we don't eat black beans in Puerto Rico. I'm not an expert on cuban food but I think the dishes are similar yet distinct. There may be differences among the "afro caribbean" and spanish populations. We for instance do not eat cocunut rice while afro-caribbeans do.
it is refreshing to see Americans explore new cultures. Thumbs up Sherri.
When we were in Puerto Rico a few months ago, we stayed at Rio Grande (Rio Mar resort). I fell in love with the food!! I ate mofongo in this amazing chicken/creamy garlic sauce twice. Then some famous soup called Asapao, or something like that. Also tostones, which I had eaten before, but there was just something about eating them in Puerto Rico that made them special!
I like to put garbanzo beans in a bowl (minus the juice), sprinkle them with Cajun spices, and eat them one by one. Good when you have the munchies, and healthier than chips!
In the Bahamas, they serve "Peas and Rice" with everything. I loved that too. They are tiny little black peas, so they're alot like black beans, but they make the dish with tomato paste and spices and it's very good.
I also love anything made with yellow curry - I ate that alot in St. Thomas and also in Kenya. It's just that "missions" thing that comes out in me!!!
I think it's called that because the meat is shredded like old clothes (rags).
By the way, it was AWESOME!! Eddie ate seconds, so I knew it was good. I'm having leftovers tomorrow. The plantains were sweet, which I was a little worried about - I have a hard time knowing when they're fully ripe. Eddie grew up on these in Liberia, so he loves them fried in a little olive oil and butter.
We ate at a famous Cuban restaurant in Tampa (actually Ybor City) last week. It was called the Columbia and it was amazing. We had some beef dish there that was made from eye of round with a stuffing of some kind of Cuba sausage. I also ate tostones, but Eddie doesn't like those. We had black beans, rice & boiled yuca. Then for dessert - churros with chocolate, caramel and guava sauces. I think I gained like five pounds at that one meal!!
Ybor City, wow. Yes that place is really good. You sure you were in Ybor to eat and not PARTY??? =)
I think you are correct on the reason for the name.
I like the plantains also.
Sounds yummy to me! I love trying new dishes from other regions of the world-sometimes makes American food look boring!
We sat down to eat it the other night, and I started praying over the food in Spanish, only it turned into a mixture of Spanish and Swahili, because I couldn't remember all the words. Eddie was cracking up!
Sherry, I buy and fry up plantains pretty regular. Problem is, they never make it to the dinner table! LOL! we just eat them as fast as they cook before dinner is ever done. LOL!
__________________ If I do something stupid blame the Lortab!
You put a couple tablespoons of tomato paste in the bottom of the crock pot. Add about a 1/2 c. of water and mix it up. Put the whole slab of meat on top of that. I used a sirloin cut, but the actual recipes online always call for Flank Steak. Darcie actually used a chuck roast when she made it, but I wanted something really low fat. Then you spread this stuff all over the top of the meat that she made for me - it's basically a food processor blend of onion, green pepper, cilantro and garlic. Add seasoned salt and a packet of Sazon Goya (from Mexican grocery store), and a little bit of cumin, and let it cook for hours until it just falls apart. Then you take two forks and shred the meat till it's "ropey". Serve over yellow saffron rice; it's kind of soupy.
I also had a can of Southwestern Corn (which has black beans, onion, & red pepper) and I mixed another can of black beans into it. I added about a teaspoon of Darcie's mixture - I think she calls it "sofrito". The flavor is wonderful!! I mixed all mine together when I ate, as I have a tendency to do - the rice, the bean/corn mixture and the meat. Eddie eats his in nice little piles.
The plantains I have to buy at the Mexican grocery store too, and you have to get them when they are mostly black on the outside. You just slice them and fry them in a little olive oil and butter. They should be sweet, if they are ripe.
The cake is super easy. You just make a yellow cake like the box says in a 9 x 13 pan. When you take it from the oven, poke holes all over it and pour in a mixture of 1 can Eagle Brand and 1 can coconut drink mix - I believe it's Goya also, but it's in a blue can and is with the other alcohol mixes in the grocery store. It's not coconut milk - that won't work. It comes out really thick, and usually separated, so I put it in the blender with the E. Brand. Anyway, you pour it over the cake and let it all soak in as it cools. Then top it with Cool Whip and sprinkle on coconut. It's amazing!
I'm going to try this next week. I'll let you know if we all survive. We love flavorful food.
We love flavorful food.
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