NYC can Shop Chile!

Now you can get the Best of Chile in New York City! The Puro Chile shop features a wide range of products from crocheted wool shoes to merken infused avocado oil.  Funded from a variety of Chilean private sector organizations and supported by the Chilean government, Puro Chile hopes to open the doors in NYC to Chilean products and services, while spreading Chilean culture and enhancing its image in one of the world's most important cities.

We have tried both the AFE juice and Manka chutney and they are tasty!

The Puro Chile shop is located at 221 Centre Street and open Monday thru Sunday from 12pm to 7pm.
P: (212) 925-7876
E: info@puro-gourmet.com

Video: The Story of Cosmetics

I'm a huge fan of Annie Leonard's videos, informative and a bit playful the 15 minutes fly by and at the end you feel motivated to pick up the phone to call your representative and change those laws.  Also noteworthy is that this video applies to both men and women, as shaving cream, lotions, body washes are all included within this umbrella of laws (or lack there of should I say).




For more information take a look at Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

It's the Punkin Chuckin Time of Year

Well it's the Punkin Chuckin time of year...and one thing that Chile just doesn't have are pumpkins.  Yes they have zapallo, but it really isn't pumpkin the way we know it, therefore pumpkin pie doesn't taste quite the same.

© kittell

Every town seems to have their own way of celebrating the chucking of leftover halloween pumpkins, and I did have a chance a few years back to attend Morton, Illinois Punkin Chuckin Contest.  Held in a plowed field I couldn't believe the crowd and the chuckin devices.  Organized teams of boyscouts and high school science classes, as well as individuals and groups of friends teamed up to construct their catapults.  Good featured Delaware's version Punkin Chunkin, and you can check their article here.

Morton, Illinois is home to Libby's Pumpkin, where 85% of pumpkin is canned...who knew.  I also tracked down this video that shows a pumpkin being catapulted at a car in the field, one of the targets for the contest.  A little odd, but somehow festive!

Matt's Pebre Recipe

September 20, 2010

In honor of the festive weekend I'll share Matt's Pebre Recipe.  One of our favorite things about Chile is pebre.  This is a classic Chilean accompaniment that goes well on the side of most everything, but especially empanadas.

Ingredients
4 Tomatoes cubed
1 Onion cubed
1 Green Chile
2 Garlic Cloves
3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of one Lemon
Dash of Pepper
Sprinkle of Cilantro

How to
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
Put in fridge for a couple of hours to marinate.  (this is key!!!)
Serve with crackers, bread, chips, or even carrots and celery.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

September 13, 2010

If you are craving a sweet treat I highly recommend these Carrot Oatmeal Cookies.  I adapted the recipe from Heidi Swanson, as I still have yet to find coconut oil at the grocery store here.  These cookies are just sweet enough, with a hint of ginger, and I love the twist of carrot thrown in.

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea Salt

1 cup rolled Oats

2/3 cup chopped Walnuts

1 cup shredded Carrots

1/2 cup real Maple Syrup

1/2 cup clarified Butter

1 teaspoon grated fresh Ginger

How to:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Chop Walnuts.

Grate Carrots and Ginger.

In a large bowl 

Whisk together, Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, and Oats.

Add Walnuts and Carrots.

In a small bowl

Whisk together Maple Syrup, Butter, and Ginger.

Add small bowl mixture to large bowl.

Drop a Tablespoon size onto each cookie sheet.

Allow 2 inches between each cookie.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or golden on top and bottom.

Zucchini Soup Recipe

September 6, 2010

Spring is with in reach.  This morning the air is cool and crisp with a perfect blue sky.  September in Santiago surly is the best time of year, with festivals every weekend, unpredictable weather, and independence day and military day right in the middle of the month!

Here is a recipe for a new soup I just tried last week.  I just finished the left overs last night with some homemade wheat bread!

Ingredients:

Cumin Butter
1 teaspoon Cumin Seed powder

1/4 cup unsalted Butter

pinch of Salt

Zucchini Soup
3 Tablespoons unsalted Butter

1 Onion, chopped

2 Garlic cloves

8 Potatoes, cut into coins then quartered

2 Zucchinis, cut into coins then quartered

4 Cups of low sodium Vegetable Stock

1 Cup skim Milk

How to:

In a small skillet
Melt Butter.
Add Cumin Seed powder and Salt.
Stir the ingredients together until it gives off a nutty aroma.
(This mixture will need to stay liquid until you're ready to use it later on.)

In a large pot

Melt Butter.
Add Onions and Garlic and saute.
Stir in the Potatoes and Zucchini and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Add Vegetable Stock (The stock should just barely cover the vegetables, so add more water if needed)

Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer 25 minutes.

Puree vegetables. (I did this with a wooden spoon against the side of the pot.  We like the vegetables chunkier so I don't use a hand blender)

Add Milk and stir.

Fill a bowl with soup and top with a swirl of Cumin Butter!

Green Vegetables & Rice Noodles with Pesto Sauce

August 23, 2010

Here is a serious thrown together meal, but it turned out great!  I decided to go through my vegetable bin and found some zucchini, green pepper, and broccoli that were begging to be used.  I also had a package of rice noodles that I had been wanting to try out.  The result was a vegetable filled gluten free meal.

Instructions:
Wash and cut vegetables.  Begin cooking rice noodles.  While noodles cook make pesto sauce.  Combine vegetables and rice noodles.  Drizzle with pesto sauce.

Pesto Sauce from the Joy of Cooking

combine in a food processor:
2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

with the machine running, slowly add:
1/2 cup olive oil, or as needed

season to taste with:
salt and black pepper

**Also if you want to freeze some pesto sauce add the nuts and cheese after thawing.  You can freeze the pesto sauce for up to 3 months!

Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini Recipe

July 29, 2010
This dish is fun and light.  I have adapted it from 101Cookbooks to fit our needs and available ingredients.

A note or two as I have prepared it a few times now.  The Avocado can be easily replaced with a Zucchini.  Last night I did not have an Avocado so I substituted and we both enjoyed the Zucchini dressing.  Another happy accident with the dressing is we only had Vanilla Yogurt on hand, so I substituted it for Plain Yogurt.  The result was tasty.

Pine Nuts can be a topping, they tend to sometimes be at the grocery story.  We have prepared it both with and without and enjoyed it each time.  So it is your call.

When preparing to cook Quinoa rinsing it in a fine mesh strainer ahead of time is a must.  Then boil 2 cups of Water to 1 cup of Quinoa.  I ended up cooking off some extra Quinoa for future use.  Just let it cool to room temperature and then store in a ziplock baggie in the freezer.

Food:
for the dressing:
1 Avocado OR substitute 1/2 zucchini
Juice of a lime
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup plain yogurt OR substitute vanilla yogurt for a bit of sweetness
3/4 cup water (if using a zucchini 1/2 cup water)

3 large eggs

1 large zucchini, cut into 3/4 - inch thick coins
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups quinoa, cooked
1/4 cup goat cheese, cubed

How To:
Prepare the dressing by blending the avocado, lime juice, garlic, yogurt, and water in a blender.
Set aside

Hard boil the three eggs.
Set aside

While the eggs are cooling start preparing the zucchini by tossing it with a little olive oil.
Grill zucchini until tender and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side.
Remove zucchini from grill and cut into quarters.

Crack and peel hard boiled eggs and quarter lengthwise.  We love our MoMA Colorful Rings Cutting Board so much that we leave it on the counter in our kitchen permanently.

Matt and I enjoy different amounts of dressing so we assemble this dish individually, however it could definitely be served family style.

Grab a bowl and fill it with a generous amount of quinoa.
Either toss with dressing now or drizzle dressing on after next step.
Top with grilled zucchini, eggs, goat cheese, and pine nuts (if you have them).

Potato Soup with easy prep, cook, and clean-up

July 26, 2010

This soup started out as a potato soup because I had two baskets full, but it became more of vegetable soup by the end.
Here's the recipe and for those of you in summer season save this for November on a rainy day!

Tools:
Chopping Knife
Cutting board
Soup Pot
1 Measuring Cup
Tablespoon

Food:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion
2 Carrots
2 Garlic cloves
5 Cups Water (option to adjust the amount of water depending on if you want a lot of broth or not.  you can also add one cube Low Sodium Chicken Broth if you so desire.)
1/2 lb Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thyme (1 teaspoon Dried Thyme)
1 Tomato

How to:
Chop the following ingredients:  Onion, Carrots, Garlic, Potatoes (about 1-inch chunks), dice the Tomato

Heat the Olive Oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
Add the onion and carrots and let them soften and brown a bit about 5 minutes.
Add the Garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the Water, Potatoes, Thyme.
Bring to boil.
Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the Tomato.
Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or longer if you desire.

While the soup simmered I had time to light candles, set the table, poor a nice cup of Chilean wine, and wash the dishes I had just used.

If you would like more veggies included I suggest the following:  Celery, Broccoli, Green Beans, or Cauliflower.  Note that if you include Celery - chop and heat with the Onion and Carrots.  The Broccoli, Green Beans, and Cauliflower should be added with the Tomato.

Snow-capped Andes

July 10, 2010

Here's a view of the mountains we are going to tackle this afternoon.  Ski season is in full swing here after a few great rains in the city the mountains are covered.  The view of the Andes never gets old.

Pineapple Rice

November 27, 2009
I love this dish.  It is hearty with a bit of sweetness and a kick of spicy all at once.  Inspired by 101cookbooks I adapted the original recipe to fit our needs and the availability of finding the ingredients at our local supermarcado.  Not a vegetarian? We add meatballs, which are easy and taste great with the pineapple rice.

How to make Pineapple Rice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup all-natural 100% pineapple juice
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup pineapple cut into chunks
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

Combine olive oil, pineapple juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, fresh pineapple, and ginger in a blender.

Fill a bowl or plate with a generous portion of brown rice.  Pour sauce from blender over your brown rice and enjoy!

How to make easy Meatballs
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 small onion finely chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup flat parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2lbs ground turkey or ground beef

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)

Combine bread crumbs, onion, egg, parsley, parmesan, and ground turkey in a bowl.  Form 1 1/2" meatballs approximately.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil and cook meatballs on stove top.  Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth.  Continue to add 1/4 cups of chicken broth slowly letting the meatballs absorb the chicken broth.  There will be left over broth, so serve the meatballs at your leisure.

Re-learning how to eat

November 12, 2009
It all started last spring when my parents started to reduce their salt intake and therefore their blood pressure.  I started to look a little closer when reading labels on packages and cans.  What I found was typically if a product was trying to be 'low calorie' the sodium would increase...often double.  I found this article by the Mayo Clinic, which stated that 77 percent of our sodium intake comes from eating prepared or processed foods.  And lets face it, it is hard to find foods that are not prepared or processed.  Even more startling in this article was that the recommend range for daily sodium intake is between 1,500 and 2,400mg.  Did you know that one tablespoon of soy sauce has about 1,000mg of sodium.  

After learning all about sodium, I became curious about prepared and processed foods.  What effect all of the ingredients in these items had on your body, energy level, and nutrition level.  What I found - highly refined sugars, nutritionally barren flour, agricultural chemicals, which often strip most of the vitamins, minerals, fiber, and flavor from many products.

For me it wasn't just the negative effects for your body, but the negative effects on our environment.

I have always been in support of farmers markets and organically grown produce, but my excuse was that I didn't have the time to research products to know what really is/isn't natural, organic, or whatever term was 'trendy' at the time.  Well as of today, I've decided their is no reason to continue making excuses, but rather to jump in and start with the information I do know, and learn along the way.  My body deserves it, and the environment deserves it!

The best part of this whole process is learning all new foods.  The thought may be overwhelming, but believe me it becomes fun!  Just take it one new ingredient at a time.  Before you know you, Quinoa (KEEN-wah) will be easy to pronounce, and you will clear out all of the white rice in your cabinets and replace it with Couscous (it is quicker and easier to make - ask my husband!)