Chef in my own mind

Jounen Kwéyòl and memories of St. Lucia

The times we travel are special times where we gather memories that fill lifetimes...

 

My sister Terri & I visited St. Lucia back in October of 2007.  She treated me to the trip as celebration of my 50th year.  We took a full flight down to the island while she, a pilot say on the jump seat in her uniform.  I share this story now as I pack for my next trip to the Caribbean on Christmas morning which is tomorrow.    Being a keen lover of adventure, travel, flora, fauna, and food, this was the perfect gift for a person like me.  

Now many years ago when I used to fly for Pan Am, a wise colleague of mine said you have to keep a journal of your travels..just like Haliburton did when he travelled all the continents.  There were trips and places where I wish I had kept every detail in a journal so I could recount the memory as I am here.  My middle aged mind will have to suffice for now.  We picked up our bags at the airport and walked through customs.  I can't remember now if we had pre-arranged a ride but there was a wonderful chauffeur whose name and card I will one day find who packed us up in his car and headed for Souffriere, about 40 minutes away.  Terri, if you remember his name I will put it here in this post...

Our small boutique hotel was called Mago Hotel.  It lies up on a steep hill just above Souffriere.   It is at the opposite end of the island from Castries, the island capital where all the cruise ships come in so did not get a lot of foreigners at this end.    Souffriere is nearest to the island's most photographed peaks, the Pitons. These are the two perfect peaks that plunge down into the water.  We had this view from our open air room that only had 3 walls!  

Our room was the Julius Cesar room which apparently was the master bedroom on the original estate.  You must be in good shape to walk to and from town as it is located on the steep side of a hill.  I was not in shape but sure got in some good exercise during my 4 day visit!  We were there during rainy season so had some daily rainstorms as well as at night.  You can hear tree frogs all night long which are charming.  If you need silence when you sleep, this might not be for you.  When you are in an exotic place, you drink in every experience 24/7  and go with the flow.  There is nothing like sleeping to the sounds of falling rain..

We happened to hit our visit when the farmer's market was set up.  I walked down from the hotel to this open air market in hopes of finding some neat offerings and maybe striking up a chat with some of the locals.  They are very shy of tourists and do not like to have their pictures taken for fear they will end up on post cards, so if you take pictures of folks in the islands, be courteous and ask permission.  

The market had everything from local fruits and vegetables, breadfruit, oranges, lemons, and coconuts, to many spice vendors who sold cocoa, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and more.  We stopped at a truck full of coconuts and bought a bottle of coconut water.  Now here in the states, coconut water is quite the rage and it is healthy and full of more potassium than 6 bananas!  They say it is great to drink for hangovers too...

I wanted to try some of the special restaurants during our short stay here so we booked an evening at Dasheen over near the Pitons.  We were given a seat right at the end of the balcony with a spectacular view of the Pitons...they were nearly in our plates!  A thunderstorm was brewing so we had moved in a table so as not to catch the rain.  It was heavenly sitting in the open air, sipping on our drinks listening to the rain and watching the spectacular lightening show which highlighted the mountains with every lightening strike!  Now that's culinary adventure with pizazz... 

The Diamond Botanical Gardens, Nature Trail and hot springs are worth the visit when you are here.  Our driver from the airport the first day ended up being our chauffeur on call for our entire 4 days.  He was great in that he gave us a bit of personal history of the island as well as his experience as a local resident.   I love learning about herbs and spices...there were wonderful interpretive displays throughout the botanical trails that showed and described various spices & plants that grow on the island such as cocao, nutmeg, coconut, banana and the coveted bois bande.  

I just love birding wherever I go and always pack my binoculars (now I need to pack them for my trip...).  Banaquits were everywhere and we actually saw some magnificent frigate birds flying high over the bay.  

 Terri & I had befriended the hotel manager who seemed to know everyone around the island.  She took us to a Jounen Kweyol festival in a nearby village one afternoon which was a real treat!  To interact with local residents is a place where tourists do not often go unless they go out of their comfort zone for a bit.  We rode a local bus way up into the interior of the island since there would be no room for cars.  There were musicians and stalls set up with all kinds of local cuisine and beverages.  We sampled several items during our stay and felt welcome.  We even recognized a few folks that worked at the hotel also.  

This is the view up to our room from the open air lobby below.  You can see the ceiling of our room up there...

On our last day we luxuriated with a relaxing aromatherapy massage at the hotel.  The boutique and spa is located behind these beautifully painted walls you see here.  I marvel in the artistry of collage paintings.  I wish my house were painted like this..

So memories are meant to be shared and revisited.  I hope you have enjoyed this reminisce of travel to the islands.  Now I am ready for a new experience to St Kitts and Nevis over the next couple of days.  Who knows what lies around the corner...islands here we come!  If you enjoyed this post share your comments about any caribbean memories you have.  Bon voyage and Happy Holidays to all! Bonnie  

Stollen moments

(photo courtesy of Rene S at flickr)

Sometimes 25 years must pass, memories allowed to mature before bringing them back...

I spent many Decembers flying to Germany weekly with Pan Am as a flight attendant.  Being junior in seniority for 13 years I always flew over the holidays.  So to make the best of it I chose trips to be in places I wanted to be over a holiday.   For those who do not know Pan Am,  this international airline flew to all continents for many years.  They paved the way starting in 1927 for all other airlines to travel to exotic ports of call.   I am proud to have been a part of the last years of this great airline and so share this tiny reminisce to all who may read.  These travel years have shaped what I do to this day.

My fondest memories  of layovers were spent  in Germany during December.   Munich (München)  had the best of December layovers with light snow on the ground, comfy beds with down comforters at the Sheraton and brisk walks around the Christkindlmarkt.  These markets are a tradition all over the northern European countries, but particularly in Germany.   Beautiful stalls house vendors who work days and nights to create a festive atmosphere in town centers across the country.  They sell decorations for holidays, gifts, baked goods, market food to enjoy while you peruse the stalls.  My favorite was the glühwein, a mulled red wine that warms you right up.  This warm tasty beverage keep the night air at bay.  The smells from the market are of spices, sugared almonds, lebkuchen, cinnamon abound as you stroll from stall to stall.  Wood carvers sell most intricately carved ornaments, nativity scenes and windmills as well as lederhosen and folk costumes and clothing.  Aaaah the memories..our strolls through the market usually ended up at one of the many bierhauses like the infamous Hofbrauhaus where we dined on bratwurst, sauerkraut and red cabbage, washed down with copius steins of German beer. Prost!  

Weekends in December are spent playing in the kitchen.  I spent this past week frequenting grocery stores gathering ingredients for my weekend baking forays.  We plan on going to a party later today so I decided to make some homemade stollen to bring along.

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day has a wonderful sounding recipe that we will be tasting later at the party.    Reading cookbooks from cover to cover is my routine, but now that I have come of age (you know, 50 something) I not only read them, but also cook my way through them!  

Today's assemblage of fruits included golden raisins, wild dried blueberries, dried cherries, and candied orange peel to make up the 12 ounces of dried fruit called for in the recipe.  This version uses a type of flour called white whole wheat flour.  While it looks like a white flour, it is considered a whole wheat flour.  The almond paste was the most difficult to find and it may be this time of year but I finally found it on the international aisle at Wegmans.  The white whole wheat flour recipes usually use vital wheat gluten added to lighten the bread and assist with the rise from the yeast.  

The stollen was easy to make and the taste is moist and light compared to the store bought versions.

My love of German recipes and traditions goes back to my maternal family whose roots go back to Germany.  I remember the pfeffernusse and lebkuchen and especially springerle cookies the most.  I do not think I remember having Stollen as a young girl.  My great grandmother made a beautiful fruit and nut cookie that is one of my all time favorites with a long ingredient list of spices and dried and candied fruits.  I have adapted it by making it more like a biscotti cookie that has stained glass windows.  

Tomorrow is springerle day...now where's that glühwein?!!

 

 

 

Holiday baking traditions: Tourtière | King Arthur Flour - King Arthur Flour – Baking Banter

Réveillon!

via www.kingarthurflour.com

Wow, I was just looking for a good tourtiere recipe! This one looks nice..

Homemade Edible Gift: Chai Tea Mix | 52 Kitchen Adventures

Homemade Edible Gift: Chai Tea Mix

via www.52kitchenadventures.com

It is cold outside with snow on the ground. I think I am making this recipe over the weekend....nice to warm you right up.

Farmers markets are all about the people...

“Follow the sunflowers!   That’s where we’ll be.   Just look for the howitzer across the street that pointing right at us!,” says Juanita Tool,  market manager of the Purcellville Community Market.

via suvirsaran.typepad.com

Winter Community Supported Agriculture

Moutoux Orchard's 2010-2011 Winter CSA Program

via www.moutouxorchard.com

Here is the CSA offered at Moutoux Orchard in Purcellville, VA

First CSA of the winter

December 11, 2010

We drove out to Moutoux Orchards this past week to pick up our first CSA!  I had never signed up for a CSA before and had learned about them earlier this year.  My mom participated in a food coop for a while when we lived in Texas and I remember going with her to do the pick up, dividing our shares and distributing to other families.  

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.   You pay a subscription fee that covers several months.  This entitles you to a share of the produce and meat from the farm each month. The farms benefit by having some cash flow during winter months while they plan their next season.  Consumers benefit by getting to know first hand where their food comes from and how it is raised or grown.  It brings people together.   

Do you know where your food comes from?  Is it the grocery store or somewhere else?  Besides supporting local farms and markets where they sell, our society is learning more about connecting to these original sources.  The value of this process far outweighs the higher costs since you are connecting with people and their wares and not a third party.  Today's culture has gotten away from human connection maybe from technology, commuting and other pressures of American living.  Could American food culture being coming of age?

I felt like a kid in a candy shop in that cold red barn out in the country.  My husband Peter and I drove out together after our work day armed with our recyclable shopping bags, gloves and warm hats.  We were given a heads up by Rob Moutoux, who runs the farm that we could come out for our first pick up on either of 2 days.  There was a chalkboard listing all of the food items available and how to assemble our orders.  There were several scales next to the vegetable bins filled with red and white potatoes, red cabbage, beets, winter squashes, and red onions.  We told Rob what meats we wanted also.  He went to the walk in freezer and brought us a whole chicken, some ground lamb, Italian sweet sausage and lamb sausage.  Also included were 2 dozen organic eggs and a peck of apples.  

A special treat were the stoneground organic flours, wheat berries & oat groats available.  Rob had whole wheat, rye, and also spelt flours that could be bagged...how ever much you could use in a month.  I was especially thrilled since I had just begun baking my own bread earlier this year. Moutoux Orchards is the only farm in Loudoun County to offer stone ground organic whole grain flours!

I was hot on the trail to try a new recipe using my organic spelt  from my Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Herzenberg & Zoe Francois.  When you have the ingredients in your pantry and the containers to mix the dough it really only takes just five minutes a day to make healthy bread.  

Pesto and pine nut bread dough made with organic spelt and whole wheat flours..in 5 minutes.

This was more fun than the weekly farmers markets!  When we got home a place was made in the bottom of my pantry for non-refrigerated vegetables and apples.  Since my small pantry is next to the outside of the house it stays a cooler temperature if I keep the door closed.   Everything else want to the freezer or fridge.  

Oh, did I mention that we got some sweet potatoes?  Let me share what I did with them...

I adapted this recipe for yams for smaller quantities from The Bon Appetit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild.  Try this refreshing side next time you have a few sweet potatoes lying around.  

 

Sweet potatoes with cider and ginger

Preheat oven to 375F.

1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 medium)

1 cup apple cider

1 TB grated fresh ginger

salt & pepper to taste

 

Pierce the sweet potatoes and place in the oven on a piece of foil or a baking pan.  Roast until soft or about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.  Peel and put in a bowl and add grated ginger.    

Heat apple cider in a small saucepan on high until reduced by half volume.  Once reduced, add to bowl with potatoes and ginger and season with salt and pepper.  Mix well until pureed.  Alternatively you may put this into a food processor and process for a finer texture.  The original recipe calls for the addition of butter.  I did not find it necessary but you could add a tablespoon of butter for a richer texture and taste.   

Have a nice week! 

Cook at home and dine everyday...