Tastes Like Home

There are lots of things for us to remember as the holidays approach, particularly in the area of food, however, I have identified 12 things that I think we all can benefit from with a reminder.

Let’s gyaff! What are you thinking about for the Christmas menu?

Well, truth be told, it’s oven time all year round in the Caribbean, although I know that many of us took a break from this cooking appliance during the heatwave we experienced for weeks this year.

Want chicken that’s flavoursome, finger-licking and succulent? Then cook it in a pot on the stovetop, low and slow.

On the occasion of every holiday, particularly religious ones – Hindu, Muslim, Christian – I get homesick.

A week from today, we will be celebrating Diwali. There will be lights.

It is essentially a bread pudding, however, there are some noteworthy differences between the cake-like, soufflé-rising bread pudding and bread and butter pudding.

Guacamole is a winning spread-dip and it is the go-to dish when avocados/pears are in season.

Very early on Saturday mornings just as the sun rises to embrace the day, there, at the Cheap Side Market (here in Bridgetown, Barbados) you’ll find Eureka Carver and Dazzle Blackman proudly standing behind their stall with an array of fresh herbs, some potted and some parcelled out for sale.

Last week, in sharing about my market find of purple-flesh sweet potatoes, I said I was going to try making sweet bread with it and share the results with you.

One of the exciting things I like about going to markets is discovering new ingredients or unfamiliar varieties of familiar fruits, vegetables, herbs etc.

Layers of soft eggs, tender shrimp, and delicate onion flavour, combined with a subtle hint of toasted sesame oil produce a hearty, satisfying, filling dish of Cantonese stir fry Shrimp & Eggs.

There is no need to state the obvious about the heat we are experiencing here in the Caribbean.

How do you like your eggs? Everyone has a particular way in which they prefer their eggs.

There are lots of fresh local corn, and avocados (pears) in the market, given the season.

I struggled with the headline for today’s column. I was playing around with the inspiration for the dish – Butter Cassava – and then I also considered Buttery Cassava.

Cheese on Bread is a well-known Bajan saying that is an exclamation of amazement.

What’s Cooking is a series in which I answer questions and share advice about food and cooking that you may have but are too shy to ask, or, as in many cases, questions that you do ask.

Don’t let the headline fool you. The “light eating” is not related to dieting.

As Emancipation Day approaches and we prepare for the annual festivities, I recall a segment on the Guyana Today morning show several years ago, in which the host was discussing with guests, granny ‘ole-time’ food.