Mami’s Tembleque

6 Feb

My mom is not one of those moms that slaved over the stove when we were growing up.  That was my grandma… my grandma would offer you food from the moment you stepped into her house, until the moment you left.  My mom would take home bowls of food my grandma had made and served it to us after we had returned from ballet classes and done our homework.

She taught us how to cook a few survival dishes so we would not “starve to death” when we went to live by ourselves when we left for school.  She did many dips and salads for parties… hey, she even once made a Friendship Cake where she had to macerate fruit for almost a month.  But in general, desserts were not her thing.  That’s why it surprised me when for Three Kings Day (Día de Reyes) she made Tembleque.

I asked my aunt to come to my grandma’s house to have lunch for Día de Reyes… I wanted to eat her Arroz con Maíz and Ensalada de Papas.  But my mom surprised me the most when she said she had made a tembleque from scratch and even more so that my dad had found her the recipe in the Internet!!!  My dad – the least online-friendly person I know!!!  This will be a 2009 full of surprises if this is the way the year is starting…

Like me, my mom almost follows recipes… so even though she got a recipe off the Internet , that was not what she did…

 tembleque-mami

 

 

MAMI’S TEMBLEQUE

1 can cream of coconut – Coco Lopez or any other brand, this is what you use to make Piña Coladas
1 can coconut milk
Water
2 cinnamon sticks
A pinch of salt
½ cup + 1/3 cup cornstarch
Ground Cinnamon to taste

 

  1. Take the 2 cans of cream of coconut and coconut milk and add enough water to make 5 cups of liquid all together.  Reserve 1 cup of liquid and pour the rest in a large pot to cook over medium-high heat.  Add the salt and cinnamon sticks to the pot.
  2. Mix the cornstarch to the liquid you reserved.  Mix well and add to the pot when the mixture starts to simmer.  The coconut mixture will start to thicken a bit as it simmers/boils.
  3. Take it off the heat and pour into the container you want to serve it in.  You can do it in a square pyrex dish or even individual demit asses or ramekins.  Place it in the refrigerator to set.  It will set just like gelatin does.
  4. Sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon just before serving.

Tags: , ,

Fresh Baby Spinach Pasta

4 Feb

I’ve had this recipe in my Food Network Recipe box for the longest time…  Penne with Spinach Sauce  is a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis that I have found fascinating since I first saw it on TV.

I did this recipe off the top of my head for my French conversation class group, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I actually made it almost the same as the original.  Two of my friends asked me for dish using spinach… so I knew they would enjoy it.  But Katherine is not a spinach fan, and she loved this dish.  She said the goat cheese in the sauce made it for her.  So this can be something to try on your little ones…  Call it Shrek’s pasta.

I used local fresh spinach, with a somewhat larger leaf than the one you get at the supermarket.  Remember to wash your spinach well before using it in this recipe…

 

fresh-spinach-penne

 

FRESH BABY SPINACH PASTA

¾ pound of whole-wheat pasta – I used penne, but any tubular pasta would do
2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, loosely packed, divided
3 ounces of goat cheese
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 small garlic clove, cut in small pieces
2 turns of the food processor of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top to taste
 
  1. Boil the pasta in salted boiling water according to packaging directions.
  2. Wash and dry well the spinach leaves.  Set aside a small bunch aside and chop.
  3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add most of the spinach leaves you have not chopped, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic clove, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a light green paste.
  4. When pasta is done, drain well while reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.
  5. Return the pasta to the pot and add the spinach mixture.  Mix well so the sauce loosens with the heat of the pasta and pot.  Add pasta water little by little to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency.  Add the chopped spinach leaves and the Parmesan cheese and mix well.
  6. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top.

 

To reheat this pasta, I added a small amount of milk to a small pot together with the left-over pasta.  I also added a bit of cream cheese and more Parmesan cheese.  The sauce was creamy and delicious again as it was when done originally.

Tags: , , ,

Sad News…

3 Feb

I just learned that Joe Ades… a very quirky, but very charismatic vegetable peeler sales man died in NYC at the age of 75.

During my last visit to NYC, I went to Union Square Farmer’s Market and bought 2 of his vegetable peelers.  This was exactly the same day as he was featured in the TODAY SHOW. 

<div><iframe height=”339″ width=”425″ src=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27007104#27007104” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe><style type=”text/css”>.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;} </style><p class=”msnbcLinks”>Visit msnbc.com for <a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com”>Breaking News</a>, <a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507″>World News</a>, and <a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072″>News about the Economy</a></p></div>

His sales pitch was superb.  My mom and I were enthraled for the better part of 5 minutes.  I remember trying to ask him questions and he just would not stop his sales speech for me… he just kept going and going like the Energizer bunny.  At the end and only at the end he answered my questions and I surely bought one peeler for myself and one for my mom.

Believe it or not, I used mine for the first time last week…   I tend to save things “for a special ocassion”, something I am erradicating this year as part of my new year’s resolutions.  Now thinking about it, I should have bought the 5 for $20. 

This is very sad news.  Hope his soul rest in peace. 

Hope someone will continue to sell these and continue the tradition… even thou it will never be the same again.

Arugula Salad

2 Feb

One of my new year’s resolutions is to eat more salads. 

I went to our local Organic Farmer’s Market and met a friend I knew only via e-mails.  She’s Silka and she runs the only CSA farm that I know of in Puerto Rico, Siembra Tres Vidas.  I want to join, but she’s so busy with her current shareholders she still can’t create a route for San Juan customers.  But, fortunately for me and all my neighbors in San Juan, she’s attending the Organic Farmer’s Market at la Placita Roosevelt every other Sunday.

The last time I visited, she had the most wonderful arugula lettuce.  Arugula is my new favorite lettuce.  Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf and the local variety of lettuce are staples in my grocery shopping, but Arugula has a special place in my heart.  I first learned about Arugula’s existence when I moved to NYC over 15yrs ago when I ordered a tri-color salad – one with Arugula, Radicchio and Endive – thinking it was a tri-color pasta salad.  Then, my palate was not ready for the flavors of that salad.  But nowadays, I love it.

Arugula is a peppery lettuce with a similar taste to watercress.  It’s great in a salad, in a sandwich, mixed in with pasta.  Here, we celebrate arugula’s flavor and tenderness in a salad all on its own…

 arugula-salad

ARUGULA SALAD

2 big handfuls of arugula leaves, well washed and dried
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – about 2 turns of the salad bowl
The juice of ½ a lemon
Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper to taste

 

  1. In a salad bowl, add the arugula leaves.  Drizzle some olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper.  I do this all without measuring.
  2. Toss well so the arugula is well coated with the dressing.

 

Serve alongside Fettuccini Alfredo or any pasta you desire.

Tags:

Easy Fettuccini Alfredo

31 Jan

I heard that when Italians feel “under the weather” all they want to eat is plain white pasta… and what I mean by white is with no meat or tomato based ragú or sauce.  Maybe some olive oil, salt and pepper and that’s it.

Ever since I learned this, when I do not want to eat something heavy I always think of these “white pastas”. So the other day I fixed myself a very easy version of a Fettuccini Alfredo.  Granted, it’s not the lightest of dishes, but it was super simple to make and it only takes the time it takes to boil the pasta.

 

fettuccini-alfredo

 

EASY FETTUCCINI ALFREDO

1/3 pound of whole grain fettuccini noodles – I used a brand with flaxseed for added fiber
3 tbs of butter
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

 

  1. Boil the pasta according to package directions.
  2. While the pasta boils, mix together the butter and the grated cheese.  Create like a paste with these two ingredients.
  3. alfredo-paste
  4. When the pasta is done, drain it reserving about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.  Return the pasta to the hot pot and add the butter/cheese mixture.  Mix together so the butter and cheese melt with the heat of the pasta and pot. 
  5. Add some of the reserved pasta water in small increments to create a creamy sauce.  Add as much water you feel is necessary to reach the desired sauce consistency.  I added about ¼ cup of water, but I eye-ball it all the time.
  6. Sprinkle additional cheese and cracked pepper to garnish and season lightly.

 

Serve with a nice salad on the side for a quick lunch or dinner alternative.

I had some pasta left over and when I reheated it on the stovetop, I added a bit of half and half to bring the sauce back to its creamy consistency.

Tags: , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →