Arañitas is a very typical plantain dish in Puerto Rico. These are usually shallow-fried, but try this healthier less oily version soon.

Mix purple potatoes and red onions for a colorful side dish.

Deliciously simple and crispy... the perfect late-night snack.

A very Puerto Rican fruity dessert... easy and vegan too!!!

and this hummus has a secret ingredient...

great addition to any salad...

This my upgraded recipe for coquito, the Puerto Rican version of eggnog. It has 4 types of milks - evaporated, condensed, coconut milk and coconut cream. Its easy to make and the holidays in PR would not be the same without it...

This pic might be here in Photograzing already... but I wanted to submit it for the Edible Gifts Cook and Tell. These are delicious and perfect to offer as hostess gift for the holidays...

Following Kenji's recomemndations... I had my first ever vegetarian Bahn Mi and I was NOT dissapointed... Thanks!!!

Gotta love a Pizzeria with it own built-in Radio Station...

Queso Blanco from Puerto Rico... and it's best incarnation is frying it.

The best ice dessert I've had in a long time... refreshing, sweet and sooooo easy to make.

My favorite way to enjoy and albóndiga is in a sandwich!!!! These are made of soy crumbles, but are extremely delicous...

Summer fruits sing together in a fruit salad with a tangy sweet touch.

I know it sounds weird... but it's delicious and good for you. Helps calm the nerves...

Herbivoracious, a new vegetarian cookbook from former Serious Eats contributor Michael Natkin, embraces flavors from all over the globe, with recipes that will satisfy vegetarians and omnivores alike. All week we'll be cooking from the book; enter to win your copy here! More

When Roy Choi recently announced that he's going vegetarian, the food world freaked out a little. Wait, the same dude who made Korean short rib sliders and pork belly tacos a thing? The Korean-American chef who started the Kogi truck back in 2008 (there's now a fleet of five trucks plus four brick-and-mortar restaurants, and he's working on a memoir, Spaghetti Junction) shared the news on his blog, Riding Shotgun. He wrote: "Animals be talking to me. They told me... stop. Stop, Roy. Please." Choi told us about his favorite spots for meatfree eating in Los Angeles. More

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I can't get enough of plantains, which is a good thing because Colombians eat them by the mocilla-ful. Over the course of this series, they'll show up in multiple forms. Black-skinned and sweet, roasted with guava paste and cheese, green-skinned and starchy, boiled into a thick soup, or shaped into cups and filled with ceviche. This week, however, we're talking patacones, which, depending on exactly where you are, are also called tostones. More

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Here's a vegetarian version of the bistro classic Croque Monsieur: thick and hearty, with the smoky flavor of charred zucchini, Emmenthaler, and a Dijon-nutmeg béchamel. It's a sandwich of fork-and-knife proportions. More

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This week, you showed off your preserving skills with strawberry-balsamic jam, peach butter, and much more. Take a look at your jams and jellies! More

Ah, summer. The heat doesn't stop me from baking, but it does make me think about seasonal ingredients. The farmers' market is bursting with fresh produce but it's hard to translate some of them into bread. What about corn, you say? Throw some fresh corn along with the cornmeal into the muffin batter. More

To say I await tomato tarts all year is not an exaggeration. In fact, I blame my love of tomato tarts for the ridiculous number of tomato plants in my garden each spring. Just the promise of a tart influences my tomato selection. I'm always thinking, "How will this kind look/taste in a tart?" More

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Perhaps all of you are using your backyard basil for Margherita pizzas and your mint for mojitos, but we didn't get a lot of submissions this week. Still, some gorgeous herby desserts from Rashmi P, Melissa W, and KarmaFree Cooking. More

The thing is, food blog photography is completely different from professional food photography. Most of the time, we're working in low-light situations where we neither have the time nor the ability to set up lighting rigs or even an off-camera flash, for that matter. Over the years, we've figured out the best ways to get presentable photos out of just about every situation food blogging will put you in. We've compiled the most important tips here. More

Last week for our Weekend Cook and Tell we asked all of you to tell us about the one item in your kitchen that you just can't live without for a challenge we called Golden Gadgets. Responses ranged from high tech and powerful (think Vitamix, the be-all, end-all of blenders) to the tried and true (a 50 year-old flat grater, passed down for generations). Here's a look at the gadgets that get the most play in your kitchens. More

What's ketchup without mustard? It seemed only right that yellow mustard followed ketchup at the start of our new Sauced column. Unlike ketchup, which required some tweaking to get right, the first recipe I tried for French's copycat yellow mustard was a hit. More

Before going gluten-free, it wasn't unusual for me to travel three hours for a good lemon bar. The siren call came from Rosie's Bakery in Boston. I loved these bars. Made with a tangy lemon topping on a thick, buttery shortbread, I picked them over her famous Chocolate Orgasm brownies every time. It was time to set out to make my own gluten-free version. More

Shopping for some Mexican ingredients is quite simple—but if you want to go beyond the Goya aisle, New York has a lot to offer. Here's a tour of Mexican ingredient shopping all over the city. More

Last week for our Weekend Cook and Tell we asked all of you to say goodbye to summer with a challenge entitled A Fond Farewell to Summer (Produce), a chance to celebrate the end of the season and share your favorite late summer recipes. Let's take a look at some of our favorite farewell dishes. More

In addition to some more general food-culture topics that our Culinary Ambassadors have been sharing, we also asked them if they'd recommend some great locals-only spots to eat for any SE'rs who might be visiting the country or region in question. Here, MadelynRodriguez three spots in Puerto Rico. More

In Puerto Rico I have to shop around. I love Costco for some of my produce—tomatoes, lettuce, berries, and mushrooms for stuffing.... I go to a regular supermarket for basics (like cereal, milk, and produce) that I do not need 10 pounds of at one time. I visit a health-food place to get my vegetarian goodies, like eggless mayonnaise, tofu, brown rice pastas, quinoa, etc. —MadelynRodriguez More

Last week on our Weekend Cook and Tell challenge we asked all of you for your favorite squash recipes for a challenge that we called Squash Invasion! Since marrows are so plentiful this time of year the challenge ended up being quite well received, giving all of us lots of ideas for how to tackle mountains of squash. Let's take a look at some of our favorite squash creations. More

These days they serve them lots of "comida criolla," or local fare such as rice and beans, lasagnas, pepper steak, and even "pastelones," which are Puerto Rican casseroles made sometimes from sweet fried plantains or mashed potatoes. They also offer lighter fare, such as sandwiches, wraps, or even hot dogs, if that's considered light. There are some salads, but if the kids say they will not eat them, they will not give salad to them—as if kids really know what's best for them! More

The typical condiment of Puerto Rico is mayoketchup—a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup. Everyone has their recipe for it, and you use it to dunk fried foods like tostones and sorullitos de maíz. More