Tag Archives: cheese

Mexico – Beautiful and Delicious – Part 2

10 Sep

More on my series of installments on the cuisine of Mexico, more specifically to Guadalajara, where I got to spend a few days now in August.  You can read my first post here.

I was in Guadalajara on business and my friend and colleague Salvador López Solerssi was not only my trade show and store-check guide, but in many ways my culinary guide as well.  I promised him I would include his full name so it would be easy for him to Google himself and find this post without the link…

Salvador was very taken with the fact I write this blog and was super eager to show me all the culinary delicacies Guadalajara has to offer…

We first went to lunch after having walked the trade show a few times over… I was starving!!!!  Look at what we had for lunch:  Queso Fundido, Guacamole and Chips, Fried Quesadillas and for dessert, Crepas with Cajeta.  Everything was excellent, but this was the first time I’ve had Fried Quesadillas or Quesadillas Fritas, as stated in the menu…  I had a sampler of these with one filled with strips of jalapeño peppers and cheese, another one with mushrooms and cheese and the last one filled with zucchini blossoms and cheese.  Superb!!!!  These come like little “pastelillos” of fried, but never greasy, tortilla and the cheese just oozes out of them when you cut them open.  My mouth waters just writing about them.

Guacamole     

Guacamole 

Queso Fundido

    Queso Fundido

  

 

Quedadillas Fritas

Quesadillas Fritas

  

Flor de Calabaza/Zucchini blossoms    

  Quesadillas - Flor Calabaza  

 

Rajitas Jalapeños

Quesadilla Frita - Jalapenos

 

Crepas de Cajeta

         Crepas con Cajeta - MX

I don’t have to tell that after that lunch, dinner was pretty much out of the question…  I had to take a nap, just like the ones you take after Thanksgiving lunch/dinner.  I was full, but happy as a toad.

Another Guadalajaran delicacy is a Torta Ahogada– a sandwich made with shredded pork or beef and dunked in a spicy tomato sauce.  I guess this would be considered the Mexican version of a Reuben.   The thing… we needed to find a place where we could order a vegetarian version because no one in the street would dare make me a vegetarian torta ahogada.  So Salvador took me to a tourist trap… but a super fun one at that, with mariachis and everything.  The only place in all Guadalajara I was received with hand sanitizer… typical, to please tourists’ panics. 

We ordered a Torta Ahogada with panela cheese and sautéed mushrooms.  Salvador prepared the sauce for me… it was tomato based, a bit of the spicy version and lime juice.  You then take your sandwich, made in a special salty crusty bread, and you dunk it in the sauce and eat away.  I really, really liked it. Maybe because I am a sandwich girl… but the stuff was very, very tasty.  Not the stuff you want to order on a date… just so you gals know.

Torta Ahogada Veggie      Salsa - Torta Ahogada     

Dunking - Torta Ahogada 2   

We also ordered Breaded Panela Cheese in a Green Sauce.  It was presented in a molcajete, a stone version of a pilón or mortar and pestle.  It was delicious too… imagine offering fried breaded cheese to me, the cheese lover.  The sauce was a cilantro and tomatillo based broth.  You cut a piece and eat it inside a tortilla.  How else??

Panela Empanado

Then, one our way to do more store-checks, Salvador wanted to show me the typical breakfast of Guadalajara – Tacos al Vapor or Steamed Tacos.  I saw that the hotel breakfast offered tortillas, refried beans and the like for breakfast…  but, I stuck with the fresh fruits, cottage cheese and whole grain toasts, craving the more typical fare from home.  But Salvador insisted I needed to try the local version of these tacos filled with mashed potato.  They are sold in these street carts and you order as many tacos as you want… you then dress them with a tomato/onion salsa, some “pique” and eat away.  They’re light and delicious.  Not heavy at all.  I ordered only one at first, but had to have another one, because they were so tasty.  With a side of freshly squeezed orange juice – I wished the hotel breakfast was this tasty every morning…

Taco al Vapor

Carrito - Tacos Vapor

That’s Salvador, right there next to the tacos al vapor cart… enjoying his tacos.  I want to thank him soooooooo much for embracing my search for great vegetarian Mexican food in Guadalajara.  I am certain, than when I return, we will be enjoying more and more delicious food all over town…  ¡¡BUEN PROVECHO!!

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Stuffed Shells

24 Jun

  A few weeks back I was figuring out what to do with the broccoli I had gotten in my CSA box…  I like it steamed or as part of a salad… but the farmer had told me the leaves are really good and I just was not sure how to cook them.  In Puerto Rico, or maybe it’s just me, we are not too fond of cooked leafy greens.  It’s just not part of our regular culinary vernacular.  But lucky enough, I saw this recipe for stuffed cannelloni from Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home.  It was just the recipe I needed to use up a lot of broccoli in one single recipe.

The broccoli I get in my CSA box is small… sometimes I questioned if it was really broccolini or even broccoli rabe.  So that’s why I used a few bunches of my CSA broccoli, but the recipe calls for ½ a broccoli stalk.  I guess you could use it all if you wanted.  This CSA broccoli came with lots of leaves, so that’s why I really wanted to use up and not waste.

CSA - Brocoli

When I am trying out new recipes, I rarely like to cook them just for myself.  Some people call me brave because I am willing to test and try out things I have never cooked before on my friends.  So I invited my friends Annie Mariel and Laura to try out this recipe with me… these were the brave and lucky two who got to try this one first.  Since then, I have made this recipe a bunch if times… they loved it!!!  When my mom tried it she thought the filling had cheese in it…   it’s so creamy.

But don’t be intimidated by the ingredient’s list…  I looks like there are too many ingredients, but if you think of it in components in the dish, it’s neither that long nor very difficult.  You’ll see…

  Stuffed Shells - Broccoli 3

BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER STUFFED SHELLS

½ of a large head of broccoli, chopped into medium sized pieces, including the stem and leaves
½ head of cauliflower, chopped into medium sized pieces too
2 tbs olive oil, divided for the filling and the tomato sauce
6-7 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
A pinch of Red pepper flakes – you can add more if you like the heat
About 12 -16 brown-rice pasta shells – I use the Tinkyáda brand
½ cup sour cream
½ cup Devon double cream – it’s a Jamie Oliver-inspired recipe, I had to use English cream…
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup fried tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes
About 1 tbs vinegar – I’ve used white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
3 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
Basil leaves – optional
 
  1. Bring a large pot filled with salted water to a boil. 
  2. While the water boils, chop the cauliflower and broccoli.  Make sure you peel the outer skin of the broccoli stalks and chop the leaves as small as possible.  Do not use the stems of the leaves, just the leaves.  The stems will never puree well… I tried. 
  3. P1070371
  4. Add the chopped broccoli and cauliflower to the salted boiling water and cook for about 10 -15 minutes.
  5. When the broccoli and cauliflower have been for about 5 minutes already in the pot of water, heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a medium sized pan with tall sides.  Add the garlic slices and the red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is golden, but not browned or bitter.
  6. Very carefully pass the broccoli and the cauliflower to the pan where the garlic and pepper flakes are.  Drain the vegetables as much as you can before placing in the oil, because the oil WILL SPLATTER.  I usually have a splatter guard in hand to make sure the oil does not catch me.  Mix the veggies with the garlic and pepper. 
  7. brocoli y coliflor blanched
  8. Add some salt and pepper to season and cook covered for about 30 mins, until the vegetables turn into an unrecognizable mass where they no longer retain their vegetable shape.  The leaves will not disintegrate…
  9. While the veggies cook, let’s prepare the sauces…
  10. For the tomato sauce, mix together the tomato puree, salt, pepper, vinegar and a small drizzle of olive oil.  Set aside. 
  11. For the white sauce, mix together the double cream, sour cream, most of the parmesan cheese and season with some salt and pepper.  Set aside.
  12. Also, bring again the large pot of water (with new water please…) to a boil.  Add salt and add the pasta shells.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes until they have grown in size a bit, are flexible to the touch, but still not fully cooked.  Drain the pasta shells and rinse with cold filtered water to stop the cooking process and cool them enough to handle.  Set aside.
  13. Shells - Par Boiled
  14. After the veggies are cooked, use an immersion blender to turn the veggies into a puree.  Make sure all the leaves are pureed and remove any stringy parts that may be around…
  15. Now we assemble… in your baking dish pour the tomato sauce on the bottom.  Using a small spoon, fill each shell with the broccoli/cauliflower puree and place in the baking dish. 
  16. Stuffed Shells - Broccoli 2
  17. After all the shells are filled and placed on the baking dish, spoon the white sauce over the shells.  If you want, now is the time to add some basil leaves, put I have made it without and the dish doesn’t need it…  now sprinkle some additional parmesan cheese on top of the white sauce and finish with pieces of fresh mozzarella on top.
  18. Now we assemble25-30 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown.  As always… when the time is up, just turn the oven off and leave it there for about 10-15 more so it finishes cooking.

  Stuffed Shells - Broccoli 1

I served this with a very simple tossed salad and sweet baked plantains.  We had mango sorbet with kiwi pieces for dessert…

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Cook with your Kids…

8 Jun

I have 2 “nieces” I have told you about… Mariana and Natalia.  “Nieces” is in quotations because they’re actually the daughters of my best friends – but to them I am their Titi Madelyn.

Fortunately and very grateful, they’re two very lucky girls whose parents can provide anything and everything to them.  So it became a challenge for me to choose a birthday gift for them every year.  Since last year, Titi Madelyn decided she would only provide experiences as gifts.  They do not need one more toy or one more t-shirt…  really.

Natalia turned 7 last month and as a birthday gift she got a cooking class by yours truly…  She had the choice of learning to make a cheesy lasagna, “pastelillitos de Shrek” or Italian Quesadillas.  She chose the cheesy lasagna, because I think in another life we were both mice…

I truly believe that when you get kids involved in preparing what they’ll eat, they’ll be more inclined to try new things and to eat whatever is on their plate.  I always tell Natalia and Mariana that if it wasn’t good tasting or good for them I would not even offer it.  They get it…

Natalia had to make several decisions to make her Cheesy Lasagna.  She had to choose between:

  1. Small or Large pyrex mold – she chose the larger one
  2. What ingredients to include in it – her choices were spinach, oven roasted tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, almonds and button mushrooms

She finally chose spinach, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and skinned almonds.  She wanted it all…   She squeezed dry the spinach and I explained to her how all that green water would not be helpful for a cheesy lasagna.  She skinned almonds with me.  She arranged the almonds on a sheet to toast in the toaster oven.  She cleaned and sliced very carefully the button mushrooms and the organic heirloom tomatoes and placed it in separate dishes for the upcoming assembly.  She loved that the mushrooms looked like little trees.

                             Toasting almonds     slicing mushrooms 2

I explained to her we would make a cheese sauce to pour in between the layers we were going to assemble.  The cheese sauce was a mixture of every cheese I had in the fridge at the moment… I assure you I did not buy one cheese for this project.  We used cream cheese, ricotta, parmesan, shredded mozzarella, fresh mozzarella and goat cheese.  She tasted each cheese individually before adding them to the milk seasoned with sofrito, salt and pepper.  She already knew the cream cheese, parmesan and shredded mozzarella from making pita pizzas with me.   But she tasted ricotta and goat cheese for the first time. She LOVED the goat cheese… and ate 2 goat cheese toasts while we were making dinner.  Titi Madelyn tasted goat cheese for the first time about 7 yrs ago… figure that one out.

Natalia added each cheese to the cheese sauce pot and stirred it carefully to help the cheeses combine and melt together.  I was in charge of boiling the water for the Jerusalem artichoke pasta.  I just set some water to boil, turned the stove off and let the noodles soften in that water.  The cheese sauce would continue to cook the pasta perfectly when the lasagna is assembled and in the oven.

This is more a method of making lasagna more than a recipe per se… but if you would like to replicate what Natalia and I did, here’s the ingredient list:

Natalia Lasagna

NATALIA’S CHEESY SPINACH, ALMOND, MUSHROOM AND TOMATO LASAGNA

½ package of DeBoles Jerusalem artichoke lasagna noodles
½ cup defrosted cut leaf spinach
6-7 button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3 small organic tomatoes, washed and sliced
a handful of almonds, peeled and toasted
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp of sofrito
About 1 ½ cups of milk – I really used what was left in the carton so I didn’t measure it
½ brick of cream cheese
¼ tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella – the one you use for pizzas…
½ log of goat cheese
About ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese – but you could also use pecorino romano, asiago, grana padano, etc.
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 slices of fresh mozzarella – to top the lasagna only
 

Natalia then assembled the lasagna.  She decided in which order she would add the filling components:

  1. We started with a layer of sauce, then noodles, then more sauce. 
  2. Now goes the filling layer – spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes and almonds. 
  3. Add a sprinkling of more parmesan cheese before adding the next layer of sauce, pasta and more sauce. 
  4. Repeat until you create 3 layers of filling. 
  5. Then finish off of with the fourth and last layer of pasta covered with the remaining sauce you have and topped with pieces of fresh mozzarella. 
  6. I helped out with the hot noodles and the hot sauce, but Natalia did all the rest. 
  7. I baked the lasagna at 400F for about 25 minutes in my toaster oven.   We basically waited until the top got a nice brown color.  

    8. Filling

Natalia was super hungry by the time the lasagna was in the oven and I was in a hurry to feed her…We served her a nice piece with a side salad dressed with my Left-Over Dressing.  She ate so much; I had to give her a few papaya enzyme chewables to help her with her digestion and overfull tummy.  Her mom loved it too and took a great big piece home with her so daddy would also get a chance to try it.

Natalia Lasagna in PLate

The moral of the story…   Cook with your kids OFTEN.  Allow them to make decisions into what they’ll have for dinner, as long as they’re within what you believe is good for them.  Let them feel they’re part of the process and they will in turn reward you with the satisfaction of enjoying what they eat, enjoying foods good for them, raving all about it and asking you for more.  Natalia already wants us to schedule another “cooking class” when her Summer Camp ends.

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Mexican Lasagna

5 May

Today we celebrate 5 de Mayo… which many US people think it’s the celebration of the Mexican Independence and of great consequence to Mexicans, but it’s not so…   I believe 5 de Mayo it’s a nice holiday to them but not nearly as important as the celebration of their Independence, celebrated on September 16.  I know… I moved to Chicago around that time and it was impressive the amount of Mexicans with huge flags riding on their cars up and down the main avenues.  However, on 5 de Mayo, not nearly enough…

I think it’s just easier in English to say “5 de Mayo” than to say “16 de Septiembre”… you know, that issue with the rolling r’s.  So if the US wants to celebrate Mexican culture, let them do it at the beginning of the Spring/Summer season… it’s more festive anyhow.

Jumping on the bandwagon myself, I decided to treat my friend AnnieMariel to lunch the other day with a Mexican-inspired lunch.  The theme had dual-purpose – to celebrate the upcoming 5 de Mayo and to support our Mexican friends whose been getting such a bad rap lately with all this “swine flu” news.  They’ve been hurting health wise and they will continue to hurt due to decreases in travel to Mexico.  It’s just unfortunate that the level of poverty over there just prevents people to seek medical health as easily or rapidly as we do here in the US and probably that’s part of the increased severity of the cases there.

Both AnnieMariel and I had trips planned to Mexico that were abruptly cancelled or postponed.  So we want to support them symbolically with our lunch…

 mexican-lasagna

MEXICAN LASAGNA

About 8 corn tortillas
4 tomatillos, washed well and quartered
1 medium onion, chopped into large pieces
6 garlic cloves
The Juice of 1 lemon/lime
¼ cup textured soy protein, re-hydrated in about 1 cup of water
2 tbs sofrito
1 vegetable bouillon cube, divided in half
¼ cup red-wine vinegar
¼ tsp Herbamare
1 cup Italian-blend grated cheese
½ cup Parmesan Cheese
½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola Oil Spray

 

This is a simple recipe, but we need to take care of a few steps before we assemble. 

  1. First you need to re-hydrate the textured soy protein.  Place the soy protein in a medium bowl or measuring cup and fill it with water and wait for it about 30 minutes to re-hydrate well.

For the tomatillo salsa…

  1. In a pyrex pan, place the tomatillos, onion and garlic.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.  Mix them all together to make sure everything is well-coated with the oil.  Roast in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until you see the onions and tomatillo getting caramelized on top.
  2. Wait a few minutes until the tomatillos/onion mixture cools down a bit.  Transfer the contents of the pyrex to the bowl of a food processor.  Add the juice of a green lemon and pulse a few times to make a thick sauce.  Set aside.

 

While the tomatillos are roasting in the oven, we can make the soy picadillo… but this soy picadillo is dryer than the versions I have showed you before…

  1. In a small skillet over medium heat, drizzle about 1 tbs of olive oil, add ½ of the vegetable bouillon cube and the sofrito.  Cook for a few minutes and add the soy protein after you’ve squeezed out as much water as you can from it.  Mix it all together to combine.  I want to add some moisture to help it cook along… so I add the vinegar at this point.  Season it with a bit of pepper and Herbamare. 
  2. Cook over medium-low heat until the soy looks cooked, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Set aside too.

 

  1. In a medium tall-sided skillet, warm up about ½- ¾ cup of water with the other ½ vegetable bouillon cube to make a vegetable “broth”.  Add about ¼ cup of the tomatillo salsa to this broth and whisk well to combine.
  2. In a medium-sized glass dish sprayed with canola oil spray we’ll start layering the lasagna…
  3. Take the tortillas and cut in half 4 of them.  This will help you layer them as evenly as possible in the glass dish. 
  4. Take about 1/4 cup of the thinned tomatillo salsa and place it at the bottom of the dish.  Now dip in the thinned tomatillo salsa one whole tortilla and 2 halves.  Place them on the bottom of the dish. 
  5. mex-lasagna-2
  6. Now spread intact tomatillo salsa on top of the tortillas to create a layer and sprinkle a third of the cooked soy picadillo.
  7. mex-lasagna-1
  8. Sprinkle parmesan cheese, a layer of the grated Italian cheeses and sprinkle a third of the pepitas.  
  9. mex-lasagna-3
  10. Now we start all over again, starting with the tortillas, creating 3 layers and finishing off with wet tortillas covered with parmesan cheese, Italian blend cheese and pepitas.
  11. Place in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown.

 

mex-lasagna-4

 

I always turn off the heat in the oven and leave it there for a few minutes until the lasagna settles a bit.

It takes a few steps, but your hard work will be rewarded…    it tastes very Mexican because of the corn tortillas, but the tomatillo salsa gives it a nice tang, different than a regular tomato-based sauce.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did… and  ¡¡VIVA MEXICO LINDO Y QUERIDO!!

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Cauliflower and Cheese Mac

28 Apr

This is another one of the recipes described in my Foodbuzz 24,24,24 – A Very Veggie Experiment post…

 

A few weeks ago I tested my Undercover Carrot Mac and Cheese as a way to “sneak in” some added veggies into my niece’s, Mariana, dinner.  A reader suggested me to try it too with cauliflower.  So this is my version of mac and cheese with added cauliflower.  I also used Jerusalem artichoke pasta to add to the nutrition and unknown vegetables used.

                                                          cauliflower      jerusalem-artichokes-2

I usually make mac and cheese with a white cheese sauce. I thought it would be something different the kids would enjoy – steering away from the orangy sauces they’re so used too. 

 

 couliflower-and-cheese-mac

CAULIFLOWER AND CHEESE MAC

½ a head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
½ a box of macaroni pasta, I used De Boles Jerusalem Artichoke pasta
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbs sofrito
1 ½ cups of soy milk
4 oz of cream cheese
¼ cup gruyere cheese, shredded
¼ cup pecorino romano cheese, shredded
2 handfuls of Italian-blend grated cheeses
¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste
 
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water as if if were sea water.  Add the cauliflower pieces and cover for about 10 minutes. 

coliflor

Meanwhile, we need to prepare the cheese sauce…

  1. In a medium pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and sofrito.  Cook for about 2 minutes until the sofrito doesn’t look raw anymore.  Add the soy milk and heat up. 
  2. When the 10 minutes of cooking the cauliflower had passed, add the macaroni pasta to this same water.  Move all well so the pasta does not stick and boil all contents for about 8 minutes more.
  3. When the soy milk is heated start adding the cheeses – I use this order cream cheese, gruyere, pecorino romano.  Whisk them all to make sure they melt well into the milk.  Finally I add the Italian blend of cheeses and I take it off the heat. 
  4. Strain the pasta and cauliflower and return to the pot.  Add the cheese sauce and mix it all together.
  5. macaroni-coliflor
  6. Transfer to a baking dish and top with parmesan cheese.
  7. Place in a 350F oven and bake until the top is golden brown about 30 minutes.

 

Mariví was amazed that this has cauliflower and was so good.  Ignacio felt there was something more in there than just mac and cheese and kept asking me how I made it…  Diego just didn’t care and started shoveling it in.  The two little ones did not understand how a mac and cheese was white instead of orange.  So I convinced them to try it again after I mixed in a few slices of American cheese into their portions – bringing to the cheese total to 6 – the cheesiest I have ever made a mac and cheese before.   

                                        kamila-eating     diego-eating-2

 

The learning…   you make mac and cheese from scratch for the little ones, make it ORANGE with regular orange-color cheddar cheese.  They’ll find it more familiar and will not look at it as funny as Kamila and Daniel did.

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