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You are here: Home / Christmas / A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to make arroz con gandules plus a testimony!

A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to make arroz con gandules plus a testimony!

December 12, 2010 by Christina

Are you ready for the second installation of  a Puerto Rican Christmas? I hope so!

But first, I have to share a testimony with you! Last week I posted two videos from a cooking channel called Elbacooks4u. I sent Elba, the host of the channel, an email to tell her how much I loved her pernil, and that I shared her recipe on my blog. Well, to make a long story short — Elba and I are still reeling over this unexpected providence; it turns out that Elba is not just an amazing cook, but also a precious sister in the Lord!  Is God sovereign, or what? Elba loves the Word of God, loves to read John MacArthur, likes the Puritans and the Valley of Vision, and even cooks deviled eggs for her church fellowships!  Now that’s a blessed congregation, wouldn’t you say?

More and more I see that our lives simply are not ours to direct.  Jeremiah 10:23 says, “I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” The knowledge that God is at work in this broken world, working all things out according to His divine will, is for me, a most comforting and blessed assurance. There is no such thing as chance or happenstance in the big things, or the seemingly inconsequential things in our lives.  God, He reigns!

Now, back to the arroz con gandules.  Arroz con gandules, or rice and green pigeon peas, is the signature dish of the Puerto Rican culture. Growing up in grandma’s house in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, this dish was a staple in our household. While there are many different variations of arroz con gandules, it is essentially a combination of rice, pigeon peas, pork, and sofrito all cooked together in the same pot.  The caldero is the pot of choice for most Puerto Rican cooking.  As Elba explains in her video, “All pots are not created equal.” I love that!

In the video below Elba will teach you how to make arroz con gandules.  Each time I watch her prepare this dish, I can practically smell the aroma from here!

As I mentioned earlier, there are many different variations. Elba likes long grain rice and my preference is medium grain.  Also, my grandmother used to put aluminum foil over the pot and then covered it with the lid.  I think she did this to not only the keep the flavor, but also to make sure the rice was not hard.  When she moved back to Puerto Rico she used banana leaves!

So, are you ready for Elba’s teach-in on how to make arroz con gandules?  You won’t be disappointed!

And before I forget, would you please take a moment to support Elba?  You can subscribe to her You Tube Channel, and also her blog.  I am here to tell you that her cooking is as authentic and creative as it gets!

Later this week I will post on how to make flan, a Spanish egg custard.  Then, your  Christmas meal will be complete!

Buen provecho!

A Puerto Rican Christmas:  How to cook pernil

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Filed Under: Christmas, Preaching, Recipes

Comments

  1. Petra Hefner says

    December 12, 2010 at 9:36 pm

    What a great testimony!!! Blessings to you and glory to our God, ever good, ever faithful…

    • Christina says

      December 12, 2010 at 9:41 pm

      Amen, Petra!

  2. Teresa says

    December 12, 2010 at 10:55 pm

    I love this, how amazing that Elba is a Sister in the Lord…that is such a wonderful story Christina. I have to admit I love to watch Daisy (forgot her last name) who makes many of these dishes on PBS….I am going to have to try a few, thanks for such a wonderful post! This could be interesting though….I am about as Scots Irish/Pennsylvania Dutch/English etc. as they come, in other words me and Conan O’Brien have a lot in common, this Puerto Rican cooking and me could be very interesting indeed.

    • Elba says

      December 12, 2010 at 11:27 pm

      Hello Teresa, So many amazing things on this blog. You have a little Pennsylvania Dutch and I lived in Philadelphia for 46 years and loved the Pennsylvania Dutch country. Tell me that you are a Philadelphia Eagles Fan..Go Eagles.They are beating the Cowboys 30-27 with 2 minuets to go.

      God Bless,

      Elba

    • Christina says

      December 13, 2010 at 8:02 am

      Teresa, I know that with just a few runs you are going to be a pro! I have seen some of your dishes and you are no amateur, lady! Much love to you!

  3. persis says

    December 12, 2010 at 10:56 pm

    God’s providence is so amazing. That is so neat about our sister Elba.

    Thanks for sharing these recipes, too!

    • Christina says

      December 13, 2010 at 7:58 am

      His providence is pretty amazing, isn’t it? I’ve stopped trying to figure it out! : )

      Lord bless you today my friend!

  4. Elba says

    December 12, 2010 at 11:14 pm

    You really have a way with words, I love the part were you mentioned the devil eggs for the church fellowship. We just came back tonight form our church Christmas play and fellowship I made my Ultimate Party Meatballs which I just uploaded today on my You Tube channel. Thank you for featuring my Arroz Con Gandules recipe on your blog, you did a great job.

    It has been a great day in the Lord,

    Elba

    • Christina says

      December 13, 2010 at 7:56 am

      Elba, I saw the video upload on the meatballs! So clever! How amazing you are with just a few quick ingredients! And, I LOVE your presentation. I never saw meatballs look so elegant! Pray you have a beautiful day in the Lord!

    • Anthony Russo says

      December 13, 2010 at 1:42 pm

      My wife showed me this article. We also go to church with Elba and you are 100% correct, we are blessed to have her!! The meatballs she made for last night’s party were delicious. Actually, seriously, they were the only dish that was completely gone by the end of the night. I can tell you that she and her husband are very fun, down to earth people.

      This is a neat blog! We look forward to reading more. Great links and sound theology. God bless you and your writing!

      -Anthony

      • Christina says

        December 13, 2010 at 4:35 pm

        What a pleasure to meet you, Anthony! And, what an encouragement to my soul to meet new brothers and sisters in the Lord! While I am learning not to question His providence, I must say, it always amazes me! And, bless God for the meatballs that your congregation ate yesterday! LOL! If they looked half as good as they did in her video then it comes as no surprise that everyone scarfed them up! And thank you so much for the encouragement on my blog! May God richly bless you and your wife and, Lord willing, one day we will meet on this side of eternity!! Blessings galore!

    • Teresa says

      December 13, 2010 at 7:27 pm

      Oh Deviled eggs, I make those for everything, Love em! It has been a wonderful day in the Lord indeed, even with all the snow. Well Elba I have to admit I am a Chicago Bears fan from way back…but I am not much into football but back in the day they were great. I loved Walter Peyton. I am so looking forward to having some time off from work during Christmas and I am going to make a few of these recipes….I hope I do not make a huge mess of things! I love your videos too, I am going to subscribe!

      • Elba says

        December 13, 2010 at 10:06 pm

        Ok I can forgive you for being a Bears Fan, and yes Walter Peyton was a great player. If you subscribe to my channel leave me a comment so that I know it was you from here.

        God Bless,

        Elba

  5. Becky says

    December 13, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    What a joy!

    Thank you for sharing the goodness of the Lord with us, as well as good recipes 🙂

    Much love,

  6. Teresa says

    December 13, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    Now we need to get Becky to share some Mexican dishes with us. you are in Mexico right Becky? LOVE Mexican food! God bless girls, The Lord is GOOD!

  7. Elba says

    December 13, 2010 at 10:20 pm

    Would just like to share a praise report with you all. A few hours ago I received a email from You Tube, telling me that they have approved my cooking channel for a full sponsored partnership. Needless to say my husband and I were happy to hear this news. To God be the Glory.

    God Bless,

    Elba

    • Christina says

      December 13, 2010 at 11:20 pm

      Bless God, Elba! That is truly wonderful news and I rejoice with you and hubby! Will this mean that your viewership will have the potential to expand? What exactly will it mean for you? What a blessing, Elba! And yes, to God be the glory!

    • Teresa says

      December 14, 2010 at 12:09 am

      Praise God !!! That is fantastic news, now everyone will be cooking Elba Style.

  8. Diane says

    December 15, 2010 at 12:36 am

    That is so amazing Christina that Elba is one of God’s precious Remnant! God is just full of surprises isn’t He?

    Happy cooking sweet sisters!

Trackbacks

  1. Puerto rico cooking | Honeste says:
    December 14, 2010 at 3:17 am

    […] A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to make arroz con gandules plus a … […]

  2. Arroz con gandules ingredients in spanish | LunchTrac says:
    December 18, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    […] A Puerto Rican Christmas: How to make arroz con gandules plus a … […]

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