Flan de Leche

This has been a traditional quick dessert at the Alvaré’s house. It only requires six ingredients and the outcome is a beautiful dessert for a dinner.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of sugar you might need a bit more depending on the pan you will use
• 1 tablespoon of water
• 1 can of sweet condense milk
• 1 can of milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• pinch of salt

• Instructions
• Place the sugar and the water in the pan you are going to make the flan in medium heat. Move the pan while the sugar starts to brown. Make sure all the sugar has become caramel at the bottom and try to turn the pan around to provide a layer of caramel to the walls too. Remove the pan from the stove and let it cook while you prepare the rest.
• Blend together the condense milk, the milk, the eggs, vanilla and salt. Pour this over the pan with caramel and cover with the lid.
  Using an Instapot pressure cooker on high or a simple pressure cooker, place the flan pan inside with water up to the mid of the flan pan. Cover and cook for 9-10 minutes after the pressure has formed. When finished remove the pressure from the pan and remove the lid. Take out the flan pan and place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. When you are ready to serve, pull it out of the refrigerator an hour before. After the hour, with thin knife remove the sides and then turn the pan over a serving plate. It should not form small bubbles inside; it should be an even dough. If it forms bubbles means next time use one minute less while cooking

Butternut Squash Soup AIP Compliant

Cooking with Luzma

This soup works well as a healthy,  autoimmune paleo soup and it is easy to cook for those days that we are tired.

Ingredients

550 g. of cubed butternut squash (1 butternut squash)
1 tsp of dried oregano
8 cups of chicken broth or bone broth
1 tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
ground fresh ginger

Instructions

A quick way to cook the butternut squash, is to place the whole squash in the microwave for 3 minutes in high;  then, prick the squash with a sharp fork all around and place it back to microwave for other 3 minutes.  At this point the squash is ready to be peeled and to remove the seeds.  Place in a deep a pan. Add the chicken or bone broth plus the chunks of butternut squash and salt to blend until…

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Alcachofas

Esta receta la pidió mi cuñada quien me ayuda en tantas cosas.  Michael Alberico me introdujo al mundo de las alcachofas. Yo no las conocía. Son fáciles de preparar, y son un plato exquisito, cuando se acompaña con mojo de ajo.

Ingredientes

1-2 alcachofas lavadas por fuera
3 dientes de ajo machacados en un mortero con sal (1 cdita)
1/2 taza de aceite de oliva
2 cdas de queso parmesano

Poner las alcachofas en la olla pitadora.  Cuando pite, dejarlas por 15 minutos. Retirar de la pitadora; poner la alcachofa en un molde redondo. Abrir un poco los petalos.

En una sarten, calentar el aceite de oliva en temperatura media. Cuando esté caliente se retira del fuego, se añade el ajo,  y se revuelve.

Se riega por encima de los petalos el aceite y el ajo, y se le pone encima el queso parmesano.  Se pone al horno en Broil de 5-10 minutos y listo para servirse.

 

 

 

 

 

Fríjoles Negros Cubanos a lo Alvaré

These black beans were unique to our family; our family friends will ask my mom to prepare them, as they were very uncommon in the country I was growing up.  We had a lot of beans, but the way to prepare them were very different.  I grew up eating black beans on Fridays with fish following lent.  But also, these Cuban style black beans were prepared during Christmas and New Year accompanied with white rice, grilled pork, and the “yuca con mojo”.  Below is the recipe for my three kids who also love these Cuban beans.

Ingredients

1 lb of beans
2 bell peppers (green or red or mix) cut in big wedges
1 leek onion (if available) sliced
2 mid size yellow or white onions cut in quarters
3 mashed garlic cloves
3 serving spoons of olive oil
2 serving spoons of vinegar
1 serving spoon of sugar
2-3 bullion or similar
1 bay leaf
1 spoon of paprika

Rinse the black beans and let them soak covering them in water during the night; I rinse the water the next day as it helps me to avoid bloated stomach, but my family will cook them with the same water.

Add the beans and water to cover at least 3 fingers above the beans in a pressure cooker (if you use a pan, then let it cook until tender and add an hour covered); add the bell peppers, onion, leek, garlic, 1 spoon of olive oil, the chicken bullions, the bay leaf and the spoonful of paprika.  Put it in high until you hear the whistle of the pressure cooker, at this point turn it to low and cook them covered for an hour.

After an hour, open the pressure cooker and add the 2 spoons of olive oil, the 2 vinegar spoons and the, sugar; put them back in medium heat without a lid to let them thicken; with a spoon, mash some of the beans against the wall of the pan; cook until you have the consistency you like.  Serve with white rice in a bowl.

The left overs can be used to prepare Congri, which will be another post.

Pudín de Pan (Bread Pudding)

Reminds me of my mom when she cooked this as a dessert in special occasions, and I am posting it here for Martin who can eat a whole Bread Pudding in one sitting.

In a small round pan caramelize 1/4 of sugar with 2 tb spoons of water until brown.  Set aside.

Ingredients

1 tbs of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of milk
1 ts of vanilla

Place in a bowl half loaf of old bread cut in small pieces (1/4 of pound) with 2 cups of milk, sugar, 1 teaspoon of melted butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

In a separate bowl beat together:
3 eggs
1/2 ts of Baking Power
3 tbs of flour
a pinch of salt

Mix using a spatula with the softened bread mix and place it in the pan coated with caramel and put it in a water bath in the oven in a at least 50-60min at 350F.