Dominican Republic Supper Club 2013

Fancy Eating In The Dominican Republic This Saturday?!

St Lucia Supper Club April 2013

Thank you to all of our lovely guests who came to our St Lucia supper club evening last night.

We had a great selection of St Lucian dishes with a Monica twist!

St Lucian food is very light with subtle flavours and they use a variety of fresh herbs in their dishes.

Have a look at the menu from last night…

Appetizer

Plantain Crisps with Sweet Tamarind Sauce & Complimentary Homemade Sorrel Punch (virgin)

Starter

Green Fig (green banana) & Salt Fish Salad

or

Green Fig (green banana) & Red Pepper Salad (v)

Main

Baked Chicken with Mango Souscaille (citrus salad) & Herb Rice

or

Red Bean Stew with Dumplings (v)

sides

Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

Dessert

Grilled Pineapple with Homemade Butter Scotch Ice Cream

Have a look at the photos from the event!

NEXT DATE: Dominican Republic – Saturday 18th May 2013 – Only 10 Tickets left!

Menu

Dominican Republic – Saturday 18th May 2013 – 7.30pm-11pm - Tasty dishes from the Spanish speaking island

Appetizer

Tostones (Plantain Crisps) with Pineapple & Mint Sauce & Complimentary Homemade Ginger Beer (virgin)

Starter

Kipes (Bulgur wheat stuffed with ground Beef) & leafy Salad

or

Kipes (Bulgur wheat stuffed with Mushrooms) & leafy Salad(v)

Main

Pollo Guisado (Stewed Chicken) & Arroz Blanco (White Rice)

or

Eggplant & Cheese Bake (v)

sides

Mangu (mashed plantain) & Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

Dessert

Baked Mango & Guava Cheesecake

or

Tropical Fruit Salad

Drinks

Still Water, Coffee or Tea, Bring Your Own Alcohol

Click here to book

 

Tan Rosie Cuban Kitchen Supper Club March 2013

We got off to a cracking start yesterday with our first supper club event of 2013 – Cuban Kitchen!

A big thank you to all of our guest who braved the snow and ice to make it to our living room.

Our guests where treated to a variety of Cuban inspired dishes created by Monica from Tan Rosie. Take a look at the menu and photos below.

Appetizer

Plantain Crisps with Mango Mojo Sauce

Starter

Friturer de Cangrejo (Crab Fritters) & Spiced Lime Sauce with Leafy Salad

Spiced Corn Fritters & Spiced Lime Sauce with Leafy Salad (v)

Main

Puerco Asado (Roast Pork Loin) with Arroz Blanco (White Rice)

or

Spiced Black Bean Casserole with Arroz Blanca (White Rice) (v)

sides

Papaya & Mango Salsa, Steamed Seasonal Vegetables

Dessert

Platano y Ron Cake (Banana & Rum Cake) with cream

Tropical Fruit Salad

Drinks

Still Water, Coffee or Tea, Bring Your Own Alcohol

Next Date: St Lucia, April 2013. Click here for more info and to book

Grenada Food Report: Part III

Welcome to the 3rd and final part of our Grenada food report 2013. In this report we’ll be looking at various fruit and vegetables we found growing around the island and from local shops.

I must say, Grenada is lush with fruit and veg. Everywhere we went we saw fruit trees galore. It was peas season at the time of our visit (dry season).

See if you recognise any of these fruits and veggies..

Bananas

We came across so many different varieties of bananas and plantains on the island and some I’ve only heard about and never seen until then. My favourite is the red/purple variety which is called Lakatan, this variety has to be cooked before being eaten. We’ve put together a gallery of the different types that we found on the island.

Some names of the varieties of bananas we came across: Lakatan, Secret Fig, Rock Fig, Red John, White John, Green Fig, Bluggoe, Green Banana and Plantain (there are so many more!)

Green Fig

Bluggoe

Bluggoe

Green Fig

Lakatan

Lakatan

Breadfruit

We spotted so many Breadfruit trees all over the island. Breadfruit Oildown is Grenada’s national dish and now you know why, they are everywhere!

Breadfruit

Breadfruit

Breadfruit

Breadfruit

Breadfruit

Damsel – Fruit also called amongst other names Trinidad raspberry

Five Fingers – fruit

 

Calabash Tree – we use the Calabash as bowls. Cut in half scoop out pulp inside and leave to dry to create a very eco-friendly bowl!

Sirris – not sure if I’ve spelt this correctly or not. But a very tasty fruit similar to cherries

Cocoa – We found these all over the island. Apparently they are really easy to grow. Once opened the seeds and pulp taste sweet and slightly citrus.

 

Coconuts - Such a common sight across many Caribbean islands. We ate and drank the juice of many coconuts during our stay in Grenada.

Cray Fish Sugar Cane – It’s called crayfish, as the colour resembles the colour of crayfish (simple really!) We spotted this variety at the Westerhall Rum Distillery.

Dasheen – this dasheen was growing wild. You can eat the leaves (also known as Callaloo) and the root vegetable once it’s been harvested.

Dried Coconuts – We found these drying at a relatives house. Once coconuts are dried you can extract the oil from them.

Ginger – Now this is how ginger should be! The ginger we tasted in Caribbean is usually more fiery than varieties found in the UK. You really can taste the heat in them!

Mangoes – such a common sight in Grenada and there are so many different varieties too.

Date Palm – so beautiful in colour and flavour.

Okra – these okra were freshly picked as I took this photo. I have never seen okra looking so fresh and appetizing.

Golden Apple – These were found near to where we were staying in Grenada. They have a sweet and slightly citrus flavour – delicious.Coconut pulp – after drinking the coconut water I had it chopped open soI could eat the coconut jelly inside. What a treat!

Grapefruit – we saw lots of grapefruits on the island and again, there are many names and different varieties available.

Sapodilla – fruit

Scotch Bonnet Pepper – locally known as Seasoning Pepper in Grenada

Shado Beni – this is not that common in Grenada it’s grown a lot in Trinidad & Tobago. It’s great for seasoning food or as a sauce.

Sorrel – this is available in red and white and can be used to make drinks or jams.

Soursop – this is one of my favourite fruit. We made fresh soursop juice from this piece, superb!

Sugar Cane – sugar cane is apparently extremely easy to grow. This variety pictured is the seed (see the eye). Just chop them off and put them in the soil and they’ll grow!

Tania – tasty root vegetable used in soups, stews etc

Tumeric – this is readily available across Grenada and we use it in our Garlic & Pepper Sauce

Almonds – these trees are very common

Tamarind – very popular tree found allover. These pictured are very young. We use them in our Sweet Tamarind Sauce

Grenada – The Spice Isle

We’ve put together a selection of sights and interesting images from our trips to the spice isle of Grenada. It’s a must for any Caribbean holiday, lot’s to see, do and eat on the Island.

Grenada is the largest of the 3 islands that encompass Grenada including Carriacou & Petit Martinique.

Enjoy our tour!

Grenada Food Report – Part II

Welcome to Part 2 of our food report from Grenada.

We a variety of factories, markets and shops on the island including: Westerhall Rum Distilleries, Grenville Nutmeg Processing Plant and St Georges fish market.

We sampled a variety of different rums at the Westerhall distilleries in Westerhall. The notorious Jack Iron rum is pictured (not to be messed about with!).

Take a look at what we found..

Westerhall Distilleries – Westerhall

Have a look at Westerhall’s grounds  below..

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Westerhall factory grounds

Grenville Nutmeg Processing Plant – Grenville.

Mace

Mace

Mace

Mace

Food & Drink We Made.

Buying Fish from the market in St Georges

Buying Fish from the market in St Georges

Seasoned Jacks (flour, salt, black pepper)

Buying Fish from the market in St Georges

Frying the jacks

Buying Fish from the market in St Georges

Cooked Jacks. Yum!

Soursop, Grapefruit and oranges

Freshly squeezed/juiced soursop juice

Freshly squeezed/juiced soursop juice

Freshly squeezed soursop juice

Freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

The Belmont Cocoa Estate – The Tree-To-Bar Co-Operative – The Grenada Chocolate Company

Cocoa Beans

Cocoa Beans

Cocoa Beans stored and fermenting

Turning the fermenting cocoa beans. They smell like vinegar at this stage – then covered with banana leaves.

Cocoa Beans drying on tray in the hot Caribbean sun

Cocoa Beans drying on tray in the hot Caribbean sun

The Grenada Chocolate Company shop

The Grenada Chocolate Company – I finished the chocolate before I could photograph it!