Recipe(tried): Those Long Ago Lost Summers

THOSE LONG AGO LOST SUMMERS

Sometimes, it is almost a sin to write about those wonderful times, long ago passed but, that are alive in our minds and will keep there, as if they happened just yesterday, for as long as we live. I cannot forget, and I will never forget those rustic summers with cousins, my aunt and husband, uncles and wives, my grandmother and mami and papi in the farm.

The house was built at mid 19th century; and was a big rambling structure, made in wood and cement and polished by smoke, age, storms and by the loving hands of family and servants. There was a parlor, a dinningl room, 5 bedrooms, and a very big balcony made in wood, with the floor in cement and beautiful white banisters. The stairs went directly to the "batey" (patio) and the batey end in a private road that went directly to a white gate, a presumptuous effort to show the affluence of the farm and family.

The kitchen was conveniently separated from the home and had a line of coal iron burners and a coal oven, built in cement and iron. There was a room in the kitchen which served as cupboard, to guard all the goods from unsavory visitors and uninvited guests; and also, a room with many chairs and a rustic table, which could be considered a family room, and where family and servants alike, partake of very informal lunches and dinners.

There was no electricity, just quinqu s (gas light) and candlelight, and the water was brought from a pump, not far from the home. It was in Sierra Baja, Guayanilla, in a sector made up mainly of family, because of the barbaric custom of marrying 1st and 2nd cousins among themselves. Every dinner was attended by uninvited guests, because the roads were not paved and passing visitors were welcomed for a well deserved respite. Those visitors might stay for a few days or a lifetime.

My mother and father lived in Ponce, and there I was born; but they returned every summer and every Sunday to visit and to teach me the old values of family courtesy, humility and of a shared gorgeous meal. I will never forget my anxiousness to arrive, and to discover the treasures waiting for us in the ice-box. It is with the candid eyes of a child that I will try to recreate one of our dinners:

APPETIZERS: Sorullitos, Bacalaitos (Recipe for both included in previous article in this same Message Board) and ALCAPURRIAS : When we arrived from Ponce, batches of sorullitos , bacalaitos and alcapurrias were already frying, and were continuously served with delicious fruit juices. The wine served for the grown ups was an orange homemade and distilled wine, which unfortunately I don't know and was never interested to learn the recipe, and which I was too small to taste. We, the children were all in the kitchen, tasting delicious morsels before the trays were brought out to grown ups in the balcony.

ALCAPURRIAS: Serves about 18.

4 cups grated yaut a (taro root); 3 green plantains, peeled and grated; 2 tsp salt; 3 tb annato oil ( can be substituted with olive oil with 1 tsp bijol ) ; 3 cups Picadillo ( recipe follows ).

For the Picadillo: 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 pounds ground sirloin; 1 onion chopped;1 tomato chopped;1/2 cup raisins; 1 green pepper chopped; 1 garlic clove finely minced; 1/2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled; 1 bay leaf, crushed; 8 or more pimento stuffed olives, sliced; 1/4 cup sherry wine; 3 tb tomato sauce; 1 tb. Balsamic vinegar; 1/2 tsp brown sugar; a pinch of ground pepper; pinch of ground nutmeg and ground cumin; 1/2 cup sliced almonds; 1/4 cup water, salt to taste.

Mix the ground beef with all the other ingredients and cook for 30 or more minutes, at medium temperature until the liquid is reduced. This recipe is good for stuffing chickens, meat pies, empanadillas, and with plain white rice.

To continue the alcapurrias, mix the grated taro root, grated plantains, salt and annato oil. Spread some of the taro plantain mix in a paper conveniently greased with some annato oil. Spread the mixture with a spatula. Stuff with 2 tsp Picadillo. Then, cover the filling with more plantain mix and form a cylinder or croquette. Slide and deep fry in medium high oil, until golden brown, for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and drain on absorbent paper towels, serve hot.

MAIN DISHES:
Chicken Stew Moorish Style
Rice with Red Beans and Vienna Sausage
Piperrada Salad

DESERT:
Sugared fresh fruits,
White Cheese Coffee

CHICKEN STEW MOORISH STYLE: 6 servings. Can be doubled.

1 4pounds chicken, in pieces; 2 1/2 tsp salt 4 garlic cloves; 4 grains of black pepper; 1 tsp olive oil; 3 sliced onions; 8 stuffed olives, sliced; 1/2 pound smoked ham diced; 1/3 cup tomato sauce; 1/2 cup basic Sofrito; 1/2 cup dry sherry, 1 bay leaf; another 1 tsp olive oil; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; and 1 cup frozen or already boiled corn kernels.

Wash the chicken and cut it in pieces. Salt it. In a mortar, crush the garlic cloves, the black pepper, add the oil and season the chicken pieces with this Adobo. Let it rest, covered, for 1/2 hour, Heat about 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet and saut the chicken with the smoked ham and sofrito, over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Then, heat a larger skillet or caldero, add half the onion slices, the chicken mixture over the onion, the olives, tomato sauce, wine, bay leaf and ground cinnamon. Add the remaining sliced onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until almost done. Add the corn, simmer 5 more minutes, and serve. It will smell as good as it taste.

RICE WITH RED BEANS AND VIENNA SAUSAGES: This dish was our favorite, but we used butifarras, chorizos or any other kind of sausage prepared and cured in the house. The sausages were cured on top of the wood burners or Fog n. For this recipe I have adapted several recipes by Dora R. Romano, Cocine Conmigo, and Carmen Aboy Valdejully, Cocina Criolla. Serves 8 or more.

3 cups water; 3 cups short grain rice; 3 tsp salt; 3 tb annato oil; 1/2 cup basic Sofrito; 2 crushed or sliced garlic cloves; 1/2 cup stuffed green olives chopped; 1/4 tsp ground oregano; 1/4 cup tomato sauce; 1/2 cup chopped cilantrillo (Chinese parsley); 1 big can Hormel Vienna Sausages, drained and sliced; 2 cans Goya red beans, drained.

Combine the Oil, Sofrito, garlic, stuffed olives, oregano and tomato sauce in a large Caldero (iron pot specially used by cooks to prepare rice) and cook in medium heat for 3 minutes. Change to high, add the water, salt, sausages, beans and cilantrillo. When it begins boiling, add the rice and cook at medium high until the water is absorbed. Stir the rice, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for another 20 to 25 minutes and serve.

PIPERRADA SALAD:
2 big cucumbers, peeled and sliced; 3 tomatoes in wedges, 2 green bell peppers, seeded and sliced in rings; 2 onions thinly sliced.
Vinaigrette: 6 tb. Olive oil; 2tb Balsamic Vinegar; Slat and Pepper to Taste; 1/4 tsp sugar (Recipe can be doubled according to guests).

Mix the vegetables and the vinaigrette and serve.

DESSERT: All kinds of fresh fruits, depending on the season, peeled and cut or sliced, served in dishes, mixed with brown sugar and with slices of white Puerto Rican Cheese. For grown ups, the same, but accompanied by demi-tasses of very dark coffee. Ah those were the times of my youth Enjoy!