Guyanese Amerindian Garlic Pork

I realized that with new blogger, some of my recipes are missing...so here is an important one. Garlic Pork is a staple at Christmas for Guyanese.
I cringed in horror when I found out that pork pickles on your kitchen counter for 4 or 5 days...but the finished product is delicious.



Start with fresh pork (cut relatively thin), lots of salt, lots of vinegar, lots of sliced garlic, and lots of fresh thyme.



You need a large clean glass jar (this one was $12cdn @ IKEA and used exclusively for garlic pork).



Start with lots of salt (don't be stingy), lots of sliced garlic, and lots of thyme on the bottom of the jar.
Lay pork chops on top. Then you start to layer.



Salt, garlic, thyme. Lots of all three. Keep layering until you get to 3/4 of a full jar.



Last layer should be salt, garlic and thyme.
Fill jar with vinegar and push meat down to make sure there are no air bubbles trapped in between.


Cover top with plastic wrap to seal, and put lid on.

Leave on your counter for 4 to 5 days.
Every day open the jar and and lift pork around the outside to make sure that the vinegar is getting in between the chops. You will absolutely love the aroma.

After 4 or 5 days..


Put pork in pot of water with some of the garlic and thyme from the jar.
Boil the pork until cooked. About 3-5 minutes at a rolling boil.




When pork is cooked, pat meat dry on paper towels.


Fry in olive oil, turning until meat is golden on both sides.


Finished product...it's fabulous.

Blackened Salmon

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup palmagranite or mango juice
(I used palmagranite this time, but mango is better)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray


Combine first 3 ingredients in a pan and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.


Combine sugar and next 5 ingredients (sugar through cinnamon) in a bowl. Rub over fish; place in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.


Remove fish; discard marinade.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Raisin Coconut Almond Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are very adaptable: use whatever combination of dried fruits and nuts appeals to your family or whatever you happen to have on hand. Just add 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) in total to the batter.

3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla (I added 1 tsp almond extract)
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) large-flake rolled oats
3/4 cup (175 mL) sliced almonds or chopped pecans
3/4 cup (175 mL) dried cherries, dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips
(I used coconut and raisins instead)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir into butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in rolled oats, almonds and dried cherries.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2-inches (5-cm) apart, onto greased cookie sheets and flatten with a fork. Bake, one sheet at a time, on middle rack in oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are golden. Let stand for 5 minutes; remove cookies with a spatula to a rack and let cool.

Makes about 36 cookies

Directly from LCBO Recipes