Dominican-Style Chemical-Free Low-Sodium Adobo Seasoning

I grew up in a Dominican household cooking Dominican food, which means that store-bought Adobo was a staple in our pantry. I recently looked at the ingredients label on a bottle of Adobo and here is the list:

Salt, Granulated Garlic, Tricalcium Phosphate (Prevents Caking), Oregano, Black Pepper, Turmeric.

The only foreign element here is Tricalcium Phosphate, which is chemically a type of salt derived from natural and inorganic elements like rock. While I don’t believe it’s poison, I’m not a biochemist and I don’t know what the effects on my body would be like my adrenals or my thyroid. If it’s not found in any one food as it is, I feel it’s best to leave it alone. Ignorance is not always bliss, so I’d rather not put something in my mouth that I’m ignorant of. Wow, someone could take that so many ways!

Anywho… I wasn’t impressed with the other ingredients either. Salt is the first ingredient which means it’s very high in sodium and the flavor isn’t really coming from the other elements as much as it’s coming from the salt. Secondly, tumeric isn’t even a traditional Caribbean spice – it’s native to southwest India!

Here are the ingredients for my DOMINICAN version of Adobo:

• 4 teaspoons garlic powder
• 4 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper (I like using one from Penzeys Spices since it’s all natural)
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground annatto seeds (achiote powder)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients well together and store in a tight, air-proof container. To season meat with it, wash the meat in lime juice or apple cider vinegar, pat dry and add equal parts adobo and garlic powder to it. Add sea salt to taste, keeping in mind that you need it to bring out the flavors, but there is also already some salt in the lemon pepper that’s in the adobo.

If you’re seasoning and working with a new type of salt that you’ve never used before, it’s best to go light on it. You can always add more salt later, but you can’t rescue an over-salted dish… yek!

Whatever you make, I’m sure it’ll be delicious. Happy cooking!

Like Water For Chocolate: Can People Feel Me Through My Food?

After my long hiatus from blogging, I decided it was time to return! Lots of exciting things to talk about and I sincerely believe that my writing has gotten better since then. Blogging is like talking smack when you grow up in the Bronx (as I did): if you’re not good at it, just don’t waste your time or anyone else’s for that matter.

Unsurprisingly “Como Agua Para Chocolate” (Like Water For Chocolate) is one of my favorite movies. It’s a love story that uses concepts like Magical Realism to convey ideas and richen the plot. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s basically about a girl who grew up in the kitchen and who has a way of making everyone feel what she’s feeling when they eat the food she makes. When she becomes enamored with a young man is when her emotions really start to come out in the food.  If she’s sad and cries into a stew, everyone eating it starts crying. When she’s in love and makes a quail dish with soft rose petals, everyone’s hormones literally go out of control and her sister strips naked and runs away with a cowboy. Yeah, this movie is pretty cool.

As home cooks, we often cook with love, giving a part of ourselves and nourishing those we feed.

If I’m feeling amorous, you better believe my dish will reflect it. I’ll add garlic, creamy butter, lemon, peppers, spices and cook things that are light and sexy like scallops, zesty salads, maybe a juicy cut of steak.

If the weather's been cold and brutal or if the week has been tough and I want to convey comfort and warmth, I'll make a hearty stew with a spicy kick to warm you up and some pillowy sweet cornbread you'll want to melt into.

I can get romantic about food, and when I see someone close their eyes and exhale deeply after taking a bite, I feel a kinship with Tita from the movie… I know they can feel me through my food.