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A Vegetarian Baby Shower…

18 Oct

My sister is about to have her first baby… the first grandson and nephew for our side of the family.  And Titi Madelyn gave herself the task to plan a baby shower for my sister.

One of my most daunting tasks for this baby shower was to plan a menu that would be pleasing to all invitees and that it would still be vegetarian and it would represent me well.  I couldn’t bear myself to say I planned a baby shower that would be filled with food and treats that I wouldn’t be able to try out or taste.  The next toughest thing was to find a caterer that would be open to create a fully vegetarian menu where the meat-eaters would never miss the meat.   

I was very lucky my sister and brother-in-law trusted me and my taste in food and didn’t even question my choices.  I only informed them of the menu selected after it was all planned.

I decided to make the Appetizers and a Signature Drink or Bull and have the lunch catered by someone professional.  I had too many things to look after to make food for 35+ people…

  

The appetizers we served were:

  

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Red Bell Pepper Dip with an assortment of whole grain crackers

  

Rosemary Almonds

Erasmo, husband to my cousin Marilyn, fell in love with these Almonds…  I gave them all to him to enjoy for later on.

  

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Asparagus Sandwiches

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach Pinwheels

We baked these the morning of the baby shower and they kept very fresh for the party.  My sister’s nieces and nephew were cautious of these “pastelillitos” and their parents were almost sure they would not like them because spinach is not in their repertoire, but they were all surprised on how delicious they were.  I was a bit afraid they would not leave enough for the other guests at a point… that’s how much they enjoyed them.

Passion Fruit/Guava Fizzy Drink

The catered part of the lunch included:

Green Tossed Salad with Candied Pecans and Cranberries with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

Whole Wheat Rolls with butter

Butternut Squash Risotto made with vegetable broth

Penne Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Creamy Sauce

Green Beans with butter and garlic

     

 At the end, my sister and brother-in-law were very pleased with the baby shower we planned.  And no one  missed the meat…  at least they never mentioned it to me!!!

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Thanks 2 all who voted 4 me!!!

20 Sep

I participated in Project Food Blog…   It’s a competition sponsored by FoodBuzz and they’re selecting with the help of some food industry influentials and YOU who should be the Next Food Blog Star.

This was my entry – VOTE FOR MY POST – I wanna Blog!!!  but unfortunately I wasn’t among the top 400 contestants that moved onto the next round.  I was very pleased to know that most of the people I did vote for continued on… So I will be one more cheerleader in their camps.

Anyways, thanks for your vote and to continue making KarmaFree Cooking part of your day and kitchen.

Always cooking,  

Madelyn.

Quenepas

19 Aug

July and August is QUENEPA-time!!!! 

Called mamoncillo by Cubans, it’s a green and “crispy” skinned fruit.   You open them by biting the skin with your front teeth.  It has a peachy pulpy interior that’s both sweet and a bit acidic at the same time.  Quenepas are very delicious but could be dangerous to eat because enclosed in that pulp is a very slippery pit that if not careful, many people have choked on.  I was not able to taste my 1st quenepa until I was about 10 years old.

Another thing to be careful of when eating quenepas is that the juice of the pulp stains, very much like green bananas and green plantains stain and if that juice falls in your clothes they could be stained forever.

Nonetheless, quenepas are the perfect fruit to eat at the beach during summertime.  If you come across a bunch, give them a try, just be careful… never talk with a quenepa in your mouth.  OK?

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Flat Out Flat Bread

26 Jul

Every time I find a great product I want to share it all with you…  This is the case with these Flat Out Flatbreads.  I saw them for the first time at Costco and even though I am not a fan of wraps, I liked the fact they were made with whole grains – 100% stone-ground whole wheat and flax seed.  So I decided to try them out.

These are FANTASTIC!!!  I use them as a quick and easy crust for pizzas all the time.  They are ready to go anytime and taste delicious.  I have made my Simpler Popeye Pizza on them… my Pizza Rosa…  regular tomato, cheese and basil pizza on them… and even a Hawaiian Pizza, as you can see right here.

 

 

I have only seen them at Costco in Puerto Rico, but I have seen them in Florida at Winn Dixies, etc.  So I am confident you’ll be able to find them in your local supermarket too.

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My Favorite Travel Breakfasts…

23 Jul

You already know I love to travel.  You can certainly be aware of this by reading my previous posts on my recent visits to New York, Mexico, Paris, India, Miami…

And when I travel I get extra hungry, particularly for breakfast.  I can skip lunch; I can skip dinner… but I would never ever skip breakfast.  I am a sucker for big breakfasts and this is what I usually try to do:

 

Start with a fruit salad – Any fruit you like will do.  I try to stick to acid fruits together, like pineapple, grapes, strawberries.  And when I go for melons – watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew – I try not to mix them with any other fruit.  I also like the papaya and mango combination, if available.  While in India recently, I enjoyed a lot papaya and pomegranate seeds… YUM!!

At home it’s difficult for me to make me a fruit salad,  that’s why I make myself smoothies from fresh fruits or fruits that I froze myself.  When I travel is simple to just serve yourself fruits that someone else cut for you…

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Follow with something more hearty – I like oatmeals, pancakes, breakfast potatoes, toasts,  etc.  A few of my favorite things to eat while I travel are:

 

 

And when I am traveling outside the US, I like to also try a few local things, even if they’re far removed from what I am used to having.  Like Chole Bhature or Dosas when I was traveling in India, “tacos al vapor” while in Guadalajara or croissants and tartines when in Paris… 

Include some kind of freshly squeezed Juice – Orange Juice is usually my favorite, but I can go for watermelon, grapefruit, apple or even vegetable juice… whatever is freshest and prettiest.

      

 

Hope that if you’re not an avid breakfast eater, this gives you a few ideas on what to try the next time you have the buffet in front of you… or inspire you to get adventurous to try interesting breakfasts when you are traveling…

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