DAY 14 - Food from The Land of Many Waters

Hello!

I fully intended to post last night and as luck would have it I ended up getting sick. I will spare you all the details, but suffice to say, it was not pretty!

As I promised on Monday, I wanted to tell you all about some of the goodies Mr.P brought back from Guyana. I love trying new foods and its been really great getting to sample all the different food Mr.P and his family eat. Guyana and Jamaica have a lot of similar food offerings, but the preparations differ quite a bit. So whenever Mr. P goes he brings back lots of stuff for me to sample. I love it, and not only do I get to try different things, that taste good, I find it has really brought his mom and I together. She loves to cook and loves to talk, so she is the best person to teach me all about making the foods they love, and that I have come to love. Below are some stuff from his most recent trip (click on the pics to see them bigger).

Dry Fish

Dry Shrimp

 The names say it all. A quick google search will reveal many different sites explaining how to prepare this yourself, but essentially they salt, cut and then hang the fish out in the sun for about a week until all the moister has evaporated. Once it has been dried you can just rip pieces off and eat it as is, think fish jerky, or you can soak it to remove some of the salt and to tenderize and then you can cook it. The shrimp, which I assume are laid out to dry, are also tasty on their own, or Momma P says the best way is to add them to vegetables. They add a bit of bite and saltiness. Tonight I am going to cook the dry fish and serve it with some yam, eddoes and plaintain, I will take some pictures then so you can see the cooked version.

Badam Lacha

Badam Lacha

Badam Lacha, or balam lacha as I have heard some Guyanese call it, is an Indian candy. I was under the impression from Mr.P's Mom that it was or is supposed to be made from milk, even though the recipes I have found don't call for milk. This might be why she told me that "in the old days, it used to be soo nice and milky". In any event you can find a recipe here and try and make this tasty treat for the sweet lovers in your life. (They are really pretty and delicate looking and I am going to try and find a creative way to use it...I'll post pics when I do)

Guyanese Thyme

I love thyme, I add it to just about everything I cook. It's the West Indian in me. Even more then I love regular thyme, I love Guyanese Thyme, which I understand is only found in Guyana, hence the name. It is a much more floral and pretty taste. Here is a picture that shows it fresh, and you can see that the leaves are flat as compared to regular thyme. Mr. P brought some back for me last year and I recently ran out so I was pumped to see two big gallon size ziplock bags full! I split it with Momma P. She was happy.

This is what I found in the suitcase! Thank the lord customs didn't check his case, because this might have required some explaining and perhaps a taste test :)

Salseo

 These crunchy little sticks are called Salseo (Sal-Say-O). Truthfully I am not sure if I am even spelling it correctly and I can't find an actual recipe...and since both Mr and Momma P seem to agree with any spelling version I put forth, I am sticking with Salseo.
I understand that traditionally they are made from a flour made from ground lentils, which is then seasoned to your taste, and fried.The ones in the picture are a bit spicy, but I heard you can have them garlicky as well. They are a nice crunch when you need that, and I love the flavour and spice.

Plantain Chips

Plantain Chips

 Every West Indian grows up eating plantain chips. Check any kid in the Caribbeans lunch kit and you are likely to find a pack. Like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich back in the day here.  The ones you see in the picture were fresh made, just for me, by Mr. P's peeps in Guyana. I got three gallon size ziplock bags full and as you can see I have already, all by myself :),  made a huge dent in one. It takes a seasoned eye, quick hand and lotsa hot oil to get these right. They are not all made equal. You leave them in the oil one second too long, or don't add enough salt and you've ruined the whole batch. Yes, I am an expert. I ate ridiculous amounts while pregnant with NoNo. Gonna eat some now.

   Sugarcane juice

If you have had fresh sugarcane then you know it's refreshing, and tastes good. The squeezed juice taste the same, but I feel like for me sugarcane juice is best had directly from the cane and not in big gulps. I just really miss chewing and sucking on the cane. Yeah, its not very lady like but it's so satisfying. 

All this talking about food has got me huuuunggry, so I am of to cook.

D