But if you think it’s a punishment from above for past-life misdemeanors, to be standing in your kitchen perspiring, sweat running down your back in heat strong enough to melt your brass door handles, then spare a fleeting thought for those cooking food in their kitchen in the caribbean.

Because, in Jamaica it’s hot. I don’t mean warm. I don’t mean ‘oh look at my skin, it’s gleaming’. I mean hot. That’s why many people in Jamaica cook outside whenever they can.

In the caribbean like to go outdoors to cook and bbq their food. Jerk chicken is a ‘must have’. As is curry goat. I promise to post Caribbean Food recipes for these bbqs.

And they are creative cooks; they improvise. They improvise their recipes. They improvise what they eat it with. They improvise what tools they use to cook it.

At least in N.America and Europe we have access to a vast array of summer cooking ware. Since I started my blog over a year ago, i’ve had many emails asking me not only how to cook certain dishes but also what cookware and utensils to use. Well, i’ve decided to add to my blog by occasionally highlighting good cookware. For outdoor summer cooking I use a powerful grill. Below is a good quality dual purpose outdoor grill from Amazon with 5 Star customer reviews. Simply click on the image to find out more.

Personally, I like to cook on a full-sized charcoal grill that can also be used as a full-size gas grill combined, if need be. I also like it to have an adjustable-height grate so that i can keep my food warm when i’m not actually cooking it. And, of course, enough cooking space is a premium, giving a lot of preparation flexibility, allowing me to concentrate on creating great food and not having to fiddle about with the limitations of a small grill. Yep, good cooking needs good tools. Again, you can see a good example by clicking on the Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill

Happy summer cooking. I will post  Caribbean Food bbq recipes in the near future.

Love, laughter and food for all. Angeli.

This Mother’s Day, my daughter made me breakfast in bed. She found out what I like to eat and drink and then ordered my husband to the supermarket – hubby doesn’t ‘do’ supermarkets, or shopping, so that was an achievement in itself.

She then dragged him out of bed on Mother’s Day to help her prepare my surprise. It was lovely! She had prepared heart-shaped toast, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, bucks fizz and had even given me one of my chocolate mousses as a ‘dessert’. I was in heaven.

Chocolate Mousse?  I hear you say – for breakfast?  well it so happens that all the women in the family were gathering  at my mum’s for sunday lunch, all of us having promised to bring something for the feast. My contribution was a chocolate mousse soaked with the wonderfully mellow Appletons Rum.

The champagne and music flowed, the men did the washing up – we watched ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and all had a great time.

Mothers – Who’d be one? I would

Try  my  Rich Caribbean Chocolate Mousse  recipe for yourself and let me know what you think.

Angeli’s Caribbean Food  Rich Chocolate Mousse.              

150g (5oz) 72% dark chocolate
2tbsp the best rum you can afford. *
3 egg whites
50g  (2oz) caster sugar
100ml (3.5 fl oz) double cream **

Method

Put a  med sized pan of water on to boil – turn down to  a simmer  and place a (glass) bowl on top .

Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into bowl. Once melted  mix in the  the rum, turn off the stove, leaving the bowl on the pan.

Whisk the cream until very thick and stiff, Put aside.

Whisk the egg whites in a grease-free bowl until very thick and stiff  you will be able to make ‘little peaks’ with the whisk.

Add the sugar bit by bit , whisking until all is incorporated. The mixture will be ready when it is smooth, thick, and shiny.

The chocolate mix will be a bit stiff by now, but still melted, fold in the whipped egg whites bit by bit to the chocolate mixture, making sure all is blended.

Now add the cream mixture and once all mixed in pour into small dishes or glasses. I get 4 or 6 depending on how greedy we are!

* the higher  the rum quality, the less water it will contain – melted chocolate doesn’t like water.

** I find that double cream is far superior to whipping cream and holds it’s shape longer.

Love, Laughter, and food for all

Angeli x

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

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

My mum – caribbean food  home cook extraordinaire – makes a demon apple pie. With a ‘melt in your mouth’ short crust pastry case covering tangy, tart bramley apples which in turn are sweetened with cane sugar, and flavored with essential caribbean spices : cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

The synergy of pastry, apples, and sugar for me is perfect.The smell of the spices divine.  Inevitably I am always sent into a salivating frenzy, and once baked I can never get enough.

No matter where I go to eat, I avidly scan the menu to see if they serve apple pie for dessert. I’m disappointed every time.

Whenever I get the urge I have to make one.  Such a simple recipe, such a wonderful, satisfying taste.

On the 15th January 2010 I tweeted:

‘I have a taste for hot spicy apple crumble, but it must be homemade – so now to the kitchen…ciao everyone.’

One of the replies I received was from Dawn at  @Vanillakitchen
She said simply:

‘spicy apple crumble? you best share that one’

So here it is:

Recipe

My Caribbean Food Spicy Apple Crumble

For the filling:

1kg Peeled, and sliced cooking apples of your choice(I prefer Bramleys for that wonderful tartness)
60g Brown cane sugar
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Ginger

1 tbl spoon water
2 tbl spoons Ginger Wine (I prefer Stones Ginger Wine)

For the Crumble:

200g Plain Flour
50g Oats
80g Butter (make sure it is at room temperature)
100g Brown Cane  sugar

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees centigrade,(around 350 degrees Farenheit)

Method

Place the flour and oats in a large mixing bowl, then roughly chop and add the  butter.
Lightly rub the butter into the flour and oats using your fingertips.
When it has all been incorporated add the sugar and combine with the other ingredients again using your fingertips for best results.

Put aside.

Put the apples, wine, sugar and spices in a large enough pot and cook very gently on a low heat until the apples have cooked down and are soft and translucent.
Spoon the apple mixture into a pie dish.
Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly on top of the apple, lightly spreading it out with your fingers.
Cook for aprox 30mins or until the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm or cold, with cream, or ice cream.

My Caribbean Food Spicy Apple Crumble – Enjoy:)

Love, Laughter, and Food for All
Angeli x

(photo courtesy of Rockaberry)

Don’t laugh, i want the whole world to taste, and love, caribbean food. MyCaribbeanFood.com will cover:

traditional caribbean food – made from ingredients from the caribbean islands (thankfully, most of these ingredients are now available in supermarkets around the world)

fusion caribbean food – which mixes indian, chinese, latino, mexican, jewish, japanese food and much more (resulting in some fabulous dishes that have to be tasted to be believed)…

modern caribbean food – using non-traditional ingredients, but done in an island-style making them unmistakably caribbean both in flavour and spirit (and using foods that can be found easily in your supermarket).

So, that’s my mission, and the purpose of my little website on caribbean food.

Wish me luck,

Angeli. XXX