Seamoss Punch

1 1/2 tins condense milk
1/2 carton Carnation milk
1/2 cup granola (optional)
2-4 cups water (cold)
3 cups of crushed ice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
A pinch of nutmeg
2 teaspoon Angostura bitters
1 lb (in my case 1 pk of store bought sea moss)
1 tablespoon sugar for added taste (optional)
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 sticks cinnamon

Method:

1. Soak dried Seamoss in cold water for 15 minutes.

2. Wash thoroughly with a spoon of lime juice.

3. Fill a pot with two quarts of fresh water

4. Add the cleaned Seamoss and two cinnamon sticks and bring to a boil.

5. Once boiling, cover and summer on low heat for 20-25 minutes. During this period the seamoss will soften and the water will thicken.

6. Remove from heat and discard the used cinnamon sticks.

7. All the mixture to cool and store it overnight into the fridge, allowing it to form a gel.

8. In a blender place the sea moss gel, 2 cups of ice, Carnation milk, granola, nutmeg, and 2 cups of water.

2. Blend until smooth.

3. Place half of the mixture in a large mug and blend the other remaining ingredients.

4. Pour into mug and mix slightly with a wooden spoon

N.B. if you wish you can add sugar for taste.

As always...enjoy!!! 😁

Aloo (Potato) Pies

Now this is an easy dish to make. It's best eaten hot and washed down with a cold drink. It's fun to make with the family. And it's a nice recipe to hand down to your kids. 

Ingredients:-

2 cups flour

2 tsps Baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups water

Filling:-

3 large potatoes 

1 tbsp minced shadon beni

1 stalk minced chive

2 pimento pepper finely diced

1 tsp ground geera

1 tsp salt

pepper (optional)

oil for frying

Method:-

1. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and water; knead lightly into a soft dough
2. Set aside and cover with a clothe for a few minutes
3. Clean, peel and boil the potato until soft. 
4. Drain and mash potato with a potato masher or fork
5. Season with salt, ground geera, chive, pimento pepper, pepper (optional) and mix well
6. Divide the dough into approximately 10 pieces and roll into balls
7. Flatten balls into a 4 inch circles and fill with 2 tbsp potato mix in the middle
8. Wet one edge with water, fold over and press to enclose potato
9. Fry in deep hot oil until golden brown
10. Drain and serve with chutney (our tamarind chutney recipe is also available on this blog)

Alternative:-

You can instead of using potato, you can also use minced meat. Now this is the ingredients for the mince meat filling.

Minced Meat Filling:-

2 cloves of garlic

1 lbs grounded or minced meat

1/2 tsp salt

2 pimento pepper finely minced

1 tsp finely diced shadon beni

1 stalk minced chive

2 tbsp oil for frying

1 tsp all purpose seasoning

1 tbsp ketchup

Method:- 

1. In a frying pan allow the oil to heat
2. Add the garlic, pimento pepper, shadon beni, chive and stir
3. Add the ground meat
4. Allow to cook until it's completely brown
5. Add salt, remaining seasoning and ketchup
6. Stir continuously ensuring that the ingredients are completely mixed
7. Allow to cool.

From there you can follow from steps 7 - 10 to create in terms of adding the filling into the dough and frying it.

Bon Apetit! Because I know you will enjoy it.

Kurma

This is a very popular snack and delicacy in Trinidad and Tobago. It is normally during Divali (Diwali) or Eid. However, due to it's popularity of the dish, it made all year round. And guess what?! It's easy to make and trust me your kids would be asking for more. To think of it, even I would ask for more....

Ingredients:-

2 1/2 lbs all purpose flour
1 lb butter
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 cup Evaporated milk
4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

Method:-

1. Shift the flour into a medium size mixing bowl
2. Gently rub butter into flour until it is crumbly
3. Add the grated ginger and cinnamon powder
4. Add enough milk to form a stiff dough
5. Cut the dough evenly and divide into balls
6. Roll out each ball to approximately 1/2" thickness and cut into strips of about 1" thick
7. Deep fry until golden brown and crispy
8. Now in a sauce put combine the water and sugar  and bring to a boil until the mixture thickens
9. Pour the syrup over the kurma, and turn continuously to evenly coat it or until the syrup crystalizes

Bon Apetit!

Coconut Bake

This kind of bake is fulling and delicious. The aroma itself would entice even the pickiest of eaters. The thought alone should have your taste buds jumping.

Ingredients:-

2 cups flour
3 cups baking powder
3/4 cups of grated coconut
2 tbsp sugar
1 oz butter, margarine (or 2 tbsp olive oil)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup of milk or water

Methods:-

1. Sift flour salt and baking powder into a bowl
2. Gently rub in the margarine or butter, then stir in sugar and the grated coconut (in case of the olive oil just add it to the flour mixture)
3. Add water (or milk)  and mix into a firm dough
4. Now turn the dough onto a floured board, kneading lightly
5. Then shape into a ball
6. Cover dough with a clean cloth and leave for approximately 20-25 mins
7. Press into the center of the dough with a rolling pin, roll into a circular shape approximately 3/4" thick
8. Heat oven to 350 degrees
9. Put bake onto a flat, greased baking sheet and bake till brown for approximate 20-30 minutes
10. Remove from oven 

With this coconut bake you can eat it fresh out of the oven or later on. Either way it's delicious! Bon Apetit!

Eddoes ( aka Arvi, Arbi or Kochur Mukhi) Choka

Eddoes are considered to be related to the dasheen (taro). However, it's much smaller and a bit acrid. You can eat it by itself or eat it with sada roti. You can skim through my blog to find the recipe for sada roti.

Ingredients:-

2-3 lbs eddoes
1 small onion diced
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 drops of pepper for taste
1/4 tsp of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil (optional)

Method:-

1. Wash, and clean eddoes as much as possible
2. Then boil eddoes in a pot for approximately 20 - 30 mins (or until soft) 
3. Peel eddoes and place in a medium bowl 
4. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash eddoes 
5. Add diced onions, garlic, pepper and salt
6. Heat oil for approximately 1 minute then add to the eddoes mixture
7. Mix thoroughly
8. Serve with sada roti

Do enjoy!

Ginger Beer - Authentic Trinbago Style

Ginger makes a wonderful drink as well as tea. For the Christmas season we usually drink ginger beer. The bast part is since ginger is available all year round you can make this drink any time. It's soothes my nerves.

Ingredients:-

1 lb green ginger
8 cups cold water
1 lime
1 1/2 cups sugar

Methods:-

1.  Wash and remove the skin from the ginger
2. Chops the ginger and then blend in 1/2 cup of water
3. Pour into a large pot the remaining water and leave the ginger mixture to soak for approximately 24hrs
4. When fermented, strain the mixture
5. Add the lime peel to the ginger beer and sweeten to taste
6. When sweeten remove the lime peel
7. Bottle and refrigerator
8. Serve chilled

Now it may be a strong brew, but it totally delicious.

Sorrel Drink - The Authentic Trinbago Way

Hmm, yes people it's that time of the year again...Christmas. And in Trinidad and Tobago we prepare two drinks during this season. One being Sorrel and the other Ginger Beer. Now pull out your pen and notebooks..cause this recipe is for you.
Oh and for the health conscious, Sorrel is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. It also provides you with adequate among of fiber. All that and it tastes good! Enjoy.

Ingredients:-

1-2 cups of dried sorrel petals
1 tbsp cloves
1 piece of dried orange peel
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
10 cups of water
1 cup sugar (or more to taste)

Method:-

1. Allow 10 cups of water to boil in a large pot 
2. Then add the sorrel, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and orange peel
3. Let boil for 45 minutes while occasional stirring is required every 15 mins or so
4. Cover tightly and steep overnight (or for approximately 2 hours for those who can't wait)
5. Strain the juice into a large mug or pitcher 
6. Serve chilled 

If you find it a bit sweet you can always add water. Do enjoy and give me some feedback on how the recipe worked for you.

Orange Juice Spike

I love orange juice. It's healthy for you, since it jam pack with vitamins and minerals that help maintain a healthy body. My weakness in a beastly cold cup of orange juice. Unfortunately, my lifestyle does provide me time to squeeze fresh oranges. So this recipe requires the concentrated orange juice. However, freshly squeezed will also do the trick.

Ingredients:-

3 cups of crushed ice
2-3 cups of Orange Juice (pasteurized or concentrated will do)
3-4 drops Angostura bitters
2 tbsp lime juice (fresh or concentrated)
2 tbsp of sugar for taste (optional it all depends on whether you're using concentrated or pasteurized)
1 cup water (optional)

Methods:-

1. Place 11/2 cup of crushed ice along with 1 3/4 cup of orange juice in a blender.
2. Blend for approximately one (1) minute
3. In a large juice mug add the remaining ingredients and stir
4. Now add the blended ingredients and taste the difference.

Service immediately or leave to chill in refrigerator. Since I am a part of a large family this will serve around  six of us. 

Trinbago Oil Down

This a complete dish. It's both fulling and satisfying. It also goes well with a nice slice of avocado.

Ingredients:-

1 -2 lrg breadfruit peeled, De-seeded and cut into chucks ( make sure the breadfruit is half ripe- not too green; not too ripe)
4 pimento finely diced
1/2 tbsp shadon beni
1 grated carrot
1 med. onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp salt to taste (more can be added based on desired taste)
3 cups coconut milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups of softly boiled pigtail (chopped evenly)
2 cups of boiled corn (optional cut in halves )
2 cups mini dumplings (optional)

Method:-

1. Saute onion, garlic, breadfruit, carrots, shadon beni and pimento in vegetable oil for 21/2 minutes.
2. Add coconut milk to the pot along with the dumplings and corn
3. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes
4. Add pigtail to oil down and cook for 10 minutes
5. Serve hot along side a nice slice of avocado

Curried Crayfish

I love these crustaceans. They go great with dumpling leaving you wanting more. The idea alone makes my mouth water. You can find my dumpling recipe here on my blog. You can also substitute the dumplings with Basmati rice. So enjoy!

Ingredients:-

4 tbs curry powder
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3-4 lbs clean and seasoned crayfish
salt to taste
4 cloves garlic
1 lrg onion diced finely (optional)
1 tbs finely diced shadon benni
2-3 tbs oil
1 tsp pepper flakes (optional)
3 chopped pimentos
3 cups water

Method:-

1. Heat oil and add the curry powder
2. Allow the curry powder to cook for 2 minutes
3. Add the garlic and onion and allow to saute for 1 minute (continuously stir to avoid burning)
4. Once that is completed add the the crayfish 
5. Stir the ingredients together until the curry is soaked in
6. Add 2 cups of water , cover and let cook for 10 minutes under moderate heat
7. Uncover and stir to prevent sticking
8. Add pepper, pimentos, shadon benni and coconut milk
9. Cook for 12-15 more minutes
10. Add salt to taste if necessary

Choco-Lovers' Delight

This is a delicious drink for the chocolate lovers. But wait there's more. Not only is it chocolate but the ingredients are also aimed towards the health conscious.

Ingredients

 1 1/2 cups rum and raisin chocolate (optional, you can also use plain chocolate or fruit and nuts chocolate)
3 1/2 cups cold low fat (or skimmed milk)
1/2 cup condensed milk
1 tsp essences
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup granola

Method

1. Blend all the ingredients in the blender
2. Blend until smooth
3. Serve immediate
4. Garnish with fruit of choice ( strawberries, blackberries or currants)

Macaroni Pie.

This meal goes well with a green salad, potato salad or callaloo (a stew made of dasheen bush, pumpkin and other ingredients)  and stew chicken.

Ingredients:

1 pack macaroni (400g)
2 eggs
1/2 - 1 lb. grated cheddar cheese (if u like a mixture of 3 of your favourite cheeses)
30 oz.  Evaporated milk (low fat or whole cream)
5 diced pimentos (various colour to get pie a festive look)
2 lrg  carrots grated
salt
pepper (optional)
oil
1/2 tb brown sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees
2. Bring to boil a large pot of water add 1-2 teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of oil (the oil prevents the macaroni from sticking together).
3. Add the macaroni (read instructions as to the respective cooking time or duration)
4. Beat eggs in a large bowl along with the carrots , pimentos, milk and 1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar.
5. Drain macaroni and allow to cool for ten minutes
6. Combine the macaroni and egg mixture
7. Pour everything into a greased bake oven ready dish. Sprinkle cheese evenly on the top of the dish.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is brown in colour.
9. Let cool for 15-20 minutes

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

When I was a child my aunt would normal feed this to us, especially when things were scarce.

You'll need:

2lbs potato (peeled and boiled boiled)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tsp chive
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup grated carrots (washed and peeled)


Method

1. Place the potatoes in a large bowl
2. Add the butter, chive, grated carrots and parlsey
3. Use a fork or a "masher" to mash th apotato to a smooth paste
4. Slowly add the milk and stir the potatoes until it becomes creamy in texture
5. Season with a pinch of salt or garnish with a sprig of parlsey, sprinkled with diced olives

So as I normally say Bon Apetite.... till next time. Oh you can leave your own comments and variations of this age old recipes. Remember some secrets are worth sharing !

Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients:

1 cup tamarind shelled and De-seeded
1/2 cup dates De-seeded (Optional)
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 crushed cumin seeds

Piece of cinnamon sticks or bay leaf (not too much since bay leaf has its own distinct aroma and taste. Too much will over power the tamarind)
1 tsp. salt

Method:

1.      De-shell and wash the tamarind clean

2.     Place the tamarind, sugar dates, cinnamon and water in a deep boiling put and leave to soak for 5 mins.

3.      Put to boil for approximately 9- 10 mins.

4.      Allow to cool

5.      Remove the cinnamon stick ( or bay leaf) then blend in a electric blender until smooth

6.      Strain and transfer the mixture into the boiling pot again

7.      Allow the mixture to boil until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thinly ( don’t let the mixture burn so a low heat is better)

8.      Add the seasoning.

9.      Allow to cool and then store in clean airtight bottles and refrigerate

Caraille ( Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon)

Bitter gourd goes well with Sada Roti. It can also be eaten raw. Like the name suggest this vegetable is bitter, but i taste good and is extremely nutritious.

Ingredients:-

2 Caraille aka Bitter gourd
1 sm. Onion diced
3 cloves Garlic finely diced
2 Pimentos finely chopped 
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp All Purpose Seasoning Salt
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 cup salt water

Method:-

1. Cut caraille ( bitter gourd) length ways; De-seed and wash thoroughly
2. Dice the caraille and soak in a salt water mixture for approximately 15 mins - half an hour
3. Heat the frying pan for 5 mins; add the oil and let heat
4. Slowly add the pimentos, onion and garlic, basil and parsley and allow to saute 
5. Drain the caraille and add to the sauteing herbs and spices
6. Stir and let the caraille turn brown in color
7. Then add the seasoning salts and stir thoroughly

Note:- The Caraille is cooked when it's soft in texture. Overcooking can cause it to be crispy and that works if you like the crispy taste of caraille between bread or Sada roti.

Potato Salad- The Trini Way

I don’t know, but nothing taste better with macaroni pie, callaloo and stew chicken than a side of potato salad. Don’t get me wrong Cole slaw is a delicious side dish and a Caesar salad puts the topping on any lunch idea. But potato salad just brings out that homey feeling.

Ingredients:-

2 lb potato washed, peeled and cubed.

1 lrg green sweet pepper

4 beets washed, peeled and cubed

1 small onion cut (optional)

1 tin of peas and carrots / mix vegetables

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp sugar (brown preferably)

2 tsp basil

2 tsp parsley

1tbsp salt for boiling

Methods:-

1.       Place potato and salt in a pot of boiling water for approximately 20 mins.

2.       Place beets in a separate pot and boil for 10 mins (I don’t like to overcook beets. Beets are better raw )

3.       Strain both potato and beets and rinse in cool water and set aside

4.       In a bowl add the parsley, basil, onion, sugar and mayonnaise along with the peas and carrots, mix t.

5.       Now add the potatoes and beets and mix thoroughly.

6.       Grate some garlic and sprinkle over the potato salad.

Enjoy

Food Knowledge Corner

There are lots of foods that help our bodies remain healthy. These foods generate vitamins, protein and other minerals that help slow down the aging process as well as normalizing our body fucntions.

Vitamin C

This is said to be a powerful antioxidant. It can be found in :- green vegetables, citrus fruits, strawberries and black berries, grapes and cherries.

Vitamin E

This is another important antioxidant, that helps protect skin from sun damage and also aids in giving your skin a smooth feel to it. It can be found in :- wheatgerm, sunflower oil and seeds, sweet potato, avocado and spinach.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids 

This is said

Dumpling and Saltfish Buljoi

Dumplings

Ingredients;-

5 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 ½ cups water

1 tbsp baking soda (optional)

¼ cup fresh parsley and basil mixed finely chopped

2 tbsp salt for boiling

1tbsp grated nutmeg

1 tbsp sugar

½ tbsp salt

Method:- 

1.       Add all dry ingredients in a bowl (except for the 2tbsp of salt for boiling)

2.       Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the water. Mix until it turns into a firm dough.

3.       Place a boiling pot with water on the fire and allow the water to reach boiling point.

4.       Divide the dough into two and make log rolls.

5.       Divide the roll into eights

6.       Shape the dough in your hands to make dumplings (you can put the dough between the palms of your hand and roll it in a rubbing motion. Then press the middle of the dough if you like. Or you can flatten the dough. It all depends on your preference. ) 

7.       Add the remaining salt and the dumplings to the already boiling water

8.       Remember, when the dumplings are ready, it will float to the surface.

2.       Drain and set aside

Saltfish Buljoi

Ingredients;-

1         Chadon beni (culantro)  cut into pieces

  2lb Saltfish

3 lrg tomatoes diced

4 tbsp vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 small onion

1 large sweet pepper diced

Instructions:-

1. 1.       In order to get rid of the excess salt boil the Saltfish in a large pot of water for 15 mins – ½ hr.

2.  Drain water and full pot with tap water in order to help the fish cool

3.  Drain fish after 5 mins and flake

4.  Put flakes in a bowl

5. Heat a large skillet, sauté oil, onions, garlic, Chadon beni, peppers for approx 1 min.

6. Add the sauté oil along with the herbs and vegetable on the flaked Saltfish and stir.

N.B:-Boneless Saltfish is a bit expensive; however it can cut preparation time nearly by a half, especially when it comes to deboning of the fish. But if you’re looking for quantity and you’re willing to go through the deboning process, then I say bravo to you!