A Spoonful of Sofrito: Is Chelsea Market the City’s Best Food Court?

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Is Chelsea Market the City’s Best Food Court?

 

Sofrito Lovers,

New York City's food courts are renown for their diversity, incredible flavors, and amazing fare.  With so many to choose from the question of which is the best is only natural to ask.

Eater.com's Robert Sietsema makes a strong argument that Chelsea Market, located at 75 9th Avenue, is the City's finest food court.  I will agree that some of the market's eateries are amazing.  I love the food at the Green Table,  the desserts at Creamline, the pastries at Sarabeth's, and the amazing chocolates at Lilac Chocolates.

Check out Sietsema's article below!  If you've never been to Chelsea Market, then maybe it's time you treated yourself to a nice Saturday afternoon of food, fun, and nice shopping.  Read it, get out there, and ¡Buen Provecho!

Is Chelsea Market the City’s Best Food Court?

Robert Sietsema noshes around and finds the 10 best things to eat at the Westside market

by Robert Sietsema, March 21, 2016  

 When it started out 20 years ago, Chelsea Market aimed at providing warehousing and manufacturing facilities for small food-oriented businesses, many with retail outlets that would cater to professional and home cooks. For those of us who dabbled in the kitchen, it was paradise.

Wandering through the near-empty halls of the old Nabisco factory — where Oreos were invented — one could drop in on a butcher, an upstate dairy, a kitchenware concern, a shop selling groceries from Italy, an amazingly diverse fruit and vegetable stand, a Thai food store, and a bakery whose excellent loaves you could see being made through large plate glass windows. Planning a Sunday dinner party? This was your one-stop destination!

Check out the rest of the article here!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

Sofrito Lovers,

Yesterday, I tried my hand at preparing another favorite Jamaican dish, Brown Stew Chicken, and it was an unqualified success!

As per usual, this weekend I was searching through my favorite YouTube channels for some culinary inspiration when I came across a wonderful recipe on Cooklikeajamaican: Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken! Brown Stew Chicken is one of my three favorite dishes at any Jamaican/Caribbean restaurant.  When I saw Fay's video, I decided that it was my time to learn how to cook this yummy dish.

The recipe and video were easy to follow and the results were delicious.  My finicky partner, David, loved it, as well; that's how I know it was a success! 

Now it's your turn!  Check out the video and recipe below!  Watch it, learn it, and taste for yourself ¡Buen provecho!

Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

Ingredients:

3lbs Chicken, cut in pieces and skin removed

Chicken Seasonings:

2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Black pepper

2 tsp Sugar

3 Large cloves garlic, minced

2 stalk scallion (white part only), chopped

Gravy:

1/2 cup Cooking oil (for frying chicken)

1 Large onion, chopped

1/4 each, Red and Green bell pepper, chopped

1 Sprig of thyme or 1 tsp dried

1 tsp Pepper sauce

1 Tbsp Tomato ketchup

2 cups Hot water

1 tsp salt (to taste)

Method

Tip: Wash the chicken and make sure to dry it with paper towel to remove any water before frying.

1. Season chicken with salt, black pepper, sugar, garlic and scallion (green onion).Marinate the chicken overnight of at least one hour before frying.

2. Remove scallion from chicken and, on High heat, fry the chicken in cooking oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until browned. Remove chicken from pan.

3. Remove half the cooking oil in pan and use remaining oil to fry onions and bell peppers until onions are transparent.

4. Add thyme, hot pepper sauce, tomato ketchup and 1 cup of hot water to pan and stir; taste gravy and add 1 tsp of salt, if needed; let simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Add chicken to gravy. Add 1 cup of hot water and turn heat to Low and cover pan. Simmer chicken for 30 minutes or until it is tender and the gravy has thickened.

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Being a vegetarian could kill you, science warns

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Being a vegetarian could kill you, science warns

Sofrito Lovers,

Too much of anything is bad for you, even if it is veggies.  According to this fascinating article from the New York Post, long-term vegetarianism can be harmful to your health, which is the exact opposite of what every health expert has told us.

It sounds crazy, but a vegetarian diet could lead to a genetic mutation that makes people more susceptible to heart disease and colon cancer.  It's really an interesting read.  Please check it out and share with your leaf munching pals!  It might save their veggie loving lives!

Read it, get a burger, and ¡Buen Provecho!

Being a vegetarian could kill you, science warns

By David K. Li

March 30, 2016 | 11:05am

Long-term vegetarianism can lead to a genetic mutation that puts people at high risk for colon cancer and heart disease, according to a new study.

Cornell University researchers analyzed the gene sequences of vegetarians from India and meat eaters from the United States to find the results.

Check out the rest of the article here!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Italian Grandmas Try Olive Garden For The First Time

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Italian Grandmas Try Olive Garden For The First Time

Sofrito Lovers,

You are in store for a treat because the video posted below will have you in stitches! The good folks at BuzzfeedYellow decided to feed Italian mothers/grandmothers Olive Garden, which is shitty chain Italian food, and recorded their reactions.

Some of the mothers/grandmothers are from Italy and the others are Italian-American, so they cover the gamut of opinions on Italian food.  My favorite is the hilarious sassy Brooklyn sounding Italian-American mother who cussed a blue streak.  You need to watch these amazing mom/grandmoms do their thing.

Watch, laugh, and ¡Buen Provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Phoodie App

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Phoodie App

 

Sofrito Lovers,

I've discovered the coolest Foodie Social Network! Yes, you read correctly, a Foodie social network. It's where we foodies share recipes, restaurant photos, blog posts, articles, and all matter of food culture.

As many of you know, I'm crazy about foodie apps in general, but this new one is truly amazing. The content is so well organized, abundant, and very easy to share. It's a foodie Facebook, twitter, and Instagram combined!

I hope you guys check it out and friend!  Download it, enjoy it, and Buen Provecho!

Check out the App here!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Watch 100 Years of Family Dinners in 3 Minutes

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Watch 100 Years of Family Dinners in 3 Minutes

 

Sofrito Lovers,

I found the video posted below, from Delish.com, to be incredibly interesting! I had no idea how simple and straight forward American dinners could be throughout history. 

I noticed the lack of salad or cooked veggies in most of the meals as well. I can see where the American "meat and potatoes" mythos came from. Also, the definition of what an "American" dinner seemed interesting to me since many of the dishes were of either European, African, or Latino descent.

Check out this interesting piece of history! This video has made me curious to taste a few of these dishes! Watch, learn, and Buen Provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven

Sofrito Lovers,

Food hacks help amateur cooks like me make do!  Honestly, I want to master all the cooking techniques I can, but hacks help me cheat a bit.

Recently, I saw this video from FoodNetwork.com on Facebook that has motivated me to start getting creative with my oven.  I'm not a big fan of hard-boiled eggs, but I need to start incorporating more eggs into my diet. They're extremely nutritious and a super food for Diabetics.

I like scrambled eggs and can tolerate hard boiled eggs as well.  I plan on putting this hack to good use.  I'm going to start "hard-ovening" a dozen eggs and  incorporate them into my breakfasts and lunches.

Check out this cool little hack and start hard-ovening those eggs!  Watch it, bake it, and Buen Provecho!

How to Make Hard-Boiled Eggs in the Oven