Tag Archives: cooking

Apr 12 2010 View Comments comments
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Arroz congrí

When it comes to cooking rice it’s a hit or miss for me if it’s anything other than white rice. What can I say? I’m a white rice and stewed beans kind of girl, not because it’s easier to cook, it just happens to be my preference.

Arroz congrí is rice with black beans. I use parboiled long grain rice, canned black beans, tomato sauce, sofrito, olive oil, and bell peppers (optional). See my sofrito recipe if needed.

In a pot, add 1 tbsp. of oil and sofrito. Let the sofrito brown and add half a can (4 oz) of tomato sauce and half of a chopped red and/or green bell pepper. Season with salt if you want, I generally don’t since canned beans have enough sodium.

Depending on how much rice you’re cooking, you need to adjust the amount of water. Add the can of beans (water and all) and the rice, stir and lower heat. Add water until it’s about 1 inch covering the rice. If more than 3 cups of rice (8-10 servings) use double the amount of the other ingredients (oil, sofrito, beans etc.)

Let cook for 20 minutes or until the water evaporates and taste, if undercooked add more water.

Arroz Congrí tastes really good with stewed beef or sunny side up eggs.

Jan 17 2010 View Comments comments
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Creole Shepard’s Pie

My mom is the kind of person that likes to simplify things. That’s how she cooked for a family of 6 in less than an hour most of the time. Shepard’s pie is traditionally baked. That consumes time and if the oven is electric, it consumes energy too. My mom found an easier way and it’s a delicious and nutritious meal.

Pastelon de papa (Creole Shepard’s pie)

  • 2 lbs. unpeeled red potatoes or peeled russet potatoes
  • 2 cups shredded mozarella and cheddar cheese (1 cup each or mixed cheese blend)
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1/3 cup 1% milk
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb. ground beef or any meat (shrimp, canned tuna, textured soy, pork, etc.)
  • 1 diced onion
  • 2 tbsp. sofrito
  • 3 tbsp. vinegar
  • adobo, garlic powder, parsley (optional)

Wash potatoes thoroughly, chop them in quarters, and boil or steam cook them. Season water with adobo.

In a large pan add the vinegar and sofrito. Let it cook until sofrito starts to dry. Add ground beef and diced onion loosening the beef while cooking. If cooking other meat, add 1 tbsp. of olive oil first, then the sofrito, let it brown, add the vinegar, and diced onion, then the meat.

Add seasonings to the meat. I usually use adobo and garlic powder and maybe a bit of paprika. Continue cooking until meat is well done.

When the potatoes are nice and tender, remove them from pot and place in a bowl. Mash them with 2 tbsp. butter, 1/3 cup 1% milk or less, just enough to make the potatoes creamy, then 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, and season with garlic powder and parsley.

Once the potatoes are mashed and well blended. In a molding pan, make a layer of potatoes at the bottom, then half of the shredded cheese, then the meat, another layer of potatoes, and top with the remaining cheese. Place in microwave for 30-45 seconds to melt the top cheese layer (optional).

And that’s it! It’s a simple meal to cook. The only thing that takes time are the potatoes. I like using red potatoes because I don’t have to peel them and the skin is high in nutrients. Russet potatoes aren’t meant to be eaten unpeeled and are a bit more bland. Another great substitute for potatoes is breadfruit. They’re peeled and cooked the same way. Breadfruit is delicious and high in nutrients. Much like potatoes, they’re very versatile but have much more flavour.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. It’s one of my family’s favourites.

Nov 04 2009 View Comments comments
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Quick and easy vegetarian dish

I like eating vegetarian food just as much as I like eating meat. It all depends on the freshness of the ingredients, origin of the meat and/or produce, and my cooking mood. I can make any dish vegetarian, it all depends on what I have around in the kitchen.

Tonight I was starving and had to cook something really quick. Making a sandwich is easy but sometimes the idea of a quick hot meal sounds a little more appetizing.

The quickest and easiest thing to make is couscous. So I made couscous with sautéed vegetables.

To make couscous, just boil 1 part water (really boiling), then add one part couscous. Stir and remove from heat. Place the couscous in a bowl and fluff it with a fork. In 5 minutes it’s done.

You can sauté any vegetables you have at your disposal and add meat if you want to.

I used one diced onion, fresh sliced mushrooms, and baby spinach leaves. Replace any of these with whatever you have, feel free to experiment, if using frozen vegetables add a tablespoon of vinegar.

In a pan, melt 2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter with a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion and let it cook for a few minutes. Then add the mushrooms and spinach. Cook to taste at low temperature between 3-8 minutes.

Serve the couscous with the sautéed vegetables on top. Garnish with fresh tomato slices and parsley (optional).

Bon appetit!

Oct 06 2009 View Comments comments
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Yum. Rice!

There are many types of rice, and according to the type of grain, the amount of water needed for cooking might be different. I generally use parboiled long grain rice. It takes a little longer to cook but the nutritional value is higher than white rice. I think it’s a nice and happy medium between brown and white rice.

There are 2 ways of cooking rice, traditional home-style and the rice cooker method. I’ve never used a rice cooker so I’m going to share the home-style way with you. I made my first batch of rice when I was in 5th grade, and I have to say that I did well on my first try. Meaning that anyone can cook rice.

For 1 cup of uncooked rice, you’ll need 2 cups of water. For 2 or more cups uncooked rice, you’ll need 1 and 1/2 cups of water per cup of rice (e.g. 2 cups rice + 3 cups water, 3 cups rice + 4 cups water etc.).

1 cup rice roughly serves 2-3 people
2 cups rice serves 4-6

It all depends on serving, appetite, and if you want leftovers.

Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the pot at medium heat.

Add rice and water.

When the water begins to boil enough, cover the pot and continue cooking at low heat.

Rice should be fully cooked in about 15-20 minutes.

Uncover the rice and listen carefully, if you can hear the rice popping at the bottom (getting stuck to the bottom of the pot), then the rice is done!

If the rice is still a bit raw (not fully cooked), add a few more tablespoons of water and with a spoon stir the rice well and continue cooking for 5-10 more minutes.

If the rice is overcooked (has excess water), continue cooking uncovered for 10 more minutes or until water evaporates.

And that’s all there is to it. Reading the instructions on the package also helps, but I never read them. I either make perfect rice or I don’t. Everybody makes mistakes.

Sep 14 2009 View Comments comments
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Habichuelas guisadas (stewed beans)

As I wrote before, beans out of the can are disgusting. Here’s how I cook them:

1 can of beans (or 2 for more than 4 people)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of sofrito

Add the olive oil to a pot at medium heat. In about a minute the oil should be hot, add the sofrito, it should bubble a bit as it fries. With a spoon, spread the sofrito so that it cooks evenly. Once it starts to brown around the edges, pour the tomato sauce and beans. Stir well, lower the heat, and cover. In about 10 minutes, check the beans, they should be bubbling, stir them, if the sauce is getting stuck to the bottom, they should be more than done.

And that’s it. Yummy nutritious beans.