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gluten free

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Desserts Gluten Free

How To Make Coconut Sugar Cake.

50 Comments on How To Make Coconut Sugar Cake.

I’ve been told that I don’t do enough dessert recipes, so with some time on my hands I decided to raid the cupboards and come up with a dessert recipe to share with you all. This recipe is somewhat refined from the one my dad would do, but it’s just as delicious and if I may be bold enough.. better that his! He’s old school when it comes to making sugar cake, as he prefers to get fresh dry coconut and do his thing with the grater. Besides not liking to grate coconut like a mad-man (my fingers still show battle scars from the last time I grated coconut), I noticed that I had some per-packaged shredded coconut so it was going to be a recipe for sugar cake I’d be sharing.

 

You’ll Need…

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
2 bay leaves
thick slice of fresh ginger
4-6 drops red food coloring (optional)

Important: If doing this dessert according to a gluten free diet, do go through the ingredients mentioned above to make sure they meet with you specific gluten free dietary needs.

 

The first thing we need to do is start the syrup we’ll need as the base for this. In a deep saucepan heat the sugar, water, bay leaves and  a thick slice of ginger. Bring up to a rolling boil and allow to cook until it reduces and gets thick. (about 5-7 mins). You’ll have to constantly stir with a spoon or a whisk as I did.

Now it’s time to remove the bay leaves and ginger from the pot and discard (if you like the strong aroma and taste of ginger and bay leaves.. you can always grate the ginger into the syrup and crush the bay leaves). Add the essence and stir in the desiccated coconut (shredded or flaked coconut).. now add the drops of coloring and stir constantly. It will require about 5-7 minutes (on medium heat) to get to the consistency we’re looking for.(you can always follow along with the video below)

The idea is to burn off as much liquid as you can from the pan, so you have a thick and sticky consistency. A good sign that you’re close to where you want it to be, is when the coconut mixture starts coming away from the sides of the pan and somewhat clump.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet I then took spoon full amounts and made small heaps to form little sugar cakes. This will need to set (cool and take shape) before you can fully enjoy them. Remember we just made a syrup with the sugar so this will be extremely hot… do have some patience. Your kitchen will have the lovely aroma and coconut, essence,ginger and bay leaf… and I’m sure you’ll and your kids will love this tasty treat.

* If you have a 1 inch deep pan you can pour the cooked mixture into it and allow to cool, then cut into even squares. You can also be creative and do different colors and stack them to form a rainbow effect if you wish.

Store in an airtight container for maximum freshness and do refrigerate if you plan on keeping them more than a few days.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

Scrumptious Vegetable Fried Rice.

34 Comments on Scrumptious Vegetable Fried Rice.

how to make veg fried rice

Vegetable fried rice is one of those dishes that’s very simple to make and can be personalized in so many ways. But there are some dishes you simply can’t recreate (as you remember from your childhood) and to be quite honest I don’t even try, so in this recipe I’ll show you ‘my’ take on a wonderful rice dish. Growing up one of my favorite places to buy ‘chinee’ food was a spot on Mucarapo Street just past the old “Strand” cinema on the right side or the truck which sold food on the Promenade San Fernando (by the train engine). It still amazes me how the Chinese food in Trinidad and Tobago is so unique with it’s Caribbean taste and flavors. I’m still to come up with a recipe for the fried chicken you’d normally get with a combo, but rest assured I’m busy at work on it.

Our mom makes a deadly chicken and/or shrimp fried rice, but my sister is still the best when it comes to a tasty shrimp fried rice… something we look forward to when there’s a family gathering. In this recipe we’ll avoid meats in general, but with the layers of flavor we’ll build.. you’ll be amazed at how scrumptious this will be.

 

You’ll Need…

4 cups cooked rice (see note below)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced carrot
2 scallions
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves of garlic crushed
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large onion diced
3/4 teaspoon salt (see note below)
1/2 cup diced celery

Note: I used long grain brown rice as I much prefer this rice and it’s supposed to be a healthy rice to consume. I cooked it without salt and took it off the stove about 5 minutes before it was fully cooked. Additionally I allowed it to cool overnight in the fridge. These two things are the tricks to having a grainy fried rice, which will not clump or go soggy when you put the recipe together. You’ll notice that I used 3/4 teaspoon salt in the rice… since your tolerance for salt will be different than mine, do taste near the end of cooking and adjust accordingly.

Important: If you’re making this fried rice gluten free, do read the labels of the soy sauce and sesame oil to ensure they meet your dietary needs.

The first thing we need to do  is to chop and cube all the vegetables we’ll be using in the vegetable fried rice. Try to keep the pieces uniform in size to allow for even cooking and try not to be too big as we need everything to cook fast.

 

Heat the vegetable oil on a med/high heat is a wide pan (I used my wok) then add the crushed garlic and ginger and give it a good stir. We’re trying to release all those wonderful flavors to use as  abase for this vegetarian fried rice. That should cook for a minute or two, then add the diced carrots as this would be the one vegetable which will take long to cook. Give it  a good stir and cook for a couple minutes.

Now add the diced onion, green pepper and celery. Allow that to cook for a couple minutes, then add the black pepper, soy sauce, salt and sesame oil. Everything will go dark, but have no fear.. once we add the cooked rice it will balance off.

It’s time to quickly add the frozen peas, give it a stir and start adding the rice. Remember to have chilled your rice in the fridge to achieve a grainy consistency when it’s all done. I absolutely hate fried rice which clumps together.

Keep stirring to make sure all the rice grains get coated evenly with the dark base we made. If you find that the colour is not dark enough for you, you can always add some more soy sauce at this point. I say at this point as we’ve not added the salt yet. Remember that the soy sauce is salty so if you add more.. adjust the amount of salt you add. Now is the time to add the salt, taste and adjust accordingly. All you’re doing here is basically heating through the rice, so within 4-5 minutes it should be done.

Turn off the stove, add the chopped scallions and give it a good final stir. Below you’ll find a video I did to use as an additional guide in making this vegetable fried rice.

There’s enough vegetable fried rice here for about 6-8 people and it goes well with the Shrimp Stir Fry recipe I put together a while back or just as good on it’s own.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Gluten Free Vegetarian

A Classic Vegetarian Curry Cabbage Recipe.

100 Comments on A Classic Vegetarian Curry Cabbage Recipe.

pg 99 curry cabbage (Copy)

Yet again, this is one of those dishes that our mom couldn’t even beg us to eat as kids. There were two ways we would ever be convinced to eat cabbage (except for in chow mein) and they both included adding meat of some sort. First there’s the corned beef with cabbage and left over stew pork with cabbage. Our dad tried in vain to convince us to eat cabbage when my mom would add bits of salted cod fish to it -nah! However, this curry cabbage dish I’m about to share is superb when you add the same salted cod bits my dad would salivate over.

You’ll Need…

1/4 large cabbage (about 4 cups when shredded)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable)
1 medium onion sliced (divided)
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1 teaspoon curry powder (your fav)
1/4 hot pepper ( I used habanero)
4 tablespoon water
* 1 tomato sliced to add some color/contrast – optional

 

Note: be mindful that some curry powders use flour as a filler, so keep that in mind when doing this recipe according to a gluten free diet.

Start by shredding the cabbage as you would for coleslaw, but a little thicker. Give it a quick rinse under cool water and shake off as much of the water as you can. Now heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then add half of the sliced onion and the hot pepper. Allow that to cook for a couple minutes, then add the curry powder and stir around. This should cook for another 2-3 minutes before you add the 4 tablespoons of water. The idea is to cook the curry powder to release it’s aroma, then make a quick paste. I’ve seen my mom add the water to the curry powder in a bowl first to make a thick paste before adding to the heated oil… but I much prefer my method (don’t tell her). BTW, I used a curry power blend from Trinidad and Tobago, as I much prefer the Caribbean style blends.

trinidad curry cabbage recipe

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (2)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (3)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (4)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (5)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (6)

Cook off all the water we added to make the curry paste, until you start seeing  that it’s dark and grainy. This is when you add the shredded cabbage, the sliced garlic, the other half of the onion and salt. Give it a good stir and turn the heat down to low. Cook with the pot uncovered or risk having the cabbage spring a lot of liquid and get soupy.

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (7)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (8)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (9)

I usually cook this for about 20-25 minutes as I like the cabbage to have a slight crunch to it, however you can cook it a little longer if you wish. The last 5 minutes is when you would add the slices of tomato if you’d like to give it a bit of contrast. Remember to taste for salt as we well know that everyone salt preference is different. Enjoy!

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (12)

trinidad curry cabbage recipe (11)

This curry cabbage goes well with both rice and/or roti (buss up shut, Sada roti, fry bake) and should be enough for at least four people. Before you go I’d love for you to leave me a comment below (even if it’s just to say hello – it’s appreciated) and don’t forget to join our chat on Facebook and tune into the cooking videos. Check on the upper right side of this page to access those areas I mentioned.

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Curry Beef or Beef Curry?

48 Comments on Curry Beef or Beef Curry?

curry beef
I do apologize for being an absent chef the past couple weeks. As mentioned in my last post we were off to Trinidad and Tobago for my sister’s wedding and for a short vacation. And though I had all intention to cook and blog while we were there, there was so much to see and do that I got side tracked. Plus, the MAC computer I had access to, didn’t allow for me to upload my pics via a card reader and I totally forgot to pack my firewire to connect the camera directly.

Curry beef is not something we grew up on, actually the first time I ever tasted curry beef was when I lived with my aunt after first moving to Canada. To date I can probably count the number of times I’ve had curry beef. Not as if I don’t like it, it’s just that I grew up with a taste for stew beef. Looks like I may have to cook this more often as both Indy and Tehya both enjoyed dinner tonight.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 lbs cubed beef
3/4 teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon roasted Geera (powder)
2 table spoon curry powder (madras)
1 onion separated (1/2s) – diced
2-3 cloves of garlic – crushed/chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
2 cups water
1 tomato diced
1 tablespoon green seasoning
2 leaves of shado beni (shandon beni)
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/4 hot pepper (I use habanero) Don’t include seeds if you’re afraid of some heat.
1 lime or lemon (juice) to wash the cubed beef before seasoning

Tip: If you don’t have the green seasoning, simply use 1 scallion chopped, a pimento pepper if you have access to one, 1 table spoon thyme, 1 table spoon celery chopped fine, 2 tablespoons cilantro. NOTE: If doing this recipe gluten free, be sure to read the label of the curry powder you plan on using to ensure it meets with your specific gluten free diet. Some curry powder contains flour as a filler.

Start by cutting the beef into 1 inch cubes and then pour the lime or lemon juice over it and rinse with running water. Squeeze off all excess water then season with the… tomato, salt, black pepper, green seasoning, 1/2 of the onion, ketchup, shando beni and roasted geera. Stir well and allow to marinate for about 1 hour.

cubed beef for curry

trini beef curry

curry beef

In a heavy pot, heat the oil on medium to high heat (in the pic I’m using the new iron pot I purchased on my trip.. notice how shiny it is?), then add the remaining onion, garlic and pieces of hot pepper. Allow this to cook for a couple minutes. In the meantime, in a small bowl put the curry powder and add 2 table spoons of  water. Stir to form a paste. Then add this paste to the semi cooked onion / garlic and allow this to cook for a few minutes.

guyana beef curry

how to curry beef

caribbean curry recipe

trini curry beef

Now that the curry is cooked a bit, start adding the seasoned pieces of beef and give it a good stir. Bring it to a boil, then cover and turn down the heat to low. You will notice that a lot of natural liquid will form. That’s ok, we’ll use those wonderful juices in the first step of cooking. After you’ve emptied the bowl with the seasoned beef, pour in the 2 cups of water into it and try to pick up all the remaining bits of seasoning… we’ll use this later on.

spicy curry beef recipe

beef curry

Allow this to cook for about 25 minutes covered, then remove the cover and turn the heat back up to high. we want to burn off all the liquid that was released. Stir so it doesn’t burn and when you can see the pot’s bottom dry, add the 2 cups of water we prepared earlier in the bowl that had the seasoned beef. Stir, bring to a boil and reduce the heat back to low. I like my curry beef very tender, so I usually allow it to cook for about another 40 minutes or so.

trinidad curry beef

beef curry sauce

After the 40 minutes or so feel free to check for salt (you may need to add more if you like a lot of salt) and bring the gravy to a thickness you like. if you find that it’s still a bit runny, turn up the heat to allow it to thicken. TIP. If you’d like you can add a couple cubed potatoes the final 25 minutes, but you may need to add a little more salt. Makes for a great curry potato and beef, the kind you’d find when you purchase a beef roti.

caribbean curry beef recipe

curry beef with rice

There you go, a simple and tasty curry beef that’s great on rice or as a side for roti… or to enjoyed as you please. Remember to leave me your comments below.