Barbados

           

A strange mix of christmas and caribbean music was being played by a local Barbados radio station while I prepared this dinner.   One of our rituals is to play music or a radio station from the country we are doing.  This seems to set the mood and vibe of the culture.    As our weather cools down here and we prepare for Christmas in Canada it was nice to imagine walking on a sandy Barbados beach with a nice beer in hand.

The Menu

Bajan Corn Beef Fritters

These fritters were yummy.   The goose was hesitant at first on these but in the end everyone truly loved them.   Haberno peppers, red peppers, onions, green onions and some pepper mixed together and then combined with a flour batter and fried.   Crispy with flavour.

Bajan Baked Chicken

 This was an interesting dish because its a baked chicken with a gravy made with it.  You first marinate the chicken with a a Bajan Seasoning which is a mix of herbs, onions and peppers.   This mix is then left to mature for at least a week then you may use it as a marinade.  After marinating the chicken overnight you place it on a bed of onions top with garlic, thyme, lemons, limes and then finally add chicken stock to it.   Then bake,   the theory is that you get a half baked half stewed chicken that flavours your broth.   This did work like planed and the gravy was flavourful.

Odds and Ends Jam Puff

The origins of this recipe is quite interesting.  Basically the servants would take the scraps of puff pastry from a dish and bake it with jam.   Then served with cream.   There are no rules here and odds and ends of different sizes and shapes was the norm.   I made a citrus whipped cream with chocolate and cherry jam filling.

I enjoyed cooking Barbados maybe its because I was in the I wish I was there mood.   When you cook a country sometimes you can put yourself in that countries frame of mind.   Imagining beaches or the cold of Siberia while cooking a hot stew that sticks to the ribs.   The hustle and bustle of a Turkish market to the celtic charm of Ireland.   Every country has something to offer and experiencing their traditions through food is like being there for a day without the travel costs.