The Bounties of Vermont… April 8, 2008

 

I recently visited Vermont for the first time…  The main purpose of my visit was to ski at SugarBush, a lovely ski resort right in the middle of Vermont.  My best friend’s dad has had a slope-side apartment there for the longest time, and it was this year the first time we’ve been able to sync our schedules and go together.

I am not the one to bring gifts or souvenirs back from a trip - but I like to purchase items that are indigenous to the place I am visiting…  so I need to share with you about these true Vermont beauties:

Vermont’s Maple Syrup

Oh goodie…  the variety of maple syrups can be overwhelming sometimes.  I learned about Vermont Fancy, Grade A Amber, Grade A Medium, etc.  I can get at home the Grade As, but I had never seen or tasted Vermont Fancy - so that’s what I bought as a souvenir.  I also bought some maple spread, maple butter and some maple candies.  You’ll be seeing some of these maple jewels in various upcoming posts… I see pancakes in my future… 

Vermont’s Apple Cider

We went past Cold Hollow Cider Mill…  but it is really hard to miss, because their cider bottles are EVERYWHERE!!!  Truth be told… I do not know the difference between apple juice and apple cider, but I LOOOOOVED this apple cider.  It’s like the freshest, sweetest unfiltered apple juice you have ever had.  If you’re ever in that neck of the woods, you need to try their cider.

 

 

Vermont’s Cabot Cheese

 I an a Cabot cheese lover.  What I love about Cabot cheeses is they explicitly mention in their packaging they do not use animal rennet in their manufacturing.  My favorite variety is the Extremely Sharp Hunter’s variety, which is as sharp as you can get here - to me, it’s perfect to eat with strawberries or green grapes.  We were able to go to one of Cabot factory store where we were able to taste test many varieties… and I found the Vintage Variety - aged for 24 months hand-selected by the company’s president… this is even sharper than the Hunter’s kind… it’s AWESOME!!!!  I just wish I could have been able to bring home a larger piece.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

We visited Ben & Jerry’s factory tour one afternoon after skiing.  Even though most Ben & Jerry’s ice creams are not karma-free (because they contain egg yolks in the base recipe), they do offer a variety of organic flavors and fruit sherbets.  The new flavors we tried at the factory were AMAZING!!!!  And if you have a B&J shop nearby, stay tuned to their FREE CONE day coming up on April 29th.

 

It’s all right there on VT Route 100 - Visit and taste all the bounties Vermont has to offer… you can take a stab at skiing too if you’d like, you know…

 

Strawberry Seduction Event Completed April 7, 2008

 

My friend Mike, at Mike’s Table summoned all culinary bloggers to submit our favorite strawberry recipes…  I told you all about it here a few weeks ago.

You know I am a strawberry lover - so much of a lover to even pay $7 for a basket of these delicious red sweet jewels.  I was very excited to see someone loved strawberries even more than I.

Well, Mike completed the Strawberry Seduction round-up yesterday and he already posted the most beautiful collection of strawberry-inpired recipes I’ve seen.  There are recipes from all over the world - from All ober the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, UK, Islas Canarias and of course, Puerto Rico.

 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Strawberry Oatmeal Squares - by my good friend Kathleen and Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen

Strawberry Bruschetta - from Alexandra at Addicted Sweet Tooth

Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Mascarpone cream - from The Budding Cook

 

As you already know… here were my entries:

Strawberry Kanten

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Banana Sherbet

Please visit and check out all the lovely recipes and be inspired to make something with strawberries this week.

Foodie BlogRoll Welcomes KarmaFreeCooking March 31, 2008

I am super excited…  KarmaFree Cooking has been added to the Foodie BlogRoll.  The Foodie BlogRoll is a directory of blogs all revolving around the topic of food and the enjoyment of eating such foods.  This directory is the brainchild of Jenn…  better known as the culinary royalty The Left Over Queen. 

I can’t tell you how happy I am to belong to such a great group of writers and chefs.  You can now find a link to the Foodie BlogRoll on the sidebar at the right.  Please visit and check out all the wonderful food-related blogs out there.  There are plans to categorize the blogs in the directory and soon enough there will be a vegetarian section for you to scan only the vegetarian blogs available.  Jen manages this directory on her own… so be patient.

Do you have your own food blog? Are you interested in joining a community of over 1000 fellow food bloggers worldwide? Do you just like reading about food, looking at beautiful food photography, or finding great new recipes online? This might be for you. Check out the FAQ page for more info about what it is and how to join.

Strawberry Seduction Challenge March 18, 2008

Mike at Mike’s Table is hosting a blog event - the Strawberry Seduction Event. 

You know I am a strawberry lover - so much of a lover to even pay $7 for a  basket of these delicious red sweet jewels.  I was very excited to see someone loved strawberries even more than I.

I went a submitted a few recipes I had already shared with you to this event and I hope to create a few extra before the April 4 deadline.  The recipes I submitted are:

Strawberry Kanten

Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Banana Sherbet 

I’ll let you know of any other cool vegetarian strawberry recipes submitted by other bloggers… OK?

You Make My Day Award March 14, 2008

I have been graced by having 2 friends and fellow bloggers name me within their You Make My Day Award list.  The first time it happened caught me completely off-guard… It was Bonnie at Weaving Spirit.  And again, this week my friend Kathleen from Kathleen’s Vegetarian Kitchen also named me as someone who “makes her day”.  And this latter one is very special, because it was Kathleen who inspired me to start this blogging adventure about a year ago.

So I feel the need to reciprocate… to share with you a list of the blogs and online places out there that Make My Day, in addition to my friends mentioned above:

• Serious Eats - I can’t remember how I learned about this website, but I do remember I had something to do with Mario Batali.  I love Serious Eats because it’s a one-stop shop on the celebration and enthusiasm of food thru blogs and other content providers.  I personally love the Talk section because it provides a forum to ask, answer, vent and celebrate anything food-related.  It’s awesome!!
• Tastespotting- I also visit this site almost daily… It’s food photography at its best.  I have learned and found so much inspiration from the people who post here…

And who are these people I have met thanks to Tastespotting… 

• 101 cookbooks - Heidi is a vegetarian who takes the most wonderful pictures of what she cooks.  The premise of her blog was to go thru the recipes of all the cookbooks she had been collecting over the years.  I wish I had a table or butcher’s block like hers… it makes for a very elegant background for her pictures.
• herbivoracious - Michael is a vegetarian who took a sabbatical from his engineering job to work as an apprentice in Cafe Flora in Seattle.  He inspires me to take chances and to follow one’s dream and passion and see where that leads.
• Paola at Mijn Zoete Leven - I have no idea what the title is, but Paola is a Colombian living in the Netherlands.  She has developed a home business out of her “small but very well-equipped kitchen” in Almere. 
• Daring Bakers - After seeing photo after scrumptious photo of lemon meringue pies back in January, I decided to join this group of fellow bloggers who every month we get together, in heart and spirit, to bake the same recipe.  I have only completed one challenge so far and have loved every minute of it.

And last, but not least, my teachers in the culinary world -  Martha Stewart and Food Network, which are my food and recipe encyclopedias.  I refer to them everytime I see a great recipe on TV, which is almost everyday.

And also a special mention to Kimberly - she is a vegetarian living in Iowa and even though her blog is not food-related, I enjoy very much our email conversation about recipes, ingredients and the vegetarian lifestyle in general…  She’s a KarmaFree Cooking fan and I appreciate her very much for that.

Wash your Produce March 10, 2008

I can’t stress enough the importance of washing well all your produce before eating it or using it in your cooking.  The produce you buy has passed soooooo many hands between being picked in the field until you get it home - and that does not count all the dirt, smog, wax, pesticides and insecticides sprayed over them. 

I fully advocate washing well all produce before using it or consuming it - even if you’re peeling it.

In the yoga center I attend, we need to peel most produce before using it, especially those vegetables that have wax sprayed on - apples, pears, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes (yeah, not nice and very time consuming when we need to make a fruit salad), oranges, peppers, etc.

To make my life easier at home and to preserve the nutrients and fiber in the peel of produce, I use a product I learned about when I worked at Procter & Gamble called FIT.

Fit is a solution made from natural ingredients designed to take most of the dirt and wax of the produce we use.  I buy it in my neighborhood health food store and I find that it takes the entire waxy residue off the tomatoes, cucumbers, pears, etc.  It also helps clean my lettuces, spinach, or any leafy green. 

I use the little sprayer for individual items and I soak for anything that’s larger or leafy, like leeks, lettuces, cabbages, herbs, etc.

I am not a scientist, but I like that their ingredient label states natural sources for their ingredients.  I no longer work at P&G, and they licensed the name to another manufacturing company, but I still feel Fit is a great product that helps me eat produce more naturally without the added toxins on the produce’s skin.

 

No-Knead Bread - Consolation prize for my ego March 2, 2008

I already told you about my fiasco story on the Daring Bakers Feb 2008 Challenge - Pain Francais.

So, to give myself an ego-boost, I decided to try out the NY Times No-Knead Bread Recipe…  of course, with a few modifications because I was using whole wheat flour again.  For months I have been meaning to make this recipe… and to me it was a dream come true, because one of the reasons I have never dared to make any breads or pizza dough is the lack of a Stand mixer - remember my Xmas wishes??? So, this recipe eliminated that need…

For this recipe you need a cast iron dutch oven… yikes, I don’t have a cast-iron dutch oven either. But my friend Kathleen told me I could probably do this with a Pyrex bowl on top of a baking sheet.  I don’t have a big Pyrex glass bowl, but my mom has a glass Pyrex dutch oven - the best of both worlds. 

You still need to plan this recipe out… it needs about 12 hours to proof.  It’s not like you get a bread craving and you can make this in a pinch.  You can make the dough at night to bake it in the morning, or make the dough in the morning to bake the bread at night. 

 

NO-KNEAD BREAD

Adapted from the original No-Knead Bread recipe from the NY Times.

3 cups of whole wheat flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 tbs kosher salt

1 package of dry active yeast

squirt of honey

1 3/4 cups of water

2 tbs wheat germ

Covered Pot - (5 quart or larger cast iron, Pyrex, ceramic, enamel - something that can go into a 450F oven)

Mix the Dough

1. When using whole wheat flour, I read in several sources that it’s better to proof the yeast before mixing in the rest of the ingredients.  So take like 1/2 cup of the water the recipe calls for and dissolve the yeast packet.  Add a squirt of honey to help it come alive.  (I threw away several packets of yeast thinking they were dead before doing this little trick to it.) 
2. Combine all ingredients in a big bowl with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together.  It will be a shaggy, doughy mess.  Control the urge to add more water.  Cover with a plastic wrap and let sit in counter-top for about 12 hours.  The room should be about 70degrees F.  Leave for up to 20 hours if room is slightly cooler.

Shape and Pre-heat

1. The dough will be wet, sticky and bubbly.  With a wet spatula, dump the dough onto a floured surface. 
2. Fold ends of dough over a few times with the spatula and nudge it into a ball shape.  You can use your hands if you prefer.
3. Generously dust a flour sack towel with flour and wheat germ. Set dough seam side down on top of towel.  Let it rest for 2 hours.
4. Set 2 timers - 1 for 1:30 hours and one for 2 hours.
5. When the 1:30 hour timer rings - it’s time to pre-heat the oven.  Put your covered pot in the oven and preheat the oven with the pot inside for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F.
6. When the 2 hour timer goes off - it’s time to bake.

Bake

1. The dough should have doubled in size.
2. Carefully, remove pot from oven.  Holding the dough inside the towel, dump the wobbly dough inside the pot - it does not matter which way it lands.  Cover.
3. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Set timer again for 30 minutes.
4. Uncover.  Bake another 15-20 minutes uncovered  until the crust is golden brown and beautiful.
5. Remove from oven and let cool in a cooling rack.

 

I ate mine warm with lots of butter.  The crust was superb.  I ate some of it, and gave a piece to a friend and my mom, which loved it too.

I still do not consider myself a bread baker by any means.  However, I will definitely make this recipe again… and I know that as I feel more confident with it, I will start making modifications to it… adding cheese, or nuts or other flours.  You’ll see.  I won’t keep it to myself…

Pain Français- DBC Feb 2008 March 1, 2008

I am not a baker.  So I joined the Daring Baker’s Challenge.

If I am not a baker, why in the world would I join a group of  called Daring Bakers???  To get out of my comfort zone precisely.  To try recipes I would never dare to try. To learn things, techniques I may be avoiding…  to indeed, become a baker after all.  

I was inspired last month with January’s challenge - Lemon Meringues.  All the recipes I saw looked sooooo beautiful that I felt compelled to join.  Please remind yourselves… I AM NOT A BAKER!!!  My dessert repertoire extends to cookies and flans - anything else besides that is just baked fruits, fruit sauces, and boiling cans of condensed milk… ahhh, and buying Haagen-Dazs mango sherbet at the supermarket.  Yet, after knowing all of this, I dared and joined the group. No pun intended.

I have to admit, I was daunted and excited when I received my first recipe - Pain Français from a Julia Child recipe…. Oh my gravy!!!!  I was excited, as you know I take French lessons at the Alliance Française.  To say I was super excited was an understatement!!  But, why daunted???  French bread only has really 4 ingredients - flour, water, yeast and salt.  What can be simpler???  Anything in this world is simpler, if you ask me. 

And, I am not a quitter.  I was not going to pass this up , my first Daring Baker’s challenge, just because I had an 11-page recipe - yes, this is not a typo, 11 pages… I was sent a video to see the kneading technique, the forming technique, the baking technique…  I read the recipe 3-4 times.  I saw the video twice. Yet… I never achieved the perfect loaf of Pain Français.  The only thing I did change in the recipe… was the flour.  I only like to use whole wheat products when I bake, so I used whole wheat flour…  here are the results:

This is the flour I used - I do not recommend it for this recipe.  This was the dough, before kneading. How dry it was should have told me something then, but I continued with the process as dictated in the recipe.

This was the dough after “kneading” for about 500 times… I was so tired after that, I had to lay down to rest.  Really.

 And this was the frustrating moment when, after 3 hours of “rising time” my dough was exactly the same size as it started.

But, in my opinion, there are many ways to define success.  Success is not only demonstrated by showing here my “perfect loaves of french bread from the first try”… To me, success is also achieved by all the learnings gathered from trying to execute this recipe.  I actually have a list of learnings I would like to share with you and all my fellow Daring Bakers:

1. You need a really large kitchen with lots of counter space to bake bread. - my kitchen is TINY and trying to knead bread almost inside the kitchen sink is not the ideal of any bread baker.
2. A Kitchen-Aid mixer is a must if you’re a petite bread baker. - I am sorry, but kneading 800 times by hand is not my definition of a good arm workout.  My arm was about to fall off - I guess because the flour/water proportions were off when using whole wheat… but that’s another learning.
3. Stone-ground whole wheat flour is NOT ideal when trying to make Julia Child’s french bread recipe. - Start with whole wheat pastry flour and then move gradually to coarser flours, especially when you do not have a stand mixer.
4. Bread baking is not for the impatient. - You need a good day to make this recipe… no plans to go out, no plans for someone to come over, just stay home and bake bread.  Now I know why Rachael Ray is not a baker…
5. Bread-baking is not for the compulsive cleaner. - No matter how clean I tried to keep the kitchen floor, there was flour all over… all over!!!  all over my dishes, all over the sink, all over the counters, all over the floor, all over me!!!!
6. 11 page recipes need to be left to professionals. - I am sure that if I had spent a day learning this by actually watching someone do it, I would have grasped it a little better.  I felt consumed by the pages in the recipe.
7. I will try this recipe again SOON.- I was not able to do it all over before the posting date, but I will not let this recipe get to me. 

Let’s say I have a new-found appreciation for bread bakers.  And as a consolation prize for my ego… the only thing left for me was to try… The No-Knead Bread recipe. YEAH!!!

Tamarind Balls - The best reason to visit St. Kitts February 27, 2008

Sorry, I feel like I have been neglecting all of you… but I was away for the weekend celebrating my 20th high school reunion aboard the Empress of the Seas, a weekend cruise that took us to St. Kitts and St. Maarten.  It was awesome to spend time with my school friends, some of whom I had not seen in over 10 years and have known for almost 32 years of my life.  I practically grew up with these people!!!

We visited St. Kitts as one of the stops in our journey… and my good friend Marly told me about Tamarind Balls.  This is a local sweet made with tamarind pulp, sugar, sometimes spices and even has the tamarind seed inside.  They’re tart and sweet, all in the same bite.  This is my kind of souvenir - not a t-shirt or a hat, a good sweet treat only made and found in this little Caribbean island.  My friend Marly discovered them because a cousin for her husband went to school in St. Kitts and used to bring them to them as gifts from the Island.  She tells me she has kept some for over a year in her fridge and they do not go bad.

 

I bought them in a pharmacy - they were sitting right there amongst the traditional commercially made candy.  The lighter colored version is made with sugar and spices.  The darker ones are made only with sugar.  To my taste, they taste truer to a raw tamarind fruit.  They’re both good in their won little way.  They cost me about a $1 USD each.  I brought in about 10 packages - some for me, some to give as gifts…

 

The beach was great - we went to Turtle Beach, with Nevis on the background.  I will not go into the details on how we got to Turtle Beach, but to me, the best reason to visit St Kitts, is for their Tamarind Balls.

Vanilla Powder February 11, 2008

Vanilla - one of the most versatile spices there are…  it works in desserts, beverages, milkshakes, side dishes, main dishes…  I use it all the time. 

A few years ago it was brought to my attention that most vanilla extracts are mostly made with alcohol, and in the yoga center I attend and cook for some times a month, we are not supposed to use anything with alcohol as an ingredient.  So, we need to buy some alcohol-free vanilla syrups or some locally made vanilla extracts, which many times are difficult to find.  I have used fresh vanilla pods, but I can’t find them here in Puerto Rico easily… I have to buy them when I travel to the US or online, when I can find a provider that will ship here… 

 

But last year I found this great product - VANILLA POWDER.  Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder from Nielsen-Massey .  It’s a sugar-free and alcohol-free dry product which can replace vanilla extract in any recipe.  It extracts the essence of vanilla beans and is infused in a natural, dry base.  And the smell is…  AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!!!!!!

I bought my initial bottle in Indiana, when I visited my sister last year… but I was very pleasantly surprised to find it now in the spices section of my local Freshmart supermarket.

To me, this powder is far superior than any McCormick product out there… go out and look for it.  You’ll never go back to alcohol-based or vanilla flavored products.  Mark my words…

The Best Spanish Olive Oil February 5, 2008

This past Summer I spent a little over 2 weeks in Spain.  I visited Madrid, Pamplona, Zaragoza, San Sebastian, Barcelona, among others.  Near Barcelona, we visited this little town called Villafranca del Penedés.  It was a must we visited this town, as my friend Walter’s family is originally from there.  The proof - there was a street named after him… it was amazing.

 

But what I never thought I would find in Villafranca was one of the best extra virgin olive oils I have ever tasted.  As part of a tour to Villafranca and Montserrat, we visited the Bodegas Torres.  I was afraid this was going to be one of those tourist traps… but the local winery, well known for their Sangre de Toro wine and one of my dad’s favorite red wines, as a real surprising treat.   Besides the winery, Bodegas Torres has a gastronomy division named Torre Real which, among other things, makes olive oil made from Arbequina olives.  According to information I have read since then… Arbequina olives are the “crème de la crème” as Spanish olives is concerned.

             

I brought back a bottle of this wonderful olive oil… and now, no other olive oil stands next to it.  I ration it so that I can enjoy it as long as I can…

 

To me, it’s the perfect olive oil to dress a salad, to dip great crusty bread or to drizzle over a soup or pasta as a finishing touch.  And the most amazing thing - this olive oil only cost me 5 Euros.  Not bad for such high quality.  They also make white and red wine vinegars.  I have not tried the vinegar yet - I have like 7 open vinegar bottles, so I would like to decrease that inventory before I open a new now.

I good friend from high school lives in Barcelona now and I have asked her to please bring me 3-4 bottles of the Arbequina olive oil when she comes to Puerto Rico in the next few weeks.  If you have access to this wonderful product, I urge you to try it.

Do you have any favorite olive oil?? Tell me all about it.

2008 - Year of the Potato January 27, 2008

I love potatoes.  If I had to eat only one food, I think potatoes would be it.  They’re soooo versatile - you can fry, boil, roast, broil, bake, stew, mash, smash, and basically do anything to them and potatoes will reward you with a delicious and nutritious treat every time. 

Potatoes are so important in the world’s culinary and nutritional environments the United Nations named 2008 the year of the Potato, based on the role the potato can play in providing food security, eradicating poverty and achieving development goals - WOW!!

There’s one more reason why I love potatoes - my grandfather in Cuba was a well-known potato grower.  He was known by everyone in his town in the southern part of the Havana province simply as “Neno, el papero” - papero being roughly translated to “potatoer”.  My grandfather’s potatoes were consumed locally in Cuba, but mainly exported to the US.  When my good friend Angie learned about this, she lovingly nicknamed me - the Cuban Potato Queen.  To tell you the truth, this has stuck a bit and I even have artwork made by a good friend and artist as homage to this nickname.

I never got to meet my grandfather Neno.  He left his physical body a few years before my mom and dad met here in Puerto Rico…  So in honor of my grandfather’s potato heritage, I have decided to create in my blog a POTATO FESTIVAL.  A collection of potato dishes made to highlight all the goodness and versatility of this discreet tuber.  Some are side dishes, some are main dishes… we might even find some appetizers and desserts in this collection… however, I will assure you, they will all be incredibly delicious.

Hope you like them as much as I will like preparing them…

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Potato and Fried Eggplant Pastelón

Creamy Potatoes

Sweet Potato Pastelón

Agave Nectar January 23, 2008

I learned about Agave nectar when I attended the Conscious Gourmet cooking seminar this past April.  I am sure I walked past it a million times in many health food stores, but I usually consume honey or brown sugar to sweeten things and have not had the need to use anything else…

 

At the seminar we discussed refined sugars and all the potential health conditions it’s associated with, such as:

Candida

Depression

Crohn’s Disease/Colitis

Ulcers

Hypertension

Gallstones

Kidney-stones

Even, Cancer

So based on this information, why not use and consume a more natural and non-processed form of sweetener?

Agave nectar is made from the same plant Tequila is made.  Cool, huh?  So because it’s a plant-based sweetener, it’s also vegan.  Another cool thing about agave nectar is it has a very low glycemic index.  This means that when you consume it, it will barely increase the glucose levels in your blood, therefore not increasing the production of insulin nor activating the fat storage system.  Hey, I learned this from my sister who is a diabetic from the age of 15 and an endocrinologist.

Just to give you an idea of the glycemic index of different foods:

Corn Flakes         119

White Bread       112

Rice                        83

Honey                   83

Apple                    54

Peas                      32

Agave nectar     27

Agave nectar then is great for those people who are diabetic, are watching their carbohydrate intake or blood glucose levels or even watching their weight.   You can see how my friend Kathleen lost about 45lbs. this last year and agave nectar is one of the few sweeteners she now uses.

And don’t underestimate its sweetness.   Agave nectar is sweeter than table sugar, but it’s not processed or contains any chemicals.  Actually, you should use about ¼ to 1/3 less amount of agave than you would sugar or honey.   You use it the same way you would use honey - to sweeten beverages, desserts, hot cereals, smoothies, yogurts, etc.  I even use it to sweeten my Spinach Crepes recipe.

Check out agave nectar the next time you go to your local health food store.  Try it, you’ll not be disappointed…

Clementines - My favorite winter citrus January 20, 2008

Citrus are mainly in season during winter-time. I read somewhere the season starts in November.  I know we have lemons here all year round… but when I visit Costco, it’s near the December/January time-frame where I see and can purchase one of my favorite citrus fruits… CLEMENTINES!!!!!!!

 

I learned about these delicious and cute Clementines about 10 years ago, but was not able to get them here in PR… and when Costco opened their doors about 6 years ago, they started bringing them.  I love them because they’re petite, mostly seedless, super sweet and their membranes are really thin, so they’re easy to eat in segments.

I regularly do not eat regular oranges in segments… I learned this when I was in school in Chicago and we had to do a project about the introduction to market of an Orange.  People would talk about eating them without a knife and I was - hello!!! speak for yourself!!!  I have to peel an orange with a knife and cut them in half … just like you would if you were using a juicer to make fresh squeezed juice.  I eat oranges like this because i can’t stand the bitterness of the membranes around the segments.

So for those of us who do not like orange membranes, Clementines are the perfect orange for you… as they are for me.  And the cute wooden crate is just an added plus.

Try some soon and tell me all about it…

 http://www.producepete.com/shows/clementines.html

Freezing Berries January 20, 2008

I guess I am in a very fruity mode these days… but I indeed mentioned that one of my new year’s resolutions were to eat more fruit and vegetables.  I am taking you along for the ride…

I love making myself fruit smoothies in the mornings.  Particularly, I LOOOOOVE adding fresh berries to them.  Unfortunately,  in a way, is that berries are pretty expensive… I am paying these days between $7 and $8 for a pound of strawberries.  I guess they’re not in season in the US and they’re bringing them from God-knows-where. And there’s little I can do to reduce my carbon footprint in regards to this… because we don’t grow berries in Puerto Rico, I either buy them imported, frozen, or not eat them at all.

What I want to share with you is about freezing berries… this is a trick I learned, again, from my good friend Martha Stewart (she does not know how good friends we are…)   With the price I pay for berries, I can’t eat them all at once and they’re prone to spoil fast.  To avoid this when I purchase these beautiful strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or any other berry… is to freeze them individually on a baking sheet and then store them.

I wash the berries, remove any stems, dry them as well as I can and place them without touching on a baking sheet.  Place the baking sheet on the freezer overnight and then store the berries in a freezer plastic storage bag.  Never freeze them all clumped up in a bag, because then you’ll have a tough time separating them if you need just a small amount at a time.

 

This way, I have great tasting berries anytime.

Hope this helps…

My Favorite Whisk January 11, 2008

My favorite whisk I got in London…

But I didn’t even buy it. It was a gift included when I bought a cooking magazine with Jamie Oliver on the cover. Jame Oliver was incentive enough to buy the magazine (he’s sooooooo cute!!!!), but the whisk was a nice add-on. I was at Heathrow Airport during a lay-over, everything is super expensive there, so it’s nice to get stuff for “free” whenever we can… no?

I was unsure on how this new contraption would work… because to my knowledge then, all whisks were balloon-like. But to my surprise, this whisk format is super easy to use, super efficient and does not take up a lot of space in my utensil drawer.

Even more, my whisk was further validated when I saw Nigella Lawson use it several times in her TV shows. Apparently, this is the whisk of choice in the UK… and now it’s also MY whisk of choice.

Maybe it can become yours too… and start a whisk revolution, don’t you think?

Are there any Rice Cookers without Aluminum Insert??? January 9, 2008

I posted this question a few days ago in a blog I quite enjoy visiting and commenting in - Serious Eats. It’s not vegetarian, that’s why is not part of my BlogRoll.

Since I became a vegetarian, I was told how hazardous to our health was to cook on aluminum - cookware or foil. So, when I moved by myself and was buying all my kitchen stuff, I bought all stainless steel pots and pans. To me, it was something easy to do and would in the long run, not compromise my health.

However, I have not been able to replace my rice cooker. My rice cooker has been with me since 1992. My mom gave it to me as a present when I moved to Chicago for grad school. I have made any kind of rice you can imagine there - white rice, now wholegrain brown rice, rice with corn, rice with vienna sausages, now rice with tofu dogs, rice and vegetables, you name it… So I posted a question onto the Serious Eats TALK section to see if someone more foodie than I am could help me locate the rice cooker of my dreams - without the aluminum insert.

The responses have been many. But what surprised me most is that people were asking me WHY I wanted to eradicate cooking in aluminum. I guess thats one of the by-products of these community blogs where people share their opinions rather than aswering the question at hand… and even though I was surprised, I am also glad because the question sparked a discussion on the pros and cons of the different cookware and their health risks, if any.

My position and recommendation - to avoid using aluminum when cooking. Aluminum has been associated with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease, osteporosis/softening of the bones, imparied kidney functions, memory loss, among others. My POV - if changing my pots and pans can help avoid these risks in any way… why not do it???

I use now stainless steel, glass, pyrex to cook. I line baking sheets with silplat or unbleached parchment paper. I confess, I use aluminum foil sparingly, just because of the convenience.

I included a link to my question in Serious Eats and let me know what’s your POV… and if you know of any rice cookers without aluminum inserts… I will really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Vegetarian “Chicken” Nuggets January 8, 2008

When I decided to become vegetarian, I was clear and sure I did not want to constantly eat food that resembled the animal products I was consciously not going to eat.  And even more,  I was never a fan of traditional chicken nuggets when I was not vegetarian.  So when I was offered to try vegetarian “chicken” nuggets I was not interested.  My friend insisted in buying me a bag to try…  and the rest is history.

This is not something I eat frequently.  But there are some times you want a snack, something to nibble on - you know, the munchies…  and when that time comes, these veggie nuggets usually hit the spot.  Here’s a photo of the packaging for your reference.

 

They’re super easy to make.  I just put them in a sheet pan sprayed with some canola oil spray and into a 400 degree toaster oven.  In 15 minutes or less, you’ll have crispy and tasty veggie nuggets.  Enjoy them on their own or with MayoKetchup sauce for dipping. 

          

The catch… I have to buy them when I travel to NYC’s Chinatown.  I have not seen them anywhere else. 

My favorite mayonnaise… Vegenaise January 6, 2008

Just wanted to share with you my favorite brand of egg-less mayonaise… Vegenaise.  Particularly, the grapeseed oil variety.  It’s creamy, thick, rich… the closest thing to Helman’s Mayo.  You’ll find it in the refrigerated section of your neighborhood health food store.

Welcome 2008!!!! January 4, 2008

Hi my karma-free friends!!!!

I am back from my days off.  It’s funny, but for someone who enjoys cooking and eating so much and has this food-related blog, here I am coming back from a holiday of fasting.  Yes… you read right.  I spent the last 7 days of the year at a yoga spiritual retreat without eating solid food - only drinking water, lemon juice and honey. 

To me, this is the best way to spend the last few days of the year… it brings you closer to the real meaning of Xmas.   Celebrating our spiritual side of life and away from the commercialism that Xmas has turned to be.

Even though it may sound weird to you at first, it’s the best way to finish and start the new year.  We prepare 3 days prior to the start of the retreat…  we go from eating everything, to eating only salads, fruits and natural juices.  Then we go to fruits and juices, finally ending just with juices prior to the start of the retreat. Also, the night before the start, we do a big “cleansing” to clean out our digestive tract as much as possible… Some people do it by drinking pure pear juice, but I do it by drinking a gallon of coconut water and pure kiwi juice.  If you’re ever constipated, drink a 1/2 gallon of coconut water in one sitting… it works for me.

We spend the 7 days from Dec 25 until Dec 31 in “mauna”, or being silent, trying to eventually learn to actually silence the mind.  I have to be honest… my mind keeps cooking everyday, thinking of new recipe ideas, menus, etc.  You’ll be able to see and read the results of all my “cooking” ideas from the retreat.

We meditate for 9 hours everyday, in 2 hour intervals.  We get up at 3AM, start meditating from 4-6AM, rest 2 hours, meditate from 8AM-10AM, do hatha yoga, meditate again, and so on until we go to bed at 9PM.  And every-time we start a rest period we need to drink about 10-12oz of water with the juice of a 1/2 lemon and 2 tablespoons of honey.  This is a great way to rest, detoxify your system, because your body’s energy is not spent talking or digesting food… therefore it uses all its energy to cleanse, eliminating a lot of toxins accumulated during the year.

It sounds hard core, but it really is fun.  We then start talking and eating again when we say goodbye to the 2007 and hello to 2008.  Here’s a photo of some of us after welcoming the new year.  We are all at least 2 lbs thinner.

 

I belong to the Devanand Yoga Center and we have centers all over Latin America - our GuruJi runs the centers in Puerto Rico, New York and Miami.  Here I include the addresses information if you’re interested in seeking more information.

http://www.yogadevanand.com/

NEW YORK
QUEENS
USA Devanand Yoga Cultural Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 680090
Corona, NY 11368
Tel.: (71 426-4643
Fax: (71 426-6237

BRONX
USA Devanand Yoga Cultural Center, Inc.
708 Lydic Avenue
Suite 205
Bronx, NY 10462
Tel.: (71 863-1484

Centro Cultural Yoga Devanand
2285 Sedgwick ave.
Bronx, NY 10468
Tel. (71 733-4733

MIAMI, FL

Centro Cultural Yoga Devanand
115 B S.W. 107 Ave.

Miami, Florida 33174
Tel.: (305) 867.4755
Correo Electrónico: devanandyoga@bellsouth.net

PUERTO RICO
Centro Cultural Yoga Devanand
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910
Tel.: (787) 273-0236