TimeToEatMon

Jamaican Vodka Slush

2012-01-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Jamaican Vodka Slush

Ingredients

2 cups white sugar
7 cups water
2 tablespoons instant tea powder
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
Strawberry concentrate or fresh
2 cups cold water
2 cups vodka
1 liter lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage

DIRECTIONS

In a 6 quart pot combine sugar and 7 cups water. Bring to boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Stir in tea powder while hot. Add orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate, or strawberry and 2 cups cold water. Chill in refrigerator.
When cold mix in vodka. Pour into a plastic container leaving room on top for expansion. Freeze or 24 hours.
To serve, scoop about 1 cup into a tall glass and quickly stir in 1/3 cup lemon-lime soda.

The history of the Dutch Pot

2012-01-22T14:27:00.000-08:00

Having a Dutch pot is a staple of the Jamaican family. The Dutch Pot dates back to the Iron-Age. This was when man was experimenting in casting iron and creating all kinds of vessels, for a variety of reasons.

The Dutch Pot first arrived from the Netherlands, along with the explores in the Mid 1600's. The tribal Africans saw these pots and seeing the uses, traded animal hides and other things for them.

The Dutch Pot made from aluminium scraps and river sand is today manufactured by Carib Metals from Falmouth, Trelawny.

Made from aluminium scraps and river sand, the Dutch pot is today manufactured by Carib Metals, in the 18th century commercial capital of Falmouth, Trelawny. The Dutch Pot is the only way to do authentic Jamaican cooking. It is because the heat and temperature is consistent. This causes the food to cook evenly and not burn.

Scotch Bonnet Pepper

2012-01-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Scotch Bonnet Pepper

The first main ingredient of jerk seasoning is Scotch bonnet chile pepper, a variety of the habanero, so named for the shape of the pepper which resembles a Scotch tam or hat. This pepper ranges in color from green to yellow to red, often mixed depending on the ripeness of the pepper. The purpose of the pepper was originally found out by the many pirates that use to plunder many of the Caribbean islands. The found that after a heavy spicy meal, that when they bit into this pepper (and I don't know how they did that), that it actually helped indigestion.

Jamaican Roast Fish

2012-01-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

I found this wonderful recipe on Jamaicans.com I love Roast Fish.

INGREDIENTS :

4 small whole gutted doctor fish or turbit/turbot (some times spelt terbit)(you can use any small fish)

2 small onions

3 sprigs scallions

6 sprigs thyme

10 pimentos

1 table spoon salt

1 table spoon pepper

1 garlic

2 scotch bonnet pepper

1/4 cup pick a pepper sauce

aluminum foil paper

Wash fish with cold salt water or vinegar.

METHOD:

Wash fish in with vinigar and water

Pour picka-peppa into bowl

Dice up onion, thyme, escallions, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic & combine

Add salt, pepper, pimento

Combine all and mix in the bowl of picka-pepper sauce

Dry and place each fish on a sheet of foil

Stuff each fish with the seasoning mixture & wrap completgly in foil

Roast on open grill for 30 minutes or in an oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serves 4

*If you can't get pick-a-peppa sauce you can use Worcestershire sauce, with a little bit of sugar.

Sunday dinner

2012-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday dinner is a big thing in Jamaica. It stems from history where Sunday was the one day the master gave their slaves some rest. Generally it would be a small breakfast because everyone knew the meal was large.

I am having my Sunday dinner today because I have to work. The rice and peas is a staple in many homes.

Jamaican Fruits

2012-01-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

One thing Jamaica has in abundance is fruits. Well this is true for any tropical island. I always love it when I visit other countries and I find the same kind of fruits. Growing up, everything that could be "juiced" was juiced. My favorite was "Mango Juice." There is nothing like fresh squeezed mango.

One interesting fruit is the "Ackee." I guess it is like a "tomato." It doesn't fit in the fruit category but it is described as a fruit.

Breadfruit

Carambola

Custard Apple

Guinep

You can find information about this an more fruits at:

www.jamaicans.com/cooking/foods/fruitglossary.shtml

Da real Jerk chicken mon

2012-01-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

Over the years I have posted many Jerk Chicken dishes. This one is really good. This gentlemen went to great pains to make sure it was indeed, "authentic." Yawd cooking at its best mon!

Jamaican Seafood

2012-01-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

This is great dish to eat anytime of the year. I love seafood (those of you that have been following me probably know that already). This recipe calls for "vegetable oil," but I used canola oil instead.

Ingredients

2 tsp canola oil
raw prawns 1 lb (deveined and peeled)
2 bunches of green oinions (scallions)
1 garlic clove chopped
1 small habenero pepper (scotch bonnet) -use a green chili for less spicy
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into sticks
5 fluid oz of white wine
5 fluid oz of cream of coconut
4 oz shitake mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat a large skillet or if you have a wok it will work better, add oil. When oil is hot (almost smoking) then add the prawns and stir or about 5 minutes. Remove the prawns (keep warm in a low heat oven). Add the mushrooms, stir for about 3 minutes, remove and add to prawns to plate in oven. add the wine and coconut milk to the skillet. Let this mixture boil for about 5 minutes. reduce the heat. Return the prawns and mushrooms to the this mixture,stirring occasionally. Stir in the other seasonings. add salt and pepper to taste. (do notbreak open the scotch bonnet (habenero pepper) in the skillet). If you choose to use the sliced chillies then add to taste for spiceness.

Serve with cooked rice

Long Time Gal Mi Nevah Seen Ya

2011-11-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

It has been quite awhile since I have been on this site. I am back after a series of health issues. This week is Thanksgiving week (Thursday) and many Jamaicans do celebrate Thanksgiving, even though it is an American holiday.

I found an interesting way to do this on youtube. The author, Mar-see-yah has a fun way of cooking. I hope you enjoy.

Jamaican Glazed Ham

2010-11-30T13:15:00.001-08:00

Ham is something I feel you can eat anytime. It doesn't have to take a special holiday. One thing that is indeed a treat on the island is ham. Traditionally it is mostly a "holiday" thing, but as Jamaica is becoming more Westernized it is something that can be found in the shopping markets all the time.

1 lb. (5 kgs) ham
1 bottle marmalade
2 tsps. grated orange rind
2 cups fresh orange segments
5 medium ripe bananas
2 Tbsps. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
15 whole cloves
2 Tbsps. vinegar
1 lb. (5 kgs) ham
1 bottle marmalade
2 tsps. grated orange rind
2 cups fresh orange segments
5 medium ripe bananas
2 Tbsps. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
15 whole cloves
2 Tbsps. vinegar

Directions
Bake ham in preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F, (15 minutes for each pound).
In a saucepan over low heat, heat marmalade until it is of a syrupy consistency.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, remove marmalade from heat and blend in orange segments, banana slices and lime juice.
Spoon mixture over ham 15 minutes before it is finished baking.
In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and vinegar, brush this over ham. Bake ham for a further 15-20 minutes.

Source: Caribbean Choice

Jamaican Christmas Cake- Fruitcake

2010-11-30T13:15:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

6 ounces or 1.5 cup flour
8 ounces margarine or butter
8 ounces sugar
4 eggs
1 pound raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces mixed peel
4 ounces cherries
1/2 pound prunes (chopped)
1 cup wine/brandy
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
finely grated rind of 1 lime/lemon
2 tablespoons browning

METHOD:

Cream butter, sugar and browning until soft and fluffy.
Sieve all dry ingredients together
Beat eggs, wine/brandy together.
Add egg mixture to creamed butter and sugar.
Add fruits.
Add flour and fold in. Do no over-beat when mixing.
Bake at 350F for 1 1/2 hours.
Yield: 9' round cake.

Mango Colada Punch

2010-11-25T22:54:00.000-08:00

Mango is a popular fruit throughout the many countries. This refreshing drink has quite a kick if you add the right alcohol content. I believe any alcoholic beverage can be used, but in this one rum was used.

Recipe

1 large ripe mango, peeled and sliced
½ cup pineapple juice
6 tablespoons Cruzan light rum, or other light rum
2 tablespoons Coco Lopez (condensed coconut milk)
2 cups crushed ice
4 teaspoons Appleton’s dark rum, or other dark rum (I used Meyers)
2 maraschino cherries
2 wedges fresh lime

Method:
Blend the mango, pineapple juice, light rum, coconut milk, and ice in an electric blender until smooth.
Pour the drink into 2 tall glasses and pour 2 teaspoons of the dark rum into each glass. Garnish with the cherries and lime wedges.

Jamaican Thanksgiving- Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T01:27:00.000-08:00

Many people think that Jamaicans do not celebrate Thanksgiving. We do indeed celebrate holidays. Not in the traditional sense of Americans, but Jamaica has adopted many Western Ways. This year we made Deep Fried Jerk Turkey.

It was really cold outside, my area is experiencing a cold front. I didn't capture the picture where they injected the turkey with the seasonings, but I will post the recipe for those who would like to try it. I hope one day we can get an indoor turkey fryer.

Recipe

The marinade to inject in the Turkey

For the marinade- to inject

2 cups finely chopped scallion
2 Scotch bonnet or habañero chilies, seeded and minced (wear rubber gloves)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
5 teaspoons ground allspice
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

( I blend these ingredients in the blender, adding a little cider juice adds a really nice flavor- just a little bit).

Additional Ingredients

2 cups butter
1/4 cup onion juice
1/4 cup garlic juice
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
7 fluid ounces beer
3 gallons peanut oil for frying, or as needed
1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed

Cooking Method

*Allow your turkey to thaw completely! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! This is what causes all those horrible grease fires you see on TV.*

Always test your turkey fryer thermometer before you attempt to fry your turkey

It usually takes 2 days to completely defrost my medium size turkey in the refrigerator.Inject throughout the bird while still warm.

You'll want to inject about 1-2 ounces of marinade into each breast and each thigh, as well as about .75 to 1 ounce of marinade into each drumstick.You want to inject your turkey at least 30 minutes before deep frying

Combine the butter, onion, garlic, black pepper, beer and rub on outside of turkey. (Let sit for couple of hours or overnight in the refrigerator).

Take out the refrigerator and lightly pat it dry.

When the oil reaches 375 degrees F., pat the turkey dry again, If your cooker has a basket insert, place the turkey in the basket and set it over a baking sheet; if not, set an oven rack over a large baking sheet, place the turkey on it, and take them outside to the cooker.

Check the temperature of the oil. When the oil reaches 390 degrees F., carefully and slowly lower the basket with the turkey into the oil; or lower it holding it by its legs or by a long heavy tool such as a clean fireplace poker inserted into its cavity. Be careful! Immediately check the oil temperature and adjust the flame so that the temperature does not dip below 340 degrees F. You want to maintain the temperature at 365 degrees F. As it cooks, occasionally move the bird around in the oil so that it does not scorch (the oil near the heat source will be hotter).

Allow to rest awhile before you carve it. Usually about 20-25 minutes.

Jamaican Coconut Seafood

2009-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

Jamaican Stew Beef

2009-10-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of those recipes that will mek yuh slap yuh madda! Nothing like the one pot meals

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups red peas
½ lb salt beef
1 lb stew beef (you also can use pigs-tail if you like)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 stalk scallion
3 sprig thyme
2 cups coconut milk (or 1/4 box)
6 pimento seed
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
spinners (See Recipe Below)

METHOD / DIRECTIONS:

Boil and drain salt beef twice, in a medium size pan. Place peas, meat and garlic together in the pan, boil until peas are tender, about 1 ½ hour. Add coconut cream, spinners, and seasoning, cook for about an hour. Season to taste. Thicken the mix with 3 tablespoons of flour combined with 1/4 cup water. Strain the mixture into the stew. Boil until it thickens. Serve with rice.

Removal of the Entrecard

2009-10-01T00:19:00.000-07:00

I hate when folks try and bully you into something. Sadly, when things start growing people's eyes look like saucers as they see profit. I just am not going to pay $50 to have no sponsors on my ads. I love the blogs I have been able to connect to all these years, but will not be the mulecart for some advertisizer.

They (entrecard administration) sent out this notice recently:

We are pleased that many members are taking advantage of Entrecard services and that Entrecard is able to help users increase traffic to their blog. However in order to continue providing this free service, we will be taking 15% of our entire ad network inventory for sponsors as of Sept. 28, 09. This is a standard business model used by free advertising networks. The revenues generated by our sponsors will help cover overhead expenses and keep our service free to all our members for years to come. To keep things simple and fair, all ads will be distributed evenly in our network. We are currently working on a feature that will allow users to disable sponsor ads that may conflict with their blog. This will be available in a few weeks.

Please be assured that we will screen all sponsor ads to ensure that they meet our guidelines. All sponsor ads WILL be family oriented, and will not promote nudity, violence or anything illegal.

We thank you for your support and understanding. We will continue to make improvements to our network. Our goal is to deliver more traffic to your blog, increase your readers and comments, and let you network with other bloggers. We will focus on fine tuning every aspect of our business to ensure that our users are happy in the years ahead.

Cindy U.
Entrecard.com

BYE BYE ENTRECARD..

Jamaican Fried Chicken

2009-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, Jamaicans love Fried Chicken. Well, this Jamaican does anyway. One thing that is done different in Jamaica is tomato Ketchup is used in the recipe. See, to be a "real" Jamaican, you can't just say, "ketchup." You have to say "tomato ketchup.

Chicken
Onions
Black pepper
Scotch Bonnet Flakes
Salt
Garlic powder
Flour
Oil
2 eggs, optional
Ketchup, optional
1. Season chicken with onions, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, chicken , and if you want it spicy, use some Scotch bonnet flakes (or habernero)

2. Set aside

3. Heat oil in frying pan until boiling hot. Enough to cover chicken, as much as half way.

4. Prepare flour in a bowl. Shake chicken into flour then fry, making sure you shake heavy flour off before frying. NOTE: If you like, you may dip chicken in some egg mixture (2 eggs) before using flour. After frying, you may Sprinkle some Ketchup on it.

2009-09-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

I love this fish dish. I happen to love Mackerel. I like Herring as well (which if I don't have Mackerel I can substitute.) The key to this dish (in my opinion is the combination of the spices and coconut milk).

Ingredients

2lb salted mackerel
1can of coconut milk (or make your own fresh)
1 cup water
1 onion
3 scallion
2 tomatoes
A few sprigs of thyme (about 4 or 5)
3 garlic cloves
vinegar, black pepper and salt to taste (generally about 1 or 2 teaspoons of each)
1 tablespoon butter (I add this because it give the dish a nice flavor)

Method

Soak mackerel in water overnight, changing water regularly. Boil the mackerel for 15 minutes then allow to cool. You can remove the mackerel heads if you want to. I leave mine on. Then cut the fish in to small pieces. Chop the onion, scallion, tomato and garlic. Combine the coconut milk and water in a saucepan, bring to the boil then turn the heat down to simmer. Add onion, scallion, tomato, garlic and thyme, cook for 10 minutes more.
If sauce is still watery, mix 1 tablespoon of flour in 1/4 cup of water and stir in to the mixture.

When finished you can serve it with traditional green banana and flour dumpling. Or you can use rice. A nice salad adds to the meal.

Jamaican Curry Chicken

2009-08-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Once in awhile I will post an interesting Jamaican recipe I have found on the internet. This video is from Jamaica Travel and Culture.com (by way of Youtube). I have featured several curry chicken recipes over the years, but this is a very simple and very tasty. Enjoy

Spiced Fish with Lime Butter

2009-08-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is a really nice recipe for those of you who like fish. I love fish. I can possibly eat it everyday. Okay, maybe at least twice a week.

Ingredients

1/2 pound of butter (let it get soft)
Juice and zest 1 lime
2 minced shallots
6 snapper or grouper fish
(you can keep the heads on, but this recipe is best when the fish is fillet)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried basil
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons of paprika
a dash of pick-a-peppa sauce (I use this with most of my fish dishes)

Method

First beat the lime and butter together until the butter is light and fluffy. Then add the zest, shallots. put the butter mixture on some wax paper and refrigerate.
Heat the oven to 450. Place the fish in a large baking dish, sprinkle with other ingredients. Then heat the butter and drizzle over the fish.. Bake for 5 minutes(according to thickness of fish). When done place some of the remaining lime butter over the fish and serve.

Turkey Patty

2009-08-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I invented this recipe or not. The only thing I know is that I was hungry one day I felt for a Jamaican meat patty and the only thing I had in the fridge was some ground turkey. So I thought why not just subsititue the meat. I did, and this was the result. Mine was not that spicy.

Dough:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter - at room temperature
2/3 cup water

Filling:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium white onions (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoons garlic - minced
1/2 medium Scotch bonnet pepper
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon curry powder preferably Madras (hot) style
1 tablespoons fresh thyme - chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper - fresh ground
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup beef broth homemade or store bought ( I used the turkey drippings)
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

Instructions

Dough:

Make the dough by hand or in a food processor. If using a food processor, place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and turmeric in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to blend the ingredients. In a mixing cup, whisk together the egg and 2/3 cup water. With the motor on, gradually add the mixture through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a soft ball, about 10 seconds. Scatter the softened butter over the dough. Process until the dough is very soft and moist but not sticky, about 5 seconds. If the dough feels sticky, add about 1 tbls flour and pulse until it is no longer sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, knead briefly, and shape it into a ball. Refrigerate for at least one hour before use.

Filling:

Chop onions fine. Wearing gloves, seed the Scotch bonnet pepper and chop fine. Mince the garlic. Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onions, garlic, and Scotch bonnet and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the meat, curry, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar, and cook, breaking up the meat lumps with the back of the spoon, until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, stir well to combined, and continue to simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Let cool thoroughly.

Assemble:

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the remainder covered in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough piece out into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Put about cup of the filling on the bottom half of the dough, leaving about a inch margin of dough exposed around the filling. Moisten the exposed edge with water. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling, forming a turnover. Join the edges by turning the bottom edge up and over and press the edge together. Press around turnover with the tines of a fork to seal.

Heat oven to 400 F. Place the patty on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Cover sheet with a clean towel until all the patties are formed to protect them from drying out. Brush patties generously with melted butter and bake in preheated oven for twenty minutes, until light golden.

Serve patties hot with red pepper sauce or West Indian hot sauce such as jerk sauce.

Jamaican Cabbage Salad

2009-08-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Acually the title is misleading. We don't really call it "cabbage salad." sometimes we just call it salad. Although "salad" can mean only tomato slices with some oil and vinegar (little black pepper).

This is a very simple dish for those in a hurry.

INGREDIENTS :

1 Green cabbage
4 medium Carrot
6 Stalks Celery
1 Cucumber
½ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Vinegar
½ Cup Oil
1 Cup boiling water

METHOD:

Slice cabbage into thin strips
Slice carrot into thin slices
Slice celery in to thin strips crossway
Slice cucumber into thin strips
Place all ingredients in to a container
Pour the boiling water in the container
Cover the container for 20 minutes
Drain the liquid
Serve at room temperature

Recipe from Jamaicans.com

Pina Colada

2009-07-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

This is a refreshing drink that can be made anytime.

Pina Colada

2 cups coconut milk
3 cups pineapple juice
2 cups crushed pineapple
1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened
1 cup rum, preferably golden
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon clear vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Blend in batches using a blender. Serve over ice.

Rum Glazed Roast Turkey

2009-07-15T17:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, Jamaicans eat Turkey. This recipe can be made anytime. You use Turkey Breast

Ingredients
RUM GLAZE

1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
2 tablespoons Dark Rum ( I use Appleton Special dark)

1 boned Turkey Breast
Garlic Seasoning
Onion Powder
3 bacon strips
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Spread your Turkey Breast skin down on a cutting board. Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper, garlic seasoning and onion powder. Put turkey into a baking pan and put pan in the oven.
Mix together the sugar, lemon juice, rum and stir until the sugar is dissolved. After the meat is cooked for 1 hour then spoon the mixture over it. Cook the turkey until it has an internal heat of 170, baste with the pan juices about every 15 minutes. (add the turkey strips for the last 15 minutes. - use hickory smoke if you have it)

You know it is done when the glaze becomes thick and roast glossy brown. Remove from the oven and allow to rest at least 15 minutes. Slice and enjoy with your favorite side dish. (I like potato)

Callaloo and Crab Soup

2009-07-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

1 pound fresh callaloo or spinach leaves, washed and shredded
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
5 ounces Okra sliced
1 scotch bonnet pepper or hot chili pepper, seeded and chopped
1 scallion or chive finely chopped
1 fresh thyme sprig
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups Chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk
8 ounces crab meat
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter over moderate heat. Sauté onion and garlic for about three minutes until soft. Add pepper, chives, thyme, and okra and cook for five more minutes. Stir constantly.

Stir in callaloo and cook for three minutes, stirring to cook leaves evenly. Pour over coconut milk and stock. Bring to boil then Simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in crab meal, season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and cook five more minutes.

Serve immediately