Moro with Gandules, Beet Salad, Fried Yucca & Salad with Chipotle Dressing

I go through periods of really missing NY.  Or at least lots of things about it.  I loved that there was amazing ingredients on every corner to make the Dominican food that makes my hubby so happy.  There are a couple places here that sell a few of these ingredients thankfully, so I can make food that makes him happy (and myself-I have grown to love Dominican food!).  There were a couple items I was able to bring back with me from NY, because I wasn't sure if the ingredients would be here.  One of those was about 15 lb. of yucca (which is loooong gone!) and a couple packages of frozen gandules (pigeon peas).  You can get the dried gandules here, but they are not the same as the fresh-frozen ones.  I opened up our last package for this meal, which makes me sad, but made our bellies oh so happy!  I'll just have to figure out a place where I can get them, either online, or through explorations of other cities than Traverse City.  We've not really had the opportunity to venture outside of this area yet.  I've heard there are several vegan/vegetarian restaurants throughout the state, which I am super excited about exploring!  And hopefully not too far into the future, we will be adding another one!   

Giant plate of food for the Hubbs

Moro de Gandules



Beet Salad

Chipotle Dressing:

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 chipotle in adobo sauce, minced or pureed

pinch black pepper

sea salt to taste

(Mix everything together in a bowl until well combined.  Season to taste.)

Fried Yucca:

2 large yucca, waxy outer peels removed, sliced in half lengthwise and cut into large rings

canola oil to fry

sea salt

granulated garlic

1.  If you are going to prepare everything in the meal, now would be a good time to get started on the rice.  You can also get the beets cooking, because they take the longest amount of time.

2.  The yucca must be cooked by boiling before it can be fried - that's just the nature of the beast.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Carefully place the yucca inside and cook just until is cooked through.  You do not want to overcook it, or it will become water logged and mushy.  Drain the yucca and allow it to cool for at least half an hour, or until it is dry to the touch and cool enough to handle. 

3.  Trim the yucca.  Yucca has a thick stem in the very center - you want to be sure to remove that because it is very unpleasant to bite into, and poses a choking hazard.  Cut the yucca into more manageable pieces.  Sprinkle the yucca all over with the granulated garlic.

4.  Place a thin layer of canola oil into a large saute pan and place over medium-high heat.  Allow the oil to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, carefully add the yucca and allow to cook for a couple minutes per side, or until nicely crispy.  Remove the yucca from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate.  Immediately sprinkle with sea salt.  Be sure to serve warm.

5.  To serve, place a serving of each of the items on your plate. 

Enjoy!

-Koko

Mustard Sage Seitan, Tostones, Marinated Beet & Simple Salads

At this point in the season, most everything is out of our garden.  The only things remaining are some kale, beets and onions.  Hubby and I took it upon ourselves to finish harvesting everything from the garden and start preparing it for storage.  We dug up the onions and allowed them to "dry" for a couple days in our garage.  The beets were dug up as well, trimmed and allowed to sit for a couple days.  The kale has been sorted and placed in a big bag in the fridge, until I have some time to clean it, dry it and freeze it.  My mom also has a couple trees that produced nuts this year - very exciting!  So we picked heart nuts for a couple hours in the cold; searched for hazelnuts on the branches and the ground - and found 8!  This is the first year that tree has produced and we are definitely going to enjoy those nuts! 

We were also afforded the amazing opportunity to go to our neighbors and pick apples from her trees for free.  Such a generous woman!  She and her husband are in their late 70's, in the beginning stages of failing health and are unable to pick the apples themselves - and really wouldn't use them anyway.  We picked a ton of them!  We plan to make lots of pies and crisps and freeze the rest of them.  Exciting!   After picking all of those amazing things from off and around our property, I was really craving eating those beautiful beets.  And they were crazy delicious!  Seriously  - they taste nothing at all like they taste in the store - even as fresh as I have been able to purchase them.  So sweet, earthy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!  Yum!  We were also able to make it to the local Spanish food store and bought a couple plantains to fry up.  Delicious dinner!

Comfort food and healthy salads all in one!  Yum!

Mustard Sage Seitan:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons filtered water

1 tablespoon tamari

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed in fingers

2 tablespoons white wine

1/2 teaspoon agave

4 large pieces seitan, homemade or store-bought

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

2.  Place all of the marinade ingredients into a medium mixing bowl: the mustard, olive oil, water, tamari, black pepper, garlic, sage, rosemary, white wine and agave.  Whisk together very well until combined.  The taste will be strong before baking, but it will tame down after baking.  

3.  Slice the seitan into large slices and place in the bowl with the marinade.  Gently toss the seitan in the dressing and carefully place into an 8x8" baking pan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until most of the marinade has been absorbed into the seitan.  

4.  Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!

Koko



Yucca, Brazilian Braised Kale, Chickpea Artichoke Salad

While deciding what to make for dinner, I decided to make a couple recipes out of the billions of cookbooks I have.  I found the chickpea artichoke salad from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook, which I love.    The other recipe I got out of one of my many cookbooks was the braised kale, which came out of Viva Vegan.  I have made several of the recipes out of that cookbook, some successful and some not.  It's a beautiful collection of recipes, but I also have my Dominican Hubby here to give me ideas first-hand into traditional Spanish food.  The good thing about getting recipes/ideas from him is that his recipes are all meat-based.  (Hubbs is not vegan or vegetarian at all.)  This does force me to be a little more creative, yes, however, it makes me understand the food a little more and the flavors I am trying to mimic and create.  I am always asking him about new ideas he has for food his mom used to make for him back home, and he has been giving me great feedback lately.  So I have a lot more ideas for tasty Spanish food coming up.  Until then, I have Viva Vegan and a lot more time to experiment and test!  

Yucca, Brazilian Braised Kale, Chickpea Artichoke Salad:

 



So much delicious food!



2 medium yucca, waxy outer layer peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and cit into 2-3" lengths

Simple Salad:

romaine lettuce

scallions, chopped

carrots, peeled and julienned

croutons

lime vinaigrette or preferred dressing

Brazilian Braised Kale:

1/2 bunch large kale, chiffonnaded  (leaves rolled into cigar shape and thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons refined coconut oil (you can use whatever kind of oil you want)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, small diced, about 3/4 cup

1/4 cup filtered water

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

3/4 teaspoon vegetable boullion powder

pinch black pepper

Chickpea Artichoke Salad:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups cooked chickpeas

4 cloves garlic, minced

7 artichoke hearts, squeezed of excess moisture and cut in half

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or additional, as desired

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1.  Prepare the yucca first.  Place yucca in a medium pot over medium-high heat and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until yucca can be easily pierced with a fork.  Drain and return to pot, cover with lid and keep warm.

2.  While the yucca is cooking, prepare the Chickpea Artichoke Salad: in a large pan add the olive oil over medium heat and allow to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the chickpeas and cook for about 10 minutes, or until very browned and crispy, stirring periodically.  Add 1 teaspoon more of the oil and add the minced garlic.  Cook for a couple minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining ingredients:  the artichokes, toasted almonds, lemon juice, sea salt and parsley.  Stir to coat the chickpeas and season to taste. 

3.  Prepare the braised kale.  In a medium pot over medium-high heat, add the coconut oil and allow it to melt.  Once it melts, add the chopped onions and cook for several minutes, or until fragrant and lightly golden in color.  Add the minced garlic and cook for several minutes, or until fragrant.  Working in batches, add the chiffonaded kale to the pot, stirring constantly until it wilts and you can add more to the pot.  Continue until all of the kale fits in the pot and it has all wilted.

4.  Add the water to the kale and stir to coat.  Add the seasonings: the liquid smoke, boullion and black pepper, stirring to coat.  Season to taste. 

5.  Prepare the simple salad as desired.

6.  To serve, place a serving of each of the items on the plate: the cooked yucca, braised kale, chickpea artichoke salad and the simple salad.  Eat!  Yum!  (Keep in mind that once the kale is refrigerated, it will harden because of the coconut oil.  So, don't try to eat it cold out of the refrigerator like I sometimes do  - make sure to heat the kale thoroughly before eating, so that the coconut oil melts sufficiently.)

Enjoy!

-Koko

Rice, Bean & Veggie Saute, Chopped Salad with "Feta", Tostones & Guacamole

Looking at these pictures, I cannot tell you how much this dinner hit the spot.  It was so delicious and had all of the flavor and textural elements: crispy, creamy, crunchy, tangy, spicy, salty.  Yum.  It seems like such a hodge podge of items, which usually means that the hubby has made several strange requests, but this time he hit it right on the head.  We had several avocados and since I hadn't made  guacamole in quite a while, he suggested that, along with the tostones to dip in it of course.  Then we naturally needed a salad, which was my contribution.  And of course the main course of the rice and beans.  That was damn tasty!  Once I make something, write down the recipe and type it up, I don't usually revisit the recipes, because I am always thinking of more and more things to make, but I may just revisit this recipe.  Yum. 

 

For the salad, I was looking to replicate a kind of Greek-ish salad with the feta.  I used to love feta so much.  I would put it in salads, on pizzas, even eat small slices as is for the salty tanginess.  I made this feta with super pressed tofu.  It was easily pressing for a couple of hours.  I have made several different kinds of mock feta, most unfortunately being pretty hideous.  This was pretty good, almost there, especially texture-wise.  I am not going to post the recipe because it still needs a little tweaking, but I marinated it in olive oil, a couple vinegars, a few dried herbs, quite a bit of sea salt

Chopped Salad with Vegan Feta, Tostones,
Guacamole, Rice & Bean Saute

Tostones, Prepared

 

 

Yellow Rice & Bean Saute:

2 tablespoons garlic olive oil (minced garlic sauteed in olive oil)

2 small carrots, small diced, about 1/2 cup

1/2 orange pepper, small diced, about 1/2 cup

1/2 small green pepper, small diced, about 1/4 cup

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced, about 1/2 cup

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 cup snow peas, tough ends removed

2 cups cooked yellow rice (white rice cooked with 2 tablespoons annatto oil)

1 cup cooked pinto beans

2 teaspoons vegetable boullion powder

1 1/2 teaspoons tamari

1/4 teaspoon black pepper 

 

 

Chopped Vegetable Salad:

1/2 cup medium diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup medium diced orange bell pepper

1/4 cup medium diced red onion

1/2 cup mock feta, small diced

1/4 cup medium diced Roma tomato

1 1/2 tablespoons prepared Italian Dressing

Pinch black pepper

 

 

Guacamole:

1 extra large avocado, seeded and mashed

2 tablespoon minced red onion

2 tablespoons minced tomato

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 pinches cayenne pepper

 

 

1.  Prepare the chopped veggie salad first - the flavors are much better after marinating for a while.  Place all the chopped veggies and the feta in a medium mixing bowl.  Stir well.  Add the Italian Dressing and black pepper and toss to coat.  Cover and place in the refrigerator while preparing the rest of the meal.

2.  Begin the Rice, Bean and Veggie Saute.  Place a large wok on the stove over medium-high heat and add the garlic olive oil.  Allow it to become hot and add the carrots, orange, green and jalapeno peppers, onion and snow peas.  Saute for several minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are crisp-tender.  Add the cooked rice and beans and stir to coat with the veggies.  Add the boullion powder, black pepper and tamari and toss to coat with all ingredients.  Season to taste.  Turn off the heat and cover.

3.  Prepare the guacamole:  in a medium bowl, add the mashed avocado and the remaining ingredients.  Stir well until ingredients are well mixed.  Season to taste. 

4.  To serve, portion amount of each the sauteed rice, beans and veggies, chopped salad, tostones and guacamole. 

 

 

Enjoy!

Koko

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

 This is one of the rare instances where the Hubby actually not only participated in the meal, but actually cooked quite a bit.  Well, admittedly, the moro was from dinner the night before, and I made the sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies, but he made the whole spaghetti dish, all the way from dry pasta to the finished cooked dish.  Not sure why, but the Hubby has been in a fiendish carb mood lately, so I just went along with it, even though when I saw the plate he prepared for me (see below!), I had a mini freak out, but not wanting to say anything, I went with it and it all was delicious.  So, Hubby said he was in the mood for pasta, but not American pasta (meaning where pasta is served with the sauce on top, rather than mixed in), rather Dominican-style pasta (where the sauce is mixed in with the noodles). 

So, he cooked the pasta, set it aside and started on the sauce.  I told him that he should tell me what he was putting in it as he was making it, and he started off doing it, but then I looked in his pot and saw things he didn't tell me he put in there, so I'm not totally sure all of what he put in it.  I know he sauteed some onions and garlic in a couple tablespoons earth balance, then added some tomato taste, boullion cubes, black pepper, unsweetened soymilk (he wanted to use dairy milk, ugh!), and topped it off with some fresh basil, but I'm not sure on the proportions or what else he put in there.  I do know, however, that it was delicious and a nice change of pace to have the sauce mixed right in with the pasta.  Good job Hubby!  Now if he would only do it more often!

Hubby's Spaghetti, Moro, Sweet Potatoes & Sauteed Veggies

Hubby's Spaghetti, Sweet Potatoes, Moro, Sauteed Veggies

Serves 3


Sauteed Veggies:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced, about 2 cups
1 small onion sliced, about 1 cup
1/2 green pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
1/2 orange pepper, julienned, about 1/2 cup
2 medium carrots,sliced on the diagonal, about 1 1/2 cups
3 scallions, diced
1 celery stalk, sliced on the diagonal
1 c. leftover cooked sesame kale
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Sweet Potatoes:
1 large sweet potato
1 1/2 tablespoons Earth Balance
Pinch Sea Salt
1 tablespoon turbiando sugar

1.  You can prepare some other kind of pasta or rice dish instead of what the Hubby made.  Have that ready.
2.  Start by peeling and medium dicing the sweet potato.  Place in a small pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until potato can be easily pierced with a fork. 
3.  While the potato is cooking, prepare the sauteed veggies.  Place a large wok on the stove over high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, peppers and carrots.  Saute, stirring frequently, until carrot is slightly softened.  Add remaining veggies: zucchini, scallions and celery.  Continue sauteing until tender crisp.  Stir in the leftover cooked kale.  If you do not have any leftover cooked kale, simply add the raw chopped kale when you add the celery, scallions and zucchini and cook until softened.  Season veggies with sea salt and black pepper.  Turn off heat and transfer to a serving dish.
4.  Finish the sweet potatoes.  Drain the potatoes and add the earth balance to the hot pot, allowing it to melt.  Add the sweet potatoes back to the pot, as well as the turbinado sugar and sea salt.  Season to taste.
5.  To serve, place spaghetti and/or moro on plate, followed by sweet potatoes and sauteed veggies.

Enjoy!

-Koko

Happy New Year! Lentil Stew over Yellow Rice

Happy New Year!

Hope all is going well for everyone and you greet the year with great happiness and health!  I think this is the first year I have not actually written down any resolutions.  I have written them down since I was in my teens.  I know all of my resolutions and feel like I may actually have a greater chance of accomplishing them if I don't write them down and keep looking at them obsessively.  Cooking-wise, I definitely want to use my cookbooks a lot more, cook more healthfully and get in a lot more testing for Hubbs and my future cafe!  I'm just finishing taking some antibiotics (I always try not to take them and am so bummed when I end up having to!), which wreaked havoc on my digestive system at the end of last year and am just feeling better.  So I wanted to make something rather simple to digest, that didn't contain lots of spices or oil. 

So, thinking about the fact that I really need to start using my cookbooks, I went through several of them and found this base recipe from the Candle Cafe's cookbook, which I have had since way back when I was living in Michigan.  I was going through one of my plentiful phases of deciding to prepare every recipe (or at least the realistically decent sounding ones) in every cookbook I possess.  There are tons believe me!  One day I will inventory and count them, I swear!  Until then, I will just go to my shelf of cookbooks, select a book and find a recipe that I have most of the ingredients to prepare.  And today it just happened to be the Candle Cafe's cookbook.  I have made about half of the recipes in that cookbook by the way, with varying degrees of success and happiness.  Some recipes work and are very tasty and some look disgusting and unrealistic just by reading the ingredients - and then turn out disgustingly of course!  But for the most part, most of the cooked (not the baked) recipes are pretty good. 

This recipe was nice and simple, nice and tasty and really hit the spot for something hearty and filling.  And of course I modified it to suit my tastes.  You could easily make is as spicy as you want, which is what I would do on pretty much any day, but today my stomach didn't feel like making it spicy.  Funny story about looking at the picture I took for this recipe too.  Back when I was working at Vegan Divas as the Executive Pastry Chef, I would normally bring my food from home because where the kitchen was located (Long Island City, Queens) is extremely lacking in food, especially of the vegan variety.  Pretty much the only option is Subway.  I worked at a Subway for years when I was back in Michigan by the way and I will still eat there, if that is consolation, although I only have ever gotten the veggie sub, so ....  I have also worked at an Applebee's, also in Michigan and would not send anyone in my family there, so I'm sure you get it! 

Anyway, back to the kitchen in LIC.  One day I forgot/was too busy to pack my lunch, so Chico, one of he owners of the location we rented told me he would order some Spanish food for me - just yellow rice and cooked lentils - absolutely no meat.  Ok, just this once I was thinking.  It ended up setting me back about $10, and  I was eating some of the rice on its own, then opened the top off of the lentils.  My first spoonful came with a piece of a metal cleaning scrubby *gratis*.  Yuck!  Chico was horrified, saying that he had ordered from them for months and nothing of the sort had happened.  Just my luck I guess.  Just goes to show that I should always bring my lunch!  Anyway, try this - it is amazing, and no metal scrubbies!

Lentil Stew over Yellow Rice:



Hearty Lentil Stew over Yellow Rice



Serves 4-6

Yellow Rice:

2 cups white rice, rinsed

2 tablespoons annatto oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 cups water

Lentil Stew:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup medium diced onion

1/4 cup medium diced celery

1/4 cup medium diced carrot
1 cup green lentils, rinsed and picked through

1 cup medium diced peeled potato

1 1/2 cups medium diced butternut squash

1 cup medium diced tomato

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon vegetable boullion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups filtered water

1.  Start preparing the lentil stew first.  In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and allow to become hot.  Add the onions, carrots and celery.  Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. 

2.  To the pot, add the lentils, potatoes, butternut squash and diced tomato.  Cook, stirring periodically for about five minutes, or as long as it takes you to gather the spices. 

3.  Add the sea salt, thyme, boullion and black pepper.  Stir to coat.  Add the tomato paste and also stir to coat. 

4.  Add the filtered water and lower heat to medium-low.  Cook uncovered, stirring periodically until lentils and vegetables have softened, but not become mushy. 

5.  While the stew is cooking, prepare the rice.  In a medium pot over medium heat, add the annatto oil and allow to become hot.  Once it is hot, add the rinsed rice and toast, stirring frequently until the rice is no longer wet.  Add the sea salt and water.  Cover the pot with a lid, lower the heat to low and allow to cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

6.  Season the stew to taste and serve a potion of the stew over top of the cooked yellow rice. 

Enjoy!

-Koko

Vegan Tacos

I Love Mexican Food!  Well, perhaps Americanized Mexican food is more like it.  I think it is one of my favorite cuisines - something that I never get tired of eating.  Enchiladas, corn tortillas, empanadas, tamales, tacos, burritos, the list goes on and on.  And it is one of the easiest cuisines to make vegan in my opinion (minus the huge amount of seafood!).  Tacos are one of my favorite things to make and eat.  It comes together very quickly, is very low maintenance.  Since I have made this for the Hubby, this is his go-to meal request.  And most of the time, I don't really mind, especially if I already have the "meat" aka seasoned tvp made.  I prefer making soft tacos just because they are so much easier to make and eat, and are not crunching and breaking all over your lap like hard tacos.  Hubby and I were at Whole Foods a couple weeks ago and actually saw a container of hard taco shells and made a mad grab for them.  So, we made those (it's the first time I have had those in the longest time - since I was back in MI, living with my family) and they were delicious, and spilled the fixings all over my lap of course.  But it was great.    

I love anything spicy, so I try to add a hint of spiciness to the marinated tvp, but where I really like to add it is with the siracha on top.  I do a layer of sour cream, then the siracha because the creaminess helps to tone down the spiciness.  Sometimes Hubby can deal with the spiciness, and sometimes not.  In DR, they really do not eat spicy food at all.  I know that when I first cooked spicy food for him he had a hard time eating it without sweating bullets, even though it really wasn't that spicy.  I also remember that when both of his cousins moved to ny from dr and stayed at our place for several days, I cooked for them and added my customary dash of chipotle pepper powder, both of them took forever to eat, pasusing to drink glass upon glass of water.  Cracks me up becaue it really wasn't even that spicy.  That is the one thing, by the way, that I missed the most about food when I was in DR - spiciness.  The food had lots of flavor, just no heat.  So glad I have my container of chipotle pepper powder and my bottle of sriacha!

All The Fixings!



Mama's Taco Ready to be Eaten!

Ingredients:

Seasoned TVP/other beef-style replacer
Soft or hard shelled tacos
Shredded Daiya
Green Peppers, small diced
Red Peppers, small diced
Red Onions, small diced
Tomatoes, small diced
Lettuce, shredded
Olives, chopped
Vegan Sour Cream
Salsa or hot sauce (I love sriracha)

1.  This is really a easy recipe.  Just prep all the veggies and make a simple seasoned tvp or you can even pick up a package of frozen/refrigerated pre-made mock meat crumbles.  Warm your soft shelled tacos in a dry pan on both sides for about 30 seconds, until heated through.  Or for hard shelled tacos, pop them in the oven for several minutes until heated through and nice and crispy. 
2.  My favorite way to assemble them is the same every time: hot seasoned mock meat, followed by daiya, so it is nice and melty.  Then, all the chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and finally salsa or hot sauce.  Eat and be happy.  Seriously the easiest and most delicious thing ever!

Enjoy!

-K

Yellow Rice, Beans, Seitan, Steamed Broccoli

I was really excited to make this meal, and really in the mood to cook.  It may not actually look like a lot, but it seriously took hours.  Hours!  Not kidding!  I woke up early yesterday while the Hubby was starting his baseball game, which he does every Sunday, and felt like cooking.  I have learned that when this happens, I need to follow my feeling, because it doesn't happen all that often anymore, especially now that I am cooking professionally for a family almost every day of the week.  Anyway, I went through the Viva Vegan cookbook, and I know I have said before that the cookbook looks awesome, but the recipes really should be saved for the weekend, or for a time when time is not the issue.  So I made use of that yesterday. The meal consisted of a lot of different elements, everything of which was homemade.  I made a batch of red steamed seitan from the book, which was not all that tasty (ok, if I am really being honest, it was pretty terrible!), and I ended up throwing the rest away that was not used for this meal because the flavor was too strong and the texture too strange.  I even made the anatto oil used to color the rice. 

I am not going to type up any of the recipes I used, because 1) they are in the cookbook, and 2) I didn't really like anything, so it wouldn't be very nice of me to type up something not tasty and potentially have someone try it and also not like it.  The broccoli and rice were tasty.  The flavorings in the seitan dish, aka the sauce, was tasty as well - think lots of onions, garlic, unchicken broth and wine, yum! - but the seitan itself just had such an overpowering taste.  The beans were just terrible.  It was a great idea, but I have a bean recipe I love and I really think I should just stick to that for the time being.  The idea behind a Dominican Style Sazon (Seasoning/Flavor), is to use all of the elements of Dominican bean cooking, which sounds great, and uses ingredients that I generally put in my beans anyway, but the way in which that went about is where things went awry.  The recipe called for blending onions, garlic, peppers, parsley and some other flavors in the blender - raw! - and then placing this mixture into a pot coated with oil and "frying" it for like 20 minutes.  I did it exactly like the recipe stated, then added the cooked beans, the liquid, etc. and simmered it for quite a while.  The texture was just really unpleasant, because realistically, how finely can you puree parsley leaves?  It had an overall grassy taste and texture.  SO, I think from now on, I will continue to prepare my beans that I know both Hubbs and I love.  But I will say though, the presentation of this dish was pretty amazing, and Hubbs gasped when he saw it, saying it looked exactly like how his mom used to make.  I now know how to make the rice, and with a different kind of seitan the seitan dish would work, so it was a good starting point.  And this is so far the only thing I have not liked from this cookbook.  So, perhaps when I have more time off, I will look to this book and attempt more of the recipes.

Steamed Broccoli, Yellow Spanish Rice with Garlic, Latin
Shredded Seitan, Red Beans with Dominican Style Sazon

Enjoy!

-K

Gluten Free Wednesday: Black Bean Tamales, Yucca, Roasted Corn Salad

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

When I was making this meal, Hubby was off with his cousin at the Barber's, getting his face shaved, his hair trimmed, and his "line" made.  The whole idea of going to a barber is still pretty strange and old fashioned to me, even though we have been together for over 2 years now and he does this every couple weeks.  His hair is very different than mine, so he needs to have it maintained in his own way.  Although lately he has been complaining about the cost and suggesting I cut his hair, make his "line", etc.  The idea really freaks me out (hello, do I want to ruin his beautiful hair!?)  I of course shouldn't have told him that when I was growing up, my Mum cut all four of my brothers' hair, plus my Dad's and also trimmed his beard.  Just because my Mum is talented that way, doesn't mean I am, right?

Let's get back to food shall we?  SO, Hubby was at the Barber and since he wasn't at home, I wasn't really motivated to make anything great, so I had some leftover tamales in the freezer that I steamed, yucca that I boiled, and a simple roasted corn salad that I made.  The whole thing must have taken about half an hour.  It was a tasty, though very carby dinner.  I put sour cream and lots of sriracha on my tamales and was very happy.  Yum!

Black Bean Tamales, Yucca, Roasted Corn Salad:




Boiled Yucca, Roasted Corn Salad, Black Bean Tamales
with Sour Cream (I had Sriracha on the side of course!)


Black Bean Tamales, prepared, steamed until hot

2 large yucca
1 pot of salted water

Roasted Corn Salad:
2 cups frozen corn
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoons minced jalapenos
1/4 cup small diced green pepper
1/4 cup small diced orange/red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced red onion
3 thin scallions, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1.  To prepare the yucca, remove the tough ends.  With a pairing knife, remove the waxy outer skin.  The underlying flesh should be bright white.  Be sure to remove all of the pink flesh that is slightly underlying the dark outer layer. 
2.  Cut the yucca into 4-5 circles, depending upon the size.    Quarter each of the slices of yucca and place in a medium sized sauce pot over high heat.  Generously salt the water.  Boil until the yucca can be easily be pierced with a fork.  Drain, but keep warm.  (Remember, or be aware, if you have never eaten yucca before, that there is a large stem in the center that needs to be removed- it is not edible. 
3.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  On a baking sheet, place the 2 cups of frozen corn and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with black pepper and toss well to coat. 
4.  Place in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden and the corn is cooked.  Set the corn aside to cool slightly. 
5.  In a medium bowl, place the chopped veggies - the jalapenos, green and orange bell peppers, red onions, scallions and minced garlic.  Stir together.  Add the lime juice, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.  Stir again to combine. 
6.  By now the corn should have cooled enough to be tossed with the remaining ingredients.  Toss with all ingredients to coat.  Season to taste, adjusting the salt or lime juice as desired. 
7.  To serve, remove the tamales from the corn husks and top with sour cream and hot sauce (that's my choice, but you can top with whatever you want), serve the yucca on the side and a portion of the corn salad.  Simple and tasty!

Enjoy!

-K

Gluten Free Wednesday: Vegan Enchiladas

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

(Now that I am officially no longer working at Lifethyme, Gluten Free Wednesday's are going to be like any other day blogging - me blabbing about whatnot, and this time taking my gluten free explorations home.  Just can't tell Hubby, because then he'll be suspicious!  Even though I make gf food for him all the time - I have just learned that there are some things I need to censor for him.)

I love Spanish food.  I'm beginning to think it is my favorite cuisine.  For the longest time I was convinced that it was Italian, but after meeting and marrying my hubby, I am obsessed with Spanish food.  (Even though he is Dominican, I feel like he has opened up my eyes to so many different countries' specialties and cuisines.)  I feel like I have never really had a lot of experience cooking or even eating true Spanish food, but now I cook it every chance I get.  I am getting a lot better at it now.  Especially beans.

Growing up, my mom never cooked with beans.  The only thing she ever made with beans was chili, and even then it was using canned beans.  (I did just remember that she used to make this like 12 bean soup with some kind of ham/bacon, where she had to cook the beans, but I think that's about it.)  Don't get me wrong, my mom is seriously the best cook ever.  She cooks everything from scratch, and I mean everything, even noodles.  We raised chickens for many years, collected their eggs and consumed their meat.  My mum gardens, cans and freezes everything - she is seriously a goddess.  Anyway, moving on!

We never cooked beans at my house and the first time I cooked them for the hubby, they were admittedly very strange and Americanized.  He ate them, but later admitted that they were pretty terrible.  I asked him several times to tell me how to make Dominican style beans, but he is not great at teaching/explaining cooking.  He is always telling me that out of everyone in his family, he is the worst cook.  (I don't think that's true!)  Finally, many many months ago one of his cousins moved from the Dominican Republic to New York, not speaking a word of English and stayed with us for a couple weeks while he organized everything.  Hubby set up a session with his cousin and I to make beans.  His cousin was able to explain to me, with few Spanish words spoken (I do not really speak it - only the basics), lots of gesturing and exaggeration, how to prepare beans.  And they were so delicious.  I owe him for teaching my my bean cooking skills.  Now I can cook them with the best of 'em.

Creamy Bean Filled Center, Smooth Sauce & Melty Cheese



Yields 6 Enchiladas

6 Gluten Free Tortillas, homemade or store bought
Daiya or other vegan cheese, shredded
Sliced Black Olives
Diced Red Onions

Enchilada Sauce:
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons brown rice flour or sorghum flour
1 cup tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes
1 cup filtered water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Refried Beans:
2 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
1 cup filtered water
1 small onion, small diced, about 1 cup
1 jalapeno, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 mini vegetable boullion cubes
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder, or to taste

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
2.  Prepare the enchilada sauce first.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the oil and allow it to become hot.  Once it is hot, add the flour and whisk to create a roux.  Whisk periodically until flour is golden in color and smells toasty.  Once it is at this point, add the tomato sauce and water, stirring immediately.  Add all the spices and whisk to combine. Continue to cook, whisking periodically until the sauce is thick and well flavored.  Season to taste.  Set the pot aside to cool. 
3.  Now prepare the refried beans.  You can either use beans that you have cooked yourself or beans from a can.  I definitely prefer cooking the beans myself and I am sure the hubby would not appreciate having cooked canned beans in the house. 
4.  In a separate medium pot, add the oil and allow to heat.  Once hot, add the chopped onion, jalapeno and garlic.  Saute for several minutes until the mixture is fragrant and golden.  Add the beans and mash with a potato masher, adding the water as you do so.  The beans should be mostly mashed.  Crush the boullion cubes with your fingers and add to the bean mixture.  Add the remaining spices and stir well.  Season to taste - these should be slightly spicy, nicely salted and seasoned. 
5.  Set aside to cool a little as you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 
6.  Assemble your enchiladas.  On a cutting board, place your tortilla (it is a good idea to heat up your tortillas for a couple seconds over an open flame to allow them to become more flexible), scoop about 1/3-1/2 cup of the refried beans in the center, followed by about 2 tablespoons of the enchilada sauce and a few tablespoons of daiya.  Roll up into a cigar shape.  These do not have to look pretty.  Place the rolled enchilada into a lightly oiled baking pan.  Continue with the remaining ingredients.
7.  Once all the enchiladas have been rolled and placed in the baking pan, spoon a generous amount of the enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas, followed by the daiya, diced red onions, and olives. 
8.  Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the enchiladas are heated all the way through. 

Enjoy!

-K

Seitan Empanadas, Sauteed Kale, Pan Fried Yucca, Simple Salad

Today was my day for Spring Cleaning!  Time to go throughout the house and organize and clean everything, getting rid of things we haven't been using and use up the things that are getting a bit old.  I went through both the refrigerator and freezer.  The fridge was fine - just a little unorganized and messy, but nothing in particular that had  been in there for a while.  The freezer was an entirely different story.  I feel like I use it a lot when I have great intentions of saving something to use it later, but then it gets pushed to the back and forgotten about.  So, I went through it and discovered several things:
1.  I still have tons of homemade freezer jam - at least 5 pint containers (yikes, what am I going to do with all of those!?)
2.  I still have two small bags of homemade Monster cookies my Mum made for the Hubby and I the last time I visited her (which was definitely last year some time!).  Mum made them using white sugar, which the Hubby and I never eat, so we found them way too sweet (sorry Mum!) and couldn't eat them, but didn't want to throw them away because of all the love and effort she put into them.  But, after finding them a year later, I thought it was time to let them go.
3.  There was a bag of ground almonds I had left over from a Friday Night Dinner at the Natural Gourmet Institute a long time ago that I didn't want to get rid of, and after using it on everything I could possibly think of, I tasted it and it was quite freezer burned!  Sad!
4.  Lastly!  There was a package of Goya Discos para Empanadas (Goya pastry circles, specifically used for Empanadas and other appetizers) that was hanging out in there for about three months.  That could be used up though, so I took it out of the freezer, let it thaw on the counter until completely thawed, and made the filling for empanadas, using up come ground seitan I had left over from when I made tacos.  These took a while to make, but were so worth it, and now that I know how easy those discos are to work with, I'll definitely buy them again, but this time, use them much sooner!

Seitan Empanadas:



Seitan Empanadas, Garlic Sauteed Kale, Pan-Fried
Yuccs, Salad with Carrots, Scallions & Croutons


 Yields 10 Empanads, plus 1 cup additional filling

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup small diced onion
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 orange bell pepper, small diced, about 1/2 cup
1/2 green bell pepper, small diced, about 1/2 cup
1 small jalapeno, minced, about 2 tablespoons
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups small diced seitan
4 tablespoons chopped pimento stuffed olives (about 12-14 olives)
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon boullion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3-4 tablespoons vegetarian oyster mushroom sauce
1 tablespoon vegan parm

10 pre-made empanada shells
1/2 " no-taste oil, such as canola or vegetable

1.  Place a large wok over medium-high heat and add the oil. Allow the oil to become hot and add the onions, scallion, green and orange bell peppers, jalapeno and garlic cloves.  Saute for several minutes until softened.  Add the seitan and cook for several additional minutes.
2.  To the veggie-seitan mixture, add the olives and all the spices, stirring to coat.  Add the oyster mushroom sauce and the vegan parm and stir well to coat.  Continue cooking the mixture the flavors have melded and some of the liquid has cooked off.
3.  Turn the heat on under the pot with the oil to medium high.  Allow it to become hot. 
4.  In the meantime, place one of the pre-made empanada shells on your cutting board. Lightly roll them out with a rolling pin, just to enlarge them slightly.  Place a couple tablespoons of the filling in the center and bring the top portion of the dough to the bottom, pressing the edges together until the empanada is securely sealed.  Repeat with remaining filling and shells. 
5.  Once the oil is hot, carefully place 2 empanadas at a time into the oil, cooking for about 30-60 seconds per side.  All you want is for the outside to become nice and golden.  If the outside is browning too quickly, turn down the heat. 
6.  Remove the empanadas from the oil with either a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the oil and serve.  You don't need a dipping sauce because the center is so flavorful.

Enjoy!

-K

Dominican Okra Stew

I really like okra.  I think it's one of those love it or hate it things though.  And I can tell you that I used to hate it.  There have been several of those kinds of foods in my past that I would definitely consider in the love it or hate it category, and that includes mushrooms, beets and cilantro.  At one point, up until relatively recently actually, I hated all of those things and now really appreciate them.  Especially okra.  The first time I ever had it was when I first came to nyc.  My group in culinary school was preparing for our final Friday Night Dinner, in which we had to create a (at the time) four course vegan meal to serve 100 people.  It was quite an undertaking, let me tell you. 

And I unfortunately don't remember the whole meal, just bits and pieces.  It was a kind of American meal - elements from each course representing different areas of the country.  The entree was a Southern style meal, including a BBQ Tempeh, Cornbread (my recipe of course!), some kind of chiffonnaded green and a pickled okra spear.  That was my first experience with okra.  There was a girl in the group who was part Russian and loved all kinds of pickled things, especially okra and wanted to include that into our meal.  Everyone was against it except her, but she was very firm about her desire to make it, even coming in by herself to pickle the okra several weeks before the dinner was to happen.

I remember her cracking open the jar and pulling out a spear, and the resulting slime that came slithering off almost made me vomit right there.  Then she took a bite, and a giant chunk of slime was hanging between her lips and the okra spear.  It was horrifying!  I absolutely did not want anything to do with it, and true to my expectations, it was quite a gooey bite. 

Fast forward to over a year later and my Hubby bringing a bag of okra home one day.  My look of horror upon seeing the bag of little green spears really amused him and he insisted that he would prepare a delicious dish with them.  I was extremely suspicious and really did not intend to even eat a single one, but the expectant look on his face made me stop and try it.  He simply steamed them, drizzled them with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt.  It didn't look too horrible.  And when I bit into it ... there was hardly any sliminess.  He explained to me that when you overcook okra or pickle it is when it becomes very slimy.  I actually ate 5 okra spears.  And the next time he brought them home, I ate a ton of them and thoroughly enjoyed them!  Now I love to experiment with them all the time, and this is my latest delicious experiment.  And let me tell you, Hubby was right - the secret to making this not slimy is by not overcooking the okra.  Try it, seriously.  Yummy!

Molondrones Guisados (Okra Stew):

Nicely Spicy Stew - Quite Filling

Yields: 4-6 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, 1/4'd and sliced, about 1 cup
1 green pepper, small diced, about 1 cup
1/2 orange pepper, small diced, about 1/2 cup
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, medium diced, about 3 cups
2 cups okra, sliced into 1/4"-1/2" sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 small or 1 1/2 large boullion cubes
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Cayenne pepper, as desired (I used 1/8 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Additional filtered water as needed

1.  In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the green and orange peppers, onion, jalapeno pepper and minced garlic.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the ingredients are fragrant.
2.  Add the chopped tomato, tomato paste and sliced okra and stir together, cooking for an additional 5 minutes. 
3.  Add the boullion cubes, water, black pepper, onion and garlic powder, cayenne pepper and vinegar.  Stir everything together and lower heat.  Allow the stew to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring periodically and adding additional water as needed.  Cook until the okra can be pierced with a fork, but still has a bite.  This will decrease its slimy potential.  When okra is over cooked is when it becomes very slimy.

Serve with a slice of warm toasty bread to soak up any of the leftover juices!

Enjoy!

-K

Moro de Gandules with Tempura Veggies and Salad

Sometimes I go through phases where I am absolutely obsessed with moro (Spanish seasoned rice dish usually with beans served mixed in with the rice) - I want it several times a week.  Other times, not so much.  It seems that when the Hubby isn't requesting it for dinner, is when I want it the most.  Hubby's only wish for this meal was tempura.  My good friend K, knowing how much I love tempura, bought me a package of tempura mix when she was at this Japanese food market in Jersey (have I mentioned yet that it is 2 lbs. of tempura mix?!  That is going to make more tempura than I know what to do with!).  So, having only made it once since she gave it to me, yet knowing that I still had a lot of the mix, I agreed.  I love tempura and am more than happy to make it.  Hubby was also in the mood for shrimp, real shrimp mind you - remember, he is not a vegetarian.  Not having any real shrimp and definitely not going out to buy it for him, I remembered that I had some vegan shrimp I got from May Way in Chinatown in the city.  So, I made that instead, and even though he was absolutely not fooled, loved it nonetheless.  As did I!  Wishing we didn't eat it all so I could snack on some now as I'm typing!

Moro de Gandules, Tempura Veggies, Romaine Salad

Moro:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup long grain white rice
1/2 cup green pepper, small diced
1/2 cup red or orange bell pepper., small diced
1 cup onion, small diced
1 jalapeno, minced
1 carrot, small diced, about 1/2 cup
3 mini vegetable bouillon cubes (Maggi is a good brand)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder
3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
3/4 cup filtered water
1/2 cup frozen gandules

Tempura Veggies:
1 onion, sliced into medium-thick rings\
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thick strips
1 large handful baby carrots, about 2/3-3/4 cup
Veggie Shrimp, optional
Tempura mix, made according to directions
Vegetable or canola oil, a couple inches worth in a pot

Salad:
1/2 head romaine lettuce chopped into bite sized pieces, washed, dried
1 tomato, sliced into thin slices
1/2 lemon , olive oil, sea salt and black pepper as dressing

1.  Start with the moro first - it will take the longest.  Put a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Once hot, add all the vegetables and cook till softened. Rinse the rice under water. Add the wet rice and frozen gandules to the pot and cook, stirring, until the rice is no longer wet. Once the rice has dried, add the coconut milk and the water. Add all the spices and stir well to combine. It should taste too salty and too spicy - it will mellow once it cooks.
2. Lower the heat to low and cover with lid. Stir the contents every few minutes until the rice is completely cooked through - this will take at least half an hour. Once the rice is just cooked, allow it to continue cooking in the pan for about 10 minutes without stirring it. This will give it the customary crunchy bottom layer that Spanish people love so much.
3.  Make sure everything for the salad is prepped - chop, wash and dry the salad, slice the tomatoes and set aside until ready to use - it will come together in no time. 
4.  Get the oil ready and turn the heat on medium.  Pour about 2" of oil into a medium sized pot and allow it to become very hot. 
5.  In the meantime, prepare the veggies.  Prepare the tempura batter - it should be about the consistency of pancake batter.  Once the oil is ready (a drop of tempura batter will immediately begin sizzling and come to the surface of the oil), begin frying the tempura in batches.  Dip the veggies/shrimp in the batter, covering the entire surface and shaking off the excess.  Carefully place the covered veggies/shrimp one by one into the oil, not exceeding 10-12, as they will overcrowd and not fry up well and will stick together.  Turn the tempura covered goodies every minute or so until the outside of the batter has firmed up and the veggie in the middle is cooked all the way through.  Drain on paper towels and sprinkle immediately with sea salt.  Continue frying the veggies/shrimp in batches until they are all cooked.
6.  To serve, place a serving of the moro, tempura veggies and shrimp, and romaine lettuce topped with tomato slices, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper, and drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.  Serve a sauce for dipping the tempura.  I did a mixture of tamari, filtered water, toasted sesame oil, grated garlic and ginger and red pepper flakes.  Delicioso!

Enjoy!

-K