Youth hadda eat ah food too...

So yuh enjoying the first few months of fatherhood, lovin up de youth and being the playful yin to Mummy's nurturing, protective yang. So far yuh a lot more supportive than proactive, because the child more breast-focused than a KFC ad, and even if yuh have boobs, they not producing milk. Then one night yuh liming with baby while getting ready to enjoy a late night snack, and yuh notice her looking real hard at yuh plate. For anyone else, yuh first instinct would be tuh bawl, "Gone from here nah!" But this is the love of yuh life, and yuh start tuh put two and two together. Around six months...looking with deep interest at food?

Time for solids! Or time for semi-solids, since you'll be turning everything to mulch before serving. Either way, it's time for you to step up and apply yuh hand to some of the most important meals you will ever prepare.

Cooking for the baby can prove more challenging than it sounds on the surface. While it's true that, for the most part, you'll be making one-ingredient meals, the issue for sometime-ish chefs like me is that the baby cyar deal with a Subway or a corn soup on the nights you doh feel to cook. This stage is crucial to developing the baby's digestive system and sense of taste. Yuh always need to have two meals a day waiting there to quickly warm up and serve out. Breast milk alone doh cut it after 6 months, and bottled baby food, while convenient, is processed and costly.

So it's a question of logistics. And nothing doh deal with logistics better than containers, a freezer, and a mini blender.

These will be your best friends. I couldn't figure out a good way to get the freezer in the shot.

Pumpkin and apples are a great place to start both nutritionally and for ease of preparation. Other great, easily available choices are carrots, paw-paw, squash, zaboca, bananas and pears. Then there's bhagi, broccoli, cauliflower and various peas.

Mango, especially julie mango, is the king (queen?) in this house, but as the season fades away, they're getting tougher to find. Of these choices, mango, zaboca and paw paw require the least preparation. Just remove flesh from skin, and move on to step two. All the other foods require a fairly universal first step.

Two quick notes: The foods you pick are up to you and the baby, but make sure that you feed her equal servings of fruit and vegetables per week. Also, variety is important. Don't stick to one comfortable food for too long, as I did with mango. If the baby braces the zaboca the first time, try again next meal time. And again. And again. Persistence is key.

Steam, boil or bake the foods to soften them up first. I have pumpkin and apple pictured above. Pumpkin getting a typical steam, in a colander over a pot of boiling water. Steam till soft and well-cooked, but not till soggy.

I chose to boil the apples, although they can bake as well. Peel the apple skin, remove the core totally, and boil in a little bit of water. Cook until they're soft, but not falling apart. Test with a fork. At this stage, an apple is about one baby meal (remember, the core and peel are removed, so it's less flesh than you think), so cook to suit.

Now for the secret weapon, an implement I would hope you invested in a long time ago.

Much easier to use, clean and store than a blender. Much less wastage.

Puree. Yuh want a soft, smooth consistency, but not liquid. Thicker than a thick peanut punch, but soft enough to fall off the spoon. If you need to add water, use the same water you steamed over or boiled in. Remember to remove the pumpkin flesh from the skin.

Invest in some small, BPA-free, stackable plastic containers. I had my eye on this set on Amazon, but a relative sent these colorful ones instead. Each of these is about 5 ounces, which is more or less what a baby should eat (or eventually eat) per meal during their second six months. If you know a place selling these locally, put it in the comments section. My money would be on Excellent, IAM or any of the bigger baby/childcare stores. If you can't find containers, an ice tray is a great alternative. One block for the first few weeks, then build up to two.

Ready to pour and store. I made a mix of apple and pumpkin in a few of the containers. I like to call it Pumple. Other favorites are Cinnamango, Pumpkrot and Cinnapumpkrot. I could see Mhangi and Mangoccoli being concocted in the near future. Sometimes the best way to get the baby used to a new food is to introduce it mixed in an old favorite.

And if you're wondering, yes, it's okay to add a slight spice to the baby food. It helps them get used to taste variety.

I wouldn't lie...seeing this is a joy. Neat. Orderly. Convenient.

Baby food can be frozen for up to two weeks. Try to keep them far from the meats. I make about a week's worth at a time. A few are in the freezer itself, and one should always be in the fridge thawing out and standing by. Easy to make, easy to store, easy to put in the lunchbag to send to daycare, and you can feed baby right out of the container.

I usually heat it up (to slightly above room temperature) by placing the container in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes, but a quick spin in the microwave works as well. If the thaw is lumpy and runny (pumpkin especially), don't worry. Just stir it a bit with the baby spoon to get it back to a smooth puree consistency.

So yuh good to go. This is usually a nice Friday or Saturday night lime to have with the baby (is not like yuh goin anywhere else at this stage). Put him in the high chair close to you in the kitchen, and walk through each step of the cooking process with him. Watch de little mind working, and feel satisfied that yuh start de training from early.

japs again

a while ago i went on a run to sample this glorious japs chicken people were talking about. i think more than one referral warrants a try out, so when my cuz suggested a detour while we were picking up our friend fish at the airport, i was all for it. in my review i said it was just ok, but wanted to sample another branch to see if they could convince me on their tagline "the best taste around". seems like my wish was japs' command, because just a short while later, japs opened a branch in san juan. it's not on the eastern main road where i thought it would have been. you have to turn off by the lights (left if you're facing east or right if you're facing west) go up about 2 blocks and you'll see the big red, white and green japs sign on the right... not to mention the trade mark japs lines.



how was it the second time around? well this time i had the fish. though it wasn't the same item, it had more or less the same effect. seasoned enough to not be terrible, but not enough to be great. and seeing that they are now closer to buyer's in santa cruz (my fav chicken spot thus far) baidawi's "best taste in the area" theory doesn't quite fly. just like the first time, the food was not oily, which is good, and the portion sizes were big which is also good. and even around these parts where there's no shortage of fast food joints, a chinese food spot on every block, multiple grill spots, roti shops and doubles men in abundance, you can't beat the price. $25 for that big fish meal above. the massives are loving it down this side. hot spots like kfc and royal castle were literally empty while japs had lines to the door. plus a crowd outside listening to what sounded like a rachel price in concert cd on a local pirate sound system.

so on attempt number 2, japs is still just aight. i'll still be willing to make a grande run at some point to try it one more time. third time's a charm they say.

until then... leh we bubble.

GUINNESS and...

some say the only thing to mix a guinness with is more guinness. some say the only thing a guinness should be poured into is a mouth. some drink it straight out of the case. some need it beastly cold. me? i say to hell with your rules! (what else is new right?) i started drinking guinness the same time i started working on their ad campaigns some years ago. since that time, i've done all sorts of things with guinness. some were successful and others, well... not all that successful. check out some of them:



guinness and ice cream. vanilla preferably. spruced up with a lil creme de menthe and a dash of something secret that i probably shouldn't sell out. think about the flavours and you should figure it out. It's kinda thick and has the potential to end a night prematurely. but one scoop and a guinness can make 2 servings.



guinness and red wine. there's this little hole-in-the-wall wine shop on henry street port of spain. (a spot i shall have an entry for pretty soon) the wines there are great. some of them are purposely sweeter than what you would normally find around. we were takin a lime there one time when some guinness slipped into some wine. the rest was history. we went in during daylight and came out in a much darker port of spain, heavily affected by the creeper that is wine. but long and short, it tasted really good. however, a dry wine (as unfortunately pictured above) DOES NOT taste good at all. no lashability there.



guinness and black russian. this one goes way back. dawi named it a darkie for obvious reasons. the black russian is basically kahlua and vodka, so it has a dark, rich chocolate taste. quite potent that little drink. i've seen it buckle knees before. you get the black russian, sip some out of it, then add a little guinness. repeat. sip and add until it's all done. you would usually drink two black russians to one guinness.


so, try them... don't try them... post some creations of your own... or not. it's all good. more mixed guinness for me.

leh we bubble... i mean... leh we brew.

a lil something about sweet nothings

i've always wondered what sweet nothings were and why one would whisper them into an ear. well one saturday morning, i got the best explanation to date. sweet nothings is the name of a fantastic little business that produces eye catching edible arrangements in tacarigua. seems like they've really been whispering, because i never heard anything about this operation before. and i've been in a few situations in which a fresh fruit arrangement would have been an easy and timely solution.



i guess i'm not the only one with that need, because when marklan and melissa moseley did a few arrangements for some friends and relatives, the responses were very positive. the question "so how much yuh will charge for one of these?" took it to another level. soon the business was born.



so what's different about sweet nothings? off the top, the location. not talking about the area. i'm talking about the fact that they literally have a store. this translates into a lot of consumer benefits like the ability to make same day orders for pick up or delivery. yes! they deliver!




but on to the sweet stuff. they actually started doing candy arrangements like the ones we got. (thanks again folks!)



but their main focus now is fruit arrangements. fresh fruits worked up into attractive designs.




great for birthdays, anniversaries or just to say "i'm thinking about you". people are even using them as center pieces on tables at wedding receptions and functions. they're much tastier than flowers, but just as eye catching.




and with what seems to be an ever changing list of containers to select from, you can customize your order to suit virtually anything. you might have a problem if you want to send an arrangement for bachak day, but if you're celebrating bachak day, you might have bigger issues than finding an appropriate gift.




the deal maker for me though... the chocolate covered strawberries. milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate. dat iz what we talkin about! just ask dawi. it was his first time eating a strawberry. i guess there are few places better to have a first experience like that.




another spot i was pleased to find. i still don't think i'll be whispering any sweet nothings soon, but i'm more than sure i would be eating some sweet nothings in the near future. check them out online right here


leh we bubble.

wrappers delight

i've been doing a little healthy eating these days. no doctor's orders or anything like that. i just thought that it was time to pay some more attention to how i treat my body. so i decided that from time to time i'll make some quick little snacks like these cabbage wraps that my friend ellese put me on to (remember the name, it will come back up in a post soon to come) and share them with you all. they're quite easy to make, tasty and a lot more filling than they might look. not to mention the appreciation some of my fellow bloggers like debfit and happiness is a size 6 might have for items more like these.



lets season up some minced meat shall we? a very basic seasoning process... nothing too fancy. a little onion and garlic.

a little salt. i put some salt in a bottle that had some all purpose seasoning in it... was just a thought.

then a proper shaking of ginger, black pepper, paprika and italian seasoning. i usually season meat the day or night before i use it. this time, it did an overnight in the fridge, and it went on the fire the next morning.

While the meat took a little last minute soak, i put some water in a small pot and brought it to a boil. why?

to blanch a cabbage dear henry, dear henry, dear henry. there was a time when i thought that taking cabbage leaves off the core was simply a job of patience. not really the case. you HAVE to blanch it. it's impossible! fuh real! blanching the leaves makes them wilt a bit, then they come right off and become way more manageable. you should get a big pot and cover the cabbage with water though. do as i say... not as i do.

while the leaves are peeling off from the core is a good time to start cooking the meat. i've always been concerned about the amount of oil minced beef releases. for that reason, i don't use oil or even cooking spray when cooking it. just drop it in a pan and let it spring its own juices. it tastes fine just like that anyway.

by the time the meat is cooked, the leaves would have been blanched and ready to be filled. and there it is. pack in the beef, then drizzle some pepper sauce and honey mustard on it. and top it off with some cheddar cheese. next time i think i'll try a few pickle slices or maybe some tangy pico de gallo or some salsa.

leh we bubble healthy.

A SOUPREME DISCOVERY (re-heated)

anyone that really knows me will know that i love me some soup. i'm a fan of pretty much any kind of soup. i mean, what's not to like about something you can drink and eat at the same time? that's good stuff if you ask me. so it would only follow logically that a place dedicated to making soup would get a mention on my blog. hence this entry about a little establishment i discovered a few months ago called SOUP SUPREME. I found it in el socorro on william street. actually, half a block away from the "roti factory" i talked about in a previous entry. i went to this soup haven a few times. enough times to be convinced that they can produce a consistently tasty soup.



on this particular occasion, i had the cow heel soup. having only sampled the cow heel and the fish broth before, i think i was wrong for neglecting to explore the other menu offerings in favour of enjoying one of my favourites. (i'm a cow heel man by day and a fish broth man by night.) their range is decent, presenting cow heel soup as pictured above, fish broth as mentioned before, ox tail soup, beef soup, vegetable soup, corn soup, calaloo soup, chicken soup and the house special. (i won't take away the joy of you going and asking what the house special is for yourself.)



i tried my best to capture how well seasoned this soup is with my less-than-professional camera skills for you all. but trust me, it's all about loads of fresh seasoning including generous amounts of the famous shadon beni. i inquired about their ingredients and was quite pleased when they told me they use very little oil and didn't use any golden ray, sugar, maggi or split peas powder in an effort to make a commercially viable soup. instead they use real, fresh ingredients and cook them right so you get justice. i think them there words are pretty darn reassuring.



as for value, this large cow heel soup ran me $35. now i usually take my soup sans provision and dumplings. just my preference, but they have all the bells and whistles. actually, they dropped in two little pieces of corn for me this time just for so. however, look at the generous portion of cow heel that ends up in your bowl. this is not the first or second bowl i've purchased, and it's been the same heaping helping every time. add provision to the mix and i do believe you'll have a real challenge on your hands.



i took mine away and enjoyed it the way i prefer to enjoy meals... at home in comfort. but they actually have a nice, clean space with tables and chairs where you can sit and enjoy your meal. and though i've never seen a thick crowd there as opposed to a steady flow of customers, the place is big enough that even with a line, your dining experience shouldn't be compromised.

i'd say, if you're in the area, or you're in the mood for a nice soup, SOUP SUPREME is definitely worth a try.



STOP THE PRESS!!!
new addition to the menu. lamb soup.



yes... lamb. as in mary had a little one. call me uninformed, but that's the first time i've heard about lamb on a soup menu. i guess you can make a soup with anything, but lamb soup is not something you would see for sale very often. if you like lamb, this is your soup. if you're baidawi, it's not. it's my new fav though. they don't have it all the time, so you have to ask for it and keep your fingers crossed.



the lamb is properly well pressure cooked, so it is tender (as all the other meats at this joint are), and the broth has the trademark seasoned taste that makes it difficult to go to the patraj around the corner, even for a roti lover like me. and yeah, yuh know the portions that we dealin with.

one more reason to check out this spot.

the new meaning of job market

after a loooong period of stickin' that should entitle me to officially adopt the name elmer, i sampled a service that caught my attention a little while back.

market movers. basically, it's an online market, so while you're on the job you can make a market run... minus the run. just go to their website, select your market items from their bountiful list and they deliver the goods to your home or your office. all products guaranteed high quality and market fresh.

the delivery car pulled up without much ceremony, but spot on time. i placed my order on monday and selected the "Thursday PM" delivery option. by 1pm on thursday i was outside shooting this.

but don't worry, you don't have to stand up outside and pay for your goods. they're quite happy to bring your bags right inside for you.

oh yeah. the bag. a nice green re-useable bag. how it works is you take your goods home and keep the bag. when you order again, you bring the bag back and get your goods. it's more than just a green bag. it's a green mentality that can help preserve the earth... one bag at a time.

the goods though... nice. fresh, good quality and well packaged. they took advantage of all the little branding opportunities too. 10 points for marketing.

my bounty was great. and to think all i did was place an order and come to work. no stopping off after work or anything. the only sacrifice really was having my desk look and smell like a mini veggie stand. so what did i get? funny you should ask...



huge potatoes. a pound i think.

some hot peppers.


a bundle of seasoning. chive, thyme and shadon beni. now i mentioned before that my mother would have my head if i ever told her i bought shadon beni because she has that growing in her yard like lawn grass. not to mention a host of other herbs. but the shadon beni here i would get away with. the leaves were about 13 inches long (measured against a MacBook. look, i was at the agency and the ruler was too far away ok?!)




how can you not get pimiento peppers right? goodish size. clean. fresh.


i got a callaloo pack for the first time. i always liked the concept, but never picked one up in the grocery. this one was bigger than what i usually see on the shelves though. everything prepared and packed into a ziplock bag with the appropriate branding.



callaloo bush cleaned and cut, ochro, pumpkin, hot pepper and garlic


they also had a provision pack. potato, eddoes, dasheen and cassava. everything peeled, cut and vaccum sealed. i see a serious soup in the near future.

pumpkin. again, nice and fresh.

must stock up on garlic and onion. i tend to buy too much of these and end up with some wastage. but i'm thinking, if it's this simple, i don't have to try that "let-me-buy-everything-one-time!" method. i could do the weekly thing. that's how veggies should be done anyway.


they also had some more "exotic" items, so i got some shitaki mushrooms to put into the mix.


it came up to $103. not bad i think. i'm going to do the comparison with the veggie stalls in aranguez, but from what i can remember, factoring in the delivery benefit (which i find is worth paying for) this market movers concept is bringing good value with convenience.

yeah david... allyuh doin a good job.

keep the market moving...

we go bubble.