Tag Archives: vegetarian

Arroz con Dulce

13 Dec

This recipe is from Cielito Rosado, with whom I had the pleasure to work with when I managed the advertising of a very popular dish washing liquid. She’s one of the few well-known cooks in Puerto Rico… her recipes are simple and easy to follow.

Arroz con Dulce, loosely translated to Sweetened Rice, is a typical Xmas dessert. You really do not see it anywhere before Thanksgiving or after the Fiestas de San Sebastián. The key is to not have it be too sweet or too bland… and brown sugar is key.

 

ARROZ CON DULCE

1 ½ cups of rice, soaked in water
For the cooking liquid:
1 ½ cups water
20 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
A piece of fresh ginger
3 cans of coconut milk
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
2 tbs raisins
2 tbs butter
Ground cinnamon to garnish

 

  1. Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks and ginger to the water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5-8 minutes. Then, strain and discard the spices. Return the tea to the same saucepan.
  2. Drain the rice that has been soaking in water; add it to the strained tea and coconut milk. Cook over medium heat until the liquids boil. Cover and lower the heat until the liquids reduce and the rice is cooked.
  3. Add the brown sugar, shredded coconut, raisins, butter and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
  4. Pour the cooked rice into a serving platter and garnish with sprinkled ground cinnamon.

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Coquito 2

10 Dec

I am a coquito FANATIC!!! Every year I make a few batches of my non-alcoholic version of Coquito. Xmas would just not be the same without it.

But I have to admit my original recipe has evolved a bit. I wanted it to be a bit sweeter and creamier so I started adding Cream of Coconut to the recipe to maintain the coconut essence without adding sugar directly into the mix.

Cream of Coconut is what we traditionally use to make Piña Coladas and the best brand is Coco López. Even if other brands might be on sale, I prefer to buy Coco López. I do read the labels once in a while to make sure no super weird ingredients have been added to it.

This newer version is still non-alcoholic, something my friends with little kids appreciate, but know it has an even creamier feel to it.  Salud!!

COQUITO 2

3 cups of water
5 cinnamon sticks (I usually use a whole bagful)
4 tbs cloves (I usually use a whole bagful)
4 tbs anise seeds (I usually use a whole bagful)
2 tbs star anise (I usually use ½ bagful)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 can of coconut milk
1 can of cream of coconut
1 can of evaporated milk
2 tbs ground ginger
1 tbs ground cinnamon
2 tbs vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1 tbs freshly ground nutmeg

 

  1. In a medium saucepan create a “spiced tea” – pour the 3 cups of water, cinnamon sticks, anise seeds, star anise and cloves. Steep for about 15-20 minutes to create a strong spiced tea. This will give the coquito most of its spiciness. Let cool a bit.
  2. In a blender, mix together the evaporated milk, condensed milk, coconut milk and cream of coconut with 2 ”cans-worth” of the spiced tea, ground ginger, nutmeg and the vanilla powder.
  3. Pour into a clean bottle and chill in the refrigerator.
  4. Serve chilled in small shot glasses. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

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Wild Mushroom Lasagna

8 Dec

This Thanksgiving I traveled to visit with my sister and her new baby boy… I noticed this is one of the few times in my life I have spent Thanksgiving outside Puerto Rico, besides the 2 Thanksgivings I spent while living in Chicago a few moons ago. Not even when I lived in NYC I spent Thanksgiving there. Nope… I’ve never seen the Macy’s Parade live. Always on TV.

Since I’ve been vegetarian, I’ve always been the one planning the main menu. If someone wants to bring turkey, they’re welcome… but I plan the menus and they’re all vegetarian for everyone to enjoy all the same. This year, we spent it at a relative’s home so I debated if we should bring something for my mom and me to eat or if we should eat before going there, just like we do for other type of occasions/celebrations.

We decided to make something to bring over because Thanksgiving is such a food celebration, it would feel weird not to eat anything while there. We decided to bring my Tomato Bruschetta as an appetizer because the hosts totally love it… I made a new version of my cranberry preserves, this time with a guava/piña Caribbean twist… and as the main event I prepared a Wild Mushroom Lasagna.

I’ve already mentioned The Boys Farmer’s Market… and they usually have such fresh mushrooms that I could not pass up the opportunity to cook something with an assortment of fresh wild mushrooms. I picked them all, not one came inside a package. It was wonderful…

WILD MUSHROOM LASAGNA

For the Mushroom Filling:
2 small Portobello mushrooms caps, sliced
5 large white mushrooms, sliced
¼ lbs oyster mushrooms, separated into “leaves”
½ large yellow onion, diced
¼ tsp thyme leaves
2 tbs minced fresh parsley leaves
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Lasagna:
1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 ½ cups part-skim ricotta cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tbs minced fresh parsley leaves, divided
3 tbs olive oil
½ large yellow onion, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tbs spelt flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
9 whole wheat no-boil lasagna noodles
¼ cup Gorgonzola cheese, finely crumbled
½ cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

 

First, you make the mushroom filling…

  1. In the largest skillet you have, add olive oil and onions. Afterwards add the garlic. Sauté until the onions are translucent for about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Add the mushrooms in a single layer. Try not to crowd the pan… if it does, it’s better to make it in two separate batches. Allow the mushrooms to cook without moving them too much. They will brown and get a delicious flavor.
  3. After the mushrooms have browned on all sides, add salt, thyme and pepper. Mix a few more times and add the parsley. Allow the mushrooms to cool before adding them to the lasagna. You could also make this the night before if you’d like.

To make the sauce…

  1. Add olive oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, about 1 ½ minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Gradually whisk in milk and broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, whisking frequently. Add salt and bay leaf and reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and making sure to scrape bottom and corners of saucepan.
  2. While the sauce cooks, place shredded Gruyère and 1/2 cup Parmesan in large heatproof bowl.
  3. Also, combine ricotta, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley in medium bowl. Set both bowls aside.
  4. Add the cream cheese to the thickened sauce. Stir until the cheese has melted. Remove saucepan from heat and discard bay leaf. Gradually whisk 1/4 cup sauce into ricotta mixture. Pour remaining sauce over Gruyère mixture and stir until smooth; set aside.

Now we assemble…

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
  2.  Take a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
  3. Distribute 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of baking dish. Place 3 noodles in single layer on top of sauce.
  4. Spread 1/2 the ricotta mixture evenly over noodles and sprinkle evenly with parmesan and ½ the Gorgonzola. Drizzle more sauce evenly over cheese. Add a layer of the cooked mushrooms.
  5. Repeat the layering of dry noodles, sauce, ricotta, parmesan, Gorgonzola, mushrooms and more sauce.
  6. Place final 3 noodles on top and cover completely with remaining sauce, spreading with rubber spatula and allow spilling over noodles. Sprinkle evenly with more parmesan and ½ cup mozzarella.
  7. Cover lasagna with a piece of parchment paper and a piece of foil. Bake until edges are just bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.
  8. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes until surface is spotty brown. Cool 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons parsley.

 

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Guava-Piña Cranberry Jam

3 Dec

I wanted to try a few different variations on cranberry sauce… I have relied on my true and tried recipe here for quite some time. It’s been a staple of Xmas for a few years and I’ve had friends and family request it for Thanksgiving and Xmas pretty often.

But I wanted to see if I could give it a more Caribbean twist… something I could put my Latin stamp on. Inspiration comes from many places and Guava-Piña is a fruit combination very popular in Puerto Rico. We happened to have frozen pulp in the freezer, left over from our Guava Fizzy Drink creation earlier and the fresh pineapples from The Boys are extremely sweet and juicy.

Would the flavors the Caribbean go well with the tart northern American cranberry flavors? Check it out for yourself…

 

GUAVA-PIÑA CRANBERRY JAM

1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup water
¼ cup guava pulp, defrosted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small pieces about ¼” thick

 

  1.  Wash the cranberries.  Go thru them and throw away all the ones that have gone soft.
  2. Place the cranberries, water, guava pulp and sugar in a large heavy saucepan.
  3. Bring mixture to a boil.  I cover it so it comes to a boil faster, but watch it, because it can boil over.  After it starts boiling, uncover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  The cranberries will begin to pop on their own.  Stir it every few minutes, and as you stir, pop the cranberries that might be still whole.  It’s the pectin inside the cranberries that helps the sauce thicken.
  4. After the cranberries are cooked, remove from heat and mix in the pieces of pineapple.  Let cool.  Be careful, the mixture is VERY HOT and could burn you.
  5. Transfer to smaller jars or plastic bowls.

 

It’s nice because you can actually taste the guava and the pineapple pieces in the sauce.  The flavors do not get masked with the tartness of the cranberries.  This is awesome to serve over pancakes, over vanilla ice cream or to just eat over crackers…

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Healthy Lifestyle Change for DECEMBER – Avoid Buying Canned Goods

1 Dec

By now, I have shared with you 11 tips on how to integrate new healthy habits into your everyday life.  Ideas, without changing too much the way you live currently, can actually have a positive impact in your overall health and well being.

It’s kind of funny that the idea I left for December was to Avoid Canned Goods…  because some of the very typical Xmas recipes I have and prepare every year have canned goods as the main ingredients and unfortunately these do not come in any other presentation, that I know of so far.  Tembleque, Coquito, Arroz con Dulce…  all are recipes that use sweetened condensed milk or coconut milk or cream of coconut and I have not been able to find those ingredients in another packaging format.  And these recipes or Xmas would not be the same without these ingredients.

Which actually helps me make the point… this series is about developing conscience of the ultimate better choices for you.  These ideas and changes are about modifying the way you purchase things so they’re overall better for you.  So when you’re at the grocery store you learn which packaging has less impact on the contents inside.  Not necessarily to start jumping hoops and making things extremely difficult for you if other choices are not readily available. 

So now…  onto the can thing.  Try to avoid cans as much as possible.  WHY?

  • Usually, canned products tend to contain more chemicals to help preserve the contents when compared to the same product in a different package format.  These chemicals and preservatives are only harmful to our health.
  • Canned products have been cooked previously a long time ago by the time they reach your home and this devoids them of many nutrients.
  • Cans can’t be recycled the way plastic or glass containers can be…

I understand how convenient it is to purchase canned goods.  How they’re economical, there always there in your pantry when you needs them… and hey, they give you comfort in times of need, like when preparing for a hurricane.  But, instead of purchasing this that typically you buy in cans, you’ll start buying them in another packaging format with many of them still getting the convenient pantry shelf life.  Here are some examples:

Instead of buying CANS of: You’ll now buy:
Vegetables Frozen Vegetables

  • such as corn, spinach, carrots, peas, etc.

 
Tomato Sauce Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce POMI brand of Tomato Sauce which comes in UHT boxesPasta Sauces in glass jars
Stewed TomatoesWhole Tomatoes Stewed Tomatoes and Whole Tomatoes in glass jars
Evaporated Milk Buy Evaporated Milk in UHT boxes
Roasted Bell PeppersRoasted Piquillo Peppers Buy them now in glass jars
Fruit CocktailsPineapples in syrupPeaches in syrup Buy these preserved fruits in plastic or glass jars and better if they are in natural juice or light syrup.
Beans Buy dried beans and soak them overnight
Cranberry Sauce Make it yourself… it’s so easy!!!
And I understand that nota ll you readers are 100% vegetarian yet… so here are additional considerations when purchasing goods:
Vienna Sausages (Salchichas) Buy refrigerated sausage productsOr even better…  Use veggie hot dogs
Tuna It’ll be preferable if you bought the pouches to transition away from the cansOr buy frozen TuNo product from a health food store

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