Caramelized perfection: Baked Ripe Plantains & Bacon
Hi Everyone, I had a totally different idea planned for this week’s column but that idea was immediately tossed aside when I popped the first piece of a caramelized-bottom of baked ripe plantain and bacon into my mouth. Just imagine – sweet ripe plantains, lovingly hugged with salty, smoky bacon and baked until the plantain [...]
Don’t baste the turkey – braise it!
Hi Everyone, With the American holiday of Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, all over the television channels, online, on air and in the newspapers, there is talk of the turkey. It’s all about Thanksgiving turkey woes. Everyone wants to know how to roast the bird so that it is full of flavour but more [...]
Patiently making Peera (Peda)
Hi Everyone, Making Peera (Peda) 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 Peera. This is not to say that at one point in the process I did not want to lift the pot from the [...]
A rant: an appeal for the ordinary
Hi Everyone, I am all for creating new tastes and flavours. And I am all for convenience, but I draw the line when things have reached a stage where I am being told, “We no longer stock (insert the name of an item) in that plain form. We only carry it in the flavours you [...]
Raisin bread for mom
Hi Everyone, last weekend, during my weekly telephone conversation with mommy, she expressed a desire to have a slice or two of raisin bread. She explained that she called around to various places in Georgetown to enquire if they made raisin bread but alas, she could not find anywhere that sells raisin bread. Sorry mom, [...]
So close, but yet so far …Elusive Tennis Rolls
Hi Everyone, Each Caribbean nation has its signature bread-roll with its one-of-a-kind flavour and texture. Trinidad and Tobago has Hops Bread, Jamaica has Coco Bread, Barbados has Salt Bread and Guyana has Tennis Rolls. Many of us living away from home try to acquire recipes to recreate these unique tastes of home. Alas, while we [...]
What is Allspice?
Hi Everyone, over a month ago, whilst I was in Guyana, I went in search of allspice because I needed some to put into the apple crostata I was going to make for dessert one evening. I scoured Bourda market looking for allspice. As I went from one stall to the next, they kept offering [...]
Love at first bite
Jamaican Beef Patties Hi Everyone, The first time I ate a Jamaican Beef Patty was not in Jamaica it was in Guyana. But it was made by Jamaicans and it was love at first bite! More than a decade ago, Herdmanston Lodge was owned by a Jamaican couple and was called The Queenstown Inn. Each [...]
Market friends and foes
Hi Everyone, A few years ago, I told you that when I was younger I really didn’t like going to the market. Nevertheless, every week my mom would send me to the market and so I was sure that going to the market was some form of subtle parental punishment. However, now, many years later [...]
Baking to avoid work
Hi Everyone, people do various things to avoid work such as approaching deadlines, must-do assignments and chores. To avoid work, some people go for a drive, some go shopping, some go to a movie, some clean their homes and vehicles. Me? I bake. All week I have been putting off writing this week’s column, or [...]
Sometimes ‘why’ is not important
-Tea-infuser obsessed Hi Everyone, I have a ridiculous obsession with tea infusers! Seriously. I am not kidding. The other day I had to tear myself away from picking up 3 tea infusers, 2 of which I already owned! You would think that someone this obsessed with tea infusers must drink tea daily or twice a [...]
Eating at home The recommendations
Hi Everyone, last week, I wrote about the hits and misses of various foods that I have been having during my visit to Guyana. I asked you for recommendations for pastries and some good ole Guyanese-Chinese food among other things, and many of you readily responded with numerous suggestions. Thank you! As the recommendations poured [...]
Eating at home A few hits and misses…so far
Hi Everyone, I’m in Guyana. I’ve been here for a week now and the eating at home has been interesting. There’ve been hits and there’ve been misses. Hits The Sunday morning Dim Sum at New Thriving is a sure hit. This type of meal and custom that originated in Chinese teahouses has certainly found a [...]
Corned beef stories
Hi Everyone, Say the words corned beef and I immediately think of quick-cooking dishes, comfort food and a taste of home. 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 [...]
Let the sun work
- Red Pepper Flakes Hi Everyone, It has been so hot these days – but while I retreat indoors with the fans working overtime, I’ve been letting the sun do some work! Drying hot peppers to make pepper flakes! Red pepper flakes are whole, red, hot peppers of varying degrees of heat that have been [...]