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Fish on Friday: Five More Fab Seafood Solutions

Spanish tapas: Mussels vinaigrette (make ’em the night before)

The last Friday in Lent is coming up. Why just pan-fry filets (again), when you could try some of these much more entertaining and tasty takes on seafood? This is Part Two of my Lenten seafood series. I know you’ll end up making them all year long. I certainly do!

Shrimp and Avocado Salad, Spiked with Chipotle (charming served in an avocado shell)

Pasta al Tonno: One of the fastest pasta sauces known to man. (switch out the green olives for black) Deeply flavored

Pasta al Tonno: One of the fastest pasta sauces known to man. (Feel free to switch out the green olives for black and skip the capers) Deeply flavored!

Creamy, sweet, tangy, chunky, light Swedish Skagen Salad (the best shrimp salad EVER)

Cioppino Latino…A San Fran Seafood Stew Classic with a special Latina twist

For more seafood recipes, click here!

Tags: cooking, Easter food, fish on Fridays, food, Lenten recipes, recipes, seafood, shrimp ideas, tapas

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Entertaining, Food, Italian, lunch, Party Snacks, Pasta, Puerto Rican, Recipes, salad, Seafood, Spanish, Tapas

Taco Tuesdays: DIY Refried Beans. Banging Flavor without the Fat

11 Mar

We’ve been doing Taco Tuesdays for the last month or so. Our neighbors across the street do it, so Leandro decided we should too. I actually like it, because it gives me a solid plan and lets me tinker. I don’t actually do the taco thing – by the time all the accoutrements get to the table I have eaten more than my share of shredded cheese and settle for rolling a veggie wrap for myself (ripe avocado slices are my solution when I crave creaminess and am trying — quite unsuccessfully — to battle my cheese dependence).

Olive oil, onion and peppers add to my sorta Mexican veggie wraps on Taco Tuesdays

One of the things I have been tweaking has been refried beans (which are not really refried at all). You can buy them out of a can, and I won’t deny that they taste good, but do I really need that much lard in my life? Actually, I do wish I had more lard in my life, but I would like to know where it came from before I serve it up. Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, food, kid-friendly foods, pinto beans, recipes, refried beans, taco ideas, Taco Tuesday, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Food, Recipes, Side Dishes, Spanish, Vegan, Vegetarian

Easy Curried Butternut Squash Soup! (vegan)

26 Feb

I had a butternut squash from way back in the fall and a desire for real arroz con habichuelas (Puerto Rican pink beans and rice), which may seem not to have anything to do with butternut squash soup, but after I boiled the squash, I realized I had about twice as much as I needed!

This recipe uses just about a half a typical butternut squash

Waste not want not is my motto (as much by necessity as by design), so I thought it would be nice to simmer up a warm soup.

A bit of home-made sofrito (substitutes included in recipe!)

Thus, this ever so simple butternut squash soup, vegan (unless you swirl in some yogurt or sour cream at the end), and rich without being fatty. I used some sofrito I made the other day, but give instructions for store-bought or home-made substitutes.

squash and seasonings simmering

Easy Butternut Squash Soup

2 Cups butternut squash, peeled and boiled until soft in vegetable broth. RESERVE broth

1 tsp olive oil

2 Tbs sofrito (homemade or Goya. May be substituted with a tablespoon of finely minced onion and a tablespoon of finely minced green cooking pepper like cubanelle, in which case you need to saute a bit longer until tender)

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp mild curry powder

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

(dab of pesto, hot sauce or –if you aren’t vegan – yogurt or sour cream to finish, optional)

In a medium soup pot, heat oil at high until fragrant. Lower to medium, add sofrito and garlic and sauté until fragrant and getting dry. Add curry powder and cumin and toast until slightly fragrant. Add broth and squash, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until very, very soft. Use an immersion blender or food processor or blender to liquefy. Season to taste and serve with optional toppings.

Arroz con habichuelas (click for basic recipe!)

Or click for another MORE basic recipe!

Tags: butternut squash soup with no cream, comida criolla, cooking, easy soup, food, Latin-style squash soup, recipes

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Food, lunch, Puerto Rican, Recipes, soup, Spanish, Vegan, Vegetarian

Frankenbeans! (Hot Dogs and Pink Beans in a Skillet)

18 Feb

It’s a sad irony that I finally have perfected Latin white rice (thanks to my dad’s technique) and the doctor tells me that I have to reduce carbs for my triglycerides or somesuch! Terrible.

But Leandro received no such warning, so he gets to enjoy my now fantastic rice with any number of dishes.

Here’s franks and beans with an ever-so-slightly Latin flavor. Goya’s Latin-style tomato sauce and cilantro and culantro put a little spring in the step of this easy, kid-friendly dish. My parents used to make us something similar when we were kids, so it was fun to try and recreate them. They have very little in common with the sweet gooey canned Franks and Beans you find. This are actually grown-up worthy too!

Beans and Franks

I use Applegate Farms Organic Beef Hotdogs. I prefer organic meats as a rule. These also don’t use synthetic nitrites, but it isn’t clear from what I have read that natural nitrites are any better than synthetic. They are more expensive than your standard supermarket dogs, but I feel that they are worth it.

Leandro loves these, and they reheat very well for his lunch thermos the next day. (In the morning, when I am boiling water for tea, I boil extra to pour in the Thermos to warm it up. Then I dump the water, put in the hot food, and it is still warm a few hours later for his lunch ).

Frankenbeanie!

Frankenbeans

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

½ Cup onion, minced

1 tsp garlic, chopped

3 hot dogs, sliced into ½ inch rounds

1 Tbs fresh cilantro chopped

1 tsp fresh culantro (recao; sawtooth coriander) or other green herb of your choice, chopped, optional

8 oz can Goya Latin Style Tomato Sauce

2 pinches salt

2 pinches hot red pepper flakes

½ tsp ketchup

1 Cup pink beans (soaked or from a can)

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high and add onions, Stir to coat, lower heat, and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic and cook an additional minute or two, until the house smells good and the vegetables are wilted. Add hot dogs and stir, then add cilantro and culantro or other herbs. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add tomato sauce, salt, red pepper, and ketchup to taste. Add beans. You will probably want to add about ¼ Cup water to thin. Simmer for 10 minutes r more and serve with Latin-style white rice.

Tags: comida criolla, cooking, cooking for kids, food, franks and beans, hot dog ideas, kid-friendly recipes, latin white rice

Comments 9 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Food, lunch, Puerto Rican, Recipes, Spanish

Nine Super Bowl Tapas and Snacks (Easy and More Elegant than the Average Tailgate)

30 Jan

Chorizo on toast

If you are getting ready for a Super Bowl party, I’ve got some styling, kickin’ tapas ideas for you! Just click on the picture for the recipe…they are all pretty easy (with the exception of the tortillas, which require a bit of derring-do, but are well worth it). They are also portable! Have a great Game Day…I’ll be back with more ideas soon!

¡Ole! ¡Fantástico!

Mussels vinaigrette (make em the night before)

Tortilla Torcal

Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, easy tapas, food, party foods, recipes, Super Bowl buffet ideas, tailgate tapas, what to bring to a Super Bowl party

Comments 14 Comments
Categories Entertaining, Food, Party Snacks, Recipes, Seafood, Side Dishes, Spanish, Super Bowl, Tapas

The pictures are awful, but these oven-roasted mushrooms are amazing!

20 Jan

If I had known how good these mushrooms in garlic were going to turn out, I would have been more careful about the pictures!

Mushy focus!

This is a wonderful variation on the classic stove-top champiñones al ajillo or mushrooms in garlic sauce, that is a staple of Spanish tapas places and that I have posted before (with butter or with olive oil)My friend, Marianne and I made them as sort of an afterthought as we were packing the oven with roasted vegetables for our New Year of Eating Right. Why not throw these in too, since we have some space?

Genius.

Get the crusty bread ready, because you are going to want to mop up every bit of sauce.

Blurry photo, clearly delicious

Oven-roasted mushrooms in garlic (Champiñones al ajillo, al horno)

10 oz. button or baby bella mushrooms

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbs chopped parsley, optional

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wipe mushrooms clean. Trim off woody stem bits and cut into ¼” slices. Mix mushrooms, garlic , and oil in an ovenproof dish and roast, turning once, for about 30 minutes or until mushrooms are shiny, opaque and dark brown. Sprinkle parsley over, salt to taste and serve with toothpicks as a tapas dish or mix with warm pasta for a light primo piatto (first dish/appetizer).

Tags: Champiñones al ajillo, cooking, food, Mushrooms in Garlic Sauce, recipes, roasting mushrooms, roasting vegetables

Comments 4 Comments
Categories baking, Entertaining, Food, Party Snacks, Recipes, Side Dishes, Spanish, Tapas, Vegan, Vegetarian

Sweet and Savory Churrasco (Skirt Steak, Grilled)

13 Jan

You may ask whether I am cooking at all lately, seeing as I have been posting more of my dad, Pedro’s recipes than my own.

Truth is, I have been cooking as much as usual, but sticking to my go-to recipes like Spinach Pasta, Pollo Guisado (Stewed Chicken), and the like. I am prepping for when my semester begins, taking my Leandro-free vacation time to catch up on many things and stocking the freezer!

Churrasco

But during the holidays we were on family vacation in Puerto Rico and between the holiday dishes like Perníl (Roast Pork Shoulder) and Better Than Perfect Latin White Rice and the rare opportunity for me to have the time to really watch him go…well I did a lot of looming over his shoulder thrusting measuring implements at him and observing and taking notes (which is what we should all be doing around our favorite family cooks). And now I am catching you up on some of my favorite Padushi recipes. (and scroll down for one of my favorite images from our trip!) Continue reading →

Tags: churrasco, comida criolla, cooking, easy marinade, food, grilled meat, grilled steak, Puerto Rican, recipes, skirt steak ideas

Comments 25 Comments
Categories BBQ, Comida Criolla, Food, Grilling, meat, Puerto Rican, Recipes, Spanish

Latin-Style Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo)

10 Jan

“I was looking for a yellow rice recipe on your blog and I couldn’t find one,” says my dear friend Deborah the other day. “What kind of a Puerto Rican are you?”

Since Deborah’s people also hail from the Island of Enchantment, I cannot share my answer on a family blog.

And in fact, my answer — however clever — did not reflect the exact truth. I am the kind of Puerto Rican who adds a packet of Sazón to the rice and leaves it at that. But I wasn’t telling her that! After all, she is a chef, owner of Cuvée Seafood & Grill at The Greenporter in Long Island’s North Fork, a proponent of real food — not little packages of MSG –, and was asking for a recipe to try out.

Continue reading →

Tags: arroz amarillo, comida criolla, cooking, food, kid-friendly recipes, Puerto Rican, recipes, rice dishes, Spanish yellow rice

Comments 17 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Food, Puerto Rican, Recipes, Side Dishes, Spanish

Perníl al horno (Puerto Rican oven-roasted pork)

6 Jan

There is no better time to be at the top of the food chain than during Christmas in Puerto Rico.

Perníl made with pork loin (I think; the dad threw away the label before I could get the info!) proves that the recipe can enhance any pork roast

I know many of my readers (and friends) are vegetarian, vegan even, and I respect your choices — except of course my dad’s crazy ass diet because it is so crazy. I prefer a mostly plant-based diet myself, and will go as far as to make accommodations at my table for you, but at Navidades, this girl embraces her carnivorous side and all protests to the contrary will be regarded with impatience and disdain, if regarded at all.

The imposter was actually pretty good!

Perníl is in my D.N.A., and that, mi amor, is that. Continue reading →

Tags: adobo para cerdo, Christmas in Puerto Rico, comida criolla, cooking, food, Latin style, perníl al horno, pernil, pork recipes, Puerto Rican roast pork, recipes

Comments 18 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Entertaining, Food, meat, Picnic, Puerto Rican, Recipes, Spanish, Thanksgiving

Pedro’s Better-Than-Perfect White Rice

3 Jan

Sometimes perfect isn’t good enough. Sometimes, perfect is boring. Sometimes you think you’ve got something down perfectly pat, only to discover that someone else can actually do it better.

Allow to boil, uncovered, until water goes below the surface

Such is the story of this recipe. I have posted my Perfect White Rice in accompaniment with a variety of bean recipes a number of times on this blog. It comes out perfect every time: grains moist but separate, texture cooked through but not mealy.

Light and fluffy white rice

But my dad’s rice (which uses exactly the same ingredients, as it happens) is just better. Mine is a great accompaniment. But his? You can eat it right out of the pot with nothing else and find bliss. It’s just white rice, but it has the slightest sheen of oil, a satisfying plumpness, just the right saltiness.

And now, here it is. ¡Buen provecho!

Perfection!

Pedro’s Better-Than-Perfect White Latin Rice

2 Cups water

1 generous Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp coarse salt

1 Cup medium grain rice (not parboiled), rinsed in a strainer

Bring water, oil, and salt to a boil at high. Add rice. Stir. Return to boil, lower heat to medium high and allow water to boil away until the top is no longer under water and the bubbles come up through holes in the surface. Turn rice over with a spoon bringing the bottom to the top. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Serve. Or stand next to the stove and just eat it out of the pot. I’m telling you.

¡Comida Hispana! Recipes to unleash your inner Latino

Mango Mojitos With Ancho Chili Salt

It was another summer Friday in the neighborhood and that called for another festive cocktail. Riding high on the success of last session’s passionfruit mojitos, I decided to make mango mojitos. The drink itself followed much the same construction, but the mango was decidedly sweeter than the passionfruit, so I decided that it needed a […]
Passionfruit Mojitos by the Pitcher or Glass

Summer evenings in the neighborhood can be wonderful. Occasionally on a Friday some of us neighbors bring out folding chairs and sit together in one front yard for a bit of happy hour while the kids go mental on someone else’s lawn. It’s pretty much BYO, but we do mix up a pitcher of experimental […]
KID IN THE KITCHEN: Tembleque (Tropical Coconut Pudding)

We spent the better part of last summer in Puerto Rico, and among the tasty things that my little guy fell in love with was tembleque, a jiggly (temblar means to tremble) dessert that falls somewhere between pudding and flan. I promised him we’d make it back in New York, and this weekend, for a […]
Sangría Tropical (and rainforest paradise pictures)

When the heat gets tropical, so should the drinks. On a recent trip to the mountains of Puerto Rico, I was inspired by a wonderfully cooling and exotic sangría I had up around and about El Yumque (Caribbean National Forest, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. Forest Service system) at Noelia’s, recommended to us […]
Salmorejo de jueyes (Land Crab Stew)

There are a number of land crab species skittering about Caribbean coastlines. Some are edible and the one we eat most here in Puerto Rico (although I am told they mostly are imported from Venezuela these days) is Cardisoma guanhumi which we call juey and — if you are English-speaking — you might call the […]