Platanos en Escabeche/Pickled Green Plantains

This is an easy-peasy one. Super simple and super yums!

Ingredients:
-4 green plantains
-oregano (I used Cuban from my garden but dried or fresh regular oregano works and cilantro also)
-1-2 bay leaves
-1/2 onion sliced thin
-green olives (salad or stuffed alcaparradas)
-capers
-black pepper or peppercorns
-garlic powder
-salt
-olive oil
-white vinegar

Notice I didn't specify many measurements. That is because I don't really measure when I make this. Playing it by taste is just fine. Traditionally many people will heat the seasonings before combining with plantains, but over the years I have found this to not be a necessity.

1. Cut off ends of plantains. Slice peel lengthwise and boil in salted water for about 20 minutes. When you can insert a fork in them easily they will be fully cooked and the skins will slide off easily.
2. Slice plantains into 1/4-1/2 inch thick discs.
3. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss.
4. Cover and let sit at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
5. Eat at room temperature.

Makes a delicious side dish or easy lunch to bring to work.

Almost Vegan Empanadas de "Carne"

I have such sweet memories of Mami Luisa (a friend of my mother's who for all intents and purposes is my grandmother) making empanadas and pastelillos (a smaller version of empanadas). Wasn't it just yesterday that I sat on a stool at her kitchen breakfast counter, chubby legs dangling back and forth as I watched and munched on the ingredients as she assembled a family's worth to have already at the table before her husband Ruben arrived from work? It sure feels that way.

Ingredients:

-1 pack of 10 Goya Empanada "Discos", thawed

-1 10oz bag Morning Star Farms Grillers Crumbles (or brand of choice)

-1/2 medium onion, chopped

-2 cloves chopped garlic

-1 packet Sason Accent or Goya, with culantro and annatto

-1 tsp cumin

-1 tsp oregano

-1 8oz can tomato sauce

-1 15oz can chick peas/garbanzos

-approximately 10 manzanilla olives, sliced (or salad olives)

-1/4 cup IBERIA or Goya recaito

-Light Adobo, to taste

-Cheese of choice (I used Colby Jack), or none, if you are vegan

1. Sautee onion and reacaito in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil or coat pan with spray on med/hi until onions are transluscent. then add the garlic and stir for about another 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the crumbles, chickpeas and olives. Add seasonings while stirring. Sauté for about 3 minutes and add the tomato sauce. Lower heat to med/low and simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. 

3. Set aside to cool down a bit. 

Now comes the assembly. 

Use a rolling pin to expand the discs a bit. The directions did not call for using flour, but I found it helpful to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. I then turned the disc over, so that the floured side would fry on the outside of the empanada and not become part of the filling. 

I used cheese slices, 1/2 per empanada, and 2 spoonfuls of filling.

-Add filling to the center of the disc and fold over to make a half circle.

-Use a fork to press/seal the edges.

Before frying, I preheated the oven to 200 degrees to keep the empanadas warm while I cooked. 

I layered them on paper towels to absorb excess grease.

Fry until golden brown, following package directions. Mine only needed about a minute and a half on each side.

Que rico!

Buen provecho.

Vegetarian Puerto Rican Pasteles

If you are Puerto Rican you already know that Christmas is not Christmas without pasteles. They are one of the staples of our holiday season, along with Lechon Asado (roast pork) and Arroz con Dulce (Puerto Rican rice pudding). If you aren't Puerto Rican, then you will surely want to add this delicious dish to your holiday (or anytime) cooking.

Preparing pasteles takes a bit of time. It is an involved but satisfying endeavor. I recommend making a few batches in one session so that you have extra to freeze for a later day(s). In Puerto Rico, it is a social activity, as (generally) women will get together and make a day of preparing them. So gather your friends and family around the kitchen table and spend a few hours cooking and laughing (perhaps while sipping on a cocktail or two).

Ingredients

Achiote Oil

-1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

-3 tbsp annato paste or about 6 tbs in seed form

1. In a medium saucepan heat oil on medium high.

2. Add annatto and simmer approximately 10 minutes until the oil turns a beautiful dark red.

Masa

-3 3 lbs bags of frozen grated Yuca

If you can find already grated Yuca, get it! It is a lifesaver and will cut hours off prep time.

If you can't get your hands on some, you will need to buy fresh or frozen yuca and grate it yourself.

-1 cup Sofrito

-1 veggie bullion cube

-1/4 tbsp oregano 

-1 tbsp onion powder

-1 tbsp garlic powder

-4 tbsp water

Preparation:

1. Two days prior to preparing the pasteles, defrost the frozen grated yuca in the fridge overnight.

2. The next day remove them from their packages and place over cheesecloth (If you forgot to pick up cheesecloth, a clean old concert tee that no longer fits will also do, Prince in my case) over bowls and place in the fridge to drain overnight. I did mine on the same day, but had to do a few hours worth of squeezing water out of the yuca.

3. On the day you prepare the pasteles, take the masa out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature. Squeeze out any excess water. Now you are ready to season the masa.

Masa Seasoning:

1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, use 4 tbsp of the achiote oil to simmer 1 cup of Sofrito, onion powder, crumbled bullion and garlic powder for about 6-7 minutes then remove it from the heat. 

2. In a large bowl (I used a mixer) combine the masa and the simmered Sofrito. Add 1/2 cup of the achiote oil and mix well until the masa turns a golden color. 

Filling

-24 oz. Beef substitute of your choice. I used Lightlife crumbles.

-1 packet Goya Sason with Culantro & Achiote

-3 tbsp Goya Sofrito

-3 tbsp Goya Recaito

-1 cube veggie bullion

-1/4 tsp oregano

-2 tbsp Goya Adobo Light (or to taste)

-8 oz tomato sauce

-1/2 cup water

-chopped pimento stuffed green olives (as many as you like)

-capers (as many as you like)

-1/2 finely chopped onion

-2 finely chopped garlic cloves

-1 can (I used 2, however) Goya garbanzos

1. Saute onions and garlic on med-high heat using 4 tbsp of achiote oil until the onions become clear.

2. Add all filling ingredients except for the olives, capers and garbanzos. 

3. Add 3 tbsp of the Recaito and 3 tbsp of the Sofrito. Stir to blend well and cook 5-10 minutes.

4. Add remaining filling ingredients and stir. If mixture begins to dry add a few tbsp of water as needed.

5. Cover and let stand.

Wrapping

-Banana leaves (1 package seemed to do the trick. They come frozen and can usually be found in Latin or International markets. If you can't find them, aluminum foil can be used in their place. I very much prefer using leaves as they add to the flavor of the end product.)

-Butcher string

1. Defrost and clean leaves by soaking in tepid water and gently wiping them. 

Assembling Your Pasteles

This is the fun part! Well, not funner than eating them, but it's pretty fun if you enjoy cooking.

1. Cut leaves into squares approximately 10 inches square. Get rid of the central ridge so the leaves are easy to bend and fold.

2. From the leftover achiote oil, spread about a tbsp onto the center of the leaf. Approximately 4" x 6", but you will find the right size for you as you get the hang of things.

3. Take about 3 tbsp of the seasoned masa and spread it over the oil in a rectangle. The exact amount of masa is something that will also "come to you" as you get some practice.

4. Place 3 tbsp of filling slightly off center of the masa and spread it. I find it works best if you place it a bit off center closest to you and don't spread it all the way to the side edges. Remember, you want the masa to envelope the filling to keep it from spilling out.

5. Fold the leaf away from you towards the other long end so that as the masa rolls forward it encloses the filling. Press down slightly to secure the edges.

6. Fold both edges back towards you, creating a crease at the far edge.

6. Fold it once again away from you then fold the sides toward the center of the pastel. 

7. Put two pasteles together, folded edges facing each other and tie each pair together using the butcher string.

8. Put what you are not immediately cooking in the freezer. I got 20 pasteles out of this recipe.

If any of this seems a bit complicated...DON'T WORRY, it's easier than it sounds and you get to be a pro at it in no time.

Cooking the Pasteles

1. Bring enough salted water to cover the pasteles to a rolling boil in a deep pot.

2. Place pasteles in the water and boil for 30-45 minutes.

3. Take care when unwrapping the cooked pasteles as hot water will drip from the leaves. You can also set them aside to cool a bit...but I just can't wait. 

4. EAT UP! I love mine with a few drops of hot sauce.

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Quick & Easy "Pastelon" Bowl

Pastelon is a Puerto Rican dish that resembles a lasagna. Amarillos (sweet plantains) replace noodles and picadillo replaces the traditional Italian-style filling. The dish is a tasty combination of sweet and salty. Picadillo can also be served in a variety of dishes such as over rice or in tacos and burritos, to name a few. Pastelon can also be made as a meat "pie" by grinding the plantains. Later on I will prepare one of these for the blog (and my belly), but for now I thought I'd take a stab at putting together a simpler bowl-verision. It incorporates the predominant flavors in traditional Pastelon, but it comes together much faster.

Beefless Picadillo

2 12 oz packs of Trader Joe's Beef-less Ground Beef (or your beef substitute of choice)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes 

4 cloves garlic, diced

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

a handful of manzanilla olives

1/4 cup Goya Recaito

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Goya Adobo Light (or to taste)

1 tbsp oil (vegetable or olive) or cooking spray

1. Coat the bottom of the caldero with oil.

2. Sautee onion, garlic and pepper until fragrant.

3. Add beef substitute and Adobo. Cook on medium-high for 3-5 minutes, stirring.

4. Add tomatoes, Recaito, oregano, olives. Once mixture begins to bubble, lower heat and cook another 5 minutes. 

Serve in a bowl with Goya frozen amarillos, cooked according to package directions.

Buen provecho!

Vegan Arroz con Habichuelas y Chorizo

No Puerto Rican diet is complete without rice and beans. We eat it with just about anything. Arroz Junto (together rice) is what we call it when we cook the rice together with the beans and just about any other ingredients you might wish to add into the mix (usually beans and shrimp or chorizo). 

Puerto Ricans are masters of "pauper" meals. We may find ourselves out of a job from time to time and we might have to scrape our pennies together to make the bills when things get tough, but we will seldom go without delicious food in our tummies. Arroz Junto is a great example of that. It is satisfying AND cheap...and most importantly delicioso!

Vegan Arroz con Habichuelas & Chorizo

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain rice

2 cups water

2 Soy Chorizo (I use Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo)

1 can red beans (drained)

4 oz. tomato sauce

1/2 cup Goya Recaito

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp dried epizote

2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

1-2 packets Goya Sazon (to taste)

1 handfull manzanilla olives (or go crazy if you love them!)

1. Remove chorizo "meat" from casing and set aside.

2. Heat oil in caldero.

3. Add chorizo to caldero and brown for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

4. Add all other ingredients (except for rice and water) and stir.

5. When mixture begins to boil add rice and water and stir.

6. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15-20 minutes covered.

7. Uncover and stir. If rice is not yet tender, continue to cook until desired tenderness.

Great served with a side salad! Another idea is to serve as a burrito filling with vegan or cheddar cheese and sour cream (or alternative) and shredded lettuce, tomatoes and raw diced onions.

Serves about 6 (normal servings). Less if you go for seconds (or thirds) like I do.

The Almost-Vegan Rican

I'll kick this blog off by giving future readers this fair warning: I am not perfect. That said, neither is my diet. But I am trying, and that is precisely what this blog will be about. After a lifetime of poor eating habits, my partner and I have decided to go the vegetarian route. We have tried every diet from Deal-a-Meal (the oldies in the crowd will remember it) to Atkins and Paleo. I am not saying that some may not work, they just never "stuck" for us.  Our decision to become vegetarians didn't come out of health concerns alone. We are animal lovers. From the start of our relationship, almost 17 years ago, we have never shared our lives with less than at least two dogs at any given time. They are our children. Our friends.

As we become more and more aware of the cruelty and atrocities committed by factory farming it has become harder and harder for us to separate our animals from the rest of the animal kingdom. If our pets have souls (and, call me crazy, but I believe they do), why wouldn't other animals as well? We simply have reached a point in our lives at which we can no longer go on supporting such heartless industries.

We are aware that sketchy practices spill onto even some "cruelty-free" sources of dairy, but as I said at the start of this post: I am not perfect. As of now we have been vegetarians for two weeks. That means no meat, chicken, pork or fish. We gave a freezer-ful away to neighbors. There are eggs still in our fridge, but I suspect they will expire before we might consider consuming them. In the past two weeks we have used a combination of vegan and real cheese. Also non-vegan mayonnaise and real butter. So... baby steps.

All in all, I don't think that's entirely too shabby for two 40-something guys who just two weeks ago were chomping down on some big juicy T-bone steaks. One of them (guilty!) gnawing on the bone like a modern day caveman. We are striving to go as vegan as possible, but will not beat ourselves up over not not achieving perfection. We're glad for every bit of animal suffering we manage to diminish along the way.

I have decided to start this blog so that I can share with others who might be on the same path our progress and experiences. I will share recipes I try and especially those I create. There will never be bashing of meat-eaters on this blog. I am not here to nag others. I refuse to be "that guy".  I am only here to do what I believe is best for my partner and myself (and perhaps some animals along the way).