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.

Related posts:

1. Habichuelas guisadas (stewed beans)
2. Yum. Rice!
3. Creole Shepard’s Pie

Multipurpose concentrated garlic

30-50 peeled garlic cloves
white distilled vinegar

This is prepared the same way as sofrito. Add the peeled garlic cloves to the blender or food processor with a few tablespoons of vinegar. The vinegar is to allow an even blend. Don’t use too much liquid, you want a concentrated batch.

Once you have an even blend, pour mixture in a container and refrigerate. Any recipe that requires sofrito you can add a tablespoon of concentrated garlic for more flavour.

This concentrate is great…

for ant and mosquito bites, apply on bite after washing skin.
with butter and parsley to make garlic bread.
in home made pasta sauce.
for a cough remedy, mix a teaspoon of the garlic with honey and add boiling water, drink as tea.
in an omelette and much more.

Related posts:

1. Sofrito, cuchifrito, que se joda, un poquito!
2. Creole Shepard’s Pie
3. Habichuelas guisadas (stewed beans)

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.

Related posts:

1. Quick and easy vegetarian dish
2. Garlic keeps the vampires away
3. Arroz congrí

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!

Related posts:

1. Creole Shepard’s Pie
2. Sofrito, cuchifrito, que se joda, un poquito!
3. Yum. 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.

Related posts:

1. Arroz congrí
2. Creole Shepard’s Pie
3. Habichuelas guisadas (stewed beans)