I've always tried to instill into my children where their grandparents came from.
My husband is of Guatemalan descent and I am of Dominican and Puertorican descent. I had an easier time instilling my ancestry with my children from a very early age but now that the kids are older and are doing so many things this year was a little challenging. The books I picked up from various Dominican and Puertorican authors are still sitting in out library bookcase. Untouched. The music was a little challenging since the kids have their ear buds on or they are in their rooms with the door closed.
But...
They have to eat.
That was the most successful contribution I was able to make for my kids. Platanos almost every day. Rice and beans is always a staple in our home so it wasn't much of a big deal. Without realizing it, I was already instilling that part of our heritage.
Also another thing I realized is this. We as Latinos are not including a variety of vegetables in our meals. I used the cookbook, A Taste of Puerto Rico by Yvonne Ortiz for a few of our meals with a twist. More vegetables. Our dishes are tomato based and that is great but the lack of greens was astounding. How are we to raise a family with such a lack of vegetables. Growing up we didn't eat much in the vegetable department. A lot of meals were cooked around meat. It hasn't been easy doing this at home. Right now my kids hate it but I am hoping that when they grow up they will remember what I have been trying to do and hopefully they will adopt this new way of eating as a norm.
This weekend I re-invented the Puertorican spaghetti sauce. I added some ingredients and it was so very good. This recipe will leave you with leftovers to freeze for another day.
Maria's Vegan Puertorican Spaghetti Sauce
2 tbsps olive oil
1 medium yellow onion chopped finely
2 minced garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
4 mushrooms sliced
6 tbsps tomato paste
4 cups tomato sauce
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
5 cups water
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp adobo
2 cups re hydrated TVP
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Heat the oil in a skillet and saute vegetables until soft.
Transfer to a slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients except the TVP.
Cook on low for 6 hours.
One hour before serving add the re hydrated TVP w/Italian seasoning and stir.
Enjoy with crusty bread and your choice of pasta.
You can also just cook in a stockpot and let it simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if it gets to dry.
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