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Home/Tag: Monti Carlo

#IslandFlavor: Simple Sofrito

When it comes to building flavor, the french have mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) and creoles have the holy trinity (onions, celery, bell peppers).  Puerto Ricans have sofrito.  While it is the base of hundreds of Puerto Rican dishes, sofrito is derivative. You see Puerto Rican cuisine is the original fusion cuisine, with influences from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Much of our food is adapted from different cultures and sofrito is no different. This powerhouse of flavor was brought to the island by Italian immigrants that relocated in the 1800's during the Second Industrial Revolution. The Italians (along with other Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Corsica) were granted land after swearing loyalty [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:23+00:00By |#IslandFlavor, Fruits & Veggies, Recipes, Sauces, Uncategorized|4 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Limbers (Frozen Fruit Pops)

It doesn't matter where you are in Puerto Rico- your block, your school, or in a downtown plaza- someone will always be selling frozen fruit juice pops called limbers. My Abuela Alicia lived in a tenement building in Rio Piedras and had a neighbor that would sell them out of her apartment. My brother and I would hand her fifty cents through a gap in her wrought iron door and in return we would get two little dixie cups filled to the top with frozen sweetened coconut milk. It was the tastiest way to stay cool in a world with no air conditioning. These frosty, refreshing treats are named [...]

2021-07-24T22:42:10+00:00By |#IslandFlavor, Desserts, Fruits & Veggies, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Tropical Shrimp Salad

I think Glenn Frey put it best when he said, "The heat is on." When the fever of summer hits,  the last thing I want to do is spend an extended period of time in front of my stove. Which is why this fourth of July weekend I'm bringing a tropical shrimp salad to the BBQ. Not only does it make for a cool and refreshing side, shrimp cook quickly.  If you work it right you can leave the kitchen without breaking into a full sweat. Of course, quick cook times can be a double-edged sword. Just 30 seconds over can leave you chewing on a rubbery mess.  But I’m [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:23+00:00By |#IslandFlavor, Appetizers, Fruits & Veggies, Proteins, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Leftover Coffee Mug Cake

If you aren't a coffee drinker props to you for being OK with going through life without one of THE BEST THINGS IN THE WORLD. If you're anything like me though, you enjoy a few cups every single day of your existence. There may be crazy times when you just can't drink it all and where you find yourself with a bit of leftover go-go juice. Don't you throw that cold java away! At the very least fill an ice cube tray with it and freeze it for amazing iced coffee. I prefer to put in a few more minutes of work and make myself a little leftover coffee mug [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:23+00:00By |#StopFoodWaste, Desserts, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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#IslandFlavor: Puerto Rican Spam Musubi

Spam makes some people shudder. I mean, it's pressed meat out of a can. I get it. But if you were raised on an island, like I was, you grew up on it. And if we're keeping it 100% real, Spam is much better for you than a hot dog. It's only got 6 ingredients! Spam is so legit  Monty Python dedicated a sketch to it! Am I the only that's wondered what "Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and Spam" would taste like? Don't answer that. Sometimes you just need a little Spam in your life. [...]

2017-12-19T00:37:24+00:00By |#IslandFlavor, Appetizers, Proteins, Recipes, Uncategorized|2 Comments
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#StopFoodWaste: Overripe Tomatoes

Perhaps you're a lot like me. Last week I decided I was going to make a ton of salads, turn my nose up at anything processed and work out 30 minutes a day because DANG IT those last ten pounds are coming off! Instead I ended up binge watching Daredevil Season 2 (HOLY ISH AMAZING), getting pizza delivered, and eating Nutella right out of the jar. Meh. You win some. You lose some. Unfortunately now the tomatoes I bought for salad are just a touch past their prime: their flesh softened, their skin wrinkled and bruised. It's a good thing old tomatoes do an amazing job of kicking up boring [...]

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