Tastes Like Home
Great news! By Susan Harewood Guest columnist I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news….actually the great news is that Cynthia’s book, My Caribbean Cookbook Tastes Like Home, will be available on Amazon.com tomorrow so we can all go online and buy it. The bad news? Well now with Cynthia’s [...]
Tastes Like Home
Precious thyme Hi Everyone, Given that long ago thyme was used for its antiseptic properties and medicinal uses, and in ancient times some bathed in its water to renew their energy while others used it for embalming, we should really feel fortunate, to be able to get three varieties of this herb while many the [...]
Tastes Like Home
I rise to bake Hi Everyone, Fraught with unpredictability, temperamental partners, atmospheric conditions that I cannot control and sometimes a shaken confidence, why then you may ask, would I venture into such an arena? The simple answer is, because I get a rise out of it every time. Baking keeps me on my toes, it [...]
Tastes Like Home
Can soup unite? Hi Everyone, Whenever my friend Adele mentions that she is making soup, I see her husband, Ivan, get a worried look on his face. You see, Ivan is one of those people who think that soup is not real food. The world can be divided into two types of people. Those who [...]
Tastes Like Home
A selective sweet tooth Hi Everyone, I often tell people that I do not have a sweet tooth and that I prefer savoury, and it’s the truth. I almost never order dessert when dining out, and I have been guilty of treating dessert as an afterthought when entertaining. However, I’ve come to realise that I [...]
Tastes Like Home
One man’s Poison is another man’s Feast Hi Everyone, “Try and don’t poison the people.” This remark stopped me, my knife suspended over the banana blossom I was frantically chopping and tossing into the bowl of waiting yogurt to prevent oxidization (discolouration). Suddenly I was overcome with fear and self-doubt. Part of me wanted to [...]
Tastes Like Home
A familiar ingredient in unfamiliar ways Hi Everyone, Like you, I buy the same ingredients weekly, like you, I prepare the same dishes every week and like you, I am always looking for new ways to prepare these familiar ingredients that I buy often, that is why when I came across Brandade de Morue and [...]
Tastes Like Home
Oh Sweet Callaloo Hi Everyone, If you’re from Guyana, Callaloo refers to all varieties of spinach (bhaji) but if you’re from Trinidad and Tobago, then Callaloo is the beloved, must-have, soul food dish of the twin island republic. Callaloo for Trinis is a concoction of dasheen leaves (aka eddo leaves), okra, crab and or salt [...]
Tastes Like Home
Macaroni pie – definitely not ordinary Hi Everyone, Here in Barbados, the ability to make a “proper” dish of Macaroni Pie is testament to your ability to cook and some say it even makes you eligible to be a good wife. No pressure there at all! Macaroni and Cheese or Macaroni Pie enjoys a place [...]
Tastes Like Home
Too much liming Hi Everyone, Lime and salt are two ingredients that give us so much flavour and taste but when we unwisely let them overstay their welcome, they rob us of those exact qualities – flavour and taste. But let’s put the blame where it belongs, with us cooks, after all, the lime and [...]
Tastes Like Home
A few tips that work for me Hi Everyone, Want to shorten the cooking time for some dishes without losing the flavour? Want to cook okra that’s not slimy? Do you want to cook shrimp with vegetables and not let them turn into little bits of rubber? Read on then as I share with you [...]
Tastes Like Home
I clean my plate for Dirty Rice Hi Everyone, Dirty Rice, don’t let the name of the dish fool you, it is one of the best tasting rice dishes you will ever eat. And for a rice fanatic like me, eating Dirty Rice for the first time was eureka! I am so thrilled and excited [...]
Tastes Like Home
One of a kind chicken curry Hi Everyone, For years I have missed eating chicken curry they way I wanted to, the way I had grown to love it. Sure I’ve cooked and eaten chicken curry here in Barbados, but I could never purchase the chicken the way I wanted it, live, free range and [...]
Tastes Like Home
Green seasoning A must-have in many kitchens Hi Everyone, It is that certain something that makes you go ‘ummm’ as you eat, it’s that mysterious flavour that makes certain dishes uniquely delicious, and it is that special seasoning that defines certain cuisines. For the Italians it’s soffritto, for the French mirepoix, for the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, [...]
Tastes Like Home
Roast Breadfruit Have it once and you’ll want more Hi Everyone, The flesh is soft and creamy yellow with notes of natural sweetness and that of the butter melted into it. Your taste-buds are wild with pleasure with the smokiness of the fire roasting as you bring each piece to your mouth. The saltiness of [...]