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#StopFoodWaste: Veggie Trimmings and Bones

Anytime you cook with a vegetable there will be trimmings: roots, tops, skins. Usually these go right in the trash without a second thought. The same goes for bones. What are you going to do with them after you've roasted that chicken, pork shoulder or beef shank? You can't eat them right? Wrong. Though they may not look like it, veggie scraps and bones are gold. (Maybe not the kind you can take to the bank but certainly the kind you can put in your belly.) Wash vegetables before prepping them and keep gallon bags in the freezer for cuttings. Keep a separate container in the freezer for bones.  When [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Recipes, Sauces, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Quesitos

My favorite part of blogging about Puerto Rican food is meeting others who miss it as much as I do. Ramon Novoa  is a FaceBook friend who shared his most loved #islandflavor:       "Quesitos were my favorite treat when I was a kid in PR. Whenever I go back to PR there are two things I need to have within the first 24 hours of my visit: a quesito and a mofongo, but not necessarily together. Every bakery in PR has quesitos on their menu but, in my opinion, the best come from the panadería La Ceiba, en la avenida Roosvelt and La Esmeralda in Guaynabo." I couldn't agree more [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#IslandFlavor, Appetizers, Desserts, Recipes|2 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Eggshell Tea

A big reason to #StopFoodWaste is to curb the amount of food that makes it to landfills. As wasted food breaks down it produces greenhouse gases like methane and CO2 that are released into our atmosphere, spurring climate change. The Food And Agriculture Organization conducted a groundbreaking global study on food waste and reported that food produced and not eaten creates about 3.3 billion tons of CO2.  That makes food waste the third top emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. That's INSANITY right?? The good news is that every little bit of food that you keep out of your trash helps curb food waste's carbon footprint. I've [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Stale Bread

Like your boss's lame jokes, bread has a way of getting old FAST.  Thankfully there are lots of things you can do with stale bread besides throw it out. My favorite way to use a loaf that's seen better days is budin de pan,  Puerto Rican bread pudding. Traditionally budin is made with white bread, but you can and should use any bread you have on hand. I remember my mother mixing hot dog buns with hamburger buns, an old croissant and the butt of a wheat loaf into one of her budins. It came out amazing! There are hundreds of recipes for bread pudding but they all have a [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Desserts, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Pickle Juice

An empty pickle jar is a TREASURE. You can use the left over juice to quick pickle other cucumbers or soft veggies like radishes, green beans and garlic. You can even pickle hard boiled eggs! My favorite way to use pickle juice is to slice an onion and put it right in the jar to soak up all that yum. These onions are great on sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, you name it. My soundtrack for this preparation is Skankin' Pickle's I Missed The Bus. Americans waste over 40% of the food that comes into our homes. Be a part of the solution and #StopFoodWaste. Don't miss the bus! Join me [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Appetizers, Fruits & Veggies, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Jam Jar Dressing

As far as I'm concerned jam's whole razon de ser is to be in my belly.  Which is why when I'm faced with an almost empty jar I don't waste it. I use it to make an unforgettable vinaigrette. Jam dressing is as crazy easy as the first question on Celebrity Jeopardy.  All you need is 3 parts oil, 1 part acid, herbs, spices and BOOM. I had an almost empty jar of peach apricot jam and paired it with balsamic vinegar and the most amazing extra virgin picual olive oil. Hollywood and I found Rio Bravo Ranch olive oil at the Atwater Farmer's Market. The family behind it has [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:25+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Fruits & Veggies, Recipes, Sauces|0 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Apples

What would you do if you were walking out of the grocery store with four bags full of food and someone grabbed one of them and dumped the whole thing in the trash?  Would you yell for help? Would you chase after them? Would you be angry? What if I told you this is exactly what happens every time you walk out of the grocery store, except the person throwing away your food is YOU. The stats are out and they make my stomach turn: the average American family throws out a quarter of the food it buys each year. That adds up to $1500 a year according to folks [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:25+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Desserts, Fruits & Veggies|2 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Coconut Milk Panna Cotta

Is there a flavor that takes you home as soon as it hits you? For me it’s always been coconut. I grew up on my grandparent’s finca, a farm where dozens of coconut palms lined the beach. Just thinking of those palms swaying gently in the breeze warms my skin. It doesn’t matter that it’s March and I’m walking around the house in a puffy jacket. In Puerto Rico the humble coconut has status and that status is #NationalTreasure. There are as many uses for it as there are selfies on Instagram. You can build with its husk. Its oil makes you prettier. More importantly its flesh tastes amazing with [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:25+00:00By |Desserts, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Sweet Plantain Ice Cream

Undoubtedly when I tell someone that I’m Puerto Rican the first thing out of their mouth is “You don’t look Puerto Rican.” I always act surprised and say “Oh? And what does a Puerto Rican look like?” (OK maybe not always. Sometimes I just grit my teeth and use my inside voice.) In case you didn't know, Puerto Ricans are the “Everything Bagel” of race. We're descended from our island’s native Taino Indians, the Europeans that came over in search of gold and the African slaves they brought with them. We come in every color, shape and size. I have cousins with lovely cinnamon skin while I am jincha (slang [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:25+00:00By |Desserts, Fruits & Veggies, Recipes|6 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Cheater’s Chicharron

In Puerto Rico we have a town nicknamed Pork Rind City and lechoneras that line a whole highway. Pork crackling is our drug. In any given plaza you will find cart after cart overflowing with chicharron. So many that it’s hard to imagine any pigs on the island have their skin intact. My mother loves crackling so much that Thanksgiving 1985 was almost ruined when one of my aunts nabbed the coveted piece of crunchy skin on the pernil before it had been served. When my mother made the discovery (as she went to sneak a piece for herself) she spit out “How could you!” in a tone of disgust [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:25+00:00By |Appetizers, Proteins, Recipes, Uncategorized|8 Comments
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