Mojito Caribeño

Tostones, twice fried green plantains or breadfruit (pana) patties, are a staple in caribbean cuisine and often served as a side dish, appetizer or snack.  They are called “patacones” or “tachinos” in some south american countries and can be made fresh or nowadays they also come frozen. Some people season them with plain salt, garlic [...]

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Asopao de Pollo

“San Isidro, labrador, quita el agua y pon el sol.”  This is a phrase that Catholic farmers in spanish speaking countries say to one of agriculture’s patron Saints when they want the rain to go away and the sun to come out.  This summer in Puerto Rico it has been raining a lot as opposed [...]

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Ensaimada de Mallorca

In a few weeks I will be attending a family reunion of the Arbona side of the family. My great-grandfather came to Puerto Rico from Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands (Spain) in the late 1800′s.  In short, he went back, got married, had his children and they returned to Puerto Rico due to the Spanish [...]

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My visit to Stone Barns Center

For a couple of years I have been daydreaming about visiting Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in New York. Every time I read a new article about the farm or about its renowned restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns, my imagination started to fly and wished one day I could visit this place [...]

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Arroz con Pimientos

My sister in law Frances is an expert at improvising in the kitchen.  For more times than I can remember, I have seen her juggle in the kitchen to feed a large group of unannounced guests with delicious homemade meals.  This rice is inspired in one of her trademarks.  She makes it in a rice [...]

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Blueberry Pound Cake

A pound cake is a kind of cake which is made of 1 pound of each of the following ingredients: eggs, flour, butter and sugar.  However, there are many variations, substitutions and additions to this type of cake and the quantities are often varied to fit the baking mold you are going to use.  For [...]

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Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

One of the best investments I have made for my “batterie de cuisine” is buying a good mandoline.  A mandoline is a kitchen utensil used for slicing, julienne or crinkle cut vegetables. One of the many advantages is the speed and uniformity in the thickness in which slicing can be done with very little effort. [...]

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