One of my favorite places to visit is the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, which I've written about before (many times). I'm not ashamed to say that one of the reasons I love to vacation there is the food. My beautiful grandmother is from San Juan, and I was no stranger to Puerto Rican cooking, but it wasn't until I visited the island and ate traditional dishes with the smell of the ocean in my nose and the sound of the Coqui frog in my ears that I really experienced Puerto Rican cuisine.
On one trip, my good friend Cindilah and I were ravenous after a morning spent wandering around Old San Juan, and found ourselves in a little cafe near or on the
Plaza de Colon (I think it was there, anyway, because no matter where we went, we somehow always ended up in that Plaza). We took a chance on the day's special,
pollo en fricase. It was a thick and hearty stew with a rich, flavorful base, chicken, potatoes, and spices - perfect for two hungry sight-seers. We spent the lunch in relative silence, punctuated with a lot of "OH MY GAW!" and "
mmmmm..." That was a good day.
Out of nowhere, I had a hankering for the stew the other day. One can make and eat stew in summer, right? I searched for a recipe online, found I had all of the ingredients on hand, and decided to go for it. I adjusted the recipe based on what I had, what I prefer, and how my grandmother taught me to cook Puerto Rican food.
