My True Love Have My Heart And I Have His
February 13, 2010 by Angeli · 2 Comments
Their eyes met across a crowded room drowning out all else around them.
The prince waded through the throng of partygoers, never once losing her gaze. She was transfixed.
Finally he was in front of her, he swept her up in his arms and declared for all to hear.
“I am in love, Marry me for my heart is yours….”
Okay, the story didn’t quite go like that. But it was love at first sight, and The Shrek did ask me to marry him after three weeks together.
We got married 8yrs later. However, my wedding day was wonderful. It was everything I wanted it to be – magical, whimsical, irreverent and beautiful. As is always with special occasions, it was over all too quickly.
My wedding cake was baked by my mum in true caribbean style to her own secret recipe. Fruit cake is always eaten on special occasions and most caribbean women will have their own recipe.
I had decided to design and decorate my wedding cake myself. My ‘love chest’ cake contained magical heart sweets – both bought and hand made.Enchanted love charms, gossamer rose petals and one of a series of poems The Shrek had written to me declaring his undying love and passion.
This was the poem in the ‘love chest’
The sound of our love deafens me
It’s volume drowns all else around me
And when we’re apart
I hear the echo of our love……
We will be celebrating Valentine’s day as a family day of love. I will be making special Caribbean Spice Chocolate Cookies.
Recipe
My Caribbean Food Love Cookies
230g(8oz) self-raising flour
40g(1.5 oz) good quality 100% cocoa
120g(40z) softened salted butter
190g(7oz) brown organic caster sugar
60g icing sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teas highest quality vanilla essence
1/4 teas good quality finely ground cinnamon.
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius (aprox 350 degrees farenheit)
Method
Put the flour, cocoa, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together well.
In a small bowl place the eggs and the vanilla essence, lightly whisk together until there is just a little froth.
Put the all the sugar and the butter in a bowl and whisk together until creamy.
Add the egg mixture bit by bit untli all is blended.
Now add the flour mixture and mix on a low speed until just blended.
The mixture will be soft and pliable
Shape into balls and place on a greased baking tray about 5cm(2in) apart.
Bake for aprox 10-12 mins.
Let cookies cool before placing a small heart cutter on the centre of each of the cookies.
Sprinkle some icing sugar into the shape.
Now removing the heart cutter will reveal a little heart on top of the cookie.
Happy Valentines day my friends
Love, laughter, and food for all.
Angeli
Caribbean Chocolate Tea – Liquid Heaven
February 10, 2010 by Angeli · 1 Comment
Rich, creamy and spicy. Caribbean Food Chocolate Tea. A Sunday morning treat.
My Dad grew up on a farm, and one of the things they grew was chocolate. His Grandfather planted the cocoa, and the family still harvest it today.
Dad said that when he was a little boy he used to help with the harvesting of the cocoa. One of his delights was to open some of the pods and drink the liquid surrounding the bean.
I was intrigued to find out if the liquid tasted of chocolate, but he said that it tasted syrup-py and sweet,and even though the adults had told him not to drink it, he loved it.
Anyhow, after the fruit ripens – it goes a bright yellow - the beans are picked out and put into a container to ‘ferment’ for about a week. This helps the chocolate flavour and aroma to develop. It is then ‘parched’, meaning roasted. The beans are taken out and ground up, either in a grinder, or using a pestle and morter. The fat in the chocolate is released helping the mixture to becomes pliable like plasticine.
Vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg are the magical spices added to the mix which is then made into sausage shapes or small ball shapes. Finally, it is left out in the sun to dry after which it is then ready to use.
My dad reckons that if stored properly in airtight jars, the chocolate will last for years. I can indeed vouch for that because it is not something you could find here in the UK as I was growing up, yet I had it every Sunday as a drink.
RECIPE
Angeli’s Caribbean Food Chocolate drink.
To get an idea of chocolate tea, try making the following drink.
1 or 2 teas very good quality 100% cocoa
Hot water
High quality vanilla essence
finely ground cinnamon
finely ground numeg
tiny pinch of salt.
milk either plain or sweetened (condensed milk) .
Sugar (if required)
In a large mug, place your cocoa and your hot water, add milk as required.
Add sugar as required
Add a few drops of vanilla essence
Sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg. about half of a 1/4 teaspoon.
Add a tiny pinch of salt.
Give everything a good stir, sit and enjoy with a slice of homemade bread and butter. Lovely!
Hope you enjoy my Caribbean Food chocolate tea.
Love, laughter, and food for all.
Angeli x 
photo courtesy of www.thechocolatechemist.co.uk