Misha's Empanadillas

Prepared to cook!

All this shadow cooking with Mama has started inspiring me to serve up my own tasty creations!  Also, since I'm still waiting on my start date as an English teacher out here, I've had some time to really experiment!  Here's the deal...empanadillas are dough disks usually stuffed with meat or seafood and then baked or fried.  Because I am in tropical Puerto Rico, frying is the typical route because its doesn't make the house hot, its fast, and its super tasty!  So, for now, I'm sticking to fried goodies.

Hairnet and dough!

As I've mentioned before, finding a vegetable around here is like finding a bagel in LA....pretty impossible (especially when it comes to fast food like empanadillas).  So, I took to Mama's fridge and cabinets and started creating.  What did I come up with? Black beans & beets, as well as a brown rice (made by Mama), black beans and steamed veggies empanadillas.   I loved them but thought that the black beans needed to be a bit softer and would be extra tasty with some sort of avocado dipping sauce. The next day I made a turkey bacon and fat free cheddar cheese one and decided to take them to my aunt's house for a taste test.

(Pre-fry pic) I used beet juice as an identifier

So, with a nervous stomach, I served my samples to Titi Annie, Tio Edwin (Mr. Miagi) and his wife Carmen.  When I arrived, I didn't tell them what was inside the empanadillas, I simply asked them to please try them and give me their honest opinion.  The result?  They LOVED them!  I told them about my black bean dilemma but Titi and Tio Edwin didn't agree.  They thought the beans tasted just fine.  I also told them about my idea for the dipping sauce and Titi agreed that it could serve as a nice complement to the empanadilla.

Front: Black bean and beet/Back: Brown Rice

I now have plans for a few different tofu options and eventually a dessert empanadilla.  I am so excited about this new cooking adventure!  I called my mom up the other day and ran all my ideas by her.  She sounds equally excited and extremely encouraging.  Anyone who knows my mom knows that she is like a Puerto Rican Martha Stewart (although she's really nice and warm) so the fact that I have started experimenting in the kitchen really gets her giddy.

Aaaaah!

We'll see where this road takes me...one thing is for sure, with my Mama, mom and Titi involved, we can all look forward to some amazing recipes!!! ;)