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I’m Ben, a home cook with a less-meat approach cross-cultural comfort food, sharing cooking tips and recipes in Astoria, Queens, NYC.

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Cocktails and Beverages (4)
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Desserts (5)
Easy Ideas (26)
Meatless (54)
Neo Soul (29)
Plant-Based (38)
Recipes (66)

Meatless Monday Ideas!

Air Fryer Potatoes with Thai Curry Paste

Cherry Tomato Bites

Thai Curry Eggplant with Lentils

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers, Quick and Easy

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

Check out more Meatless Monday inspired posts!

Visit me on Instagram in between posts!

Here’s how you make 🌿 plant based Puerto Rica

Here’s how you make 🌿 plant based Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 rice with pigeon peas. Having learned this from @chefddaisymartinez circa 2005, here’s my tips to success based on my 17 years of trial and error.

Long story short … if you’re eliminating meat, you just need to increase the seasonings and aromatics, and use a good veggie stock. Smashed Castelvetrano olives from @eatdivina provide a fantastic meaty texture and briny salt flavor to sufficiently take the place of traditionally-used pork.

👇🏻 Tips for these rice and beans

▪️Pre-rinse your rice in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear.

▪️ You can buy Puerto Rican Sofritoin some stores, but it's better to make a huge batch ahead of time and store it in the freezer. You can find it in my feed from May 8th.

▪️Use one cup of rice to just under 2 cups of veggie stock.

▪️Cover and simmer the rice when the water level meets the rice and you start to see large bubble holes.

▪️Simmer the rice with the lid on for 20 minutes, and do not stir it until the end. And when you do, only stir it 2 or 3 times to distribute the heat in preparation for the resting process.

▪️Your rice might seem too gummy in the end, don’t worry. Rice needs to rest with the lid ajar for quite some time.

Find the full “with meat” recipe is on my blog via the search bar (link is in my bio above),

For a homemade salsa with moderate heat and a ligh

For a homemade salsa with moderate heat and a light, fruity flavor, use these Pulla/Puya chile peppers. 🌶️

And hit the 👉🏻 follow 👈🏻 if you love spicy cooking because I’m constantly exploring and sharing different ways to enjoy spicy foods.

👇🏻 Here’s a few notes on this homemade salsa…

▪️Guajillo peppers provide an uncomplicated, pure pepper flavor. Pulla chiles add a little heat, and Chipotles deliver some smokiness.

▪️Blend the hydrated chile peppers in just enough pepper water to match the level of the peppers … so they’re just barely submerged. You don’t want it too liquidy.

▪️Salt was added to taste. The roasted tomatoes were salted generously, so keep that in mind.

▪️Strained pepper extract freezes very well, so save to use as a base for my enchilada sauce (recipe is on the blog via the search bar … link is in my bio).

▪️Using a #molcajete helps achieve a chunky texture which fuses flavors together by mashing, instead of a food processor which adds air and doesn’t fuse flavors as well, in my opinion. A traditional molcajete can be hard to find and uses volcanic rock which is uses it’s rocky texture to grind things down. If you have this cement molcajete with a smooth surface, use light tapping motions to break down food instead.

#tomatosalsa #mexicansalsa #mexicanchilepeppers #mexicanchiles #molcajetesalsa #redsalsa #chunkysalsa #roastedtomatosalsa #spicyfood #salsamolcajete #salsaroja

Tahini dressing jam packed with fresh herbs 🌿 i

Tahini dressing jam packed with fresh herbs 🌿 is the way to take a bowl of chicken and rice up a notch. It's a variation on the dressing recipe from @epicurious with added dill, parsley, and tarragon.

👇🏻Here's why tahini salad dressing is so fantastic…

▪️ It's water based. No oil happening here and no need to spend time whisking to emulsify fussy ingredients.

▪️ You can really stretch it out because the longer tahini sits, the more water it adsorbs. It becomes rather thick. So the recipe calls for ⅓ cup of water but you need to keep adding water to thin it out when you go back for seconds (or thirds). The yield is amazing.

#tahinidressing #saladdressing #freshherbs #tahinisauce #tahini

On top of a bed of quinoa and cilantro leaves is m

The morning after @charlespanfriedchicken in Harl

The morning after @charlespanfriedchicken in Harlem.

The chicken and potato salad are fantastic ... and here’s how ya stretch out that awesome cornbread in a breakfast salad.

👉🏻 Cut the cornbread into cubes and toast them in a hot dry pan to make cornbread croutons ... an idea I picked up from watching @daniellethechef

#saladideas #croutons #cornbread #breakfastsalad #breakfastbowl #breakfasttime #breakfastfood

Grab some Oaxaca cheese for a “mozzarella meets

Grab some Oaxaca cheese for a “mozzarella meets Monterey Jack” experience with your next batch of nachos. No meat needed here when ya can pile on the quinoa, veggies, Jalapeños and succulent salsas … both store bought and takeout.

There's plenty of homemade salsa roja in my Reels, but ordering extra from my favorite Mexican restaurant is sooooo irresistible. And I'm constantly impressed with many store bought @herdeztraditions products as well.

#nachostime #veggienachos #mexicanfood #nachoslover #vegetarianmeal

Jerk barbecue chicken and acorn squash with sage b

Jerk barbecue chicken and acorn squash with sage butter are a fantastic combo for a fall barbecue 🍂🍁

🍗 Store bought jerk marinade @gracefoods never disappoints. Simply clean you chicken and marinate overnight the day before. Season under the skin too!

🍗 Acorn squash simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then cooked first cup side down. Then then them over, drop in some sage with a pat of butter and cook them over medium coals until tender.

#barbecuechicken #chickenthighs #jerkchicken #jerkmarinade #bbqchicken #sagebutter

Cauliflower Picadillo filling with Pigeon Peas is

Cauliflower Picadillo filling with Pigeon Peas is an easy one-skillet meatless idea for your Latin Cuisine favorites … tacos, quesadillas or empanadas.

🌶️ Check my feed and definitely 👉🏻 follow 👈🏻 if you enjoy occasional tips on meatless cooking, because I love 🥰 to share as I try new things.

Homemade Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 sofrito is the sauté base, and everything else is store bought pantry items, such as…

▪️ Dominican oregano
▪️ Alcarrado, chopped (a mixture of Jared olives, capers and pimento)
▪️Hot pickled peppers
▪️plain tomato sauce
▪️black pepper
▪️salt as needed (the olives and capers are salty on their own)

👉🏻 For my Meatless Picadillo tips…
▪️Generally you need to add more liquid because meatless ingredients dry out quickly. Or, adding some cheese helps.

▪️If you want to caramelize the cauliflower, do that before you add the tomato sauce, so it doesn't evaporate.

▪️If your Picadillo is too dry in the end, don't just add tomato sauce (or else it will be bland). In a separate pan, make more seasoned tomato sauce with sautéed sofrito and oregano. Then add that to the mix.

▪️Adding finely diced veggies to the cooked ingredients adds a lightness and crunch to your filling.

#empanada #empanadalovers #picadillo #latincuisine #turnovers #vegetariancooking #cauiliflowerrecipes

When you see Colby cheese 🧀, grab it and make s

When you see Colby cheese 🧀, grab it and make some Mac and cheese! It's a cheddar style cheese but somehow it melts better than a classic cheddar.

Everyone has their own Mac and Cheese rules and that's just one of mine. 👇🏻My other macaroni and cheese rules include…

🧀 No Velveeta or American cheese needed. Make a white roux and melt your cheeses into it.

🧀 Three types of cheeses are my maximum. Usually my go-to combination is Colby, Gouda and Gruyere. However, here I used Raclette cheese which is praised for it's melting ability.

🧀 Use al dente pasta before baking so the final product is not overcooked and mushy.

🧀 Classic elbow macaroni is nostalgic and oh so comforting. Other pasta shapes just don't feel right 😅

#macncheese #macaroniandcheese #cheeselover #macncheeserecipe #cheesepull

Air fried sweet potato 🍠 breakfast salad 🥗 w

Air fried sweet potato 🍠 breakfast salad 🥗 whips up rather quickly as a go-to meatless meal.

If you cut them small enough, they can only take about 15 minutes to air fry at 350 degrees … even quicker if you parboil them. Here’s how 👇🏻

To speed up the sweet potato cooking process …

🍠 Before you start dicing the sweet potatoes, start the water boiling so it’s ready exactly when you need it.

🍠 Boil only as little water as possible in a pre-heated pan, and use hot tap water … only 2 cups of water for one sweet potato is sufficient. This way you can have boiling water in 3 to 4 minutes!

🍠 Drop sweet potatoes in the boiling water and cook for one minute. Then drain, coat with oil, season them, arrange them in one layer in an air fryer, then cook until tender.

👉🏻Follow👈🏻 my feed if you want more cooking tips for everyday cooking.

🇲🇽 The salad eating experience is enhanced by a Mexican handwoven placemat from @incasa_decor

#saladideas #sweetpotatosalad #saladbreakfast #sweetpotatoes #saladlovers

Black beans roasted in 🌶️ Chipotle sauce, the

Black beans roasted in 🌶️ Chipotle sauce, then mashed is my favorite protein in breakfast sandwiches lately. It's fantastic in burritos, quesadillas, 🇲🇽 Mexican torta sandwiches, crunch wraps, and tacos.

👉🏻 Simply arrange the sauced black beans in one layer, then roast them at 400 degrees, for about 20 minutes. They're oh so smokey and slightly crunchy.

If you're trying to eat less meat and like things on the spicy side, 👉🏻 visit my feed 👈🏻 for more meatless ideas and/or ways to consume it with a more pro-veggie approach.

#mexicansandwich #breakfastsandwich #blackbeanrecipe #eggsandwich #breakfastfood

Goat cheese goes amazingly well with spoonfuls of

Goat cheese goes amazingly well with spoonfuls of Salsa Roja (from my previous Reel) dropped into a frittata, FYI. 👉🏻Follow👈🏻 my feed if you love spicy cooking with less meat. Something spicy usually ends up on my plate, I can't help myself 😂

Also happening in this cast iron skillet cooking is charred broccoli and caramelized onions … no meat needed here.

#frittata #eggrecipe #breakfastfood #castironrecipes
#castironcooking

You can make Mexican Salsa Roja with just one toma

You can make Mexican Salsa Roja with just one tomato, two cloves of garlic, and dried Mexican chile peppers. If you love spicy 🌶️ cooking with less meat, 👉🏻following my feed👈🏻 will enhance your life!

Cooking with Mexican chile peppers is such an oh so satisfying activity. Here's a few tips:

🌶️ For heat use Árbol chili pepper. They're bright red and really tiny, but ohhh so spicy! Use them with caution … like two or three at the most.

🌶️When blending hydrated chile peppers, add just enough pepper water to equal the level so they can loosen up.
Straining the peppers over a mesh strainer isn't necessary, but it's something I prefer and recommend.

🌶️ Store the extra strained Chile pepper extract in the freezer, so you can whip up another batch of Salsa Roja in the future. Reheat it in the microwave with the defrost setting.

🌶️ Tostada shells as chips are fantastic because they’re sturdier and usually not covered in salt!

#salsaandchips #chipsandsalsa #flavoursofmexico #easyrecipes

A less-meat approach to Black Bean and Turkey Chil

A less-meat approach to Black Bean and Turkey Chili involves serving over raw veggies for filler. And for a more unique chili, toast and grind your own personalized blend of dried Mexican chile peppers to make your own chili powder.

A few things to note:
🌶️ When toasting Chile peppers do not toast the seeds, and only toast the skins until they're fragrant (otherwise it becomes bitter) and a little drier. Add the seeds when grinding the powder if you like things spicy.

🌶️ Shredded cabbage is a great filler choice because it's durable and provides a nice refreshing crunch. Other durable veggies work well as a filler like finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower and avocado.

🌶️ Add grated garlic when adding the chili powder … after the sautéed onions start to brown … so they don't burn.

🌶️ And if you're not a cilantro lover, just do you and swap it for parsley!

#turkeychili #chilirecipe #cilantrolover #chilibowl #bowlofchili #chilipowder

Here's how to make loaded rice and beans bowl with

Here's how to make loaded rice and beans bowl with Jamaican 🇯🇲 curry powder and a bean I love to use in place of meat … pigeon peas … aka. gandules!

Feel free to 👉🏻follow👈🏻 for more cooking tips because I love to share as I try new things.

👇🏻Here are some cooking notes:

▪️Jamaican curry has a warm flavor because it doesn't have many aggressive spices like clove, cinnamon and cardamom. It does have a little allspice but not too much.

▪️These dry beans took 5 hours of cooking. Sure, soaking beans is preferable, but often times it's an impromptu situation. So when ya start with dry beans ya just have to cook them longer than if they were soaked.

▪️When adding curry powder add a little water so it doesn't burn.

▪️Be gentle with coconut milk, add it towards the end during the simmering process when the beans are almost done and begin to burst, releasing their starchy texture.

▪️If ya don't like cilantro, just add parsley.

#riceandbeans #jamaicancurry #jamaicanchoice #curry #currylove #yellowcurry #pigeonpeas #beanrecipe #beansandrice #caribbeancooking

Hit the 👉🏻follow👈🏻 if you want more me

Hit the 👉🏻follow👈🏻 if you want more meatless ideas from a part-time vegetarian.

This spicy eggplant that had been air fried with Za'atar seasoning, then reheated the next day was the faux "meat" in yesterday's meatless low-carb lunch. A cheese 🧀 steak of some sort just had to happen after passing by some really awesome cheese steak street carts.

It's a cousin to the eggplant bacon 🥓 concept, except this actually works! Enough with trying to slice it thin and make it into something it's not. It's basically roasted eggplant that had been cut into thick julienne strips.

Low carb tortillas are really a game changer if you're on a low carb diet. I really don't feel bloated afterwards. They're kinda small though, so ya just gotta scale down your thinking and make smaller wraps.

#lowcarbfoods #lunchwrap #meatlesscooking #healthylunchideas #lunchtime #lunchideas #eggplantrecipes #cheesesteakwrap #vegetariancooking

A fantastic two-serving tomato soup with red peppe

A fantastic two-serving tomato soup with red peppers happened when cooking only with what I had available. And soup season is kicked up a notch with natural stone dinnerware and handwoven placemats from @incasa_decor to complete the rustic soup experience.

👇🏻 For quick tomato soup, here's all you need:
▪️3 vine tomatoes
▪️tomato paste
▪️1 onion
▪️a bunch of garlic cloves
▪️Penzeys Frozen pizza seasoning
▪️red bell peppers in a jar
▪️veggie stock
▪️dried Guajillo chile peppers
▪️kosher salt and pepper to taste

👇🏻A few notes:
🍅 The small quantity. Sometimes ya don't want to be eating the same soup for a few days, so if you're cooking for just yourself or for two this is perfect.

🍅 Dried herbs. I was gifted a set of Penzeys seasonings and this Frozen Pizza herb blend has everything needed for a tomato soup base. Ya just have to use more than you would normally with fresh herbs.

🍅 Didn't have the standard red pepper flakes, so I toasted and ground some Guajillo dried Mexican chile peppers 🌶️ for a little heat.

🍅 Red bell peppers add volume, flavor and a fantastic color when you're short on tomatoes.

👇🏻Here's what to do:
▪️Boil tomatoes in water until the skins release, discard the skins and core. Dice tomatoes and set aside.

▪️In a small pot, sauté onions until soft, then add garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant. Then stir in tomato paste and cook until it depends in color slightly. Add the diced bell peppers and diced tomatoes.

▪️Add veggie stock and bring to a brief boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

▪️Remove from heat, allow it cool slightly, then puré in a blender. ⚠️ DO NOT put hot soup in a blender or else it will explode. Then transfer back to the pot to simmer. Adjust seasonings and add more veggie stock to control the thickness as desired.

#tomatosoup #soupseason #tomatosouprecipe #easydinner #quickdinner #cozyrecipe #souprecipe #homemadesoup #simplefood

🌶️ Calypso pepper sauce is mostly pickled sco

🌶️ Calypso pepper sauce is mostly pickled scotch bonnet peppers and mustard with seasonings. It's an awesome condiment if you love spicy food and so easy to make a copy cat recipe at home. And because it's super spicy so ya don't have to make very much.

It was my first time seeing this in the store, then I got home and discovered its way-too-soon expiration date. So, time to look at the ingredients and make some homemade hot sauce.

🌶️ For the peppers:
▪️Bring to a simmer 10 Scotch Bonnet peppers, sliced and covered in a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar and 1 part water and 4 (or more) garlic cloves.

👉🏻 NOTE: the pepper fumes are strong, so stand back and use proper ventilation.

▪️Let this cool, then puré in a blender or small food processor. then strain it through a wire mesh strainer to yield about a cup of scotch bonnet extract.

▪️Make your sauce (below) and freeze any unused extract.

🌶️ To make ½ cup pepper sauce…
Combine:
▪️½ cup Scotch Bonnet pepper extract
▪️1 heaping tbs Dijon mustard
▪️3 tsp sugar
▪️1 more tsp salt
▪️2 more tbs vinegar

Adjust seasonings to your liking.

▪️Bring this to a brief simmer then let it cool. Store it in the refrigerator.

🌶️ Note: For food safety reasons (and for simplicity) only make as much as you need for a particular event, or for about a week of consumption. Unlike hot sauces from the store, homemade hot sauce doesn’t have preservatives; and preserving with proper canning jars can become complicated. It’s easier to cut the sauce making recipe in half because you can always make more with the leftover frozen pepper extract mentioned previously.

#homemadehotsauce #peppersauce #condiments #scotchbonnetsauce #scotchbonnets #scotchbonnetpeppersauce #hotsaucelife #hotsaucelovers

Using a mortar and pestle gives you a paste-like c

Using a mortar and pestle gives you a paste-like consistency that ya just can’t achieve in any other way.

A few things to keep in mind are 👇🏻

▪️Grind your tough ingredients first, so they get more grinding time.
▪️Chop things down into similar sized pieces.
▪️You really don’t need to press too hard, let the stone do it’s work.
▪️Gentle taps are extremely effective and it helps to avoid splatter.
▪️Coarse salt helps with seasoning but also a good abrasive to break down the food.

#mortarandpestle #garlicandginger #garlicandgingerpaste #tabascopeppers #spicyfoods
#gingerpaste #garlicpaste #gingergarlic #cookingfromscratch

Cooking with cold chicken 🍗 is a violation ⚠️ if you want it to turn out well. You can have room temperature chicken wings in about one hour from doing this.

🍗 First, remove the chicken wings from the cold bowl and warm the bowl by running it under hot water.

Letting it rest to come up to room temperature can take 2 to 3 hours. But sometimes ya forget … like I did for yesterday's wing night.

🍗 Here's how it went down…
It was almost 4:00, chicken was in the fridge, and we wanted to be eating chicken wings by 7:00. Around 5:00 I made the videos, then put the chicken in the air fryer at 5:30.

🍗 First, air fried the chicken wings at 250 degrees for one hour. Then at 300 another 45 minutes to be done by 7:15 (because they're kind small). Typically I would air fry larger wings at 300 degrees for about an hour.

#airfryercooking #kitchenhacks #cookingchicken #chickenwings #cookingtips #airfryerrecipes #airfriedchicken #wingnight #chickenwangs

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