A Resourceful Cuisine From Puerto Rico

 The island of Puerto Rico has been through some rough times lately.. Hurricane Maria devastated this beautiful island three years ago and now the Corona virus is doing the same thing and then some. Luckily the Puerto Ricans  are resourceful and know how to create dishes from very little. Their recipes are nourishment for the body and for the soul.

Von Diaz, author of many cookbooks reflecting her heritage, wrote this informative piece for today's New York Times Food section. 

There are also classic island recipes too, home chefs can try.  This beautiful island has been dealing with hurricanes since recorded time, the earliest one being Hurricane San Roque in 1508. Islanders have been resourceful, relying on foraging and each other for food and ingredients when electricity and water have become scarce.A pandemic is different. People can't come together. They can't share. There is food insecurity and limited supplies. Yet they rally. The Puerto Ricans can take the ingredients given to them and turn them into filling and delicious dinners. This is true in the case of plantains which came from Africa to the Caribbean to feed enslaved workers.They're blended with Spanish based ingredients such as garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings to give the famed and flavor packed dish mofongo. Arroz con pollo is another dish which is a marriage of indigenous herbs and a European basic  - chicken. Then there is Spam which came to the island in 1947 with Operation Bootstrap. It may have wrecked Puerto Rico's agriculture but it became a beloved ingredient in many dishes.Crispy fried Spam figures in many dishes from Spam and eggs to Spam guisado with tomatoes, olives and potatoes.

The recipes included are Spam macaroni and cheese and the classic arroz con pollo. The first is a nice departure from the usual mac and cheese. A whole can of Spam is used, as it's first fried for ten minutes until crispy.It will have a smoky ham flavor, sort of like bacon. Ms. Diaz recommends tasting it along away to decide what is the desired crispness. The rest of the recipe is not that far from the classic baked mac and cheese. The cheeses used are the spicy Monterey Jack and a sharp yellow cheddar. Milk and flower along with seasonings are added too. For a more involved recipe, definitely try the arroz con pollo. There is the adobo marinade which is a mix of garlic, olive oil and white vinegar mixed with oregano and black pepper.Then to give the chicken and rice more flavor there's sofrito, a mix of red bell peppers, aji or amarillo pepper, garlic,onion and the two herbs cousins, culantro and cilantro. Culantro can be bought at either Latin or Asian markets. Use boneless , skinless chicken thighs that have the adobo poured over them Let them marinate for at least thirty minutes and then cook them in a Dutch oven. Sofrito, tomato sauce and chicken broth are added. The chicken meat is pulled as the rice is added. It's fluffed together with green olives  to create a flavorful , filling meal, perfect for the cold days ahead. You can serve with salted avocado and tomato slices along with a squirt of lime juice.

The Puerto Ricans have been resourceful for a very long time. They can take the most basic of ingredients and turn them into the most flavorful dishes. It's a reflection of their resilient spirits and souls.

The Illustrated Kitchen Bible Your Bible

Every home chef should have a cookbook that not only has recipes for every meal and holiday but also chapters about methods and techniques. It should be more than a book, but a bible of sorts that can be marked up and used for reference. Luckily there is a great , epic cookbook that fits that need.

The Illustrated Kitchen Bible:1,000 Family Recipes From Around The World  (DK Publishing) is the must have book that should be in every kitchen library. Author Victoria Blashford-Snell, a Cordon Bleu trained caterer and cooking instructor has compiled a cookbook to rival the classic Fannie Farmer.It is a huge soft cover book with over five hundred pages of all sorts of recipes and detailed ,illustrated how tos. This is the perfect bridal shower gift for any couple staring their own kitchen or for the newly graduated moving onto that first job and first apartment. Home chefs should also have this as well. What I love about it is the vast array of recipes from all over the world. It seems every country under the sun is represented and it's a great way of introducing variety to family and friends. Ms. Blashford-Snell tells readers how to plan and shop, the crucial ingredients in any meal.Another plus are the how tos at the back of the cookbook.There is everything from the simple how to hard boil an egg to the more elaborate butterflying a leg of lamb. Every method is carefully explained so even novices can successfully carve a chicken or shuck oysters, peel and poach fruit or prepare vegetables like an experienced professional chef. There are even pages  on how to grill, bake and make homemade jelly and jam.

The recipes are so amazing. The chapters run from Starters and Light Bites to Desserts and are well illustrated with drool worthy pictures.There are decadent dishes and healthy ones. The starters are perfect for any summer party from the chicken satays to the shrimp cocktail Mexican style. There are the elegant mushroom vol-au-vents for evening cocktails and zucchini sticks for that Sunday afternoon  pool party. The section on bread is one of my favorites. It's not just a recipe for a loaf of white bread, there are ones for English muffins,, rye, croissants (!) and the Italian breadsticks, grissini.It's followed by sandwiches including the classic BLT. Pizza and the Provencale version, the anchovy rich pissaladiere are also represented. Home chefs with families will appreciate the section on kitchen staple dishes such as.arroz con pollo and macaroni with three cheeses. There are endless chicken recipes , from fried to tandoori style as well as recipes on the red meats,from steak and ale pie to roast rib of beef.Seafood is represented in simple baked porgy to the more elaborate salmon in puff pastry. Desserts are a sweet tooth's dream along with being a salute to the EU. There is German Black Forest Gateau to the French madeleines to the Italian panforte..US desserts such as cupcakes with buttercream frosting and muffins grace the pages as do the British treacle tart and Irish Barm Bracks. Pie and cookie recipes round out the dessert chapter.

The Illustrated Kitchen Bible, 1,000 Family Recipes From Around The World is the must have book for every kitchen. It's like having a cooking school and endless recipe file all in one book. Get this book today.It's as important as the stove or the fridge .