Author: Chris De La Rosa

Hey i'm the admin of this forum, you can participate any time by logging in.

  • Traditional Cocoa Tea (Caribbean hot chocolate).

    Did you know that any hot drink you have along with breakfast in the Caribbean is mainly refereed to as being ‘tea’? That said, here’s the most classic of Caribbean ‘tea”.. Cocoa Tea! My dad would tell me stories about when he lived with my great grandparents as the kid, on their cocoa and coffee estate in Trinidad and Tobago, and how rich and creamy his grandmother would make his tea in the morning. From the cocoa he would have helped to harvest and process the season before.

  • |

    The Ultimate Hummus Recipe.

    It’s funny how I kept telling people that I’m not a fan of Hummus and just didn’t understand the sort of current ‘Hummus Hype”.. until I started making my own. While Hummus may seem exotic, it’s probably one of the simplest recipes to put together. There’s no cooking involved, can be done in under 5 minutes and you can play around with flavors you like. In my case I like my Hummus to have a slight kick, with a subtle smoky undertone. Any excuse to put “Caribbean Sunshine” (scotch bonnet peppers) to use.

  • |

    Tasty Vegetarian 3 Spinach Rice

    Looking back I think I originally documented this recipe late summer, early fall last year.. when my garden was loaded with the ‘spinach’ I’m about to use in this recipe. I’m using the word ‘spinach’ a bit loosely, as I’m really referring to several types of greens when I do. I’m a HUGE fan of greens so I usually plant several varieties in my garden every year. I’m told that as a kid on the islands my favorites (bhagi aka greens) were Dasheen Bush (tender leaves of the dasheen plant), Pak Choi and Chorai (Jamaican Callalloo)… mom never had a problem with me eating when she would cook those dishes.

  • |

    Simple Oven Roasted Sea Bass.

    Did you get a chance to give the Caribbean Fish Stew Using Fresh Cod a test drive yet? As we continue in this #FishFrday mini-series, I’ve got a super simple way to do a whole fish in the oven. Using a Sea Bass (what’s on sale at the fish store currently) as our main ingredient, we’ll enhance things with some ginger, scallion, lemon and sliced fennel. Yea, the fennel was on sale so I was convinced by my wallet to bring it home from the grocery store. Since Fennel is not your typical “Caribbean” ingredient, you can use a large sliced onion instead.

  • |

    Caribbean Fish Stew Using Fresh Cod.

    I may have mentioned in previous ‘fish’ recipe posts that as a young fella on the islands (along with my siblings) we had NO luv for fish or any sort of seafood, except for shrimp and fried slices of King Fish. However as an adult I can’t get enough of everything coming out of the ocean. With many requests for fish recipes, especially with Easter and Good Friday just around the corner, I thought I’d share this one using cod with you.

  • |

    Caribbean Stewed Pork Ribs.

    We’ve grilled them, done a sort of “oven BBQ” during the winter and this coming summer I plan on doing a classic smoked/jerk over a charcoal fire, but for now I’d like to share yet another way to do pork ribs. You’re free to use the short ribs type you get at the Asian markets (ones sold for making dry garlic ribs), baby-back or your regular rack of pork ribs for this recipe. Using the classic Caribbean technique of ‘stewing’ to start, then we’ll slowly braise these ribs until they tender and packed with rich Caribbean flavor.

  • |

    Simple Crispy Fried Chicken Wings.

    After posting an image of these crispy wings on Instagram a couple weeks back, the DM’s we’re rocking with requests for the recipe. And while this probably won’t be considered a “Caribbean” recipe, I thought that it will still fit within the theme of this website. Infused with herbal flavors as we do on the islands, these wings are super simple to make and with the crispy finish.. you’ll impress your family and guests. Guaranteed!

  • |

    Quick Ham And Turkey Fried Rice.

    A few days after Christmas 2016 I was joined by my good friend Marc, who you would have been introduced to some time ago. Marc (Chef Marc) is a fellow Trinbagonian who’s been knocking out the recipes and food-travel videos on his YouTube Channel “Chef Marc”. This time Marc will be putting the leftover ham and turkey from the Christmas holidays for (one of) his signature fried rice. Using ingredients we already had in the fridge, Marc blazed through this recipe in a few minutes.

  • Simple Haitian Epis (Zepis) Recipe.

    In the Southern Caribbean we have “Green Seasoning”, the Spanish speaking Caribbean gave us Sofrito and our Haitian cousins use Epis as the base for many of their delicious offerings. Traditionally made with a mortar and pestle (Munsh Pilon), it’s a blend of herbs, garlic and various peppers. In this recipe I’ll be using a food processor and will be personalizing it a bit to my own taste. So you’ll see that I won’t add any salt, bullion cubes nor onion (explained in the video).

  • |

    Cider Maple Habanero Peppersauce (hot sauce) Recipe.

    This past Fall I decided to do a peppersauce tribute to my home for the last 20 something years.. Canada. With a bumper crop of Habanero peppers (works great with scotch bonnets as well) in my small kitchen garden at the back of my house, the creative juices were flowing. Habaneros are some of my favorite spicy peppers, with the natural fruity undertones along with the fiery heat they possess. With a dose of fresh made apple cider (not vinegar) and some organic maple syrup, this pepper sauce was truly heavenly.

  • |

    Roasted Breadfruit In Stewed Saltfish (salted cod).

    This recipe combines two of my favorite dishes into one glorious pot of comfort. After sharing the technique for roasting a breadfruit in an everyday oven, you knew I’d follow up with a recipe for putting that roasted breadfruit to use. Stewed saltfish (salted cod) is as classic as it gets when it comes to Caribbean culinary culture and in the event you cannot source breadfruit, you can use cassava, yam, sweet potato, green cooking bananas or even something as everyday as regular potatoes.

  • |

    How To Roast A Breadfruit In Your Oven.

    Living in Canada means that it’s almost a ‘treat’ when breadfruit hits our dinner table. Unlike when I lived in the Caribbean as a boy where we had a massive breadfruit tree in our back yard, laden with prime breadfruits. Not only are they expensive in the grocery (when we can actually get them) here, but I find that they are harvested too soon for export, so you never get that true essence of the breadfruit when you prepare a dish. Here’s my take on roasting a breadfruit in your typical kitchen oven, unlike the outdoor fire/coals method we all grew up using in the Caribbean.