Bronx Foodie: Kitchen Spring Cleaning

 It's officially spring and that means it's time for some spring cleaning. I'm not a huge fan of cleaning overall, but since I'm such as avid cook, I actually do like cleaning the kitchen. I could spend a whole day scrubbing down the refrigerator or re-organizing all of the cabinets. It's okay if you can't devote a whole day to cleaning, even small cleaning projects can make a difference. Here are five easy steps to sprucing up the kitchen. Try them this weekend.

Easy Kitchen Spring Cleaning

1)Throw out anything that has expired and donate anything that you don't use. (A good example is the can of pumpkin pie mix I still have in my kitchen. I don't even like pumpkin pie.)

2)Re-organize all of your cabinets so that all of your cooking utensils and spices are within reach. You can also try putting like items together. I have a section for spices, grains, beans, cans, and baking. This makes it easier to cook after a long day at work.

3)Before your next trip for groceries, take whatever is left in the fridge and put it on the counter. Then wipe all of the surfaces of the inside before putting everything back in. This is much easier to do with an almost empty fridge.

4)Stack all of your tupperware and food containers together to make it easier to find them, and throw out or recycle containers with missing lids.

5)Check your freezer to see if anything has been there for a while. It might be time to throw out those leftovers that have been sitting quietly in the back of the freezer.

Bronx Foodie: Black Bean Enchiladas

I'm so glad it's going to be both sunny and chilly this weekend, because that's my favorite weather for cooking. It's the perfect weather to make stews or soups that need to sit on the stove for a while without the whole apartment getting hot and stuffy.

Here's a good recipe that I made for dinner recently. Now, I'm not claiming that my recipe is authentic in any way. (Even though I'm Latina, and have eaten my fair share, I'm not an enchilada expert.) It's just a fun dish that I put together one evening using ingredients that I found at my local grocery store or that I already had in my kitchen. And that's what we've tried to focus on with Bronx Foodie. Feel free to search the web for similar recipes and have fun cooking! And stay tuned for future posts on spring cleaning, Bronx food trucks, and easy recipes that I'm working on for fish tacos and Dominican chicken stew.

Black Bean Enchiladas
1 can of black beans (I cooked them from scratch, but canned is a great time saver)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons of chili powder
1/4 cup of chopped roasted red pepper
2 cans of tomato sauce (I used Goya)
1/2 white onion chopped
1-2 tablespoons salt (taste as you go)
handful of cilantro
4 corn tortillas
Shredded jack cheese to put on top (handful)

Empty the entire can (beans and water) into a pot. Add another cup of water along with tomato sauce, garlic, onions, pepper and spices. Taste as you go and feel free to add other spices. Let everything come to a boil for about 30 minutes until you get a nice thick sauce. Add the cilantro when the mixture is almost done.


Then place beans in the tortillas and wrap them with the fold on the bottom. Place the extra sauce on top of the tortillas and then sprinkle the cheese. Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.And your done. Enjoy!

Bronx Foodie: The Best Bars to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

If you want to celebrate St. Paddy's Day, but don't want to have to go all the way downtown for the Saint Patty's Pub Crawl, here are a few Boogie Down Irish bars to check out. The BxNN staff are partial to Bronx Ale House, because it's close to our office and has a great selection of craft beer (plus Guinness). Last year they had live musicians playing the bag pipes. The Piper's Kilt, on W. 231st Street, is another, more traditional, favorite. Riverdale Pressers swear by An Beal Bocht.

The Woodlawn community has some great Irish pubs. Check out Katonah and McLean avenues.

The Norwood community used to be home to so many Irish pubs -- 18 at one point -- back in the 1980s and early 1990s that they called the area "Little Belfast." Now, only two remain: McDwyer's and MacMahon's on E. 204th Street.

In Bedford Park, many current and former Irish Bronxites head to Shea's Emerald Bar on Jerome Avenue, where they usually offer some complimentary traditional Irish fare. Madden's near the D train station also usually serves up some Shepherd's Pie and corned beef.

And we haven't even mentioned the east Bronx, which is home to classic joints like the Throgg's Neck Clipper.

Below is a list of some terrific Irish bars in the Bronx:

Bronx Foodie: Thinking Dominican Foods and a Valentine's Day Menu Review

Bronx Foodie is actually on vacation this week, in the Dominican Republic celebrating Carnival and DR's Independence Day. Read on after the jump for 5 foods you should try this weekend in honor of Dominican Independence Day. But first, I had to share the results of my Valentine's Day meal with our readers.

I ended up making almost everything from scratch. The crab cakes appetizer came out tasty, but a little dry. Next time I'll try frying instead of baking them. Then I made grilled skirt steak (in a grill pan), mashed potatoes, and asparagus. The entire entree came out great and I served it with red wine. I decided I wouldn't have time to make the Tiramisu, so my sweet husband went to Arthur Avenue and bought two huge peices from Palombo Bakery. They were delicious.

Now, onto my vacation. By the time you read this, I will be lounging in the sun in beautiful Santo Domingo. But it occurred to me today that I was most excited about the food I'll get to try. And you don't have to travel to the Caribbean to taste great Dominican cuisine. Here are five things that you should try this weekend at your local Dominican Restaurant. They are not exactly the healthiest foods, but if you've been cooking as much as I have, you deserve a treat.

Bronx Foodie: Hearty Marinara Sauce with Whole Wheat Penne

The weather has been keeping me in the house quite a bit and I've been taking advantage of the time by cooking lots of yummy meals. (Don't forget it's Bronx Foodie's new years resolution to cook 50% of all meals at home.)It's tough to go grocery shopping when it's snowing every other day. But if you pick one day a week and keep your cupboards and freezers well stocked with things like rice, beans, tomato sauce and frozen vegetables, you will always have good ingredients for cooking a healthy meal.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for a hearty marinara sauce with whole wheat pasta. I had a craving for spaghetti with ground beef, but since I'm making an effort to eat less meat, I tried to recreate the flavor with portobello mushrooms and eggplant. This would make a great lunch to bring to work. You could also make it for dinner and sprinkle some mozzerella cheese on top and put it in the oven to melt the cheese. I tried it both ways, but actually prefered the no cheese version.

In terms of ingredients, I chose the portobello mushrooms because they have a "meatier" taste than regular mushrooms. For the eggplant, I used what the local produce market labeled as "dominican eggplant", which is the small light purple kind. I used mostly dried spices, because that's what I had in my kitchen. Like most home cooks, I don't usually measure, so add a few shakes of each ingredient and then taste as you go. Basil and garlic tend to make things sweeter and oregano has a stronger, more bitter taste.





Hearty Marinara Sauce with Whole Wheat Penne
1 package of baby portobello mushrooms, diced
1 small eggplant, skin removed and diced
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1/4 cup of white onions
garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano to taste
1-2 cups of whole wheat penne pasta, cooked (add more to have leftovers)
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

In a pan, add some olive oil and garlic on low heat. I love garlic so I tend to use a lot, but you can decrease the amount if it's too much for you. After 1-2 minutes, add the onions until the onions are cooked, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the eggplant, along with garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano and let them cook for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure to constantly mix the vegetables and if they start to stick to the pan, add a little more oil.





Once the vegetables are cooked, add the marinara sauce and let everything mix together for about 15-20 minutes and then serve over pasta.



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