Zingiberis in the Kitchen.

Korean inspired Slow Cooker Spicy Pork This is a great recipe to start with if you want to experiment with Korean inspired cooking.  It's also a great excuse to look for an Asian market in your area and shop for some exotic ingredients.  You can also purchase these on Amazon if you don't have a local store.  I luckily have two great ones near by.  Onward to the recipe 1 pork sirloin roast, get the darkest pink you can.  It's more tender.  Another option is butt roast.  Make sure it's well trimmed of fat 1 large onion, chopped roughly 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped roughly 2-3 inches of ginger, chopped roughly 1/2 cup of Chinese cooking wine (see note below) 2 tbsp. of soy sauce 2 tbsp. of Korean rice syrup (see note below) 1/4 cup of Gochujang, red pepper soybean paste Oil for crisping up, optional 2 tbsp. of potato starch for sauce, optional Add all the above ingredients into a crockpot.  Let it cook for about 2 hours on low....

Moros y Cristianos. (Moors and Christians) This dish is a staple in all and any Cuban households at one point in their lives.  Because of that there are a million ways to prepare it.  This is merely my way of doing it. I also am a lazy cook and use shortcuts when I can.  You can use dried beans soaked overnight in water.  Water discarded and then cook the beans in fresh water till soft.  I avoid all that and buy high quality canned black beans.  I have done it both ways and don't detect a major difference.  If anything I shamefully prefer the canned. Moros y Cristianos 2 cups of white long or medium grain rice, rinsed well 1 white onion, chopped 1 small red pepper, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, chopped Squirt of tomato paste from a tube OR 1 tbsp of tomato paste 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed Tsp of each: Oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin 1 bay leaf 4 cups of chicken broth Salt and pepper to taste Add enough olive oil...

Cuban bread, the easy way. More recipes! Cuban ones at that.  It's winter, dreary and blah types of days here.  Family always wants more comforting cuban meals.  Will be finally updating this site as well. Making three cuban dishes tonight, Bistec en Cazuela and Moros y Cristianos.  Will also make cuban bread in my bread maker to round out the meal along with a simple avocado and tomato salad. First, Cuban bread.  Cuban bread is a soft pillowy dough with a super thin crisp crust normally made with a starter.  I am too much of a procrastinator to bother with a starter so I make it simpler with a close result to the real thing.  You can leave the dough in the bread machine and let it bake it for you from start to finish.  But I prefer to do the dough cycle and then shape it into loaves to be baked on a pizza stone in the oven.  Alot of people are leery of lard but it's what gives Cuban bread it's signature soft chewy texture.  I have...

Arroz Imperial This has to be the family's most favorite dish of all time from my kitchen.  They ask for it constantly and fight over the leftovers.  It's a dish I grew up with for special occasions but in my house, it's a staple. There are again a million ways to make this dish and this is my version.  You can also cheat and use the foil packets of saffron yellow rice.  You can make your own yellow rice with the goya con azafaron packets or saffron threads.  I am going to list the saffron threads type as this is what my family prefers the most.  But it's easily done with the other two methods.  I use the larger foil packet (calls for 6 cups of water).  Or I do the 3 cups of rice with 2 packets of the Goya con azafaron packet.  I have heard of something called bijou that can be used as well but haven't myself.   I have had this dish with peas in the rice.  I don't like peas or overly mushy veggies so I omit vegetables in this reci...

Crazy Crockpot Recipes that are delicious. I saw these recipes and thought, naaaah that can't work.  But so many liked them so I decided to try it.  Wow, what a results.  Here is a small collection of random Crockpot recipes that are delish, easy and comes together quickly. Mississippi Roast This one is the nuttiest, but trust me, absolutely delish. Chuck roast or other lean beef roast A package of Ranch dressing mix (I am partial to Aldi's store brand or Hidden Valley buttermilk packet) A package of Au Jus mix  (I use Knorr's) 10 Peperoncini rings 1/2 stick of butter. Place beef in crockpot, sprinkle packets over the beef.  place pepper rings on top of seasoned beef and place the butter on top of it all.  Close and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Yes, you read that right and no liquid of any kind is needed.  You will have the most luscious gravy and mouthwatering tender beef.  You can add potatoes to this but I add 1/2 cup of water...