Vegetarian

We all make more mashed potatoes than we would like and that is exactly what happened to me yesterday. Our daughter likes potato wedges, fries, and chunks but mashed, not so much. I don’t like throwing left-overs away and decided I would put them in the fridge and eat them the next day.

Snack Time with Rellenitos de Papa

Snack time is around ten thirty and I decided that instead of re-heating the mashed potatoes for lunch, I would make Rellenitos de Papa with Pepper Jack Daiya Cheese. I had already incorporated the Daiya Cheese into the mashed potatoes from the night before and I decided to fill the small little potato balls with more Daiya Cheese.

I remember trying to make Rellenos de Papa with my grandmother one time and I failed miserably. Her Rellenos de Papa were much bigger (tennis ball sized) and stuffed with ground meat. When we fried the ones I made versus hers, mine turned into fried mashed potatoes. Of course her’s stayed in the shape of a ball.

My mistake was that I handled the potato balls too much and my hand warmed them up. Forming the ball and filling them has to be done quickly. My grandmother used canola oil that covered the Rellenos de Papa in a deep pot, at medium to high heat. She has over 80 years of experience making them. She just celebrated her 90th birthday this past July.

This is a vegan version and you could find faux meats to fill  them with or any leftover veggies from the night before and of course make them much bigger. I also did not deep fry but pan fry in olive oil and did not move them around. I browned each side and then with a spoon coated the entire rellenito with olive oil whilst leaving them in place.  These were small appetizer size (golf ball size) and were made pretty quickly.

Rellenitos de Papa

Left over mashed potatoes (cold preferably)

Pepper Jack Daiya Cheese

Olive Oil or whatever oil you use for frying

2 tablespoons of Flour with a sprinkle of salt and pepper (this is to coat the balls)

Dipping Sauce Mayo-Kectchup

1 tablespoon of Vegan Mayo (any brand we used Earth Balance)

1 tablespoon Ketchup (we used Woodstock Organic Tomato Ketchup)

1 garlic clove peeled and shredded (raw not cooked)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cooking the Rellenitos de Papa

I made the mayo-ketchup sauce after I had given Raul a test rellenito. He thought it would be a good idea to use this as a dipping sauce. Next time, I will make the mayo-ketchup first so it could really have that garlic taste.

My leftover’s allowed me to make seven, cheesy filled, balls. I quickly formed each ball leaving a little hole in the middle, I put the shreds of Daiya that could fit, closed up, and rolled in the flour. I made sure to coat all sides of the ball. I  heated up the olive oil in a small frying pan (medium heat) and did not turn the rellenitos over until I saw one side was brown. Once both sides were brown, I used a spoon to drizzle the hot olive oil over the rellenito to make sure the flour was cooked. (If you cook the rellenitos too low, they will get mushy. One of them got too soft.)

This really took about twenty minutes to make; this does not include the taste testing in between. This might be something you could do for a party instead of making the huge rellenos that would fill anyone up in no time. We ate them pretty quickly. If you are a vegetarian, you could use regular cheese and mayo.

I really don’t use exact measurements in this recipe, but I am sure that trial and error won’t hurt. The key is not to move the rellenitos too much while frying or you’ll end up with fried mashed potatoes.

I was provided an abridged version of L.I.V2.E. (Latin Inspired Vegan & Vegetarian Eats): Local & Organic Recipes to Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle as a book review by the author, Melinda Gonzalez. Although it was a review of the abridged version, the opinions expressed are solely my own. 

When we started our journey into healthier eating (not just vegan or vegetarian), we had to play a guessing game of what to do and what not to do. Since I was the cook, I did not know that buying and cooking whole foods was better than buying processed vegetarian foods. We are always looking to connect with people who have gone on a food journey similar to our own. Being a vegetarian & vegan Latino family  is strange to some folks in our own families and connecting with folks all over the globe makes us realize that we are not alone.

We recently had a person join our Latino Vegans & Vegetarians group on Facebook. Melinda Gonzalez, who has a blog called Organic Melinda, introduced us to her blog and also made us aware that she had written a book called, L.I.V2.E. (Latin Inspired Vegan & Vegetarian Eats): Local & Organic Recipes to Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle .  She asked if any blogger would be interested in reviewing her book and I signed up. I was interested in reviewing the book because any recipe that I can veganize for my partner that has a Latin twist, is something I keep on hand and forward to other’s looking to go meatless for a day or for life.

Meal Plan and Exercise Plan

The book is so much more than just recipes; it starts off with the reasons Melinda went vegetarian, to eating super healthy with the birth of her daughter. I can relate to her in the sense that I really did not go vegetarian or eat whole foods until our daughter was born.

For those who don’t know where to start when choosing a healthier meal plan, there is one for you with recipes from the book. If you are a busy family on the go or you are considering incorporating more vegetarian meals during the week, then the meal plan takes the guess work out of your cooking. Exercise is also important and I force myself to move out of the house with my dog at least twice a day, go for walks with our daughter, and swim with her to do exercise. Melinda’s book also provides an exercise plan that was created with the help of a certified personal trainer and registered holistic nutritionist.

Staple Foods for Latinos and Caribbean People

There are foods that have been a staple in many Latino and Caribbean homes that are now considered super foods and are being consumed by those looking for healthier food options.  Melinda explains how foods such as Amaranth, Cacao, and even Avocados have been in the diet of Latinos for many centuries.

If I look at my mom’s recipes, we always had avocados when they were in season and if someone was going to Puerto Rico, my dad always had to have one from the island if they were in season. Living in Puerto Rico, we are lucky to have family members and friends with all sorts of root vegetables and fruit that you can’t find in the states. Ever had Grosellas for dessert? 

Organics on a Budget, GMO’s, & Farmer’s Market List

We buy local organics from El Departamento de La Comida in Santurce, Puerto Rico and we don’t look at price unless it is a tight week budget wise. Melinda has some tips for those looking to purchase local organics on a budget and suggest growing your own or buying at certain times of the month to save some dollars.

Nevertheless, if you are looking to purchase fruits and vegetables that are not Genetically Modified Organisms, then the book also provides an insight on her reasons she avoids GMO’s for her family and offers other alternatives such as growing your own veggies or going to coops.

Since Melinda lives on the East Coast of the United States, she provides a list of Farmer’s Markets in New York and New Jersey. If you purchase the book,you can read more about her conversations with farmers and why sometimes getting labeled as a USDA Organic farm can be costly and lengthy process .

Recipes

This section gives a wide variety of recipes not just Latino dishes. She offers recipes for the entire day; breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts. The recipe that I wanted to try was the Vegan Veggie Mofongo for one simple reason; I wanted to see how baking the plantain in the oven would really taste and come close to deep frying. I have my own way of doing the mofongo which is closer to making Mangú, a Dominican dish that has one boiling the plantain instead of deep frying pieces.

Melinda provided me a tip about not over baking the plantain pieces or they would be hard as sticks. I cooked the pieces, took them out just in time, and mashed them in my mortar and pestle. I served this with mixed vegetables and an avocado salad with spinach and tomato. My partner and I agreed that texture was close to that of deep frying and was actually better than my boiling technique. It is also healthier than deep frying and gives you that bit of crunch that you find with deep frying.

Melinda offers her experience and knowledge in this book and the reasons she chooses to be a tree hugging hippie (she writes that she literally hugs trees and goes barefoot to be grounded with nature.) Purchasing the book would be a good jump start for those who are considering going vegetarian or vegan.