In-Season Enjoyment - Sorrel

While in some parts of the world this fruit grows all year round, here in the Caribbean, it comes into season at the end of November and lasts until March. We call it Sorrel but it also goes by the names Hibiscus and Roselle. It is not Christmas in the Caribbean if there is no Sorrel; it is a must-have. Richly spiced with cloves and cinnamon, along with ginger, a tall glass of cold Sorrel quenches the thirst and sets the mood for the season. For an adult version of the drink, don't be shy, add some dark rum as you stir to sweeten the drink.

RECIPE - SORREL DRINK

Most people are familiar with the red Sorrel but it also comes in a rich, deep ruby-red, almost burgundy colour as well as what we would call, white sorrel. The white version looks like an unripened red Sorrel but it is not, this is a different variety or strain of the fruit. Each type gives a different finish to whatever you are using them to make. The regular red sorrel takes well to spicing, and is lighter in texture. I find the ruby Sorrel to be stronger in flavour and can take more assertive spicing, it is one of the reasons I prefer it if I am making Sorrel chutney. Due to its robust flavour, this dark rich Sorrel also pairs well with Vodka or dark rum to make liqueur. Let me hasten to add that you can make chutney and liqueur with the regular red version, so please do not be dissuaded.

The white Sorrel is lighter in flavour and is more citrusy and tart. I think it would be perfect for making white wine. I've only ever used it to make jam and drink. In both preparations I used a little more sugar than with the red and ruby versions to balance the tartness. I also found it was better to spice the white Sorrel with only cinnamon sticks; whole allspice berries worked well too. The cloves were overpowering. Actually, it makes sense given the flavour profile of the white Sorrel.

This year, I want to encourage you to do more with sorrel than simply make drink, try making a chutney which you can serve with your ham and other roasts over the holidays or throughout the year. It would be a welcome addition to any cheese board too. This chutney is the best friend to ham cutters (Bajan name for ham sandwiches). Whether you are making chicken or turkey breast sandwiches, this chutney will be sure to elevate. If you're into cranberries, you'll like Sorrel.

RECIPE - SORREL CHUTNEY

Now here is a 2-in-1 deal - the same time you set out to make the chutney, make the liqueur! The concentrated liquid is used to make liqueur and the petals/sepals are used to make the chutney!

The liqueur takes 3 full weeks (21 days) to cure so if you are planning on making some for the holidays, set it soon. The longer it matures, the better it tastes. It is the same thing with the chutney, which you will store in the refrigerator; it will last for months and the flavour will improve with time.

RECIPE - SORREL LIQUEUR

You can also check out my friend, Felix's recipe over at Simply Trini Cooking for his Sorrel Liqueur.

Sorrel jam is like having a concentrated version of Sorrel drink. Spiced the same way as the drink, this smooth, thick jam not only spreads easily but it has a pleasing hint of tartness at the end. One of the best parts of making this jam is that it provides it own natural pectin which you get from boiling the seeds! Sorrel jam is fine on it own, and it pairs well with aged cheddar, Havarti and goat cheese. One year, I mixed the jam with mango achar and used the combo to glaze the Christmas ham - the glaze was sweet, spicy, fruity and hot. YUM!

RECIPE - SORREL JAM

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Barbados @ 50 - Lime & Salt

It's a Caribbean thing but Barbadians seem to be the leaders in the practice of liming and salting all seafood, meats, and poultry before cooking. I say leaders because they leave the acidic brine for as much 30 minutes to an hour before rinsing and seasoning. Fresh juicy local limes and lemons are generously squeezed over proteins along with salt and rubbed all over the seafood or meat to "clean" it. This is more of a cultural practise rather than a practical and necessary one (at least not for that length of time).

 

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Barbados @ 50 - Bridgetown Market

Barbados' Market in Bridgetown comes alive on Fridays and Saturdays. Most of the activity takes place very early on Saturday mornings. Because it is a weekly market, it is imperative that you get to the market at 6 - 6.30 in the mornings. Depending on the time of year, it is wonderful to be there as the sun rises. The morning sun shines its bright light on the many fruits, vegetables, and produce on sale. The market stretches all the way from the post office to Fontabelle.

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Barbados @ 50 - Bay Leaf

One of the amazing things about Barbados is that the island is studded with tall, sturdy, towering bay leaf trees. Also known in some other parts of the region as the spice leaf tree, or West Indian Bay Leaf, the variety of this bay leaf is superior in terms of fragrance and flavour. The leaves of some of the trees grow as long 5 inches with about 2 and 1/2 and more inches in width. Rarely do you need to use more than 1 bay leaf when you are cooking. In addition to cooking with bay leaf, teas are also made with the leaves, as well as wines and other concoctions. The aromatic leaves are also used to ward of insects - a few are thrown into cupboards and pantries.

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The Making Of A Belna (Rolling Pin)

A couple of years ago, whilst on a visit to Guyana, I had a belna (rolling pin) custom-made. I wanted a belna with a longer centre making it easy to roll and flatten large pieces of dough, whether for bread, roti, pastry or pasta. While this rolling pin is a little heavier due to its size and type of wood used, I do not have to exude any sort of pressure when rolling. Finally, it is custom-made to comfortably match the stretch of my arms when extended for rolling. My hands rest evenly and comfortably on the handles.

I took photographs of the process from start to finish to share with you. Enjoy.

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Guyana @ 50 - Coal Pot

There is great skill to be learnt from cooking with a coal pot. This is not cooking by numbers or by measurements of heat such as high, low, medium etc. Lighting the coals, knowing when they are hot, discerning the amount of coal required based on what is being cooked and how it is being cooked is not something that one can learn in any cookbook. You learn by seeing AND doing.

Coal Pot ©Cynthia Nelson

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Patacones "Buns" For Sandwiches

The bun for your next sandwich does not have to be made with any type of wheat flour, not when you can sandwich your filling between two pieces of patacones (twice fried green plantains), which are also known as tostones, chatinos, and fritos verde in various parts of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

The principle is the same as I have explained in my previous post on Breadfruit Tostones, only this time, you are using green plantains - which are not to be confused with green bananas.

Once the plantains are peeled, cut then in half (across) and then cut each half in two, cutting lengthways. Each plantain will give you 4 pieces which will be enough for 2 sandwiches, top and bottom. Pan-fry the plantains in oil heated over medium, cooking for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes total. Mash the fried plantains to a flat disk and then fry again until cooked through and the edges crisp.

For my sandwich, I used beef steak which I cut thinly and then using a meat mallet, pounded thinly (between plastic wrap), and grilled it up quickly over very high heat, almost smoking hot. Season with salt and pepper just before removing it from the grill and let it rest until you are ready to assemble the sandwich.

I made a fire-roasted salsa. The tomatoes, onions, garlic and hot pepper were all roasted and charred over open flames. Salt, a squirt of fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro were added to the mix and left to rest for 1 hour for the flavors to meld.

This sandwich is perfect when you have friends over for a casual get-together. I would suggest prepping everything before everyone arrives. For the plantains, fry and mash the plantains before they arrive and do the last stage of frying while everyone is there so that they can have their sandwiches nice and hot and the plantains soft and toasty.

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Hand Work: Making Conkies

Put away the food processor. Despite it being a very useful piece of equipment, it cannot do the necessary job when it comes grating the ingredients to make Conkies, aka Paime, Sweet Dumplings, Duckanoo and Tie-a-leaf. The best equipment? A large box grater.

The box grater shreds the coconut into short, thin, tiny strands that melt into the Conkie mixture. The sweet, orange pumpkin (calabaza) and sweet potatoes, when grated become smooth and moist with their own juices. Conkies is a texture thing. When the ingredients are mixed together with spices and raisins, this dumpling turns into an all-time favourite, but especially so at Independence in Barbados.

I ain't gonna lie. It's a lot of work but when you have company helping, it's a time for bonding and good-natured teasing. But most of all, it is fun!

When all the grating and mixing is complete, bananas leaves are made pliable by passing them over an open flame and wiping them clean. I chose black and white for this image so that you can see the shine on the leaves once they are prepped.

The final stage is to wrap portions of the Conkie mixture into beautiful packages, and place them in a pot to steam until cooked and fragrant.

HAPPY 49th BARBADOS!

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Development of C'bean Cuisine: A Journey of Discovery & Appreciation

I was in Trinidad at the end of March to give a talk at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, and to also get a first-hand look at what the final year students, studying nutrition and dietetics and nutritional sciences, produce as one their final projects. If you are a subscriber to Stabroek News, you can read all about it in my column this week.

For this project, the students (divided into groups) had a choose a Caribbean country and "sell" that country through its food. They had to research the food and food culture of the place they chose, prepare, cook and present the food for evaluation to a team of 3 judges. It was an opportunity for them (students), to learn about the food from other parts of the region. As I said in my column, this exercise shows that there is still hope for Caribbean traditional cooking and traditional dishes. All is not lost.

Click here for an album of some of the behind-the-scenes moments. When you're done, go to the website of one of the judges, Noveck Gowandan, for photos of each of the dishes presented; there you will also find a complete list of all the students that participated day students and evening students.

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Roast Breadfruit & Pigtails

The Caribbean has a long history with breadfruit. It all started with Captain Bligh in the days of colonialism. Today, breadfruit is synonymous with Caribbean cuisine. For many, it is soulfood. There are many stories, some happy and some sad that many people can tell about breadfruit. I think almost every Caribbean person has a personal story to tell about their experience with breadfruit - from climbing the tree, to cooking and eating breadfruit. Personally, my love for breadfruit was only realized after moving to Barbados over a decade ago, and for the first time, eating fire-roasted breadfruit that was cooked in the yard on a bed hot coals.

There are so many trees around thus facilitating fruiting for year-round availability of breadfruit. Salt meat - salted pigtails, salted beef, salt fish, smoked fish - has always been associated with breadfruit. The two compliment each other very well. Most people prefer their breadfruit with salt fish but I prefer mine with salted pigtails.

To make this platter of breadfruit and pigtails is easy cooking. Here's what you will need:

• 1 full/ripe breadfruit
• 2 - 3 salted pigtails
• Vegetable oil
• Freshly ground black pepper

Here's what to do:

1. Cut the breadfruit into quarters from the stem down. Remove the stem and its core and peel each piece.
2. Add the breadfruit to a large pot and cover with water (the breadfruit will float to the surface). Rinse and cut the pigtails at their joints and add to the pot with the breadfruit. Cover the pot and bring to a boil on medium high heat. Cook until a knife inserts easily into the breadfruit. The breadfruit should be soft but not mushy. Drain the breadfruit and pigtails well.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Cut the the breadfruit into large chunks, brush or toss with oil and arrange on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with black pepper. Add the pigtails either at one side of the pan or dispersed in-between the breadfruit.
5. Roast for 25 minutes then flip the breadfruit and roast for another 20 minutes or until golden and firm on the outside.
6. Remove from oven let cool for about 10 - 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES

• There is no need to season the breadfruit with salt, boiling it with the salted pig tails will season it.
• You can dress up the pigtails if you like by sautéing it with onions and herbs. 

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A Guyanese Twist To A Bajan Favourite

Rice and Peas is a staple that is served at every Barbadian (Bajan) meal of lunch or dinner. In Guyana it is plain-cooked rice or roti and elsewhere in the Caribbean some other form of peas with rice or boiled ground provisions. Rice and Peas is the starch component of the meal. It is always served with some type of meat or seafood cooked with a sauce or gravy. Even when the meat is roasted, gravy is always prepared separately to serve along with the Rice and Peas. On Sundays, that is generally stewed lamb.

Rice and Peas is rice cooked with Pigeon Peas (dried or fresh). While Rice and Peas can be made with other dried or fresh peas/beans, it is not called Rice and Peas. It would then be rice and whatever beans/peas it is cooked with. For example, rice and black-eye peas, rice and split peas (it would be identified by the colour of the split peas), rice and kidney beans… you get the drift.

For the MY FOOD Project, one of the questions I ask first generation Caribbean people living abroad is to identify a dish from the country they now live in that they have taken and made their own. In other words, a dish that they have fused or converted in some way, either by the method used to cook it, a technique, the way the ingredients are cut etc. If you recall, from the most recent MY FOOD interview, Michele Eastmond - a Barbadian living in London - has Bajan-ized the British Fish & Chips by seasoning the fish the way it would be done here in Barbados. The preparation for the fish would also include a cleansing ritual of rubbing the fish with lime and salt and then seasoning the fish with herbs.

Regardless of where you are from, can you think of any dish that you have placed your stamp on to make it your own, to suit your taste or the style of cooking of your country? Please share in the comments below.

In my case, I have put a Guyanese twist to Bajan Rice and Peas. I do it in a number of ways - by the rice I make the dish with, the liquid used to cook the Rice and Peas and finally by the initial cooking of the dish.

While each household in Barbados has it own way of cooking this everyday staple, it is generally made by first soaking the peas overnight, chopping up onions, gathering a few sprigs of fresh thyme, 2 - 3 pieces of salt-meat (either pig tails of salted beef). Parboiled rice is the rice of choice in Barbados.

1. The soaked peas is rinsed a couple of times and added to a pot along with the salt meat and water, and brought to a boil, a little baking powder is added to aid in the peas cooking quickly. 
2. The rice is washed a few times and then added to the pot along with the onions and thyme. Some people add in a fresh bay leaf for extra flavour. 
3. The ingredients are mixed together, enough water is added to cooke the rice and the peas. The pot is brought to a boil on high heat and then the heat is lowered (pot covered) and left to cook for a period of time until all the liquid has dried out. A pat or two of butter may be added to the rice just before the heat is lowered. Nice!

Personally, the only time I like sauce or gravy with my food is when a dish is specifically made that way and it is meant to be consumed that way. Therefore, I do not like Rice and Peas that I then have to ladle gravy onto, so I decided to make my Rice and Peas differently. I wanted my Rice and Peas to be able to stand on its own. So here is what I do. Here is my Guyanese twist.

• I soak my peas overnight too but I also soak my salt meat overnight in boiling water to remove the excess salt. This method allows me to put in a few more pieces of the meat.
• I cook my rice and peas with onions and thyme too, however, I sauté the onions, thyme and salted meat for a period of time, to gently infuse the oil. When I remember, I pluck a fresh bay leaf and drop it into the pot.
• The peas is then added to the sautéed ingredients along with a little boiling water and pressure-cooked for exactly 6 minutes (time beginning from the first whistle). I want the peas to be cooked through but not mushy. And I like a lot of peas in my rice!
• The rice is washed (I flip-flop between long grain white rice and parboiled rice for my rice and peas) and added to the pot along with a measured amount of coconut milk (usually fresh) to cook the dish.
• Everything gets mixed together and I taste for seasoning. Sometimes I may add a little salt if the salt meat proved to not provide enough along with a few grinds of fresh black pepper.
• A couple more sprigs of fresh thyme is added and some Guyanese wiri-wiri pepper. The pot is brought to a boil and then left to simmer, covered, until all the liquid has evaporated. I don't usually put in any butter because there is gloss, shine and flavour from the coconut milk.

Rice and Peas is a meal by itself. Whenever I travel and return home to Barbados, it is the first thing I make. It has become a taste of home for me, a combined home-taste of Guyana and Barbados.

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Class, Food & More

We all know that food is more than just something to put into our mouths to satisfy a desire or need. Class, culture & heritage are all tied up in food. Read about these "classy" Barbadian (Bajan) Bakes and more in this month's newsletter - TASTESMONTHLY.

For a copy of this edition, inbox me. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, email me with the word: Subscription in the subject line.

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A Discussion: What do we think about our food?

I need to get something off of my chest.

Long before I started this blog, I engaged in many conversations about our food. Caribbean Food. Specifically, the food of the English-speaking Caribbean. One of the themes that stood out for me that is still very evident today, is that there seems to be some underlying embarrassment about our food. It's as if we are ashamed of our food. Generally, we do not think of it as special or interesting, even more so when it gets spoken of among other cuisines. What do you think? Why do you think this is so? These are not rhetorical questions. I am very interested in your answers.

If you've been following this blog for some time now, you know how much I love our Caribbean food and celebrate it. I do all I can to educate people about it and share it with the rest of the world. I want people to know that our food is so much more than a garnish - a reputation we have earned as a result of people of food influence who come to this part of the world, and cook with the ingredients without understanding the many ways they (the ingredients) can be prepared/used or even be fused with other ingredients. So what do they do? They cut a wedge here, make a slice there, adorn the plate and voila - you have Caribbean food. The other truth is that our own Caribbean people of food influence are generally not in the positions that facilitate the kind of change that elevates, celebrates and showcases Caribbean cuisine; and the few that can influence change, well, their interests lie elsewhere, understandably to a certain degree.

Let's discuss:

Do you think that this embarrassment we feel about our food stems from the origins of many of these dishes? Let's face the truth. Due to our harsh colonial past, many of our dishes were created out of necessity and the need "to make do" and to "stretch things". We did not eat high on the hog back in those days. As a result, many of our dishes can be considered peasant food - dishes of accessible and inexpensive ingredients, prepared with great cooking skill, spiced and seasoned to be made flavourful, delicious and edible. Could this be one of the reasons we don't think our food worthy of being counted among other cuisines, or at all?

A few dishes quickly come to mind, which can be considered peasant food:

• Shine Rice - rice cooked with fresh coconut milk and onions. Sometimes flavoured with dried salt fish or dried shrimp for an umami flavor.
• Privilege - rice cooked with fresh okra and salted pig tails or bits of salted beef
• Pot Bakes - dough stuffed with onions, herbs and bits of salt fish and baked in a cast iron pot
• Cou-cou - cornmeal cooked with okra
• Foo-foo - ground provisions, boiled and pounded until smooth and formed into balls
• Rice and Peas - rice cooked with fresh herbs and rehydrated peas/beans
• Chicken-foot Soup
• Cow-heel Soup
• Tripe Soup
• Callaloo
• Souse

The thing is that Caribbean food is not only about peasant-type dishes, gosh, we have pies, roasts, pastries, breads, stews, curries, cured meat and many other things too.

Let's discuss:

We know that food and eating, the world over, is tied to social statues and financial resources. Do you think that because we are now in a position to eat high on the hog that we prefer not to be bothered with our food? Could this be why we think so little of our cuisine?

I was sitting in a nutrition class a few years ago and the professor asked each one of us what we had for breakfast, she was trying to gauge if we generally ate breakfast and what it consisted of. A guy in the class said he had cornmeal porridge (aka cornmeal pap - cornmeal cooked with milk, spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with West Indian brown sugar). There was sniggering from some of the students. You see, many of them had bacon, sausages, eggs, cheese and pancakes for breakfast so they felt that because this guy who ate cornmeal porridge had something mediocre for breakfast. I'm not going to get into the nutritional facts and benefits of either or both breakfasts. I just mentioned the incident in the class to make the point about how we think of our food. In this case, the cornmeal porridge was considered boring and bland and not something you want to say aloud that you had for breakfast. In other words, one should not be proud to say they had something so ordinary for breakfast, and especially in public.

I receive emails regularly from Caribbean people living in the Diaspora and wider, asking for recipes for particular dishes they grew up on... sometimes it is a case where they want to recreate a dish to share with their children so that they (the children) can taste what Caribbean food is like. I am heartened by such messages because it says that all is not lost. However, the are many others in the Diaspora that say they don't make Vincy, Lucian, Trini, Bajan, or Guyanese food. They only make Caribbean food occasionally. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that one should embrace the food of their new homes and combine it with what they already know so that the dining table becomes a merged space in which they can celebrate and discover themselves through the food they prepare and eat. What I don't understand, or get, is the total abandonment of the food of your homeland because you think less of it. Why?

I firmly believe that the responsibility of representing our food, our cuisine, and putting it on the pedestal it deserves lies with those of use who live right here at home in the Caribbean. We need to start appreciating our own. If we don't, why should anyone else? That change and appreciation has to swell from the ground. Talk is cheap so we most certainly cannot depend on with the power to make change to do anything else but talk. They can be heard up and down the Caribbean touting the food festivals they are hosting. Turn up and see who's cooking, what they are cooking and the ingredients they are using.

For those of you who are contributing in any way to promote, showcase, embrace and celebrate Caribbean cuisine, THANK YOU! Let's keep on persevering.

Please join the conversation and leave your comment(s) below. I admit that I am being selfish. I want to hear your thoughts for my own education and I'm hoping that your comments will help others too. Thanks!

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Cassava Patties

June's edition of the newsletter - TASTESMONTHLY features creamy cassava, seasoned and prepared two ways using ground meat. Both versions are types of patties - one is stuffed and the other combines the two ingredients. Each is equally delicious.

Inbox me for a free copy of the newsletter. You can also subscribe, it's free.

Have a great week!

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Tropix Coconut Drops - Product Review

Disclaimer: This is an unpaid review.

If you're from the Caribbean, living away from the region, and looking for a sweet taste of home, then you'll definitely enjoy the Coconut Drops made by Tropix. If you're not from the Caribbean but love everything coconut, then you should try these Tropix Coconut Drops.

I received a request from the owner, Denise Edwards, months ago to review her product. When I went to the post office to pick up the package, the clerk looked at me as if to say: I can't believe that you had someone from North America send you sugar cake when we make the best sugar cake in this part of the world. Her look of perplexity was understandable, for the Caribbean is known for among many things, this sweet coconut treat we call sugar cake and coconut drops.

Depending on which part of the region you're from, it's coconut drops or sugar cake. Though very similar in nature, there are two major differences. Let me explain. Sugar cake is freshly grated coconut, grated on the fine side of a box grater and then cooked with West Indian brown sugar and flavouring spices of cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. The mixture is cooked to a thick mixture of dropping consistency and then dropped into mounds on a greased surface and left to cool and harden. They are served individually.

Coconut Drops, on the hand are much more rustic is appearance as the fresh coconut is chipped coarsely. The same process of flavouring and cooking is involved but instead of being dropped into mounds, the entire mixture is spread thinly en masse to cool and set and then cut or chopped into large pieces. Some purists would think of coconut drops as chip-chip sugar cake simply because of how the coconut is cut.

Sugar cakes and coconut drops are treats almost every West Indian knows of and has enjoyed at some point in their lives, especially as children. The people that sell snacks throughout the region - at schools, cinemas, in shops or at street corners can all tell tales of children rushing to get their sugar-fix of coconut drops or sugar cake.

I called some friends over to help taste-test the Tropix Coconut Drops. We had 3 flavours to sample - ginger (the regular and most familiar to us), apricot and cranberry. Before I go on let me just say that the way in which the coconut drops are made, makes it easy to add dried fruits, which are stirred in just before spreading the mixture to cool and set.

Hands down my friends and I enjoyed the ginger flavour best, and that was mainly because when we think of coconut drops and sugar cakes, ginger is the flavour that comes to mind... it took us back... that's why I said in the beginning that if you're looking for a taste of home, these coconut drops would hit the spot. The Apricot was a nice addition, the cranberries, were our least favourite. I highly recommend the ginger flavour. Even if you're not West Indian but love everything and anything coconut, this is a perfectly sweet introduction.

The Coconut Drops come packaged in a white box secured with a green ribbon bow, simple and elegant, just as shown here on the website. Inside of the box are the drops further encased in clear plastic, tied with a bow. The drops travel well. You can purchase them in various quantities.

Tropix Coconut Drops are available for sale online and at the following stores in Canada:

• Sunrise Caribbean Restaurant - Brampton
• Daddy's Jerk - Brampton
• Allan's Pastry Shop - Scarborough & Toronto locations
• Nicey's Food Mart - Brampton & Mississauga locations
• Mo Bay Jerk - Brampton

Tropix Website | Tropix Email
Tel: (416) 873-6808

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Feasting on Fish Cakes

This month's edition of my newsletter - TASTESMONTHLY - features an array of fish cakes among other things. For a free copy, inbox me with Fish Cakes in the subject line.

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