Trinidad Dhal

Ingredients (dhall):
1 3/4 cups dhal
1 tbsp Turmeric
1/2 garlic bulb (crushed)
1 small onion (chopped)
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper

salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Guidelines:

In a large pot, fill half with water and let it boil
Add the dahl to the boiling water
Then add in the onion and garlic, pepper and salt
Add the turmeric and oil and let it boil on medium-high heat

The dhal will melt somewhat as the mixture reduces, just let it cook for about 1 1/2 hours, mixing well (so it does not stick), and adding water if necessary
When the mixture has the consistency of soup (very much like split pea soup), heat a small about of oil and garlic in a deep spoon and carefully pour into the dhal
The pepper will remain in the cooked dhal and you may at that point burst it into the dhal, keep it to eat with the food, or discard… just be careful with it!

Sorry if it seems a bit complicated… I didn’t actually cook this, and was given the instructions by my sister, as she did it… Good Luck!

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Fish & sweet chips

Day 3, Week 2

In honor of my sister’s visit, I made her prepare some fish and chips for us!

Just FYI, I do not enjoy frying foods, and I don’t really eat fried food too often so it’s not a big deal, but if my sister is here, I will surely take that as an opportunity for her to make something yummy for us!

So, she made us sweet potato fries and breaded fish, and I made the salad.

Ingredients:
6 fish fillets (we used haddock)
15 crackers
herbs

seasonings (your choice)
1 egg

Guidelines:

Crush the crackers until a dust-like consistency, and then add the herbs and seasonings
Add salt and pepper to the washed fish
Then individually coat the fish fillets in the egg (mixed up in a bowl), dip them into the cracker mixture, ensuring they are completely covered
Fry each fillet individually

For the sweet potato fries, cut the sweet potato into narrow strips, and deep fry until cooked. (You know… just like regular potato fries, except these are harder to cut, but taste yummy-er!)

For the dip, mix 2 parts mayo to 1 part ketchup, a touch of mustard, and chili flakes (to taste).

For salad, dice cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet onions, add corn and mix well in a bowl.

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

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Snowy Shrimp

Day 6, Week 2

Because it’s finally snowing in Toronto, I thought I would make spicy shrimp with snow peas!

Usually I make shrimp with bowtie pasta, but since I got this 5lb bag of Fusilli from Costco, I felt compelled to use it…

Ingredients:
Fusilli or Bowtie pasta
shrimp
snow peas
green onions
Portobello mushrooms
curry powder
garlic plus

paprika
crushed red chillies

Guidelines:

First, marinate the shrimp… I use about 30 medium sized shrimp, with 1 tbsp of curry powder, a generous sprinkling of paprika, salt and pepper (crushed red chillies) to taste, garlic plus, and olive oil, mix well and leave in the fridge just until we need it later on

Cook the pasta until it is al dente
In a saucepan, saut� the mushrooms until they are cooked

Add in the chopped green onions and snow peas
Then add in the shrimp and mix well, you may need some extra salt or garlic plus
Add in the pasta and mix everything well

I served with fresh baby spinach and avocado slices.

Kiddy Version

For the kiddy version, I cut up the shrimp into kid-bite-size pieces, added canned corn, spinach and cheese. Kids LOVED it!

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Salmon in Mayo

Day 4, Week 1

This scoobalicious idea was sent in by Sherry

Ingredients:
Salmon fillets
mayo
garlic
paprika
lemon
thyme

Guidelines:

Place washed Salmon fillets into baking dish, and rub with the lemon juice
Evenly distribute the garlic, paprika, thyme on the fillets
Add salt and pepper to taste
Use about 1tbsp of mayo per fillet and paste on the fish until it is completely covered
Drizzle a little olive oil on the top, and broil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 mins
Then flip the fillets and again broil for about 15 mins, or until fish is cooked

We served this with saut�d veggies and roasted potatoes.
The kids love fish, but are not big fans of potatoes, so I served it to them with some steamed veggies and bread.

I LOVED this fish!

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Fake Indian Curry Beef

Day 3, Week 1

You know that I am a fake Indian and as such I make fake Indian food!

Actually, I thought this was goat (we got it for Eid-ul-adha ), but by the time I was ready to cook it, I realized it was beef, and although I had never cooked beef in this particular way, or have not even eaten beef like this before either, I thought… nothing’s gonna stop me now!

Ingredients:
Beef
Patak’s Madras Curry

green onions
garlic
tomatoes
zucchini
onions

Guidelines:

Pre-heat a small amount of oil on medium-high heat, in a saucepan, then add chopped green onions, onions and garlic, let it cook for about 1 min
Add in the curry paste (follow the directions on the bottle for the amount of curry needed), cook for about 2 mins more

Add in the chopped tomatoes and zucchini, and mix well, let that cook for about 5 mins
Add in the beef, mix well, turn down the heat to medium
The beef should cook in about 1.5 to 2 hours, add water as needed for the beef to cook

The kids were not too fond of it, so for them, I added corn and butter to the rice, and served with carrots… still healthy!

Served with rice and your favourite salad.

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