Potaje de Garbanzos Con Patas de Puerco (Chickpea & Pork Feet Stew)

Probably not that many people like "pig's feer", well in my household only my mother and me like pig's feet (my Dad and little sister aren't fans of it). My grandmother use to make this and she didn't like pig's feet she only made it for my grandpa my mother says. She would eat everything in the stew except the pig's feet and give them all to my mother and my grandpa who really really enjoyed it.

Me personally I love hearty, rich legume based stews, even though it is summer I just love them so much I eat them in summer and winter, I just turn on the AC full blast while I cook and eat it while pretending it's winter ha ha.

I haven't had this in years I think for more than 5 years. It's been so long that I don't even remember eating it! I was checking the fridge last night to see what to make the next day and I bumped into pigs feet. My mother said, "oh I remember your grandma used to make a stew with them, I don't remember how to make it you should give her a call", I did and am glad I did, I will make this more often and won't let it fade away from my family kitchen.

Ingredients:
-1 lb./ about 2 cups dried garbanzos/ chickpeas (soaked overnight)
-2 1/2 lb. Pork feet cut in half (tell your butcher to cut them in half for you)
-2 medium to large potatoes or 4 small potatoes peeled and cut in half
-1 onion minced
-6 cloves of garlic pressed and minced or mashed to a paste in a mortar with a pestle.
-1 can 8 oz. tomato puree or blend some ripe tomato in a blender or grate a large tomato.
-1 green or red bell pepper or 1/2
-2 bay leaves
-1 teaspoons ground cumin
-1/2 -1 teaspoon "Bijol" (or in it's place saffron or ground achiote powder)
-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (optional)
-Salt to taste

Directions:
(1)Soak garbanzos overnight at least 12 hours by covering in at least 3 inches submerged into water with a huge palm full of salt, mix well.


(2)Next day rinse them well several times and get rid of water. Add new water and about 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside in a large pot. Just add enough water to cover garbanzos and pork feet. The garbanzos aren't gonna suck any more water they already did when soaking over night.

(3)To clean pork feet get pork feet, put in a medium pot add water and bring to a boil, boil for about 5 minutes. Drain it, rinse in cold water 3 times to cool down. Now wash again all of them by rubbing with vinegar and salt, swooshing around rubbing well. Drain and rinse each one individually and set aside in a bowl. This is done to get rid of all the impurities and the strong smell and taste.

(4)Now bring pot garbanzos to a boil mix in pork feet and an extra teaspoon of salt or salt to taste let it come to a strong boil, cover and simmer about 45 minutes to 1 hour on low heat or medium low. Only add enough water to cover pork feet well.

(5)Meanwhile chop up everything. When pork fetes and garbanzos are done, turn of while and leave covered while you do the rest.

(6)Heat olive oil on medium high, then sautee minced onion until translucent and some browns, then add garlic for about 2-3 minutes until golden and fragrant. Add tomato puree and bring to a boil. Add this to the garbanzos and cooked pork feet.

(7)Add bay leaves, cumin, black pepper, bijol, potatoes, and thickly julienned green bell pepper. Mix well. Turn on heat, bring to a boil and cover for 15-20 minutes.

(8)Taste it if it needs more salt or cumin. This stew is not suppose to be super loose or super thick. It will thicken later from all the gelatin from the bones of the pork feet that will be released over time. If you must thicken more simply take out a potato, blend it with sthe broth and add it back in to thicken.


NOTE: At my house we usually serve this with a bowl or plate of white rice on the side and a raw salad. Also you can eat it with bread instead if you wish or heck both bread and rice! It already has potatoes so why not haha. Let's load up on those carbs... just kidding about the carb loading part.

My Strawberry Bananana Breakfast Shake

This is a shake I drink every single morning before going to school. It's quick, healthy, nutritious, and could hold my appetite until lunch.


Ingredients:
-1 cup whole milk
-1 cup frozen strawberries
-1 banana
-1 scoop whey protein powder (I use brands that do not contain Aspartame as a sweetener or Acesulfame potassium
-2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
-sugar (To taste)
-ice cubes (Enough to produce the desired thickness)

Directions:
-Put everything in blender. I put it in this order: banana, strawberry, milk, protein powder, and flax seed.
-Turn on blender and start blending on low, then work your way up to high. If it doesn't blend good and gets stuck, use a spoon to carefully help it without touching the blade.
-If it is not as thick as you had liked it to be, then you can thicken it by throwing in some ice cubes. I add about 4 of them.



This makes about 2 cups. I chug down the whole thing!