Barbados @ 50 - Turmeric

Fresh turmeric is grown locally and readily available in the markets in Barbados. Apart from being used for its anti-inflammatory properties in teas, potions etc., turmeric is used widely in Bajan cuisine. The island's hot pepper sauce gets its signature colour and flavour from fresh turmeric; it is also used to make yellow rice, season meats, soups and cooking spreads.

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Guyana @ 50 - Entertaining with Tea

Tea is very popular way to entertain in Guyana. Whether the gathering is to raise funds for a good cause, to celebrate holidays such as Easter, to catch up with family and friends or simply to relax. I have fond memories of the many tea parties held back in the day at Sacred Heart Church.

When last were you invited out to tea or entertained with tea?

Pouring Tea ©Cynthia Nelson

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Patiently making Peda (Peera) & Tea Spot Giveaway!

Making Peda (Peera) - a soft fudge - from scratch is no simple task. It requires patience and determination, traits I felt I possessed but I did not know to what extent until I made Peda. This is not to say that at one point in the process I did not feel like tossing the pot into the sink, filling it with water, and giving up!

This week's column is a must-read in order to understand the three very different batches of Peda shown below and the result of the taste test done with 8 tasters! Read the column.

More Peda on the web:
Padma's Kitchen
Spice & Curry
Aayi's Recipes
Fun & Food Cafe
Ahaar

On to the giveaway.

Do you like tea? Want a chance to win some loose leaf tea and an infuser? Then read on.

By now, everyone knows about my obsession about all things tea related. Well, particularly tea infusers. After reading my most recent tea column - Sometimes 'why' is not important - Maria of Tea Spot emailed me with an offer that feeds right into that tea-infuser obession! She offered to send me a Tuffy (loose tea steeper)! I hit the reply button right away with a big thank you!

Look at my Tuffy! The great thing about it is that it is collapsible and portable enough to take with me whenever I travel. I can brew loose leaf tea on the go. Okay, maybe some people will look at me and shake their heads but I don't care. I love my Tuffy. I'm using it at home and when I am on the road.

Maria also sent me some loose leaf tea samples which I have been thoroughly enjoying. I am so excited about Tea Spot and their products (I am not being paid to say that), that I wrote asking Maria if Tea Spot would be interested in doing a giveaway on my blog and she said yes! I know that many of you are big tea lovers so I wanted to give you the opportunity to enjoy some of the products too.

What I like about Tea Spot is that apart from having a range of tea infuser options and loose leaf tea, they actually design and manufacture all their tea ware and they do so focusing on positive environmental and ethical practices.

Here's how simple the giveaway will be. Just leave a comment on this post saying how you like your tea and what's your favourite time of the day to have a cuppa. That's it!

THE PRIZE
The winner will receive from Tea Spot - a Tuffy Steeper and 3 cans of loose leaf tea. You get to pick the three cans cans of tea you'd like.

The promotion will run from today (Saturday, Nov 6) to Wednesday, November 17 at midnight US Eastern Standard Time. All the names will be entered into Random Number Generator and the winner will be selected. As a bonus, if you sign up to receive my column by email, your name will be entered twice!

Unfortunately, the giveaway is only open to those living in the USA and Canada. Sorry for any disappointment.

Here are 3 general tips for brewing loose tea. Of course, each culture has their own way of doing things.

1. Your tea infuser should be big enough to allow your tea leaves ample room to open up in flavour and aroma. The ideal material for a steeper is ceramic or glass.
2. Use the right temperature for the tea leaf (too high can cause it to become bitter, too low and you can extract too little flavour).
3. Steep your tea for the right length of time recommended (too much and it becomes bitter, too little and there is not enough body to it.

Okay, leave your comment now on how you like your tea and your favourite time of the day to have it.

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Love at first bite - Jamaican Beef Patties!

I've been to Jamaica more than once but it was not in Jamaica that I had my first bite of their famous beef patties and fell in love, it was in Guyana, many years ago! But the patties were made by Jamaicans. They were sooooo good. The all-shortening pastry crust (aka flaky pastry) is one of the stars of this patty. You can see the flakes as the patty comes out of the oven.

Just as in the column, I don't want to spend a lot of time gushing about this amazing beef patty, click here and get the recipe and make some! If you do not eat beef, you can try this with lamb or even chicken and if you are vegetarian, then you can make a veggie filling. There are a variety of fillings in Jamaica too but the most popular patty is the beef patty. Get the recipe here.

This week on ABOUT.com, get those fruits blended and soaking in rum, Christmas is just around the corner. And, rum-soaked fruits are not just for Christmas cakes, find out other ways you can use it.

And now, enjoy the patties.

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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.

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Sometimes 'why' is not important...

I have a ridiculous obsession with tea infusers! Seriously. I am not kidding. The other day I had to literally tear myself away from picking up 3 infusers, 2 of which I already owned! You would think that someone this obsessed with tea infusers must drink tea daily or twice a day? Oh no! Continue reading the column to find out how often I drink tea and my justification for having a variety. Sometimes 'why' is really not important.

What are your kitchen obsessions? And I'd love to hear your justifications!

Hope you are having a great weekend!

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Sweet Bay

Tear or crush a fresh bay leaf with your hands and smell it and you'll quickly understand why it is the most widely used culinary herb. I'm sure that you've used bay leaves many times in your various food preparations - stews, soups, casseroles etc. You might be interested to know how we use it here in the Caribbean - primarily for its folk properties. Read all about it in this week's column. Who knows, you may discover, yet another way to use bay leaves.

It is also important to note that all bay leaves are not the same. They may have similar properties and be of the same family of evergreen trees but they are not all the same in terms of flavour and intensity.

If you've never had bay-leaf tea, you've got to give it a try. Check out the column for bay-leaf tea combos.

Bay-leaf Tea

INGREDIENTS

3 large fresh West Indian bay leaves (or the fresh variety you have available to you)
2 cups water
Sugar (if you take sugar with your tea)

DIRECTIONS

1. Add water and bay leaves to saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Let boil for 4 minutes, turn off heat and let steep for 4 minutes
2. Strain and sweeten

NOTES

• You can opt to let the tea steep until it comes to room temperature, strain, reheat, then sweeten and drink
• The number of bayleaves for this tea may vary depending on the variety you are using
• Add more leaves to this tea if you like your tea stronger

OTHER THINGS TO TRY MAKING

• Bay leaf iced tea
• Bay leaf simple syrup
• Check column for other suggestions

To all the Dads that read this blog: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

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Chester Cake

Here in the Caribbean, we too have a rich food heritage centered on "ole time" bakeries and bread vans. A couple of months ago, Chennette wrote an Ode to the Bread Van in which she shared about the bakeries and bread vans in her hometown in Trinidad. I, for my part, immediately felt the longing for Chester Cake, one of those ole time baked goods that's not as popular today as it was back in the day. Read this week's column to find out more about Chester Cake and for a recipe to make it yourself. Trust me, you'll never throw away stale bread again.

I baked two pans of Chester Cake and introduced my Barbadian students to this Guyanese treat that was inherited from our European ancestors. The following week they wanted to know when I was baking again (smile).

I like my Chester Cake to have a buttery rich pastry crust that crumbles, falls in my lap, and melts in my mouth. I like the cake itself to be moist from the rum-soaked fruits and I want to smell the spices!

Make this soon.

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Mrs. Cummings' Swiss Roll

Several years ago I happened to find myself in a pastry shop and saw that they had some perfectly sliced Swiss Rolls in their showcase. I immediately ordered not one but two slices and raced home. The setting had to be right for the feasting on the Swiss Roll - feet up, relaxed, a beverage of choice and no pressing tasks or chores at hand. I was about to take a trip back in time so it was important that I be prepared. I had to be present in the moment. I took a bite, closed my eyes and began to chew... I waited and waited and waited... Click here to read the rest of this week's column. Find out who Mrs. Cummings was and for the recipe to this most delicious Guava Jam Swiss Roll.

Have a good week everyone!

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Tea for my Mom

One of the things that was at the heart of my feelings of inadequacy when growing up was the inability to make a cup of tea to suit my mother's taste and standards. Oh we used to have major quarrels about her and her precious tea - it's too hot, it's too cold, it's too strong, it's too weak, not enough milk and sugar, too much milk and sugar, the cup is too full, it's not the right cup... aye, aye, aye... on and on it went. Perhaps I am only brave enough to say that I'd have a tea party for my mom for Mother's Day simply because I know that I would not be doing so in reality... given that she's in Guyana and I am here in Barbados? Ah! One wonders. Click here to continue reading this week's column.

Try a cup of tea of your choice with one of these biscuits

Coconut Cranberry Cradamom Drop Biscuits

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 12 - 14

• 2 + 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cardamom (black & green if you have)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz cold unsalted butter
• 2 oz cold vegetable shortening
• 2 cups freshly grated coconut
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup cold milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Add flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt to a large bowl and mix thoroughly
3. Cut in butter and shortening to flour mixture
4. Stir in coconut and cranberries to flour mixture. Set aside in refrigerator if your kitchen is very warm
5. Add sugar and egg to bowl and whisk for 3 - 4 minutes until frothy
6. Add milk and egg-sugar mixture along with the flour-butter-coconut-cranberries mixture and fold until just combined (the mixture will be sticky)
7. Measure and drop biscuits on lined baking sheets
8. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden
9. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

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Conquer Your Oven & Cross Buns re-done

Ovens can seem as if they have minds of their own. For the uninitiated they can be downright frightening with their dark interior, unforgiving metal racks, a light that goes on and off at will, a door that shuts you out... all of this leading to a fear of the oven - oven-phobia if you will. Read this week's column on how you can go about conquering your oven and showing it who's the boss!

I've included at the end of the column a recipe for these fruit rock buns for you to try as I am sure that you'll be geared up to bake after reading the column.

Each year when Easter rolls around, I am always searching and tweaking various Cross Buns recipes trying to come up with something that I like, something that suits my taste. There have been hits and misses. This year I was determind not to bother making Cross Buns... but you know, when the time comes around, you can't seem to help yourself, and so you give in.

For a Cross Bun to satisfy me, it has to be soft and tender and I want it just sweet enough that I don't need to slather it with butter or anything else. I want to be able to eat the bun as is with a cup of tea.

So here's what I set out to make - a bun that is soft and fluffy like my butterflaps, sweet like an Amish White Bread and with the gloss and stickiness of a coconut turnover or a sticky bun (minus the nuts). I deliberately set out not to dress my buns with the traditional icing cross or the flour-paste cross. I have to tell you, I am one happy woman, the recipe I created produced a bun that totally suits my taste and my tasters. Soft. Sweet. Sticky.

CROSS BUNS

Yield: 12 - 14

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or instant)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 + ½ cup warm whole milk (110 – 115 degrees F)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
• 1/3 cup currants
  
  
  
  
  FOR GLAZE
  
  
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup icing sugar
• ¼ cup whole milk

• Equipment
• 
  
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 large bowl, oiled
• Plastic wrap or kitchen towel
• 1 (13 x 9-inch) baking dish, brushed with oil
• 2 small bowls
• 1 pastry brush
• 1 small whisk
• 1 tablespoon
• 1 large baking tray/sheet
• 1 wire rack
• 1 flat spatula

Directions

1. Add sugar to bowl along with milk and stir to dissolve sugar. Toss in yeast and give a little stir (be sure to wipe off any yeast stuck on the spoon), cover and leave to proof for 10 minutes in a warm place
2. Add flour to bowl along with ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt and stir to mix thoroughly; toss in raisins and mix
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the yeast-milk mixture and mix to form dough. Once formed, knead the dough for 2 minutes, place in an oiled bowl, cover and put in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours or until the dough has more than doubled in size
4. Punch down risen dough and knead for 2 minutes and then cut dough into equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place in oiled baking dish. Cover and let rise for 1 hour
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with the rack in the middle 20 minutes before the 1 hour of rising is complete
6. Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons water to small bowl and stir to dissolve sugar
7. Brush risen dough with sugar-water and transfer dish to the oven. Bake for 12 minutes; brush with sugar-water and bake for another 12 minutes. Brush again with sugar-water and bake for 3 minutes
8. Remove dish from oven, place on wire rack and brush a few times with sugar-water and leave to cool in the dish for 10 – 12 minutes
9. Use your spatula to pry the buns from the pan and transfer to wire rack then place the wire rack on the baking sheet/tray and let buns continue to cool
10. Meahwhile, add icing sugar and milk to a bowl and whisk to dissolve. Using a tablespoon, drizzle the glaze all over the buns - on the top and sides. Let buns continue to cool until you are ready to serve them

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The New Year... Need Help for Haiti

Updated: Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010

Haiti needs our help. Please give whatever you can.

Donate to Haiti earthquake victims:

- Save the Children. Donate online or make checks out to “Save the Children” and mail to: Save the Children Income Processing Department, 54 Wilton Road, Westport, Conn. 06880

- UNICEF. Go online to unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call (800) 4UNICEF.

- Direct Relief International. Donate online.

- Mercy Corps. Go online or mail checks to Haiti Earthquake Fund, Dept. NR, PO Box 2669, Portland, Ore. 97208 or call (888) 256-1900

___________________________________________

Hi Everyone,

All the best for the New Year! I hope that 2010 is off to a good start for you and I wish you much success, good health and happines, not just for this year but always.

So, how have you been? And how was your holiday? Mine was really quiet, just the way I like it. I don't know but I find that the older I get, the less fussy I feel about the "bells and whistles" of things. I just want to enjoy them for their significance and to make the time meaningful.

I thoroughly enjoyed my break and though I got around to many blogs, I am sure that there are some I missed... sorry about that. Thank you all for stopping by and for your Christmas and New Year's wishes! Much appreciated.

The past week marked the beginning of the 4th year of my blog and newspaper column... seems like just yesterday I started them... to start the year off, I reflected on the traditional drinks that are made around the holidays to warm the hearts and the bodies. Take your pick - Ponche de Creme, Mulled Wine, Egg Nog, Ginger Beer, Buttered Rum, Sherry, Sorrel. Let me tell you about the Sherry tradition in my home and what a treat coffee was on Christmas morning. Click here to read the column.

Speaking of Sorrel, I saw a new variety for the first time in this year's offerings of sorrel at the market. At first I thought that the vendor had picked the unripened sorrel but when I enquired, she told me that this is white-green sorrel is of a different variety. Find out in this week's column how it measures up to the traditional red sorrel.

I wanted something different this year instead of the traditional macaroni pie and so I made my friend Felix's Corn Pie - love, love, love it! I made the recipe precisely as directed and the only thing I did differntly was to stir in some grated cheese just before adding it to the dish to bake and sprinkling some cheese on top before baking. You've got to try it. Here is his recipe.

Still in the baking mode, I made Gourmet's Walnut Date Bread and it was excellent with tea or you may prefer coffee. As you eat the bread you bite in to chuncks of sweet dates and big nuggets of walnuts! Everyone liked the cake as is, but personally, given that I don't have a big sweet tooth, I'd reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup as the dates provide an adequate amount of sweet for me. The suggested accompaniment was cream cheese. I just served mine as is.

I couldn't find the recipe online, if you have the last edition of the magazine it is on pg.14 the Contents page. For all others, here it is:

WALNUT DATE BREAD

Ingredients

1 cup boiling-hot water
10 oz pitted dried daes, coarsely chopped (2+1/4 cups)
1/2 (2oz) stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1+1/4 cup walnuts (4+1/2 oz)
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Pour boiling-hot water over dates and butter in a bowl and let stand until cool, about 30 mins
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with rack in middle
3. Lightly butter 9 x 5-inch loaf pan
4. While date mixture cools, toast walnuts in oven until a shade darker, about 10 minutes. Leave one on. Coarsely chop nuts
5. Stir egg and vanilla into date mixture until combined
6. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt
7. Stir in date mixture and nuts until just combined
8. Spread evenly in loaf pan and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1+1/2 hours
9. Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely

That's it from me for this week! Hope your weekend is a good one and I'll see you around as I blog hop to see what you're up to.

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The Best Gift

Are you looking for a gift that satisfies?
Are you looking for a gift that's memorable?
Are you looking for a gift steeped in tradition?
Are you looking for a gift...

Give the gift of food and you are bound to hit all your targets. Give the taste of home to someone who can't make it home this year. Give the gift of a favourite meal. Whatever the reason, your gift of food will be cherished. Read this week's column for suggestions and ideas as to what food gifts you can create to share with your family and friends. When you're done, check out Zu's Spoonful of Christmas event in which many of us took part in 2007 for more food-gift ideas.

I had made flavoured salts and continue to get requests from my friends throughout the year for refills :) Click here for the recipes at the end of the column. Be sure to check out the flavoured sugar recipes as well.

Top left: Cumin Salt; Top right: Chili salt; Bottom: Rosemary Salt

This Pumpkin Pone is bound to be a hit with all pumpkin fans. Fresh coconut, pumpkin and spices come together for celebration that's bound to delight. See the recipe here.

The gift of food is priceless and moreso when given to those in need; let us remember this as we gaze at the bounty spread across our tables.

This is going to be my last post for 2009. My next post, all things being well will be on January 9, 2010. However, I'll be around to check out what you are up to as you cook up a storm :)

As I look back on this year, I will remember it always for it brought me huge challenges and battles unexpected, however, the year is ending on a high and for that I am truly thankful and feel immensely blessed. Thank you for all your love, support and guidance. I pray that you and your loved ones will have a joyful, blessed, safe and peaceful holiday. May the New Year bring you all you wish for, especially good health and happiness.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Annatto aka "Poor Man's Saffron"

Bunches of beautiful ripe, red Annatto can be found on the tree just outside the classroom where I teach. I’ve tried to get my colleagues and students to try using it in their cooking but I’ve had no luck so far. Perhaps I can convince you? Read more about this spice that's popular in this week's column and why it is referred to as "poor man's saffron".

This is what the fruit looks like:

It is used in its fresh (left, top & bottom) and dry form (right, top & bottom). See the colour it yields? Please see my friend Felix's post on how to make the concentrate for home use.

The concentrate drizzled over rice while cooking and tossed at the end gives a beautiful two-colour rice.

A recipe to make the Achiote oil can be found in this week's column.

Sunny-side up eggs cooked with Achiote oil makes a for a striking presentation.

This past week I have been doing one of the things I love - baking bread and sharing it with my friends. One of my favourite bread-baking sites is the one owned and run by my friend Chuck over at The Knead for Bread. You've heard me mention his site before... his recipes are fool-proof and always turn out perfectly.

I first made his Coconut Bread which is a pull-bread (my favourite kind), no need for knives and this bread needs no butter or jam. All it requires are fingers that do double duty - pulling and transporting to the mouth!

See the topping? The crumble. I swear, you'll find yourself picking at it all the time and as in my case, you'll have adults unashamedly eyeing each other's piece of bread to see who got the bigger piece with the topping. I am not kidding you. Do give this a try.

A few days later, I made the Pesto Bread. Just like Chuck, I had some pesto in the fridge left back from a batch I had made recently. This savoury bread can be enjoyed as is but if you are looking for a sweet and salt combo that will dance on your tongue, slather some jam on it, take a bite, chew slowly, and let your tastebuds go wild with pleasure. Here is the recipe.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all those celebrating the holiday!

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