Tostadas, Tostadas & Tostadas

 I like tostadas as a way of serving some types of salad and salsa, but some popular brands that are in the stores are loaded with fat.

One good one that can be hard to find is Tostadas Buena Vista, which comes in three varieties, Corn, multigrain and a whole wheat with flax. They contain only 2% fat. In our area you can get them at Frutas y Vegetales La Reyna, on the corner of Westchester Avenue and Beach Avenue.

Another brand which is also very good is La Gavillera, which has 4% fat, and that is still acceptable to me. In our area it is available at Chang-Li Supermarket on Benedict Avenue, across the street from St. Helena's church. 

Many of the supermarket brands, like Guerrero have very high fat content, and you want to avoid them if you are serious about whole foods, plant-based nutrition. In terms of recipes, I previously wrote about my favorite meals to serve on a tostada, cactus salad & black bean salsa, but this year I will be developing more.

In Memoriam Peter E., A Bronx Tale

I came to know my neighbor two floors up a few years ago, after he had been hospitalized. At the time he had been sent to rehab, as he had drunk himself nearly to death after his brother Danny died, his older brother who he had cared for for several years. His brother had been bipolar, and taking care of him, after he had been homeless for a while, was no easy thing. The brother had been an electrician, but eventually his mental problems derailed his life. Few people could have handled caring for him. Peter even had the stove in his kitchen disconnected for fear that the brother would set the apartment on fire. He had to bail him out a few times, and the brother gave away his union pension to the homeless people in the neighborhood and then expected Peter to pay for everything. Once I heard these stories, I told Peter he deserved a Nobel Peace prize for taking care of his brother for all that time.

After the rehab, he had been in a nursing home for a bit, and then he came home. Being he was not very good at taking care of himself, I offered him to share my meals with him sometimes. He gladly accepted, even if my whole foods, plant-based meals were a bit alien to his Irish meat and potato palate. And then, lo and behold, after six months or so, he got word from his doctor that his liver was recovering and they took him off the transplant list. He volunteered: "It must be your food, Rogier." I am sure it helped a bit.

With the talk about the food, I also gradually came to learn that he was born in this building, and still lived in the apartment that his parents had rented in 1946. He was the youngest, born in 1952. Gradually the picture became clear that his brother had been slightly older, and as kids his brother beat him up a lot, to the point that the parents eventually separated them. I learned that Gleason Avenue was named after a cousin, Daniel Gleason, who had first been a traffic cop at Fordham University, but then, from talking with the priests, he decided to go into the priesthood. I heard Peter's stories of attending St. Helena's school, and of his father previously attending another school in the area. I got to learn a lot about the history of the neighborhood.

With the benefit of hindsight, I now suspect that when he got the good news that his liver was recovering, he also started to drink again, only a few beers, he explained, no more hard liquor. As another Irish friend explained, with 40+ years in AA: watch out when an Irishman tells you he's drinking "only" beer, or wine, that is the beginning of the end. Well, he was right in this case. 

I had been aware of Peter's brother, who was homeless for a while, but eventually, Peter took him in. And I heard some of the stories, and wondered many a time how anybody could get through the issues that Peter faced caring for his brother. In a way then, I could understand why he was totally distraught after his brother died - taking care of him was a full-time job and suddenly the apartment was empty. Once he recovered and was back home, he started to try and find a job again and I helped him with his resume. He was bothered by the gap in his work history, for the years when he cared for his brother. I pointed out to him then that taking care of his brother had been his job and he deserved a Nobel Peace prize for his work, so he should be proud of himself. To no avail, apparently, the bottle won out. On Christmas day of 2022 we had to call 911 and get an ambulance, but the first team gave us a hassle, and later in the day, we called 911 again and this time they took him to St. Barnabas. He spent a few days in the ER, waiting for a bed and was finally admitted to the ICU, where he was in a coma for a few days, and never really came to again.  He passed away on January 13th, which happens to be my birthday also.

Peter leaves behind a classic car collection he had not been able to work on in the last few years, and also a huge collection of Lionel trains. He is survived by a sister who lives in Maryland. It is always amazing to see what little is left at the end of the trip, but for me, I will miss the historian of the building, and he will forever have a spot in my heart for the way he took care of his brother, which few people could have ever managed to do. Peter did, undoubtedly that was one of his finest moments. It was where he showed up in life. Rest in peace, old friend.

Below is a collage of pictures that was displayed at his funeral mass on June 17th, 2023.

A spicy dal, or a simple chili. Instant Pot. Inspired by Chef AJ

Super simple food, really, and delicious to boot.

Red Lentil Chili/Dal - Instant Pot

Inspired by Chef AJ, adapted from Instant Pot Recipe book

instantpotme.com

Ingredients

1 tbsp of panch puran

1 cup water with Yondu for the sauté

1 medium/small Onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic

1-2 carrots, shredded or sliced thin

1 large red bell pepper

2-3 Thai chilis

1 Jalapeño

1 cup red lentils

4 cups water

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp parsley flakes or fresh chopped parsley

1 tbsp oregano

1 tbsp salt-free chili powder

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chipotle powder (or more)

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to taste

1 tsp cumin, milled

1 tsp caraway, milled

1 tsp fennel, milled

1 piece of turmeric minced, or a tsp of turmeric powder

1 14.5 Oz can of diced tomato (fire roasted)

1 6 Oz can of salt-free tomato paste

Directions

1)

Set aside the tomatoes, red bell pepper.

2)

In a large soup pot, first roast the tablespoon of panch puran, then water sauté or dry sauté the onion, garlic, peppers until translucent, about 8-10 minutes.

3)

Add remaining ingredients but not the tomatoes, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and cook until lentils are creamy, about 20 minutes.

4)

Blend the tomatoes, bell pepper and garlic in blender and blend until smooth. Skip this step if you like it chunky.

5)

a) Place all ingredients in an electric pressure cooker and cook on high for 10 minutes,

or b) place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.

Garnish with finely chopped scallions and a sprinkling of Faux Parmesan (or nutritional yeast).

Notes

Optionally, you can make this with more veggies, liek beet greens, chard, and other such. In that case, I left out the tomato puree.

I also made it more spicey and aromatic than the original from chef AJ, but by including veggies, it becomes more of a dal.

For offsetting the acidity of tomatoes, I prefer using a carrot over using dates or date sugar (which is really granulated dates, which still has the fiber in it, it is not refined, like sugar).

 

Black Chickpea Curry (Kala Chana Dal)

 A simple, nutritious dish.

Here is a plate of: 

Brown Basmati, 

with Kala Chana Dal, and 

topped with some sun-dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi), 

and Okra.

Simple, nutritious and delicious.

This is definitely one of these meals that you can vary endlessly. I provide the recipe hereby, with some suggestions of what you might change:

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tsp cumin seeds, or 1 TSP Panch Puran
• 1 cup onions, finely cut-up
• 1-2 green chili, chopped or slit
• 1 cup dry (Kala Chana), rinsed, and soaked 6-8 hours or overnight
• 3/4 to 1 cup tomatoes, chopped or pureed - 2 medium 200 grams
• 1-1/2 Tsp ginger/garlic paste, or 3 garlic cloves + 1/2" ginger, ground
• optional: cut up stems (1/4") of kale or collard greens, cooked with the kala chana.
• optional: one sliced carrot (to sweeten the tomato flavor)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 - 3/4 Tsp Garam Masala
• 1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1-1/2 Tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/2-1 Tsp salt (depending on your religion)

Preparation

• Briefly roast the spices (cumin or panch puran), in a stainless steel skillet.
• Add the onion and green chili, and chopped kale stems if using, and a 1/2 cup of water with Yondu. 
• Sautée until soft.
• Add the ginger and garlic, sautée for one minute
• Pour 1 cup of tomato puree or chopped tomatoes
• Sautée and stir for a minute
• Add the Garam Masala and other spices. Sauté 2-3 minutes
• Add the soaked Kala Chana and 2 cups of water
• Pressure cook 35 mins (or 40 mins if beans are older).

Optionally after it is done you can add some methi leaves, and some sliced ginger.

The option of the kale or collard greens stems is superb, for this dish cooks a bit longer, and you use the pressure cooker, so those stems will be completely cooked, but the deepen the flavor of this dish and add a lot of nutrition.

For the tomatoes I used one 15 Oz package of crushed tomatoes and a small can (6 Oz) of tomato puree.

Optionally, you can precook the kala chana until they are just soft, even before putting them in the IP.

Spicy Karela (Bitter Melon) Side Dish

 

Chinese Bitter Melon Recipe

Side Dish, probably, but who am I to quibble if you want to make it a main dish and if you want to make it #WFPB style, just leave out the oil and instead stir-fry some finely cut-up onion in 1/2 cup of water  water, and at the end, if you want to serve this over rice, I would add a 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 tsp arrowroot dissolved, and you would have some kind of a spicy karela sauce. You can serve that over rice. I even did this for breakfast once - that'll wake you up.

In general, I am finding that when oil seems essential, you can always caramelize some onions in water first. In this case, you would actually first stirfry the Sichuan peppercorns, then discard them, as shown on the video and add the finely cut-up onions into the peppery water, 

PRINTABLE RECIPE - https://soupeduprecipes.com/garlic-st... INGREDIENTS 500 grams of bitter melon 1 tsp of salt to reduce the bitter taste 6-8 pieces of dried red chilies 3-4 pieces of fresh red chilies 1 tsp of salt to rub the bitter melon 3-5 cloves of garlic 1 small onion cut-up fine

1 cup of water with Yondu 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn optional: 1/4 cup of water with 1/2 tsp arrowroot (or other starch)

Salt to taste, but not needed if using Yondu.

Directions

* Cut the bitter melon in half, then quarter it. Remove the white spongy inside part. You can use a rounded teaspoon (or a grapefruit spoon with serrated edges) to scrape the last bits of the white part.

* Cut it with a 45-degree angle into 1/3 of an inch thick slices. Season it with 1 tsp of salt. Rub for a few minutes. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

* Cut some red, dried chilies open and remove the seeds.

* Roughly dice some fresh red chilies

* Press 5 cloves of garlic through a garlic presser.

* Optionally, prepare 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns.

* Now go back and check out the bitter melon. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can.

* Rinse the bitter melon with cold running water several times. Drain it but doesn’t need to be thorough, for you need some water anyway.

* Stir-fry the Sichuan peppercorns in 1/4 cup of the water with Yondu.

* Once you see the color of the peppercorns is getting dark, you can take them out and discard them.

* Next, stir-fry the onions with 1/2 cup of water with Yondu.

*Turn the heat to medium. Add in the bitter melon, dried chili, fresh chili, and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.

* Turn the heat to low. As the temperature climbs up slowly, the water will be seasoned with the peppercorn flavor and the onions.

* Give it a taste. The Yondu makes the taste, you can adjust with more Yondu or a small amount of Bragg's Liquid Aminos. Add the 1/4 cup of water with starch. The salt in the Yondu or the Liquid Aminos will suppress a little bit of the bitter taste, the starch will make the sauce. 

* Give it a final stir and you are done.

Pad Thai in a Hurry, with Cauliflower

 The other day, coming home from a tiresome journey, I needed a meal to pick me up, but I had no energy for any big production, and here the conveniences of a smart pantry came to the rescue.

On the way home I had picked up a beautiful head of Fioretto cauliflower, and I remembered that I still

had some Annie Chun's Brown Rice Pad Thai noodles, and some Maesri Thai Red Curry Paste, as well as a package of frozen Goya Fajita Mix, as well as a king mushroom. With the help of some onions and garlic, a deliciously refreshing and spicy meal was quickly ready.
Usually, I regard meal prep as a necessary part of therapy, it is a wonderful way of communing with nature on the 4th floor in the Bronx, and looking out on a side street.

But there are times when convenience counts, and 

you can still have a healthy meal, so here we go:

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 3-6 cloves of garlic
• 1 king mushroom
• 1 cup water
• 1 can of Thai Curry
• 1 bag of Fajita Mix
• 1 TBSP of arrowroot (or other starch)
• Brown Rice Pad Thai noodles.

Preparation:

• Soak the Pad Thai noodles in hot water for 10 mins, rinse cold and set aside.
  
• Cut up the onion fine.
• Mince the garlic
• Cut up the king mushroom in strips (I use a mandoline)
• Stir-fry in the water for a while
• Add the curry paste
• Cut up the Cauliflower in florets
• Add to the mix and let it cook on medium flame for 2 minutes
• Add the Fajita Mix, and cook until soft, turn down the heat to just a simmer
• mix the starch with a 1/4 cup of cold water, and add to the mix.
• At the end add in the noodles and let them warm up.

Serve. Enjoy.

Evidently you could use different mushrooms, or you can add in a handful of fresh peanuts if you have them, and depending if you permit yourself some nuts, which tends to be a hot topic in plant-based circles. Evidently, if you are a serious heart patient, follow Dr. Esselstyn and avoid nuts and seeds, avocado and coconut, because of the oil content. You get all the fat you need from beans, etc.

A final word on Dr. Esselstyn's Black Bean Salsa

 Jose, who works at the Premium Halal Supermarket on the corner of Starling Avenue and Odell Street, has become my official taste tester for any Mexican-style dishes I try my hand at. Recently that was Cactus salad (approved), and lately I have been perfecting Dr. Esselstyn's Black Bean Salsa (From the book How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease). First time I gave it to him, I had forgotten the cilantro (pics), but yesterday I gave it to him with the cilantro, which was definitely better, but I am also fine tuning the number and blend of peppers that go into it. Recipe follows. 

By the way, while we're at it, there is an excellent site to research peppers, called Pepperscale.

I now like to use the following in my Black Bean Salsa:

• Jalapeño
• Serrano
• Poblano These last two are alternatives to each other.
• Chilaca Ditto, alternative to Poblano. Probably my first choice.

Now for the updated recipe:

• 2 cans of black beans, or 1 lb dry beans (cooked with some kombu in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot).
• 1 can of corn
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced paper thin
• 2-3 Jalapeños, finely sliced
• 2 Serranos, finely sliced
• 1 Chilaca or Poblano pepper, sliced fine
• 1 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
• 1 bottle of Salsa Verde
• 2-3 limes, juiced 

Clean all the ingredients, and slice the peppers fine, paper thin is the ideal. The celery also, paper thin is best (use the mandoline). I use all of the cilantro and again, just try to millimeter is. Now you'll understand why I love sharp knives. The finer you cut these things, the more the flavor spreads throughout. The secret to success here is the balance between aroma and heat.

As a practical matter, if you first pour the Salsa over the mixture, then you can wash out the bottle with the lime juice to get all of the salsa out. 

I prefer to let it marinate in the fridge for a day, and you can keep it for 4-5 days. You can serve it on tostadas, or rice cakes, or masa tortillas.