A Spoonful of Sofrito: ALL ONE 50 Cheap Eats Destinations You Should Know About in NYC!

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

50 Cheap Eats Destination you should know about in NYC!

Sofrito Lovers,

The weekend is coming up and like many New Yorkers I'm trying to decide where to eat!  As per usual, the geniuses at Eater.com have compiled a list of Cheap Eats destinations that has made my research all the more easier.

Eater.com's lists are always extensive, interesting, and appetizing!  Ranging from the Brooklyn to the Bronx, these eateries feature delicious diverse cuisines at moderate and affordable prices.  What could be better?

If you're planning an exciting weekend out on the town, then you'll definitely want to check out the list below.  I've got my eye on Red Bowl Noodle Shop in Chinatown and Landin Mac & Cheese in the Bronx!  I'll let you know if they're good or not!  Have a delicious weekend!

Read it, go and taste it, and ¡Buen Provecho!

50 Cheap Eats Destinations You Should Know About in NYC

Robert Sietsema on Apr 14, 2016, 5:38p

[Jerk chicken from People's choice. All photos by Robert Sietsema]

As restaurant prices continue to soar, finding a cheap restaurant meal becomes more of a priority. And if the inexpensive feed is not only delicious but also interesting, and maybe even outside your previous dining experience, all the better. From time to time, I post about cheap restaurants I’ve stumbled on in the five boroughs and adjacent metropolitan areas, devoting a paragraph or two to each and making a few menu recommendations. Here is a collection of those restaurants, listed by location, beginning with Lower Manhattan.

For the rest of the list, click here!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: The Naked Fridge

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

The Naked Fridge

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Food shows on YouTube are amazing!  I've started watching this new series, "The Naked Fridge", on Sub-Zero and Wolf Channel, which offers helpful hints on buying fresh food and maintaining its freshness at home.

It may seem boring or stupid to watch a show about food shopping, but it's really a useful and helpful series.  I know it's not your usual YouTube selection of prank videos, parodies, and make up tutorials, but it's just as good.

It's fascinating because the tips are logical and, most importantly, work.  For example, I went shopping for some veggies and fruits the other day and remembered what I learned from the first episode: The freshest fruit is always on the bottom of every pile.  When I got to the produce aisle, I dug around the bottom of the fruit piles and found the BEST fruit!  

Chef Garth didn't steer me wrong; I've found that all the other advice is just as good!  You'll thank me when you aren't throwing away rotten or tasteless produce!

Watch the episode posted below, test out the advice and ¡Buen provecho!

 The Naked Fridge

Published on Apr 7, 2016

Sub-Zero Chef Garth Blackburn takes a look in homeowner Jan's refrigerator, and he offers tips on how to buy fresh food and keep it fresh in this episode of The Naked Fridge.

A Spoonful of Sofrito: How to Make Your Own Cup O' Noodles for Lunch!

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

 

How to make your own Cup O'Noodles for Lunch!

 

 

Sofrito Lovers,

As you all know, I am a soup fanatic! Nothing is more soothing than a nice bowl or cup of soup on a cold rainy day, especially a nice homemade soup with veggies, noodles and a delicious protein.

I could never choose a favorite soup, yet one of my most frequently enjoyed soups is Vietnamese Pho. I love the beefy or chickeny broth with all the delicious herbs, spices and long rice noodles. It's very easy to make at home...or at work for lunch!

Below is a recipe for a Pho style cup of noodles you can bring with you to work and make there! I got this food hack from Food52.com and instantly tried it and loved it! I'm trying to find ways to make this work for a few other recipes as well! 

Try it, taste it, and ¡Buen Provecho!

 Southeast Asian Pho

After years of spending unthinkable sums on dry, under-seasoned sandwiches, watery soups, and disappointing salads made of sad, wilting leaves and little else, we decided enough was enough. It was time, we thought, to reclaim our midday break from its monotonous, financially ruinous routine and call it quits on using the phrase, "What do you mean you've sold out of artisinal cheese baguettes?" It was time to transform our lunches into something more than just an afterthought. And while we're firm fans of the lunchtime staple, the sandwich—be it a banh mi or open-faced number—there are some days when we want something that requires utensils but is work-kitchen friendly. This, however, can be a lot to ask for.

Work kitchens are not usually the stuff of cooking dreams. They are often barren spaces without so much as an unsoiled teaspoon with which to remove a tea bag from your mug, let alone luxe items like microwaves (or plates). Thankfully, given the addictive nature of caffeinated hot drinks, they do usually contain a kettle. If they don’t, then turn to your local coffee shop—most will give you a cup of hot water for a miserly fee, if not for free. This is where our just-add-water, desk-side pho comes in handy.

Think of our Southeast Asian Pho as a posh, customizeable Cup O'Noodles that takes advantage of seasonal vegetables and refrigerator leftovers. While we've provided our own recipe, here are some general guidelines to keep in mind if you prefer to branch out on your own:

• Slice or peel vegetables as finely as possible—remember that you’re not simmering anything on the stove, and thinner vegetables will lose that raw crunch more quickly. A mandoline is a good and inexpensive tool to invest in: Just watch your fingers.
•  
• Choose any crisp vegetables: Courgette or carrot ribbons, thinly sliced red or yellow pepper, spring onions, leeks or mushrooms, baby sweet corn, baby spinach, sugar snap peas, and bean sprouts all work well.
•  
• Flavor your broth with things like sliced fresh chiles, lime wedges, lemongrass stalks, grated ginger, stock cubes, coriander, Thai basil, and mint.
•  
• Make sure you use a heat-safe container. A vintage glass jar may look pleasingly rustic, but it would be a minor lunch-based disaster if the addition of boiling water caused it to crack (we don’t even want to think about the health and safety implications). You don’t need to scald yourself in pursuit of a tasty lunch, we promise.

Southeast Asian Pho

Serves 1

1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1/2 red chile pepper, or to taste
3 scallions
1/2 yellow pepper
2 handfuls spinach
2 ounces vermicelli rice noodles
1/2 chicken or vegetable stock cube (or generous pinch of salt)
1 lime
1 handful fresh cilantro and basil

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by Mark Weinberg

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Drink Bone Broth for Breakfast Instead of Coffee

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

Drink Bone Broth for Breakfast instead of coffee

Sofrito Lovers,

For years, all we've ever heard about were the evils of fat, but now health experts all agree that fat is where it's at!

The nutritional value of the healthy fat found in bone broth is amazing; that's why it's becoming all the rage!  The consumption of it in the morning is supposed to give you a super-charged nutritional boost that will energize you throughout the day!  There are now several places serving bone broth as part of their morning menus now. 

Check out the article below from Eater.com about how we should be switching up our usual morning caffeinated beverages for some delicious bone broth!  I'm totally down for the change!  I hate coffee!

Read it, drink it, and ¡Buen Provecho!

Drink Bone Broth for Breakfast Instead of Coffee 

by Eater Video Apr 8, 2016, 12:00pm

Stock? Bone broth? Either way it's a hit

It reads like the perfect storm of food item appeal: soaking otherwise toss-able animal bones in water (sustainability: check) to create a nutrient-rich brew (paleo-friendly: check) for sale in paper to-go cups out of a window in the East Village (trendy and accessible: check and double check). Such was the initial appeal of bone broth, or brodo, when Marco Canora began selling it out of an unused window in his restaurant in 2014. But the fad has taken off since the early days atHearth, and now boasts a loyal following of drinkers who eschew their afternoon coffee break in favor of a brodo run.

Click here for the rest of the article!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Americans Try Haitian food for the first time.

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

Americans Try Haitian food for the first time.

Sofrito Lovers,

Griot, Cabrit fricassee, and Lambi.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you've never had Haitian food!  Haitian cuisine is a combination of African, French, and Taino flavors that tantalize and mesmerize your taste buds.  One of the most delicious Caribbean cuisines, Haitian food is usually a mystery to most Americans.

Below, I've posted a tasting video from Buzzfeed, which features Americans tasting Haitian food for the first time.  Usually, these videos are hilarious because Americans consider anything outside of fast food culture as "exotic" or "unusual!"  The participants in this series are typically afraid to try new things, but in this video you see what happens when you're open minded and most importantly open "palated!"

It was wonderful to see people experiencing a new cuisine and loving it.  Again, I love these videos because they can be really funny, but I also love it when people gain an appreciation for something new.  Variety is the spice of life, people! Fear and hesitation keep us small and uncultured! Go out there and try something new!  Your palate will thank you!

Watch the video, go get some Haitian food, and ¡Buen provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: 100+ Recipes for Amazing Paleo and Primal Vegetables

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

 

100+ Recipes for Amazing Paleo and Primal Vegetables

 

 

Sofrito Lovers,

I am a loud and proud omnivore!  I love all sorts of grains, veggies, proteins, nuts, dairy, and fats!  Combining these myriad ingredients creates incredible cuisines that nourish our bodies and souls!  Now as you know, there are several different food cultures that people subscribe to.  One of the newest, yet ironically oldest, is the Paleo Diet!

This diet is based on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans, consisting chiefly of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, and excluding dairy or grain products and processed food.  This diet has become extremely popular among health enthusiasts, celebrities, and food activists.

I know many people that are Paleo and I deeply appreciate their generosity when it comes to recipes and beverages.  You don't have to be Paelo to enjoy, love, and prepare Paleo recipes.  I think their clever use of veggies, fruits, and proteins is amazing and truly brilliant.

Below, I've posted a great article from Ancestralize Me (Sent to me via Facebook by my friend Fernando Reals) that features 100+ recipes that everyone should try!  These entrees and side dishes will give you a renewed appreciation for veggies and their nutritional majesty!

Read, cook, and taste for yourself! ¡Buen Provecho!

100+ Recipes for Amazing Paleo and Primal Vegetables

December 20, 2014 by Laura 0 Comments

 

I frequently have clients who say they hate vegetables. Hearing this can sometimes be challenging for me as a nutritionist, since not only are vegetables an incredibly important part of a healthy diet, but there’s also dozens of ways that veggies can be prepared to make them taste amazing! And I want my clients to love vegetables as much as I do.

Check out the rest of the article here!

 

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: 10 Chinese Desserts you have never probably never heard of

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

10 Chinese Desserts you have never probably  never heard of

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Most people are unaware of the Chinese sweet tooth!  The Chinese love their sweets and desserts with an intense passion and loyalty!  Go to Chinatown and you'll see a bakery on every corner full of amazing pastries, desserts, cakes, and other confections.

This may come as a shock to many because the only contact most of us have with Chinese "cuisine" is our local Chinese take out,which never feature desserts.  We think of Chinese food as purely savory and never get a chance to explore their uniquely delicious dessert culture.  

To add some sweetness to your life, I've posted this cool video about Chinese desserts from Off the Great Wall, one of my favorite YouTube Channels dedicated to Chinese/Asian culinary culture.  

I loved learning about the cultural significance of many of these desserts and how some of these yummy sweet treats have health benefits as well.  The video is really interesting and will definitely stimulate your sweet tooth!

Watch it, run down to Chinatown, and go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen Provecho!