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Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms II (This time dairy-free)

The last time I posted Sauteed mushrooms and onions, it was a rich and unctuous burger-topper sauteed in butter that I learned from my friend Marianne – the wife of one male and mother of two more, and so an expert in crowd-pleasing, no-holds-barred burger toppers and other such make-happy-the-hungry-horde type stuff.

Into the frying pan

But now it’s January, the birth month of good intentions (and the trail head of the road to hell, but never mind) and Marianne and I are looking at ourselves and deciding it is time to try slimmer versions of our favorite meals. We’ve been getting together on Sundays and making good, healthy,veggie, low-whatever refrigerator items for the week.

Thus, this new take on sauteed onions and mushrooms. No dairy (Susu, are you listening?) and yet still unctuous and savory (mushrooms tend to do that). Try it on black bean burgers with quinoa or without and feel truly virtuous!

Golden is good, but wait for it…darker is better

Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1.5 Cups sliced onion (slice against the stripes)

10 oz. sliced mushrooms (button or baby bella), woody stems trimmed or removed

2 shakes adobo seasoning (or one pinch each of: garlic powder, onion powder, salt. Oregano is optional, and you can add more of any of them to taste)

Heat the olive oil at medium high in a large skillet until loose and fragrant. Add onions and stir to coat. Add mushrooms and stir to coat. Sprinkle with adobo seasoning, lower heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes, until onions are quite wilted and mushrooms are darkened and soft.

Tags: barbecue foods, burger toppings, cooking, food, onions and mushrooms, recipes, vegan sauteed onions, vegetarian sides

Comments 10 Comments
Categories BBQ, Food, Recipes, Side Dishes, 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

Leek and Asparagus: A Delightful Accessory for Scrambled Eggs

9 Jan

Today we have a guest post – my friend Ashley who is my accomplice in many of the recipes you see on this blog (most of the beverage recipes, funnily enough).

Served separately from the eggs

Ashley is from Maryland, which from my perspective is the South, although I suppose you can argue Middle Atlantic (for those of you who are curious where Long Island falls in the regionality game, we are kinda Middle Atlantic and kinda New England, which makes it very challenging to decide which Growing Zone to follow when planting in my garden! I welcome input on that. But let me meander back to Ashley and the South).

Prosecco mimosas are the appropriate accompaniment

Ashley, like so many good Southerners has a terrific fondness for ramps (wild leeks) and anything that resembles them. So when making a breakfast recently, she decided to use the leeks in my fridge to accessorize the scrambled eggs I had on tap. Ashley has an aversion to butter (yeah, crazy, right?) so she used about a tablespoon of olive oil. You could certainly substitute, but I liked them just like this.

Mixed up with the eggs

From Ashley:

Here is a very rough write-up of the leek eggs that we ate (and we used to call wild leeks ramps, so there might be other recipes out there that call for ramps instead of leeks…):

Take 1/2 pound leeks (approx. 2 medium) and scrub them to death. Remove the end green parts. Because they are so incredibly difficult to clean, you may have to clean them, start to cut them, stop and clean them again. But in the end the effort is well worth it.

Trim the ends and cut into small pieces. Saute until leeks are tender. While it apparently tastes better with butter, you know my aversion to butter, so this is where I use olive oil.

Open your friend’s refrigerator and pilfer her leftover roasted asparagus. How can you let perfectly good asparagus go to waste!? Cut the asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. As the leeks are almost finished cooking, add the asparagus until it heats up.

Scramble 2 eggs (per person). Add the warmed leeks and asparagus.

We didn’t do this, but when I’ve made it before, I’ve added a little parmesan/grana padano cheese and that makes it irresistible! Thyme is also a nice spice to add to this. And of course, there’s always sriracha for the bonus kick.

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.

Hot, Cheap & Easy’s Five Top Posts and Wrap-Up for 2012

31 Dec

Whoo-hoo! This year I became a published book writer for the first time with Eat Your Way Around Puerto Rico – a digital dictionary that tells folks what to eat in Puerto Rico and how to ask for it! I also successfully transitioned my little guy to kindergarten (where he has only had the school lunch three times); was an invited speaker at a variety of events (more related to education than food, but an accomplishment nonetheless) and presenter at others; did a number of articles for publication; and did bunches of other things that I am happy about. In a year full of tension and tragedy, I feel very very fortunate to have made it through so well.

And of course Hot, Cheap & Easy has been rollicking along, with 141 new posts (current total is 291, including this one) getting visits from 149 countries and increasing visitors by 150% over last year. The blog has a Facebook page now (like it!) where I post food news and fun that doesn’t quite fit within the scope of the blog.

So here are the five most-visited posts of the year…followed by a shout-out to my most supportive fellow bloggers! I wish you all a delicious 2013….and THANK YOU, GRACIAS, MERCY BUCKETS for all your visits and comments and suggestions!

Hot, Cheap & Easy’s Top Five Countdown for 2012 Continue reading →

Tags: cooking, food, mozzarella balls, New Years Round-Up, pastelón, pattypan squash, recipes, spider dogs, strawberry rhubarb jam, top five recipes of 2012

Comments 10 Comments
Categories BBQ, Camping, Comida Criolla, Food, Puerto Rican, Recipes, Spanish, Vegetarian

Grilled Cornish Game Hens: Three Marinades for a Crowd or for One

26 Dec

Ah the illusions of youth!

Rock Cornish Game Hens were such a fancy thing to eat when I was little. They were so cute and golden when they came out of the oven; a half a bird each for me and my brother, and one each for our parents, basted in a peach sauce that was lovely and sweet. (Keep reading for Puerto Rican, Greek and Mesquite marinades!)

These little birds, almost invariably sold frozen into hand-held cannonballs, seemed to me to be an exotic species (don’t laugh, those of you from Cornwall) and having been an eager reader of all things Annie Oakley and Laura Ingalls Wilder, and other tough girl survivor books in the days before Katniss Everdeen and I imagined that these little birds were hunted by young folks with charming accents, roaming the plains of Cornwall (do you even have plains in Cornwall?) in home-made clothes, with rifles or intriguing traps or somesuch.

Itty bitty

Continue reading →

Tags: alternatives to roast turkey, chicken recipes for one person, comida criolla, cooking, food, Greek yogurt marinade for chicken, grilled chicken recipes, holiday meal ideas, How do I cook Cornish Game Hens?, Puerto Rican, recipes, Rock Cornish Game Hens, Southwest Marinade

Comments 17 Comments
Categories baking, BBQ, Chicken, Comida Criolla, Entertaining, Food, Grilling, lunch, Puerto Rican, Recipes

Last Minute Gift: Under $5, via email, instant success (Puerto Rico Food!)

24 Dec

Click Here to Buy or Gift Through Amazon (you can gift to an iDevice through Amazon and a free Kindle for iPad app will make it work)

It doesn’t get hotter, cheaper or easier than this: What to Eat and How to Ask for It in Puerto Rico!!!

Solve your last-minute gift angst by gifting someone with my book! Foodies and travelers will love to have this dictionary loaded onto their Kindle or iPad. Punch in a menu item as you are wondering what those ladies at the beach shack are frying up, get an explanation of what it is, and start ordering authentic Puerto Rican food, fearlessly!

Click here to order through iTunes (you may need to gift through Amazon. iTunes can be clunky for gifting – see above)

¡¡¡¡Feliz Navidad Everyone!!!

Tags: Caribbean eating, cheap gift ideas, comida criolla, cooking, culinary reference; Puerto Rico, eating in Puerto Rico, food, food history, How do you say this in Puerto Rican?, travel in Puerto Rico

Comments 7 Comments
Categories Comida Criolla, Food, Puerto Rican, Spanish

Pan-Roasted Tomatoes (a great spread for toast!)

23 Dec

The problem with warehouse shopping places like Costco is that when you are just one and a half people (little man being that half because he only eats half the variety that I do so far) the food comes in packages that are far more than you can consume before it goes off. We just can’t eat that many avocados or tomatoes or asparagus before they start looking nasty, no matter how good the price.

Nice char!

But, I was tempted into sins of excess by a quart of bright orange tomatoes in a plastic shell that reminded me irresistably of Sungolds. Why I was buying tomatoes out of season and out of state is a question you can reasonably ask. I hang my head in locavore-gone-wrong shame and go on with my story. I bought them. I did.

Sauteed leeks

They were delicious, ridiculously sweet and kept me on the salad path for days. That is a path I need to be on. But a week, two weeks later, predictably, the cup that was left had passed its prime and I had a locavore-gone-wrong guilt hangover.

Prosecco mimosas – pink grapefruit and orange juice

Solution? Pan-roasting. Our friend, Ashley had stayed over and it was a Saturday, which of course calls for bacon and eggs and Prosecco Mimosas (my new fave is pink grapefruit – 2 parts juice to 1 part prosecco…or 1 parts prosecco to two parts juice…or a glass of prosecco with a splash of juice….)! We added to that a leek saute (that Ashley will have to give me the recipe for; once she started fighting with the leek cleaning process, I backed away and didn’t look again until it was on my plate) and the following recipe that used up the tomatoes in a delicious and satisfying way! So, tomatoes used up, guilt assuaged, breakfast… delish!

On toast with basil (what’s left in the little pot by the kitchen window)

Pan-Roasted Tomato Spread

1 tsp olive oil (optional, especially if you have a nonstick pan)

1 Cup grape tomatoes

1 pinch sugar

1 pinch salt

1 tsp fresh basil (optional)

Place all ingredients (except optional basil) in a small skillet. Heat at medium, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to split and char. Remove from heat and spread on toast. Top with basil.

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