Jamaica

We're jammin' in Jamaica mon! So we threw some Bob Marley on the stereo, made a blender of Hummingbird, nibbled on coconut lime shrimp, grilled some Jerk Chicken with mango salsa with a side of Rice & Peas(rice & red kidney beans cooked in coconut milk) and finished with Toto. Was another fine tropical dinner on a cool fall evening.

Hummingbird (well, my interpretation of the drink, based on ingredients in the kitchen already)

2 oz rum

2 oz Kaluha

2 oz milk

1 banana

6 strawberries

ice

Blend, pour drink!

Jerk Chicken

I used the recipe from the Looneyspoons cookbooks......I have all 4 of them! Highly recommend them to any kitchen

1/3 cup green onion

¼ cup lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp sou sauce

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp grated ginger root

2 clove minced garlic

2 jalapeno peppers, minced & seeded (I used less to accommodate the boys palates)

2 tsp allspice

1 tsp thyme (I used fresh from the garden)

salt & pepper

½ tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg

Combine above ingredients for marinade, pour into a large resealable plastic bag with chicken (I used legs, the recipe called for 12 skinless, boneless thighs)

Let marinate overnight, and BBQ!

Mango Salsa

1 large mango, peeled and diced

1 diced red pepper

½ cup minced red onion

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 tbsp each lime juice & cilantro

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp

olive oil

cumin & salt to taste

Combine all, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving

Toto

This was a dense coconut cake that was quite delicious, we served it with some sliced mango on the side. As Shawn is not eating wheat, I substituted the flour for 1 cup soy flour + 1 cup ? Flour + 1 tsp xantham gum....result was good!

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

cinnamon & nutmeg (about 1 tsp each)

2 cups grated coconut ( I used a blend of dried and fresh.....see below for tips on how to crack a coconut!)

2 tsp vanilla

¼ lb butter

½ cup milk

1 egg

lime zest form ½ lime

In our trusty, and well loved Kitchen Aid mixer

Cream butter & sugar

Sift in dry ingredients

Add lime & coconut

Add egg and vanilla

Slowly add milk, the end result is a fairly stiff dough.

Spread mixture into a greased cake pan and bake at 350 for about ½ hour.

My new sure fire method for cracking a coconut: (I learned it from the Food Network Magazine.....I am addicted to buying food magazines, I totally get hooked by the yummy covers, and the promises of having all my lunchbox dilemmas solved....they have yet to be solved by the way)

1.      Poke the 3 eyes with a skewer to find the one that is soft. Push the skewer through the soft eye, working it to create a ½ inch hole

2.      Drain the water, you will have to shake it quite a bit. You'll get about ½ cup coconut water (I used it to cook my rice in)

3.      Hold the coconut with a towel, and firmly tap with a hammer, turning as needed until the shell starts cracking in half.

4.      Split the shell, then put coconut cut-side down on a flat surface. Tap with hammer to loosen flesh.

5.      Carefully pry the flesh away from the shell with a butter knife (this was the trickiest part)

6.      Peel off any brown skin that may be on the flesh.