Vegan Holiday Treats

 If you're a home chef, it's hard to create a tasty vegan meal that even carnivores will enjoy. Yet there are a few dishes that's sure to wow them this holiday season. They're fun takes on classic dishes.

Both Christina Morales and  grapesed oil along with sazon and onion powder Melissa Clark, regular and much loved contributors gave diffrent recipes in yesterday;s New York Times Food section. Ms Morals took the classic pernil popular in the Hispanic part of the Caribbean and turned the classic pork dish into a vegan main meal. She subbed in jackfruit, a cousin of breadfruit for this. It came from a recipe that many Hispanic vegans like Norma Perez have adapted. It has the same seasonings the the pork, There is adobo, lime juice and sazon. for more flavor and to make it taste more authentic. The jackfruit does have to be squeezed either by hand or with a potaot masher to get all the liquid out of it after its' been boiled and cooled It's then mixed with the spices and onion powder along with sazon and left to marinate in the fridge for at least six hours.It's roasted in a preheated 400 degrees Farenheit oven  on  alarge parchment paper covered sheet pan Roast it for thirty miutes stirring every ten. The jackfruit should be crispy and golden not charred.

Another great vegan party dish would be Melissa Clark'sake on stew wrapped in phyllo sheets in her wekly A Good Appetite Column, This is an interesting take and sure to b a crowd pleaser. She makes it like a tangine rich with sweet spices and minced  preserved lemon. Onions and peppers are first sauteen in a Dutch oven and then tomato paste and a variety of spices are added. She uses  a mix of turmric, pepper, ginger, cumin nutmeg and cinnamon, Cauliflower is added for color and some texture along with more veggies. This includes sweet potatoes and zucchini along with the preserved lemon,It's brought t a simmer for forty to forty-five minutes or until the vegetables are very tender and the sauce is very thick, In the meantime heat the oven to 4oo degrees Farenheit and line a baking pan with melted mutter an then the phyllo sheets.. Ladle the stew on this and sprinkle with feta cheese if you want.Cover with the remaining phyllo dough.Pierce the top using a sharo knife to let the steam escape,Brush with more melted butter and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes. Wait another fifteen before cutting and serving.

These dishes will be the hit of any vegan or non vegan holiday party. They a different take on classic pernil and stew. Everyone -  including the meat eaters will love them.

The Heart Of Puerto Rican Cooking

 Puerto Rican cooking is island cooking, It's a mix of European and indigenous ingredients, blended together to form a unique cuisine. Most of all it's home cooking - the comforting hug needed during hard times and hurricanes, holiday and happy times.

Von Diaz,food professor. author of several cookbooks and articles seen in Bon Appetit, Eater and Epicurious magazines wrote this interesting article along with recipes in today's New York Times Food section.  She is Puerto Rican herself, however being raised in the States, namely Atlanta Georgia, but her heart and cooking belong to this complex tropical island. Its' cooking is a blend of Taino, the original culture of the island along with African and Spanish. Even modern American cooking has lent a hand - thanks to the introduction of canned food. There is also a nouvelle cuisine vibe with pastellos de guyaba, a mix of cheese queso en hoja and guava paste.Of course the backbone of Puerto Rican cooking is sofrito, a cooked mix of garlic , onions and peppers and spiked with culantro - cilantro's cousin. This is in many dishes. such as arroz mamposteao, a rice dish also made with beans and veggie or chicken broth.  Sofrito is in other dishes too, like sancocho, a stew that combines, beef, pork and chicken with the indigenous roots  like white yautia and yucca.

Of course the highlight of any Puerto Rican holiday dinner is pernil.This is a pork shoulder marinated in garlic, citrus and herbs and then roasted for an hour in a 400 degree Farenheit oven . The marinade is a flavorful combo of sour orange juice, garlic cloves, and oregano. (Professor DIaz also offers a tip for cleaning the roast pan too because the skin will stick). Another delicious main course is pescado frito, fried snapper. Again, the marinade is the same as the pernil, except with the addition of sazon - a mix of coriander,garlic cumin and annatto - seeds from the achiote tree. This gives color and flavor to the fish which is cut in three places, better for the marinade to soak in. It's then fried, whole, head an tail in vegetable oil. The fried fish is served with lime. What can end all these dishes? Those pastillos de guyaba, easily made with puff pastry dough. Farmer's cheese can be used in place  of fresco en hoja.  They should be left to cool because the guava gets molten hot and will badly burn your mouth.) Once cool, sprinkle confectioner's sugar over them  and store in an airtight container. Stale ones can be refreshed in a 350 degree Fareneheit oven for five minutes before eating.

Puerto Rican cooking is rich and complex. It's a mix of all sorts of flavors , indigenous, Spanish and African.  This is a perfect blend of deliciousness, pride and history.

Puerto Rico Rebounds

Puerto Rico has always been known for its' locally farmed ingredients. Two violent hurricanes changed all that two years ago, leaving the island to rely on canned and frozen goods from the US mainland. Thankfully , that's all changing and fresh produce and spices are coming back to centuries old recipes.

Julia Moskin wrote about this brave island endurance in today's New York Times Food section. Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed the farmland and the local food movement on Puerto Rico. Everything was wiped out from restaurants to greenhouses. fish farms to food trucks.The mega storms surprisingly stirred up patriotism  of young chefs who had left the island for success
. Mario Juan is  one of them.He was trained at the CIA and worked at the famed Momofuku Noodle Bar and Blanca. Yet he felt the storms were a portent of a career on his native island. Now he is proudly making pernil sandwiches in a permanently parked Airstream trailer. Thirty year old university trained botanist Gabriel Meja Lugo had his farm destroyed thanks to Hurricane Maria. He had to retreat to his extended family in Brooklyn where he sometimes worked , helping farmers at the Union Square Greenmarket. He is back in Puerto Rico. dedicated to his farm. Older farmers aren't that loyal, just taking their insurance checks and retiring. Before the destruction, farms had a lot of restrictions thanks to the Jones Act which gave islanders all the rights of US citizens along with privileges and limitations.Only American shipping companies can legally transport goods from one  US port to another.That meant chefs sometimes had to go to Costco for their ingredients.

Some of that changed with Hurricane Maria. Food supply chains were snapped in the urgency of feeding people. Mobile kitchens were pressed into service to make sandwiches and sancocho, the island's comfort food, a stew like soup made with chicken and ham.A huge help came from Chef Jose Andres who mobilized an army of cooks, farmers and volunteers days after the storm. His top "lieutenant " Erin Shrode from World Central Kitchen has not left the island. She coordinated the relief effort long after the news crews had left, moving food, cooks and trucks as sections were cleared and power resumed. Two months after the hurricanes, she began alloting grand money from World Central Kitchen to help replant farmland, rebuild bakeries and reopen restaurants. The grant program, Plow To Plate has now garnered almost $600,000 to farmers and other food producers. The farms now are all geared to the side effects of climate change .Greenhouses can be quickly dismantled before a storm and crops saved.This means also bringing back indigenous plants that are the backbone of Puerto Rican cooking.It's sparked an interest from a new generation interested in using heirloom recipes and practicing veganism. The last is thriving on the island, thanks to the news farms and produce.

The hurricanes may have destroyed Puerto Rico but they didn't decimate its' spirit. It is thriving, especially in the  culinary arts. The food culture has come back with a vengeance that even nature can't obliterate.

The Diversity of Ecuadorian Cuisine

Ecuador is primarily known for the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin developed his evolution theories. However it should also be known for its' varied cuisine that reflects its history and topography.It's an interesting blend of sea and land along with some ancient recipes..

Like most South American countries Ecuador has a mountainous area leading into coastal lowlands. Pork chicken and beef are popular in the mountains along with cuy or guinea pig. The last,  a shocker to any North American who had one as a companion, is made with garlic and native chilis along with pisco, an Ecuadorian brandy.It's one of the country's most ancient dishes, first being cooked by the Incas. Cuy was a sign of wealth too, being enjoyed by the local Incan royalty and used also to portend omens.However the country is also known for its' other dishes such as their version of arroz con pollo that is highly spiced with cumin and achiote, a plant derivative that adds a red color to the dish. There's also fritada de gallina, chicken made with fermented corn drink or chicha along with garlic and onion.There's also a kind of chicken fried rice ,chaulafan de pollo that's spiked with bacon, scrambled eggs and even raisins along with veggies and spices. Students make arroz con huevos, rice and eggs tweaked with plantains and avocados,Plantains or plantanos are also big in Ecuadorian cuisine. They are usually stuffed with cheese or topped with it.

The country has a lush coastline and its' reflected in its seafood dishes. They're mostly shrimp but cooked in  variety of different ways There is arroz con camarones , a kind of paella spiked with native spices along with onions , peppers and tomatoes. Chorizos, those highly spiced pork sausages can also be added.Another paella influenced dish is arroz marinero which is chock full of not only shrimp but also clams, squid and bay scallops.The Ecuadorians also appreciate beef and pork dishes as well as lamb. Many home kitchens produce carne colorada, a braised beef dish that's been marinaded in a mix of beer, garlic and oregano. Pork is also a staple and it's the base of pernil, a holiday  pork dish popular throughout South and Central America.It's a pork loin marinated in bitter orange juice along with clove and cinnamon for a few hours. Lamb is also marinaded , especially in the dish seco de borrego, A combo of beer and wine is poured over it as well as the usual Ecuadorian combo of achiote and cumin.The Ecuadorians love goat too and make a stew out of it with the native fruit naranjillo, a type of kiwi that has a tart  and acidic flavor. Chicha is also added for some kick.

Ecuador is an interesting country , full of wild and wonderful dishes. They reflect a country that has both Incan and European influences in its' cuisine. The food is tasty, flavorful and good.

Remember those affected by the Ecuadorian earthquake. Donate to the Red Cross now.