TUNA STEAK SALAD

This dish was inspired by a presentation on TV featuring chef Bobby Flay.

Having feasted on Tobago stewed pork, curry chicken and fish steamed in coconut milk over dumplings, cassava and green figs, yesterday, I was in no condition to enjoy the Tuna steak which a neighbor brought for me last night.  After a small sliver to taste I refrigerated the rest with breakfast in mind.

This morning however, what looked like a delicious steak, had the appearance of something a little withered. Definitely not the most appetizing piece of fish any one would have ever seen. It needed something to brighten it up, make it look more appetizing.

Searching for inspiration in the fridge I spotted some yogurt. Immediately the Bobby Flay program came to mind. In that episode he made a dressing with yogurt as one of the ingredients. So what else was in the fridge?

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tuna steak cooked medium rare and flaked
• 1 table spoon of capers
• 2 hard boiled eggs chopped in quarters
• 4 cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup of chopped bell peppers
• 1/4 cup of sliced white onions
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 4 stalks of chive, chopped
• Teaspoon of fresh cilantro torn up
• Teaspoon of red pepper flakes

THE DRESSING

• Table spoon of mustard
• Blueberry yogurt
• Tablespoon of olive oil
• Juice of half a lemon
• Teaspoon of black pepper
• Teaspoon of salt

In hindsight I think that a little honey would have made this delicious dish perfect.

 

CURRY CORN

Angela Mc Farlane sent me this. She wrote, “I saw a Trini chef on you tube. He roasted the corn first, made a curry sauce and just simmered the corn until the curry, coconut milk and corn is well cooked. I made some flat dumplings the size of a quarter and added them to the curry. I also added corn kernels to add thickness to the sauce. Season to taste off course. It’s very good.”

In a subsequent conversation she told me that my sister Celia had some the next day which prior to eating she heated up adding some shrimp to the mix. This she also claims was very good.

New Years LIME

WHATDIDYOUCOOKTODAY
Friday, January 6, 2017

The New Years Lime I had Planned

The Menu :

Medallions of chicken breasts chow

Beef and vegetable Kibbies

Fried slices of bread fruit

Calaloo, with salt fish buljol ,yellow yam and sweet potato

Shrimp on ice with a ketchup, soy sauce and pepper sauce dip

Tuna fish salad (celery, mustard and ,sugar ,onions and mayonnaise)

Leg of lamb with garlic potatoes

Fish soup

Couscous and red beans

Invitations to this lime advised that friends and family were welcome to drop in between noon and 5pm for snacks and drinks on the deck. The date was Monday 2nd January 2017.

I was prepared to hang out while cooking all day. There was a wide variety of drinks to accompany the long menu. There was red wine, white wine, sparkling wine , white and red rum, whiskey, vodka, tequila , brandy beer and a wide variety of chasers including coconut water.

This event would serve two purposes:
Entertain my friends and family for the festive season
Showcase the brand new deck which was recently added to the villa

Sadly the plan was still born.

Waking early on new years day I made a rice dish to take to my uncle’s annual family luncheon. While that was cooking and because it was not a dish which required a lot of attention, I decided to start preparing one of my dishes for the next day. I choose to cook the calaloo and to chop up some veggies . Finishing this I bathed and prepared to leave out (as the Jamaicans would say) for the family luncheon. Exited the front door a fit of sneezing overtook me. And that my friends is all she wrote. Four hours later I was flat out in bed with the flu which afflicted me for 3 days.

Breadfruit and Sweet Potato

Yesterday I stopped to take a picture of a food establishment which I intend to feature in a blog about Tobago Dining Experiences. Within the compound of that eatery there were several vendors offering a variety of things like coconuts, pineapple chow and vegetables. The entrepreneur of the vegetable booth approached me to take his picture. After listening to my explanation about why I was taking photos of food outlets he invited me to buy “something” and to write about it in my blog.His produce looked truly fresh so I purchased a sweet potato and a breadfruit. Those became the center pieces of the meal for my parents today and the headline for this blog.

The meal prepared for my parents today comprised of:

• Boiled Breadfruit
• Boiled Sweet Potato
• A salad of diced tomatoes and cucumber with salt and lime juice
• Stewed saltfish in olive oil with a tablespoon of butter, chopped cabbage, diced onions, and shredded carotts
• Split peas cooked down with salted pigtails then garnished with diced onions, garlic and small leaf thyme

Note that when I cannot remember which is which, I identify thyme by their size. Growing up these were known as Fresh thyme and the other as Spanish thyme.

But today is all about BREAD FRUIT and SWEET POTATO

While cooking I recalled how about 12 years ago, while bar hopping in the town of Georgetown, Washington DC, that I encountered two researchers who were in DC to present a paper about Breadfruit. I was astonshipped.  A conference about breadfruit? You could not be talking about that “provision” which grows on that big tree behind our house in Tobago, could you? It was a very enlightening half hour with these two people. They shared the website which gave me more information and a whole new respect for the lowly considered breadfruit.

 

Returning to that site, ntgb.org, of the National TropicalBotanical Gardens, I extracted some information to share.

There are 120 varieties of the Bread Fruit.

“Nutitionally, breadfruit is high in carbohydrates and a good source of dietary fibre, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium,, thiamine and niacin. Some varieties are also good sources of antioxidants and carotenoids. Prepared and eaten at all stages of development, it can be roasted, baked ,boiled, fried, pickled, fermented, frozen and dried and ground into flour. A seeded form known as breadnut is grown for it’s nutritious, tasty seeds which contain 13-20% protein, calcium and niacin. Seeds are boiled, roasted, or ground into meal or flour.”

Having refreshed my knowledge about the nutritional facts concerning the breadfruit, i wanted to learn more about the sweet potato. It too is a popular food source and I reasoned, it must have high nutrional value as well.

The site whfoods.com, advised that, “There are a surprising number of nutrient categories responsible for the health benefits of this under appreciated tuber. Among these categories are antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients.”

Sweet potatoes are high in vitamins A,B5, B6, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin and are fat free.

There is a lot more written about these two foods. Check them out. You may end up throwing out a few of the pills stored in your medicine cabinet.

Parent Menu For Thursday

Today they are getting shrimp in a Tobago italian sauce over pasta and a tossed salad.

A little over 2 years ago I had one of life’s scariest moments when it was required of me to agree for my 93 year old dad to have a second operation on the same day. Early that September morning he had had brain surgery to remove blood clots around his brain./ That took all of 4 hours. A few hours later another procedure was deemed necessary to clear a blockage in his urinary tract.The result of all of this was a few weeks of physical rehabilitation at a nursing home.

He was 93 and frail in appearance, but, daddy had the constitution of a bull. If one could ace rehab, then he did. The photograph shows his first days outside after a week of rehab . This picture was taken in Central Park, NY and is on the opposite side of the road to the nursing home.

THE SHRIMP

After removing the shells was in lime water, then season with salt.

Heat some olive oil in a non stick pan and fry the shrimp for 1 minute on each side.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Save the oil for use I’m making the sauce

THE SAUCE

Saute onions and garlic until soft, then add half bottle of store bought traditional Italian sauce. When bubbling, add a table spoon of sugar. Reduce the heat and allow to cook for another 2 minutes.Add the shrimp and allow to cook for another two minutes before removing from the stove.Garnish with the cilantro.

PASTA

Cook according to the instructions on the package

SALAD

Ingredients for this are Romain lettuce, sliced cucumber and chopped tomatoes.

 

 

Lunch For My Parents

This week I am making lunch for my elderly parents. They have different tastes so I am hoping that each meal would not have to be split into separate parts and that they will collectively enjoy each dish.

Apologies to my friends Gordon and keith who are allergic to shell foods. Please note guys that you can have everything in this menu other than the conch.

Today’s menu is:

• Conch[lambie} in a garlic butter sauce
• Yam balls
• Pumpkin squares
• Fried plantain

YAM BALLS

Ingredients

1. 8 slices of yam
2. Salted water
3. 6 pats of butter
4. 2 tablespoons mayonaise
5. Quarter cup milk
6. 4 teaspoons capers
7. 2 teaspoons olive oil

Conch

• 4 conch cleaned, tenderized and cooked at pressure until soft
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Tablespoons of thyme finely diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Quarter of white onion chopped
• Half a green bell pepper chopped
• Salted water in which to cook the conch
• 2 tomatoes quartered
• Tablespoon olive oil

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add bell pepper, cook for another minute. Add lamb and tomatoes, cover and allow to steam for 2 minutes. Stir in butter then garnish with thyme.

Pumpkin squares

Cut pumpkin into squares, turn in heated olive oil with garlic for 4 minutes. Season with salt and dices cilantro.

Fried Plantain

Peel and cut into slices, fry in hot oil until brown on each side. Season with salt

 

Lobster in a Garlic and Ginger Sauce

LOBSTER IN A GINGER/GARLIC SAUCE

 

 

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 lobster tails chopped into bite sized pieces with shell on
2. 4 twigs of fresh thyme
3. 4 cloves of garlic diced
4. Tablespoon of diced fresh ginger
5. 2 tablespoons butter
6. 1 tablespoon olive oil
7. Salt and black pepper
8. Quarter cup boiling water
9. Tablespoon all purpose flour
10. Tablespoon fish sauce
11. Tablespoon fresh diced chive

 

The Sauce

Whisk items 8,9, and 10 until a smooth paste is achieved

Prepare lobster

Wash in lime water then season with salt and black pepper

Cooking

• Heat olive oil in a non stick sauce pan
• Add onions, garlic, and ginger
• Sauté for 2 minutes
• Add the butter and when melted stir in the lobster
• Reduce heat to medium, cover and allow to steam for about 4 minutes
• Add thyme, paste and a little water if necessary
• Cover and allow to steam for 2 more minutes
• Remove from heat and garnish with the chives

The Satan Snack

THE SATAN SNACK

For Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do

 

Some of us retired men refer to ourselves as “idle men.”

Describing the ways of the idle man, Ferd Cameron says “Some days I do nothing. And some days I do nothing AT ALL.”

 

Well one day recently I was having a nothing at all day. But, I was restless and or listless, a little lost, just walking around the house, fixing things which were not in need of fixing, constantly opening and closing the refrigerator, wanting to eat but not truly hungry. Finally I hit upon the idea to make a snack, with which to retire to the daybed in front of the TV and watch anything, which came up. It had to be a snack with hot pepper.

 

So folks that’s how this shrimp and mango snack came about. When it was done there was more pepper than I had catered for, so half of it had to be put away for consumption at a later time? And that’s how come the line in the recipe says, “Set aside for at least 4 hours before serving.” Later became the next day during which time the source acted like a marinade totally transforming a delicious snack into a masterpiece.

 

Contentedly reflecting on the originating of my creation, I smiled to myself as the thought that, ‘Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do,” popped into my head. And that my friend is how this snack came to be named, “The Satan Snack.”

 

Don’t go away because there is a sequel to this story.

 

If you are a follower of this blog you know that I generally find some relevant story to recount around the theme of the recipe. A theme about Satan and idle hands getting into trouble should have been easy. I searched my memory for stories from my childhood days. Nothing came to mind. There must have been instances however when one of us (10 Mc Farlane siblings and about the same number of vacationing grans at home with my mom), got into trouble during one of those long August (summer), holidays. Nothing came to mind. The remedy was to consult the one person who was “bound to know.” I called mom and made her day.

 

Her immediate response was that nothing came to mind. We chatted. Just as I was hanging up, very disappointed, she says,” wait. Hold On” started to chuckle. Then with a big grin shared several stories with me.

 

YEAH, mom laughingly recounted how:

1. Sean locked himself in the bathroom and when he could not get the door open to come out his cousins had to remove the pins from the door to release him. This was funny because in our home, which must have been about 10 years old at the time of this incident, no one had ever had cause to lock anything, not even the front door.

2Then there is the story about 5 year old Colin newly come from America and taken to the beach for the first time in his life. So scared that he could not be enticed to take a sea bath.

2. The final story was about Dani, Tenaha and George who refused to eat melon gene, demanding to be fed fried chicken instead. At the next meal the three were praising mom for the excellence of her fried chicken. Mom could hardly contain herself to finish the story she was in fits of laughter as she remembered how she had prepared the same melongene in a batter, shaped it to resemble chicken legs and fried it.

 

I had my own laugh at the though of my saintly mom being brought to joy by a Satan snack.

 

 

WHAT DID YOU COOK TODAY

 

THE SATAN SNACK

 

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic
• 6 chandon beni leaves
• Half a hot pepper
• Juice of 1 large lime
• Quarter cup of water

Blend all above ingredients

• 6 shrimp
• 6 slices of green mango
• Quarter white onion
• Teaspoon of pepper sauce
• Tablespoon of chives diced
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Teaspoon of brown sugar

Prepare the shrimp

• Clean the shrimp
• Bring a pot of water to a heavy boil
• Introduce the shrimp to the water and stir continuously for one minute
• Remove the shrimp to an ice bath
• Chop into bite sized pieces

 

Complete the dish

• Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl
• Set aside for at least 4 hours before serving

BREAKFAST

WHATDIDYOUCOOKTODAY

 

BREAKFAST

 

 

Most days I do not have breakfast. During the week I just have like 3 cups of decaf coffee and some fruit. And sometimes the fruit does not happen until very late in the morning. Recently however I have noticed that midway through the round of golf (we go out by 6 am so this would be like 8 am) my energy level is low, so at the recommendation of my friend Dave I have started carrying a fruit and or some nuts with me to have at that midway stage. I guess that that validates the advice of all medicos and nutritionists who insist that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

 

When and where did this thing about not having breakfast start? The why is just as important a question? It happened when I was away at university and when money for meals was scarce. Most times the paycheck could only stretch as far as 15 tokens which took me to school and work, and if one of those tokens was lost then I was in financial trouble, part went into savings to pay school fees, part went to rent, part went to a pack of cigarettes, (in between classes my friend Bosey Edwards would advise that we walk past the cafeteria, catch a smell, smoke and proceed to the library to study). Did you see anything in the list about groceries? My roommates and I would put up whatever pennies we had left over from the budget and buy some food, which was never enough to quite provide enough meals to last us to the next payday. One evening I arrived home first and searching around discovered the grand prize of one iceberg lettuce. That was the sun total of our food supplies.

 

At the end of my college days there for my body had adjusted to not having breakfast.

 

Whenever I do have breakfast nowadays it’s either because I am at a hotel or it’s a Sunday morning like today. And whenever I do have breakfast I try to have something exotic. Today it’s Sunday and breakfast is left over Tuna Steak with roasted tomatoes on whole-wheat toast and a slice of watermelon.

 

INGREDIENTS

1. Tuna steak grilled two minutes on each side then flaked
2. Quarter of white onion diced
3. Tablespoon of capers
4. Teaspoon of mustard
5. Tablespoon of mayonnaise
6. Teaspoon of pepper sauce
7. Slices of large tomato roasted in a grill pan 1 minute on each side in olive oil
8. Slice of water melon

 

TUNA

 

Mix all ingredients 1 to six in a mixing bowl

 

SERVING

 

Arrange a slice of watermelon on a plate alongside two slices of roasted tomatoes.

Spoon a serving of the tuna mix unto each tomato slice.

Serve with toast

 

 

 

Cilantro Pasta

WHAT DID YOU COOK TODAY

 

Today I cooked CILANTRO PASTA served with CORN ON THE COB.

 

 

 

 

 

TODAY AUGUST 24^TH 2016

 

Why am I thinking about TODAY, today? It was while shopping for ingredients for the cilantro pasta, and while searching the baking goods isle (the wrong isle to be in), for olive oil, that this thought just popped into my head, “it’s only 1.15 pm, I will be done cooking by 3pm and what will I do then? Boy yuh foolish yes, you have become a real slow turtle. Oh oh, remember Rollo’s neighbor who at 6am had cleaned his yard, trimmed his fences read all three daily newspapers and the sun ent even come up yet? We never discovered what he did with the rest of his day. He was a retiree just like you are today.” It then occurred to me that I was having these thoughts because Dani had called earlier to check up on me.

 

She (Dani) had called from her passenger seat in a taxi, which was returning her to her place of work. She had just left a funeral. The deceased was a gentleman who had shared the same birthday as my own, January 22^nd 1947. We talked about my health and about what was to be done when I passed away I reiterated that nothing had changed in that regard since I last broached the topic with her and her siblings. That conversation, I believe was the genesis of my thoughts about TODAY:

• What have you done today?
• The slow turtles, Rollo and Winston
• What will you do after you have cooked your meal?

 

So here is how my day has gone so far:

 

Awake at 4.15am (late for me), I decide to skip exercise because my noises would disturb my visiting brother and his family. Word games on the phone app took me to 5 when I had coffee and proceeded to do some gardening because there was no golf today.

 

Gardening consumed five and a half hours until 11am.

 

An interesting thing happened during those hours. At 6am a crew of government workers sent to clear the bush along the drain, which runs through the neighborhood, this being fertile greeting ground for mosquitoes, started work. They left at just after 8 am and they spent more time “ole talking” rather than actually working. I estimate that they did actual clearing of the bush for maybe 60 minutes. By 8am they were done for the day, went home leaving about another 200 feet of bush in need of clearing.

 

In my five and a half hours I accomplished the following:

• Trimmed the fences around my 13000 square foot lot
• Cut down a small tree and dragged the branches out side for clearing by the environmental pick up service
• Did some landscaping
• Mowed the lawn

 

Back in the house I graded some projects and prepared a lesson plan for a session, which I will moderate tomorrow.

 

And then Dani called.

 

Our conversation really brought important topics to mind, such as, “what would the slow turtles be doing today?”

 

The original slow turtles were Winston, Rollo and I. We used to gather around Rollo’s kitchen counter drinking, ole talking, and planning how we would spend our retirement days. Those discussions were taking place around twenty-five years ago which would have made us about 44 years old. At that age we were still thinking about ourselves as being indestructible. The talk of retirement probably originated from my voiced observation about the life of one of Rollo’s neighbors, a retired gentleman.

 

In those days I had rented out my house and was temporarily staying at Rollo’s. My morning habit of going out jogging around 4 am only changed location and environment. Up third sty, make a left on, xxxx St.; up to the priority bus route and left down the bus route for 30 minutes then 30 minutes back. At the corner of third and xxx lived the retired gentleman who was the subject of our discussions. I would observe on the way out that he was already cleaning his yard. An hour later he was seated in his porch reading the newspapers. On my way to work at 6 am he was discarding the newspapers and the sun had not come up as yet.

 

The three 44 year olds thought that an ideal day as retirees would involve packing a cooler of drinks into one car, pick up and driving duties to be shared, deciding which beach to visit that day, leave at 9am after the morning rush hour had died down, drive to the beach at 25 mph and at the same pace return home by 3pm before the afternoon rush hour. Then we would make a fish broth with the fresh fish we expected to purchase at the beach and be in bed by 7pm.

 

The one topic we did not touch on was HEALTH. Now I am the only one left to contemplate what to do TODAY. One turtle died and the other is disabled from a stroke.

 

So! What is to happen with the rest of my day TODAY because after all it’s only 3.15pm? I will be in bed watching the news by 7pm. Before that I have to cook, water the plants and practice my golf swing. These tasks will hardly fill out the hours but that leaves time for reading, watching a movie and playing word games on my phone app.

 

In the end it will be a good day TODAY.

 

 

CILANTRO PASTA

 

The decision to try this recipe today is directly related to the need to use up the last of my cilantro crop before any more spoils. My friend Dave brought seeds, which I planted and we got more than we could use in time to prevent losses by root rot. And last Sunday I saw this recipe on a cooking show. While I have named it cilantro pasta it is really pasta in a cilantro-based pesto.

 

I have changed a few things from the original recipe such as substituting almonds for cashew nuts, using shrimp instead of chicken, and using grated vegetarian cheese in addition to the Parmesan recommended. I also added olives.

 

INGREDIENTS

For the pesto:

• Half a cup of cilantro
• Half cup of olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Juice of half a lime
• Small package of almond halves (a snack pack)
• 60 grams of vegetarian cheddar cheese grated
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt and black pepper

 

Pasta

• Penne pasta to serve 6 persons

Shrimp

25 large cooked shrimp turned in hot olive oil for one minute

 

For Garnish

• 1dozen olives
• 4 large tomatoes chopped into quarters
• Table spoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation

• Boil the pasta according to the instructions given on the package. Drain and set aside
• Blend all of the items for the pesto except for the parmesan cheese which you will add just prior to serving
• Toss tomatoes in olive oil. Add salt and black pepper then bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees

 

Complete the dish by mixing all ingredients together and topping off with the Parmesan cheese.