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| He's gonna get you! |
I loved being under her in the kitchen and she was nice enough to put up with me :) She sent me the recipe--her Caribbean way of putting things makes me smile--1 hand green bananas :)
I thought we only cooked with okra in the American South, I was wrong! I thought the same thing about smoked bone and pigtails and baked mac and cheese (macaroni pie), but those showed up in her kitchen too. Hmmm....as a matter of fact, her cooking style was reminiscent to my old-school way--before I started tracking sodium and calories--just with more chilies! Gotta love that West African resourcefulness!
Speaking of resourcefulness we went crab catching...at night! You shine a flashlight in the crab's face, then grab it from the back. I mostly watched...I've never seen so many crabs...and they were huge and noisy! I thought someone would lose a finger, but all went well. And fresh crab is so delicious! I had a throwback moment to the Reading Rainbow episode when Levar was in the Caribbean catching 'mountain chickens'. You know you remember that, tehehe. Fun times.
Callaloo Soup
Ingredients
1 bunch spinach or 12 young dasheen leaves
1 lb crab meat
1 hand green bananas* (about 6-8, depending on size)
12 okra
1 yam
2 onions
2 sprigs EACH of celery, parsley, chive, thyme
4- 6 seasoning peppers
3 cups coconut milk
3 cups water
Method
Crab should be cut into two-inch strips or add crab legs, whole.
Wash and chop the spinach or dasheen leaves and place them together with the chopped seasonings to boil in a pot. Cook until it is tender.
Wash and peel the provisions. Cut each green banana into (3) three pieces. Cut other provisions into similar sizes.
Remove the spinach from heat, swivel or blend the spinach mixture until it becomes a thick liquid. Stir to make sure it is well distributed.
Add the coconut milk and the water and allow it to boil then add all the provisions and the crab meat. Bring to the boil.
Partly cover the pot, lower heat and allow soup to boil slowly until provisions are cooked. Stir gently. Check taste. Remove from heat.
Serve over fungi or with avocado pears.
* Green bananas really are just green, unripened bananas. In the Caribbean, they're used in savory dishes.
Caribbean Fungi (as observed by me)
1 lb crab meat
1 hand green bananas* (about 6-8, depending on size)
12 okra
1 yam
2 onions
2 sprigs EACH of celery, parsley, chive, thyme
4- 6 seasoning peppers
3 cups coconut milk
3 cups water
Method
Crab should be cut into two-inch strips or add crab legs, whole.
Wash and chop the spinach or dasheen leaves and place them together with the chopped seasonings to boil in a pot. Cook until it is tender.
Wash and peel the provisions. Cut each green banana into (3) three pieces. Cut other provisions into similar sizes.
Remove the spinach from heat, swivel or blend the spinach mixture until it becomes a thick liquid. Stir to make sure it is well distributed.
Add the coconut milk and the water and allow it to boil then add all the provisions and the crab meat. Bring to the boil.
Partly cover the pot, lower heat and allow soup to boil slowly until provisions are cooked. Stir gently. Check taste. Remove from heat.
Serve over fungi or with avocado pears.
* Green bananas really are just green, unripened bananas. In the Caribbean, they're used in savory dishes.
Caribbean Fungi (as observed by me)
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
salt
pepper
Method
Place cornmeal in a medium saucepan. Gradually add water, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in butter, salt, and pepper; cook an additional 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Serve under Callaloo Soup.
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