Oreo Shakes Anyone?
Hola Chicos,
A the wonderfully delicious taste of a home made Oreo shake. This dessert is such a simple dessert that even a youngster can make it.
My other half loves Oreo shakes, strawberry shakes, and just about any shake that is sweet and bad for you.
I am not much of a sweet eater so I make the shakes just for him and he adores me for it.
Prep time: less than 5 minutes
Cook time: less than 5 minutes
Serves: one
What you will need:
- A blender
- 4 Oreo cookies plus one for garnish
- 2 -4 cups of milk
- 4-6 scoops of cream ice cream (I use Grufiti which is available in any local super mercado)
What to do:
- Put ingredients 2-4 in blender and mix.
- Serve on a chilled glass.
- Garnish with One Oreo cookie
Enjoy.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza
Three Bean Soup by Odeliza Jacoba
Hola Chicos,
My three bean soup is hearty, delicious and a great protein filled meal that even carnivores devour. Its filled with you guest it three beans. Even the most inexperienced person in the kitchen can make this dish taste delicious.
I like to use my home made Italian red sauce as the salsa, a little fromage, some crispy bread and there you have it. A delicious supper, lunch or late night meal all in one pot.
Prep time: less than 30 minutes
Cook time: less than 30 minutes
Serves: 8 to 10 people
What you’ll need:
- Soup pot or large pot that can hold several cups of liquid.
- 3 cans of your favorite legumes; chic peas, lentils, pinto beans etc. rinsed.
- Any one of my favorite home made salsas; Italian Red Salsa or Mexican Salsa.
- Fresh or frozen red and green bell peppers: diced.
- 1 large purple onion or any onion you have in hand: diced.
- A few cups of warm water or if you have home-made vegetarian broth the better.
- 1 can of Italian tomatoes
- A few table spoons of dried red pepper flakes
- Crushed sea salt and black pepper corn to your taste preference.
- Some cheese for garnish
- A little Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a few splashes of Red Wine Vinegar or any Vinegar on hand for garnish
- Some day old bread
What to do:
- In the soup pot, bring a few cups of liquid to medium heat.
- Add the can of Italian tomatoes, if you like you may crush the tomatoes with a fork or potato masher.
- Add the rinsed 3 legumes to pot stir gently ensuring that the beans do not get crushed.
- Add any one of my two home made salsas.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the red and green bell peppers and diced onions.
- Let sit for about 10 minutes more on low heat.
- Add the dried red peppers
- Some crushed sea salt and black pepper corns
- After about 20-25 minutes turn off heat, let cool a bit, and serve with a garnish of cheese, day old bread, extra virgin olive oil and few splashes of vinegars.
Enjoy.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza
Home Made Italian Red Sauce
Hola Chicos,
You’ve already read about my home made universal Mexican salsa and now I share my home made universal Italian Red Sauce.
This sauce can complement just about any dish I pair with it. The all time favorite in my house is with a tri-colored rotini topped with; green olives, red cherry tomatoes, small buffalo mozzarella cheese and red pepper flakes. Yummy! With toasted sea salted crunchy ciabatta bread.
You can also use it as the base sauce for my three bean soup. Its a dish than can be stored in the freezer for up to a month!
Its such a universal sauce that anyone can make it their own.
Prep time: less than 10 minutes
Cook time: less than 20 minutes
Serves: up to 8 – 10 1/4 cups
What you’ll need:
- A sauce pot or any pot than can hold about 4-6 c of liquid
- Potato masher or fork
- 3 cans of Italian tomatoes (I personally love the brand El Emigrante and the type Tomate Perita)
- A couple of springs of each with stems removed: Fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme
- 2 T Chili flakes
- Fresh crushed sea salt and black pepper
- 1 T Garlic powder
- 1 T Onion powder
What to do:
- Take the 3 opened cans of tomatoes and pour them in the sauce pot.
- Bring the sauce pot to medium heat.
- Add the dried herbs and mix
- Add the fresh herbs and mix
- Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher or fork to your desired texture.
- After less than 10 minutes turn off and let cool before serving.
Fresh crushed sea salt and black pepper to taste. * I personally love spicy dishes, so I up the amount of fresh crushed peppers to about 1 cup.
Enjoy.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza
Odeliza Jacoba’s Vegetarian Bean Loaf
Hola Chicos,
Want to eat a healthy vegetarian option for meat loaf? I call it my Bean Loaf and its loaded with tons of proteins, healthy carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Its a handy meal that can be eaten in so many versions I like to get creative with my Bean Loaf dish. Such as turn it into a Spanish Bean Loaf and use some of my universal Mexican Salsa as a topping (recipe of salsa posted on this site), garnished with some mild feta cheese, cilantro, and fresh tomatoes.
Or with some creamy mash potatoes and mushroom gravy on top. There are tons of ideas with this universal dish that you can easily come up with you own.
Prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
What you’ll need:
- large stock pot
- casserole or bread baking dish
- olive oil for lining the baking dish
- 1 c lentils
- 1/2 c pinto beans
- 1/2 c white beans
- 1/2 c butter beans (All beans should be rinsed with water and set aside for when ready.)
- 1 c day old brown rice
- 4 c vegetable broth (plus a few extra cups of warm water)
- 1 c drained spinach
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1 t garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
How to make it:
- Preheat oven to 190-200 Celsius
- Bring large stock pot and 1 cup of warm water to medium heat.
- Add garlic powder, oregano and brow rice. Let sit for 2 minutes or so. Don’t let the rice burn add more warm water if necessary.
- Add all the beans and 4 c of vegetable broth. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and add the spinach. Ensure you mix well into the bean loaf.
- Add salt and pepper to your taste preference.
- Transfer the bean mixture onto the casserole or bread dish.
- Bake uncovered for about 35 minutes.
* I like to spread ketchup mixed with hot pepper flakes on the top and bake it for another 5 minutes or so.
Let cool and form a little before serving. Don’t worry if it comes out a little crumbly. Garnish with my home made Mexican Salsa and some brown rice. Or use your creative ideas and make it your own.
Enjoy.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza
Soup ala’ Day Old Bread
Hola Chicos,
Soup ala’ Day Old Bread is a recipe I came up with this year while bed written with a terrible flu virus for almost six months. What a way to start a recipe section?
As the title goes, its soup with day old bread. Its something so simple that you can have your other half make it for you while you lay in slumber.
Prep time less than 15 minutes
Serves 4
What you’ll need:
- Soup Pot or any kind of pot that can hold about 4 cups or more of liquid
- 1 c home made Mexican Salsa
- 4 c Vegetable Broth
- 1 c warm water
- Any day old bread (i.e.: baguette, sour dough, dinner rolls, etc.)
- About a cup of any kind of cheese or you may adjust the cheese amount to your liking
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- A dribble of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- A Splash of any kind of Vinaigrette (i.e.: balsamic, red wine, raspberry, etc.)
What to do:
- Put soup pot and warm water to medium heat.
- Pour vegetable broth let sit for 10 min.
- Pour home made Mexican Salsa and let sit for 4 min.
- Turn off garnsh with small pieces of cheese, smalls torn pieces of day old bread, oil, and vinegars.
- Salt and Pepper to your taste.
Enjoy,
Odeliza Jacoba
Odeliza
Parque Rodo Organic Sunday Fair
Hola Chicos,
Just this past Sunday my other half, Midori (our yellow Labrador), and I took a stroll through Parque Rodo. The sun was out, air nice and cool, and tons of locals caught up in the day as well.
Parque Rodo is a park located in the Punta Caretas neighborhood. Its features are; rides for children under 10, a closed off section of the park for toddlers, a gym, a larger park with a man made pond, and plenty of room for puppies to play.
Every Sunday there is an artisan fair, clothes for the kiddies, and produce. We just happened to stroll along the organic section. Which is rather small compared to the other offerings, but packed with the essentials and in-season produce.
I opted not to purchase anything because one, my other half is not into the shopping of any sort, two we had our puppy with us, and last but not least, I was smart enough not to bring any money.
Maybe this Sunday, if we are in town, I will walk over there and see in detail what the organic section offers (maybe purchase a few things).
In the mean time, why don’t you stroll on to Parque Rodo on a Sunday and see what you can find.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
What to do with Home Made Mexican Salsa
Hola Chicos,
My home made Mexican salsa is such a universal sauce that I can use it for anything. Such as a topping for my famous Spanish egg white omelet, whole pinto beans, as a salad dressing for my South of the border inspired cold salad, and a dip with home made corn tortillas there are endless possibilities.
Serves: 8
Prep and Prepare time: less than 15 minutes
What you’ll need:
- Plastic container to store the salsa
- food processor
- 1 can Italian tomatoes or your favorite can of tomatoes
- 1 bushel or fresh cilantro
- 1 whole purple onion chopped in half
- 1 juice of 1 lime or lemon
- 2 red or green jalapeno peppers cut and seeds removed
- 1 bushel of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
What to do:
- take all the ingredients listed above and place in a food processor and blend to your preference consistency.
- add salt and pepper to taste.
- place in plastic container and store in fridge this is good for about 3 days and can be kept in the freezer for longer.
Ciao,
Odeliza Jacoba
Spanish Egg White Omelet with Whole Pinto Beans
Hola Chicos,
Spanish Egg White Omelet with Whole Pinto Beans is a dish that can be served for lunch, dinner, or a late evening meal. My other half is fond of this dish because its a healthy alternative to other Spanish inspired dishes, as I don’t use bad fats.
It takes a bit of prep time to create the full scope of this yummy dish, so I suggest to prepare some items the day before. I also use this dish as a starter for other dishes through out the week. It works rather well as I don’t have to dedicated so much prep and prepare time.
I use Italian canned whole tomatoes because I’ve found that this particular brand just adds an extra kick to my home made salsa. If you can find Italian canned tomatoes in your area I’d suggest to incorporate it. But if you already have a fav. can of tomatoes use that. In Montevideo, Uruguay this Italian brand is available in most larger supermarkets.
Since I am such an avid fitness and health fan I only prepare my omelets with the whites of brown eggs. But if you want to add the yolk use 1 yolk for every 3 eggs.
Prep time: a day a head for the home made salsa
Cook time: less than 20 minutes the day of
Serves two people plus some extra for lunch
What you will need:
- small one pot for the pinto beans
- small bowl for the egg whites
- one skillet or non-stick flat pan
- food processor
- 1 can Italian tomatoes
- 1 bushel or fresh cilantro
- 1 whole purple onion chopped in half
- 1 juice of 1 lime or lemon
- 2 red or green jalapeno peppers cut and seeds removed
- 1 bushel of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
- the whites of 12 eggs
- feta cheese
- fresh cherry tomatoes
- 2 cans of pinto beans that are rinsed and drained
- 1 garlic smashed roughly
- 1 yellow onion chopped in half slices or you can use any onion you have at hand
- 1 c water
- 1 plastic container for the salsa
What to do a day ahead:
- take all the ingredients from 5 through 10 above and place in a food processor and blend to your preference consistency.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- place in plastic container and store in fridge this is good for about 3 days.
What to do the day of:
- put 1 c water along with already drained and rinsed pinto beans, roughly chopped garlic, and halved onion into the small pot. Bring pot to medium heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the garlic and onions and let sit until ready to serve.
- Use your small bowl and separate the egg whites from the yolk. Add salt and pepper and beat. Heat your designated pan over low to medium low heat. Place egg whites cook to your preferences until complete.
- Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, fresh cherry tomatoes, and home made salsa and serve warm.
Ciao,
O
Home Made Chai Tea
Hola Chicos,
I adore Indian cuisine, the spicier the better. I can remember my early childhood, my dad would eat small red and green Thai chilies with vinegar I wanted to impress my dad so I ate some too. Ever since then my palate can beat out even the hottest dishes.
This is one of the reasons I love South Asian cuisine. Srilanka dishes are awesome! Just as well as their sister country India. Thailand is a combination of Indian, Chinese, and Muslim, some of their dishes are just to die for.
A Simple home made chai tea takes me back to Thailand, my friends Authentic Indian restaurant, and a party my Srilankan friend invited my other half and I to.
Prep: 2 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes
What you need:
2 T any lose black tea
1 t dark brown sugar
5 whole cloves
8 green cardamom pods
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 cups water
1 sauce pot or small pot
cheese cloth or similar fabric, or a fine sifter
tea pot or anything to catch the finished chai tea
How to make it:
- Put the water and all ingredients in the sauce pot or small pot I use a larger tea strainer for the lose black tea.
- Bring pot to medium heat.
- Let sit for 4 minutes.
- Turn off and let sit for two more minutes.
- Put tea pot or anything to catch the finished chai tea under the sifter or cloth. Star to pour the tea in using a soup spoon.
Once sifted you may add sugar, cream, soy milk, or just have it plain. It should keep for a few days in the fridge.
Enjoy.
Ciao,
O
Baby Corn and Fish Sauce at Tienda Inglesa
Hola Chicos,
I have searched all over Montevideo, Uruguay for baby corn for one of my dishes and have not found it until now.
I am not sure if its a seasonal thing or not, but Tienda Inglesa sells baby corn in a jar from Brasil as well as fish sauce.
Ciao,
O