Cooking with Dominican Love

I’m Dominican.  My parents are from the Dominican Republic and my sisters and I were born in the U.S., but I am Dominican.  Dominican by the language I speak….the music I dance to….the customs & traditions I will pass down to my children… and so many other aspects of my culture that make me who I am.  I especially love my dominican food.  Luckily for my husband I love to cook (and bake).  I started cooking when I was just 6 years old.  My mother taught me how to make white rice, red beans, and chicken, called “La Bandera” (the flag) among Dominicans.  This is the most traditional meal in the D.R.  You can walk into a Dominican restaurant and ask for “La Bandera“and you will get a plate of rice, beans, and whatever meat they are cooking that day.  It is delicious!

When I met my husband I thought I was going to be in trouble in the cooking department because I wasn’t sure if he would like rice and beans.  Come to find out he is from New Orleans and they love rice and beans.  The food in New Orleans is very similar to Caribbean and latin american food and it’s been smooth sailing for us every since!

One thing I always have on hand in my kitchen is sofrito. Sofrito is an aromatic puree of vegetables and herbs that serves as the base for a lot of spanish and latin american dishes.  I have created this video tutorial to show you one way to make and store your own sofrito.  You can switch up the ingredients to include aromatics that you like in your food.  If you like more heat you can add jalapeño or habanero peppers.  If you like red bell peppers instead of green bell peppers you can use that instead. It is really up to you.

If you have never tried your hand at Caribbean or latin cooking… I highly recommend you do! Enjoy this tutorial and please comment and let me know what dishes you make with your sofrito!

9 replies on “Cooking with Dominican Love

  • Anonymous

    I love all your videos. You are an inspiration to me….I’m so proud to hear you are also Dominican. I’m currently living in Santiago D.R recently moved here from Texas. I’m learning so much from your sewing videos. Thank You 🙂

    Marleny

  • Annie Payano

    I also are dominican, but I grow up in Puerto Rico, now living in Florida. I also do My Sofrito, most like the way you do, but I placed it on a jar, cause I use frequently. I congratulate you, and you made me feel proud. I also quilt, so I will be following you in those, too. I just discover your site, today–12/26/2011. Congratulations, keep the good work!!!!

  • Anonymous

    I too make my own sofrito but, I save my plastic container from egg which holds 1 1/2 tablespoons each giving me 24 cubes, then freeze them once frozen I remove them, placing the sofrito cube in a freezer bag…they last up to a month…love you blog, I also quilt not to many Spanish quilters around.

  • Anonymous

    By accident i found this site, and what a great find! I love this recipe as its easy to make, ingredients are simple and easy to find and mostly it tastes great.. i recently seasoned my chicken with sofrito and let it marinate over night. My family loved it. Presently i am following her 12 video quilt series. Loving it. Its like having my own class! Highly recommend this recipe, and tuturials

  • Unknown

    Hey Vanessa,

    Like you I am also Dominican. I was born in DR, my mom is from Puerto Plata and dad is from San Pedro. I first found you when I stumbled your soap making tutorial. I recently took up sewing, and I saw your interview video, I had to chuckle when you said you were from Gainesville, FL because I moved out of there a year ago! Boo! To Wisconsin. Anyways, I wanted to congratulate you on your awesome website and for your tutorials. I pretty much follow the same sofrito recipe, I add basil and parsley too. One thing I do do different, is that I use ice cube trays. Once they set, I transfer them to a ziplock bag. Usually depending on how many people I feed, I need 1 to 2 cubes. There are different sizes for icecubes, so you can make wider/taller sofrito cubes to meet your needs.

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