Pouffy, Fluffy Bakes

By now, all of you would have seen the cover of my book - Fried (sauteed) Salt Fish with Fried Bakes. If you want to make the cover and you haven't got the book, no worries! Create these fluffy bakes, sometimes called floats right in your own home. And all you lovers of salted cod, rejoice, for you can make fried salt fish and bakes over and over again to the delight of your friends and family. Follow the links above for both recipes. And if you're unsure about how to actually fry the bakes, then check out my little home video on how to do so. Enjoy!

Read more...

Show Me The Soup!

I know that it is very cold where many of you that read this blog live and I know that any one of these soups will warm you up good and proper. If you are in the tropics like I am, well, let's just say that the soups will lighten your eating in a fulfilling way.

This week, rather than just tell you about the soups over at About.com, I thought that I'd show it to you... entice you... Tuty, I did this post just for you. (smile)

Click on the links beneath the each photograph for the recipe.

TRIPE SOUP

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

HAM & SPLIT PEA SOUP

BEEF SOUP

Read more...

Tennis Rolls - A Guyanese Favourite

Each nation the world over has its own signature bread. The same is true for the Caribbean. We have various bread-rolls with their one-of-a-kind flavour and texture. Trinidad & Tabago has Hops Bread, Jamaica has Coco Bread, Barbados has Salt Bread and Guyana has Tennis Rolls. The Eastern Caribbean islands - St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Dominica etc. each has their own bread too.

These breads, as simple as they may seem, the recipes are not easy to come by and replicating them at home is more difficult than you think. Sure you come close, but there are certain dynamics and methods employed in a commerical bakery that results in a precision that is not always achievable in the home kitchen. Read this week's column about me trying to make Tennis Rolls and for an analyzed result. The recipe for the Tennis Rolls are at the bottom of the column.

Tennis Roll and Cheese along with a cold glass of cream soda and milk is a combo that is still relished today in Guyana. We used to eat this snack in the afternoons when we'd return home from school.

This week on About.Com - the most difficult thing about cooking with salt fish (salted cod), is not knowing how to de-salt the fish. Find out how it is done here and the importance of not removing all of the salt from the fish.

Read more...

Baking to avoid work!

People do various things to avoid work - some go for a drive, some go shopping, some to a movie, some clean their homes and vehicles. Me? I bake. Continue reading how I avoided writing this week's column and for a cheese scone recipe.

What do you do to avoid work?

Click here for the scone recipe.

Lately, I've been making a lot of bread pudding and with good results minus the eggs. I've just been using milk, sugar and various spice combos and you can use various dried fruits - raisins, cranberries, apricots (chopped fine) etc. Or, put in some rum-soaked fruits. Whether it is cardamom, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg or vanilla, you really can't fail with the flavour. The key to a good bread pudding is the time allowed for the bread to really soak up the liquid. An overnight soaking works wonders.

The following is not an exact recipe so work based on your own taste and willingness to experiment.

1. You'll need some day-old bread (cubed), whole milk, sugar, ground spice or spices of your choice and dried fruit. I generally eye-ball the amount of milk depending on how much bread there is. A 1:1 ratio should work just fine.
2. Dissolve the sugar in milk (taste and adjust accordingly).
3. Stir in the spices.
4. Add the bread and stir to mix.
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Before baking, take out the mixture, stir in the fruits and bring the pudding to room temperature.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the top is nicely browned.
9. Let cool on a wire rack.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature - as is, with ice cream or amaretto liqueur

THIS WEEK ON ABOUT.COM Make these easy Cheese Straw Wafers for your next party, tea or coffee gathering or to just snack on. They are addictive so be sure to make them when you have company! Get the recipe here.

Read more...

Bye-bye Mangoes

When will I see you again? When we will we share precious moments? Three Degrees' When Will I See You Again, kept playing in my head all the while as I wrote this week's column - Bye-bye Mangoes.

Dear Mangoes,

Your season is almost over. Sure, we have a couple of weeks remaining but I am missing you already. Each year you surprise me with your flavour and variety. Each year I marvel at your perfection, Each year, I fall in love with you deeper and deeper. I know that you must leave to regain your strength so that when we meet again, we can fall in love all over again, deeply and madly. Oh how I'll miss you so. Continue reading the column.

How do you like to enjoy mangoes? This is a question I asked a couple of years ago. Here's what many had to say.

Mangoes are delicious on their own when fully ripe but try having them with a little salt and you will be amazed by the heightened flavour and sweetness. My friend Tuty told me about adding some Kecap Manis to the salt and pepper when eating half ripe mangoes. Man, that was another flavour combo discovery - you get sweet, salt and heat in one bite. Glorious!

Among the many things I made was this mango chutney recipe from Shobana. The sweet and savoury combination was one I had never enjoyed this way with mangoes before. I made a large batch and in less than a week, it was all gone. My sister and I could not stop eating it at every turn.

I've also been enjoy some flavour combinations as I made drink with my mangoes such as mango & guava, mango & passion fruit, mango & orange and mango & pineapple. What I can I say? I have been having a thoroughly pleasureable mango season.

To tide me over, I have pureed the pulp of mangoes and frozen it into pre-measured portions to make various mango treats.

Here are some links to various mango treats in which you are sure to delight.

Erica's Shrimp Skewers with Mango Sauce
Carol's Mango Salsa
David Lebovitz's Chicken Mango Slaw
Manjula's Green Mango Drink
Rekha's Mango & Cabbage Chutney
Kevin's Curried Mango Bread
Madhuram's Mango Halwa & Tofu Mango Pudding
Shilpa's Mango Rice
Sailu's Sweet Mango Curry
DK's Mango Lassi, Mango Kulfi Ice Cream, Mango/Coconut Ice Cream, Mango/Banana Smoothie and Mango Nut Bread
Arundati's WBB Round-up of May Mango Madness

THIS WEEK ON ABOUT.COM

Get the recipe for Fried Ripe Plantains, complete with step-by-step photographs. Understand the 4 important things about frying ripe plantains, from choosing the plantain to the pan!

Read more...

Ummm Corned Beef! & A new Gig

A can of corned beef can be found in almost every Caribbean kitchen. It is one of those must-have items that we stock for that just-in-case moment. Just in case I need to cook something quickly. Just in case I didn't make it to the market for vegetables and meat. Or, just in case I have a craving for corned beef. Continue reading the column and for my recipe of Fried Corned Beef & Potatoes.

Check out my good friend Felix's posts on Corned Beef & Cabbage and Curried Corned Beef. He also gives some insight as to how corned beef is thought of in his neck of the woods. Very interesting stuff. Chris over at Caribbean Pot refers to the cooking of corned beef as a classic lazy-man dish.

While there are many dishes that one can make with corned beef. My favourite way is to have it fried with lots of onions and potatoes and eaten with rice. Fried in this case meaning sauteed. Recipe.

THE NEW GIG

I am now a Contributing Writer over at About.com - which is owned by The New York Times Company. I'll be writing about West Indian Food (English-speaking Caribbean) to the Guide site: Latin/Caribbean Food.

Each week on this blog, you will see me post photographs and links to recipes, demos or articles I've contributed. This way, you get more Caribbean food, and insights into the cuisine. This week, I'm featuring my Butter Fish in Butter Sauce recipe. It is quick and easy and can be on your table in about 30 mins. Any white fish will work for this recipe - bone-in or fillet. Of course the cooking time will reduce if you are using fillets instead of bone-in fish. Give the recipe a try and be sure to leave a comment/review at the bottom of the recipe when you do. Thanks!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Read more...