Vegetarian Picadillo

Tonight, I didn't try any new recipes. Instead, I revamped a traditional Cuban dish that my family regularly eats. This meant that I had to cook double. One picadillo pan with ground beef for my husband and children, and one picadillo pan for myself using protein crumbles. It was soooo worth it.

I am very excited about the result. So, for any of you other Cubans out there who are now vegetarians, this tasted pretty close to the real thing without the greasiness or aftertaste of beef.

I didn't change anything from the traditional recipe other than that I used the protein crumbles instead of the beef. No...wait...that's not true. My kids accidentally threw out my green bell pepper last night because I left it on the counter, so I used red bell pepper instead for the sofrito. Other than that, it was all the same.

For those of you that may not know, sofrito is kind of like a starter. Many cuban dishes start out with this as the flavor base. Some people like to use a food processor to make it in bulk and freeze it, but I DO NOT think it tastes the same. I prefer to make it fresh every time I cook. Besides it only takes a few minutes to make, and it's not rocket science, after all.

So here's the recipe:

Sofrito Ingredients:
olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced (I used red because I didn't have green, but green is ideal)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Other ingredients:
1lb soy protein crumbles
1 packet Sazon Goya sin achiote (if you can't find this at your grocery store, it doesn't matter)
1/2 c. pimento stuffed green olives
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. white cooking wine
1/2 c. water
2 bay leaves
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
oregano, to taste
cumin, to taste

1. Make the sofrito first. I like to make this in a shallow pan so that everything cooks evenly and quickly. Normally, I would brown the meat first, but since the protein crumbles don't need to be browned, you can start with the sofrito. Saute the garlic, onion, and bell pepper until the onions are translucent and the bell peppers are soft. This will smell amazing! Every time I do this, my kids migrate to the kitchen asking when dinner will be ready.

Be careful not to burn the garlic. If this happens you have to start over because it will be bitter and nasty. Yuck! Make sure you have enough oil so that the garlic doesn't stick. My mom and grandma use a lot more olive oil than I do, but you really only need enough in the pan so that the garlic stays nice and pretty.

Add the tomato sauce and mix. Cook this on high heat until the tomato sauce is reduced and somewhat clumpy. Mix it a few times while it's cooking to make sure that it doesn't burn. You want to keep it in there until it looks like it's about to go all wrong. It will look much drier and thicker than when you started.

2. Add the protein crumbles to the pan and mix with the sofrito.

3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and mix well. It should have A LOT of liquid. If it doesn't, you can add more cooking wine or water. (The Sazon Goya packet isn't really necessary if your sofrito is good, but it's a little cheat for getting good flavor quickly. If you can't find it at your grocery store, don't worry about it.)

4. Bring to a boil, mix, then reduce the heat and simmer over low-medium heat for 20 minutes. The liquid will have reduced to a thicker sauce that coats the "meat"

5. Serve over rice. I used brown rice, but picadillo is traditionally served with white rice.

Being able to eat such a typical Cuban dish as a vegetarian was really great for me. I even ate it with a banana on my plate--a very Caribbean thing to do--, just like I used to when I was a kid. I love the sweet and salty flavors of the raisins and olives, and the tangy-ness of the tomato sauce. If you don't fancy raisins, just pick them out afterwards, but definitely don't omit them all together. It would change the flavors too much and the saltiness of the olives would dominate the dish.

I was so happy with my dish that I ate it all before realizing that I hadn't taken a picture...which is why, the picture above is of my leftovers container that I am totally taking to work for lunch tomorrow.

I only have one last thing to say about this recipe. I love that you only have to get one pan dirty. Well, two if you count the pot for the rice.

Enjoy!

Tofu Noodles and Diced Veggies

Last night, I had some fun with my food. A friend of mine recommended using tofu noodles in place of traditional pasta in order to eliminate eggs as an ingredient. She told me that I should make sure to rinse the noodles REALLY WELL. I have to say that I didn't appreciate her advice as much as I should have until I opened the bag of tofu noodles. It smelled very...briny/fishy. So, here's what I did... I ran those suckers under cold water in a strainer for at least 2 minutes until I could barely smell that briny smell. I let it sit in the strainer while I sauteed the veggies. I diced up whatever I had on hand. I don't think it matters what vegetables you use. In this instance, I used yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, green, red, and yellow bell peppers, garlic, jalapeno, and red onion. I find myself using these particular veggies in a lot of dishes, mostly because I like them.

Once I was happy with the veggies (about 5 minutes because I like them still a bit crunchy), I mixed in the noodles. The only seasoning that I added at this point were sea salt and black pepper. I also added fresh cilantro and fresh parsley, but these fresh herbs didn't go in until I put the noodles in. I didn't want them getting wilted and gross. The potatoes on the plate were seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley, drizzled with olive oil, and baked on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. I mixed the potatoes around once about half way through the half hour. My oldest son LOVED this noodle-veggie recipe.

 

As I look at this picture, I realize that this is the ugliest and most uncomfortable plate I own. The sides come up on two sides only where the pink flowers are, so if you're not careful food falls off the flat side. I hate it, but it's one of the most used plates in my house. I cut stuff on it, I serve food on it, I throw it in the sink, and I run it through the dishwasher...often.

Part of me is simply waiting for the day that it finally gives out and cracks so I can throw it away, but another part of me likes to hang on to it. It was one of the plates that my in-laws left behind when they retired and moved away...it's a little piece of them that they left here for us to hang on to. As a matter of fact, they left several little things here...and in a way it represents the love they left behind for us. Maybe I'll be nicer to the plate after all.

Quick Kasba Curry Soup

This is the first time I've ever made this soup. I got the recipe from The McDougal Quick & Easy Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1/3 c. water
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
3 cups cooked brown rice
1-2 t. curry powder

1. Place the water, onion, and celery in a saucepan.Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes longer.\

I made this dish, as is, at first, but I wasn't satisfied with the blandness of it. I used 2 teaspoons of the curry powder, but I think it could have used more curry. I didn't want to make too many changes because I wanted that curry flavor to come through, but I wasn't happy with the flavor after the 30 minutes, so I added a few more ingredients right before serving: sea salt, black pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin (all, to taste). I know the cilantro and lime juice changed the flavor profile of the soup so that I didn't end up with what the recipe originally intended. However, I enjoyed it, nonetheless.

When I saw this recipe, I thought it was the perfect way to use the leftover rice I had in the refrigerator from last night. Luckily, I had just enough rice for the recipe.

My family was having BBQ pork ribs tonight, so I gave them the soup--more like wet rice--as their side dish. I used a slotted spoon to serve them so that they hardly had any liquid.

I used a ladle to serve myself more of the broth with the rice in a bowl as a soup. I'm used to eating more bulk for dinner, so I missed having the crunch of more vegetables. However, in the future, I think I would use this as a lunch meal, or in conjunction with another vegetable dish, for dinner.

Tonight, I had mixed reviews on this recipe from my family. My husband loved it, and he even had seconds. My older son and daughter ate it all, but didn't say anything. This usually means they're not crazy about the meal but are able to deal with the new flavors. My youngest son, on the other hand, complained about having to try yet another new vegetarian dish. He said, and I quote, "I hate it. It's terrible." I told him he had to have at least three bites and that we could talk about it afterward. After he had his three bites, he tried to explain what it was that he didn't like.

He said that it had too many spices. The thing is, he's never had curry before, so I explained to him that this dish didn't actually have many spices, but rather one new spice that he is not used to. I don't think he'll love it the next time I make it, but I'm sure he'll get used to the new flavors little by little.

As I talked to my son about all of this, it made me reflect on the rest of the people in my life and on how their attitudes towards my meals have changed. It's nice to see that my parents aren't weirded out by my meals anymore. Well, at the very least, they don't show it as much.

I've also noticed the difference at work. In the beginning, my coworkers found it somewhat annoying. I remember being asked questions, such as, "You're still not eating meat????" or "Don't you want to eat something really good???" Then, I'd have to explain, that my food WAS really good. I started bringing extra to share, and sometimes they'd try it...other times, they'd look at me like I was asking them to eat bugs. Anyway, bit by bit, these types of questions died down, and now, they don't even notice. I'm glad to see that it's just a part of me that they acknowledge now, the status quo, as opposed to an eccentricity that they used to  struggle with.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...It's Always Tomorrow

I haven't posted about recipes in a while because...well let's face it...aside from being overwhelmed with work, I've also been lazy. Working at a school, especially at the end of the school year, is exhausting physically, emotionally, and psychologically. When I get home sometime between five and six in the evening, I continue working--cooking, cleaning, checking homework. By the time I serve myself my dinner, I'm so happy to eat that going back upstairs to get my camera doesn't seem that urgent. When I'm halfway through my plate, and feeling better, I remember the camera again... but at that point, it wouldn't be a pretty picture of the food on the plate anymore. So, I tell myself that I'll make sure to take a picture of my plate tomorrow.

Today, I'm going to take a picture of WHATEVER I eat for dinner, regardless of whether it's exciting or not!