Cuban Food in the City

Great food. Good Vibes. Sweet plantains and fish tacos. Anticipate a long wait or head to the take out counter one door down.



Photo courtesy of Anders & Anne

Cafe Habana
17 Prince Street
New York, New York

Cheap Eats: Spam Musubi Bowl

Today was one of those days I didn't want to fuss over dinner.

Ingredients
- Rice Vinegar
- Soy Sauce
- Granulated Sugar
- Single Serve Spam Lite
- Shredded toasted nori
- Edamame beans*
- Avocado*

1. Marinate Spam in sugar, soy sauce and vinegar for five minutes
2. Fry Spam until each side is golden brown
3. Cut up Spam in small pieces and serve over a bowl of brown rice seasoned with rice vinegar
4. Add edamame beans or avocado and nori


*optional

Nori Bowls

Nori bowls are so easy to make and so satisfying to eat. With so many possible combinations, nori bowls will be in constant rotation.

6 oz salmon*
1 cup brown rice
1 nori sheet, torn
1 roma tomato, diced
Marukan Rice Vinegar, to taste
Soy Sauce, to taste

*I soaked the salmon overnight in a tablespoon of olive oil, juice from half a lemon, and 1 tspn of soy sauce. Then I bake it for 325 for about 20 minutes. It comes out flaky and NEVER overcooked.. YUMMMM!

Enjoy!

Poke 1-2-3

There is nothing like fresh poke at home. No need to worry about the dish being too salty/unsalty, shady on the tuna, not enough of this or too much of that. It's poke your way.

4 oz sashimi grade Maguro, diced
3 oz Chuka (seaweed) salad
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 cup brown Rice
2 sheets of nori Seaweed, torn
Marukan Rice Vinegar to taste
Soy Sauce to taste
Serves 2

1. In a serving bowl add maguro, avocado and seaweed salad. Stir gently to mix ingredients
2. Serve over rice seasoned with vinegar
3. Add torn nori sheet and soy sauce
Enjoy!

*Some people like sesame seed oil and wasabi, but I left those out since my fish was so fresh.. YUMM!

Dr. Lin's Mohinga

This traditional Burmese dish is both healthy and comforting. There are a million different varieties of Mohinga, however the standard is akin to a catfish turmeric chowder. Dr. Lin's version is a combination of catfish, turmeric, red pepper, lemongrass, ginger, galanga, mung beans, lentils, pepper, paprika, fish sauce, homemade shrimp paste and Japanese rice noodles. I love that he makes the 'chowder' chunky. Garnishes include hard-boiled eggs, cilantro, lemon juice and baked lentils. YUUMMMM! Be forewarned, mohinga is an acquired taste. When I first tried it, I wasn't a fan - but now I can't get enough.

Farmers Market Series: Oakland Grand Lake

Marin Farmers Market presents the Oakland Grand Lake Farmers Market, Saturday from 9 am to 2 pm.

Located at Splash Pad Park (walking distance from Lake Merritt), you will find live music, a plethora of local organic produce, meat, seafood and other goodies. Be on the lookout for the La Cascada booth - their fish tacos are pretty damn good, not the best I've ever had, but definitely worth giving a try.

'Go itsy. Go itsy. Go Itsy, GO!'

Sashimi for Less

It's 6 pm and the last thing you ate was breakfast and that was around 11 am. You're in the mood for healthy Japanese (sushi rolls or sashimi). In effort to save money, time, but not the quality of your dinner, why not swing by the store to pick up some seaweed salad, hamachi, maguro, and salmon? Pop in some rice into the rice cooker and head out to the nearest supermarket that carries blocks of fresh fish cut specifically for sashimi. In our case, we stopped at Ranch 99 and picked up a bag of pork and vegetable dumplings, seaweed salad, maguro and (farm raised) salmon for less than $18.

Nine dumplings were cooked with spicy ginger teriyaki sauce and green onions. The fish blocks were cut into sashimi pieces (about 30 pieces) and served on a platter with seaweed salad and avocado slices. We also had rice and seaweed wraps - all more than enough to feed two people. Kiki's on 9th and Irvine was always the best bang for your buck, but if you're just chowing down on sashimi, try it for less.

Tuna Filled Avocado with Sauteed Garlic Chard

1 avocado
2 6 oz canned tuna, drained
3 stalks green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch of chard, torn
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil

Mix canned tuna, green onion, mayo, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Scoop into avocado cavity.

Serve with sauteed chard on the side

Enjoy!

FOB

Every year my brothers and I go deep sea fishing off the coast of Santa Cruz, CA for rock cod and ling cod. And every year I yack my guts out over the side of the boat -I don't know what I'm thinking when I agree to these excursions. I guess any excuse to hang out with my brothers or to at least out-do one of them.

Mission accomplished: I caught first fish of the day as well as the biggest fish of the day. AND I made it through trip without hurling my breakfast. yay.

Garlic, minced
Soy Sauce
Ginger paste
Sesame Oil

1) Rinse fish and make four slits on each side
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3) Combine garlic, soy sauce, ginger paste, and sesame oil
4) Place fish in a pyrex lined with foil
5) Spoon sauce into slits of the fish
6) Wrap fish in foil and place into the oven
7) Cook for 40 minutes

Enjoy!!

Open Face Jalapeno Tuna Melt

1 can of Chicken in the Sea's white chunk tuna
2 slices of Milton multigrain bread
1 jalapeno, diced and seeded
2 slices of medium cheddar cheese
2 slices of baby swiss
Land O' Lakes salted butter
1/2 teaspoon of Best Foods mayonnaise

1. Drain can of white tuna (make sure to drain everything!!!)
2. Add mayo and diced jalapeno to white tuna in strainer and toss around some more
3. Butter slices of bread and throw into a frying pan on low/medium heat
4. Top bread with slices of cheese, tuna and jalapenos
5. Cover pan until cheese is melted and underside of bread is golden brown
6. Serve warm

MMMmmmm.. enjoy!!

Baked Salmon, Asparagus and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Salmon:
- 5 stalks Green Onion
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Soy Sauce
- Spicy Ginger Teriyaki Sauce
- Red Chili Paste
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Wine

1. Mix sesame seed oil, soy sauce, spicy ginger teriyaki sauce, red chili paste, minced garlic and shredded ginger in a bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Boil water and a cup of wine in a pot. Blanch salmon for ten seconds.
4. Place salmon in oven safe pyrex and pour sauce over it
5. Add green onion
6. Cook for 20 minutes (watch salmon closely after 15 minutes - it easily overcooks)

Sweet Potatoes:
- 3 Sweet Potatoes
- 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Milk
- 1/3 cup Butter
- 1/4 cup Honey
1. Boil water in a large pot
2. Throw in peeled and diced sweet potatoes. Cook for 25 minutes or until soft
3. Strain and use a mixer to combine brown sugar, milk, honey, sweet potato
4. Add more milk and honey to taste

Asparagus:
1. Peel asparagus lightly
2. Steam for 20 minutes or until tender

Yay! Enjoy BITCHES!!!