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May 25, 2015 Cocktails and Beverages

Piña Colada with Guava Nectar

pina colada with guava nectar

There are two types of people in this world … those who love piña colada and those who don’t. A common complaint among the haters is that its too sweet and they don’t like the coconut milk/cream. So, my spin on a piña colada tackles both of those issues. With the introduction of guava nectar, you can achieve a thick. Fruit nectars deliver a thick, cream-like consistency using natural fruit extracts, and guava helps cut the sweetness of pineapple.  Guava is sweet indeed, but in a different way than pineapple. Its flavor almost reminds me of a pear.

 

Switching out the coconut milk or coconut cream for  coconut Malibou rum was a no-brainer.  So I guess this could be considered a skinny version of a piña colada.

If you share a similar pet peeve of corn syrup in store-bought mixers, then fruit nectar is something you should really get into. The main ingredients in packaged nectars are just water, fruit puree, sugar and citric acid (as a preservative). Not too bad-sounding if you’re looking for the most “real ingredient” store-bought juice options.  People typically add water to fruit nectars and shake it up with ice, so naturally it works really well in thinning out your piña colada.

This recipe is for one drink, so plan accordingly. Or make a huge batch and serve it in a punch bowl.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Malibou coconut rum
  • 1/2 cup Bacardi rum
  • 1/2 cup guava nectar
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice
  • ice as needed
  • sugar cane for garnish

Instructions

  1. Combine liquid ingredients in a martini shaker, and enough ice to your liking.
  2. Shake thoroughly and pour into chilled glasses with ice.
  3. This is best enjoyed with a piece of sugar cane.

Pina colada with guava nectar

Categories: Cocktails and Beverages Tags: bacardi, guava cocktail, mailbox rum, rum cocktail, rum drink

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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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Meatless Monday Ideas!

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Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette with Honey and Mustard

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Cocoyams (aka. Taro) is the featured ingredient in Cocoyams (aka. Taro) is the featured ingredient in these pasteles done two ways … plant based 🌿 with chickpeas, and with the grilled Adobo chicken 🍗 in my previous Reel. 

Making 🇵🇷 pasteles is a labor of love, but they're a quick (and filling) meal for the summer months when you don't want to use the oven. It's easy to pull them out of the freezer and boil them in water for 45 minutes. 

The process usually takes three days … shopping for ingredients, preparation, cooking, and assembly. However, making them plant based makes it possible in two days because you're not making broth from low ‘n slow stewed meat. Instead, a veggie stock comes together more quickly. 

👇🏻 Here's how it goes down with my plant based pastels…

1️⃣ Day 1 - Shopping and Preparation:

▪️Buy all ingredients

▪️Make sofrito (pinned in my profile)

▪️Make achiote oil (heat ½ olive oil with 2 tablespoons of achiote seeds just until sizzling)

▪️Cut and rinse banana leaves

▪️Cut parchment paper and strings 

▪️Hydrate chickpeas overnight 

▪️Make veggie stock and store in the fridge overnight 

2️⃣ Day 2: Cooking and Assembly 

▪️Start cooking the chickpeas first thing in the morning. Simmer in veggie stock, sofrito, Dominican oregano, bay leaf, and tomato sauce

▪️Make the masa (the fun part!): Grate the root vegetables and bananas, then season with sautéed sofrito, salt, and some broth from the chickpeas. Add more broth as desired if you want them looser. 

▪️The assembly: pour yourself some wine and get to work! To make sure they're all the same size, measure out ½ cup of masa for each pastel, and ¼ cup of chickpea filling. Each one gets two olives, a random amount of capers and pimento, and one pickled hot pepper. 

#plantbasedcooking #puertoricancooking #caribbeancooking #puertoricanfood #africancooking #pastelesboricuas #planteles #boricuafood  #healthycooking #pastelesenhoja #pastelesveganos #veganpasteles #pastelesenhojaveganos #sweetpotatorecipe
Adobo Marinade is fantastic because of its minimal Adobo Marinade is fantastic because of its minimal ingredients. Be on the lookout for Dominican 🇩🇴 oregano 🌿 and sour oranges 🍊 (aka Seville orange) or if needed, use regular orange combined with lime juice. 

For this wet Adobo recipe:
▪️6 garlic cloves
▪️1 tablespoon kosher salt
▪️2 tablespoons black pepper
▪️2 heaping tablespoons Dominican oregano 
▪️1 tablespoon white vinegar 
▪️2 tablespoons olive oil
▪️juice of 1 sour orange 

This yields enough chicken marinade for 4 cups of chopped chicken.

👉🏻 For these Adobo grilled chicken thighs… upon completion, simply stir in some plain tomato sauce and chopped cilantro. This is heavenly  served over some rice.

#adobochicken #chickenmarinade #grilledchickenrecipe #grilledchicken #adobo #latincuisine #caribbeancooking
Here is the only spicy hummus recipe you need if y Here is the only spicy hummus recipe you need if you’ve also struggled with achieving that creamy restaurant-like hummus texture at home. 

Simply break up your relationship with chickpeas and swap them for red lentils! Cook the lentils in a ratio 1 to 2, lentils to water.

Here’s all you need for quick and easy lentil hummus…

▫️1 cup red lentils
▫️2 cups water
▫️⅓ cup Greek tahini
▫️¼ cup olive oil
▫️juice of 1 lemon
▫️1 teaspoon kosher salt
▫️1 Jalapeño pepper

Lentil hummus is far superior for a few key reasons …

👍🏻 Fresh lentils cook quickly …  in about 30 minutes maximum, while chickpeas take forever. 

👍🏻 There’s no need to use canned ingredients because lentils cook so quickly. Sure, canned chickpeas are okay. But if you want quick fresh hummus from scratch, lentils will deliver.

👍🏻 You don’t have to deal with the pesky chickpea skins.

As far as flavor goes … I really can’t tell the difference between the use of lentils compared to chickpeas (maybe I’m partial to the lentil flavor because it’s new to me and/or it's psychological 🤔). When you get a chance, give this recipe a try and let me know if you can taste the difference?

#hummusrecipe #lentilhummus #beandip #redlentils #lentilrecipe #spicyhummus
For the curry lovers … here's a quick and easy C For the curry lovers … here's a quick and easy Curry Yellow Rice recipe, slightly sweetened with chopped golden raisins. A sweeter take on curry can be really fantastic alongside some spicy 🌶️ food, and it's quick because basmati rice cooks so fast.

👇🏻 To yield about 4 cups of this curry basmati rice…

▪️2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil 
▪️½ medium red onion, diced
▪️2 tablespoons curry powder
▪️2 teaspoons kosher salt 
▪️1 1/2 cups basmati rice
▪️2 ¼ cups veggie stock or water 
▪️½ cup golden raisins, chopped fine
▪️¼ cup frozen peas 
▪️bay leaf or banana leaf for a little extra flavor 

Here's just a few cooking tips...

👉🏻 First rinse the basmati rice in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear. 

👉🏻 Keep in mind the salt amount that may already be in your yellow curry blend. The brand used here, Chief, has salt as its 5th ingredient, so adding 2 teaspoons was suitable. 

👉🏻 To not burn your curry, use 4 tablespoons of oil, or if you use 2 tablespoons of oil, simply add some water with the curry as I did so the spices bloom and it gets paste-like.

Now, of course the amounts of chopped raisins are completely flexible for you to play around with, as they can be a polarizing ingredient. If you're like me and don't really like dark raisins … the golden raisins are quite different and in this context, I'm ALL for them. 

#curryrice #yellowcurryrecipe #curryrice #currylovers #basmatirice #ricerecipe #yellowrice
For this hickory smoked jerk chicken, soy sauce wa For this hickory smoked jerk chicken, soy sauce was used in the marinade instead of kosher salt … as recommended by my appointed jerk chicken and Jamaican 🇯🇲 food authority, Chis at @caribbeanpot

Just how much soy sauce? 🤔 Well Google says 1 teaspoon soy sauce per ¼ teaspoon of salt, but I say just a tad bit more. Could have used more soy sauce in the Reel, for the ⅔ cup of marinade my jerk recipe makes.

👇🏻 This yields ⅔ cup marinade for 1 whole chicken…

▪️6 scallion stalks
▪️1 scotch Bonnet pepper (use 2 if you’re in a spicy mood)
▪️1 garlic clove
▪️2 teaspoons black peppercorns
▪️1 heaping teaspoon allspice berries 
▪️½ cup thyme, loosely packed
▪️2 tablespoons white vinegar
▪️⅓ cup canola oil
▪️½ teaspoon brown sugar
▪️¼ inch slice of ginger
▪️dash of nutmeg
▪️2 teaspoons kosher salt OR 2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce (maybe even 3)

#jerkchicken #barbecuechicken #jerkmarinade #spicychicken #chickenbarbecue #spatchcockchicken #cookingchicken #jamaicanfood
For that instant "backyard barbecue" flavor, look For that instant "backyard barbecue" flavor, look for @stubbsbbqsauce spice rub @ctown.supermarkets to season your chicken. When I'm not making my own spice blend, it's the ONLY store bought chicken seasoning I rely on regularly for grilled chicken 🍗 with salad 🥗. 

It has that added somethin' somethin' that I just can't pinpoint. The ingredients are minimal and vague … sea salt, paprika, "spices", garlic and turmeric. Yup, just spices! I'm not mad at them for not giving away their secret. 

🍗 For the chicken cutlets, I used the @testkitchen technique…

▪️Cut them in half crosswise so there's a thin half and thick half. 

▪️ Then slice the thick half horizontally to make two thinner cutlets. 

▪️Then you have three similarly sized pieces you can pound out to an even thickness. 

Season the pounded out chicken cutlets and keep them in the fridge, then they're ready to cook up for a salad protein. 

👉🏻 One rule of cooking chicken: never cook with cold chicken, so let it sit out until it comes to room temperature before cooking.

🥗 Now, about this salad … use some sturdy greens like romaine lettuce and kale to support some sliced chicken cutlets. The combination of goat cheese, Alcaparrado (olives, capers and pimento) and avocado make this special enough where you could easily omit the chicken if you want to go vegetarian. 

▪️sliced chicken cutlet 
▪️kale, romaine lettuce, red cabbage, carrot mix
▪️cherry tomatoes 
▪️avocado
▪️olives, capers, pimento (Alcaparrado), chopped 
▪️goat cheese
▪️red onions, thinly sliced 
▪️honey dijon dressing
▪️a hint of ghost pepper hot sauce 

#chickencutlets #spicerub #chickenbreast #saladrecipe #chickenseasoning #cookingchicken #chickenandsalad #grilledchicken
Wowwwwwww tiny Piquín peppers sure do pack some h Wowwwwwww tiny Piquín peppers sure do pack some heat! For a homemade Salsa Roja that's smokey, earthy, and spicy with hints of fruitiness, try this dried 🇲🇽 Mexican chile pepper combination…

🌶️ Piquín for intense heat and fruitiness.

🌶️ Ancho for earthiness, and a sweetness that's almost raisin/chocolate-like.

🌶️ Pasilla slightly smoky and fruity notes.

🌶️ Chipotle for a heavy dose of smokiness and subtle sweetness.

Sure, play around with the amounts. But note that the amounts of Piquín peppers I added here nwas super intense … and I love spicy food. So add a little less than I did is my recommendation.

👉🏻 Using a molcajete combined with a pastry cutter gives a nice mashed texture. A food processor whips air into a salsa, giving it a different consistency. 

👉🏻 Use all of the Chile pepper seeds for maximum heat. Or, add half to tone things down. 

👉🏻 Add salt, a little sugar, and a splash of vinegar or lime juice to adjust for final seasonings. 

#homemadesalsa #salsarecipe #salsarecipe #salsapicante #molcajetesalsa #spicyfoods #mexicanfood #mexicancooking
For the spicy food lovers, here’s how to make Ch For the spicy food lovers, here’s how to make Chicken Vindaloo using the Vindaloo spice blend in my feed 6 posts ago. I use chicken breasts to make it a leaner dish, so cooking the potatoes first is important, so the chicken doesn't get dried out and everything cooks evenly. 

In a nutshell, here’s what to do…

1. Make the spice blend:
▪️2 heaping teaspoons (htsp) Cumin
▪️2 htsp Coriander
▪️4 green cardamom pods 
▪️6 cloves
▪️1 inch Mexican cinnamon bark
▪️1 htsp black mustard seed
▪️2 heaping tablespoons (htbs) Kashmiri red chili powder
▪️1 htbs hot chili powder 
▪️2 htbs salt 

2. Mix the spices with: 
▪️2 tablespoons of vinegar
▪️¼ cup of garlic/ginger paste
▪️2 tablespoons canola oil

3. Marinate the chicken in the vindaloo marinade for as long as desired.

4. Cook the potatoes down using a combination steam & fry technique with a mix of a little bit of water and oil, covered until the potatoes are fork tender.

5. Cook the chicken and potatoes down in sautéed onions and crushed tomatoes, then mix in some fresh peas, cilantro, and finely diced red onion to give the texture a lift.

👉🏻 And here’s an interesting fact I learned about Vindaloo … it has Portuguese origins and it became popularized by Indian cooking.

#chickenvindaloo #spicyrecipe #spicychicken #indianfood #vindaloo #spicyfood #spicycooking
Here's the easy brown rice recipe that pairs well Here's the easy brown rice recipe that pairs well with so many flavor profiles, and is one of my house standards.

👉🏻 Simply chop up some garlic and ginger into rice-sized pieces, so they easily blend in with the cooked rice as they infuse aromatic flavor. 

▪️ Usually I do a garlic to ginger ratio of 1 to 2 so the ginger is not overbearing. Thanks s was one cup of rice and 1 ½ cups water. 

▪️The ratio of brown rice to water is 1 to 1.5

▪️Bring everything to boil, then simmer for 45 minutes. 

▪️A whole green chili is added for subtle flavor, not for heat. 

👇🏻 Here's a few cooking tip for rice in general…

▪️Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clean. 

▪️Do not over stir.

▪️Use a pot that is wider than it is tall, and if you double a rice recipe, use a wider pot so the liquid can evaporate more evenly.

▪️Let rice rest with the lid ajar for at least 30 minutes. 

I make this so often that I forgot to share it. 😅 As many people know, I love the more long and involved recipes, but I forget to share the simple ones like this.

#ricerecipe #brownricerecipes #gingergarlic #easyrecipe #brownrice #simplerecipe
Use the spice blend in my Feed from @chef__abo (3 Use the spice blend in my Feed from @chef__abo (3 posts previous) to make this fantastic Spicy Roasted Eggplant and Goat Cheese Kale Salad. Strips of eggplant were tossed with canola oil, seasoned overnight, then air fried the next day at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

👉🏻 For the spice blend…
Equal amounts of:
▪️cumin
▪️coriander
▪️black pepper
▪️oregano (I use Greek oregano)
▪️sumac (ordered online from Amazon)
▪️chili powder of your choice 
▪️garlic powder

Then add to taste:
▪️cinnamon (just a pinch)
▪️kosher salt @diamondcrystalsalt (I recommend ⅓ the amount of total herbs and spices)

👉🏻 For the salad, everything from @ctown.supermarkets ...
▪️spicy roasted eggplant, cooled to room temperature
▪️goat cheese
▪️kalamata olives
▪️red onion
▪️cilantro leaves
▪️lettuce and kale mix
▪️honey dijon dressing

#roastedeggplant #goatcheesesalad #kalesalad #spicyeggplant #springsalad #vegetariansalad #mediteraneansalad #eggplantrecipe #airfryerrecipes
Roasted chickpeas with 🇲🇽 Mexican spices as Roasted chickpeas with 🇲🇽 Mexican spices as salad toppers is a fantastic way to make a meatless Mexican salad. 

🌶️ For a spice blend that is spicy, fruity, and slightly smokey…  look for these dried tiny Piquín peppers and long, flat Pasilla chile peppers. With this spice blend you can pretty much convert anything Mexican … cauliflower, potatoes, chicken wings, you name it! 

👇🏻 For this Mexican seasoning…
▪️ 2 tablespoons homemade chili powder blend
▪️1 tablespoon garlic powder
▪️1 tablespoon ground Mexican oregano
▪️1 tablespoon kosher salt @diamondcrystalsalt from @ctown.supermarkets

🌶️ Those tiny Piquín chiles pack in a lot of heat and a fruity flavor, while Pasilla chiles are slightly smoky. 

👇🏻 For some spicy air fryer chickpeas …
▪️Toss some chickpeas in some canola oil because it’s a flavorless blank canvass.

▪️Spread them in one even layer on a pan.
▪️Air fry at 350 to 375 degrees for about 20 minutes

👉🏻 And here’s one important cooking tip … it’s important not to use too high of a temperature, or else the chile powder takes on a bitter flavor. 

🇲🇽 Get that handwoven placemat from @incasa_decor, made in Oaxaca, Mexico … it’s that bright blue color for me! 

#roastedchickpeas #spicychickpeas #mexicanspices #mexicancooking #mexicanchiles #mexicanseasoning #airfryerrecipes #chilepiquin #chilepasilla
An avocado 🥑 leaf in black beans is a definite An avocado 🥑 leaf in black beans is a definite game changer. I’ve made this meatless black bean recipe on several occasions ( just ask @onekmbo ) and it’s always a hit. Noone could figure out why they tasted so unique, and thats why. 

👇🏻 The amounts usually vary, but here's 
▪️dry black beans … (1 cup dry beans creates 3 cups cooked)
▪️garlic
▪️avocado leaf
▪️cumin
▪️epazote
▪️kosher salt @diamondcrystalsalt from @ctown.supermarkets

👉🏻 Quesadillas are how I indulge in meatless Mexican food for Cinco de Mayo, and to make them crispy lightly brush the tortillas with canola oil.

#blackbeans #blackbeanrecipe #quesadillas #mexicanfood #quesadillarecipe #blackbeanquesadilla
Here's a meat 🍗 seasoning to try for grilling s Here's a meat 🍗 seasoning to try for grilling season, based on the “Kofta Kebabs” recipe by @chef__abo . It's also fantastic on grilled chicken tenders, and the use of sumac gives it the extra indefinable "something". 

👉🏻 Simply toss some chicken pieces in lemon juice, olive oil, then thoroughly coat them with the spice blend.

👉🏻 Spice mix includes equal amounts of the following…
▪️cumin
▪️coriander
▪️black pepper
▪️oregano (I use Greek oregano)
▪️sumac
▪️chili powder
▪️garlic power 

Then add just a smidgen of cinnamon (look for Mexican cinnamon at any Mexican food market, it has a warmer flavor)

👉🏻 As per my “salt to taste” rule, add ⅓ of the amount of salt (@diamondcrystal from @ctown.supermarkets used here) 

👉🏻 Grind these all in a mortar and pestle, or a coffee grinder used specifically for spices. To clean the inside of your spice grinder, grind some rice and it will absorb all of the spices amazingly well.

You can order sumac on Amazon … but it's not just the sumac that has me in awe. The added cinnamon is something I didn't think I would like … granted that ya don't need to add very much. 

#spicemix #spiceblend #freshspices #freshherbsandspices #spicesandherbs #meatseasoning #chickenseasoning #spicycooking
My rule of thumb for the ratio of spices to salt i My rule of thumb for the ratio of spices to salt is 3 to 1. Here is my meatless Potato and Chickpea Vindaloo (Aloo Chana), loosely based on recipes from@cookingfromheart and @chilipeppermadness using @diamondcrystal salt from @ctown.supermarkets

🌶️ For this Vindaloo Spice Blend…
▪️2 heaping teaspoons (htsp) cumin
▪️2 htsp coriander
▪️1 htsp black pepper 
▪️3 green cardamom pods 
▪️6 cloves
▪️1 inch Mexican cinnamon bark
▪️1 htsp black mustard seed
▪️2 heaping tablespoons (htbs) Kashmiri red chili powder
▪️1 htbs hot chili powder 
▪️2 htbs salt 

👉🏻 This makes a little more than 6 tablespoons of spices, so 2 tablespoons salt is sufficient. 

🌶️ For the stew…
▪️4 cups diced tomatoes, blended
▪️1 red onion diced
▪️¼ cup garlic and ginger paste 
▪️splash of vinegar 
▪️veggie stock as needed

🌶️ Then add…
▪️3 cups cooked chickpeas
▪️3 small yellow potatoes, diced

When you love spicy food, making a Vindaloo at home is oh so satisfying because you can make it as spicy as you want and you can also play around with the spice blend to suit your personal tastes. But. Salt amount can either make or break any curry.

Vindaloo needs some vinegar because it has Portuguese origins using spices and vinegar to preserve meat.

You can get creative and add as much of this to make seasoned spicy curry stew for whatever you choose … chickpeas, potatoes, chicken, lamb, fish, or whatever you choose. 

#potatocurry #vindaloo #chickpeacurry #aloochana #curryrecipe #spicyrecipe #spicycooking #indiancurry #indianfood #vegetariancooking
Sour oranges 🍊 (aka. Seville oranges) and Domin Sour oranges 🍊 (aka. Seville oranges) and Dominican 🇩🇴 oregano are the two hard-to-find ingredients to look for when making a simple wet Adobo marinade from scratch. Use this marinade for grilled chicken breast in lettuce wraps for a carb-free snack!

👇🏻 Everything else in this Adobo chicken marinate is quite ordinary…
▪️6 garlic cloves , shredded and chopped to a paste
▪️2 tablespoons black peppercorns, toasted and ground
▪️3 tablespoons Dominican oregano, ground
▪️¼ cup sour orange juice
▪️1 tablespoon white vinegar
▪️1 tablespoon kosher salt
▪️2 tablespoons olive oil

This amount makes enough marinate for 3 large chicken breasts, sliced in half for 6 grilled chicken cutlets. It's great for chicken wings too!

👇🏻 Here's a few notes about sour oranges…

🍊 When buying sour oranges, you never know how juicy they will be, so buy a few more than you might need. You can squeeze them lightly to tell how juicy they might be. If there’s a little bounce-back then get it!

🍊 Their surface is often bumpy and dry-looking, and sometimes discolored, but they’re fine! 

🍊 Don’t try to eat them on their own, they’re not meant for raw consumption.

#chickenmarinade #adobo #adobochicken #chickencutlets #grilledchickenbreast #skilletcooking #grilledchicken #latincuisine
Here's the simple citrus juice 🍍 combination Pi Here's the simple citrus juice 🍍 combination Pineapple Grapefruit juice recipe that has been rocking my world lately. 

Just 2 ingredients … 
▪️6 ounce can of @dolesunshine pineapple juice
▪️freshly squeezed juice of 1 grapefruit 

👉🏻 It's a simple make-to-order single serving recipe because I'm always a fan of not having leftovers and not having to store food whenever possible.

👉🏻 No need to buy a juicer when you can just press the pulp in a fine mesh strainer.

👉🏻 Pineapple juice is high in potassium, which helps lower blood pressure, according to WebMD.

👉🏻 Yup, a combination of freshly squeezed and store bought juice, because it's easy to juice a grapefruit, but breaking down a fresh pineapple can be quite a task. Plus, commercial grapefruit juice has so many additives and I wanted to reap the health benefits of fresh grapefruit without the pulp.

👉🏻 It's also fantastic to spike with vodka or rum, just sayin!

#beveragephotography #pineapplejuice #citrusjuice #grapefruitjuice #juicing #juiceforhealth
About that Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 sofrito in my fee About that Puerto Rican 🇵🇷 sofrito in my feed 10 posts back … it's a fantastic sauté base for some quinoa. Plant-based 🌿 Quinoa and Pigeon Peas are what's happening here … a meatless recipe spin on a classic Caribbean rice and beans dish.

When cooking meatless, it's important to amp up other seasonings and additions … two bay leaves, 🇩🇴 Dominican oregano, fried garlic and red onion, picked hot peppers, and stir in some fresh cilantro, and a homemade veggie stock made from veggie scraps saved in my freezer.

👇🏻 Here’s the complete list of ingredients…
▪️2 tablespoons achiote oil
▪️½ - ¾ cup Puerto Rican sofrito
▪️1 teaspoon salt
▪️½ medium onion, diced
▪️4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
▪️2 hot pickled peppers, diced
▪️6 to 8 green olives
▪️½ vine tomato who flesh removed, diced
▪️2 tablespoons Dominican oregano, ground
▪️⅓ cup dry Pigeon Peas, cooked to about 1 cup
▪️2 cups veggie stock 
▪️2 bay leaves
▪️chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

👉🏻 For a lighter alternative to rice, swap rice with quinoa in any rice and beans recipe. While rice can be fussy with the water amounts varying for different types of rice, the ratio of water to quinoa to liquid is ALWAYS 1 to 2. 

👉🏻 Quinoa volume is very deceiving, here I used one cup and it expands beyond belief. For one cup of quinoa I recommend one teaspoon of salt. 

👉🏻 Quinoa is also jam packed with protein, offering lots of essential amino acids (which makes it a superfood). It's fantastic if you're trying to eat less meat.

👉🏻 Just like rice, be sure to rinse your quinoa until the water runs clear. 

👉🏻 This was ⅓ cup dry pigeon peas to yield about one cup cooked. They cook rather quickly and don't require soaking. 

#quinoarecipes #quinoalovers #pigeonpeas #onepotmeals #quinoa #plantbasedcooking #meatlessrecipes #superfoodrecipe #beanrecipes #latincuisine #comidalatina #gandules
Here’s how to add a little smokiness to grilled Here’s how to add a little smokiness to grilled tomato salsa. Yup … getting psyched for grilling season. But in the meantime, use some hickory smoked salt to satisfy that craving. And if tomatoes are not in season, just a tad bit of sugar @krasdale at @ctown.supermarkets helps bring out the sweetness in tomatoes.

Just a few cooking tips...

👉🏻 Here I used Guajillo chiles for light, fruity notes combined with the deep, earthy flavor of Ancho chiles (which are really Poblano peppers that have been dried and smoked). 

👉🏻 To avoid whipping air into your salsa, skip the food processor and pick up a pastry cutter. Sure a volcanic rock Mexican mortar and pestle (aka. molcajete) works even better, but they can be hard to find. Grilled onions can be difficult to break down, so start with those first, then the tomatoes, then mash the pan roasted garlic with a fork. 

👇🏻 Here’s the minimal ingredients list for just a few servings...

▪️3 vine tomatoes
▪️½ onion
▪️2 cloves garlic
▪️2 Ancho peppers
▪️4 Guajillo peppers
▪️hickory-smoked sea salt to taste
▪️sugar to taste

#tomatosalsa #mexicanchiles #mexicanfood #homemadesalsa #grilledtomatoes #salsarecipe #guajillo #ancho #chipsandsalsa #salsaandchips
Try a Spicy Ginger Spinach 🥬 Smoothie with fres Try a Spicy Ginger Spinach 🥬 Smoothie with freshly grated ginger, two oranges 🍊, two bananas 🍌 and 1 cup of oatmilk. You really can't taste the spinach at all.

It's a blood pressure-reducing smoothie from combining the heart-healthy @quaker oats and high potassium banana with the leafy green spinach, according to WebMD. 

👉🏻 Never buy oat milk again, when you can just make it to order. 

👉🏻 For easy oatmilk, puré a ratio of 1 to 2 rolled oats to water. Sweeten it as you wish. But in a smoothie context I like to leave it plain and enjoy the sweetness of fresh fruit.

👉🏻 To avoid slimy oatmilk, gently strain it and don't press it.

#smoothierecipes #spinachsmoothie #smoothietime #oatmilksmoothie #oatmilk #oatrecipes #freshspinach #rawspinach #rawfoods
Soo .. about that Thai chili, Garlic and Ginger pa Soo .. about that Thai chili, Garlic and Ginger paste in my Reels 4 posts ago. It's a fantastic base for some spicy curry lentils. Here I had 1 1/3 cups  of lentils, so 6 cups of veggie stock was used. 

👉🏻 A ratio of 1 to 5 lentils to liquid is just enough to avoid making lentil soup. 

👇🏻Ingredients for my spicy lentil curry…
▪️1 large white onion, diced
▪️About 3 tablespoons Garlic, Ginger & Thai Green Chili paste (Find it in my Reels)
▪️1 tablespoon groubd coriander
▪️2 tablespoons yellow curry powder 
▪️2 teaspoons kosher salt
▪️1 cup lentils
▪️5 cups veggie stock
▪️1 bay leaf

#currylentils #lentilcurry #yellowcurry #lentilrecipe #spicycooking
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