Yellow Fried Chicken & A Product Review

Raise your hand if like fried chicken. Raise both of your hands if you like homemade fried chicken.

Over the past Christmas holidays I had the pleasure of meeting a friend and her family for the first time. In true foodie-style, the gathering took place amidst a feast - an Indonesian feast. Among the many things that my friend, Tuty prepared was Yellow Fried Chicken (ayam goreng kuning)... When the platter of chicken was unveiled I caught my breath. Never before had I seen such perfectly, delicately browned fried chicken. Click here to continue reading the column about this amazing dish that you are definitely going to try making. It is the technique of twice-cooking the chicken that makes it so special.

The recipe I used can be found at the bottom of the column so click here. However, there are some speciality items that are not available where I am so you can email Pepy or Tuty for theirs. And just in case you have not discovered Pepy's blog yet, what are you waiting for? Go visit now!

Now for the product review.

When I received an invitation from Matt at Daregal Gourmet to review their line of Fresh Frozen Herbs, and to give a frank review of their products, I willing accepted because as you know I am a huge fan of herbs. I liked the fact that there was no pressure to be biased.

I am blessed to live in one of the many parts of the world where the weather is never below 70 degrees and many ingredients can be bought fresh and grown all year round. Given that my only use of herbs has been in its fresh state, I was curious as to how Daregal’s Fresh Frozen Herbs would work. I was sent the entire line: basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, grilling blend, Italian blend and original blend. Here are my findings:

Packaging

• The herbs come in individual containers with flip-top shaker. The contents as well as the expiration date and directions are clearly labelled. The label even indicates cooking tips by suggesting particular ingredients that work well with the respective herbs. It also suggests dishes that the herbs can be used to flavour and prepare.
• Given that it’s a frozen product, the herbs arrive in a secure enclosed Styrofoam container.

Convenience

• Herbs come individually and as parts of selected blends
• Already chopped
• Lasts for a long time
• Conveniently available all year-round
• Cuts down on prepping time when having to cook with herbs

Uses

• I used the herbs in sautés, stir-fries, soups, stews, grind-up to make pastes for curry and to season and marinate fish, chicken and meats. I also used the Italian Blend to make some marinara sauce.

Observations

• I was pleasantly surprised at the fresh aroma of the herbs when I opened the containers to use. Some things tend to lose their aroma once frozen but not so with these herbs, I could smell the distinct aroma of each herb.
• Once added to the pot or pan, the herbs defrosted almost immediately and that’s because they are finely chopped.
• As soon as the herbs meet the heat, you smell the aroma of the flavour it imparts to the dish
• Grinding into a paste is fast and easy work and there is no need to add liquid for the pastes because the grinding releases moisture as the herbs defrost

Recommendations

• I would recommend this line of product to anyone wishing to use herbs in their everyday cooking
• It is ideal for the busy cook and for the novice cook. For the busy cook it will cut down on prep time and for the novice cook, it will inspire confidence to experiment cooking with herbs
• If you can’t get ready access to herbs in general, these frozen herbs will not disappoint
• Bottom line, it’s an excellent product. Try it, you would not be disappointed.

Note

• I would not recommend it for garnishing.

Read more...

Jam versus Jelly versus Marmalade

Jam, Jelly, Marmalade, they're all the same right? No. Well, it depends... on who you and ask and where you're from, where you live and then of course you have to factor in the aficionados. In the simplest sense, jams, jellies, conserves etc are all a form of fruit preserve. It is good to know however, the difference and what is it about each that makes some us choose one over the other. Click here to read the column and find out specifically about the difference between jam, jelly and marmalade.

I made some plum jam this week. I like jam with pieces of the fruit clearly evident. Look at those voluptuous, soft, tender pieces of plum. Oh yum! I like to serve jams like these with things other than bread and biscuits, like ice creams, tarts, sponge cakes etc. There are many excellent jam recipes out there but if you want mine for this jam, just email me.

Now Marmalade is not one of my favourite things but I have to say, I was impressed with my first attempt at making it. I made the British Style marmalade which has the bitter tang to it at the end. The American Style marmalade does not, it is sweet throughout.

Try eating the marmalade like I did, with a shower of sharp habanero cheddar cheese - you get the sweet, the salt, the heat and tang in each bite. So good!

Congratulations to PJ over at Seduce Your Tastebuds for winning a copy of my book. Her entry was voted number one in the Eat Healthy Contest. Congrats PJ!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Read more...

Describe your Cuisine

When asked to describe Caribbean cuisine, one word that frequently comes to our minds is "spicy". However, when we say spicy I think that it is interpreted solely to mean hot – heat from the scotch bonnet peppers our region is known for. This interpetation is not exactly true. Read this week's column to get an idea about how to describe and interpret Caribbean Cuisine.

Dishes such as this Pumpkin Pudding is an example of our sweet-spicy-side. Email me for the recipe.

A low and slow cooked stew like pork and beans reveals the depth of flavour our cuisine is known for. Recipe available.

Like I said in the column, "We are hot, we are spicy, we are sour, we are sweet, we are salty, we are tasty, we are tangy, we are sharp and even though we are mild at times, one thing we are not is bland."

COOKBOOK STUFF

Congratulations to Elle of Elle's New England Kitchen, the winner of the Royal Foodie Joust, themed "Caribbean" for her excellent Banana Foster Cupcakes! Elle wins a signed copy of my book, My Caribbean Cookbook Tastes Like Home.

The winner of Let's All Cook's Eat Healthy Contest will be announced next week as voting closes at mid-night tonight (Saturday, January 17). If you have voted yet, please click this link to do so now.

Finally, there's still plenty of time to CLICK Red for a chance to win a copy of the book!

Read more...

A Test Of My Patience...

I do not shy away from hard work. I know and understand that there are certain things that take time to prepare and cook. However, after sitting for more than two hours cutting, peeling, shredding a katahar’s pulp and shelling its seeds and then waiting for more than an hour for it to finish cooking, I was no longer feeling the love. Click here to continue reading the column and to learn more about this vegetable.

Left: Katahar un-cut Right: Cut Katahar showing seeds & pulp

This vegetable is known as:
Katahar (Guyana)
Chataigne (Trinidad & Tobago)
Breadnut (English)
Castana (Spanish)
Chataignier (French)
Kapiak (New Guinea)
Kamansi, dulugian, pakau, kolo, ugod (Phillipines)
Kulur, Kelur, Kulor, Kuror (Malaya, Java)
Mei Kakano (Marquesas)
Pana de pepitas (Puerto Rico)

Top: pulp with seeds Bottom: seeds ready to be shelled

Left: pulp shredded Right: pulp shredded and seeds shelled and cut ready to be cooked

Top left: Uncooked ripe seeds, Bottom left: cooked ripe seeds, Right: Cooked seed whole, shelled & peeled

Katahar Curry

The Royal Foodie Joust and Eat Healthy Contest that provided a chance to win a copy of my book are over and next week the winners will be announced! Don't forget that you can CLICK for a chance to win a copy of the book and be on the look out for other blog contests where you can win another copy of the book.

Thanks to all the Royal Foodie Joust & Eat Healthy Contest participants! We could not have done it without you!

Read more...

Eureka's Green Thumb!

As the New Year steps in, many of us will have made various resolutions that have something to do with eating. Some folks will decide to restrict a particular food or beverage; some folks will have taken the drastic step of cutting out certain foods and drinks altogether. However, I hope some of you will be like me. I have resolved to experiment more and try new things and explore new ways of using familiar ingredients. I want to expand my palate and the palates of those with whom I share my meals and the use of herbs is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to expand and experiment in the kitchen. Click here to read the entire column and to meet Eureka!

This collage is just a sample of some of the herbs that can be found in Eureka's garden and at her stall.

Follow this link for a closer look at the herbs, a description and how you might use it. I have also included informative links from here, here and here about herbs, how to grow them, preserve them etc.

You may find my previous posts on Green Seasoning and Thyme useful as well.

CLICK the photography event is back and this month, the theme is RED! Participating also gives you a chance to win a copy of my book! So take out those cameras and get CLICK-ing! Read all the details of the event here.

Don't forget that you can also win a copy of the book by participating in the Royal Foodie Joust and the Eat Healthy Contest!

Read more...