Life beyond meat or a Vegan's gotta eat!

It's amazing how limited some of our favorite vegan restaurants are. Here where I live, we have a vegan restaurant like every 2 feet or so. Since we have a higher concentration of non-meat eating, gluten challenged, diary inhibited, raw food loving folks per square foot than say like Guam! Nice for my favorite vegan, however, most of these eateries serve food that has a high concentration of heat without much flavor. Or they serve completely bland unseasoned food. You either have one or the other but you seldom walk away satisfied. I believe that you don't stop loving to eat because you don't eat meat. Home cooking is home cooking and vegans want food that excites the palate just like the rest of us. Incidentally I was a vegan for like 7 seconds. Haha! Yeah, I'd pretty much run over my grandmother for a piece of bacon!

I made this just yesterday and it came out wonderful! One thing to note though,it is not visually appealing. Um yeah that picture isn't mine. Mine is in the freezer. So like I was saying Brown rice looks kind of blah, but most things that are lip smackin good are best to be eaten with close friends and family anyhow. You know I'm right!

You will need a Latin Market or a well stocked Grocery Store 

Black Beans and Red and Brown Rice

-1/2 cup Sofrito- about.com , elboricua.com  

Check these sites out before you begin.

Here's my quick recipe: Once you do this you are never to use anything in a jar labeled Sofrito or Recao You will make this in large batches and freeze and use it in everything except like..pudding. (okay pumpkin?) Haha!

Red Pepper

Green Pepper

Garlic

Cilantro

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne (pinch)

Onion

Olive Oil (or whatever you have)

Run this through a food processor. One of those little ones is fine. I know you were going to pick one up yesterday. This is something you need, it costs about 25 dollars at Shop Rite, probably cheaper at Walmart. I have the best Shop Rite in the world right down the road from me. In fact I almost don't need to go to a cultural market because they have so many of the ingredients on the shelves. I like to shop at the cultural markets because you get better deals, better selections and better prices plus you get to immerse yourself in the culture you are exploring. And ask questions.

This is my version that I throw together in a pinch. Sofrito is totally subjective. Some people add olives, hot peppers (aji dulces) or pimento or whatever.  No rules just guidelines but make sure you maintain the integrity of the dish. Read through the website and get an idea of what you're going for. This is primarily a Puerto Rican food site.(A nod to my Puerto Rican heritage) You can adjust the ingredients any way you like that's why there are no measurements. You will need something to turn the rice red. (You can use Annato powder or I use a packet of Sazon or even Achiote paste if you are a real purist). You can find Sazon in the grocery store, it is a seasoning packet so it will season your food as well as color it. Be mindful of that as you add your other seasonings. Also be mindful that it might have MSG in it. If you choose not to do MSG than you will have to get a suitable substitute from a Latin market. Sazon is a brand name. I have a lot of these ingredients on hand because you know me, when I decide to cook cultural, I go all in; I buy everything and spend way to much money!!

-Brown rice, as in not white rice. It is sold in 1 pound bags in the rice section. Measure 1-2 cups whatever your pleasure. It's generally double the amount of water to rice. So 2 cups water to 1 cup rice. BUT my favorite vegan likes his rice saucy so I add more liquid.

-1/2 can of tomato paste ( you can put in the whole can if you have a lot of rice)

-Adobo seasoning.( It's latin seasoned salt) and no you can't substitute.

-Pepper

-Garlic Powder

-Onion Powder

-A sprinkle of cumin

-Three grains of sugar (really all you need in 3 grains and a wish)

-A can of black beans preferably Goya ( store brand will do)

-2-4 cups good beef broth ( no cubes please) depending on how much rice you used you might not need all of this broth.

Ready?

Fry 1/2 your Sofrito in a little oil till tender (You're going to keep the other half to stir in rice at the very end)

Add your half cup of tomato paste and some Adobo. You want to marry the flavors here.

Add your brown rice, black beans, broth and seasoning. Taste your liquid, what does it need? You want your liquid well seasoned not over seasoned. ok taste it again..good? now add just a wisp of sugar. Just a sprinkle. Taste, hmm..you probably did'nt add enough. A little teensy bit more..now taste it. Notice the balance of the tomato and salt. The sugar balances the acidity of the tomato and the salt in the pot. If you are still not feeling this adjust until its the way you want it. Caution. don't overseason, and do not over sweeten, if you don't trust yourself leave this part out. (But I think you can do it!) When in doubt, better to leave it not perfect and adjust it on your plate rather than destroy the pot.

(Now if I were cooking with meat, I plop a big ol smoked turkey leg or 12 in the pot and let it cook down for 2 or 3 days) Haha!

Anyway where were we? Oh yes you should have a big pot of tomatoey broth with rice and beans in it. The tradional pot to cook rice in is called a Caldero, this is a spanish dutch oven made of aluminum that makes a mean pot of rice because of it's ability to hold steam. It also makes all the seasoned crunchies on the bottom called pegao. I have eaten a plate of this!  No you don't need to buy a Caldero, I have one because I am a cooking nerd but you can use any heavy pot with a good fitting lid )  psst..I have gotten pegao in my rice cooker, in fact that's how I usually do my spanish rice.

So set your pot to boil once it boils turn it down to low. You want it to simmer not burn. leave it for about 45-60 minutes. Try not to take the top off for the first 30 minutes or so stir and replace the lid. Once it's done, the liquid is cooked down and it should still be cooked through. Taste it! umm..this is pretty good right? I try really hard not to stir this while it's cooling or you will have a big pot of mush. Take the top off and wait about 10 minutes. Take the rest of your Sofrito, nuke it for like 30 seconds to take the chill off and put it in your pot adjust your seasoning if you want to and fluff. FLUFF? Yes two forks one in each hand, make like your mixing salad all around the pot. No mixing, fluffing. There.. all done. Feel free to spoon up a bowl.Yay! You  made rice and beans or Arroz y habechuelas! Take a bow! You're a fantastic cook!

Idea- I made a pretty mean beef gravy for the beef chunks that I made for the meat eaters in my family. I poured this over my plate of spanish rice and proceeded to dance around the kitchen! It was soo good. I froze the rice and gravy in individual portions so my favorite vegan could eat through the week. If we were'nt already married I'm sure he would have proposed!!