Archive | MY EDITORIAL RSS feed for this section

Welcome 2012!!!

2 Jan

Hi friends… I hope you had a great Holiday Season. I hope your year was filled with fireworks and great times.

2011 was a year filled with blessings – lots of work, new clients and projects, travels, health… lots of exposure of KarmaFree Cooking in the media – in the US and in Puerto Rico… and more yet to come.  I am very thankful and grateful for that.

I always try to make small changes at the beginning of each year… but I have noticed I have not worked enough because this year’s resolutions are almost the same as last year’s!!!!

Exercise more

I was not able to exercise at the beginning of 2011 and that inertia has stayed with me for waaaaaaaaay too long. A combination of power walking, P90X and Hatha Yoga are a MUST this year.  I have resoluted to complete the Teodoro Moscoso’s World’s Best 10K in February and the Diva’s 1/2 marathon in november 2012.

 

Go to bed earlier to I can get up earlier

In order to keep the resolution above, I need to go to bed earlier so I can get up at 5AM. This way I know I can get up, do what I need to do, meditate, exercise and be ready having breakfast by 8AM. I know I can do it, I just need to let tivo do its job and teach myself to be less impatient to watch something the same night it airs.

 

Eat more fresh salads

I have been lazy and I know I can do more in this area… I am good at always ordering a salad when I eat at a restaurant, But I am not very consistent when I prepare meals at home. I sometimes cut up a tomato and a few “rajas” of avocado and call it a day. I need to be more creative with my salads…

What are your 2012 Resolutions?? Please share…

Cocina Abierta… Not Vegetarian, but very delicious options indeed

19 Dec

Cocina Abierta is one of the most popular restaurants in the San Juan/Metro Area… they have a Facebook Page and very loyal following. It’s been open for little over a year now and it was last week the first time I was able to eat there.

Martin Louzao, an Argentinian residing in Puerto Rico for a few years now, is the chef/owner of Cocina Abierta and he happens to be my neighbor too. I remember him arriving in his apartment with huge bags from Marshalls telling me all this new equipment was for the new restaurant he was opening soon, that I should visit him to try his food. If the food he makes tastes as good as the smells that came out of his apartment… this was going to be a delicious experience indeed.

It has taken me over a year to visit him because every time I had tried to eat there, the place was full. The concept… an open kitchen where all the guests can see the cooks at work. The menu, super dynamic… they work off what’s seasonal and fresh. They have a few favorites on the menu, but it changes constantly according to the chef’s whimsy and inspiration.

Last week I needed to have a working lunch meeting and decided I wanted to try if Cocina Abierta was available. They now have a lunch menu and some of the options caught my eye. This is what I had:

Arugula Salad with dates, goat cheese, parmesan flakes, almonds in a balsamic vinaigrette. Proscuitto not needed at all.

Feta and Spinach Ravioli with grated fresh tomato and Genovese pesto

I debated if I should have had the Pumpkin Risotto with parmesan cheese, onion marmalade and petit pois, which can be requested to be made with vegetable stock for vegetarians like me, but decided the ravioli seemed lighter fare for lunch.

The Arugula salad was one of the most delicious salads I’ve had in a long time. It’s extremely memorable and worthy of recommendations. I almost licked the plate clean. I divided one salad with my friend Angie, but the next time, I will order one just for myself. It’s that good… just as good as Bobby Flay’s Gala Apple salad and that’s a lot said right there.

The ravioli were pillowy and light. And the sauce was more like a dressing than a sauce per se. A little fresh tomato, very fruity olive oil and a dab of pesto atop each ravioli. The portion size was healthy, but I could have eaten a few more, certainly. Out of gluttony, of course.

The next time, I will try to order their Eggplant Ravioli with pine nuts. They were not available the day I visited… good, so I have something else to look forward to on my next visit.

Cocina Abierta is certainly not a vegetarian restaurant, but they make vegetarians feel welcome and understood. Thanks Martin for a wonderful lunch and hope to be able to visit sometime soon to taste some of your wonderful and delicious creations.

Tags: , , , ,

Pasteles Assembly How-To…

16 Dec

I’ve noticed how your continued interest in how to make vegetarian pastels in banana leaves… one of the ultimate Puerto Rican Xmas delicacies. For some weeks now it’s the most visited recipe here in KarmaFree Cooking.

I have not ventured into making pastels this year… but the other day at the Yoga Center they were making batched of mini-pasteles for one of our recent Anniversary celebrations. So I decided to take some pics and help you a little bit if you want to try to make them yourself.

Make MASA and Filling

You create a filling with your favorite ingredients. The picture here includes textured soy protein, potatoes, mixed vegetables stewed in a tomato based sauce. You can use my recipe here for inspiration.

The Masa is mostly made with yautía, green banana. But you could add pumpkin to it or make them with ground up yuca. I tend to prefer yucca pastels a lot. They end up yellow that’s how you differentiate them.

Now we wrap the pasteles…

STEP ONE

Place a piece of butcher’s paper in frint of you. Place a piece of banana leaf (you could buy these in packages already at the store or a plaza del Mercado (farmer’s market)). you can’t use a banana leaf straight from the garden.  They need to be cooked off (amortiguadas) first.

 

STEP TWO

Spread a bit of canola/annatto oil to the leaf.

 

STEP THREE

Add a spoonful of the masa onto the banana leaf and spread a bit.

STEP FOUR

Add some of the filling on top of the masa.

STEP FIVE

Fold the butcher’s paper from the end that’s closer to you and bring it over to meet with the other side of the butcher’s paper that’s farthest away from you. This will make the masa fold onto itself and envelop the filling.

STEP SIX

Complete the wrapping of the butcher’s paper like a deli sandwich… unite the ends of the butcher paper and fold in ½” folds towards the pastel until it makes a somewhat tight package. Then, fold the side underneath the pastel and place aside.

STEP SEVEN

Sorry I was not able to take pictures of this step… but you need to tie with a kitchen twine. Use the same method as if you were tying a roast… Here I found a few videos from You Tube to help you learn how to tie your pasteles. You can do them individually or in “yuntas”, in twos. I like them individual because you can cook exactly how many you need, rather than in twos.

I apologize in advance for all the typos in the text in this video…  if you know Spanish, you will notice them.  It’s shameful…  but I like the way they present how to tie the pastel.  This one  is a single pastel… while the top one is in a “yunta” or duo…

Note to self… make a You Tube video making VEGETARIAN pasteles. Only people making meat-based pasteles have recorded themselves and we need to change that. Pasteles are just as delicious and just as traditional made with a vegetarian filling.

Hope you enjoy a very safe and joyful Xmas season… filled with everything that’s good and healthy to create a plentiful 2012 and beyond.

Tags: , ,

Spa Castle

30 Nov

I have been to spas before… but never to one like Spa Castle.

I am not a spa lover, but I can appreciate the health benefits that visiting a spa can provide – relaxation, detoxification, improved circulation, curative properties, among others.

Located in College Point, Queens, Spa Castle is the largest, cleanliest, most organized spa I have ever been to. I have visited several spas in the Miami area but none compare to the sheer size and amenities of Spa Castle. It has various levels, each dedicated to specific purposes. You are not allowed to use any cameras in the spa, so these pictures are courtesy of Spa Castle’s website.

The main level is divided – one area for men and a separate area for women. Here is where you’ll find hot whirpool baths, all at various temperatures and activity levels so you can ease into the relaxation mode little by little. You’ll find hot baths and cold baths… designed for you to go from one to the other to regulate your body’s temperature. There are pools with shots of water to massage every inch of your body. The big caveat… this level can only be used if you’re completely nude. No bathing suits or any other type of clothing is allowed. A bit shocking for someone who was not mentally prepared for that… but after you see a lot more than what you thought you would see ever in your lifetime, you kinda forget about it and concentrate on the spa experience.

The next level is co-ed and that’s where all the saunas are located… you are given a very colorful t-shirt and short ensemble where we all look the same, ready to take in the relaxing heat of all the saunas available. I’ve never been much of a sauna person… I come from the tropics and I do not like to feel all sweaty and suffocated. In other spas, you’re wearing a bathing suit and to cool off from the sauna heat you dump buckets of water over you. Then, like that all drenched, you go into the next sauna. I tend to feel all suffocated in the chest… Well, not here. Because you’re dry, people get to enjoy the sauna heat by laying on the saunas floor allowing the sauna heat to go up and you tend to feel much more comfortable than in those other saunas I’ve been before. And you still need to cool off after exiting these saunas, but you do it in a igloo room 32°F which feels amazingly comfortable after being in a hot sauna.

There are seven sauna rooms for you to enjoy:

An LED Sauna room that uses color therapy to enhance your mood and spirit.

A Gold Sauna designed to comfort sore limbs, perfect after you get a foot/leg massage. I was totally sore afterwards… and it looks divine on the inside, doesn’t it???

The Salt Sauna is lined with pink-colored rock salts directly brought from the Himalayas. It’s supposed to regulate blood pressure and water in your body. It also promotes regular blood sugar levels…

There’s a Far Infrared Sauna and a Far Infrared Chaise Lounge area where you can lay underneath these infrared lamps to strengthen your immune system.

The Jade Sauna contains calcium and magnesium and super gorgeous to be inside.

 

The Loess Soil Sauna is the hottest of them all.

And lastly is the Iceland igloo room, designed to cool you off in between the hot saunas and maintain proper body temperature. Also, going from hot to cold strengthens your skin pores and improves circulation.

There is a mezzanine level with massage rooms, treatment rooms and even rooms to sleep. The top level is an outside pool court with whirpools, Jacuzzis and more. You need to bring your bathing suit for this level and if you don’t have one, they rent one for you. I did not get a chance to visit this area but I would have loved to been inside those pools when it was 50°F outside. Nice!!!

Spa Castle also has a great juice bar and a lunch buffet. I only had juices there because I do not get hungry while I am in the saunas and pools. But afterwards… that’s a completely different thing!!!! 

And if my experience is not enough for you, Spa Castle has been featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice and on ABC too.

If you’re in the NYC area or will be visiting the NYC area I highly recommend you visit Spa Castle. It was a wonderful experience that I would definitely like to replicate in the near future…

Tags: , , ,

Vegetarian Grocery Shopping in NYC

28 Nov

When I travel, I love to shop for stuff I can’t find in Puerto Rico. Even if things are really, really cheap, I will not purchase it during a trip if I can find it back home. Suitcase space is too precious to invest in things I do not have to carry back home in a suitcase and risk spoilage or spillage.

But during my recent trip to NYC, 90% of what I bought was food items!!!! When I took everything out of my suitcase, I felt as if what I had done in NYC was grocery shopping. Here is a sampler of what I purchased:

Le Pain Quotidien – Brunette Praline Butter and 4 Red Fruits Preserves

I love eating these when I visit Le Pain Quotidien restaurants. And they’re organic too!!!

Union Square Street Market – Raw Milk Goat Cheese

We bought this cheese from Ardith Mae. She sells all things GOAT MILK – goat’s milk, goat’s milk yogurt, raw milk cheeses and pasteurized milk cheeses too. She has a great website and I totally love the pictures of her happy goats. They’re super duper cute…

Sorry, no pictures available for this raw milk cheese… we were so hungry that my mom opened up the wrapper one night and we snacked and snacked away. My bad that I forgot about all of YOU during our hunger attack. We bought a Colby style cheese that was truly delicious. We enjoyed it with spelt bread, organic butter and slices of avocado in an open-faced sandwich. Divine!!!!

Union Square Street Market – Raw Whipped Honey

I learned on this trip that honey is generally cooked before bottling… never imagined that. I always thought bottled honey came straight from the bee hive. According to Andrew, the raw honey guy over at Union Square Market, raw honey has more nutrients and beneficial qualities because it has not been tampered with. He has been featured in a variety of media, including the Martha Stewart Show. I bought the whipped version because it seemed like it would last me longer than the regular liquid kind… we’ll see about that!!!

Union Square Street Market – Beth’s Farm Kitchen Jellies

I have looooved their Garlic and Rosemary Jelly for years now. And this time around I also bought their Sour Cherry Preserves. I wanted to try one of their sugar-free spreads, but they have an expiration date and I can’t be rushed into eating anything…

Yummy Earth – Pomegranate Pucker Candy

This is my favorite flavor of lollipops from Yummy Earth… and to know I do not have to “weed” out all the other flavors I don’t enjoy as much is a real treat…

Whole Foods – Maple Almond Butter and Honey Almond Butter

I still have not tried these, but I loved the sampling packaging. They are also available in jars, but I wanted to try them first before committing to a whole jar. Besides, I knew I was going to purchase the Le Pain Quotidien Praline Butter already… so I was careful not to overload on the same type of product.

Whole Foods – Fig and Almond Cake

This was something my friend Rudy requested… or more that he mentioned he likes and I tried to please him with a little treat from NYC. We are now waiting for the right piece of manchego cheese to enjoy this with… YUM!!!

Grand Central Market – Sun-dried tomatoes

I have bought sulfite-free sun-dried tomatoes elsewhere, but as you can see from the label, these sun-dried tomatoes do not contain any sulfites either and stay softer than any of the other sulfite-free tomatoes I have bought in the past. They do offer other goods there and they list sulfites in the ingredient list, such as dried apricots or dried pineapples. So I trust them when they only list tomatoes and salt as their ingredients.

May Wah Vegetarian Market – Chicken Nuggets and Spare Ribs

I do not make these much at all… but they are great when you want a quick snack. And I will try to share Tania’s recipe for rice with vegetarian spare ribs. It’s a tad greasy, but that’s what makes it so similar to traditional cooking. I had it the other day and it was “finger-licking good”.

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →