Easy Macaroni au Gratin

Ingredients

1 box of Penne

2 sausage links

1/2 onion

1/2 green pepper

1 lbs cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon of salt

1 egg

1/2 cup of milk

Sweet Mango Smoothie/Jis Mango

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When summer comes around, there are 3 things that come to my mind hot days, mosquitos, and lots and lots of mangoes. I am fortunate enough to live in a S. Florida where mangoes are everywhere and just about everyone have at least one mango tree growing in their backyard.

Called the "Food of the Gods", mangoes are distributed worldwide but originated in India thousands of years ago.  Known to protect against heart disease and aide constipation this antioxidant rich super fruit is high in vitamins. It's no reason why some cultures use the skin of this delicious fruit to make facial masks to aid discoloration and combat sun damage.

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Today, we will be making a classic Haitian smoothie called Jis Mango using our feature ingredient a sweet delicious mango.

Ingredients

        1 cup of mango cubed

3.5 heaping tablespoons of sugar

7 oz of evaporated milk  (half a can)

1.5 cups of ice

1 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)

Blend. Blend. Blend.

Get creative and add in some coconut milk, lime juice or try using other fruits like passion fruit or guava. Hmmmmmm.

2 Min. Epis

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Pronounced munsh-pilon, in Kreyol, a pestle and mortar has been around for centuries for medicinal purposes and for cooking. Used to grind, crush and pound herbs together this ancient tool is still being used today. I remember being called into the kitchen as a child and having the task of mashing the herbs and seasoning together for my mom to use. 

Using a blender or food processor is often used in place of a pestle and mortar but using one actually gives one more control over the texture of the herbs and seasoning being pounded. I decided to write about a munsh-pilon because I ran out of Epis/marinade but needed some to marinate and tenderize the meat I was preparing. I pulled out my trusty wooden munsh-pelon/pestle and mortar from the back of the pantry. My mom would be proud.

Here's a 2 minute recipe for Epis/Marinage by hand, the old fashion way.

Ingredients:

1 wooden pestle and mortar (used primarily for softer ingredients/herbs)

1 large garlic clove

3 pinches of salt

1/8 cup of cilantro

3 cloves

1/16 cup of onions

Directions:

Pound, pound, pound until a wet paste (Literally for a minute or more).




**FYI: Garlic tends to linger in wooden mortars so to get the smell out just clean with lime juice or scrub with lime wedges.

Labouye Banane/Green Plantain Porridge

What happens when you mix green plantain with milk and sugar. You get sweet delicious plantain porridge. Here's the long awaited labouye banane recipe. It requires time, patience and a little elbow grease but it's definitely well worth the work and effort.

Labouye in the pot with carnation milk

Ingredients:

2 green plantains
1.5 cups of whole milk
1 cup of sugar
4.5 cups of water
2.5-3 oz of carnation milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
3 pinches of salt
2 slices of bread
peanut butter

 
Directions.

Rinse plantains. Leaving the skin cut off the ends and discard. Thinly slice and chop the plantains, then place 1 chopped plantain into a blender/food processor with 1.5 cups of water. The thicker the slices the harder it will be to puree. Puree on high and add in remaining chopped plantain one handful at a time. Blend for no more than 30 to 45 seconds with remaining 1/2 cup of water.

In large quart pan, add in remaining water with cinnamon sticks. Stir in pureed plantain and allow to boil for 20 minutes on medium high temperature. The mixture will get thicker and should boil down some. Stir and watch the mixture. It will start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Just stir and stir. After 20 minutes, you are going to strain the mixture in the fine strainer (This is where the elbow grease comes in at). This will help remove the seeds and make the consistency smooth and creamy.

Once the mixture has been strained be sure to discard cinnamon sticks, Place plantain mixture into the cleaned and rinsed pot. Stir in the whole milk, salt and vanilla. Allow the mixture to boil for 5-7 minutes then stir in sugar and lower the temperature to medium low.  The mixture should be thick, you want to slowly add in the the 2.5 oz of carnation milk. If you'd like to get a consistency that is not too thick just add in remaining .5 oz of carnation milk. Taste to see if you need to add in additional sugar. Allow plantain porridge to thicken a bit more for 5-6 minutes.

Toast bread slices and spread with peanut butter. Serve with plantain porridge and enjoy.

Please share your comments. I'd love to hear how yours turn out.

D.I.Y. Window Sill Herb Garden



How many times have you purchased herbs and it spoils before you can even use it. I have a solution. My latest obssesion is windsill herb garden. I am hooked. You can grow garlic, sweet potatoes, sage, onions, parsley, mint and more. Here's an easy way to save money, help the environment and grow your vegetables. You don't need a green thumb and it take no time. Here's how I started my windowsill garden.

What you'll need.

1 Small clear container
1 garlic bud or buds of green onions
1/2 cup of water (or less)

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• Use a clear container it helps you see when the water needs to be changed and you can watch the roots grow.

• Do not submerge the cloves or green onions in water they will become cloudy, smelly and will begin to rot.

• Add just enough water to cover the bottom of the cup and touches just the bottom of the cloves.



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Your budding garlic cloves and green onions will start to sprout in just a few days. It's a cool little hobby and a great way to save money on vegetables.

 The same applies to herbs like sage, basil and mint. Just snip at the stem of the given plant and place it in a clear container of water. In a few days you will begin to seem roots. In a month, you can plant in a pot of soil or just contunie to water.

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No more spoiled green onions or brown herb leaves. Fresh ingredients from your window sill.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Tuna Rigatoni

If you are looking for an easy quick recipe. Here's a recipe for tuna rigonati. Yes, tuna . This recipe brings me back to those college days where there was nothing in the fridge or pantry except for tuna, tomato sauce and a box of tuna. I first had this dish when visiting a friend and she had a huge pot on her stove. It's delicious and I've changed the recipe abit. Have fun with it add in different vegetables or different cheeses. Let's begin.

Ingredients:

2 cans of tuna
2 green onions chopped
1/4 cup of rough chopped onions
6 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz of rigatoni
salt to taste
1/2 bouillon cube
couple pinches of seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper or more
8 oz Bertoli tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of lime juice
1 garlic clove , crushed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
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1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne pepper1/8

½ cup vegetable oilvegetable oil½

1/8 teaspoon cayennecayenne pepper1/8

½ cup vegetable oilvegetable oil½

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. When the pasta is tender, drain and set aside. Place drained well tuna in a bowl and squeeze in lime juice and mix. In a meduim sauce pan, add vegetable oil to hot pan. When the oil is hot, fry the tuna until a meduim brown color. Add in crushed garlic clove, chopped onions and sprinkle in bouillon cube. Stir, stir stir and cook until onions are cooked.

Add in tomato sauce, rigatoni pasta and mix. Add salt to taste, sprinkle on seasoning salt and black pepper. Allow the sauce to thicken and boil down a little for 5 to 6 minutes on meduim heat. Add in shredded cheese and garnish with green onions.


Enjoy!!

Baked Griot!!

Thanks to Royalty84 who suggested making griot in the oven to ensure the griot meat stays moist and tender. It took less time and I got rave reviews. This was the tastiest and juciest griot I've ever made. I basically did everything the same but instead of frying the meat I baked it for 15 minutes.

Click on the link for How to make Griot.

After boiling the meat and it's tender, place on a foil lined cookie sheet, drizzle on 1 teaspoon of oil (any will do) onto the sheet and place meat on foil then bake for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. No need to turn the meat.

Let me know how it turns out!!!

THANK YOU ROYALTY84!!

Red Beans & Rice/Diri Kole ak pois rouge

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups dried red beans

2 cups of white long grain rice

salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 bouillon cube

1/4 cup of rough chopped onions or less

 2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 cloves

2.5 tablespoon canola oil (any oil with due)

Rinse and soak beans overnight in bowl in filled with water. Be sure to discard any broken, bruised or discolored beans. In the morning, drain beans and set aside to cook.

Put beans to boil in a meduim sized saucepan, 1 teaspoon of salt and allow to cook/boil for 45 minutes to an hour. Be sure to watch the water, if the water reduces and the beans are not yet edible add in more water. Once the beans are soft and edible they are ready. Strain, but do not discard the water (you will need that for later).

On meduim high heat add 2 tablespoons oil and fry the onions, garlic and chicken bouillon cube for 4 minutes.  Make sure the bouillon cube is completely crushed. Then add in 3/4 cup of drain beans and fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Once the beans start to get darker but not burned add in remaining beans, pepper, cloves and the water you boiled the beans in. If you need more water add in 1 cup of water. Cover the pan and allow water to come to a boil.

Taste to see if any salt is needed (This is what your rice will taste like). At this point, I like to add a pinch of salt. If it's too salty just add in more water. Add in your rinsed rice. Once the water has reduced to the point where you can see the rice, stir in 1 teaspoon of oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. A quick stir then cover your pot and reduce temperature to meduim low. After 15 mins, reduce temperature to low and rice should be ready in 10 to 15 minutes.

End result should be soft, tasty rice and beans.

SMELLS YUMMY RIGHT!!!

Te Canell/ Cinnamon & Star Anise Tea



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Here's a recipe for Canel or cinnamon tea. This simple tea includes cinnamon sticks and star anise which makes for a aromatic and delicious tea that will have your home smelling delightfully sweet.



Ingredients

1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 cups of water
1 pinch of salt
sugar/honey to taste

Servings 2 people.   

In a small saucepan add in cinnamon stick and anise. Allow to come to a boil, add in pinch of salt and reduce temperature. Allow the tea to simmer. After 5 minutes remove from stove top and pour into cup. Add sugar or honey to taste and enjoy!

FYI: Cinnamon's scent actually promotes brain activity. It's also a very good source of dietary fiber, iron and calcium which leads to a healthy colon and heart disease.



Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin Rice with Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients

1 lbs of Butternut Squash (you can use Acorn Squash or Carnival Squash)

2 cups of rice

5 1/2 cups of water

salt

1 tablespoon of butter

1/4 cup of oil

1/4 cup of cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

• Using a veggie peeler remove the skin off the pumpkin, the pit (remove the seeds) using a spoon.
• Discard the pit and seeds and cut into cubes. This makes cooking quicker.
• Add cut cubes to 3 1/2 cups boiling water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Allow to cook for 30-40 minutes.
• Using a fork, prick the pumpkin to make sure it's soft and tender (Like a potato).

Once tender...

• Strain and remove water. Reserve half and set aside. With the half mesh with potato masher or puree squash in blender/ magic bullet.
• Add, Squash puree, 3 cups of water, 2 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons of oil on medium heat into a sauce pan and stir. This will give the rice it's yellow/mustard color.
• Once water comes to a boils add in rice, then stir.
• When the water evaporates add in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Stir and stir.
• Reduce heat and cover for 15-20 mins. After 20 minutes reduce heat to low.

Lastly,

• Once the the rice is cooked, fluff in reserved squash and chopped cilantro leaves with a fork.

Enjoy!

Jis Bannana/Banana Smoothie

 $5 BUCK FOR A SMOOTHIE?  NOT!!

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Smoothies are great anytime of the day. Here's a quick, easy and delicious recipe. It's recession proof too. Let get started.

Ingredients

1 banana

1 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)

5-6 cubes of ice

blender

Recipe: yielding 1 serving

Add banana, milk, sugar, ice cubes, and vanilla extract into blender. Blend for 1 minute. Pour into drinking glass and enjoy!   

FYI:  You can get creative by adding in other fruits like kiwi's, strawberries, orange slices,  raspberries, blueberries, etc. You get the idea. 

 Random fact: Banana's have components that are naturally radioactive.

Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Cheese Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cucumber (roughly chopped (peeled optional))

1 small tomato (chopped)

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 shallot (sliced, finely)

1 tablespoon of feta cheese

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar

3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lime (juiced)

1 chive (chopped)

In a shallow bowl add in cucumber, tomato, pepper, shallot, vinegar, and olive oil. If you are serving the salad immediately add in salt, lime juice and feta cheese. If not serving immediately, adding in salt to early will cause water to be released from veggies resulting in a soggy salad. And the feta cheese will start to soften also. Add in the salt and cheese right before serving.

 

FINISH PRODUCT!!!!

Patat Fris/Fried Sweet Potatoes

 While visiting my girlfriend, Judy, last weekend her husband suggested that we fry some of the sweet potatoes they had on their kitchen counter. I haven't had fried sweet potato in such a long time, i figured why the heck not. So, we made some. Didn't have much to take a picture of because we kept eating them before we finished making the entire batch and I almost forgot to take a picture.

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes (peeled and sliced)

4 cups of water

1 tablespoon of salt/ 1 tablespoon of sugar

1 lime (sliced and juiced)

4 cups of vegetable oil

deep fryer

2 sheets of paper towel

Add the water in a medium sized bowl with sliced lime and lime juice. Peel and slice potato and let soak in bowl for 5 minutes. Turn deep fryer on and add oil.

Sweet potato soaking in water with limes

Remove sweet potato but do not discard liquid. Add salt to the liquid and set aside. Separate slices into batches for easier frying then add in first batch. Fry until a light golden brown and set aside on paper towels. Once all the batches are done soak each batch for 30 seconds and re-fry until a golden brown color, roughly 1 minute each batch.

Garnish with pikliz and enjoy!

Fried Turkey/Coden Fris

Ingredients

1. 3 lbs of turkey steaks
2. 2 limes (cut in half and juiced)
3. 1 tablespoon of vinegar
4. 1 tablespoon of salt
5. 2 teaspoons of black pepper
6. 2 tablespoons of Epis
7. 3 cups of water
8. 3 to 4 cups of vegetable oil
9. deep fryer
10. 2 Sheets of paper towel

How to clean Turkey

In the sink, cut turkey steak in half, remove veins or any loose skin; then rub with limes. Rinse in cold water and in a medium sized bowl add lime juice, vinegar, salf, epis and black pepper. Mix thouroughly with hands and let marinate for 30-45 minutes.




Recipe

In a saucer pan, add water and turkey marinade and boil until tender. Once tender turn on deep fryer and add oil. Separate turkey from liquid and set aside. Place turkey meat into batches for easier frying. Once the oil is hot add turkey batches and fry until golden brown. Set aside on layered paper towels and repeat process. Garnish with Pikliz and use liquid for dipping or rice and plantain.

Griot/Fried Pork

Fresh Griot with Bannan peze

You asked for it, well, here it is! Griot! Griot! Griot! Griot is basically pork shoulders cut into cubes/pieces, marinated and deep fried. Griot is a very popular dish and best paired with bannan peze (Fried and smashed plantain illustrated above), pikliz with diri kole (beans and rice).

Ingredients

3 lbs of pork shoulder (cut into cubes/pieces)

3 cloves

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup of parsley

1/2 cup onions

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/4 cup green pepper

paprika

2 lime (cut in half & juiced)

1 or 2 habanero peppers
3 to 4 cups of water
4 to 5 cups of vegetable oil
deep fryer
2 sheets of paper towel

How to clean and Marinate Pork

Blend habanero pepper, parsley, onion, cloves, garlic and paprika into a paste with about 1 tablespoon of lime juice, then set aside. In the sink, rub pork with limes rinse with cold water. In a meduim sized bowl, add pork, lime juice, paste of ingredients and mix with hands. Cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 24 hours.

Recipe

In a saucer pan, add water, marinated pork and boil until tender, probably 30-45 minutes. Heat oil in deep fryer. Separate pork for liquid and set pork aside, do not discard liquid. Separate pork into batches for frying and fry until a light dark brown color. Set aside on paper towel. Once all the batches are completed you can used liquid as sauce for the rice or fried plantain. Garnish with pikliz and enjoy!

Pwason Fris/Fried Fish

 

Red snapper is a very popular fish; especially in the Caribbean. This fish it's known for it's beautiful color and delicious sweet taste. The best way to pick out a good snapper is to make sure the eyes are clear, non-cloudy and bright red skin that fades towards the belly to ensure freshness.

Ingredients

2-3 large Red Snapper Fish

3 limes (cut in half, juiced)

3 cups of water

2 tablespoon of salt

4 cups of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of black pepper

1 habanero pepper (optional)

2 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

deep fryer

How to clean a fish

In the sink, scale the entire fish by using a butter knife scrapping against the skin of the fish. Be careful or you may have a mess of scales all over the place. You can click on this link how to gut and scale a fish for a more detail instruction.  Once scaled hold the fish downward, using a knife cut a fish open and remove guts and gills. Continue process with the remaining fish. Rinse off with cold water, slice slits in fish (Optional: cut in half). Rub limes against fish, both inside and out.

Recipe

In a medium sized bowl add lime juice, gutted and scaled fish, water, habanero pepper cut in half or whole and salt. Cover with saran wrap, refrigerate or let sit at room temperature and soak for 1 hour. In a saucer plate, add 1 cup of flour, pepper and 2 teaspoon of salt. Mix, mix and mix.

Heat oil in deep fryer. Coat fish with flour and add to hot oil. Fry until golden brown.





Source: www.about.com

Ji Karot/Carrot Juice

I love carrot juice. Every time I have a glass of carrot juice, it reminds me of when I was on vacation in Haiti. Every morning my aunt would make me and little brother fresh carrot juice. Let me tell you it was delicious!

We have all heard the saying that carrots are good for your eyes and it's true. Carrot are also great for your skin, hair, nails, liver, teeth and bones. The best way to pick carrots are based on the color, the darker the color of the carrot the better and it contains more beta-carotene; which has all the vitamins and antioxidants.

Some people may be thinking, carrot drink is more like a shake and not a juice. But, this is not your regular ole' store bought carrot juice drink. This juice is sweet, delicious and hmmm hmmm good.

Ingredients

13-14 carrot sticks

1 can evaporate milk

4-5 teaspoons of sugar

1 juicer/blender

1 mesh strainer

small pitcher

1 cup of ice

Recipe servings 3-4 cups

If using a blender you will want to remove the skin, cut the ends and cut the carrots into smaller pieces before placing into the blender, rinse carrot and juice. Once you have juiced all the carrots, take the carrot juice and strain twice to ensure that the carrot bits have been completely removed.

In the pitcher, add carrot juice, the full can of carnation milk, sugar and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate or serve with ice.


Source: www.wisegeeks.com

OMG, Haiti Needs Our Help!!! by Dwight Howard

I came across this article written by Dwight Howard on his recent visit to Haiti. In this article, he talks about his brief experience and how the people continue to live in tents on the streets among rubbish and a demolished city. Indeed this country needs help, but where is the aide!

I still have family living in Haiti and there is a lot of work needed to be done, but it's not being done quick enough. I pray that God has much more in store for the people living on the island of Haiti.

Click on the link below to read this article written by Dwight Howard on his blog.

OMG, the people of Haiti need our help!!!

Stovetop Cleaning 101:

Cooking all these delicious dishes are great. But what good is making good food, if every time you turn the stove on your burner gives off smoke or your kitchen smells like smoke because you neglected to remove those darn pieces of rice that fell underneath the burner or neglected to wipe the burner. I have some simple steps on how to get your stove top squeaky clean.


Now, I've done a lot of research to find the most efficient way to clean my stove top without wasting my entire morning and not having a nasty smell afterward. What I've found is that purchasing de-greasers and specialized formulas for removing grease did not work for me. Good ole baking soda or Ajax's grainy texture is fantastic and ideal for the task at hand with some elbow grease saved me time and energy.

THIS APPLIES TO ELECTRIC STOVES

Supplies: 

1 sponge
dishwashing soap
heavy duty scratch pad/Brillo pad
1 cup of baking soda/Ajax
Some ole fashion elbow grease
1 kitchen towel
1 small bowl
3-4 sheets of paper towel

Make sure the stove is off and all burners are all off/ Remove any pots, burner covers, kitchen mittens, etc. Place the individual burner trays in the sink and drown with baking soda and a couple tablespoon of water until the baking soda is a paste like consistency. Let soak for 1 hour to 24 hours. The longer it soaks the easy it is to clean.

Cleaning burner trays:
Add a couple drops of dishwashing soap to damp sponge and set aside. Take an individual tray and Brillo pad with a couple drops of dishwashing soap and scrub, scrub and scrub. Adding in more baking soda when needed. Once tray has been cleaned, rinse baking soda off, wash with sponge, rinse off soap and set aside upside down on cleaned kitchen towel.

Cleaning burners:
Using a soapy sponge, wipe each burner. Then rinse the sponge off and re-wipe the burner. Then place burner on kitchen towel.

Stove top:

Depending upon how burned the food is on your stove top, sprinkle on baking soda, a little bit of water and using a brillo pad scrub/scrub brush, scrub and scrub. Adding in baking soda when needed. Once cleaned. Take a sheet of paper towel wipe away the baking soda. If Take a soapy sponge and clean and wipe where ever that brillo pad touched. Rinse away all the soap from the sponge and wipe the soap of the stove completely.

If you have a newer stove you are able to left the stove top to clean under it. If not, you may have to stick you hand inside with a soapy sponge to clean any fallen or burnt food.Using a soapy sponge repeat the last two steps mentioned above. Hence, depending upon how much burnt food there is you may have to add baking soda and water and use a scratch pad.

Benefits

• Sanitary
• No burnt smell
• Heat distributed more evenly
• Quicker heat to burners
• Less mess to clean
• No embarrassing stove tops

Voila, a clean stove top!

Bannan Bouye a Zey/Scrambled eggs with boiled plantain

This is a delicious dish and can be eaten any time of the day. In some parts of Haiti, boiled plantain is eaten with boiled eggs. Some people may call this a poor man's food because it's inexpensive, while others enjoy the combination of the eggs and boiled plantain. Either way, today we are having good ole scrambled eggs, hmmmm. Enjoy this quick, easy and affordable dish.

Ingredients: Servings 1

• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup of onions (optional)
• 1 bowl
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt + a couple pinches of salt for eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar/1/2 lime (juiced)
• 1 plantain
• 3 cups of water
• 1/2 tablespoon of butter

 Plantain: cook time 20-30 minutes

Rinse plantain then, cut the ends of the plantain. Cut in half then using a knife place a split down the middle. In a saucer pan, add water, lime juice, salt and plantain. Cook until tender. Once tender, remove from water, remove skin and using a butterknife, softly scrap top layer. Discard outer layer then cut the ends off and place on plate. Slice into desired pieces.

Eggs: cook time 2-4 minutes

Once plantain are done heat butter in a small frying pan on medium temperature. Add onions and cook until almost clear. (Optional: In a separate bowl, crack eggs then beat) add eggs into frying pan then sprinkle in a couple pinches of salt. (FYI: don't scramble eggs to much/hard because you want the eggs to maintain some moisture, because the plantain may be a little dry). I like mine soft scrambled. Cook for 2-3 minutes and garnish over plantain.