one love Caribbean food

I went on a speech-therapy trip to Jamaica. Matt tagged along and visited the communities he had served when he lived there. 

In Mobay, we stayed with a generous Canadian couple (Rob pictured below) who opened their home to us for several days without knowing anything about us. In Kingston, we stayed with the Catholic church. I have never experienced so much generosity and hospitality outside of my family and friends. We were never strangers to anyone, but rather, were always treated as family.

And yes. Everyone in Jamaica actually says, "Yeah man!"

obligatory window shot

Every day in Montego Bay, I came home to this really, REALLY excited face and 4 drinks poured in succession. 

...and who naturally made me pose next to the Montreal vs. Rangers game on satellite TV. Hockey in Jamaica. Right. 

they also took us to a country club on the beach, where I got to dip the fets in the ocean for 5 minutes. amazing.

Our Kingston hosts had a million mango trees on their propety.  Oh my god, guys, the mangos. 

LOOK QUICK! Mangos so good they made HIM smile!!!

and papayas so good they bring you to tears.

my view every morning. 

Matt's Jamaican grandma. Within the first few minutes of meeting her, and Matt out of earshot,  "so when is the wedding?"

Jamaican cherries off trees in her backyard. Tart. Flavorful. I loved their shape. 

Keeping her chickens fresh with lime

A community Matt had visited cut us some coconut.

HE SMILES AGAIN!!!

There wasn't much left, which lends itself to my silly posture.

A family having us over for fried chicken. SO. GOOD.

Ackee and saltfish--food of the gods. This is literally the best culinary discovery I have made in a LONG time. 

Bammy: fried cassava cakes

cooked ackee vs. raw ackee

Our hosts were through the Catholic church. Lebanese Christians. Her mother's cookbooks. I cried. 

happy man with sugar cane

The mangos: this variety was called "Julie". Succulent, deep, complex, and floral. 

peeled ackee: look for the bright and shiny ones.

The lovely lady who taught me how to prepare ackee

LEBANESE FOOD IN JAMAICA. FO REALS.

Just way too excited about hummus in the caribbean

tough love...but not enough to keep me away from Julie mangos!

naturally, I would find an arab resto. 

this. 

Lionfish (an invasive species that is INCREDIBLE) and parrotfish. Lobster wasn't in season. Everthing on that tray was fried. God bless Jamaica.

Matt getting busy peeling ackee/trying to get brownie points with me 

we climbed a really, really steep hill to get these red coconuts: but they weren't terribly great.

fried dumplings. amazing. I can still taste them, 

goodbye breakfast from the ackee we peeled

weekending and other notes

cassava pizza is really rocking our world. my current recipe is 1 c cassava flour, 2/3 c kefir, 2 eggs, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a dash of oil. spread onto the smooth side of a silicone sheet, bake 15 minutes or so, then let cool. elevate on an oven-proof wire rack (as pictured), rub with a bit of extra oil, then dress and bake till cheese is as you like it.

paleomom's plantain muffins are amazing. going to try a vegan version this week with ripe plantain and flax.

salad for dinner - with hard-boiled eggs, just-cooked broccoli, cubes of mozarella, thinly-sliced peppers, apple, lettuce, and a balsamic dressing.

new batch of kraut fementing away - with red cabbage, rutabaga, carrot, jalepeno, cranberries, ginger and garlic.

the table set for valentine's day

valentine menu

Sunday supper - mussel pasta dish based on nonno's mussel linguine in Jamie Oliver's Italy, except we have no anchovies, so I used smoked herring, it was just so delicious, prominently but not overwhelmingly smoky, with the sweetness of the tomatoes and the fresh garlic - definitely a keeper. with orange and endive salad and white wine - fabulous.

I am reading French Women Don't Get Fat - as you may recall, I have a major thing for French food culture, so I am enjoying it very much. I knew I would like it because I once picked up the sequel at a second-hand store and gave it to my mom as a gift. It is all about pleasure, n'est pas? I have realized, reading it, that I do sometimes eat mindlessly or out of stress. Oui, meme moi! I am very determined to slim down my portions, say no to seconds, savour every morsel of calorie-dense food I indulge in, and lose 5-10 pounds by May (as I don't have a scale I suppose I'll have to be content with fitting better into my black wool skirt, which has sadly gotten a little tight at the waist). So I turned down a second dish of pasta last night (while Tony had THREE, which if you have observed Tony eat, you'll realize is  an enormous quantity for him), and did not eat my third egg at breakfast, but instead kept it for my slumbering husband. I cannot wait for the spring to come, to start seeing early greens and fresh goodies at the Atwater market, bien sur! I am so done with winter. Anybody with me?

Family birthdays

Both my mom and step-father have their birthdays in September, a few days apart form each other. So for the sake of simplicity, we have one supper to celebrate all three events, hosted by me. The weather and leaves being so beautiful, I decided to carry the autumn theme inside as well, and my sister and I worked together to create an autumnal feast for our parents.

 

My sister worked hard on the decorations while I took care of the food. I printed out a menu and she basically did the rest, down to making little individual place cards. It was quite charming and I just loved working in tandem with her, usually were so busy in our respective lives our interactions seem to be like a gust in the wind, strong but unexpected and quickly over. It was really nice to be able to work with her towards a common goal as simple as making supper for our folks.

 

For the menu, this is what I made: Roasted butternut squash/apple/sweet potato soup, roast beef with garlic/peppercorn crust, mashed potatoes/carrots, and steamed vegetables. For desert I made a carrot/apple/raisin cake with a caramel rhum sauce topped with slivered almonds and thin apple slices. Im going to share the soup recipe, it is the easiest thing to do ever, gluten/dairy free, and paleo approved.

 

I roasted a medium butternut squash, three medium sweet potato and two onions at 350 for 1.5 hours. To do so simply cut the squash and taters in half and lay face down on a pan that has a couple of teaspoons of e.v.o.o. criss crossed on it. I added the onions 45 mns before done time. The squash and potatoes are done when you can stick a fork easily in them without any force. Let cool, then scrape into a blender with a cup of vegetable broth. Blend until smooth.

 

I added the puree into veggie stock, maybe 1.5-2ltrs of it, as well as 1 cup of applesauce I made. It was too liquidy so I cooked it down until it was the desired thickness. Added some cinnamon and powdered ginger (Im sorry I didn't measure).

 

Then right before serving, I grated some nutmeg on the top. It was very fragrant and delicious, and perfectly autumnal.