My braised potatoes are cooked down in a tomato-based sauce with traditional Puerto Rican sofrito. If you’re not familiar with braising, basically they’re roasted in seasoned liquid resulting in a pan of miniature crispy-skinned potatoes. Then, you’re left with a rich sofrito sauce reduction to garnish your potato with. So here’s a crash course on…
Chipotle Vegan Chili with Sweet Potatoes
I love chili … and meat has little to do with it! The thick, spicy, and tomatoey sauce with all kinds of textures coming together in one bowl is what seals the deal for me. Sweet potato chili is quite common among vegan cooking. That’s old news. But for my vegan chili recipe, mashed sweet…
Some Tips on Baked Kale Chips
If you’re skeptical about the concept of turning fresh kale into crispy, oven-baked kale chips, I completely understand. I was doubtful as well. This trendy snack is huge among health food enthusiasts and countless recipes exist on the internet … each has its own signature. Seasonings may vary, but the cooking process is all the…
Spinach Artichoke “Pesto” with Goat Cheese
This easy “pesto” was born on a day when I was craving spinach artichoke dip. I was really not in the mood for the cream cheese and heavy cream in practically every recipe I could find. So, I took a healthier & lighter approach with fewer ingredients and arrived at this pesto-like mixture (omitting the…
Cucumber Salad with Chili-and-Garlic-Oil
The marinade from this cucumber salad can be applied to any vegetable you prefer, but I’ve found that it works most amazingly with cucumbers due to their absorbent nature. A tangy edge is introduced from fresh lemon juice and if you’re not familiar with freshly ground coriander – which I hear is actually seeds of…
Vegan Gumbo with Mashed Yams
While traditional gumbo gets its thick texture from making a roux at the start of the recipe, for my vegan gumbo interpretation achieves a similar consistency from mixing some mashed yams into your bowl at the very end. No flour means that it’s gluten-free too. Keep in mind that this is a very loose interpretation…
Mango and Guava Nectars
As much as we love fresh fruit juices, finding ripe produce year round is not realistic. You can regularly count on nectar products for recipes calling for any type of real, close-to-fresh fruit juice. The main ingredients in nectars are quite harmless – water, fruit puree, and sugar. Sure there are some preservatives, but there is definitely…
Chipotle Pepper Spice Rub
If you can find a food market which sells dried chipotle peppers, you’re in luck! Everything else in this smoky spice rub is pretty much available at any mainstream grocery store. Note that the amount of sugar is in teaspoons (not tablespoons) like the other ingredients. Because you will be grinding fresh chipotle peppers, you should have…
10 Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips
Through much trial and error from the age of 8, I have developed my own set of chocolate chip cookie tips. In about 1984, my oldest sister burned a batch of Nestle Tollhouse cookies and I whined so much that I was actually crying. Even after that traumatic incident, she made them countless times and…
Sofrito of the American South
If you’re new to the concept of sofrito, it’s basically the blending a bunch of fresh vegetables, aromatics and herbs to use as a sauté base. You can use it in soups, stews, rice, or anything you sauté or boil. Many cultures have their own version, and seeing how I enjoy learning about American Southern…