Belize has many foods that would be at home in Mexico for example – in Belize City you can find so many little establishments selling corn tortilla and taco like foods, tamales, as staples in Belizean street food.

The photo at the top is of saltbutes which are fried corn rounds that puff up when fried, topped with meats, beans, salsa, cheese. The weight of the toppings sink into the middle. This one was veggie – just refried beans, veggies and salsa. Very good.

On the right, we have Garnaches, which are crispy fried flat corn circles, with toppings – like refried beans, salsa, onions and cheese. Of course you can get these with meat… They’re like round corn tortilla chips and may look light, but with the toppings they can quite fill you up!

These are the foods which are common to Central America. But the episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives I was looking at, was actually about a Garifuna establishment – the Garifuna nation comprises the descendants of Carib peoples of the Lesser Antilles and of Africans who had escaped from slavery – the British moved these people across the Caribbean to Central America. And so the food seems to be a combination of African influences (like the mashed plantains) and Amerindian, with the intensive use of cassava. But don’t rely on me for information – this is still a much-to-be-discovered area for me.

You can look at Wikipedia of course, or this blog on my blogroll, Rice and Beans, by a Belizean who’s actually writing post-graduate dissertations on food and culture! This was an interesting article highlighting foods and activities in Belize.

And of course Belize is famous for its Marie Sharp pepper sauces and condiments!

As a non-food note, I’ve always found that elements of the Guyanese accent are similar to (some) Belizeans – maybe it’s more in the approach to pronouncing words, or the particular drawl or rhythm…I’ve always put it down to Guyana, like Belize, being the only English-speaking country amid the latin nations. Accents, like food, interest me It’s a occupational-hazard….

• Curaçaose keuken – kitchens
• The Sweet and Spicy Sides of Curaçao
• Kos Dushi

Almost 2 years ago, I wrote about my visit to Curaçao, the lovely island in the Caribbean Sea that is part of the Netherlands Antilles. Back when I would post about my travels more regularly. Or just post more regularly…

Anyway, one of the things that had really interested me from my visit was the plate of traditional sweets I received, as it was a reminder that even if names were different, and languages, the people and food of the Caribbean do share so much!

Of course, back then, I really didn’t know for sure the names of what I had eaten! But thanks to Flickr, and a helpful comment* from a Curaçao flickrite, I can now inform my readers. Starting from the pastry at the front left and moving clockwise -

• Tèrt (cupe cake), a small crusty bottom filled with prunes. (recipe in papiamentu)
• Kokada (the dark brown one), grated coconut in brown sugar glaze (this is the one that tasted like tulum) (the original link seems to not exist anymore, I searched and found this one (not in English).
• Tentalaria (the white one), ground cashews in a sugar cream (the one that reminded me somewhat of peyra) – try this link (not in English).
• Panseiku (peanuts chunks), praline of toasted peanuts, in a brown-sugar brittle (we all have nutcakes!)
• Ko’i Lechi (bar) meaning literally milk thing, caramel bar (fudge!, the Trini kind, hard and sugary)

Another view of the plate.

Hope you enjoyed the revisit to Curaçao…or at least the sweets of Curaçao!

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* yes, yes, this comment was from a year ago, but it’s about time I blogged it! And make my goal of 2 posts in July.

I picked up a copy of this absolutely gorgeous book in Barbados last month – it is part memoir and part cookbook. Stories associated with the foods of her childhood, the Caribbean, with recipes and beautiful photos.If you haven’t seen Cynthia’s photos, or read some of these stories, head over to her blog of the same name and get a taste. The book might be larger or heavier than regular cookbooks, but that’s because it’s not just a cookbook. The quality of the paper and the layouts are perfect for a keepsake book on Caribbean cuisine. And after all, it’s where I found out important things, like how despite our many food similarities, Guyanese don’t have bake (roast) bake

“Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free – Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion”

If reading food-related blog and websites is part of your regular routine then you should already know by now about veganism and how it differs from vegetarianism. From wikipedia:

“Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.Vegans endeavor to never consume or use any animal products of any type. The most common reasons for becoming, or remaining, vegan are moral conviction concerning animal rights or welfare, health, environmental concerns, and spiritual or religious concerns…”

Vegetarians on the other hand, adhere to a meat-free diet, but may eat foods from animals such as eggs, dairy or honey. There are some people who call themselves vegetarian and say they eat fish. Or chicken. I’ll leave that one alone

Me, I am not actually vegetarian. But being Muslim (for me) means that I try to eat only halaal (or permissible) food. This means that I don’t eat meat of the pig or alcohol. I eat meat, but it must be halaal,* which means that the animal is slaughtered in a particular way with a prayer. What this also means that, since I didn’t grow up in a Muslim country, is that I grew up reading food labels and being very conscious of ingredients in my food. Also, when I travel to places where halaal meats are not available, I tend to be (what Lilandra termed) a pseudo-pesco-ovo-lacto-vegetarian. Sometimes, I have even been an actual vegetarian, albeit for brief periods.

So, of course I was excited when I first encountered Taymer Mason’s blog, Caribbean Vegan and then later that she was working on a cookbook with real Caribbean food. Real Caribbean food that happens to be vegan. Caribbean Vegan is wonderful collection of recipes and information, with gorgeous photography from Cynthia Nelson of Tastes Like Home. You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to want to make Bajan conkies, or coconut turnovers, macaroni pie, traditional peas and beans. She’s even managed to convert the Bajan fishcake into a vegan dish. There are 125 recipes but that’s not all. There is much Caribbean cooking information and guidance, including kitchen-necessities like our green seasonings so you can be assured this is REAL Caribbean cooking.

People may think veganism is exotic or bizarre but many foods we normally eat are already vegan. Or can be easily “veganised”. I looked through my Recipe page and found 9 recipes that are already vegan (not counting condiments) and a few more vegetarian dishes where the dairy element could easily be replaced with a vegan-friendly substitute. Many of these might be foods with loose or direct origins in India, but are part of every day Trini (and Caribbean) life. Here are a few of my vegan recipes to get you thinking -

Aloo Pie– well-seasoned potato stuffed into dough and fried – Trini street food served with chutney or channa	Baigani – Sliced eggplant, dipped in a seasoned thick yellow split pea batter and deep fried. Serve with some spicy mango or tamarind chutney.	Black-eye Peas Googni – boiled peas, sautéed with onions, garlic, cumin (geera) etc Use your favourite legume, whether channa (chick peas) or pigeon peas etc.
Dhal, trini-style – spicy boiled and chunkayed yellow split peas, served in liquid form to accompany rice, roti or as a soup	Fry Aloo – Trini dish, usually eaten with sada roti – thinly sliced aloo (potato) sautéed with onions and garlic until the edges are brown and crispy	Doubles – thin fried rounds wrapped around soft curried channa, eaten with pepper sauce and hot chutneys.
Falafel – crunchy fried channa and lentil fritter, that well-known Middle Eastern treat	Kachourie, Trini-style – ground split peas, seasoned and deep fried to crispy goodness, served with spicy chutney	Paratha (Buss up Shut) Trini-style – roti, flaky light and layered flat bread cooked on a tawah and then bussed-up, or pulled apart

So, check out Caribbean Vegan (Amazon link) for some wonderful recipes and information. But for now, and until Wednesday 8th December 2010, you have an opportunity to win a free copy of Caribbean Vegan right here! Yup. All you have to do is leave a comment here (or on my Facebook page) naming a favourite food item that is vegan. Imaginary points are added if you just realised you’ve been enjoying a vegan dish all this time.

I’ll announce the winner (random selection) on Thursday 9th December 2010 and will contact you to get mailing information for the publisher, The Experiment, to send you your free copy.

Edit (2 December 2010): Disclaimer! I should add that I only received a copy of the book for review, with no conditions attached. So, other than knowing Taymer through her blog I have no affiliations and whatnot.

Also, my family (Lilandra and Trinimom) aren’t part of the competition for fairness and transparency. But they also enjoy vegan dishes!

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Muslims are also permitted to eat food “of people of the Book”, which refers to Jews and Christians. Since it’s only Jews who have prescribed and certified foods that I can recognise, I also eat kosher (once it’s alcohol-free of course – kosher does not include pork)

Once again I have been remiss in regular posting. I am glad that after 4 1/2 years there is sufficient content to provide results for the searching Divali (Diwali) celebrants. And extra glad I updated my hosting package before the surge

As always, the dreaded day job took over in the last month. You know, paying the bills to provide for that upgraded hosting I did get a trip to Brussels though. And got some gorgeous photos, which I am in the process of uploading to Flickr. Although I did have my D80 the last time I visited in June 2007, it was brand new to me, and I have to admit I was scared of it. Settings? Manual Focus? Size? It was so big, how did one carry it about? And I only ever posted a few photos from that trip. This time around, even though I am no expert, I know how to (try to) get colour in waning light – capturing the light in the sky AND the lights in the building. Of course, I realise I want faster, sharper lenses, but it was nice. These are 2 of my favourite photos so far from the trip – taken about 15 minutes apart.

I’ve also updated my Caribbean Cuisine page – you know where I highlight all the Caribbean food bloggers I have found in the last 4 years. I’ve discovered a couple bloggers by way of Twitter (you remember I started chirping a few months ago) – Macafouchette and Kimberly Parris. And then there are a couple other diaspora bloggers with Guyanese roots The Inner Gourmet and Wendy’s Kitchen. There are also 2 Trini bloggers – one Chillibibi, who wants to showcase oldtime Trini food and does indeed have a recipe for that schoolyard favourite of mine –  and Belly in Hand, who’s reviewing good places to eat in T&T.

One of my favourite parts of blogging, and being part of this whole online Caribbean world, is seeing exciting developments firsthand, like Taymer Mason’s new book Caribbean Vegan. I had discovered Taymer’s blog back when she was blogging as a Barbadian Vegan, but she changed the name to reflect a wider Caribbean and of course the fact that she wasn’t in Barbados any more (but in the French West Indies, so still very much Caribbean). She was writing her book then and it’s now published (with photography by another longtime Caribbean food blogger, Cynthia of Tastes Like Home) and I am eagerly awaiting my copy. I am not vegan or vegetarian, but I do have my moments of meat-free living. And in any case, so many of our Caribbean foods are suitable for vegetarians or vegans – roti and doubles for example. So I’ve been very excited about this book. Coming soon, I hope to do a giveaway for this book, so keep an eye out for that! And congratulations Taymer!

Yours sincerely,

Chennette

PS – I know better than to make any promises about regular posting!

Mom's black cake texture

A few months ago I got a request for a Halaal Trini Black Cake recipe. Those of you familiar with the permutations of the traditional Caribbean Christmas black cake (whether you call it black cake or great cake) will know that this cake is generally viewed as inextricable from its alcohol content. In fact, a visitor to this photo on Flickr felt compelled to tell me “the call it rum cake because theres some rum in it“. Grammar and spelling notwithstanding, I understood the sentiment although I had never called Mom’s Black Cake “Rum Cake” for obvious reasons…but maybe some people will think it’s sacriligeous to make this cake any other way than reeking of rum or other spirits That’s ok – I just won’t eat it that way. And this cake that Mom makes, which she agreed to share the secrets, is so rich, and moist that it is appreciated by rum cake lovers and Muslims alike.

The traditional way of making Black Cake involves mincing and soaking the fruits from up to a year before baking. Soaking in alchohol. People pride themselves on getting the fruits together earlier than their neighbours so they get the right flavours and textures. No alcohol ergo no need for soaking. We’re not fermenting anything here. The cake is supposed to be moist, dense and dark. The fruits get the moistness into the cake and Mom’s secret, from her mother, is the addition of condensed milk, which maintains helps maintain the right texture. There are NO leavening agents used in the cake – the eggs will do the necessary – and bake on low heat. With plenty browning, the cake is supposed to be black, remember.

The other notable difference between a regular Black Cake and the halaal version is the timing of its baking. We (my family) don’t celebrate Christmas, so we don’t make the cake for Christmas. (That’s not to say that there aren’t Muslims who might make it around Christmas time, just not us). Mom will make it for special occasions indeed (it is a rich cake) such as Eid, or to send with me to Guyana so I have a taste of home. In fact, we still have some cake that she baked for Eid ul Fitr a month ago, that stayed, just like the alcoholic version, in the cupboard, getting moister and lovelier by the day.

Without further ado, onto the recipe.

Halaal Trini Black Cake Recipe

Ingredients

8 ounces margarine/butter
2 ounces shortening
8 ounces brown sugar
14 ounces flour
6 eggs
14 ounces condensed milk (1 395 gm tin)
1.5 cup browning
Minced fruits – 8 ounces  each of prunes, raisins,  dates and black currants; , 4 ounces mixed peel, 2 oz cherries
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease cake tins with shortening and line with parchment or waxed paper – line bottom and sides. Mom likes to use the old Danish Butter Cookie tins, since they have covers for storage after baking.

2. Mince fruits in blender or food processor until as fine as you like it (I like it almost to a paste – I don’t like discernible bits of fruit).

1. Cream butter, shortening and sugar till fluffy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, beat well between additions.

3. Add fruits, mix well.

4. Add browning, condensed milk and cinnamon, mix well.

5. Add flour, about 2 ounces at a time, mix between each addition.

At this point, Mom will put a tablespoon of the cake batter on a saucer into the microwave to cook. Taste this to test for sweetness and of course look at the colour. Determine if you need more condensed milk or browning, or if you are in a really humid place (more than here? whew) more flour. If you think it has too much flour, addition of a little condensed milk or more browning can help balance it out.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

7. Bake in the oven for about an hour – until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Notes on Soaking the Cake

Traditionally, the Black Cake is soaked in alcohol after baking and “topped” up ever so often, which keeps it edible and moist long after the normal shelf life of cake. Mom used to soak her cake in grape juice or apple juice to mimic this process and texture. However, this won’t keep the cake. You’ll have to store it in the fridge.

However, this cake is naturally moist and it tastes better and moister after a few days. In fact, without soaking it stays moist and keeps out of the fridge for weeks. Mom currently has the cake from Eid (whatever’s left) in a container and it hasn’t been refrigerated yet. For safety, you could choose to refrigerate and then just bring to room temperature before eating (if you microwave it before eating it gets a little soft and the sweetness can be a bit over the top – but maybe you like that).

Those are the women’s shoes on the sand of Cornwall Beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where a group of about 50 men and women gathered to celebrate Eid ul Fitr with the prayer and khutbah (sermon). Just look at that sky and the sand. Gorgeous.

Of course the day was not without some drama – we’d gathered at a park opposite Wexford Court Hotel, where apparently the jamaah had performed Eid prayers the year before. But the park is currently closed and not available for the public. So we had to move over to Cornwall Beach, which was better because we were ON THE SAND. Lovely. Hot, but lovely.

The delay meant that I rushed back to my meeting, heading straight into the conference room in my Eid clothes, but then I was celebrating after all!

Waiting eagerly to arrive in Trinidad tomorrow and get real Eid food though…the hotel buffet wasn’t particularly celebratory.

“Photowalking is the act of walking with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things that the photographer may find interesting.”

This particular photo walk was part of Scott Kelby’s Third World Wide Photo Walk. A mouthful, I know. But it’s a great concept – on the same day (in this case Saturday 24th July), all around the world, people with cameras gather together to walk and take photos together.

Lilandra heard about it, tweeted. Marc Seyon got interested and ended up creating a walk for Trinidad (one of two that occurred on the day). And since I happened to be able to be in Trinidad on the very day, passing through, I joined up. Yes, I did. I signed up for an activity where I had to meet people IRL.

And I went!

You can visit the Flickr group for the World Wide Walk to see photos people took from all around the globe on July 24th. To be honest, it’s better than trying to navigate the main website to see the photos! The Walk is also a competition – each photo walker (33497!) submits one photo the website, and the walk leader chooses the best photo. Then the overall organisers choose the best photos from all 1111 walks that took place this year. The previous best photos are pretty cool.

Our walk started opposite the BP Building (formerly the historic Savannah hotel) and went along the Savannah up to Whitehall then back down to Tragarete Road through St Clair, returning to Victoria Avenue to meetup at TGI Friday’s. I admit I was exhausted having arrived in Trinidad 11 p.m. the night before after a loooong day of travel and delays. Plus we were all heading out to Guyana the next day for a family vacation…so after we were done with the Magnificent Seven, our splinter group headed down Maraval Road across Marli Street back to Victoria Avenue, and early consumption of appetizers and dessert

I had planned to walk with both my lenses to allow me to zoom into some of the building features, or get some nice wide shots of the Savannah or one of the Magnificent Seven. I packed up my stuff in Guyana since 30 June when I started traveling, and I carefully packed my polarising filter, lens hood etc for my 18-135mm lens. Got to Trinidad realised, I never packed the lens… Ah well, another outing with my faster Sigma 50mm f2.8, which is also a macro lens allowing me to take macro shots on the walk I’ve been using this prime for so long now that it feels odd when I use a camera with a different focal length!

I loved the photo walk primarily because I rarely walk through Trinidad, my homeland, taking photos. It’s as bad as living in Guyana and not having photos of Georgetown until I have a visitor! I got decent photos of the newly snazzy Queen’s Royal College (with which my clothes were apparently coordinated), the dilapidated Mille Fleurs and Boissiere House, the pristine Archbishop’s Palace and the gorgeous fretwork and louvres of the gingerbread houses on Marli Street.

In the end, I had to select one photo for submission – very difficult. Especially since I only put my photos on the computer the day of the submission deadline and I had almost 200 photos. Sigh. I ended up posting the one with the Anglican Church on Marli Street – something about the glass and metal and brick appealed to me. But I can never be sure if it’s my “best” shot!

Trinigourmet, Lilandra and I have started discussing a foodie photo walk in Trinidad – with ideas ranging from Debe (the market and indian delicacy vendors) to Wasamaki Permaculture.

Any takers? Suggestions welcome!

World Wide Photo Walk Trinidad Flickr Group

My Photo Walk Flickr set.

You don’t see Ting down here in the South (Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana). At least not to my knowledge. Can’t recall ever seeing it in Barbados either. So, some time passed before I was actually introduced to this icon of Jamaican non-alcoholic drinks – Ting, the carbonated beverage made from “Jamaican grapefruit!”.

ting "from Caribbean grapefruit"

And that’s exactly what it is – carbonated grapefruit juice. Tangy, not too sweet and fizzy you can see how it could catch on. It tastes good, and like it should be good for you. All that citrusy sizzle.

Of course, this bottle of Ting was bought in St Kitts, so it actually says “from Caribbean grapefruit”. In addition to Jamaica, it is now bottled in the OECS (Carib Brewery in St Kitts) as well, and you can find the drink in more Caribbean countries (still not down here). Notwithstanding the new “Caribbean” tag, I gather Jamaicans will still call it a Jamaican drink – my Jamaican colleagues in St Kitts were taken aback not to see the “Jamaican grapefruit” on the label. At least it’s made from Caribbean grapefruit!

Now I feel like I should go track down some other iconic soft drinks…like Solo Apple J “the champagne of soft drinks!”. Although I doubt very much that was made from Trini apples…

What do you think of as “national” non-alcoholic bottled drinks in your part of the Caribbean?

We didn’t really stop anywhere, despite the urgings of our driver, because we were short on time and needed to catch the ferry back to St Kitts for an evening appointment. But we did pause briefly at the Golden Rock Inn, one of the former plantations, restored beautifully and run as a luxurious hotel.

The driver parked under this tree, and I stood up taking photos of the cloud and sky, the lovely branches, those interesting tufts of…cotton…silk cotton…I looked at my watch – 12, on the dot.

Me: “uhm, driver? what kind of tree is this?”
Driver: “Silk cotton, ma’am.”
Me, a little louder: “You parked us under a silk cotton tree at NOON?”

By this time, the rest of my group was back in the vehicle and looking out at me – what’s the problem?

Sigh.

Now, I am not really superstitious, but still, I thought everyone knew to stay away from silk cotton trees, not just at midnight, but noon too, or jumbie will follow you. I explained this to the Jamaicans and Trinis in the bus and not a one seemed to know about this. What have people been learning??

Jumbies are supposed to live in these trees, which is why people shy away from cutting them down for fear of releasing evil spirits or suffering some supernatural revenge. I can distinctly remember my Ma, my mpaternal grandmother telling us, late at night on her porch, about how a soucouyant becomes a soucouyant by going round a silk cotton tree…and probably some other steps…I am fuzzy on the details.

What superstitions do you know about the silk cotton tree?