I just ate a whole bag of spinach and a whole tomato. Ask me a question.

Oh yea, it is, with a side of bread to dip in the juice.

I did taste test with tomatoes yesterday


Ones grown in my garden tasted way better


One from store tasted like grass

My wife said her mom kept all the rendered animal fat in some jars and not always separated. They'll even cook their plantain for tostones with different leftover animal fat and I've never spit any out. Even eggs cooked in chicken fat are great. Cookin with lard...mmmmm. Many of the older generations do, but there seems to be a gradual drifting away of really cooking at all by the under 40 crowd. It does seem that as they get older, they look back and remember traditional food cooked by their mothers/grandmothers AND then want to cook with a stove instead of a microwave. They try to make it healthier by using cooking oils, but it just doesn't come out the same as cookin with lard. It does seem that Puerto Ricans with more of an indigenous and/or African bloodline cook more lard based traditional island dishes without so much of the Euro (Spanish) influences. My wife is Taino, Spanish and African and never shies away from preparing a good animal fat based dish. We try to keep it at a minimum and mix it with some good olive and peanut oils. So...do all Puerto Ricans cook with animal grease? The older ones that are cooking the best tasting dishes are.



My grandmother also kept all bacon and chicken grease in separate jars and used them according to what she was cooking.

hmmmm...will have to try that in the next pot of cabbage stew. I'm not that fond of the kraut except on grilled dogs/sausages, but I guess with the meat based broth of the stew it would be good. Maybe I'll drain the juice out of the kraut first before I add it in. I can always add the juice later if I wanted.

We've splurged before and bought the big rounds of sourdough to use as soup bowls. Some of the bread we toasted and some we left fresh. I can eat and love the look of the giant sourdough round filled with whatever stew OR a good ole grandma's potato soup. I don't eat a lot of soups and stews in the summer, but now it just sounds to good to not fix up maybe this weekend.

I know. My fam on mom's side from "the country" did all that stuff. I'm usually pretty good about no frying, etc., etc. and eat healthy now.

However, recently I fried some bacon and then cooked an egg in it. Worst stomach ache I ever had followed.

I'm not sure why I did that - maybe cooked too fast and was too hungry.

Yes. I love BLT'S. mmmm

Hey congrats on your gold star! - Reaper Hugs :D

:rbump:

Thanks! :)

My grandmother used to cook with lard all the time, you're right food does taste better that way. My dad tells us horror stories about when they had no money for food, they had to eat spoonfuls of lard. When they came to USA I think she switched to oils but she always had lard to rub on us when we were sick, lol! She used the lard mostly for pastries after coming to USA, but store bought.

I'm not sure what PR ethnicity my daughter is, but she has dark skin and natural blonde/light brown hair, I think that side came from Spain but IDK, I wish she would get to know that family better.

I never use the juice that the sauerkraut comes with, I wash it and drain it. I put too much kraut in it today but my husband didn't complain. I had some cabbage left over and I bought another one today but the pot was too full to use the other cabbage, I don't like adding more after it cooks down.

I also use sauerkraut when I make cabbage rolls. I think I'll make some this weekend and share the pics and recipe. Of course it's my grandma's recipe so it will be good!

Since my background is German I've had the opportunity to taste authentic sour kraut. If any of you guys get the chance to taste real kraut I hope you do. Its very different than what people here in the states are use to. And if you have any self respect, DO NOT get the abomination that is called canned sour kraut lol

Yes, please post your grandma's cabbage roll recipe!

The real stuff is so much better but I don't store food like that. I probably should. My grandmother kept her cabbages in a bucket of brine.

First thing, I have to go put that head of cabbage in the freezer a couple day's before I use it!

It's not set in concrete, but many times you can tell someone's predominate genes by the area of the island they're from. Farthest east like maybe Luquillo to Fajardo tends to have more African influences. The San Juan Metropolis areas has a wide mix, but you see the Spanish influences in facial features like thinner noses (up in the air on the women), maybe higher and pointier cheek bones along with the blonde hair you spoke of. Head west and the northern part of the island has a mix of the indigenous Taino and Spanish genes. My wife is from Aguadilla on the far west side of the island. While the Spanish influences are everywhere, you'll see more rounded faces and darker tan brown complexions on people. There are African influences there because of it being another coastal area near the city of Mayaguez, but not as much as the far east areas. The central and more mountainous areas have more indigenous genes as that was were the Tainos fled Spanish oppression. Ponce in the south has (to me) a snooty cow Spanish influence that I stay away from like San Juan when we visit. The southeast is another area that has an indigenous feel, but you never escape the Spanish gene influences. I like the area, but it's a pain in the butt drive from Aguadilla as the drivers are CRAZY no matter what genes they're more influenced by. I really like PR being as I get to see areas and sides of the island that regular tourists miss out on. The town of Aguadilla can look a little intimidating late at night, but when you know many of the people you feel a little safer. Standing in the streets outside of the bars late at night and seeing tourists roll through with eyes wide open is kinda fun. Most are looking for lodging and just don't realize they've gotten off at the wrong exit. If you're ever on the west side of PR, hit up Chanos Chicken. The menu is easy...Pollo y papas...Chicken n Fries. The lines can be long and hot as you're waiting outside...but I've never stood in line as I have a small army of nieces and nephews to pick from to get to stand in line (for a nominal fee of course) for me as I ride back and forth on a bicycle sucking down a couple of local Medalla beers. Oh man...now I've done it. I've went and gotten lost and blabbed n blabbed n blabbed about PR. I can't help it...I love it there.

Oh man...this is gonna be the best thread on GLPee. For me anyway. It had me at food. Just don't forget to add in some spinach and tomatoes here and there so as not to throw the thread off topic.

LOL no worries, I'm sure it's gone off topic and on topic, and off topic again... It's all good
;)

we're all friends at GLP

Breakfast this morning is apple slices, yogurt and grapes :D

Shit, my blood sugar would drop so low, I would collapse and go into a seizure. I have to have something a lot more solid to keep me going for hours on end. Some meat and bread, jeez! lol! I like steak and eggs with toasted potato bread or smoked sausage or bacon and eggs and sliced tomatoes, etc... I gotta have something substantial.

Wow, you know way more than my daughter! But her dad was always ashamed of his heritage, he even pretends like he can't speak Spanish, which may be genetic because my daughter has taken Spanish for 5 or 6 years, understands it fluently but say's she can't speak it either. My husband speaks more Spanish than both of them combined and it's his 5th language. But she has the Jenifer Lopez looks, with the light hair and defined butt, but not that big, her's is muscular. Her nose isn't that pointy but she has the round face. She is really pretty, looks nothing like me.

Normally I would have something more substantial but last night I had an usually large dinner lol

:hgyu:

Ok, I'll post the pictures when I make it this weekend but here's the recipe.

Freeze the head of cabbage at least 24 hours before putting it in a big pot of water to boil. I don't know why it has to be frozen, that's just what my grandma told me to do.

While the cabbage is boiling, brown 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, that's about how much it will take to fill all the leaves in the cabbage. I usually saute an onion first, my grandmother did that with most the meals she prepared. After the beef or turkey is brown, add seasoning, salt pepper, paprika. Also add a 1/4 cup dry rice, or more if you don't have enough ground meat, it's mainly a filler but I like the texture it adds to the meal. I also add some sauerkraut, 1/2 the jar in the mix. I don't drain the fat from the beef either, it's needed for the baking. After that's all done, start peeling the leafs off the cabbage, they will be hot so just do a couple and fill a few while it cools. I can put them all in a 9x12 glass baking dish. After they are all tightly squeezed into the baking dish, I put the rest of the kraut on top and what ever juice is left over from the ground meat pan. I put it in the oven on 350 for 40 minutes, covered with foil. Then I take the foil off for 10-15 minutes to brown the top. That's it.

great smiley

Some fool decided he wanted some attention lol

I uploaded some new ones. Here's one of them.

:ladyerv:

lol nice!

Here are some of my recent uploads. Feel free to use em lol

:br45: :bio45: :br456: :bhy78: :jhygfd: :bhy78kl: :bhy78ko:

:lolover: :klnc: :ghyu: :wtmf: :br456jk: :bmpg: