It's "Offally" Good!

Last week when I saw fried chicken liver on Glenna's blog, not only did inspiration for this week's column strike, but suddenly I had a mad craving for fried chicken liver and gizzards. Yeah, scoff if you like but let me tell you, don't knock em till you try em! At home in Guyana, we love to cook this bounjal (dry curry) and eat it with dhal and rice. Oh gosh just writing this has me salivating, I guess I know what I'm cooking tomorrow (lol).

Seriously though, read this week's column about my first encounter with offal and how I grew to love it. The recipe for the fried liver and gizzards can be found here. The others are pretty straight forward but if you have any questions, leave it in the comments section or email me and I'll get back to you.

Mommy, Happy Mothers' Day! This is also my sister Pat's first Mothers' Day so do join me in wishing her and all other first time moms, especially those that read this blog, a very Happy Mothers' Day. And to all the mothers, I wish you a day filled with love, relaxation, good food and drink!

Finally, an update on my book. I completed it this past week and it's now off to the publishers. Thanks for your continued support and understanding epecially at times when I could not visit your blog. I turn my attention now to the mountain of assignments and exams I have to grade (groan) :))

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ackee & Saltfish

Ackee & Saltfish is Jamaica's national dish, though I hear it is getting some serious competition from the much loved rice and peas and curried goat. But that's a story for another time, today I want to talk about how tasty ackee is.

Ackee is currently in season and I am enjoying the bounty. My friend Paula brought me 3 lbs of fresh ackee last week and naturally that meant that I'd be making ackee and saltfish. Gosh, I know those of you Caribbean people living abroad will be envious :)



Ackee tastes and looks like scrambled eggs, it's creamy when cooked with natural notes of sweetness that contrasts well with the saltiness of the saltfish, sauteed with onions, tomatoes, sweet, hot & black peppers and herbs. This is a dish that is much sought after at home and abroad.

The product of an evergreen tree, the fruit is ripe and ready for picking when it turns a bright red-orange and bursts open. You can read more about ackee here. And you can read this week's column here.

This past Thursday was Valentine's day and since I only post on Saturdays, I am sending all my love to you today. And since this is a food blog, I am dedicating the tomato rose that garnishes the ackee and saltfish to you, yes, I made it myself :)

I am also the lucky recipient of The Spreader of Love Award and so I want to share that award with each and every one of you, yes, YOU that's reading this blog right now :) So be sure to wear it proudly on your blog. I'd like to thank sincerely, my dear friend, Vi over at East Meets West Kitchen for bestowing me with this award. Thank you!

This week over at Forgive Me My Nonsense... let's pay more attention to what's happening around us, you never can tell when and where inspiration will show up.

Tortured with Porridge

You may think I'm joking but I'm not. "The Quaker man on the box was probably a nice enough guy, but I hated that smiling face on the box looking back at me, almost mocking me." I can't write more about it here, it's too painful, you'll have to click here to read my encounters with this dish.

Many of you have written how interested and intrigued you are by the peanut punch so here is the recipe. There's a kid version and a spiked adult version and since I am an adult, you know which one I made (evil grin).

Peanut Punch

Ingredients
2/3 cups of chunky or smooth peanut butter
3 cups whole milk, cold
4 tbsp sugar or to taste
2 sprinklings of ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (extra to garnish if you like)

Method

• Put all the ingredients, milk first, into a blender and whiz for 1 minute or until smooth
• Serve over ice or as is. Or, pour into a jug and chill some more then serve

Note

• For an adult peanut punch, spike with Baileys or other Creme liquers; these are added to the ingredients before blending.
• Skim milk can also be used but for the real creamy goodness, use the whole milk.

Be sure to check out Forgive me my nonsense... where this week Bee rants, questions and discuss, to put it in her words, "The freak show called democracy."

Comfort in a can

Often referred to in some parts as “poor man’s food” certain canned goods have taken a bad rap in sales and are often relegated to the deep, dark, recess of many cupboards. My blog sister here knows all to well what I am taking about.

The canned sardines we love in the Caribbean come from Canada but we think of it as very much, ours! Often when Caribbean people living abroad are yearning for the tastes of home, they reach for a can of sardines. These days, some people are too proud to say they like or eat sardines for fear of being judged to be of a particular class. Not me! I don’t care who says what about my liking sardines. But, when you read this week’s column, you’ll see how I faltered for a moment, but only for a moment! Click here to read the column.

Chop up some onions, hot peppers along with lime or lemon juice, adjust the salt and you're good to go!

Mash with the back of a fork.

Serve with rice, roti, bread, whatever you like.

Add some mayonnaise (not the no fat, low fat, lite stuff!), You need the proper thing to bind the mixture and use as a dip or spread for sandwiches.

Pillowy-soft white bread is best for this sandwich. I found the whole-wheat, whole-grain and multi-grain breads way to heavy for this.

The brand I like: Brunswick
The variety I eat: Sardines in Soya oil. I don’t play around with the other stuff.

How do you like your sardines? If you interested in pickling your own, check this out.

You will notice that the blog has a new look and it is just in time. Today is my first blogiversary! So what better way to celebrate that to dress up and step out with a new look. All the credit for the look goes to a dear friend, Shazia Mistry, a web developer, who offered me a free make-over. My sincere thanks Shaz! Sure, I had some input in terms of colours, fonts and various other things that I like but the conception and creation and bringing my ideas to life belong to this very talented woman. And she did it working through the Christmas holidays, being sick and taking care of her family who also were unwell, just to ensure that I am able to have the new look in time for the blogiversary.

If you’ve been looking for the services of a professional web developer, please be sure to check out Shaz’s website and contact her. She’s great to work with. Be sure to also check out her parenting blog here.

********************************

It’s a new year and unlike me, another friend and blog sister, Bee, has made resolutions. You’ve got to read them here at Forgive me my nonsense…

What's for breakfast?

I'm going to make a statement here and then I'll probably be bombarded with emails and comments about why I should have this important meal but before you do, please read the column right through to the end, then let's talk :)

I do not like breakfast. There, I've said it. I have a variety of quirks about this meal such as the time I want to eat it, what kind of dishes I should be served and when I want to have it. You can read all about it here.

What I will say here is that I only like savoury dishes for breakfast, keep the scones, jams, jellies, marmalades, tea-rings, buns, muffins and sweet breads for afternoon tea. (lol) Here are some of the foods I enjoy whenever I decide that I want to have breakfast-which is not often.

Breakfast sausages, bacon, eggs and homemade hashbrown potatoes rule the day!

I always attack the sausages first.

Then there are times I just like to opt for fried eggs but they must come served with lots of green onions and hot chilies!

Bakes, I love the bakes made in Guyana and known as floats in Trinidad & Tobago. They can be stuffed with anything, but are most frequently eaten with fried saltfish cooked with lots of tomatoes and onions.

Sada roti for breakfast is another favourite of mine. I like it hot, sliced in half and buttered! Or served with tomato choka or eggplant choka.

You can email me for any of the recipes for the dishes featured in this post.