1 shredded apple with skin, bread flour, water

STARTER RECIPE CLICK HERE

NOTE: This post will be continuously updated because my sourdough starter is on Stage 2 and I’ll bake the bread this weekend. I’m not posting a recipe because I’m sharing the link to the recipes, but I’ll talk about my own experience working with these recipes. Usually when I set on a quest to test a baking recipe I tend to go all in, just as I did with the Ciabatta post.

I read cookbook recipes, blog posts, youtube videos, and then kept doing it back and forth. It always is a fun adventure.I haven’t really lost this ‘baking science research’ interest, but due to current world mood, I didn’t feel like going on such quests.

Instead I’m baking or cooking because, yes I need to eat, but mainly because I wanted to focus on something else besides job hunting, writing, getting my steps for the day, and duolingo. Baking this sourdough bread will be keep me distracted, but not too much since it doesn’t take much effort, but it takes time and patience.

The starter going half way and will continue to update this post as I go, I might fail or I might succeed, either way I shall bake the results and eat them one way or another, because in this house we do not waste food that is edible. Oh yes, I was let go from work so that’s why I’m job hunting, wish me luck.

Photos and description of what I have so far, also links to the recipes I’m using from Paul Hollywood because I love that man on The Great British Bake Show.

Let me be clear, this might really not work, I’m about to publish this post and my second stage starter is looking rather not well. I changed containers, I stirred in some strange liquid last night (today is day number 2 for second stage of the starter) last night I saw bubbles, but some strange liquid and I freaked out and stirred it all and changed to a new container and new plastic wrap. I read on King Arthur’s website that apparently this liquid can be discarded or stirred, so hopefully I haven’t ruined it.

Here are the photos of the steps I’ve taken so far:1 photo (above) is the shredded apple, then water with bread flour.

STAGE 1: ugly mess, mixed with a fork

Covered with plastic wrap, rubber band, and plastic lid – Marked with sharpie to show its growth

STAGE 2: 3 Days Later this is how it looks – I discarded (made pancakes with the waste, and fed it again)

Ready to sleep 2 days more

PHOTO MISSING
I should have taken a photo of how ugly it looked when ready to STAGE 3, there was a weird darker liquid on top, I discarded it, and discarded 1/2 a cup of the starter and fed it 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, I can’t explain why, I figured it will help it smell better when baking it, but I’m not sure if it will work.

It’s supposed to be STAGE 3, but it didn’t look amazing, this is what I did some more feeding to see if I could bring it back to life. At this point I realize if I do this again and it doesn’t work, I’ll just use the starter and sprinkle yeast when baking a sourdough bread, because I am not throwing all this flour to the trash, unless it goes bad of course, I don’t want to die because of saving flour T___T

I saw small bubbles in the starter so decided I’ll bake a sourdough loaf today, not whole wheat, but regular, replacing 1 oz of bread flour with ground flax seed, because my doctor says fiber is what I need. It’s obviously not much, but the next sourdough I’ll test (probably Thursday) I’ll make sure it’s 50/50 whole wheat. Here’s Paul Hollywood’s recipe (click here)

I know this doesn’t count as workout, but gosh. Kneading this for 10 minutes straight got my arms a bit sore. Maybe I should bake sourdough bread every day. I added all the water in the recipe and sprinkled some more because I added 1 tablespoon of chia seeds. Yes, I’m obsessed with fiber and texture. Chia seeds absorb liquid and because of texture was ripping up the dough when I was kneading that’s why I ended up adding around 2 more tablespoons of water to the dough.

I suggest adding the chia seeds along with the ground flaxseed. I had to work more with the kneading because I decided after I started kneading the dough that I wanted to add the chia seeds.

Inside this oiled bowl. We’ll see how much it grows. Recipe says wait 5 hours or until double in size. The house is around 68F so who knows. I set the timer at 4 hours and we shall see.

Wrapping it with plastic and placing the bowl in the warmest room in this house, hopefully it will reach closer to 70F once the sun stops being lazy. I’ll be back in 4-5 hours.

Almost 8 hours and still looks like this. I warmed up the kitchen and still. For now I wrapped it with plastic again and placed in the fridge and we’ll see how it looks tomorrow.My plan is to take it out and let it seat outside 2-4 hours hopefully it’ll grow more and then bake it.

—–

UPDATE MAY 7TH

I guess being unemployed and dealing with this whole Covid-19 quarantine situation left me a little be uninspired. To the point that I think I ruined my starter. I did bake with it twice, the first time was awful, the second one just a bit cheesy which I read it isn’t good and maybe my starter was possessed.

I didn’t do any of the good things a food blogger is supposed to do during recipe testing, but let’s face it if you’re here reading this post it isn’t because you are planning to make a sourdough bread, but just out of curiosity and see my silly failure, which I’m totally ok with because life is too short so laugh away.

Yes, we ate most of the bread. I did pancakes twice and I won’t be doing sourdough bread nor starters for a long time now.

Now below are photos I’m rescuing from my phone, and then I’ll finish the sourdough starter waste pancake recipe, because two reasons: the recipe works even with my shitty starter annnnnnd I took the photos so I’m posting them.

Have you lost your marbles yet?

—

REST OF THE PHOTOS:

It wasn’t rising, so I sprayed some water and yeast, yes I cheated the whole purpose for sourdough starter in the first place, but here we are.

It didn’t get much better, but I was done so I baked this monster.

The most embarrassing bread I’ve ever made, but like I said, here we are.

Just plain awful, but we were hungry so I toasted it with butter and ate most of it.

It was so dense you could use this terrible sourdough bread as a weapon.

This was a different day, same starter, used yeast from the beginning because a girl has no time for this nonsense, I already knew my starter was weirdly cheesy so I needed to kill the rest of it therefore I baked these loaves and made pancakes, again. PS. Life is too short to gain weight with this terrible bread. Don’t follow my steps.

I must admit, they didn’t look terrible.

I don’t even know what to tell you, this is the last of the bread. They look so innocent.

This is the last of my sourdough adventure in 2020. It was like one of those ride at carnivals that you think they might be fun, but then you just get bruises and smelly people sitting next to you, so you scream and scream, but the person next to you ignores you because they don’t know you. You rode the stupid roller-coaster because now you can say, yes, I went to this carnival and tried that ride.

The thing is I’ve baked sourdough before, at a restaurant with actually starters and recipes already tested by actual bakers and not this nonsense I wanted to try from scratch while juggling tons job applications, navigating setting up my unemployment process.

There’s no regrets though, the days I was stressing out with this stupid starter, but this idiotic bread, those days I finally didn’t cry during this pandemic. What are YOU doing to stay sane these days?

¡a comer! Anything, but JC’s sourdough.

This post is going to be super short because I have already written about Patacones in the past, I’ll make sure to film the process the next time! I know you can find it on YouTube, but I think my terrible joking and awkward comments will make your frying plantains experience much more interesting… I think =)

I will also share my experience of doing this whole season, 6 episodes of my Food Podcast, crazy amount of hours and so much learning.  I’m happy and proud because if technology has given us something, it has been the resources to share our voices and at least archive it. A non-scholar latina, panameñita Podcast lady, ha!

And though for now I haven’t been invited to any podcasts, nor have my ideas been accepted for me to be a guest, I will continue to study, learn, and share everything I can on this journey. Hopefully a lot of Patacones will be part of the adventure.

—– listen to podcast here —–

—– end of podcast —–

These are other photos of patacones as I mentioned how we eat it with fried fish, ropa vieja, but I don’t have the most common one you can find at any fonda probably: patacones with salchichitas, maybe I should make this for brunch this weekend!

RECIPE on this older blog post (click here)

I’m not recording a new podcast episode for this week, I’m taking a break and it was good timing: I really needed it this pause.

In regards to Patacones, I shall have a whole episode only on my research of plantains in general, but my main wish is for you to plan to give them a try soon and let me know when you do, they’re incredible delicious and I hope we can enjoy a lot of them in 2019.

¡a comer! ahem… ¡a comer PATACONES!

Just a week ago I had one the best nights ever around New York! It was my 3rd time in Brooklyn and I had the honour of being invited to participate in the Chow x Mundo Event organized by MOFAD (Museum Of Food And Drink).

A few months ago the amazing human being, Simone Jacobson, asked me if I would be interested in participating in a panel to talk about Food History in Barrio Chinos (Chinatown in Panama). I was extremely flattered and said that of course I would!

The day arrived, and I took the train all the way to Brooklyn to participate in this event. Knowing ahead of time that everyone in the panel were experts (professors/chef), I was very nervous. I’m used to supporting my boss and/or my friends at events when THEY participate.

For the past 5 years I have rarely said anything in front of an audience or in front of a camera, but in 2019 this is going to change. Since I do have a lot to say when it comes food, I’m so glad I went to Brooklyn.

It started with a warm welcome, where we were all introduced as if we were old friends. It really felt that way and that feeling stayed throughout the evening.

The team at MOFAD did a great job setting the mood and the kitchen staff did a fantastic job cooking and plating the dishes for the evening. For a moment it felt as if I was back in Panama because of the environment: a happy and tight melting pot of good people collaborating on a project we all feel very passionate about. I used to organize and participate in a lot of such cultural & gastronomic events back in Panama. I’ve missed this so much!

Meeting Professor Lok Siu was incredible and I can’t wait to read her book Memories of a Future Home: Diasporic Citizenship of Chinese in Panama. I have so much to learn about the Chinese community in Panama and thanks to Professor Siu and through a few contacts my sister has shared with me, it’s going to be a fascinating adventure to learn all I can about this subject.

Professor Siu gave a short, but deep talk about Chinese Migrants in the US that came from Latin American countries. Now I am very curious to try restaurants with Peruvian & Chifa foods, also restaurants that offer different menus eg. Caribbean with Chinese. I know in my over 10 years of living in this country I have seen such options, it just never dawned on me that this was probably a result of a Chinese family who migrated from a Latino country.

Then was Carlos Olaechea, who did a Lomo Saltado cooking demo, but with Tofu and it was delicious! Carlos talked about Chifa Cuisine which he mentioned Peruvians consider just as Peruvian Cuisine, not Chinese-Peruvian, but Chifa! If I wanted to travel to Peru before, he certainly made me crave this trip even more!

Lastly we had our panel on ‘The Socio-Cultural Importance of Chino-Latino Restaurants’; we got to hear from Chef Guillermo Hung and his restaurant Pao Cha Cha in Astoria, Queens. You should check out his video on being a Chino Latino, what a personality he is!

On the panel was also professor Jason Oliver Chang talking on the delicate history of Mexicans and Chinese back in 1880-1940, I myself have bookmarked his book for future reading: Chino: Anti-Chinese Racism in Mexico, 1880-1940.

The last one to participate on the panel was professor Kathleen Lopez, who brought a light into the conversation in regards to the difficult past among Chinese and Latinos by painting a picture of the lovely experience in el Barrio Chino in Cuba and so many anecdotes, this is the last book from I’ve added to my list: Chinese Cubans: A Transnational History (North Carolina 2013).

The event also included salsa dancing, delicious food, tons of smiles, exchanges of knowledge, and anecdotes. I finally had to leave before it ended since I had to run to Manhattan and catch my Amtrak back home.

I thank the folks at MOFAD, specially Simon Jacobson, for making me feel so welcomed to their museum family and for sharing this space with me to voice my thoughts and experiences. I will forever treasure that evening.

Local Collective Launches ‘Charm City Night Market on September 22 Located in Baltimore’s Historic Chinatown, Featuring Local Cultural Performances, and 15+ food and drink vendors.

Coinciding with the Lunar Mid-Autumn Festival, the first-ever Charm City Night Market will host musical acts, artists, food vendors, storytellers, and cultural ambassadors — all converging on an historic block of Baltimore’s Chinatown. Charm City Night Market will take place on Saturday, September 22 from 4-11pm, with the center of the action at the greenspace on 200 Park Avenue. Entry is free with RSVP. For updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/244865219470959/ or follow @charmcitynightmarket on Instagram.

“This all started with Kitty and Calvin Chin,” says organizer Stephanie Hsu. “They were longtime residents and a for the preservation of Baltimore’s Chinatown and had such a compelling pan-Asian vision for Park Ave. The Chinatown Collective is working to revive and expand their ideas — the Night Market will hopefully just be the beginning.”

Charm City Night Market will be an epic outdoor block party that connects Lexington Market to Park Avenue, spanning the city’s intertwined communities of color. Performances at the Charm City Night Market range from cultural traditions to contemporary dance and music. One of the Charm City Night Market headliners is Baltimore Dance Crews Project.

Established in 2009 by Filipino American hiphop dance artists Brian Gerardo and Cynthia Chavez, The Baltimore Dance Crews Project (BDCP) hosts hip-hop programming that strengthens relationships between students and mentors. Attendees can also look forward to performances by Samulnori, traditional Korean drum artistry.

“We’re excited to welcome nationally acclaimed restaurants like Ekiben along with rising stars like Mera Kitchen Collective and Mochichi,” says organizer Jamie Sumague. Mera Kitchen Collective is a women-owned cooperative featuring chefs and cuisine while Mochichi is a Korean and Filipino frozen desserts stall led by Steve Cho, a long time Lexington Market stall owner. Also among the vendors are visual artists, crafters, jewelry makers. Look for prints and designs by Filipina American sister duo Timpla, organic self care products by Priya Means Love, and playful artwork and merchandise by Kimchi Juice. Event attendees can also expect to find a soju, sake, and beer garden helmed by Phil Han of Dooby’s.

The Chinatown Collective includes collaborators of Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Ethiopian and Vietnamese descent. They work together to amplify the voices of long term AAPI residents, contributors, and leaders in Baltimore City, and hope to unite the city around the history of Asian Immigrants and Asian Americans in Baltimore with a multi-cultural vision of our future. Contact us for more information, interviews, and brief bios.

It was a huge privilege to have been invited to the DC Embassy Chef Challenge 2018. I was very thrilled to attend, Chef Felipe Milanes was representing Panama’s Embassy woohoo!

Sharing a cocktail with the lovely Lisa Comento

It was fantastic also to say hello to other media colleagues, such as the amazing Lisa Comento, and of course, all the embassies showcased their cuisine, many of which I’ve never had the opportunity to try before!

The way a mood is set at events is so important to me and more when I know it’s going to be packed and people are going to cut off in front of you in the line (or “not knowing” where the line starts), yet this event had one of the best ambiances I’ve been to, everyone looked so happy; guess, chefs and their teams as well.

The winner of the evening, Sisig by the Embassy of the Phillipines

I was very lucky I didn’t have to do a line until after 8pm and it was on the South American embassies section, the great thing is that there was plenty of wine and cocktails available so I was able to sip while waiting for them tasty bites.

Delicious desserts! My favorite was the one on the right by Mauritius, a chocolate mousse-pudding with crispy chocolate on top and a caramelized banana compote in the bottom. Also Belgium did an amazing white chocolate, raspberry and basil dessert. On the top left it’s Morocco’s chocolate mouse.

My favorite dishes that evening were: Mauritius Seafood Bisque (and obviously, their dessert, so good!), Haiti’s mutton dish, it was so good and one of my favorite chefs of the evening! The ladies at Côte d’Ivoire were killing it too, and their pineapple ginger cocktail was very refreshing. Chef Felipe’s Guacho (smoked pork stew) was pretty tasty, it was fancier than what my mum and my grandma cooks, but the comfort flavor was there and it had chicharron, so yes, bonus! Extra aji chombo (Panamanian hot pepper sauce) for me please!

Ghana’s Lamb with Jollof Rice was pretty delicious, so was Georgia’s Chanakhi (Lamb & Eggplant Stew), and the short ribs from Iraq so well seasoned, give me all these meats any day! It’s worth to mention Colombia and Peru for their variety of food options. The embassies did a terrific job at showcasing their cuisines and culture through the arrangement of their tables and chefs outfits, Morocco won best Chefs outfits, their table was .

I had a fantastic time and hope I can get this opportunity again the next year to eat around the world from Washington DC, all in one night with great music, dancing, and lovely people who love all the foods and cultures as much as I do!

—

Below is the Press Release after the winners were announced at the DC Embassy Chef Challenge 2018

Washington, D.C. (May 18, 2018)—Attendees of the Tenth Anniversary Events DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA gathered to travel the world with their taste buds, sampling bites and beverages from 28 participating nations. Embassy chefs showcased the unique flavors of their home countries in a culinary showdown. Chefs competed to win the coveted Peopleâ€s Choice Award presented by Events DC, chosen by guests†votes, as well as the Judges†Choice presented by TCMA, selected by a panel of influential members of the diplomatic, cultural and culinary communities.

The winner of the evening, Sisig by the Embassy of the Phillipines

Chef Abigail “Abie” Sincioco-Mateo representing the Embassy of the Philippines was selected as the Peopleâ€s Choice Champion and well as the Judges†Choice Champion for her plate of Pork Sisig. Both second-place prizes were given to the Embassy of Ghana Chef, Francis Otoo, for his Lamb Jollof Rice. Chef Jouvens Jean from the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti took home the third-place prize in the Judges†Choice category for his Kabrit Kreyol served with Haitian Cinnamon Water. In the Peopleâ€s Choice category, third-place was awarded to the Embassy of Colombia Chef, Alex Salgado, for his Coconut Shrimp with Pancetta and Heart of Palm Ceviche.

The judging panel consisted of:

• Andy Shallal, Busboys & Poets
• Major Garrett & Arden Farhi, CBS News
• Lauren Bernstein, The Culinary Diplomacy Project
• Chef Tim Ma, Kyirisan
• Nycci Nellis, The List Are You On It
• Executive Chef Xavier Deshayes, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
• Daniel Nasaw, The Wall Street Journal
• Maura Judkis, The Washington Post
• Chef Cynthia Verna, 2017 Peopleâ€s Choice Champion representing the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
• Chef Moja Fedal, 2017 Judgeâ€s Choice Champion representing the Embassy of Morocco

Two new awards were handed out this year as well. The Best Beverage presented by Pepsi was awarded to the Embassy of Barbados for their Drunken Bajan Lemonade developed by mixologist Philip Antoine and Chef Creig Greenidge. The Best Dressed Embassy presented by Macyâ€s was earned by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco with a colorful display that wowed guests.

Guests ate their way through an abundant array of foods and drinks prepared by the embassy chefs representing Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Republic of Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Côte dâ€Ivoire, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Iraq, Jamaica, Republic of Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Principality of Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Kingdom of Morocco, Nepal, Panama, Peru, the Philippines and Slovak Republic.

Events DC senior vice president and managing director of sports, entertainment and special events, Erik Moses, said of the tenth anniversary event, “This yearâ€s challenge was bigger and better than ever before. It was great to see so many embassies turn out with such pride for their native cuisine and culture. Congratulations to all the chefs who competed. Hereâ€s to another decade of friendly and delicious competition.”

Sponsors
The 2018 Event DC Embassy Chef Challenge presented by TCMA sponsors include Astral Tequila, Bundaberg, Cultural Tourism DC, Cutco, Legacy Partners Distribution, Macyâ€s, RCN Business, Social Driver, Sombra Mezcal tequila, Teahouse/Pureleaf, TYKU Sake and Voss artesian water.

Where have I been?

Working for this amazing boss>> Chef Seng and her restaurants Thip Khao & Padaek.

I have also been eating a lot of delicious Lao and Mexican Food. When I’m home I continue to work on my Pie and Pancakes recipes and I’m also planning on taking back over my corn and Panamanian recipes. (I also play video games, board games, watch too much anime and horror movies so there’s that).

Now that you have a better idea of why I haven’t been sharing recipes or blogging in general, let’s talk about following cooking instructions…. when cooking with prepackaged food!

What kind of packaged food do you buy?

This includes anything, from cup of ramen noodles, to pasta, to oatmeal, to cereal, to teas and coffees, to Trader Joe’s Frozen Food.

I have some packaged foods quilty pleasures, noodles and pre-cut fruit (I know shame on me), but sometimes I’ve been disappointed when buying this amazing huge mango then when slicing it at home it’s not good, I avoid that by buying a packaged sliced mango.

Bananas and apples are different, they can’t hide, you see a lot of bruising and you know what you might get, but Mango? That’s one sneaky bastard. Don’t get me started with avocado, but now I found my solution, I always buy them green and let them mature at home, delicious-bruise-less avocado.

What packaged food instructions do you always ignore/follow?

It’s going to sound silly, but most of the time I ignore Tea package instructions. Some teas require stepping the bag in hot water for 15 mins… 15 MINUTES?! It’s not only about patience, but the water won’t be hot by then, more lukewarm, and how can a cup of tea be proper when it has been left alone for 15 minutes in this cold weather?!

Instant Noodles, I sort of follow their instructions, ok rarely, since I tend to doctor a lot of my instant noodles for more refreshing flavors, I like to add herbs and vegetables. The last time I made instant noodles I did follow the instructions verbatim because I was taking the “spicy noodle challenge”, however I didn’t follow the actual challenge instructions (you are supposed to use 3 sauce packets instead of 1 for one bag of noodles), I’ll pass thank you, it was already spicy as it was.

Canned Beans, even though it’s not really a prepared meal, it’s canned food and I try to cook as little as possible (I’m not a huge fan of canned beans because they’re usually too soft for me). I rinse the life out of them using a colander and cold water.  I make a sofrito in a small pot, maybe make a bit of sauce, I cook everything and the last thing I add are the canned beans.

Popcorn bags, I avoid the heck out of my microwave popcorn option, just check the pop, and seriously you’re never going to be able to pop all the kernels, so as soon as the popping slows down, I stop it. Better having halfway popped bag of popcorn than a burnt one (yes, I have burned popcorn, it sucks and it stinks).

Last thoughts:

I don’t think I’ve ever bought frozen pizza, I’d rather have a grilled cheese sandwich, but I’m open to trying it, which one is your favorite brand?

Pre-cut Fruits YES, canned fruit? NO, unless you’re a prepper and require to eat it before the expiration date, please eat your fruit as fresh as possible, it just tastes better!

Don’t get me started with canned meats, I’m waiting on a can of Tulip a friend is sending to me, I’ll cook some for friends who have a love for Spam, (upcoming post). It’s a late 80’s nostalgia, it’s great in fried rice and like I said, check upcoming post.

 ¡a comer!

Hosting August DC Food Blogger Happy Hour at a Panamanian Restaurant was one of the sweetest welcomes I could have asked for.

Yup, I’m staying in DC! I know I won’t find most of back home dishes around the streets, perhaps at some Caribbean food joints or South American restaurant. That’s why I’m very thankful to have Yadira’s restaurant around, just a few Metro stops away from me!

Are you familiar with the Georgia Avenue/Petworth area? If you aren’t, this is a great moment, besides this Panamanian food restaurant I’m also curious to try a few other spots around the area.

It’s a very humble and cozy restaurant. Their service staff is super friendly and helpful.

I wasn’t able to try many dishes from the menu because the portions are very generous. An appetizer and an entree between two people will be more than enough.

Dishes I recommend for sharing:

Cod Fritters (bacalao), mild with hot sauce on the side (the aioli is pretty good with it too)
Carimañolas (cassava empanada stuffed with veg and meaty options)
Arroz con Pollo
Fried Fish
Side of fried sweet plantains
Shrimp Ceviche

During the Happy Hour many folks tried Chichita Panameña, Sangría, Hibiscus Martini, and some other non-alcoholic natural drinks.

I’m looking forward to trying their Saturday Fritangas day (Panamanian Breakfast, the fried foods). Also, Yadira’s tamales. That’s a dish that requires a lot of work, so it’d be nice to have a place I can get tamales to bring home. How cool is it that she also has a vegetarian version of tamales?! I’m so excited to try her place again.

Our Food Blogger Happy Hour is hosted once a month, follow us on FB to find out where we’ll be having fun in September!

¡a comer!

In 2012, Gaming Realms, renowned software creator and host to the Spin Genie entertainment site, claimed that “The market for virtual goods was worth US$7.3bn in 2010 and is expected to double by 2014”. In 2013, however, the Wall Street Journal reported that apps were already making close to $25 billion. Nearly a third of the US population of smartphone owners uses apps from the Health and Fitness category, and the market for mobile health is booming until today.

But again and again we see the same thing: apps that do nothing but aid in calorie counting, as said by Web MD. Any health expert can tell you that eating healthy isnâ€t as easy as counting calories and keeping to a daily allowance – you also need to be eating the right food to ensure your body gets the nutrients it needs.

Fooducate, however, takes calorie counting to a whole new level. Not only does it help you count the calories in the food youâ€re eating, but it also tells you more about whatâ€s in your food. From ingredients to preservatives and chemicals, youâ€re sure to change the way you eat with all this new information.

But Fooducate goes beyond telling you that what youâ€re eating is bad for you, it also gives you great suggestions for alternatives to the food youâ€re eating. You can also use Fooducate to locate alternatives for specialized diets, such as gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and no sugar diets. Itâ€s an excellent way to learn more about food, and itâ€s completely free. Thereâ€s even an active community using Fooducate so you can ask questions and opinions from those in the same boat!

Remember that healthy eating isnâ€t always equivalent to eating less. With Fooducate, it becomes possible to eat healthy, and still enjoy what youâ€re eating.

El pasado domingo tuve un día espectacular, una buena amiga me pasó a recoger y me llevó de paseo al Casco Antiguo, luego fuimos al Mercado en Pacific Mall en donde tuve la oportunidad de comprar el pan de avena por el Baking Factory.  Es que para mí la historia de una receta inicia desde que se compran los ingredientes, y cada vez que prepare un sandwich de garbanzos, recordaré el día tan excepcional que pasé con mi amiga, cruzando el Puentes de las Américas, solo por un molde de pan artesanal, pero valió la pena.  Ya utilizaré las sobras para hacer tostadas francesas de desayuno, es muy versátil y ligero.

Sé que cuando vean la lista de ingredientes me gritarán “Cómo así que 15 ingredientes para una ensaladita de garbanzos!!!!” Pero les aseguro que cada ingrediente tiene un buen propósito y esta receta es super flexible, todo, incluyendo los garbanzos, son reemplazables así que les invito a que utilicen esta receta como una base para cuando les inspire hacer un sandwich vegetariano o un dip de leguminosas.

Ingredientes
Pan (sugiero uno que se pueda tostar fácilmente)
2 Tazas de Garbanzos (1 Lata/15 oz)
3-4 cdas de Mayonesa
1-2 cdas de Crema Agria
2 cdtas de Alcaparras, picaditas
1 cdta de Mostaza Dijon
1 cdta de Aceite de Oliva
1 cdta de Jugo de Limón
1 hoja de Alga (nori), tostada y picadita
1 Chalote (shallot) pequeño, picadita (2 cdas)
3 dientes de Ajo, picaditos en puré
1 cdta de Braggs Aminos o Salsa de Soja
3 cdas de Nueces
Sriracha u otra salsa picante al gusto
Eneldo fresco, Sal y Pimienta al gusto

Instrucciones
1- En un bol combinar el jugo de limón con el ajo picadito, la mostaza, alcaparra, el chalote y el aceite de oliva.
2-  Agregar los garbanzos en cuatro partes, y con la cuchara hacerles puré (si tienes un procesador básicamente puedes poner todo junto y procesar hasta que tenga la consistencia de tu preferencia).

3- Ya con el garbanzo completamente molido, agrega el resto de los ingredientes e incorpora todo con una cuchara grande.
4- La Sriracha es opcional, a mí me gusta mucho el sabor que agrega a los garbanzos, solo que si no eres amante del picante ten mucho cuidado y con cada agregada, prueba la mezcla.
5- Tostar el pan con mantequilla por ambos lados, en temperatura media alta, esto te asegura una superficie tostadita y caliente, con un pan suave por dentro.

La calidad de tus ingredientes marcan la diferencia en los sabores de tus sandwiches, un buen pan, buena mayonesa, hierbas frescas, todos son detalles para crear un plato sencillo, pero delicioso.

¡a comer!

]]> https://www.cocinerita.com/sandwich-vegetariano-atun/feed/ 0 https://www.cocinerita.com/plantain-empanadas-queso/ https://www.cocinerita.com/plantain-empanadas-queso/#comments Thu, 20 Feb 2014 20:46:42 +0000 http://www.cocinerita.com/?p=3069

My closest grocery store isn’t a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe’s anymore, it’s a Mexican Supermercado and I’m going to take advantage to learn as much as possible about this cuisine.

Plantain empanadas are popular around several Latin American countries and I decided to make them now that I found lovely yellow plantains at the mercado.  They have so many quesos and types of beans so I’m very excited to try each one of them one recipe at a time.

You can also make this recipe in a big Pyrex just as you would do a meat pie or shepherds pie, but I’ve decided to make it on empanadas this time.

It’s important to have a proper ripen plantain for this recipe, if your plantains are green, hard and you really want to cook them today, by all means make this instead –> Patacones (recipe here)

I’ve seen these empanadas served with crema (sour cream) but I prefer a more refreshing sauce like this garlicky/tomato/relish.  I served these empanadas with a spinach salad to give it some balance since it’s such a starchy dish.

Plantains Empanadas con Queso & Refried Beans – Makes 4 Empanadas

Ingredients
2 plantains, yellow and ripened
1/2 cup Oaxaca cheese
1/2 cup Refried beans, at room temperature
1/2 cup Queso Blanco Molido (queso fresco)
Frying oil (I used coconut oil)

Directions:
1.  Cook the plantains until they are soft enough to break with a fork.
2.  I cooked the plantains inside the microwave (follow the pictures above).
3.  Cut the tips off and slice 1-2mm inside in the middle with a knife (pic above #2).
4.  Once the plantains are really soft, peel the skin off and mash with a fork. (pics bellow)
5.  Add two tablespoons of queso molido to the mashed plantains and a pinch of salt, combine and divide the masa on four portions.
6.  On an oiled parchment paper spread the plantains and make a circle shape, flat it up with your fingers and fill with 1.5 tbs of refried beans and pieces of the Oaxaca cheese and seal it helping yourself with the oiled paper.
7.  Heat up the oil in a pan and fry the empanadas on both sides medium temperature 4-6 minutes.

HOW TO MASH AND COMBINE EMPANADA MASA

HOW TO FILL EMPANADAS

NOTES:
– You can saute the empanadas or deep fry them, it’s up to you.  I modified the shape of my empanadas so that I wouldn’t need to deep fry them.
– If you want to be quicker, use the masa and shape in balls, fry and serve with the Oaxaca cheese (melted) and the refried beans on the side. (look at the picture below)