Welcome Spring / "Cooking with Ria" is one year old!

Cooking with Ria is one year old with over 20,000 views from visitors from every continent! The statistics are humbling...and motivate me to sacrifice more of my "me time" to bring more great recipes and posts to you..and I will. I promise.

Rest assured I am always working on a recipe or two.. even while I am sleeping. Actually, I just woke up from an afternoon nap to write down notes about a shark and bake recipe with a special slaw....more on that in the future...

Today I would like to share a few of my favorite Spring shots with you along with a poem I wrote this week....hope you enjoy....

Spring is here in her splendid essence!

While we were blessed with a winter so mild…

...I still feel immense joy in her presence...

..'midst the sadness which reigns so wild…

My hands covered with soil..

..it soothes a life wrought with turmoil…

In the backyard of my heart I shall toil…

Soon, there shall be a garden of flowers..

… and endless kisses from the refreshing April Showers ….

The warmth of the sun to comfort me in its embrace..

..and endless smiles upon my face..

A time to leave the past behind…

…and experience a renewing of heart and mind ..

…Like the flowers, soon I will freely bloom..

…….and eternally bid farewell to the gloom…

Welcome Spring…I’ve been waiting for you....

View pictures of last Spring here...

Happy SPRING!
With love,
Ria

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CWR'S Trinidad Chow

Chow is a simple, refreshing combination of fresh fruits, garlic and culantro. Consider it a "spiced up" fruit salad.

[Culantro, also known as bandania or shado beni]

The desire for chow is linked to our obsession with hot peppers and fresh herbs, which are the flavors that distinguish Caribbean cuisine. Aside from eating the whole fresh fruits, this is probably the healthiest snack we eat. With the right combination, chow satisfies our taste for sweet, sour, salty and spicy all at the same time. There isn’t a more exciting way to get your daily servings of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants..



[best enjoyed while relaxing in a hammock ;-)]

It is quite normal to assume that people of a warm tropical climate would consume more cold products....but instead we gravitate toward eating spicy foods and snacks. This is actually a natural response to the environment. The capsaicin from the peppers makes us sweat which cools the body down; nature’s air conditioner!

Some people report a “high” when eating hot peppers. This is because the pain from the heat also signals the body to release endorphins which are natural painkillers.  [That explains why there are so many happy people in TnT.] Considering this addiction, it is appropriate and not surprising that the hottest pepper in the world comes from our Island.

Another reason why this dish is so popular in Trinidad could be the availability and abundance of fruit on the island. For many, the ingredients are a few steps away in their yard--or the neighbor's...(see pic below).

[Someone tried to impress me by climbing up a pommecythere tree. Did he not notice that it was hardly two feet off the ground? lol ]

 

I love my chow super-duper, Moruga scorpion pepper hot. The joy of eating chow goes beyond the delicious, mouth-watering combination of flavors.  I love the sweat-inducing-thrill of the heat overtaking my mouth. My senses. My sanity (the little I have left)…..which leaves me clamoring for an antidote to soothe the pain. I administer the antidote. Wait. Get temporarily relief and repeat the process until the chow is done or I can no longer physically bear the torture, whichever comes first...If this is the “high” they refer to, then call me an addict.

[the antidote on stand-by--sweet rice aka rice pudding]

If you don’t have an affinity for all things spicy, don't be discouraged. The heat can be adjusted to your preference or eliminated entirely. If you do this, please refer to it as merely a “seasoned fruit salad”. :-)

I was excited to hear from a friend in Trinidad that her office had a “Chow Q”. An event where employees brought their favorite version of chow to compete for various titles. Wish I could have been there....

Chow can be prepared with half ripe mangoes, oranges, tangerines (called portugals in Trinidad), cucumbers, tomatoes, pommecythere (also called golden apples), chennet, pommerac, green "Trini" plums, tart green apples or unripe peaches. I have also heard that pineapples can be used and is now a hugely popular ingredient in chow. Use whichever fruits are available and create your own exciting combination.

This recipe only serves as a guideline, please increase or decrease the ingredients based on your preference.

Ingredients

4 cups prepared fruits of your choice

6-8 large culantro leaves, finely chopped or minced

2-3 garlic cloves, grated, crushed or minced
Hot pepper to taste, sliced or minced --- eg. habanero or scotch bonnet

Salt, to taste
Lime juice, to taste [optional]

Mince or finely chop culantro and hot pepper.

Crush or grate garlic. [pics not shown

[ In Trinidad, we call portugals, "puttigal"...don't ask me why ]

 Peel fruits, if required

Stop! Don't eat it yet!

OK, one bite won't hurt....[I speak from experience..]

 

Cut into bite sized pieces

In this chow, we used portugals, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes.

Season to taste with minced culantro, hot pepper/s, garlic and salt.

 Oh boy, this looks so good...!!!

Toss all ingredients together....and enjoy!!!

I'm curious...what fruits/veggies do you use to make your chow...and how hot do you like it? :-)

With spicy love,

Ria

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Trinidad Vacation 2012 - Fun & Food under the sun

  

The kids were off from school eager for excitement and adventure, the husband complained that he was stressed (the mother’s needs are insignificant) and so I booked a last minute flight. As luck would have it, winter break coincided with Carnival in Trinidad. I hadn’t been to Carnival in 20 years and my kids never experienced it, so we were all ecstatic to “go home”. When a Trini mentions that they are “going home”, more than likely they are referring to their homeland Trinidad.  

  

The ultimate goal of a trip home is always to enjoy the natural beauty and simplicity of the island and bask in the warm, sunny weather.

I find joy in watching clothes dance in the wind under the scorching Caribbean sun…..and when it decided to rain for a few minutes and sometimes seconds, I immersed myself in the soothing sound of the rain as it pounded the galvanized roof. A sound that brings back memories of my childhood and reminds me of simpler, carefree days without the burden of responsibility.

What makes me most happy is spending hours exploring neighbors’ yard, marveling at the beauty of the pretty flowers and trying to capture their magnificence in photos.

I even had time to chase this little guy for an hour trying to get him to smile…nowadays, I am back to just chasing the bus, train and of course my munsters….

 

This vacation involved no high-falutin experiences, no 5-star hotel or restaurants, no lounging poolside, no margaritas in fancy glasses, no formal wear for dinner. [However, I was happy for the hot water and relieved to find an AC in our bedroom. A luxury we’ve had to live without on many a visits.]

Even better than any 5 star experience were the three daily-hot-delicious home-cooked meals made and served with love. For snack time, we hunted down fruits that are not available in the US and enjoyed them avariciously.

Much to the dismay of my husband’s family, I hopped in a taxi and ventured to the market all by my lonesome in search of hard to find goodies to bring back and captivating conversations with market vendors.

I was also on a mission to find the Trinidad Moruga pepper, recently titled the hottest pepper in the world. 

 We ate “chow” at every opportunity. This is the chow before I laced it with the Moruga pepper. More on “chow” in my next post.

My in-laws begged me to cook and I concurred. After the third time I protested –with a smile- and reminded them I was on vacation. [The disadvantage of having a food blog. :-) ]

Pancakes with home-made watermelon syrup--which turned into jam as it cooled...I tried! I turned to watermelon since my kids requested strawberry syrup and there were no strawberries available....!

 

Pepper shrimps etc..

Apple cake...

And here are the most important men (vendors) on the island....they truly leave you wanting more....

Being a Trini also means having the ability to set up a “kitchen” anywhere using a ground stove or a fireside. An ability embedded deep within our DNA. Who needs the confines of a traditional kitchen? Every occasion special or not so special revolves around the meal being cooked. Food comforts our Trini soul and keeps us well grounded and attached to our roots. Food is a beloved connection to our past and brings back memories of happier days.

Trinis are a fun-loving, free spirited people who don’t need much to have a good time. Crix and hot-sauce laced cheese or a bowl of chow for an appetizer. Something being curried in a ground stove somewhere in the vicinity--probably loaded with pepper also. A bottle of rum. Fresh coconut water to “chase” with. Music blasting from speakers attached to a car—somehow.

Loud, heated conversations. Laughing. Dancing aka palancing….Well…up until someone gets too drunk and a fight ensues. Then pure bacchanal. [In defense of my people…NOT ALWAYS…but it has been known to happen.]

   

Let’s not forget the all important, rum, the quarterback, which also acts as the catalyst to these endearing experiences. We have a saying in Trinidad, “rum done, friend done”, the same rings true for “de food done, de lime done”. For me at least. Who wants to linger after the food is gone? Not I! And you thought I came for the riveting conversation?….[laughing]

 
We went to the capital Port of Spain to experience firsthand the spirit of carnival and see the parade of the bands…we watched people “chip down de road” and dance to the rhythm of the reverberating steelpan or calypso music.

...and congrats to our friend Brian MacFarlane for a magnificent Mac Mas Monday presentation and for winning Band of the Year, six consecutive years...

After all that excitement, we enjoyed the usual relaxing afternoon on Maracas beach, after feasting on a delicious shark and bake sandwich.

...and these are some of the reasons I love being a Trini. The simple experiences in life that bring me great joy and contentment.

Hope you enjoyed my pics. Please “like” my facebook page (Cooking with Ria) to see more of my photography which I plan to upload in the coming weeks….and please tell your friends about Cookingwithria.com! A blog about my life, food and photography.

With love,

Ria



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Paula Dean's Peach Cobbler

I have been making Paula Dean’s peach cobbler for years. One day I decided that it required a makeover with less butter and sugar. I know it’s an abomination, but occasionally I want to experience, “le plaisir sans la culpabilité!” When it comes to dessert, my first rule is to eat it only if I make it. My second rule is to still eat it even if I didn’t make it (homemade only though). Ok, I admit...that's screwy..

I decreased a few of the ingredients including the butter and sugar and it was still plenty sweet! I have learned that if we make more, we eat more…we see more, we eat more…the kids scream more, we eat more....and the only thing I cannot resist is temptation, so I try not to have an abundance of leftover dessert hanging out in the kitchen.

Luckily, there usually aren’t any leftovers. Case in point, on the cold, snowy day I made this peach cobbler…I took pics and left the cobbler on the kitchen counter, went upstairs, downloaded the pics, wasn’t happy with results, ran back downstairs to retake the pics…and lo and behold, there was none left! Goldilocks (& her sister & father) had struck again! 

When I find really sweet organic peaches, I can decrease the sugar to ¼ cup without any noticeable difference or objections from the household! 

Peach Cobbler
Serves 4

2 cups peeled, sliced peaches (1 bag frozen, defrosted)
1 cup sugar, divided
¼ cup water
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup organic whole milk
1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

CWR’s Notes:  *If self rising flour is not available, combine the following: 1 cup of flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt. 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the peaches, sugar(½ cup), cinnamon(½ tsp) and water(¼ cup) in a saucepan and mix well.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

While the peaches are simmering, put the butter in a 2-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt. Mix remaining sugar(½ cup), flour(1 cup), cinnamon(½ tsp) and milk(1 cup) slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. 

Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup.

Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream...



[I served it here with the leftover ice cream from my birthday ice cream cake..Do whatever makes you happy....]

Always treat yourself,

..but enjoy in moderation..

....this way you can do it again soon....

Love,

Ria

p.s. this is a post I worked on a few weeks ago, will post pics from my vacation soon...stay tuned!

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