Serves 4 Guyanese love a good curry. Since we’re in the middle of intense summer, I’ve adapted a traditional curry recipe for the grill. Instead of stewing the chicken with the curried Green Seasoning, I simply marinated the chicken in it and threw it on the grill. An easy way to get the heat out of the kitchen, although you’ll still feel it in your mouth. Big time. P.S. To eat this like you’re in Guyana, serve with Chow Mein. Seriously. Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips 1 cup Caribbean Green Seasoning 1 heaping Tbsp homemade curry powder salt & pepper to taste Method: Ask your butcher for four chicken breasts. The friendship between a woman and her butcher is a thing of beauty. Make friends with your butcher and they’ll give you all the good cuts. I promise. Slice the chicken into strips and place on skewers. The best way to do this is to cut the breast diagonally. If you don’t feel like messing with it, feel free to just marinate the …
Read More
Makes about 1 1/2 cups Ouch and yum. This seasoning blend should feel like molten lava as it slides down your throat; Guyanese use up to six habaneros in a recipe like this one. However, if you don’t have Caribbean friends coming over for dinner – or the time to replace your throat – feel free to make a mild version. For example, mine (certainly laughable to Caribbeans), uses only a 1/4 of a habanero. In my defense I have a two year-old. Call me crazy, but I don’t have the heart to feed her a paste made with six scorching habaneros, even if she does like a little spice from time to time. Plus, I’m pretty wimpy, myself. So whether you like it hot, or not, just be sure to whip up a batch – you can use it on almost anything, from curries, to stews to grill marinades. Totally flexible and totally tasty – this is the Caribbean’s take on the French mirepoix or the Dominican sazon (a.k.a. sofrito). Makes a really nice …
Read More
Serves 4 Hello summer, nice to see you again. This year let’s stay cool, no overheating, no frustration, no sweaty t-shirts. I have to admit I don’t think you’re playing fair – soaring above 100F in June, but I’ll take drastic measures to keep the peace, if need be. I can curl up in an ice bath. Thankfully, however, there’s something better and tastier: cold soup. Inspired by the Guyanese in South America and their love of Caribbean flavors, today’s special is mango and coconut-tastic. I’m ready to do laps in this chill goodness. The flavor is light – thanks to the coconut water – silky, even. This is high class – good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Eat it by itself or eat it as a starter or eat it as dessert. Just eat it. Ingredients: 4 medium ripe mangoes (about 3.5 cups chopped) 1 1/3 cup coconut water (1 can) 1 cup yogurt 1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup milk 1 Tbsp rum (white or dark) honey, if necessary ( I didn’t use …
Read More
For a long time now I’ve wanted live with goats. But it doesn’t end there. I want to eat thick, hearty cheese sandwiches made with rustic, country bread. I want to eat them every day. All day. While smelling wildflowers and wearing a frock. It all started when I read Heidi, the story of a little girl who does, well, almost exactly that. Enter Guyana. They do it. They eat cheddar-cheesy bread sandwiches for snacks. For dinner. Whenever, really. Winning. Just imagine this after school snack: … visions of a warm, hearty Tennis Roll, sliced in half and protecting thick slices of cheddar cheese … To wash it down, an ice-cold glass of cream soda made creamy with carnation milk. Ooo la la! Childhood memories of this after school snack thrilled me. Cynthia Nelson, Starbroek News. I’m thinking I can somehow combine my Heidi daydream with these tennis rolls for an outrageously awesome fantasy. And in this daydream my frock will never get too small because I ate too much cheese and bread. So what …
Read More
Serves 4 Hello. I realize it’s summer, but let’s shut our eyes for a moment and daydream about winter. In Guyana. Are you ready for Christmas? Shall we deck the halls? (do people really do that?). Ready or not, today’s recipe is going to take you to December 25th, Guyanese-style. Read this: The kids got their little presents, got their pictures taken on my lap, and everyone ate fried rice, chow mein, and chicken curry. You know, traditional Christmas food. From Mark Hejinian’s travel blog Guyanese Mark My first reaction? I want to spend Christmas in Guyana. Immediately. It doesn’t help that it’s a zillion degrees here, but a nice cool winter day would be welcome right about now. And that menu? Yes, yes, yes. So let’s dig into what this dish is all about. While Chow Mein might sound like a stretch for the South American dinner table, Guyanese love this dish with a passion. It’s not a straight up copycat operation, however – they add plenty of unique touches, to make Chow Mein …
Read More
I like to live in the moment. Fly free. Laugh. Dance. Cry. Do you ever find yourself doing something fun, like chatting with a friend, instead of the work you’re supposed to be doing? I do. I love it. I look forward to it. And why not? I get to have fun and then proceed to do my work twice as fast. When I’m talking to my friend, I don’t worry about the work. It’ll be there. It’s time will come. No, I’d rather live in the moment. It’s sweet bliss. As long as I meet my deadlines, no harm done. Just tonight I was chatting with a friend for hours, instead of doing my work. It was worth it. I got and gave countless life lessons. I laughed. I cried. Now, I’m home, eyes burning and overheated, wearing the humidity like a blanket. I’m hungry. I need to cool off. No problem. Well, actually, there’s one problem: I don’t want to cook in an already hot house. Luckily our Guyanese menu is a mostly heat-free menu. …
Read More
Welcome to Guyana – where you can eat a plate of curry [Recipe] with a side of chow mein [Recipe]. What a combination. What a melting pot. What time do we eat? Oh, and did I mention Guyana is in South America? Yep. This rugged country plates up food from halfway across the world thanks to the influence of British colonizers. Take a stroll down her sandy shores – deep tan like crushed graham crackers – or climb the plateaus in the west; either way you’ll quickly learn why Guyana is called the land of many waters. Rivers swim across the countryside, producing spectacular waterfalls which thread through jungle, and mountain, and cloud. The Guyanese eat a lot more like the peoples of the Caribbean than South Americans. Case in point: their love of curry. They even season their food with the same Green Seasoning that heats up the food across the islands (a firey hot blend of habeneros, celery, garlic, onion, thyme, and more) [Recipe]. Tourists everywhere cry when they taste this stuff. In …
Read More
THE SCENE: I cut into the yucca root, first trimming the ends, then cracking it down the middle. Instead of revealing creamy white flesh, the yucca was speckled and streaked with brown. Rotten. I grabbed the peeler and stripped off the thick skin, exposing even more bruised flesh. Why I peeled that rotten yucca, I cannot tell you, but when I was done, I dutifully cut it into thick sticks and placed them in a pretty pile. I then pushed the pile straight into the trash. Darn yucca. Mocking me again. I looked over at the second and final yucca root, eying the waxy brown skin. It looked exactly the same as the first – no outer signs of distress. No signs of rot. I took a deep breath and cut one end open, swearing I would never ever make another yucca dish if this one wasn’t any good. At the very least I wouldn’t make another yucca dish that day – I had no way to get to the supermarket. As I cracked the knife away from the …
Read More
Serves 6-8 Listen, friends. I thought Jollof sounded weird. Scary. Difficult. It’s not. This is rice with veggies. And spices. Sometimes meat, but not here. Not today. All over West Africa people enjoy Jollof. They make it with whatever they have on hand and more often that not it does not include meat. This recipe is flexible. It’s usually spicy. And it always has some version of tomato sauce/paste in it. The rest is a fun improvisational dance. So, go on – boogie, boogie through that bottom drawer and pull out whatever veggies inspire you. Ingredients: 2 cups frozen green peas vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tsp ginger (fresh grated or ground) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp cayenne 15 oz can tomato sauce or puree 1 small head of cabbage, chopped 2 cups white rice 1 quart water or stock salt and pepper, to taste Method: My boogie, boogie led me to peas, which is a fairly common addition to Jollof. So, first things first, set out the green …
Read More
Serves 2-4 I never thought the day would come. I never thought I would conquer the mighty yucca. This tuber has made sweat, cry, and is quite possibly be the reason why I blacked out and went crashing to the floor one night after eating way too many Bâton de Manioc – out cold for a good thirty seconds. To be fair, the next day the doctor blamed dehydration. Regardless, given my terrible past with this tuber, I have a deep need to remedy my track record, this time with yucca fries. Who can mess up fried yucca, right? As far as fried food goes, it’s healthier than a potato but gives you the same indulgent fix. So, dip it in the oil until golden, sprinkle some salt and satisfy those munchies! Ingredients: 1-2 yucca vegetable oil, for frying salt, to taste Method: Make sure you’re very hungry. Yucca fries are delicious, but leftovers aren’t acceptable. They get soft. When your stomach is growling good and loud, peel and quarter the yucca, being careful to …
Read More
Makes 16 When I ask for a cookie, I expect to get a sugary, crispy, heart-racing cookie. Something that makes me thirst for milk. But that’s not always what happens. Take raivas, for example. These cinnamon loaded Portuguese cookies are subdued. Doughy. Bready. Dry. But don’t be fooled. The texture isn’t a mistake. They are made specifically for dunking. Dipping. Sogging-up coffee, hot cocoa or tea. So why are we making Portuguese cookies this week, when we’re cooking West Africa? Simple. The people of Guinea-Bissau love Portuguese baked goods because they were a former Portuguese colony. Walk into any big city bakery and you’ll see what I mean. So, come along, let’s jump on the cinnamon train with the squiggliest, wiggliest, doughiest cookies I’ve ever seen Inspired by Lindy and her adaptation from Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa. Ingredients: 8 Tbsp Butter 1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs 3-3 1/4 cups flour 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt Method: Put on a shirt with a wiggly design. Play a wiggly song. Vow to make wiggles, not war. Here’s how …
Read More
Want to get up and dance? Shake a little soul onto the dance floor? Come, let’s find the beat, West African-style… with the Djembe, the drum of choice. Use it or lose it: The top of the drum is spread tightly with goat skin. Loads of goat meat is consumed in West Africa, often wrapped in banana leaves [recipe] or stewed, so making a djembe with the skin is a fantastic way to use the whole animal, not just the meat. As my mom always said, “waste not, want not.” Say what? The goats in West Africa live a tough, tough existence which, in turn, makes their skin tougher…. which, in turn, makes the drum sound different than djembes in other regions. Inspiration: I like to scour the net for people who have traveled, who can give me a picture of the foreign lands I can only dream about. Today I’d like to share with you two descriptions of dance in Guinea and Guinea Bissau… descriptions that I found inspirational. That made me want to …
Read More
