REPOST! Sofrito and Quick Bean Stew

September 15 is the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.  I will be doing my part here at home to cook more meals from my parent's home countries.  It is very difficult for me to do here in California since so many ingredients I grew up here are not readily available to me.  Also so many of the dishes I grew up eating had meat as the main dish.  I will be doing a whole vegetarian spin on all of the dishes.  Many I came to terms with not eating again.  Of course, everything with fish and all the meats available.

Yesterday instead of buying the sofrito at the Cuban store, I went and bought the necessary ingredients for recaito.  It took some figuring out what I could and couldn't use.  I couldn't use Italian frying or cubanelle pepper but instead used a poblano pepper.  Instead of using sweet chili peppers (ajitos) I went for red, yellow and green bell peppers. I could not find recao leaves so I used a bunch of cilantro. 

If anyone has the readily available to them, please send me your seeds.  I would really appreciate it.

Basic Recaito

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 Italian frying pepper or Cubanelle pepper

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3 sweet chili peppers or bell peppers or mini bell peppers

3 recao leaves or 3 cilantro sprigs

1 sprig cilantro

1 tbsp olive oil

cut and remove seeds from all peppers.

combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  

Refrigerate or freeze in 1/4 cup batches.  Good for stews and beans.

Vegetarian Bean Stew

(habichuelas guisadas vegetariana)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup Recaito

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups water or vegetable stock (I like to use the stock to give it more of a nutritional value)

1/4 lb calabaza (West Indian pumpkin or whatever you can find) Peeled and diced.

1 cup alcaparrado (a mix of olives and capers but it does boost its flavor but if it's not your thing it's OK to omit)

2  cans of beans (black, pinto, kidney) drained and rinsed

1 tsp black pepper 

heat the oil in a pot.

add the recaito and tomato sauce and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

add the stock and calabaza.

bring to a boil and the alcaparrado, beans and black pepper.

bring to a boil again.

reduce and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes

You can enjoy this with rice, quinoa, or alone with some crusty bread and vegetables.

Socks and Sandals wha Wha wha??!?!

Yesterday on Twitter, the topics Puertorican Problems and Dominican Problems was trending in Los Angeles.
For those who do not know, I am half Dominican and half Puertorican.  Which makes me a Dominiqueña.  Which also means I was able to connect with so many Dominicanas and Boricuas in Los Angeles.  I also had the misfortune to come across some racist creeps.  They could not bring me down.  There are SO MANY OF US. Everything from:
no more platanos in the house #DominicanProblem
to
out of sazon #PuertoricanProblem
and everything from chancletas to using Fabuloso.
Two Boricuas from the East Coast live nearby which is also so very amazing.
I enjoyed reading all the Twitter messages and laughed so hard that my homeschooler peered over gigantic history book saying, "glad someone´s having fun".  WHOOPS!
Two Boricuas from the East Coast live nearby which is also so very amazing.
I might even venture out the next time there is a Puertorican Festival in SoCal.


The other day I made this so delicious Vegan Sancocho.
Westcoasters, you can find everything you need in your local Cuban Market.  When I lived in Culver City, I used to go to El Camaguey on Venice Boulevard. Here in Glendale, I found El Mambi.  Very nice people all around.

1 lb. seitan cut in 2 inch rectangles (think short ribs)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 quarts vegetable stock
1/2 cup recaito
1 cup tomato sauce
1 lb each of calabaza, yautia, ñame, and yuca, peeled and diced in 1 inch cubes (you can find this in the store already peeled in the freezer aisle in the Cuban store. Saves ALOT of time since peeling is a bit of work since the root vegetables are not smooth like a potato)
2 medium green platanos, peeled and cut in 2 inch pieces
3 ears of corn cut into 1 inch pieces (or however small you can find them)
1 packet of sazon
adobo for taste
1 quart of water

in a HUGE soup pot, combine the first 6 ingredients, including ALL of the root vegetables
cover and bring to a boil.
reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer, for 30 minutes.
add the remaining ingredients and bring to another boil.
lower the heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
adjust the seasonings.

My house was warm and smelled so yummy when all was said and done.
Yummy with garlic bread.