Jamaican Pepper Pot soup

M...eat...less

At most restaurants in Jamaica, these are your soup choices: pumpkin, pepper pot or red peas soup. All three of which are usually quite tasty. I almost never order the pepper pot soup, it’s an ok soup to me, but I will choose pumpkin soup all day every day. And while we make pumpkin soup and red pea’s soup at home all the time we hardly ever make pepper pot soup. Let’s face it, not many Jamaicans will take precious callaloo and make it into a soup, instead of sautéing it and eating it with fried dumpling and plantain. We surely don’t,  but today I have tried my best to recreate what I've been  eating all these years at restaurants…minus the ocra.

Creamy Honey Coleslaw

Summa Summa Summa time!

I previously wrote that the Cesar salad is the summer salad king. Well if Cesar salad is the king coleslaw is the queen or at least the prince or princess.  A perfectly seasoned and flavorful cold coleslaw does wonders for a burger, hotdog or aside some delicious fried chicken, bbq chicken or ribs. It’s a recipe we must all have under our belts for the summer.

Kale and apple salad with pomegranate vinaigrette

Summa Summa Summa time!

Its about that time when we mix veggies and fruits. The lovely and highly anticipated summer months are here. I too have joined the club but instead of bringing you the typical Cesar salad which is clearly the official salad of summer BBQ’s or worse the ready-made flavorless salad in a bag, you get this;  A fresh, crunchy, tangy, sweet, oniony and yummaaaay Kale salad. Yes you can eat kale raw, taste just like lettuce I promise.

Curry Butter Foil Roasted Corn

Summa Summa Summa time!

It’s time for some BBQ’s. This month it’s all about the best home-made side dishes for your picnics and BBQ’s. Chicken, ribs, hamburgers and hot dogs all need side dishes to make that summer plate complete.  I’m sure you’re going to get invited somewhere and you may need a “Wow” recipe. Or you’re the host and you want some epic food to go with the fun. In either case I’ve got you covered as usual. First up is a corn on the cob, but with a super delicious and interesting twist; Curry!

Spinach & turmeric omelette with caramelized onions

The best way to eat an egg!

Today you can call me Sam-I-am, because I am encouraging everyone to try these green eggs. Dr. Seuss may be disappointed that I left off the ham but the yummy caramelized onions and turmeric will make everyone happy.

Sweet Beet Chips

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There are many ways to enjoy root vegetables. It would seem that slicing and frying them is the common favorite.  Just about everything can be a chip, so why not beets? Beetroot is a stable in most Jamaican households. However while some persons may cook and eat it is primarily used for juicing. This is my first time exploring the versatility of the beet and the results are delicious.

Jerk Salmon

Something Smells Fishy...

The first time I had jerk fish was on the eve of my 29^th birthday. We went to Oswald’s at alligator pond and as usual I ordered my escovitch fish. We were about to order another when someone suggested I try their Jerk fish. It was spectacular and I have never ordered anything else from them since that day.

Jamaican Fish tea

Something Smells Fishy...

Don't let the name fool you, this is not a sweet fishy tea, its just a soup! I always imagined fish tea came out of a need to use a left over commodity. Just like bread pudding reclaims slate bread, and chicken bones create stock. I feel that fish heads and other parts were used to make a soup so that they would not be “wasted” but that’s just my theory. There has never been a thing wrong with turning trash to treasure. And this soup is quite a treasure.

Grilled zucchini sandwich

Lunchables

I don’t know if you all have noticed, but I have been trying to include vegetarian dishes into the lunchables month. So each week will feature one meat dish and one vegetarian dish. Today I bring you a sandwich so delicious you won’t miss the meat one bit, a grilled zucchini sandwich.

Crispy fried okra

M...eat..less

I never really considered making Crispy fried okra before.  Last week my Grand Uncle gave us some okra from his garden. They were very large beautiful okra’s, however they sat in our refrigerator for a few days because no one likes okra. We tolerate it in steamed fish, but even then we hardly ever include it because of the slime. My mother began dropping little hints about fried okra. I was hesitant to try this recipe but in truth, I needed an extra recipe for this month. When she began to really pressure into making it and then even threatening to make it herself, I easily caved.  It’s quite yummy, still a little slimy but not bad at all and this is coming from a person who hates okra.