We Puerto Ricans have a love affair with rice. It is the main standby dish in our culture. There’s a reason why rice became so ubiquitous in our cooking. Rice was introduced to Puerto Rico by the Spaniards. It became the main meal during the Spanish occupation simply because it was relatively cheap to buy.… Read more...
Oswald Rivera
Author, Teacher, Warrior .
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A reader of ours, Yvonne Ortiz, recently sent me an email, “What happened to the Rican recipes???” Good question. She has a point. As of late I haven’t posted that many “‘rican” recipes.” Apart from my novels, I wrote one of the first Puerto Rican cookbooks of the modern era, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America.… Read more...
Two edibles I love are shrimp and grits. Normally we have them as separate dishes: shrimp for lunch or dinner, and grits for breakfast. What if we combined the too? In that vein, I’m told shrimp and grits is a popular dish down south.… Read more...
Spring is upon us and that means that soon we’ll enjoy fresh, lush tomatoes denied to us in winter—unless you want to take a chance on those tasteless cellophane-wrapped things found in supermarkets. In fact, they taste like the cellophane they’re wrapped in.… Read more...
A dear friend from Florida recently sent me a publication that promotes the American pork industry. The publication, Pork Checkoff Report (Spring 2017), highlighted a recipe, Pork Chops al Pastor with Chipotle Marinade, that garnered my interest. I come from a Hispanic culture that consumes a lot of pork dishes.… Read more...
To this day, my favorite cooking utensil is cast iron. I know, it has fallen out of favor in recent times due to the proliferation of Teflon and other non-stick appliances. I can understand the convenience of quick cleaning of a pot or pan.… Read more...
Here we are again, the Easter Holidays. Time to break out the big Easter ham or, in our case, the lamb. In our family, lamb was it for this particular occasion. It was made Puerto Rican style with lots of spices so that it tasted more like pork than anything else (we did the same thing with the Thanksgiving turkey).… Read more...
Breadcrumb crusted fish (or breaded fish) is a popular item these days. You can even find it in fast-food joints with such names as “Filet-O-Fish Sandwich” and “Fillet Fish Sandwich;” and sometimes a place may even own up by calling it a “Fried Fish Sandwich.” Usually served on a bun, these items are sheer killers in terms of health.… Read more...
Shakshuka which translates as “mixture” in Egyptian Arabic, is a dish very common in the Middle East. It’s simply a mess of eggs poached in tomatoes, greens, bell peppers and onions. What I like about this flavorsome dish is that it’s traditionally prepared in a cast-iron pan.… Read more...
I have a friend whose mother passed on; and while he was packing up her possessions, he came across a small, pocket cookbook, more like a pamphlet with, the title, Pork for Two. He gave the book to me, and I found it fascinating.… Read more...
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