Tuesday, 26 August 2014

Super Salad

I dont care for veggies so when I make them they have to be easy to eat and tasty. I hate salads where you have to fight big chunks of lettuce and veg.
I like using a mandoline to shred veg. as it makes nice fine shreds of a variety of things that mix well into the salad. It is a serious machine so use with care.

Really good salad super easy.
Ingredients:
Variety of colorful lettuce
Cabbage green or red
Radicchio
Spinach
Carrots
Beets
Sprouts
Zuchinni is good too shredded

Prep:
Chop lettuce and radicchio like you would for Cesar salad  so the pieces are bite size
Use a mandoline to shred carrots beets and cabbage
Mix all and sprinkle sald with sprouts

Add dressing
My current favorite is blue cheese
Chunk of blue cheese
Sour cream or yogurt or cream
Mayo
Vinegar
Garlic
S and p

Half and half for the cream and mayo
Vinegar to taste
Crumble half the chunk of blue cheese and add to mix
Blend with hand mixer or blender
Add more of the liguid depending on how thick you like it
Put in fridge for a bit
Pour on salad then sprinkle on remaining blue cheese crumbles
Mix
Add croutons or nuts or bacon

The smaller the grates of carrot, cabbage and beet the better they blend with the lettuce
I don't like tomato in salad. I like to be able to get a fork full of everything and not have a big chunk of something else in the mix. Besides tomato takes over the salad.
If you use oil and vinegar you can put shredded cheese on salad but with the blue cheese there is already enough
Bacon bits are nice too or prosciutto or jambon shreds fried crisp
Walnuts or pine nuts are nice in this salad

Thursday, 10 July 2014

Dasheen or cassava chips

Dasheen is like a starchy potato. It is a provision vegetable in the Caribbean. In other places they call this root taro.

You can fry them roast them bake them and mash them. You can even make them into bread.

I am making fried chips.

What do you need to get this done

Large dasheen
Oil
Salt

I used a slicer but a mandolin will work. Good fresh dasheen is tough to cut.
Peel off the tough outside skin.
Slice them thin like you would for potato chips.
Get the oil hot in a good high pot.
350F
Don't overload the pot.
Fry in small batches.
Dry on paper sprinkle with salt
Eat with dip or plain

If you make them thicker you can use them like a cracker.

Dasheen is a root vegetable.

Friday, 4 July 2014

Half and half tortillas

If you have trouble working with corn flour try splitting the flour. Use all purpose white four and the tortillas will be easier to manage but still have that corn flavor. 

1 cup flour
1 cup corn flour
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Combine all into soft ball.
Split into 16 piece
Let rest 15 min.

Roll out each ball into thin round using flour to keep from sticking
Use a flat skillet or tawa heated med hot
Let them bubble and slightly brown on bottom then flip.
Let cool 

Little dough balls
Roll out very thin
First side done
Finished tortillas

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Chicken wing coconut curry

Chicken wings or chicken
Coriander seeds
cumin seeds
pomegranate seeds
cardamon pods
chili powder
turmeric root
mashed garlic
coconut milk
tamarind sauce
tomato
onion
cornflower
coconut oil
sugar cane
Methi
dasheen
coconut cream

Put oil in skillet and all seeds roast for a few minutes don't burn
Add garlic onion turmeric and saute
add chicken wings
add coconut milk and tamarind sauce
add tomatoes and sugarcane
Cook bubbly
Sprinkle corn flour to thicken
Fed methi towards the end
Before serving add coconut cream and stir

Serve with rice and naan

Monday, 30 June 2014

Chicken wing soup with coconut dumplings

Easy soup if items are prepped.
Chicken wings
Tamarind sauce
Coconut milk
Local herbs
Ginger
Garlic
SP
Sugarcane pieces

water

Put items in pot with water to top of chicken.  Cook till chicken is done and remove it. Strain solids keep liquid.
Put liquid in pot and add
Chopped onion
Dasheen
Carrots
Tania
Yam

Simmer veg until soft add chicken taste for seasoning.

Skim off froth on top


Add more coconut cream


Create spinners
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup lard or butter
3/4 cup grated coconut
Water
3/4 tea Salt
Blend butter and flour until grainy
Mix water and coconut and add enough to made a dry dough
Don't over mix
Pull off bits of dough and roll into long dumplings
Drop into soup
Cook till done
Chop fresh herbs and sprinkle on soup before serving

Grill chicken on sugarcane skewers

Grill meat on sugar cane serves a couple of needs. Skewers require a stick of course and the sugar in the cane not only give meat flavor but also tenderize.  It also makes a nice presentation. 

Skinless chicken breasts cubed
Raw sugarcane

Use enough of each item to make a marinade that will cover all chicken.


Tamarind sauce
Coconut milk or cream
Local fresh herbs
Ginger root
Garlic
SP
Lime
Blend herbs and two liquids in blender

Mix all but lime and sugarcane and let marinate in fridge
When it's time to eat heat up the grill
Create skewers from cane
Put two or three cubes of chicken on each skewer
Grill in slow oven
Remove and serve with chunks of lime.

Sunday, 21 October 2012

Cucumber and Avacado Soup

1 avocado
1 cucumber peeled and seeded
garlic
lemon juice
s and p
ice cubes
chicken bouillon or reduced stock
cilantro
radish

put avocado and cucumber in bowl with garlic and cilantro
blend with hand blender
add ice cubes and blend till crushed
add s and p and cilantro blend.
when it is done it will be smooth and thick. Too thick add more ice
I cut a radish into slivers and put it on top of soup as garnish. very nice

1 ripe avocado, 1 or 2 cucumbers cut into chunks (can keep the skin on if not waxed), 1 chicken bouillon cube, a handful of fresh cilantro, 1 tsp or less of garlic chili paste for a little heat, 2 cloves fresh garlic, a tbs or so of preserved lemons or if you don't have any use juice of a lime or lemon, 4 ice cubes, a little fresh ground pepper, add water near top......then blend. Et voila!