KarmaFree Cooking

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

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

Veggie Bites of Wisdom #5

19 Jun

To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.

I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body.

~Mahatma Gandhi

Tags: food, vegetarian

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Veggie Bites of Wisdom

“Chorizo” Pizza

18 Jun

In Spanish there’s a saying that goes… “Lo prometido es deuda.” which translates to “what you promise, you owe”. And I promised you I was going to gather for you the recipe for the winning pizza from the 1st Devanand pizza festival. After much pleading and almost begging, Yazmín, the creator of the winning delicacy, agreed to share her recipe with me and all of you, KarmaFree Cooking avid fans.

This winning “chorizo” pizza… and please notice the word chorizo is in quotation marks… because when I tried this pizza initially I was immediately transported to those pizzas they served at the movie theaters back in the day when double features were the norm. Do you remember too??? Or maybe even those pizzas they served at Woolworth in Plaza las Americas when I was a little girl. All you Puertorros out there can relate, right???

I believe, the connection of flavors to those memories is what made this pizza the winning pie at the festival. Among the judges were my mom and she certainly had tasted those pizzas of yesteryears I mentioned you from Cine Astor, Cine Martí and Woolworth. And ever since that day I was intrigued how Yazmín could capture that chorizo flavor… because the “chorizo” was as greasy and tasty as I remembered it.

I thought it was made from “soyrizo”… but when I actually bought it and tasted it, the taste as too prominent of cumin and I knew that wasn’t the flavor I had tasted on that delicious winning pizza. I thought then it was some sort of textured soy protein, but no, it wasn’t the same texture. Until one day I asked Yazmín directly and she revealed the “secret” to her “chorizo” – – VEGGIE HOT DOGS!!!! Veggie Hot Dogs cooked and seasoned with annatto oil to give them that greasy red orangey color of those chorizo pizzas I remembered.

I will admit… I have eaten this recipe many times after that pizza festival, but I have never ever made it myself. Hey, if Yazmín is my friend and she volunteers to make this each and every time our Guruji wants to eat some pizza, why in the world would I bother making it myself??? But I can assure you that if you have any questions at all about making this, I will relay all your messages to her and gather you the appropriate answers. We could even do a Twitter party if you all are up to it…

Gayatri, who helped make this “chorizo” pizza with her mom, Yazmin

I hope you all like this pizza… as much as I, my mom and the rest of the Yoga Center do. I think I might just call Yazmín right now to see when she will make another one of these real soon. I am getting a craving!!!!

“CHORIZO” PIZZA

Makes 2 large pizzas or 4 individual pizzas

2 ¼ cups of All Purpose Baking Flour GF (Bob’s Red Mill) sifted and some more to work the dough

1 ¼ cups oatmeal flour gluten-free, sifted

¼ cup gluten substitute from Orgran

6 ¾ tsp xanthan gum

1 ¾ tsp sea salt

3 ½ tsp olive oil

3 ½ tspsapple cider vinegar

2 ¼ soy milk, warm

3 ½ tbs dry yeast

3 ½ tbs brown sugar

3 ½ tsp garlic poder

1 ¾ dry oregano

3 packets of organic cheese, shredded

Tomato Sauce

6oz of organic tomato paste

3 cups of water

1 tbs annatto oil

Salt

Garlic powder

Italian Seasonings

Vegetable bouillon cube (optional)

“Chorizo”

1 package of veggie hot dogs, finely grated

1 vegetable boullion cube

1 tbs water

Sea Salt

Garlic Powder

2-3 tbs annatto oil

Mix the flours, gluten substitute, xanthan gum, salt, garlic powder and oregano.
In a glass jar mix gently the cup of warm milk, olive oil, sugar, vinegar and yeast. Allow to rest for about 5 minutes, or until you see the yeast start to bubble.
In a stand mixer with the hook attachment on #2 speed, add the remaining warm milk, the yeast mixture and slowly start adding the flour mixture. Once in a while, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure it’s all well incorporated.
Mix for a few minutes until you see the dough is getting elastic. Take the dough out of the mixer and transfer to a oiled glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Place in a warm place in your kitchen for about 30 minutes to allow the dough to rise evenly.
While we wait for the dough to rise, we make the tomato sauce and the “chorizo”…
For the sauce, mix all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix together well and allow the vegetable bouillion cube to dissolve well, if using. Cook it for about 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Set aside.
For the chorizo, in another saucepan add the water and vegetable bouillon cube and dissolve well over medium high heat.
Add the grated veggie hot dog and mix well.
Add the annatto oil and season with the salt and garlic powder. Mix well and cook over the stove for a few minutes until the mixture becomes a homogeneous saucy concoction. Set aside.
Pre-heat oven to 325F and grease two 16” pizza pans.
Divide the dough in half and knead with your hands using some extra flour trying to make a ball. Now, flatten out with your hands and a rolling pin until you can cover the pizza pan with the dough. Place on top of pan and create a border by folding the edges a bit.
Dock the center of the pizza dough with a fork. Brush extra olive oil over the dough.
Place the sauce over the dough. Place some of the chorizo mixture over the sauce and top with a generous amount fo shredded cheese.
Bake in oven for approximately 25 minutes, or until you see the cheese is melted and golden brown and the edges of dough are golden.