Strawberry lazy-pie

Easy Bake!

The later part of this month, in the midst of blog prepping I was on a mini vacation in NY with my family. So this last recipe really exemplifies the easy bake theme for the past month. On the day I made these I was actually on a time crunch because we were trying to catch the mall before the stores closed. I decided that I needed the fastest method in life to toss the strawberry pie together and set it to bake so we could leave. I wasn’t even sure if it would come out right since I have never made it before. I just let the oven work its magic

Giant Plantain Tart

Easy Bake!

You can’t call yourself a Jamaican if you have never had a plantain tart. For me plantain tarts came in at a solid second place, since as a child my favorite Jamaican pastry hands down was the gizzard. That however would definitely not fall under the easy bake category. In contrast the plantain tart is quite simple, especially If you have the ready-made frozen pie shells.  And to make this even simpler why not make one giant tart that your friends and family can take a slice out of rather than the time consuming job of making individual little bite sized tarts; easy right?

Apple Apple-pie

Easy Bake!

One thing I can appreciate about this recipe is its perceived level of difficulty. Once you serve this people will be wondering how on earth did you make it. Little would they know that the dough is store bought and there are only 6 other ingredients needed in addition to the dough. I will admit it’s not a simple as the pear oatmeal crumble,  but it’s still pretty easy. Anyone can make this.

Pear oatmeal crumble

Easy Bake!

I know I said this was easy bake month, and while this recipe has a little bit more than  5 ingredients and took a little longer than 30 minutes, its still just as easy as can be. I think pears are the most amazing fruit to have warmed. Their flavor is perfect with cinnamon, sugar and butter. Not to mention the texture of the pear itself very velvety, I’ve always said I much prefer pears to apples, and this recipe is a shining example of why.

Quicky-berry Cobbler

Easy Bake!

I have gotten so comfortable with the easy drink recipes of last month that I had to ease my way back into the normal routine. Not to mention the fact that for half of this month I will be away from my kitchen and utensils, so I’m dubbing August easy bake month. I will be whipping up some super easy dessert pastries using store bought and homemade items to create easy and delicious items everyone will think took hours to make. First up a blueberry cobbler that will be ready in less than 30 minutes!

Black Forest Cake

Cake Cake Cake...
 

It’s a weird thing, but I don’t think Jamaican’s like chocolate cake as much as the rest of the world. I have really been observing it. I always pay close attention to several bakery display cases, the chocolate cake, or the chocolate anything is not always the most sold; it’s like the word ‘chocolate’ is a repellant. I have heard many persons say chocolate is to over powering, and even at church functions, we always have to order a vanilla cake, because most of the kids won’t eat the chocolate ones. At the bakery, the plain cake, marble cake, cheese cakes are the faster sellers. However there is one exception, and that is Black forest cake, I guess rum soaked chocolate cake is the way to get a Jamaican’s interest.

Boneless Citrus ginger Cornish hens stuffed with Sausage pumpkin rice

  "Pumpkin Everythang”

The words thanksgiving and turkey are almost synonymous. Normally you don’t find one without the other, but personally I’m not a fan. This large bird needs the right amount of TLC to be delicious. My late grandma was one to apply that perfect amount of TLC to yield an awesome turkey and an even more awesome turkey salad in the days to follow.  Now-a-days whenever we are in New York for thanksgiving, or when we have thanksgiving dinner in Jamaica (Jamaica?? Yes I know.. My mother just loves any excuse to set the table) we always do another type of roast poultry, out of sheer laziness and the plain fact that Jamaicans generally don’t like turkey. What better substitute than a Cornish hen.

Cheesy garlic Pumpkin bread

"Pumpkin Everythang”

I bet you can’t name one person (who is not on a diet) that does not love a hot basket of bread or rolls or any carb. at the start of a meal. One thing I’ve always said about restaurants; your first sign of a good meal to come is the bread you are first served, it sets the tone for the meal. Oh you need some examples?

Sweet potato ice-cream sandwich

Independence Month!

 One of the best Jamaican desserts has to be sweet potato pudding. When made correctly, its a warm sweet treat with a custard consistency on top, a firm center with crispy caramelized edges. As a child we would sneak in the pudding and break off the edges.  For this month’s series of recipes I wanted to include  a dessert twist. And what better twist can there be than to sandwich grape-nut ice-cream between some sweet potato pudding.

Four Cheese Pumpkin Penne

a.k.a Grown up Macaroni and Cheese
 

Cookout and BBQ Season!

A beautiful rainy morning (a work day I might add) I woke up and decided I’m not going to work. Nope, I am in the mood to stay home and cook something real hearty and comforting in the cold and gloomy weather. I knew I wanted something different, something I never cooked before or have never seen anyone else cook. I had purchased some pumpkin a few days before, as well as an interesting butternut squash pasta sauce, so I figured I could incorporate them in some way. Headed down to the kitchen with a pumpkin and a dream.

Holy Chicken pot cornbread muffins

Leftovers are a gift from god. Apparently food fairies that live in our fridge sprinkle crack on our food overnight. Its no secret I often try to cook large portions on a Sunday to allow the fairies to work their magic on Monday’s lunch. So here I was one Sunday wanting to make some chicken pot pie, but as we all know there is nothing worse than reheated crust.

Blueberry butter & Vanilla bean cream upside-down cupcakes

DISCLAIMER

If you are on a diet, trying to diet, want to diet or need to diet. This is not the recipe for you; it’s pure decadence, rich, sweet, heaven on a plate comfort food. So please check out a less fatty post…You have been warned.