November 2018

We are now Kasheribbean

Uncategorized / By

If you have been keeping an eye on us you already noticed our social handles and our website changed, so we are now “Kasheribbean”. In this post we explain our reasons behind it and what Kasheribbean is about.

Have you ever woke up one day and felt like “I just need to do this now”. That’s exactly how I felt one day back in 2017. My sister and I had an idea for a blog and I spent months looking for the perfect host, the perfect domain provider, the perfect concept, the perfect images, and the perfect “everything”.

I ended up with analysis paralysis until one day when I said to myself “is now or never”. So, I just jump at it by buying a domain of the name we both agreed upon, and sisterblissdiary.com was born.

After some time, I personally felt our name wasn’t clear, and didn’t really communicate what we were about. At some point I wasn’t even sure what we were really about! Oops! But I kept going because I thought some day I would make it work.

But it didn’t work…

As much as I tried to give Sister Bliss Diary an identity, it wasn’t really working. It simply didn’t resonate and it wasn’t clear. So I had another idea. What if I was just myself, share what I make at home on a daily basis and and pick a name that represents me better instead of just having to make “special” recipes for the blog, under a name I wasn’t feeling?

So, on the Dominican Republic’s Independence Day , I introduced my first Caribbean recipe: Dominican Style Spicy Sardines Rice. In less than a week it was shared over 100 times on pinterest. I was very, VERY surprised!

I continued blogging, making a dominican recipe here and there, until I started to feel more comfortable and more ideas started flowing on that direction. Without realizing it, I started narrowing down by focusing on Caribbean inspired recipes (instead of just random easy recipes ideas) while continuing with the travel posts and lifestyle posts.

One day, I was talking with my husband about old restaurants ideas we had, and it hit me. Kasheribbean, a word my husband coined years ago as a concept for a restaurant, was THE NAME! The perfect concept for the blog I wanted to create and that better represented who I was; so, in our 1st blog anniversary I announced we were expecting some big changes, included a name change!. It couldn’t wait any longer – the blog needed to undergo a major surgery.

I didn’t figure out everything from the start

I admire all of those talented bloggers that hire a team and have all figure out from the start, but as you can tell, this wasn’t the case here AT ALL, and honestly, I would not have it any other way, because I have learned so much and have discovered others I enjoy (who would have told me that creating a tiny piece of code can be so fulfilling?)

Thankfully, just like human beings, brands and concepts can evolve with time.

So, it was the time for Sister Bliss Diary to transform to Kasheribbean.

Kasheribbean: the place for kasher Caribbean recipes

I love to collect recipes from all over; but back to 15-20 years ago, every time I looked at a kasher cookbook or a promising kasher website, the recipes were either middle eastern recipes or ashkenazi. No offense! I love Middle Eastern food, and I even like Gefilte Fish (which apparently is rare among sepharadim!) but as a jew that grew up in the Caribbean, the lack of representation I felt was real.

So, Kasheribbean = Kasher + Caribbean, and has as a main goal to share with you kasher, family-friendly Caribbean inspired recipes, always made with natural ingredients so that you have the most authentic Caribbean flavor.

Final words

I dedicate this blog to all Caribbean Jews that are always told “there are not jews in the Caribbean”. We exist and this is a place to showcase our flavors and traditions about food.

Do you like Kasheribbean?

If you love what we share, spread some love by following on instagram and pinterest, and don’t forget to share with your friends and family. Stay tune for other exciting news that are already cooking!!

Until next time! ?

Dominican Stewed Kidney Beans {Vegan, GF}

Passover, Recipes, Sides / By

For me is difficult to pick a favorite Dominican recipe (I have many!), but if I have to choose, I will go with Dominican style Stewed Kidney Beans, because they are the perfect rice companion, full of nutrients, easily available and so versatile; and today is the perfect day to make them!

Stewed Beans is a staple dish in the Dominican Republic, and is typically serve in the emblematic national dish (even though, there is not a consensus) so called “La Bandera” (literally “the flag”). La Bandera is all about rice, beans, some meat or chicken (usually stewed) and a simple salad of cabbage and heirloom tomatoes.

Know your beans…

To have the perfect stewed beans you need the perfect beans, and this is why I recommend to using kidney beans.

The reason is fairly simple, even though you can use interchangeably kidney and pinto beans; generally I find that kidney beans hold their shape much better that regular red beans or pinto beans. So, that would be more like a aesthetic virtue, and if you don’t find kidney beans easily, you can go ahead and use pinto beans.

The basics of good stewed beans

Are you looking for more dominican recipes? Check out our Dominican Style Spicy Sardines Rice

Dominican Style Stewed Kidney Beans is a very simple recipe, but still there are a few tricks that will take this dish to the next level.

  1. For best results, use kidney beans: They hold their shape much better than regular red beans or pinto beans
  2. Use fresh garlic: There is something about fresh ingredients that you cannot beat, even bit the best brands of powdered spices and herbs. They always have the best flavor, and if you are concerned about price, they are always cheaper than those million years old little bottles.
  3. Use fresh cilantro: I know from experience cilantro or culantro can be very difficult to find in some paces, so if you can’t find it, use flat-leaves parsley, also called italian parsley. Again, Fresh! 🙂

How to make Dominican Style Stewed Kidney Beans

In order to make stewed beans, you’ll need to soak the beans overnight. You can also soak them for about 2 hours and then cook in the pressure cooker, but I will only do that if I am in an “emergency cooking situation”, because for me “time” is another important ingredient.

Once the beans are all hydrated (they will double in size), discard the water, add the beans to a pot, cover with new water and boil the beans on medium low heat until they are fork tender. This could take somewhat between 1 hour to 2 hours.

Now, once you beans are tender, is time to make the base of your stew with just 3 simple ingredients (you will prepare this in the same pot where your beans will finish cooking): You need to cook garlic and dried oregano in olive oil on low heat until the mixture fragrant and the garlic starts turning light golden. This is seriously the base of any delicious stewed beans, so don’t skip this important step!

Once the garlic – oregano mixture is ready, add your boiled kidney beans and add 3 or 4 peppers cores without the seeds (the ones you removed to make our easy and vegan Classic Stuffed Peppers with Spinach & Dill), fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley, a bit of onion, paprika and a tiny bit of olive oil. Don’t add the salt at this point! Do it when the Stewed Beans are almost ready.

Peppers cores

Final touches

Now that you have done all of the steps to make the best stewed beans of your life, you just need to wait for a little bit so that the low heat make its magic to blend all these beautiful ingredients. Your tummy and your family will thank you 🙂

Bonus Tip! If you want to make your beans a little bit creamier, take a little bit of the beans and liquid and process in a blender 

Have you make this recipe or any other from the blog? Use the tag #kasheribbean to share on social media and, don’t forget to follow on instagram and pinterest to keep up with our easy recipes from us and the blogosphere!

So, now there are no secrets, also you can make the most delicious Dominican Style Stewed Kidney Beans. What will you eat your stewed beans with?

Until next time! ?

Classic Stuffed Peppers with Spinach & Dill {Vegan, GF}

Passover, Shabbath, Sides, Sukkoth / By

Today we are making Stuffed Peppers!

I tried Stuffed Peppers and I failed miserably

Somewhere in May, one random ereb shabbath, my creative energy was not flowing AT ALL. After a while I decided I was going to make Vegan Stuffed Peppers for shabbath, since I had what I needed: Peppers and rice. Right? Wrong!! 

Usually, when people realize that I “can cook” they automatically assume all I do is good and perfect from the first time, but the truth is good food is a beautiful leaning process. Some get it easily the first time, and other after a few tries. You are now a witness; the first time I made stuffed peppers it was for sure a total disaster. For some reason (maybe all those 30 seconds insta videos are guilty lol) I believed stuffed peppers was about just peppers and any rice, so I tried with basmati and I failed miserably.  

I love Basmati rice. It has beautiful aroma, cooks easily, fluffy and separate which makes it perfect for salads and pilafs, but definitely not so good for stuffed peppers. As you can see in the picture above, the rice looks dry (it was actually crispy) and it was not holding together, as it should when making stuffed peppers, so the perfect rice to make stuffed peppers (and also dolmas, stuffed cabbage, and more) is risotto rice. 

Want more risotto rice recipes? Check out our Vegan Beer & Almonds Risotto 

The Basics of Stuffed Peppers

The good thing about Stuffed Peppers is that, apart from the rice, there is really not “basics”…. Well, maybe there are a few “must”, and they are: 

  1. Add salt and pepper to the interior of your Peppers: this can be easily forgotten but it is so important! Just sprinkle a little salt in the interior of each pepper and you are good to go. 

  2. Always keep your Pepper tops!: They would act like lids and will prevent a crust on the top of the rice . 

  3. Cut a little bit of the bottom, so the peppers stand on the baking dish.

  4. Pack the rice tightly in each cavity. If you don’t want to serve too much rice, use smaller peppers. 

  5. Place the stuffed peppers tightly in the baking dish. This will help the peppers hold their shape while baking. 


Bonus Tip! Don’t throw away the peppers core! Remove the seeds and store in the freezer on resealable bags. They give amazing flavor and aroma to any stew, specially stewed kidney beans. Nom nom!  

How to Make Stuffed Peppers

Because this is a very basic Stuffed Peppers recipe, I used 3 simple ingredients for my rice: onions, spinach and fresh dill. 

Basically, I sauteed the onions until lightly golden. Added the risotto rice, spinach, dill and salt to taste. Cook until most of the water is absorbed. Then, cover with the lid and cook on low until the rice is al dente. 



What you need to do next is to stuff the peppers, place the pepper caps on top, and bake until the peppers are tender.  

When you make this recipe or any other from the blog, use the tag #kasheribbean. And, don’t forget to follow on instagram and pinterest to keep up with our easy recipes from us and the blogosphere!


 



As you can see, Stuffed Peppers are easy to make and you can play with the fillings as much as you want, so the combinations are endless. Play around with your favorite ingredients and let us know the most exciting combos you come up with! 

Until next time! 😉  

Chickpeas & Spinach Curry {Vegan, GF}

Kippur, Passover, Recipes / By

Temperature is dropping and rainy days are pretty much everyday, and this Chickpeas & Spinach Curry is perfect for such days. I hope you enjoy this easy recipe and make it very soon.

Super Quick Lunch or Dinner

I have been making this delicious and super quick Chickpeas & Spinach Curry for months now. The first time I made it I basically just trowed some random ingredients in a pot and let it cook for a few minutes. The combination of ingredients resulted in a very yummy, thick and chunky “soup” that totally exceeded my expectations.

For this recipe I used the most simple ingredients of all: yellow onion, potato, spinach, parsley, chickpeas and spices. In the pictures you can see I ended up adding some carrots; and from that you understand this curry (or thick soup) is very forgiving. You can add as much variety of veggies as you like, scraps and also is a great way to use leftovers. 

Ginger, Garam Masala, Turmeric & Curry 

These are the 4 spices I used for this recipe. The aromas are strong but the coconut milk balanced them out really well with its sweet smell. 

You can find Garam Masala in the ethnic food aisle, or in Hindu, Suriname or Morocco shops. If you don’t have one of those shops close by you can easily buy on amazon and other places online. 

How to make Chickpeas & Spinach Curry

Months ago, I was making this recipe over and over again every week, so one day I made a quick video on how to make it that you can find on our IGTV, so go check it out. 

Want more Vegan Recipes? Check out Our Ultimate Vegan Meatballs (They taste almost like the real thing!!) & the Classic Stuffed Peppers

Don’t llet the simple ingredients and easy process fool you because the flavor is amazing!

Have you made this recipe or any other from the blog? Use the tag #kasheribbean, so we can see your yummy pictures. And, don’t forget to follow on instagram and pinterest to keep up with the easy recipes we share also from the blogosphere!

Until next time! 😉