Did you know December is National Fruit Cake Month? Ever since I’ve become a food blogger I have discovered that almost every day of the year (or at least every month) has a theme in relation to food. Chocolate cake day, Chiffon cake day, Good Nutrition month, and the list goes on. But instead of discarding these celebrations as pointless and arbitrary, I find this to be a fantastic way to remember those foods that we sometimes leave covered in dust at the back of our memories. The best diet is one that offers a large array of foods and nutrients, and remembering to cook all kinds of different dishes thanks to these celebrations does just that.

It is also a happy coincidence (or perhaps it was done on purpose), that Fruit Cake day coincides with the holidays, since it’s at this time of the year that most fruit cakes have always been prepared. In Peru, for example, people devour Paneton (the Peruvian name for the Italian Panettone), day in and day out throughout December. This cake/bread is full of raisins and all kinds of candied fruits. In England, the tradition is eating mince meat pies, which were originally made with meat, but now are just a super sweet (and incredibly addictive) mix of dried fruits soaked in liquor.

A fruity dessert is always a great choice to end your holiday banquet with a bang. So for this Christmas, I have chosen a recipe I love, and -listen to this-, I’ve made it gluten-free! There are so many people out there with a gluten intolerance or allergy (a lot of them don’t even know it), that everyone will benefit by going gluten-free for at least one course, after all that heavy eating.

The truth is, it’s actually quite easy to turn a cake gluten-free. Granted, the texture is not the same as a regular cake, but some would say it’s even better. By replacing the regular flour this cake usually calls for, with cooked quinoa and amaranth, what came out of the oven was a creamy cake, with a texture similar to that of bread pudding, or even flan. Everyone raved about it. And this was actually the product of an accident, (but now I think it was meant to be); my initial idea was to use quinoa flour instead of regular flour, but when I couldn’t find the package I would’ve sworn I had in the pantry, I used the leftover amaranth and quinoa I had made for breakfast, which was already cooked. Sometimes the best things come out of the most unexpected places.

What I loved the most about this cake (other than the texture and the fact that it’s gluten-free), is the deep Sherry flavor in every bite. It is quite low in sugar, so the Holland House Sherry cooking wine I used really shines through. I’m a big fan of using cooking wines in my food, and this was no exception. And everything came together beautifully when I finished it off with a huge dollop of whipped cream, and some nuts and raisins soaked in even more Sherry. Vanilla ice cream would be another great option.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and that it teaches you how to give an unexpected twist to any recipe. Never forget to have fun in the kitchen, and to prepare everything with love!

Ingredients

250g raisins

200ml Holland House Sherry Cooking Wine

150ml thick natural yogurt

150ml olive oil

3 eggs

1 cup almond flour

11/2 cup cooked quinoa and amaranth (half of each, or just quinoa).

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preparation:

Soak the raisins in the Sherry for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven at 350F.

Grease and flour a non-stick baking pan that is about 9 inches in diameter.

Mix the yogurt, oil and eggs in a bowl, and beat with a fork until everything is blended together.

In another bowl, mix the flour, sugar and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients, and the cooked quinoa to the egg mixture. Add half of the soaking raisins. Mix everything well.

Transfer the mixture to the pan, and cook for 40 minutes.

The cake is ready when a knife or fork inserted in the middle comes out clean. It should be golden on top, but don’t let it burn.

Take out of the oven, pinch everywhere with a fork, and pour the Sherry where the raisins have been soaking all over the cake.

Heat in a cooling rack. When cool, pass a knife around the edge of the cake to separate it from the pan.

When it’s cool enough to handle, cover the pan with a large plate, and quickly turn upside down. Then turn it upside down again, to get the golden side on top.

Serve with whipped cream, the rest of the soaked raisins, and some chopped nuts. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

For more recipes, tips and offers featuring Holland House visit their Facebook page and the Mizkan Pinterest board.

Disclosure: We thank Mizkan for their sponsorship.

Have you had enough of preparing enormous amounts of food for entertaining? We all know how drained a party celebration can leave anyone, especially those hosting it or in charge of the kitchen. It’s one thing to love preparing homemade meals for your family, without having to impress anyone with flamboyant decorations and exotic tastes; but cooking for a large number of people, and making sure everything is ready before they arrive, is a very different story.

Since December is big on social events for most people, and certainly for Latinos who give much greater importance to Christmas than to Thanksgiving, I decided to help out a bit with a cool and delicious idea. If you’re running out of creativity for finger food or appetizers made for home entertaining and parties, and want to do something fun and out of the ordinary this year, how about trying some Japanese creations? Your guests will probably appreciate the surprise, and the fact that at least one of the courses on the menu is low on fat and very healthy in general.

To make these easy sushi squares you can use only rice and salmon if you prefer, or add as many fresh vegetables as you like, turning something simple into a rainbow of colors and textures. For example, I used radishes and avocados along with the rice and salmon in the original preparation. But for the leftovers, I  quickly fried the salmon, put it back in its place, and then covered it with extra layers of thinly-sliced carrots, and mixed greens. It was a completely different experience, but equally enjoyable, and certainly a better option for those who shy away from eating raw fish.

As any itamae in the world would tell you, the key for good sushi lies in the freshness of the ingredients, and in the proper preparation of the rice. The correct method goes like this: You need to get the special glutinous sushi rice, wash 2 cups of it 3 times in plenty of water (this is to get rid of any excess starch), and then cook it in 3 cups of water, without salt, for 17 minutes. When ready, turn the heat off, let cool a little, and season with the special rice vinegar preparation. This vinegar preparation can be made while the rice is cooking, by bringing 1/2 a cup of Nakano All-Natural Rice Vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil, and then letting this cool to room temperature. Once the rice and vinegar are mixed together (a wooden spoon is best for this job), you must put it in a large dish or container where you can spread out the rice in a very thin layer. With the help of a fan (or magazine), air it until it’s cool. Yes, this may sounds like too much work, but that’s because we’re used to cooking without putting much effort into anything. Let’s face it folks: traditional methods sometimes work better than machines.

Happy entertaining!

Easy Sushi Squares

Ingredients:

Sushi Rice with Nakano All-Natural Rice Vinegar (Read post above for directions)

6-8 oz salmon

1 avocado

8-10 radishes

Sesame seeds

Mitzukan Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Soy Sauce

Wasabi (optional)

Preparation:

Line a chopping board with film, parchment, or a silpat, and spread the cooked and cooled rice all over it. Press it to flatten.

With a mandolin or a very sharp knife, cut the radishes in very thin slices. Cut the avocado and the salmon in very thin slices.

Put a layer of avocado over the rice. Follow with a layer of radishes and a layer of salmon.

With a very sharp knife, cut in squares, pressing the sides with the knife to even out.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve with wasabi and Mitzukan Ponzu Citrus Seasones Soy Sauce on the side.

Check out  Mizkan’s “Splash Recipe Club!” and sign up for a chance to win great prizes every month.  And visit Nakano on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest  for more inspiring and yummy recipes.

Disclosure: We give thanks to Mizkan for being a SpanglishBaby sponsor.

Even though the days are now prone to get shorter and colder, November is a month of big celebrations. Thanksgiving, of course, is the first thing that comes to mind when using the “c” word, but there are some other, less traditional reasons that make this month special. For example, November is Good Nutrition Month. Now this is the kind of celebration I really like. Even though I love a good pig-out every now and then, and however much I eat on these occasions there will always –ALWAYS- be space left for dessert, good nutrition is the motto I generally live by, and it’s nice to celebrate it and remind others of the importance of eating well.

“You are what you eat.”

“Let your food be your medicine.”

These wise ideas were shared by visionary men centuries ago, and remain as prevalent as ever in these times of sugar addiction, TV dinners, and the likes.

To celebrate this important month, I decided to try yet another recipe using my favorite nutritious ingredient in the world: quinoa. For those of you who don’t know, quinoa is an Andean super seed that has been used since the times of the Incas for its amazing taste, and health properties. I eat quinoa every morning for breakfast (instead of oatmeal, but cooked the same way), and I love to try new ways of making it whenever I get the chance.

Scrawling through the internet in search of inspiration, I found a delicious mushroom and Marsala soup that I decided would go incredibly well (and could be turned into a very filling meal) with the addition of some quinoa. Autumn is when I start craving hearty soups that keep me warm throughout the day, so this recipe sounded like the perfect candidate.

I’m also a big fan of any dish that uses a good wine in its preparation, and many times I add it at random to any recipe. I just love what a good cooking wine does for food! I really have come to consider them an important staple ingredient in my kitchen. For this soup I used the wonderful Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine, and the depth of flavor it gave to the mushroom and quinoa combo was a total delight. Why don’t you go and try it yourself?

And don’t forget to celebrate this Good Nutrition Month with the ones you love!

Hearty Mushroom, Marsala and Quinoa Autumn Soup Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pack (about 500 gr) mushrooms of your choice, sliced

1 diced white onion

2 diced carrots

2 finely chopped garlic cloves

1.5 lts vegetable stock

1/4-1/2 cup Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 tablespoons tomato purée

Grated fresh Parmesan cheese to serve (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. To make the quinoa, put in a pan with twice the amount of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes at medium-high heat. Drain any remaining water and reserve.

2. Slice and dice all the veggies. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and sauté the garlic, onion, carrot and rosemary for about 5 minutes, until softened. Stir constantly. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes, stirring. Then add the Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine, stock, and tomato puree.

4. Cook for 30 minutes, adding more liquid (either water or stock) if it becomes too thick. Season with salt and pepper, and add the quinoa.

5. Serve in soup bowls, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Disclosure: As Mizkan Advocates, SpanglishBaby receives compensation for creating and sharing these recipes with you. All opinions are our own.

Continuing with the theme of my last post, today I want to talk about eating more veggies. Our culture seems to have a love/hate relationship with this food group: we know it’s good for us, but we are much more tempted to eat “tastier” veggie-less foods that are thrown on our faces day in and day out. Eating vegetables always ends up feeling like homework, and nobody likes doing homework, right?

What I have found out through many years of making my food and nutrition a priority, however, is that the more vegetables I eat, the more I crave them. I’m not saying that eating them becomes an addiction, the way eating sugar does; but they do seem to awaken some “wise” part of my mind, body, and appetite, which suddenly realizes these are the foods I need, and starts asking for more and more of them. Some call this “intuitive eating”.

So how do you start eating and enjoying more vegetables, when all you want is a huge slice of pizza or chocolate cake? I’m a big advocate of learning to eat fruits and veggies (and seeds, and nuts, and legumes, and everything that is good for you!), without even noticing it, so you have a positive attitude towards them and don’t stress out. In my last post I wrote about putting your salad in a sandwich. That has worked wonders for me, and for everyone that I’ve introduced to this habit. Another way I use to eat more veggies, is turning them into the perfect accompaniment to something I really like. Cabbage, for example, is not a vegetable I’m crazy about, but luckily for me, I do have one way in which I love eating this power veg, which I inherited from my Nicaraguan family and I’m immensely grateful for. If I’m given raw cabbage by itself, I get tired of it very quickly and it doesn’t satisfy me as a meal, not even as an appetizer. But put it next to fried plantains, beans, and cheese, like Nicaraguans do, and this salad becomes a total delight that I keep devouring and adding more of to my plate because I can’t get enough of it. The saltiness of the fried cheese, combined with the other fried foods makes one crave something fresh and watery to balance the dish out, and that’s where cabbage comes in to save the day! And granted, maybe the first half of the dish is not what the doctor prescribed, but it’s delicious and one ends up eating very little of it because the cabbage is so filling.

My favorite way of making this salad is to thinly slice a whole cabbage and a red onion, add some chopped tomato and grated carrots, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. And now that I’ve discovered Nakano‘s Seasoned Rice Vinegar, I can even skip the salt and pepper, and just splash this over the cabbage and get the perfect taste. My favorite combination of healthy, easy and appetizing!

Nicaraguan Feast (Serves 4)

Frijoles Fritos (Fried Beans)
2 cans red beans
1/2-1 cup water
2 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
Oil for frying
Salt

Rinse the beans under running water to remove the canned taste. Puree in a blender with the water (add as much water as you need). Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes over medium heat. Remove the onion and garlic from the pan (but not the oil), add the beans, and fry, stirring every now and then, until they have the consistency you desire.Season with salt.

Queso Frito (Fried Cheese)

A few slices cheese
Flour
Oil for frying

Heat a pan over medium/high heat, pass the cheese through flour, and deep fry for a few minutes, turning and frying on the other side to make sure it’s golden on both sides. You should choose a cheese with a simple taste, that won’t melt easily, such as queso fresco or halloumi. You can ask your cheese monger which cheese would be best

Tostones Fritos (Fried Plantains)

1 green plantain
Oil for frying
Salt

Peel the plantain, and cut in 2-inch slices. In a saucepan with hot oil, Pre-cook them in a saucepan with hot oil, but do not let them color. They should be partially cooked. Remove from the pan and drain with paper towels. Press every piece with the bottom of a glass or cup, making it almost flat, but being careful not to disintegrate them. Heat some more oil, and deep fry the plantain slices until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Ensalada de Col (Cabbage Slaw)

1 cabbage
1/2 red onion
1 carrot
1 tomato
2 tablespoons olive oil
A generous splash of Nakano’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar

Thinly slice the cabbage and onion. Peel and grate the carrot. Chop the tomato. Put everything in a bowl, add the olive oil and Nakano’s Seasoned Rice Vinegar.

Check out  Mizkan’s “Splash Recipe Club!” and sign up for a chance to win great prizes every month.  And visit Nakano on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest  for more inspiring and yummy recipes.

Disclosure: We give thanks to Mizkan for being a SpanglishBaby sponsor.

Sandwiches are one of my favorite inventions in the world. You can pretty much carry around any food you like (except soup and ice cream!) inside two loaves of bread, and enjoy it wherever you happen to be, and whenever you feel like it. Gotta love it!

One of the things I like the most about sandwiches, is that they allow you to conceal, in a way, and enjoy without judgement, things that you wouldn’t usually eat on their own, but that you know your body would thrive on. For example, I was never a big salad person, (I know, that’s weird coming from a vegetarian), until one fine day, my friend Andrea introduced me to an amazing salad wrap place in NYC. All of a sudden, salad seemed like a delicious treat I craved and looked forward to eating, because all the flavors of the different veggies seemed to mysteriously come together and be enhanced inside the flatbread.

In the summer, I now love to eat lots of vegetables, and my favorite way to make them is in a sandwich. Sometimes I put such a large mountain of veggies, that it doesn’t fit in my mouth. What I do when this happens is I take out the top layer of bread and eat it as an open sandwich or bruschetta.

Today I decided to make a sandwich using Mediterranean flavors (my favorite), with Nakano’s Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar. I bought some good quality bread, roasted a red pepper, added artichoke hearts, steamed asparagus (I like them al dente), and some halloumi cheese, which I didn’t grill for lack of time, but is exquisite when grilled too, and gives the sandwich a whole different texture that way. Some salt and pepper, a splash of Nakano’s Basil & Oregano Vinegar, and not much else was needed. It was perfection. It always gets me excited when I find an easy-to-use product like this seasoned rice vinegar, which saves time, money, and has the same delicious effect as as if I had used all those ingredients separately. It’s light but full of flavor, which I find to be an awesome replacement for the traditional, unhealthy sandwich condiments or spreads that people use. I can’t wait to splash it over all my veggie dishes this summer to bring out the best in them.

As you can see, when it comes to eating more veggies, all it really comes down to is being creative, and having fun. You just need to find your sweet spot, and I guarantee  it will become a lifelong romance from then on.

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)

• 2 good quality bread roll (I used spouted whole wheat)
• 1 pepper
• 1 cup artichokes
• 1/2 bunch green artichokes
• 1 pack halloumi cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nakano Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar

Preparation:

• Put the pepper over the stove’s flame for several minutes, turning around until it’s all black. You can also roast it in the oven.
• Put the pepper in a sealed, air-tight container for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, steam or blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 5-10 minutes
• Peel the pepper, and cut in thin strips.
• Cut the bread , and toast a little bit (I broiled it in the oven for 10 minutes).
• Put a layer of cheese slices on the bottom half of the bread. On top of it, put pepper slices, artichoke pieces, and some asparagus.
• Season with salt and pepper, and splash with Nakano Basil & Oregano Seasoned Rice Vinegar.

Nakano has a cool sweepstakes going on right now called “Splash it on, Step it up,” a 60-Day Walking Challenge where you can enter your steps daily and be eligible to win fabulous prizes including gym memberships, workout bags or personal training sessions.

Disclosure: We give thanks to Mizkan for being a SpanglishBaby sponsor.

Hello everyone, and happy summer! My favorite season is officially here and I couldn’t be more thrilled! This is the perfect time for light, fresh meals that can be prepared outside, and that are bursting with life and color.

A few weeks ago I gave you my mom’s recipe for a grilled chicken with a latin-loving salad made of beans, plantains, avocado, and jalapeno peppers. That recipe got me inspired to have a grilling session of my own, using another of the World Harbors marinating sauces that my mom raved about. She loved the lemon pepper and garlic one that she put on the chicken, but this time I decided to be adventurous and try the Jamaican-style Jerk sauce, which I must confess, I had never had before. And I also have to confess that I LOVED it! If you’ve never tried Jamaican Jerk Sauce, it has an exotic and punchy mix of flavors (soy sauce, vinegar, chili peppers, and spices) that goes perfect with any kind of meat you decide to use.

Since I’m a big fan of fish, but don’t eat it as often as I should, or as often as I would like to (cooking fish in a small apartment in NYC can be a very smelly experience!), I chose this special occasion to get my protein dose. After all, one doesn’t try a new sauce everyday!

These skewers are the result of this experiment with Jamaican Jerk. I think the pictures show how awesome they were, and not much description is needed. But if you need reassurance: THEY WERE DIVINE. Don’t waste any more time and go try them! If you’re a fish lover you can’t go wrong with these, and thy are the perfect option for a healthier BBQ.

Have a great summer full of fresh and delicious food!

For the brochettes we need:

1 lb swordfish fillet, cut in 1 inch cubes
12 red and yellow grape tomatoes (or other veggies)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lb new potatoes
2 bay leaves
1 bag baby chard, or rainbow chard, chopped
6 radishes
1 cup World Harbors Jamaican Style JERK Marinade

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Or get the grill ready.
• Put the potatoes in a square of baking foil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add bay leaves, a couple tablespoons olive oil, close the foil to form an envelope. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
• Using wet wooden skewers, thread pieces of swordfish, alternating with grape tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• Now you can grill, bake or fry your brochettes. The fish should be cooked through, juicy, not dry.
• Meanwhile prepare the salad. Wash the baby chard, slice the radishes paper thin, combine them in a salad bowl, add salt and pepper, olive oil, and the juice of half a lemon. Mix everything and serve in a plate.
• Over the salad arrange two fish brochettes. Serve the potatoes at the side, with more salad.
• Serve with JERK Marinade.

** Use any fish available. Salmon, halibut, sea bass, etc. You can add scallops.

** Instead of grape tomatoes use bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, etc.

Once you go to the store and buy your World Harbors marinade, make sure you check the bottle because you could be one of the lucky six people to get the Golden Label which means you’ve won an exotic vacation to either Maui, Fiji, Tahiti, Cabo, New England or a trip for a tropical cruise!

Another chance to win big with World Harbors can be found on their Facebook page via the Adventure sweeps where the Grand Prize winner will received two roundtrip plane tickets and a runner up will get a $500 gift card for a weekend getaway hotel stay. Click here to enter that sweeps.

May the summer fun begin already!!

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to develop recipes using Mizkan products. All opinions are our own.

These days have been warmer than usual, and I felt the heat especially intense because my A/C was broken for five days, including the holiday, and I –working from home- have been literally melting, with all the windows open and no intention to cook anything in the stove. This, as you may imagine, can be problematic if you are a food blogger, like I am, and need to be cooking stuff all the time!

Talking to my mother about this over the phone, got her inspired to create a dish for these hot Spring and Summer days. As soon as I mentioned what was going on, she knew what she wanted to prepare (that’s how the head of a chef works!), ran to the grocery store, bought chicken legs and breasts, some vegetables, charcoal, and decided to prepare grilled chicken with a tropical salad. She lives in an apartment that doesn’t have a grill, but once she has a recipe idea in her mind, nothing stops her…and certainly not that little detail. The first thing she made, back home, was to marinate the chicken in a Ziploc bag. Carefully, she sprinkled a little coarse salt on the chicken pieces, put them in the bag, and added an amazing ingredient that we have recently discovered: World Harbors Lemon Pepper & Garlic Marinade and Sauce. So easy to use! She just closed the bag and stored it in the fridge to give enough time for the chicken to infuse with the flavors of the marinade. In the meantime, she prepared a salad with all her favorite Latin American comfort foods. She packed the salad, the chicken, a bottle of iced water, forks and knives, and her ever-present camera, and headed to the park!

Lighting the fire and getting everything ready was just a matter of minutes. Then, after the chicken was patted dry, and the marinade discarded, she began to cook, and used more of the bottled marinade to baste the chicken to keep it moist. After about 30 minutes, lunch was ready!

I wish I had been there to enjoy the outdoorsy day with her, eating that nourishing meal full of color and flavor. There’s something magical about eating between greenery and silence, don’t you agree? Now I know exactly what to do for lunch on those extremely hot summer days. If you want to try my mom’s recipe, follow the instructions above for the chicken, and to make the beautiful salad, here’s how:

2 cups cooked black beans –or kidney beans, or garbanzo beans… your choice- (canned is fine)
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1 cup avocado, chopped
1 cup fried ripe plantain, chopped
¼ -1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons parsley leaves, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional)
Lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, season, and mix carefully. Put in the fridge.

Once you go to the store and buy your World Harbors marinade, make sure you check the bottle because you could be one of the lucky six people to get the Golden Label which means you’ve won an exotic vacation to either Maui, Fiji, Tahiti, Cabo, New England or a trip for a tropical cruise!

Another chance to win big with World Harbors can be found on their Facebook page via the Adventure sweeps where the Grand Prize winner will received two roundtrip plane tickets and a runner up will get a $500 gift card for a weekend getaway hotel stay. Click here to enter that sweeps.

May the summer fun begin already!!

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to develop recipes using Mizkan products. All opinions are our own.

Mother´s Day is around the corner, and food is being thrown at us from every direction. As we all very well know, moms tend to have a special place in their hearts for sugary treats, and buying baked confections or making them at home is high on the list of best gifts for her on this once-a-year event. But before the awaited dessert, a whole meal needs to be prepared for the family, and even though this is, in fact, Mother’s Day, most mamás put their aprons on and work away in the kitchen to get the job done. After all, this is why we celebrate them: because they care so much for us, that they won’t stop working even on their day to show how much they love us. Motherhood is a very special thing indeed!

Thinking of this, one of my favorite rice pilafs came to mind, since it’s so easy to make, and sure to please everyone. Making this pilaf is easy for mom, if she wants a hassle-free meal that will still allow her to relax a bit and enjoy all the pampering of the day. But it is also great for teenagers and husbands who want to take control of the kitchen for the day and please her. What’s great about it is that it is the perfect dish not only for this day, but for any other occasion, and it’s good for pros and beginners alike. All you have to do is mix the ingredients, add the delicious red wine syrup made with Holland House red wine vinegar, y listo! A healthy, nutritious, -and most importantly- delicious meal that will leave everyone satisfied and with a smile.

The very adaptable recipe also allows you to add or skip ingredients according to your family´s taste. I love it with lots of olives and roasted and fresh peppers, but you may add bacon, cheese, or any other vegetable, like green peas or artichoke hearts. Sometimes I even transform it into a salad, using the same ingredients, with added baby spinach and blue cheese (or goat cheese, which I love and goes amazing with red wine vinegar). When I do this, I splash the dish with a red wine vinaigrette, instead of the syrup of the pilaf…and just like that, you have a whole new dish!

Ingredients

2 cups white rice (Basmati or jasmine is fine)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tablespoon onion, diced
1 cup green olives, sliced
1 cup black olives, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1 cup raisins or cranberries
½ cup almonds, sliced and toasted
Salt and pepper

**
6 tablespoons Holland House red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and stir until aromatic. Don´t let them turn golden. Immediately add the rice, stirring for a few minutes, add salt and pepper (be careful with the salt because the olives are salty), and boiling water to cover. Put the lid on, lower the heat to a minimum, and cook for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the red wine syrup: In a pan over high heat melt the sugar, add the vinegar, add salt and pepper, and bring to a boil for 3 minutes.

Uncover and stir with a fork to separate the rice grains. It should be fluffy. Add the green and black olives, red pepper, raisins, or cranberries.

Serve the rice sprinkled with the toasted almonds and the Holland House red wine syrup.

Everyday Cooking Holland House Sweepstakes!

We invite you to head on over to the Holland House Facebook page to enter their sweepstakes for a chance to win a professional meal makeover consultation from Meal Makeover Moms or your own cookware set. Go here and enter!

Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to develop recipes using Mizkan products. All opinions are our own. 

Last weekend I decided to indulge a little in the kitchen, and put some more effort than I usually do for my go-to dishes. Checking out some cooking videos for inspiration, I came across Peruvian chef, Flavio Solorzano’s fish empanadas, and decided to make a variation of this Latin American all-time-favorite food. And what better than cooking fish or seafood to make a meal special and extra nutritious, right? I found some beautiful meaty scallops in the supermarket, and filled the cart with “oriental” veggies for my stir-fry. Then, after looking at Flavio’s video on youtube a couple times, and once I felt I had mastered the art of making fried empanadas, I dove into it.

It really was as easy as it looked. I made the empanada dough without measuring quantities, but going more with how it felt in my hands (soft and maneagable like plasteline; not dry but not too sticky either). Then I did a good ol’ sauté with the veggies & scallops, plus added lemon, chili powder, and (my favorite) ginger. I filled the empanadas, fried them up, and what do you know? Oriental empanadas were ready to go!

They made a great weekend appetizer, but I think they would be fantastic also as an hors d’oeuvre at a dinner or lunch party. Easy and fun to eat with the hands, and bursting with flavor. I decided to go with Mitsukan’s Ponzu Citrus Soy Sauce to dip them in, since I always like to eat my seafood with a dash of lemon, and not to brag, but they were delicious!

Oriental Empanadas, with Citrus Soy Sauce (serves eight)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large carrot
• 1 bunch spring onions
• a handful mangetout
• 1 shallot
• 2 garlic cloves
• a piece of ginger
• 1/2 lemon
• 8-10 scallops
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper
• Oil for frying
• Mitsukan Ponzu Citrus Soy Sauce to dip

 Preparation:

-Chop all the vegetables and sauté in a pan or wok with oil, at medium/high heat, until cooked. Add the chili powder, lemon juice, salt and pepper. When ready, add the scallops (cut in small pieces), and cook for an extra 2 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

-To make the dough, mix flour and salt, add water and oil and knead with your hands. If it’s too dry add some more water. Make sure it’s easy to handle (not too sticky).

-On a clean and dry surface of your kitchen counter, spread some flour, and roll the dough until it’s thin and flat (about 1-2mm thin).

-Cut the dough in circles with a small soup bowl or large cup. A round cookie cutter is perfect for this.

-Put some of the vegetable/scallop saute on half the circle, and then fold the other half on top, and close the empanadas, pressing with your fingers. You can use a fork to seal the edge if you want.

-Heat a lot of oil in a pan, over medium/high heat (there should be enough oil to cover the whole empanada when you put it in the pan). When it starts to bubble and sizzle, add the empanadas, just 1 or 2 at a time. Fry for a few minutes until golden and but do not let them brown.

-Transfer to a dish covered with paper towels, so that it absorbs the excess oil.

-Serve hot, with Mitsukan Ponzu Citrus Soy Sauce on the side.