Eating Vegan Like a Rican

Easy! Sopa de Platano (Green plantain soup)

2012-11-27T21:06:00.002-08:00

I bought some plantains over Thanksgiving weekend to make some tostones. Tostones are green plantains, fried and smashed into a patty like crisp, don't worry, I'll post how to make them soon. I love eating tostones with a salad. It's simple yet so good. I didn't make tostones though. I had Thanksgiving left overs until today, that's 4 days of my household stuffing themselves with Thanksgiving goodness. Now, what do I do with all the plantains I bought? Easy, throw it in a pot and make some soup. I had some for lunch and Damn! It was delicious and at 8 platanos (plantains) for a $1, not bad at all!

Ingredients:
6 green plantains peeled and cut in chunks (doesn't matter if they ripened. The soup will just be on the sweeter side)
5 Tbsp of Sofrito
1 Tbsp Annato oil
4 strands of Saffron
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1/2 tsp Oregano powder
1/2 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
1/4 tsp Curry
1/4 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Garnish with parsley or cilantro
**1 onion (optional)
**1 Red pepper (optional)

**If you want to make this recipe even better add a sauteed onion, red pepper, and fresh cilantro before blending.

PS. This makes a huge pot of soup!

Directions:
1. Add plantains in pot with enough water to cover them with salt and oil. Bring to a boil the plantains, lower it to med. high heat and cook until soft. About 20 min.
2. In a separate pot, saute sofrito and spices.
3. Add plantains and water into the pot with spices. Cook another 10 min. and then blend everything into a puree. If it gets too thick add water or vegetable stock. Plantains tend to thicken the soup a lot.
4. Put the blended ingredients back into the pot and simmer on low. Serve with a bowl of rice on the side.

How to make Coconut milk

2012-11-23T14:34:00.002-08:00

Coconut is tasty and great for the body. You can find coconut water just about any where these days. Naked has a line of coconut water that's actually pretty popular right now. People are starting to catch on to the health benefits of coconut water. Coconuts are very common in Puerto Rican cuisine. We however, don't drink it out of a juice box though. We knock them down from trees and drink the water fresh out of the coconut.
Coconut water has numerous health benefits. It's loaded with electrolytes guaranteed to keep you hydrated and it has high amounts of potassium, even more than bananas. The oil can be used for just about anything like dry skin, as a hair conditioner, make-up remover, facial cleanser, for cooking, and has anti-fungal properties. Coconut is loaded with good omega fats and is also high in protein. Make your own coconut milk to ensure you're receiving optimum nutrition. It's easy and inexpensive.

Directions:
1. Crack open the coconut with a machete, and drain the water into a glass.
2. Remove the meat from the shell. Get a knife or spatula to get in between the meat and the shell. If it's too hard, place in oven at 350 degrees for about 5 min. or until the meat starts receding from the shell.
3. Next grate the coconut using a cheese grater into a fine meal. This will take a lot of arm work but will extract the milk better than if you just place the chunks of coconut into a blender. You can however place it in a blender to make it faster.

4. If making with blender: Add the chunks of coconut, the glass of coconut water and 4C of hot water and blend for approx. 20 seconds.
If making milk without the blender: Place grated coconut in a pitcher, 4C of hot water and steep for about 10 min. or until the water is milky.
5. Use a strainer or cheesecloth to strain coconut from the milk. Squeeze out excess milk from the coconut meal. You can set meal aside and use it to bake with. Coconut cookies are delicious.

6. You can repeat steps and steep the coconut for milk up to 3 times.

Arroz con Dulce (PuertoRican Coconut Rice Pudding)

2012-11-21T10:23:00.003-08:00

The holidays are right around the corner. It's time to master all of the recipes and veganize them so that I don't have to miss out this year, and so my family won't look at me like an alien when I say, "No, I don't eat that". Arroz con dulce is one of those desserts that you have to make in bulk, if not, you missed out because the family will demolish every bit of it. You eat it cold, or hot, it's up to you. It's a Puerto Rican favorite and as a custom, it's served around the holidays as a dessert. Puerto Rican style rice pudding, I can eat it all day every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I made it healthier by substituting the sugar with agave nectar. Agave nectar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar. My grandfather's recipe has real fresh Coconut as an ingredient rather than the canned coconut everyone else uses. I feel it tastes so much better that way! I made my own coconut milk, you should too! Put the extra work into it, and make your grandparents proud!

Ingredients:

1½ cups arroz cello rojo (short grain white rice found in Bravo Supermarkets)
4¼ cups coconut milk 
1½ teaspoons salt 
3 cinnamon sticks
2 ounces grated ginger 
6 whole cloves
Pinch of nutmeg-optional
1 cup Agave nectar
½ cup raisins
****  3/4 cup coconut milk (reserve to use at the end)*****

Coconut milk: Buy a mature brown coconut from your local produce market. Ask them to crack it open. If not, then take it home and pierce a hole in one of the grooves. Set directly over the stove, or fire until it is blackened, the coconut should crack on it's own. Finish breaking it apart with a large cleaver, or machete. There should be a thin brown shell surrounding the coconut meat, like what you see when you crack a peanut. Take the meat out and grate it on a grater. You want small shreds. Then soak in hot water and pass the coconut through a cheese cloth or anything else that would catch the meat, and pass the milk through. Learn to make fresh coconut milk here. 1 Coconut can yield a lot of milk, enough for the recipe and for you to enjoy a fresh glass!

Directions:

    1.    Wash rice and soak in water to cover, generously, soak over night.
    2.    The next day, combine the 4½ cups of coconut milk, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg in a medium size caldero.
    3.    Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate, cover and boil for 15 minutes.
    4.    Drain rice thoroughly and add to caldero. Mix and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and cook unitl rice is completely dry, without stirring. (Skim the top with a strainer to remove foam that forms on top.)

5. Add the agave nectar and raisins, stir, and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes, without stirring.

    6.    Add reserved 3/4 cup coconut milk and stir. Turn heat to moderate and boil for about 30 minutes, or until rice dries again. In this cooking period, turn rice over occasionally and scrape bottom of caldero.
    7.    Remove spices. Spoon rice into a flat serving platter. Allow to cool at room temperature then stick in the fridge.
    8.    This is served hot or cold.

Enjoy!!!!!

Habichuelas Guisada Veganized! (Puerto RIcan Stewed Beans)

2012-11-20T10:13:00.002-08:00

Habichuelas Guisada con Tortas

Vegan Puerto Rican stewed beans w/ fry bread

This is what we call "comida pobre", meaning it's food for the poor. It costs literally a few bucks for all the ingredients and can feed the whole family. It not only feeds them, it tastes amazing! This is a dish my grandmother would make when she had to feed her family of 6 with hardly any ingredients & It's a dish that we still make no matter the status of our bank accounts, it's just that good! I did change an ingredient to make it vegan friendly. There was no ham added, and smoked paprika was used instead to add that smoky flavor I love so much. I might have to tell my mom to make this for me asap! I'm suddenly craving it.

Fry Bread

3 cups all purpose flour (**Can substitute with gluten free flour)**
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
Oil, for frying
(Add herbs if desired)

**Note: Try baking them. It's a healthier option but it might change the texture of the bread. Still a delicious option.**

Directions

Put flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well, add warm water and stir until dough begins to stick and form balls. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Do not over-work the dough, this will cause the bread to be tough. After working dough, place in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 min. to 1 hour.
Heat oil in a frying pan or kettle. Lightly flour surface and pat and roll out baseball size pieces of dough. You know you're Puerto Rican when you use a Corona bottle as a rolling pin...

Roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and place in oil and cook until golden brown and flip over and cook opposite side until same golden brown. Dough is done in about 3 minutes depending on oil temperature and thickness of dough. Serve immediately.

Vegan Habichuelas guisada
1 can Pinto beans (I prefer fresh beans, soaked and softened)
2 C water (or vegetable stock)
5 Tbsp Fresh Sofrito
1 Potato or handful of Calabaza (pumpkin) peeled and cubed
2 Bay leaves
Sazón
1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
5 Spanish olives
1 Tbsp Annato oil
4 oz. Tomato sauce

Directions:
Heat oil annato oil and saute the sofrito for about 3 min. Add the tomato sauce, sazón, olives, smoked paprika, and bay leaves. Saute for another 2 min. and then add the beans potato/calabaza, and water/veggie stock. Bring to a boil then simmer on Med/low heat until potatoes soften and sauce thickens. If it's too watery try mashing some of the potatoes in the sauce, it will thicken it right up (a little trick my mom showed me). Serve with fry bread. Open them up and fill them, or dip them. It's the best comfort food you'll ever have!

Annato infused Olive Oil

2012-11-14T15:01:00.005-08:00

Annato is a seed that comes from a subtropical tree called the Achiote tree. Annato, also called Achiote, is commonly used in Latin cuisine as a coloring agent. It's a natural dye extracted by grinding the seeds into a fine powder or by simmering the seeds in water or oil. My mother showed me how to infuse it in oil, that way I use the annato oil instead of plain olive oil to add extra color and flavor to the dish. This is used as part of the Sazón of Puerto Rican cuisine. Saffron is another alternative to add color.

Ratio: 1/2 C Annato seeds to 1 C oil
* I use olive oil but feel free to use any oil desired, just keep in mind the flavors of the oil. ex. sesame oil will give more of a nutty flavor and better if used in Asian cuisine. For Latin, use veggie oil, olive oil, avocado oil (pricey), or any other mild tasting oil.

Instructions:
Heat up oil on high until you see a few seeds simmering.

Add the rest of the seeds and simmer on medium heat until you get a beautiful red colored oil. Be careful not to burn it. Strain and save the seeds, you can use them for a second batch. Bottle the oil and use to add some color to your meals. To make it easier, get yourself a cooking oil strainer. Saves you from making a mess!

Real Sazón

2012-11-14T15:01:00.004-08:00

Sazón is seasoning. It's what makes Comida Criolla, well..... Criolla. Criolla (pronounced cree-oh-ya) is the word for a person of full Spanish or Portugese descent. Sazón is a mix of spices and herbs; it's what makes our Spanish rice yellow. Goya, of course, made it convenient and processed it into packets filled with MSG and artificial dyes. Not very good for you. It caused many people of Hispanic descent to develop high blood pressure, and to gain weight. MSG plays a huge role in obesity. MSG, also listed as monosodium glutamate, tricks the body into thinking it's not yet full, so you keep eating yourself until you fall into a coma. I'm sure you've felt that sleepy feeling after eating Puerto Rican food; it's the MSG. It also numbs the taste-buds so you will find that the taste of "natural" foods will taste bland without MSG . Check out the ingredients in the so called "natural y completo" Sazón.

Some MSG side effects: "burning sensations in the back, neck, chest; paralysis; numbness in the same areas; tingling or warmth in the face, arms or back; nausea; facial tightness; rapid heartbeat; chest pains, asthma attacks; drowsiness or cravings for other foods."

Sazón Goya "natural y completo"
Ingredients
Monosodium Glutamate, Granulated Garlic, Coriander, Cumin, Celery Seeds, Tomato, Oregano, Red Bell Peppers, Granulated Onion, Annatto (Color), FD&C Yellow 5 and Red 40, Tricalcium Phosphate (Anti-Caking Agent).

It's much better than the regular Sazón but it still has MSG so what's the point of buying it? It's super easy to make your own Sazón and much healthier too! You can make the blend and store it in a container for convenience. This recipe is equivalent to one packet of Sazón Goya. Once you make it and taste it, you will notice how much the MSG salts things up. If you've been using Goya's Sazón, your taste buds will need some time to adjust to the lack of MSG. Things may taste a little light but you'll get used to it. You can add Garlic salt if desired..

DIY Fresh Sazón
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Ground coriander
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Celery seeds
1/2 tsp Ground Oregano
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Onion powder
Sea Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp Annato Oil
4-5 Tbsp of Fresh Sofrito

Papi's Sofrito

2012-11-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

If you are buying that Goya crap called sofrito, STOP! That stuff is so gross and its a bad example of Puerto Rican sazón, seasonings. Goya used to be good, but the mass production of their products made them lose their quality. Yes, it's convenient, but it lacks the true flavor of Latin cuisine. I remember buying some because I didn't know any better. It was my first time cooking on my own in my new place. I would call my mom and grandfather so they could walk me through making a meal. I was living on my own and I was craving rice and beans so bad! I bought the pre-made sofrito assuming it was the same sofrito my mom had in her fridge that Papi, my grandfather, would make her. Once I opened the can I knew something was a little off. It didn't even smell the same. So, I asked my mom and I swear she started screaming on the phone. "No! Not that stuff, that's really bad, she said. "You have to go to the bodega and buy the one they make fresh or wait until I make some." Flavor is everything in our cooking. From that day on I always used fresh sofrito. Papi heard that I made my first sofrito from scratch so then he shared with me his recipe. Of course it will never taste like his but atleast I learned from him and here are a few important rules when it comes to sofrito, it is afterall the base of most PuertoRican dishes.

Rules:
1. Use all fresh ingredients: Don't buy pre-made sofrito. Also, sofrito is meant to be used immediately after making it. You can freeze it if you must, for convenience, but try to use it fresh. Our great-grandparents never used anything that wasn't made from scratch and they shunned anything pre-made. There was no such thing as processed foods. Their dishes were made fresh, and it's what made the food taste so amazing. Authentic food has a lot of natural flavor not artificial flavors, dye or MSG. My mom told me, if you're a good cook, you may not even need salt.

(Left picture: Papi during his boy band days, middle left. Right picture: Mami Geralda holding my cousin Tito)

2. Sing: Papi, my grandfather, would tell me stories about his mother, Mami Geralda. Back in Puerto Rico there was a siesta hour where all the kids would get out of school for lunch and go home. Papi loved it because he knew he would get to hear his mother sing while she made fresh sofrito. She would sing as she prepared it, and he would just sit and listen to her while indulging in the aroma of fresh sofrito & sazón sautéing in the pot. I think the magic behind good food is in the singing. I know we could agree that tasty foods can leave you feeling bewitched.

3. <b>Grow your herbs:</b> There's nothing better than going outside and picking your own herbs. My ultimate goal is to have beds of cilantro, oregano bruno (cuban oregano), recaito (culantro), aji dulce (sweet pepper), and other veggies at my dispose. In Puerto Rico it's common to have everything you need to make sofrito growing in your backyard. Papi started off a few plants for me. They save a lot of money and live sustainably off of the land. Just because we aren't on an island doesn't mean we can have the same customs. Knowing exactly what's in your food is a great thing.

Papi and I, 2010

4. Enjoy & Love your heritage: Be proud of where you come from & always seek the wisdom of your ancestors. They will always guide you right, and teach you the wonders of the universe. Learn from their experiences, and treasure them as if they were your own. Learn the lessons and pass them on. Never lose your heritage and culture, it's all you really have.

Papi's Sofrito

2 yellow onions

2 green peppers

1 yellow peppers

6 aji dulce (sweet peppers)

6 garlic cloves

1/2 lime juice or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 bunches of fresh cilantro

1 bunch of fresh parsley

1 handful of recaito (culantro)

1 tomato (optional)

-Blend all ingredients together and Voila! Use immediately with some sazón.

Note: Feel free to play with the ingredients. Like the taste of garlic? Throw in some extra cloves of garlic. Play with it and make it yours. I threw in some sweet yellow tomatoes; I had to use them up before they spoiled. I only had a few leaves of recaito (culantro). Improvise with what you have but don't change it up too much cause it won't be sofrito anymore.