Spicy Carrot Coconut Curry

Made it as a side tonight and it's a keeper!

Find the recipe here

latke

Seasoned Rice

2 cups of washed rice
One chopped celery stalk
One chopped tomato
One chopped red bell pepper
One chopped green bell pepper
One large chopped onion
Other chopped veggies of your choice (carrots, zucchini, whatever)
Fresh chopped herbs of your choice (I like basil or thyme)
A little bit of tumeric for colour
4 cups chicken stalk
a little more salt or vegeta if you like.

Place all the chopped veggies in a large pyrex baking pan.
Wash the rice and mix with the veggies.
Mix the tumeric with the chicken stalk and pour over the rice and veggies.
Mix well.

Cover with tin foil and bake in a 350F oven until all the liquid is absorbed.
Uncover for the last 10 minutes and stir.

I often add left over chicken, beef or shrimp as well.

It's an easy side that doesn't take a lot of work...if you have a small chopper.

Bacon Sweet Potato Fritters

2 med sweet potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1 pkg of maple smoked bacon
2 egg whites
1 small chopped onion
1 small chopped burmuda onion
1/2 cup of water
1 tbsp pepper sauce
1 1/4 cup flour
2 tsp bacon fat
3 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for cooking



Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry until crisp.
Drain on paper towels. Save 2 tsps of the bacon fat.


Boil and mash the sweet potatoes. Let cool.


Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and stir vigorously until the batter gets thick.
Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in the meantime.


Fry batter in 1/2 tablespoonfuls until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels.

Serve with hot sauce.

Shrimp and Kim Chi Fried Rice

Clean and peel 1lb of raw shrimp
1 jar of Kim Chi
3 or 4 cups of cold rice
2 or 3 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)
1 tsp fresh ginger (chopped fine)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn oil
1/4 tsp of chili flakes
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar

Heat oils in a wok.

Throw in shrimp when oil is hot, add garlic, ginger and chili flakes, and toss until shrimp starts getting pink.

Add kim chi soy sauce, sugar, toss until well mixed and then add cold rice and fry until done. Add more soy if you like before you finish.

Yummy.

Avocado and Apple Salad with Mango Vinegrette

1/4 cup Red Onion, chopped 2 Apples - peeled, cored and sliced 3 Avocados - peeled, pitted and diced Dressing: 1 tsp Lemon Zest Juice of one lemon 1/2 cup of mango juice 1 clove Garlic, minced 2 tablespoons Olive Oil Salt to taste

	Preparation
	Salad: In a large bowl, toss together the, red onion, and lemon zest. Mix in the apple and avocado just before serving. Dressing: In a container with a lid, mix the mango juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, olive oil, and salt. Drizzle over the salad as desired. Serve on a bed of baby greens

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.

How to Make Roti (Guyanese Style)

Now I know why we call my Mother in Law "Asbestos Hands".

I once tried to make Roti.
We won't talk about the "Serbian Frisbee" incident.
I just may attempt to fail again in the near future, my friends...

Shrimp & Kim Chi Fried Rice

You'll need:



Along with 1 tbsp sesame oil/1 tbsp corn oil in a wok on high.
The white rice MUST be cold, otherwise your fried rice will be mushy and stick together.


Heat the oil and throw in the ginger and garlic (about a tsp of ginger and 2 or 3 of garlic), then throw in the shrimp and fry until pink.


Throw in the other vegetables and kim chi and toss for about a minute or two.


Add the cold rice (about 4 cups or so) and toss.


Add regular soy and sweet soy while tossing until it looks golden or a little darker (your taste).
Remove from heat, and you're done.

*I never measure the vegetables since as much as you put in is to your taste.
It'll be fine.
I usually end up using whatever is in my fridge at the time that fits with fried rice.

Eggplant Parmesan

You'll need:

2 Regular sized eggplants (sliced)
2 beaten eggs
breadcrumbs
2 tbsp oil
Sea salt
salt or Vegeta (I use Vegeta)
Basil (I used dried)
Parmesan (your taste)
Mozzarella (shredded, to your taste)
1 Can Crushed Tomatoes


Wash and slice the eggplant, and sprinkle sea salt on them.
Prepare two separate wide flat bowls one with the beaten egg and the other with breadcrumbs.


Heat the oil.
Drench both sides with the egg, and then turn in breadcrumbs.
Fry and set aside on paper towels to absorb the oil.


In a pan, start to layer...crushed tomatoes, and basil first.


Eggplant, crushed tomatoes, basil, parm, mozzerella.


Layer with as much as will fit.
With the last being the topping of mozzerella.

Bake at 350F until top is melted and bubbly.

Spicy Eggplant

I love, love, love eggplant.
This recipe is a great side or vegetarian meal with rice.
I tripled this recipe because I'm a pig...but for a reasonable person....

You'll need:

3 tablespoons sesame or vegetable oil
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes depending on how hot you like it
3 baby eggplant, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp minced ginger
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 or 3 tbsp brown sugar



Heat up a frying pan or a wok on medium high heat and add the oil and the red pepper flakes.

When the pepper flakes start to sizzle, add in the eggplant. Stir-fry for about three to four minutes, until the eggplant chunks are no longer light-colored.


Add the red pepper, onion, ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for another three minutes.

Add the rice vinegar and soy sauce, and then add the brown sugar and toss for a minute.

You're done.
It's delicious

Buttermilk Cornbread

I've tried many, many cornbread recipes...always looking for the recipe that would make moist cornbread, instead of the dense, heavy cornbread I'm used to.
This recipe is a successful tweak.
I've combined a few recipes, and this one is by far the best I've combined.
In my opinion...a little sweet, and moist...next time though, I'll double it for the 10 inch cast iron skillet to make it thicker.

You'll need:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup of melted butter

Preheat older ovens to 400F, newer ovens to 375F.
(I've learned the hard way that ovens with ceramic tops are hotter than older versions, by about 25 to 50 degrees)


Whisk the egg and sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients.
Melt the butter and set aside to cool.


Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk...whisking in between to mix everything evenly.


Mix in the melted butter at the end...



and pour into a greased skillet. Bake at 375F until sides come away from the skillet.
Turn the oven to broil at 375F to brown the top for about 3 minutes or so.

This cornbread is nice and moist, and sweet...but not too sweet.
I'm happy with this recipe now.

Roasted Red Peppers

Roasted red peppers are something that is on the Serbian table for every special occasion, but particularly at this time of year.
I could eat these with just bread, but it's generally served with dinner or with cold meat.
I love them.


First broil them until the skin is blackened, either on a grill or as I did here, in the oven...because I'm not going outside to do this in January.
Use shepherd red peppers, they're better.


Peel them (which is easy to do when the skin is blackened), and put them in a bowl.
Add garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and sugar to your taste


Mix it all together, and let it sit for awhile for the flavours to infuse.
Serve with cold meat, or do like I do and just eat them with a nice chunk of fresh bread.

Cassava & Salt Fish

If you like salted cod, then you'll like this dish.
To be used as a side or a meal.



You'll need:
One or two chopped, and boiled cassavas
One bag of Salted Cod (boned..unless you like picking bones out)...soaked with the water thrown off and refilled a couple of times.
Two or three onions chopped large or fine (to your taste)
Garlic (1 to 3 cloves - your taste)
1/2 cup of butter (or more - your taste)
Pepper (no salt...it's salty enough)


First, melt the butter and fry the onions until translucent, add the garlic and fry for a minute or two.


Throw in the Cod and fry until golden.


Add the cassava and stir, breaking it up until everything caramelizes, and has little caramelized bits throughout. Add more butter if you must.

It's like a West Indian Colcannon