Yum Shaker Recipe Share: Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

Chocolate Drizzled Pumpkin Pie by Chocolate Covered Katie

It's that time of year when pumpkin pie gets its "15 Minutes" of fame through out the fall season. It starts to grace tables and counter tops across the country from the start of pumpkin picking season and struts its stuff around at Autumn festivities showing all the other desserts who's the boss. Yet somehow, it can't fool me! I'm a chocolate lover, married to that cocoa bean...ok, I'm a sometimes mistress to créme brulee, shhh-sometimes it's based with chocolate anyway, pfft! Though, when I saw this post from Chocolate Covered Katie in my inbox this morning, a taste bud (or two or three or more) poked at my finger tips and I clicked the button that opened the e-mail to this CHOCOLATE gluten-free pumpkin pie that I would SO harass my mom and sisters to bake (they love to bake, I love to cook, that's just how it works in this family); but I don't need to. It's an easy shmeezy hassle free No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie! Is this Katie girl a genius? She must have taken a class in Dessert Making Wizardry at Hogwarts because her recipes always manage  to make me want to try something I normally wouldn't! I will be making this no later than tomorrow, yippee!

Chocolate Covered Katie is a blog that is primarily dedicated to healthy desserts or in the least, much healthier versions of our favorite treats...and I don't need to tell you what her favorite flavor is (please, I really hope I don't need to tell you!). All of Katie's recipes support a vegan lifestyle, that are a treat to vegans and non-vegans alike, and are created with love by Katie. Her posts are charming, fun and informative, so make sure you stop by and check her out! She was referred to me by my dear friend at Fun.Fit.Chic, who is my go to source for fitness inspiration and news and just all around cuteness and fun stuff. I get introduced to such fabulous and informative things on that site, so check that out too!

For Chocolate Covered Katie's No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie recipe, just click on the pic below, get your shopping list in order, throw on an apron and some holiday music (my dad's been since Halloween) and enjoy yourself some homemade goodness! 

Thank you for reading!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Love,

Lisa xo

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Yum Shaker Recipe Share: Cinnamon Spinach? Why thank you SER by Eduardo Life!

The one veggie I've NEVER denied, from my baby food days up to my salad and spanakopita days, is spinach. Thanks to you Popeye!

Cinnamon, check. Spinach, check. An appetite, permanent check (come on, this is me we are talking about here).

Yum Shaker is probably my favorite part of this blog, yet the least nurtured (just showing it some Kindergarten Crush Love). Today I am showering it with love by sharing a post by my dear friend Eduardo, author of the blog SER. It will take you two seconds to make this and, naturally, my Eduardito's posts would never be complete without educating us on the health benefits of cinnamon. I love how he's always so informative, interesting and oh so peaceful (if you are reading this, I miss you my love!). I so aim to live an Eduardo life (minus vegetarianism) and am totally a groupie. As a matter of fact, unknown to him, I'm his biggest groupie (from afar, since I live so far). After this post, I will be adding cinnamon into my diet much more often! Clickety click on the pic, read on and eat on! 

Thank you for reading!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, MUAH!

Love,

Lisa xo

Yum Shaker Recipe Share: Caribbean Egg Rolls by Chef Goya Sistas

A few days ago I finally bought the egg roll wraps I've been eyeing for awhile the way most normal people eye a pair of Christian Louboutin's (and I had to look up the correct spelling for that FYI). A lover of egg rolls since I've been able to bite into food, learning to make my own has been on my activity list for awhile. I remember being a little girl in Queens Village and always looking forward to having a taste of my grandmother's egg roll whenever I visited her and my grandfather during their lunch break. I had already been tagged as "la niña que no come na", which means the "the little girl who doesn't eat anything". Therefore, I didn't have the luxury of being ordered such exotic and fine foods such as egg rolls. I got Chinese chicken wings and french fries each-and-every-time...I guess the fact that I would empty out most of the egg roll that they'd let me try and re-stuff it with other things wasn't much of an indicator that I deserved such a fine appetizer of my own. Now, a thousand years later, the one thing that hasn't changed is that I still like to recreate things, especially food.

Today, for the first time ever, I finally made my very own egg roll without having to bite into it to empty out all of its contents in order to fill it with something else. My sister (the middle egg) came by for a visit and was starving. Evil raised eyebrow, light bulb went on above the head, I was inspired; I had an assistant! Without much of an idea what I was going to cook the chicken with, I just started grabbing contents out of the refrigerator and got to work, giving my assistant the chopping assignments while I got to boss her around and micromanage her. I don't have any picture of the prep stage since I wasn't planning on blogging about it, but my sister requested I do it so she can claim her fame. There's no recipe, no measurements (because I haven't a clue) but here is an outline of what we did.

While I cleaned and seasoned the chicken I had my sister do the fun work: dicing fresh garlic to itty bitty pieces. I seasoned the chicken with adobo and garlic powder then raided the fridge for some marinade. "I can't believe we have no Asian sauce!!!", I lamented, as if we really ever have any Asian seasonings. No problem! There was Archer Farms Mango Curry sauce from Target. I took only a tablespoon of that to keep the flavor light (remember, I had no idea where I was going with this-and yes, I do realize that now there is in fact a measurement here). I then tossed it into the chicken. Or tossed the chicken into the sauce... :/...whichever. I heated up some olive oil in a skillet and then threw the chicken in there letting each side whiten before putting the flame on low so it would be tender. The one thing I knew is that I wanted to dice the chicken. I then realized that the red peppers in the fridge would be a nice addition, and while retrieving that from the fridge I grabbed some Goya Mojo on the way back to the stove. I don't know what it is about Puerto Ricans and mojo, but it was there and this Puerto Rican Cuban girl's hand attached to it like a magnet. With the mango curry and mojo and everything in between, the only thing that was asian about this dish is "bok choy" and "egg roll". Hence the name Latina Caribena Egg Roll, which due to International Keyboard failure will be temporarily changed to "Caribbean Egg Rolls" for this post. SOO original, but that's the best I could come up with at this point.

Next, I turned to the garlic chopper to find she had not yet finished. While helping her complete this tedious mission, I felt it best to use the garlic for the bok choy, my "spotlight" veggie of the week. I threw the garlic in a skillet with cold olive oil and started cooking it on medium flame. I learned recently that this is the best way to cook garlic so that it doesn't burn too quickly and give off a bitter taste. When prepared this way, the garlic flavors the oil much better. I threw the bok choy in my aromatic unburnt garlic oil just as the garlic began to brown up and tossed it so that the garlicky oil caressed each leaf. Read Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende and you just may start speaking of food that way too! I then poured in some Nature's Promise Organic Chicken Broth and an "I don't know how much" amount of Brummel and Brown butter alternative, but keep it light. While I was doing this my lil elf was chopping up some parsley and my mom joined the crew and began dicing the now cooked chicken for me. I then removed the bok choy, diced it all up and mixed it with the diced chicken and fresh parsley. And what the hell, I poured the butter garlic chicken broth concoction over it too, why not? Tip: Studies show that a little bit of butter is essential for us to fully benefit from the nutrients in veggies. I can't find the article I read, but this blog article makes mention of it and offers recipes, though you may not want to use as much as they like to!

Dreams can come true. Here I am thousands of years later, finally making my own egg roll stuffing. Totally a West Indies meets Latin Caribbean meets China deal here.

Then we stuffed the egg roll wraps with our creation and began rolling up them egg rolls while the oil heated on the stove. When you get your package of egg roll wraps, you will find a picture tutorial on the back to teach you how to complete this difficult task. It's kind of like wrapping a gift (which it is btw) and then you just throw it in the heated up oil with the flap down so it seals. Well, don't "throw" it, place it. Tip: I recommend using 2 layers of the wraps for each egg roll; they are insanely thin and flimsy. The wraps will absorb less marinade and your stuffing less oil with two! The egg rolls in the photo are using just one, but my second time making these was so much easier with this tip.

The final product, Latina Caribeña Egg Rolls, or simply, Caribbean Egg Rolls. YUM

Well, there ya have it my loves! I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed eating these egg rolls and thank you for reading :)

Besos, Beijos, Filakia, Kissies!

Love,

Chef Goya Lisa xo

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P.S. The photos were edited using Instagram for iPhone.

Yum Shaker Numero III: La Bella Havana

When it comes to Caribbean Latin food I often dream in Cuban, so I was eager to check out the menu change when what was formally known as Belle Havana became La Bella Havana. What once was a marriage between French and Cuban cuisine is now a single yummy Cuban Lady.

I made a brief visit to Yonkers a few weeks ago, and on my way to visit a volunteer for ABLE House in NYC to prepare for a project, I had the pleasure of grabbing dinner at La Bella Havana with a few friends in Downtown Yonkers. You have the option of dining inside or alfresco when the weather is nice (unless you like to eat outside in the freezing cold or a storm... hey, to each his own!). We opted to eat inside in the air conditioning and under the breeze of the ceiling fans since my pencil skirt and lace top proved to not be summer heat friendly. This was a great choice because we got to enjoy the incredible ambiance...thank you wiggle skirt... La Bella Havana has a very relaxing atmosphere and if you don't look out the window you can certainly forget you are even in NY and escape to somewhere tropical...sigh.

Unless Chicken Little joined us for dinner, *their little imaginary buddy*, then I'd say by the look of these fellas that they are in the refrigeration and HVAC business. I however, am in the business of getting my Yum Shaker on.

Josue, Manny and I perused the menu while waiting for my friend Diana to arrive. The dinner menu is comprised of some classic Cuban dishes and shows how the cooking style of my ancestors can evolve to satisfy a more health conscious lifestyle without compromising authenticity. Long gone are the days where you can only get an iceberg salad at every Latin Caribbean kitchen. At La Bella Havana you have a small, yet delicious looking selection of creative salads consisting of nutritious mixed greens/mesclun and watercress adorned with crabmeat, avocado, pineapples, and mango and vinaigrette dressings. While I was disappointed that I didn't see Moros y Cristianos on the menu (white rice cooked in black beans, some call it "con gris"), the fact that mariquitas were on the menu made up for it. Not that they may not be on another NY Cuban restuarant menu, but this is a first for my eyes! I love mariquitas, especially when they are served hot and fresh straight from the stove (Abuelaaaa!).

I had a tough time choosing among the Pernil, Vaca Frita (churrasco) or the Achiote Marinated Chicken, but once Josue declared "Vaca Frita!" I knew I could steal some of his and go for the pernil (roast pork) since I eat chicken daily. The boys started off with La Bella Havana's much raved about mojitos and empanadas while I chose to be alcohol free (broke designated driver in the house!). I would have ordered pastelitos, my favorite of Cuban goodies, but like most Cuban restaurants in NY, it wasn't on the menu (insert sad face with a tear drop here). I was seriously trapped in a day dream about my approaching meal that I not only failed to take pictures of all the yummies, I even forgot to order a side of tostones with my meal. I like to think that I am a professional critic of tostones and only 3 places outside of my families kitchen have passed the test EVER, with only one place getting 5 stars. Needless to say, I was disappointed that I missed the opportunity to hopefully add another place where I can go and enjoy a plate of tostones with my meal, but my entree was so delicious that I know I'll be back for a second chance to take a taste! I get the feeling that I won't be disappointed in the least bit!

Overall, the food here was delicious and our friendly neighbors shared their unknown sweet potato dessert with us (AH-MAY-ZING!). Unfortunately, I did not save not even one little spot in my tummy for dessert since I couldn't fathom the idea of bringing the "scarf down" of my entree to a halt before I was full (it was so good!). The white rice with black beans on the side were so delish that it made up for them not being "Moros y Cristianos"; mix it together, you have the same idea anyway. My experience at La Bella Havana was great and next time I plan to go when I have the evening free to relax and try more (salad, desserts, drinks and tostones have been neglected by me this first visit!).

I didn't quite get the "Mmm-mmm finger-licking good" facial expression I was going for here, but this is the only picture I have with an empanada in it. I hate this picture, but it's about time I have one up of me in these blog posts anyway! *And time for Josue to get glasses because he said it came out good and I went by his word!*

My dish: Pernil with black beans and white rice on the side and mojo for the pernil. SO YUMMY!

Diana and Manny had the same dish: Bistec de Palomilla, maduros, rice and black beans. I was too self-centered (hunger does that to me) to ask them how it was but they did eat all of their food and say that they were returning in the future.

Josue had the Vaca Frita (churassco/skirt steak). He was sitting across from me so naturally I stole a piece. Talk about sabor! The steak was juicy, tender and scrumptuously flavorful. Remember I have the tendency to make up my own words! 

Just had to take a pic of the awesome couple that so kindly shared their dessert with us. I told Manny that I wanted to ask the lady what her dessert was and he looked at me like I had a gazillion heads and said, "Let her eat". The moment I wasn't paying attention the <3 creep <3 asked her and she was practically spoon feeding him. He saved his life from Death by Lisa by sharing with me. She said to him as she was walking out, "Be a good boy! I just want to pinch your cheeks!" I said, "Go ahead and do it, you only live once." Lesson learned: Don't listen to what a man tells you to do. I hope Manny's cheeks are hurting.

Thanks for reading, I hope the pictures entice you and I see you at my next visit to La Bella Havana (please, because I want to steal some of your dessert).

Til' next time baby dolls!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia,

Love,

Lisa xo

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Yum Shaker Recipe Share I: Healthy-ish Cocktail?

The Amazing Six photo from Vital Juice

My bartendress friend handed me over the sad facts about my favorite margarita: each glass of the antioxidant rich pomegranate margarita, made with POM, is approximately 800 calories. If I indulged in my hero of margaritas regularly, I'd be in serious trouble, and I am not giving up chocolate for ANYTHING (except a life or death situation, I am somewhat rational after all). Therefore, I need to save calories when it comes to other treats and 800 calories a day is not worth disinfecting my intestines for (joke).

A few weeks ago, Vital Juice posted 5 yummy Skinny Summer Cocktails at just about, get this, 200 calories each! Less than 200 calories! And don't let the name Summer Cocktail sway you away, we still have a good month left and these sound delish enough to try any time of year!

My drink to try, Freckled Kiwi, photo from Vital Juice

The recipes, provided by the mixologist Gods and Goddesses of Trestle on Tenth in NYC, will certainly satisfy the palette of lovers of  cucumber with Pimms' Cup, kiwi with Freckled Kiwi , celery with Stalking the Celery, rhubarb with Rhubarb Wrangle,  and carrots and ginger with 20/20 Cocktail (imagine telling your opthamologist at your next eye exam that it's all thanks to a cocktail! ). Just click on the names to be led to the recipe and become a bartending sensation at your next gathering ;) I'm a rum girl, and coincidentally a newbie lover to kiwi, so I'm especially looking forward to making the Freckled Kiwi!

The recipes in this post are thanks to Trestle on Tenth and the generous sharing heart of Vital Juice. Trestle on Tenth is a fabulous and affordable Swiss brasserie across from the beautiful Highline Park in NYC, with some pretty darn good reviews! If you are fortunate enough to live within a reasonable travel distance, stop by for some yummies, have the above from the Drinkable Garden menu made for you, and then walk it off in the picturesque Highline Park. If not, we can be ever so grateful to them and Vital Juice for sharing recipes with those in the land of far far away! Vital Juice is one of my favorite sites to follow, seems they have something for everyone, so check them out and sign up here if you are interested in receiving fun daily emails on beauty, wellness, fitness and nutrition.To my amigos reading this, I'm organizing a lil' trip to Trestle on Tenth soon, who's joining? 

Hope you enjoyed this share and thank you for checking it out! Til next time, and don't forget to shake your Yum Shaker's in the meanwhile!

Love,

Lisa xo

Twitter: Fab_Chitating

E-mail: Fabulous.life.of.a.senorita@gmail.com

P.S. If you find it annoying that the provided links take you away from the post as opposed to opening a new window, then sign up to receive my posts in your inbox. It will be received like a newsletter and when clicking on the in post links a new window will open! If you want to leave a comment, all you have to do is click on the article title! Voila! xo

Yum Shaker Numero Dos: Talk to the Hand Dirty Water Dog Stand!

www.rougetomatenyc.com

Several weeks ago some of you may have seen my Vital Juice shared post on my personal Facebook page about Rouge Tomate's "Green" cart, the much healthier alternative to the hot dog stand. Or more matter-of-factly put, the healthy as opposed to the not healthy alternative. I was hoping to make it to Central Park to visit the cart myself and try *absolutely everything!* so that I can share with all of my buddies my taste bud's experience. Unfortunately, between school work, work, looking for work and partying like a rock star (ha) I didn't make it during my last trip to NYC. *Insert sad face here* That said, I know many of my friends who are more local will be excited about this addition to the Central Park area and can make it there before me, so I want to share the learned facts about this lil' cart full of health.

Rouge Tomate's Cart In The Park, which was originally due to open on June 15th, finally opened on June 29th and is located on 64th St. and Fifth Avenue in front of The Arsenal. The menu includes:

• Sandwiches ($6-$10), 
• Vegetable Based Soups ($5-$8),
• House-Made Sorbet, Frozen Yogurt and Gelato *my personal favorite* ($4 and includes 2 toppings)
• Fresh Juices *which I'm a sucker for* (seasonal, $5)

You can find a more detailed version of the menu here, compliments of Vital Juice, though I strongly recommend you follow the cart on Twitter because that's where I found out about their Coconut Lemongrass Sorbet, Valhrona Chocolate Gelato, Tahitian Vanilla Frozen Yogurt and Mint Lemonade, yuuuum! You can also try this link that they kindly tweeted me with of their  Cart In The Park Menu, however it only worked on my phone.

And if that's not enough, according to Grub Street, all ingredients will be primarily local (certain ingredients will come from tri-state farms) and in order to maintain a low impact cart, the Rouge Tomate Cart In The Park features solar panels for electricity, is made from recycled materials and uses biodegradable paper products. The little above mentioned package awards the Rouge Tomate Cart it's Green Restaurant Association Certification, woo hoo! Now I know MANY people who will appreciate all this!

Plans are in the making for me to visit La Carreta de Rouge Tomate (as fancy as I get, I don't know French) to enjoy a 3 course meal. In the meanwhile, I hope that you all make a picnic day or go on a nice date to Central Park to enjoy the summer weather and healthy fresh food at Rouge Tomate's Cart In The Park! Your belly will thank you for it...well, as long as you stay away from all cruciferous veggies, at least just for your date!

Yum Shaker Numero Uno: Adventure with Mala to Altus Cafe in Washington Heights

Pardon the  pic, my laptop just got fixed and guess who doesn't know how to edit her pics on it now?

Today I purchased a ticket to dine at a meet and greet with MujerPower!, Inc. and to my excitement it was at Altus Cafe, at a mere $40 for 3 courses, a drink and a raffle ticket. It brought me way back to February of this year when a meal at Altus Cafe was my pot of gold at the end of a gazillion year journey by train from Eastern Long Island to Brooklyn, Bronx, then finally "The Heights", what we New Yorkers refer to Washington Heights as. Okay, it was more like 5.5 hours by train, but that's an eternity in the freezing cold with about 100 pounds of luggage (perhaps another slight exaggeration).

My stop in the Bronx scored me about another 130 pounds of luggage, my friend Gissel, aka "Mala, dot dot dot". After about 45 minutes of getting dolled up for a networking event I was dragging her to, 10 of which Mala had to try and get my dress zipped up, we strolled out in our dresses and heels emulating a scene of Sex in the City to perfection. That is until the bitter zero degree weather hit us in the face. We looked at one another, let out some girly shrieks and in less than 5 seconds ran back into the building. Reality bites. We were not getting paid to freeze our booties off like the cast of Sex in the City.

Needless to say, we didn't make the event, but re-strolled out in more winterized fab fashions and hopped on the train, not knowing where I was headed, but knowing one thing: I wanted some churassco. As usual, Mala had all these great ideas in her head, which are always subject to change. As I was finally relaxing and cozy-ing up in my seat (as much as you can on a NYC subway), Mala screams out "No, let's get off here, let's go, let's go" giving us about 2 seconds to race off the train before the doors closed.

Re-catching my breath in the bitter cold, I inquire about the change of plans. Mala responds, "It's Thursday and ladies drink free until 11 at Altus." Ok. "What about the food?" FYI, it's always about the yummies with me. I'm assured by Mala that the food will meet my food snobby standards and helloooo: free drinks. So with a few loving threats thrown Mala's way that the food better be worth the long walk in the unbearable cold, we finally enter Altus Cafe.

Once at the bar, we explored our free drink options and both Mala and the lovely bartendress recommend an Altus-tini. I agreed because of the cool shade of blue that looks like it glows in the dark in their lighting. Some may say that sounds toxic, I found it quite amusing. So with around 40 minutes to down all the free drinks we could, I selected my entree (Churassco, duh) and got my drink on with Mala. Not long after 11pm the apple of my eye had an amusing collection of drunk texts (and I some lovely sober ones) and I finally had my Churassco laid out before me. Mala had seafood tacos but I failed to capture her moment. 

My Churassco came to me just the way I like it, crispy on the outside, brown but tender and flavorful on the inside. Yuuuuum. My churassco (emphasis on the my) was served with a basil cream sauce, mixed veggies and yucca fries. The chef of the evening came to see how we were doing and then made us a secret mix of other delicious sauces to eat my meal with. I don't know what the secret was, but it was edible and delicious and that's all I needed to know. We had a nice conversation with the chef and his brother (who isn't mesmerized by Mala's beauty and charm?) and by the end of our conversation I was ready to talk dessert. Though first I outta show you some pics of my churrasco, right? Here they are:

Churrasco at Altus Cafe with mixed vegetables and yucca fries

Some of my friends would be proud to know that I ate every last bit of veggies, and NOT all the fries (pats self on back)

Now back to dessert. I honestly have no idea what it was called. What I do know (and most importantly) is that it was chocolatey (chocolate addict here) and it was damn goooooooood. What I loved most about it was that I was certainly sparkling with love that night, even though he wasn't there, and the fruit and caramel sauce fell into a heart shape! After a gazillion hour (I mean 5.5 hour not including the ride back) freezing train ride I was definitely glowing by the end of my visit at Altus :) Here are some pics of the dessert that I kind-of-sorta-not-really-so-much shared with Mala:

<3 Look at that beautiful heart shaped sauce! <3

Two thumbs up to the Chef at Altus Cafe, I can't wait to come back for more drinks and food!

Altus Cafe is located at 4325 Broadway @ 184th Street, New York, NY and you can check out their current menu and learn more about them at http://altuscafe.com/ Go, check it out, and let me know what you ate!!!

Thanks for reading baby dolls!

Besos, Beijos, Filakia,

Lisa xo