Potaje de Lentejas Con Hueso de Puerco (Lentil Pork Bone Stew)

Before I begin this is not my families recipe, but it is still a pretty good Cuban style Lentil Stew. This recipe is from a book called "Delicias de la Mesa - Manual de Cocina y Repostería" written by " Miss María Antonieta Reyes Gavilán and Moenck" edited in Havana, Cuba in 1925. I know pretty old I guess, it is displayed as close to it's original format in Spanish at guije.com (I love that website it is all in Spanish unfortunately for those whom don't comprehend it, but the website is dedicated to cultural and historical studies of Cuba in order to preserve the history of Cuba and share it with others, it is politically neutral and does not share opinions so yeah, but we all still know Castro sucks and he should rot in hell along with Cuba's communist government that destroyed the Island... anyways let's not get off subject)

So I decided to cook this because I had some pork bones sitting in the freezer that I had neglected to use, and when I bumped into the recipe I was like, awesome I have everything I need, and I need to make some Lentils haven't had those in awhile, plus I need something nutritious and filling so I'll make a big pot of this and tomorrow when I come from college I'll have something filling and strengthening to eat. So without further explanation here is the recipe...

Ingredients:
-2 cups Lentils
-water (enough to submerge 2 inches)
-2 pounds pork bone (I used like 4 medium sized chunks of pork bone with fat and some meat)
-1 whole onion peeled and very finely minced
-1/2 a head of garlic (about 6 large cloves or 10 small ones) peeled mashed to a paste in a mortar or pestle or finely minced through a garlic press
-1/4 of a large bunch of parsley only the NO STEMS only the leafy parts, washed very finely mince
-2 carrots cut into rounds
-1 bay leaf
-1 teaspoons ground cumin
-1 teaspoon saffron toasted and ground to a powder (in a mortar) or you can use "Bijol" which is cheaper
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt more or less to taste
-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
-Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
(1)Wash pork bones, then wash lentils well and drain, place in a large pot with sliced carrot, add water, bring to a boil on high, stir, cover and simmer on low for about 40 minutes
(2)While lentils are boiling heat generous amount of olive oil in a medium pan, on medium high heat, when oil is hot enough add minced onions saute for 5 minutes until translucent, add parsley and garlic, stir and cook down for another 3 minutes, add the bay leaf, cumin, and saffron, stir well and cook another 1 minutes
(3)Now ladle into the pan some of the lentils with liquid and all, stir well bring to boil on high, and reduce and stir and mash with a large spoon the beans (this will help thicken the stew)
(4)Dump it all into the large pot, stir well, add salt and pepper to taste, stir in carrots, bring back to a boil and then cover and simmer on low 20 minutes until carrot is tender.
(5)Your done pretty basic and easy dish. We usually eat these stews with steamed white rice (usually steamed with a bit of olive oil and salt) and a raw salad or even some crusty bread instead of rice.

P.S. The original recipe posted in Spanish doesn't give measurements or anything like that it is written in a few sentences in paragraph form, Cuban cooking doesn't really use any science or measurement, you just use your own judgement and add things to taste and kinda know when it's just right, these are just the ratios I prefer but everything is eyeballed, a good Cuban cook just knows, it's like a grandmothers recipe she will be like "a little bit of this and a some of that" and my grandmother doesn't measure she just knows, same here with me ha ha.

Agua de Tamarindo (Tamarind Drink)

I don't know if "Tamarind" is common in other cultures. Tamarind is like a fruit pod that is long, it grows on trees, it is sort of sour. Mexicans and some other Hispanics/Latinos like to make Candies out of it or a simple drink called "Agua de Tamarindo" other cultures use it differently like Thai people use it to in dishes in combination with a sweetener to make a "sweet and sour flavor" and some Filipinos make Tamarind based soups I think it's called "Sinigang" but I'm not sure.

I learned how to make this today thanks to my mother who always makes beverages we almost never buy juices and drinks from the store my mom always makes drinks and has them in the fridge and she teaches me how to make them to (She makes fruit drinks from Melon, Papaya, Cantaloupe, Guava, Guanabana, Coconut whatever fruit is in season and when we make more hard to get fruit drinks it's usually from the frozen pulp sold by GOYA, she also like to make herbal teas and chill them usually from fresh Mint, Hibiscus flowers, Basil and Lemongrass)

Well today I will show you how to make this Tamarind based drink that is simple. Think of it as a different version of lemonade or lime aid because it is tangy kinda sour yet sweet.

Ingredients:
-10-12 Whole tamarind pods (pods and all when buying tamarind make sure it's not hollow, the pulp has to be touching the shell and you should kind of feel it, it should be firm, and if possible it shouldn't be peeled)
-White Sugar to taste (you will need at least 1 cup then add more to taste)
-Water

Directions:
(1)Soak tamarind pods in a medium container with water for 5 minutes until shells are softer than before then remove outside of pod and just leave the pulp and seeds, drain, now add clean water and soak at least 3 hours (I suggest soaking it over night)

(2)Add 1 cup of sugar to the container with the pods the next day or after 3 hours, rub and grind against each other for a bit to loosen it the sugar will help you loosen it.
(3)Have a container with lots of clean water on around or a pot with clean water.Now put it on a strainer and press and swish around roughly straining it through, adding water little by little to get all the pulp and flavor through, kind of like cleaning it. You want to do this over a large container or the pitcher using clean water.
(4)Now you should add it to the pitcher (if it's not already in there and keep adding water a little at a time until those seeds and tough parts are clean and you removed as much pulp as possible.
(5)Now add more sugar to taste stir well, add ice cubes if you want it colder. Chill in fridge. Until ready to serve

Bistec En Cazuela (Steak in Pan?)

Bistec En Cazuela literally means "Steak in Pan" it is a thin cut steak, simmered in a tomato based sauce.

It is pretty tasty, especially with some white rice on the side to soak the sauce and a little raw salad on the side.

Well I've seen many recipes for "Bistec En Cazuela" from many things I've seen no one cooks Cuban food as good and delicious as my grandmother ha ha (well just about any Cuban will say no one cooks Cuban food like my grandmother or mother well I'm just like that, there's is something about my grandmas food that is so good to me, it is simple and flavorful)

Ingredients:
-1 1/2 lbs. really thin cut steak (thinly cut sirloin or other thin cut steak)
6 cloves of garlic mashed to a paste in a mortar or through a garlic press
-juice of 1 green lime
-salt to taste
-1 can tomato sauce diluted with 1 cup water or 3 plump large tomatoes (cut in chunks, then blended in a blender with very little water just enough to blend well or you can grate it on the smallest part of the grater)
-1 green bell pepper minced
-1 onion cut into thin rings
-1 teaspoon of ground cumin
-1/4- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1/2 a bunch of cilantro or parsley washed and minced without stems
Directions:
(1)Use half of the minced garlic, juice of 1 lime, and salt to season meat, rub it all over and set it aside, now do the rest.
(2)Heat olive oil on medium high heat for a little bit don't let it smoke, add minced bell pepper and onion, stir well, let it cook down for about 5 minutes then add minced garlic and sautéed 1-2 minutes.
(2)Add blended or grated tomato, stir well, add cumin and higher heat to high, let it cook uncovered for about 7 minutes to reduce a bit and turn a deeper red.
(3)Now add meat, submerge in, spoon over sauce and cover well. Bring to boil and let it cook covered 30 minutes until tender, uncover and allow to reduce if you want it thicker or add more water to make it thinner your choice. When done garnish with Cilantro or Parsley.

Please Note: You can cut the onion and the bell pepper all in julienne (long thin strips) I like it like that better but I did it just how my grandmother does it, or you can do it vice versa you finely mince the onion and then just julienne the bell pepper only.

Also if you do not have fresh tomato you can use 1 can 8 oz. of tomato sauce and dilute with 8 oz of water and use that in place.