Tag Archives: vegetarian

Maoz Falafel

22 Nov

While staying with my sister in Southern Florida recently I did most of the cooking for about 7-8 people on almost a daily basis…  It was fun.  It gave me the opportunity to try out a bunch of new recipes and to showcase to a new audience a few old favorites.

But every once in while we needed to BREAK AWAY!!!!!  Borrow the car and go out into the sunshine and go some credit card damage…  That’s what brought us to the Mall at Boca Raton and Maoz Falafel.

I have seen and eaten Maoz Falafels before – eaten it in Madrid during my last visit and seen them in NYC.  But I have never seen them in Florida.  It was a VERY WELCOME surprise to go to the Food Court and see Maoz as an alternative for our lunch hunger.  I learned today Maoz is a Dutch chain…

They serve $5 falafel sandwiches that you can fill with a variety of toppingsthey have.  I went for the traditional vegetable salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions in a light lemony dressing and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.  Then drizzled with copious amounts of yogurt sauce to cool off the falafel’s cumin taste – which to me can be a bit overwhelming.

 

 

Maoz has a guy in front of their storefront serving sample pieces of their falafels for everyone to try… I do not know if it’s the samples or the growing vegetarian community in Boca, but Maoz had a long line consistently during the time we were at the Food Court.  Something the traditional fast food giants could not brag about that afternoon…

I am glad to say Maoz is expanding their operations in the US… and if you have a chance to see a Maoz store in your town or in your near future travels, give them a try.  They’re delicious!!

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KarmaFree turns 3!!!!

17 Nov

It seems like it was just the other day when I decided to share the recipes I adapted from magazines, books, TV shows into delectable vegetarian concoctions all my friends and I would equally enjoy.

How quickly times go by, no??    Since that day in 2007 KarmaFree Cooking has grown into areas I never imaged then…

We have a new awesome logo and incorporated it into a brand new look…

 

We have a FaceBook page…

http://www.facebook.com/karmafreecooking

 

We have a Twitter account…

@KarmaFreeCookin

 

We have developed a reader base that spans the whole world around…

 

I am super proud of my US-based fan base, but it never ceases to impress me that people in Australia, India and even Russia are reading my posts here on a regular basis.  A great shout-out for you guys and feel free to say hi directly in the comments here.  I would like to know more about you all.

 

Now in year #3 I have a new goal…  I want to average 1,000 daily visitors.  I am not there yet, we need to work out a few things,  but with your help…  I am confident we can do this in the next few months. 

This is where you come in… I would like for all you KarmaFree Cooking regulars to share KarmaFree Cooking with your friends who like to cook, with those that would benefit from eating less meat in their diet, heck, just your friends that enjoy making easy and delicious recipes.  We want to grow and I need your help getting there.

Here are your favorite recipes in the last year…

 

Comme ci comme ca Salade Niçoise

Pasteles in Banana Leaves

Yuca con Mojo Cubano

Veggie Sancocho

Fried White Sweet Potato

  

Here are some of your favorite non-recipe articles…

 

Greek Food – a Great vegetarian alternative

Are there any rice cookers without Aluminum?

Vegetarianism as a way to lose weight

 

 Thanks a lot for your support.  Your positive energy fuels me to continue sharing everything I learn with you.

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Oyster Mushrooms Chips

12 Nov

I have always been curious about oyster mushrooms, but I have never made them before myself because the ones we get usually here in Puerto Rico always look old and wet… not fresh and beautiful like the ones you see on TV or when you visit markets in the US when traveling.  So staying a few weeks with my sister in Southern Florida gave me the chance to use a few ingredients I have very limited access to in my homeland. 

Anne Burrell made these oyster mushroom chips in one of her shows and I was completely inspired by the simplicity but also because she mentioned these mushrooms, after roasting in the oven, tasted like bacon.  SAY WHAT?!?!??!  That immediately caught my attention…

These are so easy to make… my 10-year old “nephew” David helped me out making these.  He and his twin sister Marietta were wary because they both claimed they were not mushroom eaters.  Boy, were they in for a surprise…

 

OYSTER MUSHROOM CHIPS

½ pound of fresh oyster mushrooms
Drizzle of Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

 

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425F
  2. Peel off each piece of mushroom from the stalk and separate them into individual “petals”.  Place them in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper.
  3. Arrange gill-side up in 2 baking sheets side by side to allow the mushrooms to cook well and for the edges to crisp up.
  5. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes.  They will shrink up considerably.
  6. Take them out of the oven and allow them to cool of a bit for about 2 minutes and scrape them off the baking sheet using a spatula.

If you’re not eating the right away… you can certainly place them again on a baking sheet and reheat them at 400F for about 5-8 minutes more.

 

We had to make this recipe TWICE because the first time we did them everyone was so excited that I did not get a chance to take any photographs.  David liked them raw and cooked alike.  Marietta was afraid of tasting them because “she doesn’t eat mushrooms” but was shocked and told me these did not taste like mushrooms at all.  Her parents were in awe…

Even the skeptics were impressed and mentioned unaided these mushrooms tasted like bacon.  I thought the crispy edges tasted more like “chicharrón” than bacon… so I can see more applications of these mushrooms in my future besides sprinkling them over a lettuce, sprout and cucumber salad.

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Healthy Lifestyle Change for NOVEMBER – Do not buy any frozen meals or that have been cooked a long time ago.

1 Nov

 For exactly the same reason why you should not be drinking sodas anymore, frozen prepared meals have little to no nutritional value.  These meals, even thou they seem to be a real advancement in modern technology, in reality they’re a step backwards in terms of health and nutrition.

 Why?

 Frozen meals – a la Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, and all the like – are meals that were cooked at very high temperatures really long time ago.  These two elements make their nutritional value close to null.  They’re basically hay that fills up your stomach, but doesn’t really nourish you.  If you read the labels closely, you’ll see they’re laden with artificial preservatives and sodium that only makes you retain water and affects your blood pressure and the way the heart functions.

Remember that this new lifestyle program is geared to getting used to eating foods that are healthier for us and will help us lead a healthier life.

But don’t fret… there are still many frozen things you can still enjoy: 

  • Frozen vegetables – super convenient to use instead of any canned vegetable
  • Frozen Fruits – great for desserts, sorbets and smoothies, and even better if you freeze them yourself
  • Fried Plantains and Tostones – I like the King’s Crown brand and they’re a real help in the kitchen sometimes or you can prepare your own.
  • I bread Eggplant Milanese  and freeze it to be able to enjoy them anytime I am hungry…
  • Frozen Breads – excellent when you’re in need to a sub fix…
  • Ice creams and Sherbets – but always eat these in moderation… 

 

Here are a few recipes of dishes made with frozen ingredients that are as easy to prepare as placing a Lean Cuisine in the oven, but I guarantee you, they’ll be much more delicious and nutritious:

 Spinach Empanada 4

Spinach Empanada – uses frozen puffed pastry and frozen spinach

 

Spinach Pinwheels

Spinach Pinwheels – using frozen spinach and puff pastry too…

 

Empanada Gallega

Galician Empanada – with puff pastry and frozen tuno

 

Corn and Spinach Lasagna – using frozen corn and spinach

 

Yucca with Cuban Mojo – I buy frozen yuca, much easier than to peel fresh ones…

 

Very Berry Sorbet – using frozen fruits…

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Veggie Chips

25 Oct

My mom and I are into snacks… yes, we admit it.  And lately these are our favorite snacks. 

We love these potato chips made with spinach and tomato mixed in. We buy them in large bags like this one and also in smaller individual ones.   We took the small individual ones to our last trip in India.  These were our official snacks for “lunch time”.  You can find them in straws that look like French fried or in discs that look like potato chips.

You can find them in any health food store such as Freshmart, but you can find them at Costco too.  Hope you enjoy them too.

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