears are not something you can grow here in Puerto Rico, most every supermarket has them on sale these days. I saw some lovely Bartlett pears on sale the other day and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to re-create a recipe I had originally learned last year at the Conscious Gourmet Cooking seminar – Poached Pears with Almond Pralines.

The original recipe called for Bosc pears, but they were so much smaller than the Bartletts that I decided to go for size and beauty. The recipe turned out perfectly, IMHO.

And the Almond Pralines – this is awesome!!!! They’re the perfect accompaniment to these pears or a great snack all by itself. They would taste great on top of ice cream or yogurt drizzled with a bit of caramel sauce… mmmmm!!!! I feel another craving coming up.

POACHED PEARS with ALMOND PRALINE

3 cups unsweetened organic apple juice

2 tbs maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves or a few whole cloves

pinch of ginger

6-8 Bartlett or Bosc pears – peeled, halved and cored

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients, except pears, in a roasting pan. Set pears in the poaching liquid.
Bake in oven for 45 minutes.
Check the pears for doneness – they should be soft when pricked with a knife.
Remove the pears from poaching liquid and transfer them to a separate dish.
Transfer the poaching liquid to a skillet or wide saucepan and boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
Serve by placing one pear half on a dish, drizzle with the reduced poaching liquid and sprinkle with Almond Pralines. recipe below…

I have a confession to make… the original recipe calls for you to cover the roasting pan and bake covered. I did not notice that in the recipe and forgot. The results were good too… I just had to leave them a few more minutes in and increased the temperature to 425 degrees and left them an additional 15 minutes. They should be done by then.

ALMOND PRALINE

1 cup sliced almonds – but slivered or chopped almonds would work too

1 tbs maple syrup

1 tbs maple sugar

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15 minutes until golden brown – you can take advantage of the same oven you’re making the pears in.
Transfer IMMEDIATELY into a metal bowl to cool off and crisp up.

Tags: almonds, apple juice, maple sugar, maple syrup, pear

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Categories desserts

White Lasagna with Spinach and Almonds – VEGAN version

3 Feb

When I did this recipe for the Yoga Center, I adapted it using non-dairy cheeses. This way, you can crave this lasagna without concern if you eat cheese or not… I am sure you’ll not be dissapointed.

WHITE LASAGNA with SPINACH AND ALMONDS – Vegan Version

4-6 lasagna noodles – I use DeBoles NoBoil Rice lasagna noodles

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs sofrito

3-4oz Toffutti Better -Than-Cream cheese cheese

1 cup soy milk

1 ¼ cup shredded Soya Kaas mozzarella style cheese, divided

1 ½ tbs cornstarch, dissolved in ½ cup of water

Sprinkle of Salt, Garlic Powder and freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup frozen spinach measured frozen, defrosted and squeeze out of most the water but still wet

1/3 cup marcona salted almonds – but any almonds will work

1/2 cup Veggie Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat over to 325 degrees F.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add sofrito and cook for a few minutes.
Add in the Tofutti cream cheese and whisk in together until the sofrito and cream cheese are incorporated.
Whisk in soy milk. Add in 1 cup of the Soya Kaas cheese and whisk every few minutes to make sure the cheese melts well and does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reserve the rest for the lasagna topping. Season sauce with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add in the diluted cornstarch. Make sure you the cornstarch is diluted well and is not settled in the bottom of whatever container you’re using to mix it.
The sauce should have a light creamy consistency. Is important the sauce be more on the liquidy side because we’re using no-boil rice pasta and the “liquidy” consistency will help the pasta cook. So you might want to err on the side of a liquidier cream sauce rather than a tight creamy sauce.

Now we assemble the lasagna…

In the bottom of a small casserole dish, spoon a few ladles of the cream sauce. Layer lasagna noodles. Spoon more sauce, so the noodles are always touched by sauce on the top and the bottom.
Distribute evenly the thawed spinach in a layer. Sprinkle a bit of garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle a light layer of the Veggie Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle a 1/3 of the almonds. Spoon a few ladles of the sauce.
Place another layer of noodles and spoon some sauce over them.
Repeat step #2.
Repeat step #3. This will be your last layer of noodles. Pour the remaining sauce all over the last layer of noodles. Sprinkle with veggie parmesan cheese and the remaining ¼ cup shredded Soya Kaas mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the last bit of almonds you have left.
Cover the casserole dish and bake in oven for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes until cheese on top is golden brown.
Turn oven off and leave in there for a few minutes until lasagna cool a bit and sets.

Tags: almonds, gluten-free, spinach, Vegan

Comments 2 Comments
Categories main courses

White Lasagna with Spinach and Almonds

3 Feb

I am a craving girl…

It’s hard for me to go grocery shopping having a few menus in mind for the week. Why? Because, I go to the store and see stuff that inspires me, what looks delicious that day, but that isn’t necessarily what I will be craving to eat another day. It’s always been like that… ever since I was a little girl, my mom never made a fixed dinner – it was all a la carte. Whatever you craved, that’s what you ate. Mind you, my mom did not have junk food at home, so all the alternatives were, for the most part, healthy. That’s how we learned to make our own food.

So this past week, I was browsing thru some fellow blogs and there I saw it… the Cooking Light Veggie Lasagna… I have that recipe clipped, but the photos this fellow blogger posted were amazing!!! That’s how I knew what I wanted to have for dinner that night – a spinach lasagna using white sauce. Yumo!!!! (like Rachael Ray would say).

I improvised with the ingredients I had on hand… remember, I do not go out and but any specific ingredients for any specific recipe. And even less when I got a craving at 7PM at night… I was craving some serious comfort food.

The results were really nice – so nice in fact that I decided to make this recipe for our upcoming Yoga Center Menu. I made a version at home that serves 2 and I also did a version that served 20. I’ll use the proportions for the smaller version, which is probably closer to what you’ll make at home. Here is the play-by-play (I’m into Super Bowl mode here I guess):

WHITE LASAGNA with SPINACH AND ALMONDS

4-6 lasagna noodles – I use DeBoles NoBoil Rice lasagna noodles

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs sofrito

3-4oz cream cheese

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded Italian Cheese mix

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese – you can use Pecorino Romano also if you prefer

Sprinkle of Garlic Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup frozen spinach measured frozen, defrosted and squeeze out of most the water but still wet

1/3 cup marcona salted almonds – but any almonds will work

4oz fresh mozarella cheese

Pre-heat over to 325 degrees F. I do this in my toaster oven for just 2 people.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add sofrito and cook for a few minutes.
Add in cream cheese and whisk in together until the sofrito and cream cheese are incorporated.
Whisk in milk. Add in the Italian cheese mix and Parmesan. Season with the garlic salt and pepper. The sauce should have a light creamy consistency. Is important the sauce be more on the liquidy side because we’re using no-boil rice pasta and the “liquidy” consistency will help the pasta cook. So you might want to err on the side of a more liquidy cream sauce rather than a tight creamy sauce.

Now we assemble the lasagna…

In the bottom of a small casserole dish, spoon a few ladles of the cream sauce. Layer lasagna noodles. Spoon more sauce. so the noodles are always touched by sauce on the top and the bottom.
Distribute evenly the thawed spinach in a layer. Sprinkle a bit of garlic salt and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese if you like. Sprinkle a 1/3 of the almonds. Shred with your hands 2-3 thin slices of the fresh mozzarella. Spoon a few ladles of the sauce.
Place another layer of noodles and spoon some sauce over them.
Repeat step #2.
Repeat step #3. This will be your last layer of noodles. Place a few slices of fresh mozzarella on top. Sprinkle the last bit of almonds you have left.

6. Cover the casserole dish and bake in oven for 30 minutes.

7. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until cheese on top is golden brown.

8. Turn oven off and leave in there for a few minutes until lasagna cool a bit and sets.

It seems like a lot of steps… but not really. You know how to make a lasagna… I just wanted to show you how I layered the ingredients. You don’t need to cook the spinach, just make the sauce and assemble. I had it all put together and in the oven in 20 minutes.

Believe me… this lasagna hit the spot. My cravings were curbed… until next time.

Tags: almonds, cheese, gluten-free, rice pasta, spinach

Comments 6 Comments
Categories main courses

Frutabomba Milkshake

1 Feb

Until I was in high school, the I knew the fruit you know as papaya only by its Cuban name – Frutabomba.

My dad taught me how to make frutabomba milkshakes, a true Cuban drink delicacy. It’s smooth, creamy and the perfect accompaniment to a Cuban sandwich (made the vegetarian way, of course) or even a TuNo Salad Sandwich. I had it this morning for breakfast.

FRUTABOMBA MILKSHAKE

1/4 medium-sized frutabomba (papaya), peeled and seeded

1 cup milk or soy-milk

1 1/2 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder

pinch of salt

3-4 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Enjoy immediately.

Do not omit the salt… it’s the secret ingredient that makes the milkshake taste awesome. You could substitute the milk for yogurt or kefir, but the taste will not be the same.

Tags: frutabomba, milk, papaya

Comments 1 Comment
Categories beverages, Cuban delicacies

TuNofish Salad Sandwich

1 Feb

I am a sandwich person at heart… I love sandwiches for lunch or even dinner. Heck, I love sandwiches for breakfast and snacks as well. I bought these nice whole wheat hoagie rolls this last week and I have just been making sandwiches away…

One of my favorite ones is TuNofish Salad – pay attention to the spelling, because it’s made with Tuno, the soy protein flavored with seaweed to taste like regular tuna. It’s light and makes a great lunch. My friend Jesiel would say it makes a great breakfast… because she only has tuna sandwiches as breakfast, ever since she was a little kid…

It’s super simple…

TuNofish SALAD SANDWICH

1/3 cup Tuno soy protein, defrosted and squeezed as dry as possible

3 tbs egg-free mayonnaise, such as Vegenaise

1 tbs finely chopped onion

juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

Choice of bread – I used a whole wheat hoagie roll

Lettuce – romaine or arugula works great

3 tomato slices

Extra mayo to spread

Mix together in a bowl the Tuno, mayo, onion, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper.
Toast bread to your liking.
Spread mayo on both sides.
Place TuNo salad on bottom bread. Top with lettuce and tomatoes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of tomatoes.

Enjoy with your favorite kind of natural potato chips or plantain chips.

Just to give you an idea that if you enjoy tunafish sandwiches and you decide to go veggie, you will not have to give the experience or the flavor. Believe me, these taste just as good as the real thing used to taste to me.

Try it…