A Spoonful of Sofrito: FreakinRican Pasteles de Guineo

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

FreakinRican Pasteles de guineo!

Sofrito Lovers,

The holidays are upon us and for many Caribbean Latinos this a time for us to make PASTELES!

Pasteles are a gift God gave us that we happily share with the world!  Pasteles look like Mexican Tamales, but are made from either green banana, plantain, or Yucca dough and are filled with any type of stewed meat (traditionally pork) and veggies.  Pasteles are the perfect example of our cultural culinary fusion; they were created by combining Taino, African, and Spanish cooking styles and ingredients together.

Wrapped in a banana leaf, they're boiled for about an hour and, then served as a side dish or on their own.  Usually, they're made during Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter time as a special holiday treat, but you can eat them year round.  

Making Pasteles is a serious process!  Many Caribbean Latinos have fond memories of waking up early to be a part of an all day assembly line of family making these delicious suckers!

In order to inspire you to make your own pasteles, I've posted an incredible Pastel tutorial below by Derrick Lopez, the host of the FreakinRican restaurant channel!  I love Derrick's tutorials; they're quick and easy to follow!  I consider him one of the best YouTube Culinary instructors online...plus, he's really handsome, so watching him cook is an all around treat! 

Check out Derrick's amazing tutorial below and subscribe to his channel for more content!  Watch, make those pasteles, and taste for yourself!  ¡Buen provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Try Our World Snack Box!

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

Try Our World Snack Box!

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Three weeks ago, I decided to give myself an early birthday gift and subscribed to a monthly snack box series called, Try Our World. Try our World sends its subscribers a monthly package full of incredible international treats, goodies, and candies.  You can choose from several different subscription boxes of all different sizes with all types of treats.  I chose the basic $20 a month box, which contains 6-8 delectable snacks for me to enjoy!

Yesterday, I received my first box and I can't believe how delicious the treats have been!  My box came with 7 goodies and a few description cards with information on the content and how to order more.

I haven't sampled the entire box yet, but the Japanese Pineapple gummy cakes were incredible!

The South African Toffee was chewy, delicious, and decadent!

 

The Canadian (not so exotic, I know) maple cookies were a sweet blessing from the great White North! They were rich, moist, and tasty!

Let me be clear, I'm not a sponsored consumer or anything like that!  I'm just a customer that loves this product and thinks you will too!  Check out the website and treat yourself to a subscription, better yet, get one for a foodie friend you love for the holidays.  He or She will love it!  YOU NEED TO TASTE THIS FOR YOURSELF!  ¡Buen provecho!

Try Our World Website

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Latino Pea Soup Recipe!

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

Latino Pea Soup Recipe

Sofrito Lovers,

For Sunday night dinner, I made a caldero of Latino style Whole Green Pea Soup! The inspiration for this meal came from watching a cooking tutorial from this amazing YouTuber named  Evelyn Dominguez.  I love Evelyn's videos, her recipes are incredible!  Please check out her channel!

Quick, simple, and delicious, this was the perfect meal for a cold and snowy night in Washington Heights.  Winter is here and it's time for some hearty and tasty soups to warm our bones and soothe our souls!  Evelyn's soup recipe helped fight the chill!  As always my litmus test of success is if my partner David liked it...HE DID!

Check out Evelyn's tutorial below!  Watch, cook, and taste for yourself! ¡Buen Provecho!