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Why are you eating pegao?

February 21, 2012 by Lucymfel

I have recently been following many groups on Gplus and Facebook that are geared towards veganism because Raul is vegan. I follow these groups because I want to be able to cook good food and a variety of recipes for him. I have also been following Dr. Greene’s WhiteOut page where they will ask a question several times a day and one particular question was about rice. Someone mentioned black rice and I was curious to learn about this particular grain of rice.

In the group Raising a Vegan Child, they posted information about the six foods that have fueled development. Rice was one of them and I mentioned that I would love to cook black rice. So they posted information about the benefits of black rice and I was on a mission to purchase some.

In search of Black Rice

As a child, my mother only cooked white rice. She colored it yellow or left it white. The only other time white rice took on another color was when she made calamari and it turned black. Sometimes my rice would be red with all the ketchup I would put on it.

On Sunday, we went to the local organic farmer’s market and then stopped at a health food store in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I started looking for black rice and in the Asian food section, there was black and red rice. The brand I bought and only one available at this store was called @LotusFoods. So I took a bag of each and decided that I was going to make some during the week.

@lotusfoods black and red rice

It looks like pegao

For those who don’t know what pegao is, it is the burnt rice at the bottom of the rice pot. Some people eat it and others throw it away. I used to eat it but it is really bad for your teeth. But most Puerto Rican’s will wait to eat the pegao and I remember many aunts and uncle eating this at family dinners.

Today I cooked the black rice according to the package and the grain is so black that it looked like pegao times ten! I did read on various recipes sites to make sure it was seasoned well. I added some kosher salt and curry with a touch of black pepper. I made black eyed peas, collards, mushrooms, and teriyaki flavored tofu.

My daughter only ate the black eyed peas, tofu, and I made asparagus for her. She couldn’t wait for the rice to be made. But since there is some left over, I will give her some to try tomorrow.

Verdict about Black Rice

I think with a bit more flavoring to the water or maybe sauteed onions or garlic, it might taste better than just salt and curry. But as I explore new grains and food, it is about trial and error. Don’t be discouraged by my bland outcome. Research some recipes and see how the people who are used to cooking black rice use it.

Have you made Black Rice or do you just stick with white rice?

What other rices have you tried at home?

 

 

Filed Under: Products Tagged With: Puerto Rican

Visiting a Local Organic Farmer’s Market

December 26, 2011 by Lucymfel

For months I have been trying to get to the local organic farmer’s market Cooperativa Organica Madre Tierra at La Placita de La Roosevelt in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I was told that it might have the leafy greens I was looking for by several folks such as our friend Gabriel, Isa, and Stephanie from Peace N Loaf.  So we packed up the baby on last Sunday morning and drove up to San Juan. We talked to our friend Zuleyka and she was going to meet up with us there.

Farmer’s Stands

When we got there the place was already buzzing with folks. Some were just setting up food and tents. We walked over to what I thought was spinach at a table sponsored by local farmers Siembra Tres Vida. I had encountered their name on localharvest.org and found out through Isa that their products make up the boxes of ElDepartamentodelaComida who were recently part of a TEDxSanJuan conference.

I had researched Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes months ago on their site and saw they sell local veggies along with Isa’s artesanal bread. These boxes are sold for a fee from certied, local, organic farms. They are filled with seasonal fruits and vegetables and some farmers even have animal protein that you can purchase. If you go to Local Harvest, put your zipcode or state and see what farms are closest to where you live. Some farmers will delivery to your home or you can go and pick it up. There are some farms that will allow you to pick your own fruits and vegetables. The idea is two fold, you pay the farm for their produce and they inturn use that money to purchase more seeds to plant and grow crops.

We were greeted by a young man who helped exposed us to a new green called Tatsoi . I had a taste of the leafy green and decided to grab a bag along with eggplants. Raul told him about our blog and the young man proceeded to tell us how we could get in touch with the farm in Aibonito (close to our home) to visit and possibly pick our own vegetables.

Tatsoi and Eggplant we purchased

As we went to other tables to see what they were selling, I was looking out for collards and kale. We saw what Turmeric looks like raw. I have read about the properties of the plant and how good it is for arthritis. We went to another table that had all sorts of plants, herbal, vegetable, and medicinal.

We asked the farmer if he had greens and he said he was sold out. So we did the next best thing and picked up some collard green seeds. He told us they germinate quickly so I will have to find a spot in a pot to plant them. We bought fresh celery and a roselle that can be prepared similar to cranberries and be made into a beverage better known as Hibiscus tea.

Collar Green Seeds

Peace n Loaf

We also encountered Stephanie who along with @Isasbread make vegan/vegetarian pizza at @Peacenloaf and artesanal bread. We have been following @Isasbread on twitter for several years and we finally tasted some of the bread she makes. I can tell you that the bread was enjoyed by the entire family.

We had hempseed and a chocolate/orange bread and as Isa had explained previously on Twitter, they put their bread in the CSA boxes for El Dept de la Comida. Stephanie explained to Raul about keeping the bread fresh in little sack they gifted us which hand made locally in Puerto Rico. We need to fill our new natural bread bag more often.

Stephanie explaining to customer about the breads for the day

BIKAI

As we were lingereing around, we did see people selling food and setting up. The farmers had a cooler and inside of the cooler was my pot of gold. The ever elusive Collard Greens and Kale!

The farm is called Bikai located in Camuy and they also provided CSA boxes for a reasonable price. You can get your box in Camuy or meet up with them in San Juan or in the Rincon area. Frances and Rolando were so helpful  to us about the service they provide. Rolando helped me sort out what was kale and collards and I grabbed bunches. They also were selling vegetarain food and oatmeal cookies.

Raul ordered the food and it had great flavor. He said he should have ordered another plate to take home. Rolando also showed us another plant that was for consumption called Moringa. The farmer we had encountered earlier was actually looking for Raul to tell him that Rolando had greens. He told the farmer that I picked up a bunch from Rolando and that was great to see them helping each other out.

Me with my leafy greens collards and kale from Bikai Farms

The ambiance was familiar and Puerto Rican Christmas folk music was great. They have a schedule out for next year of when they will be getting together to sell products at this particular market. They local growers meet the first and third of every month.  If you go, you will not be disappointed with the committment these farmers have to growing local organics.

When we got home, I cooked my kale with aubergine and celery along with other spices. There is a big difference when you are eating store bought aubergine and celery as oppossed to the local organics. It tastes fresh and it smells divine.

Do you shop at local organic farmer’s markets near your home?

Do you participate in CSA boxes? How has your experience been?

Link to “Mercado Organico 2012” Calendar for Your Mac

Location


View Larger Map

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Products, Vegetarian Tagged With: Organic Farmers Market

D’lite in D’Manolo Products

October 5, 2011 by Lucymfel

A few weeks ago on a Saturday we decided to venture out of the house and to the mall in Ponce. We didn’t have our daughter’s carriage so our stay was not going to be that long since we would be carrying her around the mall. She is eating everything insight so she is getting heavier. We happened to venture to the Agriculture Market on the second floor of the mall and we saw the usual. Someone selling organic eggs, medicinal plants, and honey.

On our quest to find Puerto Rico coffee, I was offered a small piece of homemade Pumpkin Bread. I took a piece and went on towards the coffee. Now when we bought the coffee, I thought that Pumpkin Bread would go great with this coffee and we decided to go back to the lady. She saw me and suggested that we since we purchased the coffee, her bread would go great with it. I told her that was the reason I went back. As Raul @rj_c started to speak with the owner, he realized that he had eaten a meal from their vegetarian restaurant when he first moved to Puerto Rico. He had also eaten their home made yogurts. We were happy to try some of their homemade yogurt and bought four flavors. One had Guayaba, Almond and Cinnamon, Mango, and the last one we added Flaxseeds. We also bought two Pumpkin Bread loafs. The good thing about the loafs was that our daughter loved the taste. It had raisins and cinnamon, a spice that she is used to eating in some of her food. She also loved the yogurt and we had that for breakfast with flax seeds.

Of the three yogurts that I was able to try (Raul ate the mango one with mango bits) they were all delicious. My favorite had to be the Almond Cinnamon yogurt.

If you are ever in the San Juan area, one place I know they sell the Pumpkin bread is at Viva Mas in San Patricio Mall. It is a vegetarian cafe on the bottom floor. I have recently made banana bread muffins and would love to bake more breads at home. The owner stated that you could buy products at FreshMart as well.

Are there any other artesanal breads you have eaten or recommend to purchase in Puerto Rico or abroad that is vegetarian/vegan friendly?

 

Filed Under: Products, Vegetarian

@UrbanAccents Kabob Kit Made Easy

June 23, 2011 by Lucymfel

I like making veggie kabobs whenever I get a chance. I have made them with @Gardein Home-Style Beefless Tips but sometimes I just want the veggies. My only problem is that sometimes, I want to have a different flavor with my kabobs and I don’t know what spices to mix together. Last week while I was purchasing some items in Marshalls, I came across these kabob kits from a company called Urban Accents.

Urban Accents Kabob Kits

I decided I was going to buy them and test them out with some veggies. The kit comes along with pre-blended spices and skewers. The directions are pretty easy; soak the skewers in water if you are going to grill them, add 1/2 cup of vegetable or olive oil, marinade or put over the ingredients you are going to use for the kabobs.

I decided I was going to try the Spicey African Grill Kit Fiery Peri Peri & Garlic Spice. I marinated the veggies and about an 1/2 hour later put them on metal skewers and into the oven. We purchased a metal skewer kit so we wouldn’t have to soak the skewers. And since I don’t grill much, I used the oven. I put the kabobs on at 350 degrees  for about 20 minutes and made sure that the veggies were cooked.

 

You can not get any simpler than that. This particular blend is fiery and spicey so if you like heat you will like this one. For myself and my mate it was too fiery. What I should have done was look on the website for any additional ingredients to add to veggies. It does say to add additional lime juice to cut down on the heat.

I will be trying the other blends, Mediterranean and Teriyaki, within the next couple of days to see how they taste.

Have tried @UrbanAccents products?

What other spice companies have pre-blended spices that you like?

Filed Under: Products, Vegetarian Tagged With: Product Reviews, vegan, Vegetarian

You might think it’s vegetarian

June 2, 2011 by Raul Colon

There are many products that people think are vegetarian and they are not. Some of these situations occur because of lack of knowledge or individuals like the Flexitarians who confuse people by saying they are part-time vegetarians.

Throughout the years of being vegetarian I have bumped into many things that seem to be vegetarian and I am going to create a list of options which are not vegetarian and you might think they are.

Caesar Salad

Most people think vegetarian and offer a salad same reason I am not a fan of eating salads or having it suggested to me as an option. Worcestershire Sauce has an ingredient that is not vegetarian/vegan friendly and that is anchovies.

Ingredients: romaine or cos lettuce , olive oil, fresh crushed garlic – often in olive oil, salt to taste, fresh-ground black pepper. wine vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice – fresh squeezed, Worcestershire sauce, raw or coddled egg yolks, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, freshly prepared croutons

Cheez wiz

One of my favorite spreads as a kid and even as an adult. Finding out that this was not vegetarian was not good news. I still see it in the supermarket and I ask myself why do they add worchestershire sauce (which contains anchovies) to the recipe.

Ingredients: Whey, canola oil, milk protein concentrate, maltodextrin, sodium phosphate, contains less than 2% of whey protein concentrate, salt, lactic acid, sodium alginate, mustard flour, worchestershire sauce, (vinegar, molasses, corn syrup, water, salt, caramel color, garlic powder, sugar, spices, tamarind, natural flavor), sorbic acid as a preservative, milkfat, cheese culture, oleoresin paprika (color), annatto (color), natural flavor, enzymes.

Twinkies

Obviously this is not a healthy option but I remember I picked one up about a year ago and looked at the ingredients what I found funny was that it said it had “Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening” in other words they where not even sure if the animal byproduct in or left it out. This was a huge flag for me and I did find A Visual of Twinkies 37 ingredient with the following photograph by Dwight Eschliman of the ingredients.

Ingredients: Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour [Flour, Reduced Iron, B Vitamins (Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid)], Corn Syrup, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening (Soybean, Cottonseed and/or Canola Oil, Beef Fat), Whole Eggs, Dextrose. Contains 2% or Less of: Modified Corn Starch, Glucose, Leavenings (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Sweet Dairy Whey, Soy Protein Isolate, Calcium and Sodium Caseinate, Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Soy Lecithin, Soy Flour, Cornstarch, Cellulose Gum, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sorbic Acid (to Retain Freshness), Yellow 5, Red 40.

Some Bagels

Everytime I see a bagel with L-Cysteine I picture myself with Duck Feathers in my mouth.

L-Cysteine is a minor constituent of the bagel base. It is commonly and widely used in the baking industry as a dough conditioner.  It is an amino acid obtained from a number of sources by means of hydrolysis (a lengthy refining process).  The end product is extremely remote from its natural or synthetic origin. The non vegan and also the non vegetarian forms are most commonly made from duck feathers.

Marshmallows

As much as I Loved them I think may of us forget that any ingredient with gelatin is not vegetarian friendly. The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar or corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, and flavorings, whipped to a spongy consistency

These items I mentioned are clearly not vegetarian but if you don’t read the ingredients on the label you might think it is free of meat and it really is not. If you have doubts on what you are eating it might not be a bad idea to have an app on your smart phone that helps you identify ingredients that are difficult to pronounce.

Do you know of any other products or meal options that look vegetarian and they are not?


photo credit by John-Morgan

Filed Under: Products, Vegetarian

Darrell Lea Liquorice

May 30, 2011 by Raul Colon

Many vegetarians are always looking for snacks that are healthy and sweet at the same time.

We had the opportunity to receive a few packages of Darell Lea Liquorice which we sampled.

For me it was the first time I remember trying liquorice. Initially it took some time for my taste buds to register and enjoy the liquorice. I started with the Mango and on my 3rd piece I really started to enjoy the taste. We received the other flavors which were Green Apple, Strawberry, and Original flavor. Out of the three flavors my favorite was Strawberry which ended being the house favorite and the package disappeared very quickly.

I really enjoyed the fact sheet enclosed with the products which really made me get a clear understanding of the Liquorice and its benefits.

Here are some fun facts on Liquorice (provided by Darrel Lea) and if you walk by a Darrell Lea package of Liquorice I recommend you to try.

  • In the Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy, Orcs have Black Blood – so what way was the easiest way to make their mouths black, not pink…. The actors had to swill the mouhts with a liquorice mouthwash prior to filming each of their scenes.
  • Alexander the Great and the Roman Emperor Caeser were two of the earlieast eaters of Liquorice.
  • The Liquorice plant grows wild in the subtropical areas of Europe and Asia.
  • The use of Liquorice as medicinal remedy is documented as far back as the fourth century BC, the time of Hippocrates.
  • Licorice helps relieve the pains that accompany certain types of ulcers, and it is good for the adrenal glands.

Disclosure: We did receive Complimentary Samples of Darrel Lea Liquorice (the four samples you see in the above picture) we don’t feel that this influenced the writing of this post in any way.

Filed Under: Products, Vegetarian

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