Time for some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!

“You know how long I ent see yuh?”

If you’re Trinidadian, you know that’s exactly how we greet someone after a long absence. 

(Don't laugh, but I actually said it out loud to my blog as I signed in! LOL!)

I admit, I haven’t been showcasing anything of late, and honestly, I was really feeling it... I have missed doing my comforting little food blog so much, and as I'm sitting here typing away it's like catching up with a buddy you haven't seen in a while and you can't wait to fill them in, hahahaa!

This morning, I plan to be in my little kitchen for a few hours well, because after singing the 'month-end-blues' yesterday and looking at my nearly empty food bins and fridge, my home-girl Hazel and I had a ball getting our stocks together as we went grocery shopping. What's also overdue is a belated birthday cake for the two other members of my family - missed celebrating Errol and Leja's birthdays because of work... *sigh* Still haven't decided what type of cake as yet, but I plan to give my Hamilton Beach stand mixer the workout of its life, cuz it will have some frosting... oh yes... there will be frosting...

But before I can do any of that later, I have to fuel up with a nice breakfast. Actually, I am feeling for one of my many versions of the classic grilled cheese sandwich.

Americans do theirs using American cheese, butter and a frying pan, but I have my own favourite.  Heading to the fridge I grabbed the cheese, whole wheat bread, mayo and tomatoes. 

Check the bacchanal that followed!

 

Okay, here are my (not so) usual suspects. My main ingredients are none other than sliced whole wheat bread, good, tangy cheddar cheese (aka "rat cheese"), some mayonnaise and a couple of sliced tomatoes.

So, first I coated a slice of bread with a little mayo. Now some people use butter, but to me the butter on the bread just tastes... like scorched butter. (I know, I have a very strange palate.) Just use a little mayo though. If you can't see the bread through it, you're putting too much on, lol!

Next step, I grabbed 'old faithful' and heat it on medium high and put my slice of bread in (mayo side down). Listened for the sizzle, then  then put in two slices of cheese. Now, you can see there's not much cheese overlapping the edges here; that's because any excess cheese would drip into the pan and make a mess. On the cheese I put a few slices of tomato, then covered it with another slice of lightly coated  bread, this time, mayo side up.

Next, I covered it for just a few seconds; I like to think that the heat makes the cheese melt better.

After a couple of minutes, I took my trusty spatula and gave it a quick, precise flip; it was the perfect colour!

Just had to go in closer! See how the cheese was beginning to melt? I just let it go for a minute more, and then removed it from the pan.

And there it is. I flipped it over on the other side, which was a bit darker, but no biggie. I easily cut him in half - always on the diagonal - and had some fun moments just watching that cheese ooze out onto the plate!

Confession time: As I was preparing the second one Errol walked in and grabbed the first! Made a couple more, though. I cut into them to see that cheese do its thing, and then... took my first bites. Deelish!

Yep! Dangerously CHEEEEEEEEEEZAAAAAAAY!

I gotta tell ya.... this sandwich totally rocks. Over the years I've tried many different combos, cheese and carrot, cheese and olives, etc, but the real important part is the cheese. Use cheese that melts really well and has a good tangy taste to it - I also like Anchor Vegetarian Cheddar. This one here is my personal favourite combination though, because I've loved eating tomatoes and cheese together since childhood! 

Sometimes for a little variety, I'd add in some dried oregano, a little chopped pepperoni and an olive or two for a pizza styled grilled cheese, but you can use your imagination and create to your heart's content. Credits go to my late 'Trinimerican" mom Frances Wilma for introducing this to me... loved it ever since! :-)

Thanks for letting me share this one, my friends, and I hope you have fun making your own grilled cheese combos! 

Take care of yourselves, and until my next post, don't forget to mind de pot!

Bargain Barbadine Punch

I woke up late – just as I had planned to – and was coaxed into alertness from a deliciously familiar smell coming from the kitchen. I couldn’t pinpoint it right away, but my top two possibilities, soursop and barbadine came to mind. 

Entering the kitchen, I was greeted with the sight of two very beautiful barbadines, bursting with sweetness. The first one had just been washed and placed on the cutting board and I couldn’t resist taking a quick photo.

It had been months I had seen one. My childhood days were bountiful days for them. I can remember the taste of barbadine ice cream all too well. The recipe is still in my head… The last time I had seen one was in Tru Valu grocery, and it was encased in cling film and Styrofoam no less, and slapped with an eighteen dollar price tag. There was no way to even coax the scent towards my nostrils to determine its ripeness either… compare that to the fragrant ones in my kitchen, procured from “de man on the main road with de truck”, at a lovely cost of ten dollars each. (Great bargain indeed!)

We had to move fast, because they would not last in the fridge as they were dangerously close to crossing over to over ripeness… with that said, the tools and other ingredients were brought out quickly, and Errol grabbed his knife and started the operation…

The barbadine was split deftly in two and the seeds were scraped out. The inner wall where the seeds were attached was also scraped off.

The flesh of the barbadine was placed in a huge bowl, after being gently scraped away from the skin.

Three tablespoons of mixed essence, a few dashes of Angostura Bitters, one and a half tins of condensed milk and 5 cups of whole milk were all poured over the fruit.

The immersion blender came out to break it all down. Normally this would go into the blender in batches and blended on 'liquefy' until nice and smooth. The immersion blender did its job well though, and I could tell already that this was going to be a pretty large amount…

Gave it a taste, but it wasn’t sweet at all, so another can of condensed milk went in, and it was blended again. 

As you can see, it was pretty thick. The only thing left to do was pour some into a glass with some ice.

Barbadine punch, with a pinch of nutmeg!

 

We got a gallon and a few cups extra from this batch. Of course, the extra cups were drunk with gusto, while the rest was decanted into a giant mug and placed in the fridge. I should note that we didn’t worry to squeeze any pulp from the seeds themselves as we had two barbadines to process; there was more than enough flavour to go around. No scene. It was good to taste barbadine again. 

Thus ends another adventure in my little kitchen. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you want the detailed recipe, email me at naiclah@gmail.com. 

Take care of yourselves, and like I always say, don't forget to mind the pot!

Pigeon Pea Soup: Just like Granny used to Make!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. Haven't written for a while, but that's only because of the job's demands. My food adventures have not stopped, however, and today's blog deals with one of those ingredients that I hadn't interacted with in years... fresh pigeon peas!

A few weeks ago, I had come home from work to a really surprising sight: Errol was on the couch shelling (opening) pigeon peas, seen here... (aren't they gorgeous?)

He told me that a woman was going around St. Clair, selling them for TT$20 for three pounds, which he couldn’t pass up. (So glad he didn’t!) It had been ‘donkey years’ since we shelled fresh pigeon peas, and from the moment I had grabbed the first pod I was catapulted back to my youth, sitting on the floor with my Granny as she sat and shelled from the handful she had placed in her skirt, and me, always imitating and trying in vain to shell and hold the plucked peas in her hand just she did. My small hands couldn’t hold as many, obviously, and I always got angry when peas kept dropping. She would say, “Halcy, mind what you doing,” and I would reply meekly with a quick “Yes Granny,” and marvel at her hands moving like a machine… reach, open, pull… reach, open, pull… when she eventually released the peas she held captive in her palm, the sound of the them hitting the bowl was like no other on earth.

That night, as I watched the antics of the guys on Big Bang Theory, I took pleasure in making my own sounds as I scattered my own into the bowl. I’m sure Granny would have been pleased, hahahaaa!

When the following Saturday came, I thought long and hard about what I was going to do with them. It eventually hit me after a long rainy morning: a classic pigeon pea soup – well, Granny’s version anyway. A quick trip to the corner shop for a couple of ‘special’ ingredients and I was ready to get started on my trip down memory lane…

I started with two cups of the shelled pigeon peas. They were washed, and placed in a pot with 4 cups of water to boil with two crushed cloves of garlic.

While that was going on, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon over a pound of fresh cubed beef – straight from the supermarket.

Now for the special ingredient; the salted beef. Got this at the Chinese supermarket just a corner away. Soaked in brine, it does assault the nostrils, but trust me when I tell you it gives a 'something special' to traditional Trini soups like this one. I used about a quarter of it (roughly a cupful). I just cut a few slices and took off the excess fat, then cut them in a rough dice. They were also washed with lemon juice and then…

They went straight into a waiting hot pan. No oil was used because the remaining fat rendered off and kept it from sticking, plus I kept them moving with my spatula and let the pieces cook for about 3 minutes or so. 

Meanwhile, the fresh beef was placed into my pressure cooker with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and browned lightly. As soon as it 'changed colour'...

In went the salted beef to join the fresh beef. Both cooked for another couple of minutes, then I added 2 cups of water to the pan and cooked them under pressure for 15 minutes. 

(Then it was time to check on the boiling pigeon peas...)

The pigeon peas were going well here. The garlic was close to disintegrating and the grains were losing their lovely colours – I always wish they didn’t disappear, hahaha!

Next, I added the softened meats and their liquid to the boiled pigeon peas and stirred them together, and sprinkled in half a packet of coconut milk powder.

As you can see, the pigeon peas are not at the ‘burst’ stage as yet, but they did soften up nicely.

Soon it was time for the other ingredients to join the party. I put in the provisions and vegetables first; I had peeled and cut up 3 sweet potatoes, 4 regular potatoes and 2 cups of pumpkin. Next I added in 2 stalks of chopped chive, 1 large stalk of local celery, 5 green and red pimento peppers and half a medium onion (only had red in the fridge), followed by a couple sprigs of some fresh parsley and a little bunch of fresh thyme, which Granny always added whole. Then I just stirred it all and let it go for 10 minutes so the provisions and veggies can cook.

After ten minutes, I checked the consistency of the provisions, which were going well, so I gave it a taste and began to season the pot. This is an earthy soup, which means the flavours are all about comfort, so nothing too crazy went in here.  A teaspoon of salt, a little shake of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and a teaspoon or two of brown sugar. Then the pot was closed again and left to thicken on medium heat for another 10 to 15 minutes.

At last, it was cooked to perfection. To thicken it some more, I took the back of my potspoon and pressed some of the softened peas against the sides of the pot, stirring gently. Tasted it again, of course... and pronounced it "well done."

(The aromas that came from this gently bubbling of pot pigeon pea soup was truly the most beautiful smell ever, I swear.)

Ta-dah! Here's the finished dish; my lovely bowl of Pigeon Pea soup.

Had to dive right in!

So there you have it, a classic pigeon pea soup that’s guaranteed to make you remember the good old days. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this one and I thanked my lucky stars that I only cooked half of the pigeon peas. I still have the remainder in the freezer, so when the vaps hits me again, I can whip it up at will. 

Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane and I look forward to sharing another food adventure with you. If you want the detailed recipe for this, I will be glad to send it to you; just email me at naiclah@gmail.com. 

 Take care of yourselves as always and don’t forget to mind the pot!