MY EDITORIAL | KarmaFree Cooking

Archive | MY EDITORIAL RSS feed for this section

Ryan Lochte’s Open Dinner Invitation…

Ryan Lochte is one of the hotties in the USA Swimming team… he should need no introduction by now, as he has been one of the faces of the London 2012 Olympics. And with all the coverage of the Olympics I have been watching, you get to know these athletes in more ways than you ever imagined.

I learned yesterday that Ryan’s mom is CUBAN!!!! And that Ryan looooves his Cuban foods fix – Bistec Empanizado, Ropa Vieja and his favorites, croquetas. He was interviewed by Matt Lauer this morning in the Today Show and all I was thinking was how I would love to speak with him in Spanish and to invite him over to dinner…

Today Ryan celebrates his 28th birthday and has already finished his tour in London with his 5 medals – 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze – so I think it’s appropriate and good manners to invite him over to my house for a nice Birthday dinner. It’ll be vegetarian, but it’ll be delicious and lots of fun.

Here are a few ideas for the menu:

Eggplant Milanese

Spinach Croquetas

Tuno Antipasto

I know this is not Ropa Vieja, but I think he will like it!!!!

With some rice and tostones on the side

So, in the spirit of a very cool video prepared by the USA Swim Team, I can only use Carly Rae Jepsen’s Summer anthem to extend Ryan the most proper invitation to dinner…

I’d trade my soul for a wish,

Pennies and dimes for a kiss

I wasn’t looking for this,

But now you’re in my way

Your stare was holdin’,

Ripped jeans, skin was showin’

Hot night, wind was blowin’

Where you think you’re going, baby?

Hey, I just met you,

And this is crazy,

But here’s my number,

So call me, maybe?

It’s hard to look right,

At you baby,

But here’s my number,

So call me, maybe?

Ryan??? Are you game??? Call me… 😉

Tags: 2012 London, 2012 Olympics, birthday, dinner, food, invitation, olympics, ryan lochte, vegetarian

Comments 8 Comments
Categories appetizers, Cuban delicacies, main courses, MY EDITORIAL

The Shape of Foods Help our Organs?? – ONIONS

27 Jun

This is part of a series on how our food can help certain organs that resemble their same shape. I already shared with you how the following foods benefit these organs:

Celery, Rhubarn, Bok Choy – Bones

Beans – Kidneys

Sweet Potatoes – Pancreas

Eggplant, Pear and Avocados – women organs and issues

Figs – Male sperm production

Olives – Ovaries

What would life be like without onions? I use onions in almost any dish in my cooking. It’s the base for my sofrito… but onions are a staple of any world cuisine. World onion production is steadily increasing so that onion is now the second most important horticultural crop after tomatoes. I thought it was potatoes on top… but apparently it’s onions and tomatoes.

According to our little theory here, onions are also beneficial for our cell health in general. My conclusion after reading lots of internet research, it’s that onions are great strengthening cells and making them less vulnerable to cancer growth.

Onion extracts, rich in a variety of sulfides, provide some protection against tumor growth. In central Georgia where Vidalia onions are grown, mortality rates from stomach cancer are about one-half the average level for the United States. These sulfides can reduce the risk of tumors developing in the colon and also may lower blood lipids and blood pressure. In India, communities that never consumed onions or garlic had blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels substantially higher than the communities that ate liberal amounts of garlic and onions.
Onions are also effective against many bacteria… Early American settlers used wild onions to treat colds, coughs, and asthma, and to repel insects. In Chinese medicine, onions have been used to treat angina, coughs, bacterial infections, and breathing problems. Even the World health Organization recognized onions for providing relief in the treatment of coughs and colds, asthma and bronchitis.

Here are some delicious ways to benefit your cell’s health with onions:

Onions and Peppers

Roasted Tomatoes and Onions

Cashew and Veggies Stri-Fry

Leek Rings

Leek and Potato Soup

Pickled Red Onions

Tags: food, onion, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories MY EDITORIAL

Now I want a Central Market in Puerto Rico… PLEASE!

20 Jun

I have mentioned you how I love to visit Whole Foods every time I travel to the US and how I wish that someday they would open up a Whole Foods in Puerto Rico.

Well… I think I am modifying my wish. I think if the Whole Foods people are not paying attention, then I want a Central Market in Puerto Rico instead. I have a new supermarket crush and it’s called Central Market!!!!

I learned about Central Market from my friend Ana Yolanda, whenshe told me Central Market was her favorite supermarket while living in Austin, TX. I was a bad best friend apparently because I never visited her in grad school and never went to a Central Market with her. But I always remembered how she raved about this supermarket and how everything was super fresh and pretty. Fast forward to a few years ago, when I visited my first Central Market in Houston, TX. I was AMAZED!!!! It’s like a Whole Foods, but even nicer.

Central Market is the answer to Whole Foods from the H-E-B people. A company based in San Antonio, TX, H-E-B started in 1905 and now have 329 locations all over Texas and Mexico. H-E-B has grown and developed the Central Market concept since 1994, and now with 9 stores all over Texas. Last month, I returned to Texas, now in Dallas for the first time, and had to do some shopping and couldn’t bear to go anywhere else than Central Market.

A Central Market brochure explains it best… It’s part grocery store, part amusement park. And I dig it every step of the way.

What I find most fascinating about Central Market is their produce and fresh foods sections. I fell in love with their produce section, it’s delightful. It’s so large and vibrant. Most things are organic, even though they have some conventional stuff too. Everything is well-identified so you know what you’re purchasing. Tomatoes, avocados, Meyer lemons… everything looks so fresh that invites you to cook.

Love how they collocate produce… tomatoes and avocados just SCREAM guacamole!!!!!

I was fascinated with their herbs section, how they present it like it’s a home garden. Lovely!!!! Here are some pictures I took from visits prior and from my most recent one. I even met a lady that told me she visits Central Market every day and does her daily shopping for what she wants to cook/eat that day, just like the Europeans do. Very apropos when Central Market is indeed inspired by a European market…

I don’t know if they still do it, but a few years back, they had a table of fruits and kids could just place coins in a piggy bank and serve themselves the fruit they wanted. The funds would support children activities in the store and the community. I didn’t see this table at the Dallas store, but I hope they keep it up.

They’re bulk foods section is incredible… they have an ample selection of honeys, nuts, rice, beans, snacks, candy, coffee, grains and everything else you can think of. They even have bath salts… I held myself back from buying everything and anything I wanted. Remember Madelyn… you don’t live here!!!! You can’t cook here!!! (Why do I say that to myself?? As if I had never ever done grocery shopping outside of Puerto Rico, right???)

Nuts in bulk…

Bathinf Salts in bulk @ Central Market in Houston

Their bakery section is AMAZING!!! They have a very wide variety of whole grain breads.

And the Cheese section… TO DIE FOR!!! They claim to have over 700 cheeses. And who am I to question that!!! I was fascinated with a basket of “cheese orphans”- small pieces of very expensive cheeses, perfect for the single consumer like me or if you just want to try a cheese without committing to a larger piece. I must say, I “adopted” three of these orphans and they tasted delicious – some emmethaler swiss cheese, smoked gouda and grana padano, all with microbial rennet, making them vegetarian.

Their prepared foods section is huge… and this section of the store was packed with people looking to buy their dinner for that day. I saw many young, apparently single, people. The place was bustling… I gravitated towards the olive bar, with over 20 different kinds of olives. I had to contain myself from sampling a few…

What I’ve always found a difference between Central Market and Whole Foods – their packaged goods section. Central Market now has a more ample gluten-free section than before, possibly from the popularity that gluten-free diets have gotten in the last few years. But you’ll see at Central Market a more limited variety of packaged goods and even some regular national brands, like Nabisco or Kraft, where in Whole Foods you would never see. I was very pleased to see Central Market carries a wide variety of Tinkyada pastas… my favorite brand of brown rice pastas. So a word to the wise for all of you who have asked me where to get it.

I also found their prices are much more affordable than Whole Foods, or Puerto Rico for that matter. Look at the price on these Coconut Yogurts @ $1.79. I know, I know… these are still expensive, but much more affordable to the $2.99 I have paid in Freshmart when I’ve had to go dairy-free for periods of time. I also considered buying myself a few single-serve organic milks for my hotel room and the same package/brand was $1 more expensive at Whole Foods than at Central Market.

And the clincher is their fresh flower section… They have such a wide array of fresh flowers and at great prices. And I can’t believe I have a picture of that section. Possibly because I was working and that was the main reason I visited Central Market in the first place – to buy flowers for an arrangement I needed to build for a client. Three bunches of flowers for $10… Yes!!!! Beautiful, gorgeous, fresh and affordable too.

If you live in Texas and have a Central Market nearby… consider yourselves so lucky!!!! I kinda envy you a little… only the good envy, of course. But I you don’t, and don’t have a Central Market near you… please visit one the next time you go by Texas. They’re an amazing store chain and one that I hope I can orchestrate to bring to Puerto Rico.

Wouldn’t that be nice for Central Market to expand to Puerto Rico as their second out-of Texas market??? Have you been to a Central Market?? What’s your favorite thing about Central Market???

Tags: central market, food, supermarket, texas, vegetarian

Comments 9 Comments
Categories MY EDITORIAL, Travel

The Shape of Foods Help our Organs?? – Olives

13 Jun

This is part of a series on how our food can help certain organs that resemble their same shape. I already shared with you how the following foods benefit these organs:

Celery, Rhubarn, Bok Choy – Bones

Beans – Kidneys

Sweet Potatoes – Pancreas

Eggplant, Pear and Avocados – women organs and issues

Figs – Male sperm production

And we go back to the females… and taking about how olives resemble the shape of our ovaries.

The healthy fats, vitamins and minerals found in these tasty fruits of the olive tree have been shown to reduce your risk for ovarian cancer, according to research conducted in Milan, Italy in 2002. In this study, women who ate more olive oil had better protection against ovarian cancer, reducing their risk 30% from the average.
Try to add more olive oil to your diet or just eat green and black olives straight from the market!

Enjoy olives and its delicious oil in any of these easy recipes:

Marinated Olives

Green Olive Olivata

Comme Ci Comme Ca Salade Niçoise

Stewed Potatoes

Tags: food, olives, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories MY EDITORIAL

Canada Welcomes Vegetarians – L’Usine du Spaghetti

11 Jun

Last winter I visited Canada… I know that it seems odd to be writing and posting about this when the weather is hot outside, but I just been so busy working and traveling that I have not had the time to share this part of my crazy vegetarian life with all of you.

This was my 3rd trip to Canada… I had visited both Quebec City and Montreal back in 1984 and Vancouver in 1986. So it had been a while (yep, 25+ years) since I had stepped onto such wonderful country. We always said you must have good karma to be born Canadian… it’s a peaceful, organized and very civilized country. Everyone is very polite, friendly and welcoming to visitors, even those who speak just a little bit of French, like me. My first 2 times in Canada was in the summertime, when we always had our family vacations. Then, I was not into food or a vegetarian, but I always had very good memories of Canada.

When I travel with my non-vegetarian friends I can’t expect to scout the vegetarian places, no matter how good they might be. It’s very different than when I travel with my yoga friends. So this time, I have to influence at least into visiting places that have alternatives for them and for me.

When we arrived into Montreal, we went to the old part of the city, Vieux Montreal, to have a late lunch and to walk around the streets a bit. To me, the best way to get to know a city is walking it. We were told that on Rue St, Paul we would find lots of restaurant options and it was certainly true. We decided for L’Usine du Spaghetti that translates to The Spaghetti Factory. It seemed cute enough and with options, even for the picky kids.

Something that got my attention is that every entrée comes with access to the all-you-can eat salad bar. It’s not super huge, but they have a nice selection of greens and fresh salad ingredients as well as some prepared salads like potato salad, pasta salad, couscous, etc. I never have those prepared salads because of the traditional mayo used. But they looked pretty…

The breads and garlic butter they serve at the table are just mouth-watering. They don’t have whole grain versions but you need to make exception sometimes when you travel. And you should not; I repeat… you should not miss this garlic butter!!!!

We also ordered some grilled mushrooms as a starter for the whole table. I was pleasantly surprised they came in a bed of lettuce salad. The mushrooms were exquisite… warm on top of the cool crisp lettuce. Nice contrast and hearty flavors. So I got to eat two salads that day!!!!!

We all ordered pastas… and I was super happy that most people ordered vegetarian pastas, so I could have a little taste of their plates too. Natalia ordered the cheese tortellini –OMG, these were DIVINE!!! It had a cheese gratin on top, but the pink sauce underneath was incredible. Because this was a kid’s dish they served it to her first. And we were all picking at her plate… it was that good… or maybe it was we were that hungry??? No, it was really delicious.

I ordered the penne with porcini mushrooms. I was in the mood for something lighter than the creamy heavy sauces that I usually go for.

Ana and Angie, both, they ordered the sun-dried tomato ravioli.

Alejandro had the cheese cannelloni, which were my second option.

Rafa’s and Mariana’s plates were off limits to us… 😦

To give you an idea of how good these pasta dishes were, just take a look at these empty plates.

See why I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you about this awesome place??? Oh, and the desserts are sooooo worth it. But they are not karma-free (hint – we ordered something with chocolate). That’s the only reason why I will not share pictures of them. But if you don’t avoid chocolate, like I should… by all means go for it.

So please… if you live in Montreal or are planning to visit this wonderful Canadian city this summer, stop by L’Usine du Spaghetti. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.