Week 6 – Arroz Con Calamares (or Rice with Squid)

So, I have a guilty pleasure. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Seafood. And in my life, I have had the pleasure of either being married to or dated a wide variety of nationalities. Lol… One of my biggest loves is that of the Spanish culture the amazing food I have learned to cook through out the years. One of the dishes that my ex-father n law loved that to this day I love is that of Rice with Squid. Now this recipe is not that of the yellow rice but regular plain rice and squid. You can turn this into a yellow rice recipe which I will also include in this week’s meal. Let’s get this meal started. Enjoy 😊

So, let’s set the mood. I always love music and no matter what I am cooking I will have the music going. I will be dancing and singing and getting the energy in that house for the purpose of love, the purpose of positive energy to go into my food, the purpose of bringing happiness to all that are in the house when they eat. Food is a staple of our lives why not give that food a little boost when we eat. Then you can set some incense or candles up I like lilacs or honey because it reminds me of my grandmothers and ancestors. Helps me feel close to them when I cook. Now you will see I use a lot of Goya products but if you have a store that does not sell these items that is fine you can get these items in any brand most of the time. 

MAGIC ITEMS…

OLIVE OIL – can be used in any spell work in place of oils that you can not find. Olive oil has been used in many forms of protection for the home, and fertility

OLIVES – now the actual olive I do not know of any magic for this product. But using the leaves off the olives itself can be very rewarding. You can use the leaves by writing down the intention on the leaf and burning it. Most of the time leaves are used in protection.

RICE – now like some of the herb we use to create certain spells. Rice is a wonderful thing to always have on hand for spell work. You can use it for money, blessing, protection, fertility, the list goes on.

SALT – as we have covered before salt is an amazing tool in our world because of the protecting it will create in your spell work

PEPPER – cleansing of jealousy, banishing of evil energy around you. When added with certain oils it can make the spell work stronger

ADOBE and SAZON – both have a wide variety of ingredients in them both – but most of them are used for protection.

INGREDIENTS

1 TBSP of olive oil

2 6-ounce cans of calamares en su tinta (cuttlefish in its ink) (this is by Goya as well)

½ CUP alcaparrado (This is by Goya and they are basically olives)

4 ½ cups extra-long grain rice (now I know some use short grain rice, but to me Goya extra-long grain rice is better)

4 ½ to 5 CUPS boiling water or chicken stock (chicken stock if you want the rice to have a little taste)

2 TSP of salt

1 TSP of pepper

Adobe (Another GOYA product) to taste

Sazon (Another Goya product) 1 to 2 packets (yellow rice)

Directions

Let get this started. This is one of those things that when you are cooking you want to make sure you pay attention to the liquid levels because you can very easily scorch the rice and nothing worse than burnt rice.

1.       Start by adding oil in the pot (or cauldron) make sure that you have a nice tight-fitting lid and you want to start by sauté the calamari over medium heat for about 5 to 6 mins. Then you add the remaining ingredients. Bring the water or chicken stock to a boil. (NOW ONCE YOU ADD THE RICE DO NOT STIR UNTIL ALMOST ALL THE LIQUID HAS EVAPORATED). At this time, you stir from right to left taking the rice and folding it to the center. (YOU STICK YOUR METAL SPOON IN THE MIDDLE AN IF IT STANDS ON ITS OWN THEN YOU KNOW THAT YOUR RICE IS READY TO STEAM). You are now going to cover the rice with the tight-fitting lid and cook on super low heat for 40-45 mins. (SOME PEOPLEWILL TELL YOU TO STIR… DO NOT STIR THE RICE YOU ARE STEAM COOKING IT AND DO NOT WANT TO DISTRUB THE RICE WHILE COOKING).  One the rice is done after 45 mins then you stir making sure the rice is tender and serve. That easy.

BASIC YELLOW RICE (some add pigeon peas depends on your taste)

2 TBSP of oil

4 to 4 ½ cups of rice (extra-long grain rice)

4 to 4 ½ cups water or chicken stock

1 to 2 teaspoons of Adobe or to taste

1 to 2 packs of Sazon

DIRECTION

So put the oil in the cauldron coating it so your rice does not stick, then take the water or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the adobe, sazon, and rice. Once again you do not stir the rice until all the water has evaporated. Once the water is out of the pot then you stir from right to left and get the rice nice and fluffy and cover it with the lid for 40 to 45 mins. Check at the 40 min mark and fluff again and you can serve. (This rice can be used any time with any meat)