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I’m a lover of cross-cultural comfort food and I spend my weekends cooking authentically awesome dishes without having to leave Astoria, Queens, NYC.

-Ben Costantino

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Cocktails and Beverages (4)
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Easy Ideas (25)
Meatless (50)
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Recipes (59)

Meatless Monday Ideas!

Blackeyed Pea Salad, Tabouli Style

Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette with Honey and Mustard

Maple Cornbread with Berry Preserves

Sweet Potato Dip with Curry and Candied Ginger

Oven-Dried Tomato Slices

Red Quinoa, Quick and Easy

Artichoke Aioli, Quick and Easy

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Check out more Meatless Monday inspired posts!

Visit me on Instagram in between posts!

Giving smoothies a try for breakfast with Chia see

Giving smoothies a try for breakfast with Chia seeds, @vitacoco coconut water, banana 🍌, pineapple 🍍, Honeycrisp apple (with the peels) 🍎, and pure maple syrup 🍁.

Was never a fan of smoothies but needed some other options to incorporate into my breakfast routine other than eggs, omelettes, sandwiches, and breakfast tacos. Need to mix in more foods that naturally reduce blood pressure and cholesterol on occasion. 😔

Oatmeal is something else I need to play around with too. Smoothies might be my new obsession … once I latch onto something I tend to go crazy in case you haven't noticed, ha!

#coconutwater #smoothie #naturalremedies #foodasmedicine #breakfastsmoothie #healthyeating #freshfruits #smoothierecipe #smoothietime #chiaseeds #bananasmoothie #pineapple #liquidmeals #fruitdrink #smoothieoftheday #smoothiechallenge #smoothieprep

Ok, back to what I know best … sandwiches 🥪!

Heritage Cooking intrigues me because it's not som

Heritage Cooking intrigues me because it's not something I was supposed to be able to do. Knowing exactly what my ancestors ate throughout history is something every home cook or chef is naturally curious about. For most people it’s a no-brainer, but if ur not filled in on my life story … I was adopted as an infant, and had to really WORK for the info.

Due to some super lucky chain of events and hard detective work on my part, I was able to search for and find my birth family in my early 20s. Being told what your ethnicity is not the same as actually encountering it in real life, so it is super rewarding to be able to consult my birth families to have complete answers. I might do a one-off video on how exactly I did the search, as I get asked that frequently and it is quite amazing seeing how it was before the developed internet existed.

Well, my birth mom passed away 4 years before I met everyone, so that has made the Sicilian branch of heritage cooking not as fun, and easy to avoid. I can’t call her up or text with excitement that I’m making something from her culture like I do with my birth father. So I’m finally pushing through and exploring Sicilian food on my feed. Sure, I know tons about Italian American food and pasta making 🍝, but not much about Sicilian specifically.

The culinary world (especially on TV) frequently wants you to “tell us who you are through your food”. And I always imagined a nightmare scenario of being on a TV show not knowing what to say to that answer. 😂

So I was super lucky 🍀 to:
▪️1. find my family
▪️2. have them be open, warm and receptive
▪️3. share photos and information needed to do my family tree on Ancestry so I could locate specific countries and towns relatable to me.

These photos of my Sicilian side include my mom, uncle, and grandfather at Mount Etna in Sicily,1972; aunt and a half sister, both Sicilian great grandparents, grandfather, and an uncle with a half brother.

So … that’s all why heritage cooking is such a big deal in my mind.

#sicilianamerican #sicilian #adopteevoices #adopteevoicesmatter #adoptionstory #sicilianamericans #familyhistory #mountetna

Day 2 of Calabaza Pumpkin and Lentil Soup with Pas

Day 2 of Calabaza Pumpkin and Lentil Soup with Pasilla Chiles … simmered yesterday’s pumpkin puree in veggie stock lentils, Mexican oregano, salted as needed, and 🥑 avocado leaf to bring out a little anise-like sweetness, Gonna let these flavors sit together for a while, go do some cardio, then see where I’m at later. Tempted to add a hint of sugar, but really don’t want to. Will see ...

#calabazasquash #calabaza #pumpkinsoup #lentilsoup #soupseason #cookingfromscratch #makingsoup #testcooking #recipetesting #pasillapeppers #spicy #pumpkinrecipes #mexicanchiles #steamedveggies #roastedgarlic #lentilrecipe #comfortcooking #pumpkinpuree #homecooking #avocadoleaf #hojadeaguacate #souprecipes #vegansoup#vegancooking
#plantbasedcooking

Taking a different approach to "pumpkin spice" sea

Taking a different approach to "pumpkin spice" season with Calabaza Pumpkin and Lentil Soup with Pasilla Chiles. Was never a fan of the "American" pumpkin flavor and first had Calabaza one summer, circa 2012, when I obsessed over learning how to make Puerto Rican🇵🇷 pastels. It's definitely a flavor I can get with.

I’ve been obsessed with minimal-ingredient soups lately, so this easy vegan soup is planning on just having … steamed calabaza, dydrated Pasilla chiles 🌶️, roasted garlic 🧄, red lentils, then thinned out with veggie stock. Will see.

#calabazasquash #calabaza #pumpkinsoup #lentilsoup #soupseason #coldweatherfood #cookingfromscratch #makingsoup #testcooking #recipetesting #pasillachiles #spicy #pumpkinspice #mexicanchile #bamboosteamer #steamedveggies #roastedgarlic #redlentils #comfortcooking #pumpkinpuree #homecooking #simplecooking #orangefood

Have been meaning to enlarge and frame this pic in

Have been meaning to enlarge and frame this pic in my phone for 5 years and finally time to set it free. I like to entitle it "Running with Chicken and Rice".

It was taken during my lunch break in Soho on Kenmore and Mulberry street in February, 2017 and it always intrigued me. Because judging from the way it fell in one direction, there's some kind of trajectory going on, so the person had momentum and was either running, or throwing it. And who throws chicken and rice? 🤔

And if you're at all moving (fast or slow) with chicken and rice, it's usually still in the bag. So they were likely eating it, going all in 😋, then suddenly had to run for some reason and maybe tripped. Unless someone took it from them and threw it, which is unlikely because it fell so horizontal.

Either way, it must have been a serious situation to waste such a heavenly carton of Halal street food. Am I missing any other any other interpretations?

#streetphotography
#nycstreetphotography #chickenandrice #nycstreetart #sohonyc #halalfood #foodcartlife #foodcart #artinterpretation #foodart #yellowrice #chickennrice #foodasart #nycfoodies #nycfood

Had been planning on reshooting this Ham and Plant

Had been planning on reshooting this Ham and Plantain Sandwich, but just never got around to it yet. It lacks a couple details and items to call it a full 🇨🇺 Cuban sandwich, so it's a "Cuban-ish" Ham and Plantain Sandwich with a roasted garlic 🧄 and pickle 🥒 juice spread.

Here's what's going on…
On one piece of lightly toasted multi-grain bread is a combo of whole grain mustard and honey mustard. On the other is a spread made of a roadsted garlic cloves, olive oil, and pickle juice. Then in the middle ... Jarlsberg Swiss 🧀 cheese, Black Forest ham 🍖, @heinz dill pickles, grilled sweet plantains, and red onion. There's probably hot sauce somewhere in there too. No mayo needed here.

Make it vegetarian by ditching the ham altogether and it's still quite awesome. And no need to fry the plantains, simply slice them crosswise on a mandolin slicer and grill them, brushed with just a little olive oil.

#holdthemayo #cubansandwich #plantainsandwich #hamsandwich #hamandcheese #dillpickles #sandwichoftheday #blackforestham #pickles #sweetplantains #maduros #sandwichgram #platanos #platanosmaduros #comfortfoodie #sandwichideas #sandwichtime #sandwichlovers

Finally getting around to testing a better approac

Finally getting around to testing a better approach to a simple clam chowder recipe … one that is basic and not too fancy.

I feel like this is something gets WAY too complicated and it need not be. Working literally with just butter, onion, potato, clams (canned for now as I’m testing), clam broth, salt, and pepper. At the most, I could MAYBE consider adding a bay leaf but thats it. Was revisiting an old cookbook my monad in our kitchen growing up and their method ws so outdated … I was NOT about to use salt pork like they recommend.

It’s part of my heritage cooking series that I’ve been working on posting to the blog. Clam chowder invokes such great memories for me. It’s something my birth-father and I made together during one of the few times we were able to really hang out. It was unplanned and we just end up making it because he has tons of experience digging for clams.

Plus, it reminds me of beach days. When ya go to the beach in Rhode Island, this basic version is basically what ya get. No fancy herbs, tomato paste, celery, or carrots. Fresh clams are abundantly available in Rhode Island and we like to just enjoy their natural flavor.

#clamchowder #clamchowda #freshseafood #401food #newenglandchowder #newenglandfood #rhodeislandfood #whitechowder #chowder #chowda #clamlover #soupseason #clams #happyasaclam #iloverhodeisland #littelrhody #newportri #heritagecooking

Was too busy to deal with photography on Thanksgiv

Was too busy to deal with photography on Thanksgiving this year. But this is one thing I did to transform turkey.

As usual, we went Jamaican 🇯🇲 and made jerk seasoned turkey. Instead of making a flour-based gravy, I made this nifty jerk barbecue sauce out of some original flavored @stubbsbbqsauce. Simmered it with some garlic, scotch bonnet peppers, allspice, black pepper, and thyme then stirred in all the succulent turkey drippings. So, it actually ended up much thinner than it looks in the pic. This was just a starting point.

You cannot have a boring turkey with this slathered on your plate … especially as it starts running into the mac and cheese, cornbread dressing, and collard greens.

That’s my homegrown 🌿 thyme from the summer and Scotch bonnet peppers stored in vinegar in the fridge … two heavyweight items that keep on giving.

#barbecuesauce #jerkseasoning #saucemaking #cookingtips #cookingfromscratch #bbqsauce #saucy #sauceisboss #freshherbs #homegrownherbs #spicy #gardentotable #scotchbonnets #blackfoodbloggers #scotchbonnetsauce #thyme #tomatogravy #holidaycooking #jamaicanjerk #barbecuenation #jamaicanfood #jamaican

Sooo ... about those dandelion greens. They're sup

Sooo ... about those dandelion greens. They're super bitter, so my theory was that similar to kale, soaking them in water after they're cut would lessen the bitterness. Did that. Then sauteed them in lots of garlic and olive oil and toned them down by adding them to a mixture of quinoa and roasted red peppers, and lots of parsley.

A combination of bitter and sweet was fantastic and made possible by soaking up a Maple 🍁 and Mandarin 🍊 Vinaigrette.
Recipe below ⬇️

▪️½ cup olive oil
▪️¼ cup Mandarin juice
▪️2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
▪️2 teaspoons maple syrup
▪️1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

#quinoasalad #dandelionsalad #dandeliongreen #superfoods #meatfree #plantbasedcooking #bittergreens #vinaigretterecipe #quinoarecipes #quinoalove #saladswag #healthyeating #foodblog #foodphotography #healthyfood #healthyrecipes #vegetarianrecipes #thefeedfeed #thefeedfeedglutenfree #f52grams #glutenfree #thanksgivingrecipe #fallrecipes #healthythanksgivingrecipes

Completely winging it here, my first time ever wor

Completely winging it here, my first time ever working with dandelion greens. 🥬 Any advice is completely welcomed. To me, dandelions were always those yellow flowers (technically weeds) you stepped on while playing kickball in the 80s and the leaves never grew beyond 6 inches. But these red dandelion greens are like the size of my forearm from @unitedbrothers and were super perky. So I wanted to try something new.

I’m thinking maybe a Dandelion Green and Quinoa salad with a Mandarin Maple Vinaigrette for tomorrow to go along with all the succulent and spicy 🌶️ jerk turkey 🇯🇲🍗, cornbread dressing, mac and cheese and simmered collards we have planned. I need something fresh and plant based.

Going to just prep them tonight. Are you supposed to eat those tough stems? If so, how far down do ya go? Should I cut them out like I do kale stems? But they’re super pretty and look super exciting to eat.

#dandelion #dandeliongreens #tryingsomethingnew #makingsalad #greens #cookingadvice #homecooking #saladgreens #healthycooking #plantbasedcooking #plantpower #eatyouweeds #reddandelion #eattheweeds #holidaycooking

Day two of tuna salad means a simple tuna melt wit

Day two of tuna salad means a simple tuna melt with just 3 ingredients … tuna salad, gruyere cheese and @eatdivina Calabrian Peppers. Thanks again @onthebiasnyc for hooking me up with an awesome Italian 🇮🇹 pepper 🌶️ I didn’t know about until recently.

What’s going on here is not just putting the sliced peppers in the tuna melt, I’m also taking advantage of the awesome pepper oil. Here’s what to do ⬇️

▪️1. Brush the Calabrian pepper oil on one side of some bread and toast the oiled side on a hot skillet.

▪️2. Meanwhile, shred some Gruyere cheese and slice your Calaprian peppers.

▪️3. Once the oiled sides of the bread are crispy and hot. flip them over in the skillet. On one side of bread, spread some honey mustard. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on both sides of the toasted bread. Add tuna salad on one side, and the sliced peppers onto the other.

▪️4. Merge the two sides of bread and press it ever-so-slightly, allowing the cheese to continue to melt. Flip the sandwich as needed to maintain even browning on your bread.

#tunasandwich #tunamelt #sandwichtime #spicypeppers #italianingredients #importedfoods #thatsitalian #calabrianpeppers #pescatarianrecipes #fishsandwich #lunchfood #tunasandwich #gruyerecheese #spicyfoodaddict #simplecooking #3ingredients #redpeppers #italianfoods #calabrian

At first I thought “Hummus and tuna? 🤔 Nahhhh

At first I thought “Hummus and tuna? 🤔 Nahhhh.” But I was so wrong on this.

Roasted red pepper @sabra hummus, cucumber, honey mustard, with albacore tuna salad bound together with just a little olive oil mayo, dijon mustard, and rice vinegar was freakin amazing for a breakfast sandwich. It DOES need that cucumber in the middle for crunch and structure.

I can’t stand tuna salad that’s too moist and slimy … just enough to keep it together good enough for me. No eggs, no bacon, no cheese. Maybe this is more of a “lunch sandwich” but for breakfast.

#tunasandwich #hummussandwich #sandwichtime
#sandwichlover #pescatarianrecipes #fishsandwich #healthyliving #healthylunch #lunchrecipes #sandwhich #tunasalad #tuna #healthylunchideas #lunchtime #tunasandwich #healthysandwich #healthymeal #easyrecipes #healthyrecipes #redpepperhummus

To all my people ... please help me wish the love

To all my people ... please help me wish the love of my life @brothashakespeare (aka. Keldrick Crowder) a Happy Birthday 🎈🎉🎂🍹🍹🥧🥧🥧

We met as drinking buds at a regular happy hour spot in the West Village in Manhattan in 2004, then finally started officially dating in the summer of 2014. He's given me the best 7 years if my adult life and a major influence in my decision to start a blog #cookingblogger and pursue what I REALLY love to do … cook!

He's also a classical trained theater actor (Shakespeare is his thing), so check out his website ➡️ keldrickcrowder.com

BTW I also coded his website from scratch 😵‍💫🤓🤯 #webdeveloper

#happybirthday
#blackjoymatters #nycactor #brothashakespeare #loveandhappiness #livinginnyc #nycactors #nycactorslife

This heavenly frittata went down yesterday, I gave

This heavenly frittata went down yesterday, I gave it extra love ❤️ by roasting the tomatoes so they became really sweet, then grilled my baby portobello mushrooms in Worcestershire sauce so they got nice and caramelized. Then sauteed in some Black Forest ham with Poblano peppers, and cubes of Swiss Gruyere cheese.
🍳
🥚
#gruyerecheese #cheeselover #hamandcheese #cherrytomatoes
#eggdishes #cookingeggs #fritattarecipe #breakfasteggs #easycooking #easymealideas #homecookedfood #skilletmeals #castironrecipes #homecookingblogger #homecook #homecooksofinstagram #castironskilletcooking #eggsellent #freshoutoftheoven #breakfastisserved #comfortcooking #comfortfood #iloveeggs #IGhomecook #icookedthis

It was a “Mexico meets the Mediterranean” kind

It was a “Mexico meets the Mediterranean” kind of lunch today combining the briny saltiness of @eatdivina olive bruschetta with the mild spiciness of Poblano peppers, and garlicky @Sabra hummus in another meatless vegetarian sandwich ... along with honey mustard, munster cheese, cucumber, Mexican hot sauce (kinda hidden), and red onion.

#meatless #vegetariansandwich #olivebruschetta #poblanopepper #hummussandwich #olivespread #iloveolives #meatlesssandwich #vegetarian #vegetariansandwich #whatvegetarianseat #sandwichtime
#sandwichartist #greekingredients #mediterranean #greekfood #mediterraneanfoods #importedfoods

Revamped my blog post for Cranberry Apple Crisp (o

Revamped my blog post for Cranberry Apple Crisp (on HomemadeInAstoria.com, via the search bar) using those awesome #honeycrispapples from @unitedbrothersfruitmarkets two posts ago.

I always LOVED apple picking season when I was a kid in Rhode Island #grewupinrhodeisland , and now that I actually know how to cook and bake, I love being able to get that nostalgic experience with fresh apples on the streets of Astoria.
🍎
🍎
🍎
#applerecipe #applecrisp #appleseason #honeycrispapple #applerecipes #applelover #cranberryrecipes #iloveapples #nycfoodie #astorianyc #apples #comfortfoodie #livinginastoria #livinginqueens #livinginnyc #queensnyc #cranapple #bakingblogger #grewupinrhodeisland #rhodeislander #newenglandfood #comfort #ilovetobake #holidaybaking #thanksgiving2021 #holidayfood #holidayrecipe #ilovebaking

Wasn’t really feeling that Holiday 2022 spirit t

Wasn’t really feeling that Holiday 2022 spirit this year until I started grinding this 🇲🇽 Mexican cinnamon in my mortar and pestle. Ahhhh, the aroma! Sure, I could use a coffee grinder. But I often don’t choose the path of “quick and easy” in the kitchen. I enjoy putting that personalized handmade touch on a process.

Besides, my spice coffee grinder is bright red from Mexican chiles. And even though you can clean it quite well by grinding rice to absorb the color and flavor #kitchentips, I didn’t want to risk having any remnants of Chile powder in my Cranberry Apple Crisp. So ... I still prefer the manual labor of crushing the hell out of this cinnamon with my forearm 💪🏻.

Once I started baking with warm, sweet-smelling Mexican cinnamon, I could never go back to that spicy, aggressive, toxic-tasting stick cinnamon that is available everywhere. If you haven’t already, run (don’t walk) to your nearest Mexican corner store and grab a bag of this heavenly ingredient to enhance your Holidays this season.

#ceyloncinnamon #cinnamonbark #freshspices #freshspicesarethebest #mexicancinnamon #cinnamonlove #treebark #cinnamonstick #canela #canelaentera #canelamexicana #freshingredients #spices #spicelover #holidaybaking #mortarandpestle #bakingfromscratch

After last night's live moment with @thatgirlcanco

After last night's live moment with @thatgirlcancook__ talking about apple pie, and then coming across these awesome #honeycrisp apples at @unitedbrothersfruitmarkets today made me realize I need to revisit my recipe for Cranberry Apple Crisp, on the blog via the search bar (homemadeinastoria.com).

I don't bake as much as I used to, simply because I no longer have a sweet tooth and my body just can't take all the carbs and sugar anymore. And I forget that my first culinary home cooking experiences were based in baking.

I REALLY miss those awesome crispy and bubbly fried apple pies from McDonald's in the 80s, so my next #homecooking mission will be to recreate them.

#appleseason #honeycrispapple #applerecipes #howdoyoulikethemapples #iloveapples #nycfoodie #astorianyc #apples #comfortfoodie #foodshopping #nycstreets #nycstreetphotography #livinginastoria #livinginqueens #livinginnyc #queensnyc

Ordered from @duzannyc Middle Eastern grill for th

Ordered from @duzannyc Middle Eastern grill for the first time yesterday and had a field day with all the awesome sauces they give with their Shawarma and falafel platters. Decided to use their #whitesauce to dress some kale and my leftover hummus to create this #veggiepacked hummus, kale, poblano, cucumber, cheese, and honey mustard #vegeratiansandwich this morning. 🥪

When a restaurant offers such an abundant selection of sauces (a choice of 6) they’re definitely speaking my language. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Along with the white sauce (from left to right) is the garlic spread 🧄, spicy harissa 🌶️, Amba (pickled tangy mango 🥭), and their house standard Duzan sauce.
💚
I can’t explain how many times I’ve been so annoyed (almost to tears 😭) from a place forgetting to give me sauce, giving me the wrong sauce, or giving such a ridiculously small amount. I even pay for extra sauce at times and it doesn’t always happen.

#awesomesauce #kalesandwich #condiments #kale #kalelover #sauceboss #veggielover #eatyourveggies #meatlesseating #plantpower #sandwichoftheday #vegetariansandwich #whatvegetarianseat #micronutrients #astorialife #astorianyc #healthyeating #vegetarian #vegetarianday #nycfoodblogger #nycfoodies

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Shopping at my favorite store in Astoria, Queens on a hot summer day ... Trade Fair on 30th Avenue and 31st Street.

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