The Regular Show - Mac and Minced Beef

Today I thought that I should bring you a dish that makes a regular appearance in my home, usually at the end of every month and just before payday. Its takes no time at all to prepare and uses inexpensive ingredients.

People seem to think that because I have a food blog I cook gourmet meals at every turn.

Seriously no, eh!

My husband is sworn to secrecy about just how often we call for takeout around here.

No folks, I am not running home after work to whip up burgundy lamb shanks, with grilled polenta and a hearts of palm salad, because really you'd have to be crazy to try to get a cranky toddler to eat THAT at the end of a long day after a late swim lesson.

My kids are troupers and will eat all manners of things that other children their age would not touch. Still they do have their limits and pizza rules over okonomiyaki any day. I enjoy leading them to discover as wide a variety of foods that I possible can but my budget and time doesn't allow for fancy dishes all the time. On weekends I might experiment with something new but during the week it's the regular show. starring a rotating line up of budget-minded, unfussy meals.

Actually I am happiest when preparing meals that don't require a whole lot of thought and are sympathetic to dwindling pantry supplies. This dish fits that bill and is versatile. You don't have canned diced tomatoes? Then use tomato paste and ketchup or tomato soup and omit the tomatoes.   Hello left over spaghetti sauce languishing in in the fridge, you would be perfect for this! My  favorite substitution is a bottle of salsa which gives the meal a pleasant zing. Feel free to include any other add-ins like corn, celery, and sweet peppers if you have them.

Mac and Minced Beef

Ingredients
1 package of elbow macaroni ( 4 servings size)
2 tablespoons oil
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1 lb ground beef
1 large carrot
* I like the slight crunchy texture of the fresh carrot in this
1 8oz can peas and carrots
1/2 cup ketchup

1 14.5 oz can Hunts Rosemary and Oregano diced tomatoes
1/3 cup water

1 teaspoons salt
black pepper to taste

METHOD
In a large pot cook elbow macaroni according to package instructions. drain and set aside.

Sauté onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add beef and cook until beef is no longer pink. Add a little water if meat starts to stick to the pot.

When the meat is no longer pink add the carrots, peas and carrots, ketchup, diced tomatoes, and 1/3 cup water. Cook the mixture for about 10 mins on medium high heat. Mixture should look like a soupy stew. Add more water if needed. Enough to coat the pasta but not too watery to make it soggy. Remove from the heat and mix the pasta into the beef.

Ginger Chicken and Noodle Stir Fry.

Just popping in with this stir fry that comes with a huge disclaimer since it is one of those meals that I do on the fly. I don't measure anything, just chop some vegetables, make a sauce, boil noodles. Stir fries are not something I make often because of all the prep involved with chopping the vegetables. I hate soggy, next day, veggies.  I just make sufficient so that it is all consumed in one sitting with no leftovers. This is not so much a recipe but more of a suggestion or rough guide. I can't guarantee the precision of the amounts as I usually just eyeball the ingredients on this one. The sauce is basically a sweet/sour sauce so taste as you make it and adjust to your preference.

Ginger Chicken and Noodle Stir Fry
Servings (4-5) 
3 teaspoons vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons cornflour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts 
6 ounces baby corn ( halved length ways
3 carrots (julienned)
2 red bell peppers
1 or two small zucchini (julienned)
chow mien noodles
6 teaspoons sesame seeds

Directions
Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

For the sauce: Mix vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, orange juice and honey together. Add the cornflour and stir until well combined. 

Heat the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan or wok and fry chicken for 3-4 minutes. The chicken will stick to the pan if you do not use a non stick for this.

Add the vegetables and stir fry for 4-5 mins.

Add the sauce and cook for a few minutes. 

Remove frying pan from the heat. Add the noddles to the chicken and vegetables along with the sesame seeds. Mix well and serve.

There is an apple dumpling for that!

This recipe comes from my friend Debbie who shared it with me about a year ago. I am kicking myself right now for not having dropped everything and making it immediately. Learn from my mistake people. 

LEARN!

Seriously STOP reading the rest of this post. Just skip to the recipe at the end (I won't mind),  and go make this. 

Fair warning: this is the least pretty dessert you are ever likely to see. 

Not to worry, the aroma alone will have you shoveling this into your mouth too quickly for you to even want to stop and appreciate with your eyes. 

I learned some things from making it so many times in the past month.

What!!!  I was doing 'research'.....See, this is me trying and failing to make it look glam.

Luckily I learned that my stomach doesn't care for pretty pictures, nor does my face apparently since I stuck it in these dumplings almost before they came out of the oven. 

I learned that my tongue can curse a blue streak when food that is one degree less the surface of the sun is placed on it. 

There are days that just suck and on those days I learned that apple dumplings have superpowers. 

It's true. 

We all know that that no matter how well you plan for life, no matter how many random acts of kindness or how much positive energy you fling out into the Universe, none of it is any guarantee that good karmic vibes will boomerang its way back to you.  

The truth of it is, random shit happens to good people resulting in days when the letter L in your good luck turns into a gigantic letter F. 

Are you getting that its been a somewhat trying week for me?

Everyone has bad days. I am sure you have them too. Isn't it good then to know that there is an apple dumpling - preferably an apple dumpling topped with a huge scoop of dulce de leche ice-cream - for days like that? 

For those I-just-can't-deal-with-that-right-now-moments, what matters is that I've got my favourite song on continuous loop ....this

and friends who pass along recipes like this:-) 

Apple Dumplings
Makes 16 dumplings

Ingredients

3 Granny smith Apples ( peeled cored and sliced into about 8 pieces)
3 Gala apples (peeled cored and sliced)

2 (10oz cans) refrigerated crescent roll dough OR
shortcut pastry dough for two 9" inch pies  OR

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup water
1  12 fl oz  can Angostura Lemon Lime and Bitters ( or Mountain Dew)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two  9 X 13 inch baking dish

Peel, core and slice apples and set aside. 

Roll pastry dough into a large rectangle and cut into 16 squares.

Place 2 or 3 apple pieces (1 gala and 1) granny smith in each square  Fold and pinch edges to seal.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the nutmeg, sugar, water and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Angostora Lemon, Lime bitters over the dumplings.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Like I said I have been experimenting with this recipe. This is not the exact recipe that was given to me by my friend but somehow I'll always think of it as her recipe.

  

Fanatic Kitchen is Kitchen Fantastic!

Fanatic Kitchen is a kitchen studio in Trinidad where one can have an elegant dining experience with friends while being pampered by a personal chef.

You have the option to cook right along with the chef who will guide you and give handy tips or you simply chat and sip your wine while your meal is prepared.

Our chef for the evening was the enigmatic Jason Peru who was assisted by Ridge Juman.

I think they were both a little surprised to find themselves under the intense scrutiny of a photography group. However both gentlemen handled the pressure of having cameras thrust in their faces and their food  like seasoned professionals.

Of the entire meal, I think it was the appetizer which made the biggest impression with everyone who attended.  When chef Peru described this quiche dish topped with banana rum chutney, I am fairly certain that I was not the only one wondering if he'd been hitting the bottle of rum before our arrival. The flavour combination did not sound very appetizing.

Gamely we all  smiled and nodded politely.  One guy muttered sotto voce that he hated raisins.  Another person shared that she disliked bananas. Out of earshot of the chef we all expressed our doubts. Popular opinion was that banana chutney, which is essentially a sweet jam-like preserve had no business being served over savoury eggs and cheese. Gah!

Two helpings later, (thanks Ridge for sneaking me that second helping :-) Oh my damn! Eggs and jam are da bomb! Raisin hatin' guy now loves raisins. The person who expressed reservations about bananas is converted and we all want the recipe.

Chef inspired meals are not something that appear on my table at home, ever. In truth such displays of haute cuisine are out of place on my homework, keys, and various newspaper ridden dining table. When I cook the television is on - its loud. The kids are on - they are louder. My goal at meal time is usually to get everything squared away as quickly as possible.

There is fine dining and then there is my life; a place where there is no sous chef to make pastry dough from scratch or to roll out and fill individual tartlettes for the sake of gorgeous presentation. By the way, I call dibs on that one, there!

This is the chef version paired with an equally to die for cherry tomato salad with a honey balsamic and basil oil dressing.

I loved this little appetizer so much, I was curious to see if I could adapt it and make it a somewhat more home cook friendly. I mean pie crust from scratch is sublime but labour intensive.

Hello! No sous chef in my kitchen. Believe me I have looked. What I have is folks who appear  for the serving and the eating only to disappear just as suddenly for the clean up.

Here is my much humbler version of Chef Peru's dish  which  I promise it's no less delicious.

Caramelized Onion and Sundried Tomato Quiche
adapted from Chef Jason Peru

 1 Frozen 9" pie crust

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion (julienned)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tbs fresh thyme
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 cup canned corn kernels
1/2 tsp salt (or salt to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese (chunks)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 eggs

In a medium frying pan, on medium high heat saute onions until they cramelize. (About 5 mins) Towards the end of the caramelization process add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the thyme, sun dried tomatoes and corn. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella chunks and set aside.

In another bowl whisk together eggs and heavy cream. Season with salt and black pepper.

Remove dough from the fridge and roll out into a pie dish. Spread the corn, tomato onion filling across the bottom of the pie. Pour the egg and cheese mixture over it. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar and put in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

Banana Rum Chutney
Chef Jason Peru

1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tbsp diced ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups diced bananas
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 tsp rum

Bring vinegar, sugar, juice, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, nutmeg to a boil.. Add ginger, bananas, raisins and rum simmer for 10 minutes at low heat. Add salt and cayenne pepper.

Slice quiche and serve with a dollop of Banana Rum Chutney on top. Serve with a salad.

Finally I must make mention of photographers Antony Scully, Jason Khan and Sarita Rampersard who all graciously consented to having their photos posted here. A world of thanks you guys! Without your gorgeous photos this post would have been a lot less interesting..

Lazy days and Corned Fish

Many West Indians can lay claim to a feeling of belonging to another Caribbean island by virtue of parents who would have immigrated. In my case my father came to Trinidad from Canouan. Going back to this place that I call my second home over the holidays was amazing.  In many ways this island and the people there helped shaped the person I am today.

View from the back of the house

Growing up, I spent my July/August holidays in Canouan. Every year I was filled with  the excited anticipation of meeting my cousins. No toys necessary. Just a bunch of us cousins having the run of an entire 3 1/2  x  1  1/4 mile wide island. We were like modern day Crusoes, gone from morning until night, reappearing only at mealtimes to be fed.

View from the front of the house

Once refueled we were off again to continue our explorations unfettered by grown ups. It was not uncommon for us to 'steal' out grandfather's boat and row out to distant beaches. It was on one of these jaunts that my cousin P and I took the boat and left the main group on Whaling Bay. Some ways from the shore we discovered that the moray eel caught earlier that morning was still very much alive and thrashing about at our feet in the water pooled at the bottom of the boat. Suffice to say, we hastily abandoned 'ship' and swam to shore to the annoyance of the boy cousins who unkindly pointed out that we had just set adrift our only means of getting home!

And that was one of our tamer adventures. Indeed when I think back on the times we had, I am amazed that we are all survived childhood.  Even some thirty something years later there is still the same excited anticipation of hanging with my cousins who now have children of their own. Seeing our children playing together, continuing childhood traditions is  awesome. It is beyond moving to share experiences of my childhood in the spaces that they occurred with my own children.

Google Canuoan and most links will tell about the fairly recent, super exclusive, private,  development that occupies a good portion of the northern part of the island. There is of course another face to this island. Here the beaches aren't swept free of seaweed, buildings aren't glamoured to look like the cookie cutter visions of  tourism. Village life is simple, reflecting the resourcefulness of a people used to getting by with little.

Beach bar, Mayreau

Canuoan's development was slower than it's larger Caribbean neighbours. In the 70's  there were only about 500 people living on the island with no pipe born water or electricity. Back then, my grandmother was still baking bread on an outdoor earth oven. Electricity only came to the came to the island in the 80's.  There were no shops or supermarkets so households had to be self sufficient. Basically you caught or grew what food was placed on the table. Everyone kept a kitchen garden and reared animals.  My grandparents kept chickens, goats, sheep, a pig and a donkey.

I will admit that initially it was upsetting for a child used to purchasing meat from supermakets to see animals being butchered for the table. Today, I am happy to say that my experiences have afforded me a  practical and not too romanticized view of food.  In those days if you wanted to eat you either grew it or caught and then butchered it. Too bad if you were squeamish about anything you just did not eat until the next meal. This sort of 'old fashioned lifestyle' was unimaginable to many of my friends but  I was delighted to be part of these seemingly magical rituals that were once an essential part of daily life.  One such ritual that continues today is that of corned fish.

Corned Fish

Of course today you can pick up salted cod in the supermarket but back when there were no refrigerators or even imported Alaskan cod, you salted and preserved your own fish by adding loads of salt and drying it in the sun. This process is called corning for reasons mentioned in my previous post on corned beef. Corned fish will keep for months and it is not unusual to see salted  fish on roof tops or strung out on fences to be preserved.. In Union Island I noticed that my Aunt used sea salt that she had harvested herself from the salt pond. Mostly I was surprised that the Grenadine islands have not yet seen the potential for marketing their salt to the world. Many of the islands have naturally occurring salt ponds, yet the sea salt I buy comes from France - go figure. Upon my return I noticed a 2 ounce container of sea salt for  $15.00 US at a local gourmet shop. Hello! Aunty Alice send salt, stat!.

Fisherman cleaning conch for dinner

The culinary highlight of any trip to the Grenadines is always freshly caught sea food. My memories are of my grandfather fishing and setting his lobster trap. Fresh fish, conch, turtle's eggs, eel, kelp and just about anything from the sea were regular items on the table.

Glossy Beach, Canouan

Canuoan does not cater to mass tourism so that means it isn't too hard to find yourself a deserted stretch of beach to call your own for the day. Seriously no one here but us and the pelicans

My husband had a hard time trying to decide which was the best beach. Glossy Beach reigned supreme in his estimation at least until the following day when we took him to another beach where he exclaimed anew, "Now this is the best beach on the island." Hmmm, let's just say that I heard that phrase a lot from him. 

Soon enough it was time to leave Canouan and hop across to the neighboring Union Island to spend a short visit with my Aunt.

You'd think by now we'd be sick of fabulous beaches. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sunshine, cool breezes and a kaleidoscope of ever changing aquamarine and turquoise water- nope that never gets old!

Big Sand Beach, Union Island

From Union we made arrangements for a sailing tour to the Tobago Keys.  First stop was the private island resort on Palm Island.

Palm Island

Our next stop was at Salt Whistle Bay on the island of Mayreau. 

Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau

Tired of one beach, well then, walk about ten steps across a narrow strip of land and you'll find yourself on another.

Once in the Tobago Keys, it was a full day of snorkeling on the reefs. Anchored close by was the boat Scaramouche, better known as the Black Pearl in the movie Pirates of The Caribbean.

In the distance is Petit Tabac, the island where Jack Sparrow was stranded with loads of rum.

Petit Tabac, Tobago Keys

As much as I might have wished to remain stranded in the Grenadines it seemed that all too soon the time was upon us to return home. In fact the rainy and very gloomy weather that day matched my mood and reflected my feelings about having to say goodbye.  Huge hugs to my Canouan, Union Island and Carriacou family who made sure we were properly spoiled. Never fear we'll be back!

A gloomy goodbye