Quick and Easy One-Pot Mac and Cheese.

May 27, 2025December 22, 2023Leave a Comment

I LOVE Rice and Roti, however there’s something very special about Stewed Chicken gravy on macaroni and cheese, especially if it’s made with an aged white cheddar. When I’m in a pinch I unusually use the stuff you get in the box, but when I have time I usually use my mom’s no-fuss recipe for making mac and cheese.

You’ll Need…

1 lb Macaroni (bucatini style)
1/2 lb grated white cheddar (old/sharp)
1 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoon mayonnaise

Notes! Please watch the video below to follow along as much more is discussed there. Feel free to add as much cheese as you like and as discussed in the video when I need the finished mac and cheese to have a kick, I usually add a bit of jalapeno Gouda. Adding your fav peppersauce will also kick things up, should you want it spicy.

While you can use elbow macaroni or shell pasta, I grew up eating this thick long pasta in Trinidad and Tobago, so there’s a natural allegiance to this type of pasta.

Cook the pasta you decide on using according to the package directions in salted water.

As the pasta boils, grate your cheese and have it ready as we’ll need to move quickly once we drain the pasta. If you put the cheese in the freezer for 10-15 minutes it may grate easier.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! We’re not making a bechamel sauce as you see being glorified on social media lately, when it comes to making mac and cheese. And NO we’ll not be using the oven either. Everything is being kept simple and on the stove as our ancestors would.

After the pasta is fully cooked, drain (do NOT rinse) and place the pot back on the same spot on the stove you used (stove off). We’ll be using this residual heat to melt the cheese and bring everything together. Add the black pepper.

Now add the cheese of choice, mayo and warmed evaporated milk and give it a good mix to melt the cheese and create a creamy finish to the mac and cheese. Don’t question th addition of mayonnaise.

It will take a minute or 2 to properly mix things. If you’re adding peppersauce (hot sauce), now would be the time to do so. Basically you’re done. I did say no-fuss and simple, YET TASTY! Should you want to skip the mayo, you may use butter. Be sure to taste at the end and adjust the salt to your liking.

As a lil fella on the islands I’d enjoy this with a few drops of ketchup and the odd times, slices of boiled eggs. Today, I must have stew (chicken, beef or pork) gravy as a topping.

Gluten Free Rice & One-Pot Dishes Vegetarian

Comforting Stewed Lentils (slow cooker).

May 28, 2025April 28, 20211 Comment

Mom never owned a slow cooker (and we’ve talked about her and her dislike for pressure cookers – that she passed on to us), so the lentils she would make about 2 times a month, was slow-cooked on the stove top. That recipe I’ll share with you another day. For now, here’s my take on what I believe is one of the simplest ways to prepare comforting lentils from scratch.

You’ll Need…

2 lbs dried lentils
1 large carrot (cubed)
2 cups butternut squash (cubed)
3 stalks celery (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
2 scallions (chopped)
4-6 sprigs thyme
4 tablespoon parsley (divided)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups vegetable stock
3-4 cups water
3 pimento peppers (chopped)
1 tablespoon Molasses
2-3 tablespoon Maple syrup
1 tablespoon Caribbean browning
2 thick slices ginger
1/2 teaspoon Scorch Bonnet pepper flakes (optional)
6 cloves garlic (whole)
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the Caribbean Browning, vegetable stock and Worcestershire sauce you use. This will be a MASSIVE pot of lentils, so be prepared to freeze and reheat on a later date or make when you’re having a large crowd over for dinner.

Wash and soak the lentils in warm water for 15 minutes. There’s no need to soak overnight as we’re slow cooking.

Place the lentils (drained) in the slow cooker, followed by the pimento peppers, ginger, scallions, celery, 1/2 of the parsley, black pepper.. basically everything in the ingredients list.

Later on we’ll adjust the salt. If you’re doing this vegan, keep and eye on the ingredients in the Worcestershire sauce as you may have to avoid it.

With the carrot and butternut squash, I like putting in bigger cubes as it will maintian a bit of texture later on as we slow cook this.

Stir well and place the lid on. Setting on high.

You can walk away form it at this point.

6 hours later (watch the video below) and this should be tender, tasty and thick! Don’t forget to fish out the thyme sprigs and ginger and toss before serving. Yea, taste for salt too and adjust to your liking.

Top with the remainder of the parsley and enjoy. NOTE! For a more grainy lentil, cook for less time and cut back the water by 3/4 cup. Yes you can use Veg (or Chicken) stock instead of water, but be mindful of the sodium content as it will affect how salty the final dish is.

Freeze the remainder for another night you feel like having a comforting side or bowl of lentils you made from scratch.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Gluten Free Rice & One-Pot Dishes Side Dishes Vegetarian

Delightful Tomato Rice.

May 29, 2025May 4, 20194 Comments

As part of our ongoing #MeatFreeMonday series, I’ decided to share a rice recipe my girls and I get excited about. Not something I grew up eating on the islands, but nevertheless made in an ‘island’ influenced kitchen in Canada (smile). Plump grains of rice with a deep and rice tomato and herb flavor and the gentle heat achieved by adding a Bird’s Eye Pepper. This recipe is somewhat similar to the Roasted Tomato Choka And Rice Soup recipe I shared a while back.

You’ll Need…

2 cups Basmati rice
5 large tomatoes
small bunch parsley
1 small onion (diced)
2 large cloves garlic (diced)
1 birds eye pepper (chopped)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 – 2 cups vegetable stock (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste/puree
1-2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped – optional)

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the stock you decide to use.

The first thing we need to do is to wash the tomatoes (make sure they are fully ripe), remove the area where the stems were with a pairing knife and make an X cut on the bottom (not deep). Then place in a pot with boiling water for about 2-4 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Then go back to where we made the cuts and peel back the skin and discard.

Give the tomatoes a rough chop and along with the parsley, give it a minute or so in your food processor.

I pulsed it as I wanted a bit of texture (chunky) to the finished “puree”. Now in a deep pot, heat the vegetable oil on a medium heat and then go in with the onion, garlic, thyme, bird’s eye pepper and black pepper. Cook on LOW for 3-4 minutes, then add the tomato paste and stir well. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, so we get the natural sweetness of the tomato paste coming out.

Pour in the tomato puree into the pot and bring to a boil (raise the heat). Add the salt and reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Wash your rice at this point (basically all you’re doing is rinsing it with cool water until the water runs clear -repeat as many times as necessary). Washing the rice will help to remove any grit and extra starch, so your finished dish is not sappy (thick and clumping together). Then add it to the pot and give it a good mix so each grain is coated with this wicked tomato base. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. After which you need to turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot.

TIP! You may use chicken or beef stock if you wish (if not doing this dish vegan) and for a lovely twist you may replace 1/2 the stock with coconut milk if you wish.

After about 10 minutes check to make sure you have some liquid left.. but don’t stir. If you stir it will help release starch and you’ll get that clumpy rice we don’t necessarily want. Cook for another 5 minutes (so 15 in total), then turn off the stove, but leave the lid on and do nothing else, except top the rice with the chopped cilantro.

After 5 minutes, go in with a fork and fluff the rice.. you’re done! Time to enjoy one of the best rice dishes you’ll ever make. Guaranteed!

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry Rice & One-Pot Dishes

Ultimate SlowCooker (CrockPot) Curry Goat Recipe.

May 28, 2025April 7, 201910 Comments

With such a busy lifestyle we tend to live today, it’s always nice to have a comforting home-cooked meal waiting for us when we get home. With that in mind I decided to start exploring ways to tailor some of our classic Caribbean dishes for being prepared in a slow cooker (or crock pot). With this slow cooker Curry Goat, you’ll get that lovely Caribbean ‘curry’ with fall-of-the-bones tenderness mommy raised us on. I highly encourage you to give this method of cooking curry goat a try.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs goat
4 large potato (cut in 1/4s)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (cut or leave whole to control the heat)
2 tablespoons Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon curry powder
1 large onion (diced)
5 sprigs thyme
4-6 cloves garlic (smashed)
3-5 thin slices ginger
8 pimento berries (aka allspice berries)
1 large tomato (diced)
3/4 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 scallions (chopped)
2 tablespoon water

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements. Especially the Curry Powder you use, as some may contain flour as a filer.

I used goat meat with the bones as I find the flavor of the finished dish is much better when bones are used as compared to using boneless goat. This recipe will work great with lamb as well. Please get your butcher to cut the goat for you as the bones are VERY tough and will do damage to your kitchen knives. Wash and dry the goat and get ready to start. BTW, remove any big pieces of fat and discard.

Basically you’re adding all the ingredients to the goat (in the slow cooker) and give it all a good mix. I used potato in this curry goat as it’s a great way to stretch the dish for more people. Cut the potato into 1/4’s as they will want to fall apart during the lengthy cooking process.

The curry powder I used was my own blend, but I highly recommend Caribbean curry powders, especially the Madras-like blends. Or use your fav! I did slice the scotch bonnet pepper as I love my curry goat with a little ‘kick’. If you wanted you could add the scotch bonnet pepper whole, but try not to break it while cooking/stirring or you’ll release the beast (heat).

Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handing such hot peppers like Scotch Bonnets. The tomato may seem out of place (for some people) but I assure you that it will add an acidic balance to the richness of the curry. There’s no need to allow this to marinate if you’re in a rush as it will cook slowly for 5 hrs and infuse the goat with that classic curry flavor.

With 20 minutes to go I opened the slow cooker and did a few things (cooked for 5 hrs as mentioned above). Tasted for salt and adjusted. But before that, you’ll notice a ton of fat at the surface (goat is very fatty), try your best to skim that off and discard (you can use a paper towel to skim that off easily). Do not pour this down your sink or it will clog your plumbing. Remove the scotch bonnet pepper if you had it in there whole. If the gravy is a bit runny you can cook uncovered for a further 30 minutes, but do bear in mind you can always crush a couple pieces of the potato to thicken things up.. also it will thicken naturally as the curry goat cools. Top with some finely chopped Cilantro (about 1 tablespoon – not mentioned in the ingredient list) and enjoy.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Rice & One-Pot Dishes Seafood

Quick And Simple Salmon Fried Rice.

May 28, 2025December 12, 2017Leave a Comment

Here’s a quick and tasty recipe putting leftover rice (which you may already have in the fridge) and a can of salmon to work, for what I assure you is an incredible one-pot dish. While the use of the can (or ‘tin’ as we would normally say in the Caribbean) may seem a little strange if you’ve never tried it… I quickly learned that it truly is a great addition to what could potentially be a boring fried rice. This is one of the many go-to recipes I employ when lunch-time hits and I have some rice in the fridge.

You’ll Need…

2 tablespoon veg oil
1 clove garlic (diced fine)
1 cup bell peppers (colors optional)
5-8 string beans (any beans will work)
2 scallions (chopped)
1 bird’s eye pepper (cut into pieces)
2-3 cups leftover rice (chilled)
1-2 cups cabbage (cut chunky)
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 can salmon (wild Pacific)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine

IMPORTANT! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the Soy Sauce.. you will need a gluten free version.

Note! This recipe is enough for 2-3 people… use more rice for a bigger party. If you’re using freshly cooked rice, I’d recommend chilling it a bit before using. It will give you a more grainy fried rice.

Prep the ingredients in advance (cut, chop and dice) as this dish will cook in about 5 minutes.

Heat the oil is a wide pan or wok on medium flame and add the garlic.. cook for 10 seconds then add the bell peppers, and string beans. Stir and cook for another 50 seconds to soften a bit. Then add the sesame oil and stir well.

Now add the cabbage, bird’s eye pepper (chopped into pieces) and the Chinese cooking wine. Stir and cook for a minute. Then it’s time to add the salmon (drain out all the liquid it came in the came with) .. please be mindful when stirring now as you don’t want to over-break the salmon pieces.

Here is where you now add the chilled rice along with the soy sauce and stir. The heat should still be on medium high. Please note that my rice was cooked in salted water.

Please try to maintain a high heat and don’t cover the pot/pan and any time. As soon as the rice heats though, the salmon fried rice is done and ready to enjoy.

A quick and tasty way to put leftover rice to use and the added bonus is.. it’s super fast to prepare.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Gluten Free Holiday Recipes Rice & One-Pot Dishes Vegetarian

Festive Christmas Fried Rice.

May 28, 2025January 10, 2017Leave a Comment

NO! Mommy didn’t make this for us as kids on the islands and to be quite honest, this was the first time my taste-buds were treated to such a colorful delight. Yes, the colors will play tricks on your mind, since the finished rice will look more like a holiday candy than fried rice. However I can assure you that this was very delicious and quite attractive served-up on a platter. For this recipe we’re joined by my friend Marc, who’s been rocking this recipe for a while now.

You’ll Need…

1 cup rice (leave plain white)
1 1/2 cup “red” rice
1 1/2 cup ‘green’ rice
5 teaspoon green food coloring
5 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon salt each (x 3) for cooking the rice
4 cups water (divided – for cooking the rice)
2 scallions (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
1/2 red bell pepper (diced)
1/2 green bell pepper (diced)
2 cloves garlic (diced fine)
2 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Note: The rice amounts mentioned above are uncooked. When cooked it will yield more.

IMPORTANT! Please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your gluten free and vegan dietary needs. Especially the soy sauce and food coloring.

For cooking the rice – place the rice in a pot with water (after you’ve washed it). Leave one plain white and the others add the food coloring. We did a 1-1 ratio of rice to water when cooking the rice. Basically place the rice, coloring and salt in a pot (with a lid), bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes (until tender and the water is absorbed). Then spread the rice onto a sheet pan to cool and air-dry.. to remove the moisture from the rice so you’ll have a grainy fried rice. Please watch the video below if you’re confused at any point.

It will take about 30 minutes or so for the rice to be ready (air dry), so during this time we can prep our vegetables.

Heat about 2 tablespoon of the olive oil on a med/high heat in a wok or wide non-stick pan. Then go in with the diced onions and sweet peppers. Toss and cook for about 1-2 minutes.

Toss in the salt and keep stirring. Add the black pepper and here’s where you’ll also add the garlic. Add the rest of the olive oil so you wont have the rice stick to the bottom of the pot when you add it shortly. By this time your onions and peppers will start to take on caramelized edges. Add the rice and stir well. Try to break up any clumps you may have.

Mix the rice well, (heat still on med/high), mix in the soy sauce and continue cooking until everything is mixed properly and heated through. Top with the diced scallions, turn off the stove and enjoy!

If you wanted to add some frozen peas, beans , corn or any of you fav vegetables, you can most certainly do so. Be sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you start, chilled or ‘old’ rice will work best and the higher the heat you can work with.. will all give you great results while ensuring the fried rice is fast!

Special thanks to Marc for sharing this somewhat unique rendition of a festive Christmas Fried Rice… which will certainly keep your guests guess what it is when they see it on the dinner table.

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Rice & One-Pot Dishes Seafood

Caribbean Saltfish Fried Rice Recipe.

May 28, 2025December 30, 20153 Comments

I grew up in a house where food was NEVER wasted, so ‘butter’ containers (empty ice cream, butter and margarine containers mom would wash and reuse) stacked in the fridge was a norm. Usually packed with whatever leftovers there was from the night before. So finding the same in our fridge is not that surprising. This fried rice recipe is something I usually do when I want something quick, filling and delicious to eat and I have some leftover rice in the fridge.

You’ll Need…

2-3 cups cooked rice (chilled)
1 scallion
1 shallot (diced)
2 tablespoon veg oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup diced bell pepper
2 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup prepared salted fish (cod)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds)

* To learn how to prepare the salted cod (saltfish) for use, click >> Learn How To Prepare Salted Cod For Use.

Prepare your salted fish (soak, boil, drain, strip/shred..set aside). The reason you do this is to remove most of the salt it’s cured in or it would be too salty for use.

Chop and dice the shallot, scallion, cabbage, bell pepper and scotch bonnet pepper. Please wear gloves when handling scotch bonnet peppers, wash your hands immediately after with soap and water and do NOT use any of the seeds of white membrane surrounding the seeds. That’s where the ‘real’ heat is.

Make sure the rice is chilled so when the fried rice is done cooking it will have a lovely grainy texture. My rice was cooked in salted water.

Heat the veg oil in a pan and add the pieces of salted fish and cook on low heat for 3 minutes.

Then add the shallot, diced pepper, scotch bonnet and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Go in with the black pepper and five spice powder and give everything a good mix. Now add the cabbage, soy sauce and sesame oil before adding the pre-cooked (chilled) rice. Heat at medium-high. Mix well and heat though.

After 4-5 minutes the rice should be heated through.. add the chopped scallions, turn off the heat and mix well. Taste for salt. Since I cooked the rice in salt, added soy sauce and the residual salt from the salted fish, I didn’t have to add any salt to the dish… but adjust accordingly.

In under 10 minutes you’ll have a delightful dish for two, packed with amazing Caribbean flavors. If heat is not your thing you can certainly leave out the diced scotch bonnet pepper or use a more tame pepper if you wish. Yet another great way to put leftover rice to use. ENJOY!

Gluten Free Rice & One-Pot Dishes Vegetarian

Rice Cooker Jamaican Rice And Peas Recipe

May 28, 2025January 2, 201526 Comments

Most people who are new to Caribbean cuisine at one point or the other, always end up trying to make Jamaican style rice and peas (peas and rice?). Sadly if you’re not seasoned at making rice and peas, it can be a bit challenging. You always risk ending up with rice which is overcooked and soggy. With this in mind, I decided to share a fool-proof way of cooking Jamaican rice and peas, with the same flavors and texture you’d get from the conventional method of cooking this dish. However we’ll employ the use of a rice cooker!

You’ll Need…

3 cups (rice cooker sized cup) brown par-boiled rice
1 cup coconut milk
1 scallion
1 tablespoon thyme (fresh)
1 cup red beans (from a can)
1/4 habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (diced)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon allspice (pimento berries)

* water according to your rice cooker directions for cooking brown rice
* treat the one cup of red beans as rice, so adjust your water according to the rice cooker instructions

Yes, it’s always confusing to people outside the Caribbean when we say rice and ‘peas” and technically we use red beans and not peas. Wash the rice.. either you put it in a deep bowl and pour cool water over it, massage it with your hands, then pour that cloudy water out. Repeat until the water is clear. I usually just put the rice in a strainer and allow water to flow through it, while I work my fingers through it. Basically the same.. till the water runs clear.

Place the washed rice into the rice cooker, then add all the other ingredients and give it a good stir. Then top with water according to your rice cooker’s instructions and set it on cook.

Half way through the cooking process, I like giving it a stir to make sure everything is mixed well and the heavy red beans don’t sink to the bottom of the rice cooker.

Please note that we have natural sugars from the rice and coconut milk so after the rice cooker is done cooking and goes into the ‘keep warm” cycle.. you may want to turn it off. If not it can start to ‘cake’ at the bottom of the rice cooker the longer it remains on the heat setting. Give it about 10 minutes after cooking, then take a fork and gently work the rice so you get what my Jamaican friends call “shelly” rice (grainy).

Basically this is the simplest way to make perfect Jamaican rice and peas, without the stress of ending up with soggy rice. Should you encounter any problems or need clarity on anything, do use the contact link (top of page) to get hold of me. If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Note: remember when handling scotch bonnet and other hot peppers, to wear gloves and wash your hands with soap and water immediately after.

Rice & One-Pot Dishes

Quick and Easy One-Pot Mac and Cheese.

Comforting Stewed Lentils (slow cooker).

Delightful Tomato Rice.

Recipe Card

Caribbean Tomato Herb Rice

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Ingredients

Instructions

Ultimate SlowCooker (CrockPot) Curry Goat Recipe.

Quick And Simple Salmon Fried Rice.

Festive Christmas Fried Rice.

Caribbean Saltfish Fried Rice Recipe.

Rice Cooker Jamaican Rice And Peas Recipe

Recipe Card

Jamaican Rice and Peas

Description

Ingredients

Instructions

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