Tag Archives: food

Mango Ginger Granita

4 Jul

Another one of the desserts we attempted  to serve at the Italian Dinner at the Yoga Center recently was a Granita…

 The granita name might transport you to Italy, but we have our own versions all the same.   In Puerto Rico we grew up eating “limbers” and “piraguas”. Limbers are basically sweetened and frozen juice and you eat it directly from the small plastic cup in which you freeze it in. Piraguas on the other hand is the traditional shaved ice with flavored syrup on top served on a paper or plastic cone. In essence, granitas are a hybrid of these two local Puerto Rican treats.

I use the help of my trusty food processor to help with the shaving… I am just too anxious to shave the ice by hand. Technology exists for a purpose… let’s take full advantage of it, no??

 

MANGO GINGER GRANITA

3 cups mango nectar
1 cup water
½ cup raw turbinado or brown sugar
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced
  1. We make the ginger simple syrup first… just bring the water, ginger pieces and sugar to a boil in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves completely. Let the ginger steep in the simple syrup while the liquid cools off.
  2. When the simple syrup has come to room temperature, strain the ginger pieces. Mix together the ginger simple syrup and the mango nectar in a glass 9 x 11 container.
  3. Place in the freezer for about 6-8 hours for it to fully harden.
  4. When you’re ready to serve, remove the frozen mango juice mixture from freezer and using a sharp tool, pry it away from the mold and break it off into pieces you can fit into your food processor. Pulse a few times and process until you have a slushy.

Serve in individual cups and enjoy.

If you’d like a more pronounced ginger flavor, I suggest you peel the ginger before steeping it in the simple syrup and do not strain the ginger pieces before mixing in the mango nectar. This way, you can process the frozen ginger pieces together with the rest of the frozen juice and you’ll get a very interesting prominent ginger flavor.

 

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Sandwich Roll-Call

30 Jun

It’s summer and let’s get real… it’s hot outside and I am not cooking a lot these days.

I am still eating… but a lot of sandwiches. I am a sandwich lover and I’m not afraid to admit it. Here’s a recap of my favorite sandwiches from my kitchens and the kitchens around me:

Veggie Cuban Sandwich

This is my staple sandwich every time I visit a Cuban panadería. A few weeks ago I got to meet President Obama because I had a craving for this sandwich and scheduled a meeting at Kasalta do I could work and eat simultaneously.

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President Obama as he arrived at Kasalta Bakery in Ocean Park, Puerto Rico on June 14, 2011.

Tostón Sandwich

My friend Tania taught me how to make these… not something to eat every day, but DELICIOUS!!!

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Avocado and Tomato Sandwich

This was a sandwich I have eaten for 5 days straight until I was out of the ingredients… I am not kidding you!!!

 

TunoFish Sandwich

When I was hospitalized a few years ago, all I wanted after I got out of the hospital was to eat this sandwich… on criollo bread. Yum!!!

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Hummus Sandwich

This combination of hummus and grain mustard is unusual, but so freking delicious.  Do not critizice until you’ve tried it.

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Veggie Party Sandwiches

This is my staple at kids birthday parties… and I just got a request for an adult birthday party too. They’re just delicious at any age group…

 

Asparagus Party Sandwiches

These are a bit of a pain to make, but the rewards are so gratifying…

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What are your favorite sandwiches???  Please share…  I am always looking for inspiration from you.

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Broccoli Pesto

28 Jun

So I wanted to see if I could find a way to eat a whole head of broccoli before it turns yellow, like it usually does in my fridge. How can I eat large quantities of broccoli just by myself??? I have seen how Food Network chefs can make a pesto out of anything… pestos are just “pastes”, right? So let’s make it out of broccoli…

This recipe rocks… it is simple and you do not need to pre-cook the broccoli. I do cook a few florets separately to give it a nice touch and for people to see what’s in the dish. But it certainly does not need it. You can do without the extra broccoli pieces, particularly if you’re giving these to proclaimed non-lovers of broccoli.

Go ahead… convert them with this dish. I dare them to say they do not like broccoli!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BROCCOLI PESTO

½ head of broccoli, florets separated
2 oz of cream cheese
¼ cup almonds
½ tbs horseradish
¼ cup of shredded cheese mix
¼ cup pecorino romano cheese
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup heavy cream
About ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ bag of whole wheat or brown rice pasta
  1. In a large pot bring water to a boil to cook the pasta. Salt the water liberally and cook pasta according to package instructions, until al dente.
  2. Reserve a few broccoli florets for the final dish.
  3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor mix together the remainder raw broccoli, the cream cheese, almonds, horseradish, shredded cheeses, pecorino romano, garlic and heavy cream. Pulse a few times to combine. Add a drizzle of olive oil thru the shoot of the food processor until the mixture is creamy and loose.
  4. Take the reserved broccoli florets and add them to a hot skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
  5. When the pasta is done, drain all water reserving about a cup and return the pasta to the same hot pot where it cooked. Add the creamy broccoli mixture to the pasta… add a few tablespoons of pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce if needed. Add the sautéed/cooked pieces of broccoli to the mix to add flavor and another layer of texture.

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Vegetarian Rennet… Making sure your cheese is 100% veggie-friendly

22 Jun

You have to give it to Whole Foods for always being progressive when it comes to catering to a vegetarian audience. Whole Foods is expensive, but they make up in their attention to the needs of their consumers.

I am cheese lover… I think if you’re an avid reader of this blog you might already knew that. Look at the Tag Cloud on your right…  And it’s a challenge for me when I am buying cheese to make sure the cheeses I buy are vegetarian. I read all the labels and make sure the cheeses I buy at home are free of animal-based rennet.

I remember once at Murray’s Cheese at Grand Central Market when I asked one of the attendants if they had any rennet-free cheeses and she politely, but surely said: “Without rennet, cheese can’t be made. All cheeses have rennet in them.”  The words stabbed me like a dagger in my heart… WHAT!?!? That ALL CHEESES HAVE RENNET???? Impossible!! We used regular cheeses at the yoga center and if those cheeses have rennet, why are we using them constantly???

The girl at Murray’s was not that far off reality… Because rennet is an enzyme used to coagulate milk into curds that are turned into cheese… and the animal-based rennet is derived from the stomachs of baby calves. Not nice… the thing is that there is animal-based rennet and vegetarian or microbial rennet. The difference is the latter 2 are the only ones suitable for a vegetarian diet.  Apparently, most commercial cheeses use enzymes or rennet derived from fungi or bacteria making them suitable for vegetarians.

Artisanal cheeses, clinging to tradition, usually use animal-based rennet. And what I love about Whole Foods is they now label their cheeses letting their customers know which cheeses are OK for vegetarian consumption. Check out the photos here of cheese labels stating if they have Vegetarian Rennet or Traditional Rennet.

Also, the Whole Foods 365 Brand also mentions in their packaging when their cheese is Vegetarian… Until know, the only brands I knew included in their labeling they do not use animal rennet were Cabot and Tillamook Cheese (although the do use animal rennet in 2 varieties only… always read the labels or their websites).

I believe with time, vegetarian food shopping will become easier and easier with the availability of products suitable for our lifestyle. I am sure this came about due to the amount of people asking the same question over and over again. “Does this cheese contain animal-rennet???”

BTW, can u tell I am into goat cheeses????

Now, as a vegetarian, I can shop for cheeses more at ease … and you can too!!!

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Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

17 Jun

I love to eat baked potatoes… I remember when we first got a microwave oven, way back when, I was always in charge of making the baked potatoes. Prick them a few times with a fork… bake in the oven… wrap them in foil paper to retain the heat… and eat them just like if you were at a steak house.

That was AGES ago… now, I no longer have a microwave in my kitchen and steakhouses are not part of my restaurant rotation. But I still love to bake potatoes. But they take FOREVER in an oven… even in a toaster oven which is what I usually use if it’s just me and a few others to feed.

My sister gave me an Express Cooker last Xmas as a gift. One of the recipes in the booklet that comes with the Express is how to bake potatoes… and to do it in just 15 minutes. In the regular oven, it usually takes about 1 hour to properly bake a potato. So this is a real time-saver. But the real kicker is what to mix it with… Anybody can bake a potato, but the fixings are what make it special.

LOADED TWICE BAKED POTATOES

1 large baking potato
1 tbs butter
2 tbs sour cream
2 tbs cream cheese
1 large garlic clove, minced or grated
2 scallions, chopped
1 tbs of Vegan Bac’n
2 handfuls of shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
  1. I baked my potato using the Express… but you can do it in a regular oven or toaster oven. I cut the potato into 2 halves, oiled it with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. And cooked it cut side down for 15 minutes.
  2. When the potato is baked, I allow it to cool off a bit so I can handle it easily. But it needs to still be warm for you to easily be able to remove the flesh of the potato and leave the outer skin with a bit of potato so it has still some structure.
  3. Place the flesh of the potato in a medium sized bowl and mix in your favorite fixin’s… mine has butter, sour cream, cream cheese, garlic, scallions, these new Vegan Bac’ns I found at the health food store the other day and shredded cheddar cheese. I use a bit of cheese inside the mash and leave some for the topping.
  4. Mash all the ingredients together… season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a drizzle of olive oil if you feel the mixture needs some moisture.
  5. Take the potato mash and spoon it back into the potato shells. I like to mound the mixture so it looks luscious and abundant. Place what’s left of the shredded cheese on top.
  6. Place in a toaster oven on 450F or broiler for about 10 minutes to melt and brown the cheese on top.

To me, half a potato is plenty for me as a side dish… and both halves are good as a main course with a salad on the side.

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