Tag Archives: vegetarian

Strawberry Mousse

2 Mar

Sorry I have not been up to par lately… and I have not been able to post as frequently as I would like. I have been feeling “under the weather” lately and writing at the computer has been a bit challenging. I am still not 100%, but I’ll try to give it my all. I need to get back to my regular schedule PRONTO. And sharing stuff with you is certainly part of that.

I enjoy reading the food blog Serious Eats… and last week we were given a challenge to highlight or showcase a Golden Gadget – our most prized kitchen implement and the recipes that we use them for.

I debated about this… what do I use in my kitchen over and over again?? I love my microplane grater… which I use for grating cheeses and now I grate garlic cloves to I do not have to mince finely, which has always been a challenge, but I do not have a dish that revolves around my using the grater. I love my mandolin, which I use to make Scalloped Potatoes or to cut my Eggplant Milanese, but I do not use all that often.

But lately, I received a new “blender” as a Xmas gift, The Magic Bullet. I know, I know… we all scoff at the informercial. But my aunt gave it to me as a Xmas present, so I went with it. It took me about 3 weeks to get it out of the box. I mean it… It sat there because it came with so many gadgets that I did not know where to accommodate it all. But since the day I took it out of the box I have not been able to stop using it. I make all my morning breakfast smoothies in it – using the convenient party mugs included. I have made horchata, a cheese mix to make grill cheese sandwiches, sofrito, and most recently I made Strawberry Mousse. It could also be considered strawberry-flavored whipped cream, but hey… it was tasty and I enjoyed it.

I took the general idea from the Magic Bullet cookbook which had a “recipe” for Chocolate Mousse using the same technique. I do not have chocolate syrup in my house, but I did have some strawberry sauce left over from another night. The results were quite delicious… hope you like it too. The Magic Bullet is definitely my NEW FAVORITE gadget in the kitchen…

STRAWBERRY MOUSSE

½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup strawberry sauce or even strawberry jam or preserves I think would do too
A squirt of honey

 

  1. Add all the ingredients to the small container of The Magic Bullet. Screw on the Flat blade.
  2. Whip for about 30 seconds until the cream whips up. The Bullet sound will change when it’s done.

 

I guess you could also do this with a hand mixer if you do not have a Magic Bullet around.

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Oscars-Inspired Party…

25 Feb

I love movies, but I have been a bit behind in my movie viewing lately… This Sunday is the Academy Awards and I have only seen one of the movies nominated for Best Picture – Toy Story 3. Isn’t that awful!!!

Even though I have not seen the movies, I still love to watch the red carpet and the ceremony. I have a friend who religiously celebrates an Oscar watching party every year… So if you’re also into watching the Oscars and would like to nibble something inspired by this year’s nominees, here are a few ideas from the Karma Free Cooking repertoire:

Black Swan

Spinach Pinwheels to emulate the ballerina pirouettes…

 

Inception

Leonardo Di Caprio’s character takes ideas from people’s subconscious… and with these Better-than- Maggiano’s Stuffed Mushrooms I have taken a recipe idea from a restaurant’s menu and made it truly vegetarian.

 

The Kids are All-Right

A modern family with an alternative lifestyle… just like these Eggless Frittatas, a delicious alternative that does not need to contain eggs to be enjoyed by everyone.

 

127 Hours

A movie about a hiker’s struggle for 127 hours… and these Rosemary Almonds are the closest thing to a trail mix.

 

The King’s Speech

Tuno Antipasto served over Tostones is my answer to the traditional English staple “fish and chips”…

 

The Social Network

When I think of Silicon Valley and technology I think of SanFranciso, where I had the most wonderful avocado sandwich @ Boudin on Fisherman’s Wharf. Here is my version of an Avocado Tomato Sandwich

 

Toy Story 3

This is a tried and tre favorite for kids… just like my Veggie Party Sandwiches. They’re the most loved by my nieces…

 

True Grit

A tale set in the Wild West and my BBQ Roasted Potatoes fit that smoky flavor of the outdoors.

 

Winter’s Bone

I don’t even think I have seen this movie at the local movie theaters… but inspired by the title, let’s celebrate it with a Vanilla Ice Cream topped with Strawberry Sauce.

 

The Fighter

It was hard to select a recipe to go with The Fighter… but I decided to HONOR my work-horse recipe. The recipe that is my “sure thing” – it’s an appetizer, it’s a sauce, it’s a condiment – my Tomato Basil Bruschetta mix, which has new life when served over pasta as my Marinated Tomatoes Pasta.

 

Hope you enjoy the Academy Awards celebration this weekend… and may your favorite movies win.

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Vegetarian Super Bowl Ideas…

5 Feb

I am not a football fan, but I certainly am a TV commercial and snacking fan…

I usually get invited to a Super Bowl party every year where I just chat and eat and watch all the multi-million TV commercials aired for the first time at Super Bowl. Everybody will be talking about them on Monday and I do not want to miss in the discussion.

This year a friend from grad school is visiting Puerto Rico and I am inviting her and her husband to WATCH COMMERCIALS and eat some Puerto Rican snacking. No football will be discussed… OK, Dan??

Here are some of the snacks I am planning to make:

Sorullitos de Maiz with MayoKetchup

sorullitos-maiz

mayoketchup1.jpg

 

BacalaFREEtos

 

Malanga Chips and Plantain Chips to dunk in Onion Dip and Green Olivata

green-olive-tapenade1

 

And we need to balance out all these fried fiesta food with a nice salad… how about a Arugula Salad. Not very Puerto Rican, but it works.

arugula-salad

 

 

But if you prefer more TexMex flavors with your football fix, try these alternatives too:

Cielito Lindo

Quesadillas with Fresh Tomato Salsa

 

Guacamole

 

Mexican Lasagna

mexican-lasagna

Tortilla Soup  –  I find this is nicer than any ol’ chili…

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Cook with your Kids – An Afternoon of Crepes

2 Feb

My two little nieces, Mariana and Natalia, are taking already French classes in school. I am sooooo excited that in a short time we’ll be able to speak in French in front of their parents without them knowing what we’re saying about them.  I do need to step up my game, because it may happen that they will end up speaking better French than I…

For their birthdays, I try to give them EXPERIENCES… these are girls so fully blessed, that they do not need another toy or dress or bracelet from Titi Madelyn. So for one of their last birthdays I offered them an afternoon of French Crepes. In my mind we would’ve been listening to some French music… instead we listened to Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, but I guess them having a good time works best for me than just having some random French background music.

This is my THEORY…

That if you offer kids new food in an exciting package, they will eat it regardless of how picky they are.

Natalia is a great eater… she eats almost anything. But Mariana is a whole different story… She is super picky and I need to create stories around the food we’re eating to get her to at least try it. That’s how Shrek’s Spaghetti, Veggie Sandwiches, Asparagus Sandwiches, Plain and Easy Fettucini Alfredo have come to be.

Well this time around was CREPES… I offered several alternatives – cheese, veggie ham, spinach, tomatoes, avocados… The winning combinations were:

Organic Mozzarella Cheese + Veggie Ham

 

Organic Mozzarella + Cream Cheese + Goat Cheese + Veggie Ham with Walnuts and a Drizzle of Honey on Top

What I was most surprised about is they LOVED the Veggie Ham. Mariana ate 2 full crepes and several servings of plain veggie ham. She asked what it was made of and still ate it with wild abandon. They asked for seconds, and even Natalia ate 2 plain crepes stuffed with just warmed veggie ham to eat with her hands, just like the French eat them in the streets of Paris.

And we couldn’t leave out some crepes for Dessert

Cajeta + Raspberries

Nutella + Banana

(sorry, pictures to come later on…)

PROOF

Make a thin, thin pancake, and kids will eat whatever you put inside it.

My next attempt, have Mariana to eat a Spinach-filled Crepe… Will I succeed???

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Vegetarian Festival – Centro Yoga Devanand

17 Jan

Last Sunday we organized a Vegetarian Festival at the Yoga Center. It is the first Vegetarian festival of 2011 and the first one celebrated on a Sunday.

My friend Tania had a dream… she dreamt we did this kind of Festival on a Sunday, more people would come and try more of all the foods we offer. We usually celebrate these Festivals on Saturday nights, but people sometimes are not too fond of eating so much food at 9PM at night.

We have been doing these Festivals for a long, long time. It’s a way for the Yoga Center to demonstrate:

  • how varied and delicious Vegetarian food can be
  • the cooking talents of our Yoga Cooking Team

Usually people just bring in any dish they want to share along with the whole crowd. It’s our own vegetarian version of a pot luck dinner. It’s just a HUGE pot luck dinner featuring usually 15+ dishes, plus salads, natural juices and desserts.

Here is a round-up of all the dishes featured in this latest version of our Vegetarian Festival:

Onion Rice made by my Mom

 

Baked Rice with Spinach, Mushrooms, Pecans and Cheese aka Arroz Kristina made by me

 

Rice Pasta Lasagna with Spinach and Dairy-free Cheeses by Rosani

Chipa Guazú made by our friend from Paraguay, Ester

Vegetable Lo-Mein made by Manolo and Jesús

 

Roasted Potatoes with Spices by Mili

 

Sun-dried tomatoes Stuffed Mushrooms made by me

 

 

Breaded Eggplants made by Tania

 

BacalaFREEtos – made with some leftover batter from the fried eggplants inside the Lo-Mein

 

Pizza Pastelillitos made by Yazmín

Soy Albóndigas with a zesty Tomato Sauce made by Angie

 

We featured 2 different soups…

Roasted Plantain Soup made by Tania

Rice and Bean Soup with Smoked Veggie “Ham” made by Carmen G.

 

We had a green salad served with 2 different dressings and a natural Juice made with passion fruit, kiwi and other citric fruits.

 

And 3 desserts…

Candied Coconut (Dulce de Coco) made by Cony

Carrot Dessert with Raisins made by María Rosa

Walnut Cake with Candied Walnuts on top made by Rosani, our resident Master Baker…

Well… the Sunday plan was a complete hit. Dreams actually DO COME TRUE, right Tania?? We had 50+ people visit our center, some of them for the first time. It’s so gratifying to cook for a crowd and to see how the food would fly away and the trays be completely empty is a real joy.

The Staff - Medelicia, Carmen G, Angie, Katy and Tania, the mastermind of this Festival on Sunday.

I include some links to several recipes I have already shared with you. Click on them so you can enjoy them right away. And over the next few weeks I will be sharing some new the recipes I have learned from the star chefs in this Vegetarian Festival.

If you live in Puerto Rico, or close to our Yoga Centers in NYC/Queens or Miami Beach, I hope this display of photos make you hunger and come over to our next Vegetarian Festival. OK?? Just stay tuned to the Centro Cultural Yoga Devanand FaceBook Page were we usually post all our activities… It’s in Spanish, but you’ll enjoy it all the same. 

Hari Om.

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