Coqui the Chef met Murray from Sesame Street at the New York ComicCon

We went to the New York ComicCon 2013 for three days and had a blast! Apparently since I, Tania Lopez, can no longer wear the mascot costume. I thought of a silly but ingenious idea; why not carry Coqui the Chef puppet in a baby carrier so people can meet him? That is exactly what I did.  It was funny to see people's reaction and smiles but what was even more funnier how people made way for me in crowded places because they thought I had a real baby.  

In one of the panel discussions "Comics for Everyone" I met Joseph Mazzarino the voice actor for Murray from Sesame Street.  I took notes of all the advice he gave regarding what can make a character unique and funny. So my friends the future looks bright for Coqui the Chef puppet! YAY!!

Recipe: Mucho Bueno Black Bean Avocado Salsa

Recipe: Mucho Bueno Black Bean Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

• Black beans low sodium (choose either 15 oz can; drained and rinsed or home-cooked beans)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 2 limes, squeezed juice
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in halves (amount you desire)
• Cilantro or parsley (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Procedure:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Serve cold as an appetizer with tortilla scoops or in a tortilla wrap with lettuce and cheese.

Health benefits: Black beans have a high quantity of both protein and fiber that help to move food through the stomach to the large intestine at a healthier pace. Peppers and limes have vitamin C, which help with the immune system. Avocado and extra virgin olive oil is great for the skin.

Our little chefs love making this recipe!
Visit our website to learn more about our kids cooking class http://coquithechef.com/cookingdemos.html

Save Money! Buy Produce in Season

Autumn is here! The leaves start falling, the breeze is cooler, and the afternoon weather is comforting.  What really makes autumn amazing is the food.  Do you know what type of fruits and vegetables are in the autumn season?  NO! Don't worry, this produce list will help you out. Remember buying in season always saves you money.

Autumn Fruit

• Apples 
• Grapes
• Pears
• Rasperries
• Watermelon
• Pumpkin
• Squash

Autumn Vegetables

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Garlic
• Green beans
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Brussels Sprouts
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Cauliflower
• Kale

Herbs

• Parsley
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Sage

Talk with your local farmer or produce manager to help you select the ready to eat produce.

How to make mayo ketchup!

Have you ever heard of mayo ketchup? Yes or No?  

If you have then you will love this homemade recipe but if you didn't then let me tell you.  It is a dip Puerto Ricans love, goes well with tostones (fried plantains) but like all the fried foods eating in moderation is always the best way to go.  There are many food brands who make mayo ketchup but nothing is better that making it at home. They're fun to make and a lot healthier. For instance, ketchup has lots of sugar added even high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and additives you can't even pronounce! So let's eliminate that off our shopping list instead buy wholesome natural ingredients and make your own mayo ketchup.

Start with these simple delicious recipes...

Hand blender mayonnaise recipe
recipe by sheknows.com

Makes 1-1/4 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup neutral tasting oil, like canola
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Make sure ingredients are at room temperature before blending.
2. Add egg yolks, oil and lemon juice into a blending container. Place your hand blender at the bottom of the container. Turn blender on and within seconds you will see mayo start to form. Make sure you keep the blender at the bottom of your container and move up slowly so the oil incorporates evenly. If you mix everything together at once, the consistency will be too runny.
3. Once the mixture feels like real mayo, add salt and pepper to taste.

Homemade ketchup recipe
recipe by sheknows.com

Makes 1 pint

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) jar of organic tomato paste
• 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of oregano

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge.

And now for your very own Mayo Ketchup...
According to your taste and consistency-- mix some homemade ketchup, mayonnaise and finely chopped garlic. VOILA! SABROSO!

Agua de Tamarindo (tamarind flavored water)

How to make agua de tamarindo (tamarind flavored water)

The "agua de tamarindo" recipe and other fun summer recipes are available in the NEW cookbook "Summer Grilling with Coqui The Chef" at the merchandise section of this website. http://coquithechef.com/merchandise.html

What's the Sugar in your Diet?

HOW THE SUGAR SUBSTITUTES STACK UP

SACCHARIN (SWEET'N LOW SUGAR, SUGAR TWIN)
THE OLDEST ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER,

DISCOVERED 1879, first sold to the public in 1884, but became popular during sugar shortages in World War 1.
HOW IT'S MADE anthranilic acid, sulfur dioxide and chlorine are combined with ammonia.
FLAVOR about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Its pronounced sweetness comes on immediately with a slight bitter or metallic aftertaste.
COST 1.9 cents a packet.

ASPARTAME (EQUAL, NUTRASWEET)
THE MOST COMMON ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER IN SODA

DISCOVERED 1965, first sold to the public in 1998
HOW IT'S MADE the amino acids aspartics acid and phenylalanine are combined with methanol, an alcohol.
FLAVOR 200 times sweeter than sugar, It has a very forward, sweet taste with a sharp, clean finish.
COST 3.3 cents a packet.

SUCRALOSE (SPLENDA)
THE BEST-SELLING TABLETOP SWEETENER IN THE UNITED STATES. POPULAR WITH BAKERS AND FOOD MANUFACTURERS

DISCOVERED 1976, first sold to the public in 1998.
HOW IT'S MADE sugar is chemically altered by the addition of chlorine
FLAVOR 600 times sweeter than sugar. It lacks the sour bite or bitterness in some others. Still tastes like and artificial sweetener, but with a barely noticeable aftertaste.
COST 4 cents a packet.

STEVIA (TRUVIA, PUREVIA, SWEETLEAF)

EXTRACT FROM PLANT LEAVES, A HIGHLY PURIFIED FORM WAS APPROVED RECENTLY AS SAFE FOR USE IN FOOD.

DISCOVERED centuries ago, first sold for general use in 1971 in japan and last year in the united states.
HOW IT'S MADE sweetening agents called glycosides are removed from the leaves of the stevia plant.
FLAVOR 300 times sweeter than sugar. Its flavor is slow to start and can have a pronounced aftertaste that some describe as licorise or menthol. New versions have tamed that somewhat.
COST 9.9 cents a packet.

GRAPE JUICE: THE NEW ORANGE JUICE?

No matter if you have cereal or oatmeal in the morning, orange juice is the common juice of choice. Why wouldn't be, it is loaded with vitamin c, a vitamin keeps us healthy, it taste wonderful and it has always been recommended breakfast beverage. However a new study that was published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry is suggesting that we take that glass of morning orange juice and replace it with grape juice. In fact the study, which was conducted at the University of Glasgow, claims that grape juice may be the best juice to drink.

The antioxidant activity in fruit juices is believed to help ward off heart disease and other chronic diseases as well as help delay premature aging. In the study the juices were tested for the antioxidants that they contained. Oddly enough orange juice contained fewer polyphenols, strong antioxidants, than the other juices tested. Liked grape juice both apple juice which is good for a source of fiber, and cranberry juice, which promotes a healthy urinary tract functioning, contained a higher antioxidant activity than orange juice.

An interesting fact in the study was that it was funded by the National Grape Co-operative, which happens to be a group of farmers in the United States operated by welch's, a company quite popular and famous from their concord purple grape juice. In another study in France, which was also funded by Welch's Foods Inc., that was in Cardiovascular Research reported that concord grape juice promotes cardiovascular health.

There is no doubt that fruit juices in general are recommended as healthy beverages. In one study, researchers followed almost 2,000 men and women for up to 10 years. From this study they concluded that drinking fruit juices three times a week lowered the risk for Alzheimer's disease by 76 percent. As opposed to drinking fruit juices less than once a week

resources: foodconsumer.org and New York Times

Recipe: French pancakes "Crepes"

French pancakes are know as 'crepes', and they appear in regional variations throughout the country. They can be stuffed, rolled, gratineed with cheese, spread with jam and glaceed with powdered sugar, doused with brandy or rum, fried, sauteed, or flamed. 

 

Crepes are thin pancakes made from a batter containing eggs, very thin.

TIP: When you are making any kind of pastry you have to sift the flour before use and be precise in all the measurements because it will give better texture to your product or plate.

Crepes ingredients:

• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• 250 milliliters (1 cup) milk
• 20 grams (2/3 ounces) beurre noisette*, cooled
• 125 grams (2 1/2 ounces) whole wheat flour

*Beurre noisette (cooking the butter in a pan until it gets a brown color)

Stuffing ingredients:

• 1 white onion
• 1 green sweet pepper
• 1 red sweet pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tomato
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Procedure (stuffing):

1. Peel and slice the onions
2. Rinse the green peppers and cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the core, large veins, and seeds. Slice in thin strips.
3. Gently heat the olive oil in a heavy - bottomed pot and add the onions. Sweat them slowly without coloring (low heat).
4. Lightly crush the garlic clove to peel it and add it to the onions. After about 8 minutes or so add the peppers. Season lightly and let the mixture stew for about 10 more minutes.
5. Monder* the tomato. Slice them into small medium cubes and add them to the onions mixture.
6. continue to stew the basquaise mixture until all the excess liquid has evaporated or until the mixture is really tender, remember to remove the garlic clove. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

*Monder Tomato (peel the tomato and squeeze the seeds out)

Procedure (Crepes)

1. Place the whole wheat flour, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar into a bowl and form a well
2. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and half of the milk together.
3. Now add the whisk eggs mixture into the bowl with the whole wheat flour and whisk constantly in the middle of the well until the mixture is smooth.
4. When the mixture is smooth, add the remaining milk. Strain the batter and let it rest for half hour minimum.
5. Add the beurre noisette (cooled) to the batter.
6. Clean and heat a small medium pan and add oil or clarified butter, pour off the excess.
7. With a ladle add 1 scoop of the batter and tilt the pan to spread the batter evenly and thinly across the bottom of the pan. Cook the Crepes over medium heat. Flip and cook the second side. Continue to make Crepes from the remaining batter. As they are made, lay them out on a sheet pan to cool. Once they are completely cooled, they may be stacked; do not stack hot Crepes

Cook for life!!!