My new Store, Chillibibi on Zazzle.com

New IPhone Cover Design

I recently opened a store on Zazzle.com. Zazzle is a great site where not only can anyone customize any of their over 150 products, but designers can also use their own artwork to customize Zazzle products.

So far I have done two products that are available for sale on Zazzle; a Mother's Day Mug and an IPhone Cover, the artwork for which is shown above.

So look out for more of my designs and check out Chillibibi's Store on Zazzle.com.

Savory and Comforting Stewed Lentils, A taste of Trinidad



Stewed Lentils, A Classic Trinidadian dish


This is one of my favorite ways to eat lentils and is a traditional protein. It's African in origin, food made by the descendants of the African slaves who were brought to the Caribbean to work on the sugar plantations. Trinidad's population is a kaleidoscope, or as we say in Trinidad a callaloo of peoples who have been brought here through history.

In addition to lentils, red beans, chicken and other meats are stewed. I have even seen stewed soya and stewed black eye beans. The method is unique; I saw a Trinidadian lady on the Food Network Show 'Diners Drive Ins and Dives' showing Guy Fieri how to stew chicken and he was rather confused, saying he has never seen sugar being burned like that before.

The 'Stewing' process involves heating a small quantity of sugar in some oil over a low to medium heat. It's not something that you leave the kitchen and come back, you have to keep an eye on the sugar so that it does not burn. The picture below shows the sugar almost halfway there, but the process is closer to completion when the bubbles are much bigger in size.

Stewing Process, Sugar being Caramelized
Almost to the Point of Burning

 
It's cooking on the edge as you take that sugar almost to the point of burning, any more and it will be burnt, any less and you will not get that rich taste and golden dark brown color. If the sugar turns black you have taken the process too far and it's better you restart the process; the burnt sugar will make the food too bitter to eat. Another issue with this process is ensuring that your pot is dry, any residual water will spit out, potentially damaging anyone in the vicinity.

Have a pot cover at the ready and a cup of water. As soon as you get the sugar to the desired stage, you will need to quickly cover the pot and add some water to stop the sugar cooking further. The pot will protect you from the water sizzling and splattering. If done correctly, stewing is a great way to cook any bean or meat dish. Remarkably, the dish will not be sweet, but savory. It's a delicious taste of the Caribbean and easy to replicate; the most important ingredient is sugar!

Not only that but this dish being made with dried lentils is economical and healthy. It's high in protein and low in fat. You can make this as soupy or thick as you want. I prefer mines soupy to soak up the rice I eat it with. I sometimes if I am lazy to cook rice, eat this with bread. The usually pairing for this is plain rice or fried rice. I actually also pair this with mashed potatoes, potato salad or even macaroni pie, another of my favorite Trinidadian classics.

I hop you like this recipe, and comments are welcome! :)

Recipe

Cuisine:        Trinidadian African
Good for:      Lunch, Dinner
Category:      Side Dish, Protein

Time:            1½ hours (not counting soaking lentils)

Serves:         8
Skill:             Medium
Suitable: Vegetarian
Heat: medium if not use hot pepper

 

Ingredients

2 c          dried lentils.

2 tb         sugar
3 tb         vegetable oil
3             onions sliced
8             garlic cloves
3 tb         ketchup
1 tsp       soy sauce
1             hot pepper whole
¼ c         chive chopped
¼ c         celery stem and leaves chopped
2             tomatoes chopped
½ c         coconut milk (optional)
2 tb         parsley
2             leaves bandania or chadon beni chopped (cilantro can be substituted)
¼ tsp      black pepper
               salt to taste
                 hot water as needed.


Utensils:  Ensure the pot you use to caramelize the sugar has a suitable cover.

Procedure

1. Pick through the dried lentils for stones. This is important. You definitely do not want to be biting on a stone while eating.
2. Wash lentils and let soak in water overnight. If you don't have the time, don't worry, the lentils will just take a bit longer to cook.
3. Put lentils with fresh cold water in a pot and cook on a medium flame for about 40min to 1 hour.
4. In meantime, cut up tomatoes, herbs, garlic and onions.
5. Take out a few lentils out of the put and check if cooked.
6. When the lentils are done, heat oil in a pot on medium to low heat.
7. Have a pot cover that will sufficiently cover the pot nearby and also a cup of water.
8. Add sugar to the oil. Let sugar dissolve and make big bubbles, but do not let it get black.
9. As soon as you get to that stage, cover the pot leaving a small opening for you to pour water through. Cover the pot once water has been poured.
10. Once the sizzling has gone, uncover pot and add onions and garlic and sautee for a few minutes.
11. Add ketchup and tomatoes and cook down.
12. Add cooked lentils, celery and enough hot water to cover.
13. Salt can be added at this point as well as soy sauce and a whole hot pepper if using.
14. Let cook for about 15-20mins till flavors combine.
15. Take off heat, add parsley, bandania and chives.
16. Coconut milk can be added now if using.
17. Test for seasoning and add black pepper.

Do's and Don'ts

• Do check for stones. You don't want to break your teeth or your guest's teeth with a stone.
• Don't raise heat on high to hasten stewing process, the sugar can burn in a few seconds.
• Do cover the pan once the water has been added to the hot sugar.
• Don't salt the lentils when you are cooking them the first time. 

© Chillibibi Food Blog  All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Get a 'Cheat Sheet for Dining at a French Restaurant' and Impress Your Friends; An Article I wrote for Languages.Guru

A French Dessert *

I recently wrote two French languages articles for the website Languages.Guru. The second article has been published on the website and it is entitled "Cheat Sheet for Dining at a French Restaurant" This article is in English, and it is written as a summary of the French terms and phrases that would help in all aspects of dining at a French restaurant. It starts with how to find a great place to eat in France, asking for directions, ordering food and the French words for basic staples such as chicken and fish. It ends with asking for the bill, hence it gives you a comprehensive list of phrases to draw from on your next trip to that hip new French Restaurant or on your next romantic trip to Paris.

A French Candy Store+

My recommendation would be to read the first article about pronunciation and grammar i.e "Sexy Sophisticated French Decoded" so that you can understand how French words are pronounced and then move on to the second article "Cheat Sheet for Dining at a French Restaurant".

So impress your friends the next time you dine at a fine French establishment and do let me know what you think via a comment on Languages.Guru or on Chillibibi.

 
* Picture from Pixabay/ By La Fontaine 
+Picture from Pixabay/kytrangho
 

Addictive Potato Chips or French Fries that are Baked not Fried

Crispy Potato Cubes, baked not fried

I don't know about you but I absolutely love French fries. In Trinidad, no doubt due to our history of being a British colony, we call French fries 'chips', although with the advent of so many KFC outlets in Trinidad, the term fries has gained more popularity. A quick search online to find the origin of 'French fries' which seems to be obviously French led me actually to Belgium. According to Wikipedia, 'French fries' may have been mistakenly named by British and American soldiers because the Belgians spoke French, the soldiers assumed that they were in france and eating a French dish.

Whether it really was supposed to be 'Belgian Fries' and not ;French Fries', I know you will agree with me that fries are morsels of crunchy deliciousness. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. There is a catch to all this exquisite yumminess, ah yes, the fact that these are usually deep fried.

That's what really great about this recipe, you get all the crunchy caramelized potato exterior and soft fluffy interior that you love in a traditional fried potato, but without all of the fat. What I love about this recipe as well is that there is no sitting and babysitting the pot, you leave for 15 to 20 minutes, and comes back, give it a turn. I don't even bother to peel the potatoes, I just scrub them really good with soap.

One thing though to remember is to wash the potatoes slices to take out the starch and dry them thoroughly afterwards. Otherwise you will be getting soggy potatoes not divinely crispy ones. Also lay them out in only one layer on your pan, don't overcrowd. If you follow the above tips, you will be on your way to crispy 'baked' fries that look and taste like they have been dunked in hot oil though all they have done was hung out in the oven.

I did potatoes cubes, but this recipe works for normal French fries and wedges, the only difference being the cooking time involved. If you want wedges but don't have the time to cook them in the oven, I recommend cooking them partially in boiling water and then slicing them in wedges and letting them finish cooking in oven.

I dipped my 'fries' in a mixture of ketchup, soy sauce and pepper sauce. Gosh so good! This is one of my favorite recipes, and if you give it a try, I guarantee you will not miss that deep fried French fry.


  
Cuisine:        Belgium or France 
Good for:      Lunch, Dinner, Snack
Category:      Side Dish     

Time:            1½ hours

Serves:         3

Skill:             Medium
Suitable: Vegetarian, Low fat
Heat: mild

 

Ingredients

6           Potatoes scrubbed clean.

5 tb       vegetable or coconut oil

             salt to taste
¼ tsp    black pepper (optional)
½ tsp    chilli powder (optional)
2 tb       parsley (optional)

Procedure 

1. Slice potatoes either as French fries or as we say in Trinidad; chips, larger for wedges or if you want as cubes like I did.
2. There is no need to peel potatoes if you have washed them properly.
3. Soak slices in water and wash out as much starch from potatoes.
4. Drain and place on a clean dry kitchen towel to dry.
5. Once the potato slices are dried toss them with oil, salt and black pepper and chilli powder.
6. Preheat oven to 400º.
7. Grease two baking sheets and add potatoes in an even flat layer. Ensure that there is space between potato and use an extra pan if necessary.
8. Place in oven and bake for 40mins for french fries, 50-60mins for cubes and 1 hour 15mins for wedges.
9. If you are making wedges, you can partially cook the potatoes by boiling before cutting into wedges to save on cooking time.
10. Turn potato every 15 to 20 minutes so all sides can brown.
11. Take out of oven when done and add more salt if necessary.
12. Toss with parley and Enjoy!

Do's and Don'ts

• Do dry potatoes thoroughly. If you don't your fries will not be crispy.
• Don't overcrowd the pan, as your fries will steam.
• Do turn occasionally as if you don't your potatoes will stick to the pan.

 

© Chillibibi Food Blog  All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Irresistible Hot Sweet and Sour Wings

Hot Sweet and Sour Wings

The first time I made these, was quite by accident just taking a bit of this and that from the kitchen and when I tasted it, it was just sooo good. Unfortunately, I did not write the recipe down, so this is my best attempt at recreating the greatness I achieved that day. It's not quite there just yet, but it is still really good.

This recipe is a bit healthier that normal hot wings because of the fact that these are baked not fried. If you want you can omit the butter in the sauce, although the butter really helps temper the heat of the hot sauce, but if you are a trini, I am sure you can handle it. You can cut down the heat by using less hot sauce, but if you really love mild food this is really not for you. I rate this as 'Mother in Law' hot, and if you have ever tasted 'mother in law' you will understand. For those non-trinis (non-Trinidadians), 'Mother in law' is a Trinidadian-Indian really hot vegetable condiment/pickle made from karelli, onions, garlic, carrots and lots of hot pepper. It's very popular at Indian weddings in Trinidad, it's name being a reference to how badly 'mother in laws' usually treat their son's or daughter's spouses.

So please do try this recipe and let me know what you think!


Cuisine:       
Good for:      Lunch, Dinner, Snack
Category:      Appetizer      
Time:            1½ hours
Serves:         2 (2 wings each, these were large wings) or serves 1 if you greedy!
Skill:             Medium
Suitable:       No peanuts
Heat:            Mudder in law Hot!

  

Ingredients

4           Chicken Wings washed with lime

Marinade

1tsp salt (less or more depending how small/large your wings are)

1tsp garlic rough chopped
1 tb herbs; chadon beni, parsley rough chopped
1tsp congo pepper rough chopped (optional)

3tb vegetable oil        

1 tb        Chilli powder

Hot, sweet and sour Sauce

2tb        butter

¼ c       good hot pepper sauce
2tsp      garlic minced
¼ tsp    black pepper
1 ½ tb   vinegar
1 ½ tb   sugar
1tsp      soy sauce
1tsp      Worcestershire sauce
pinch    or more salt as needed 
1 tb        fresh chadon beni or parsley chopped

Garnish with shadow beni, parsley or chives

Procedure 

1. Wash wings in lime until the fresh smell is gone.
2. Pat wings dry. Combine marinade ingredients and mix into wings.
3. Marinate in fridge for a few hours, minimum a hour at room temperature.
4. Let come to room temperature and brush herbs and garlic off wings. You do this so they don't burn in oven and wing's skin get crispy.
5. Brush wings with vegetable oil and sprinkle with chilli powder.
6. Bake in a 350 oven for around 1 hour until crispy on the outside. Placing wings on a rack then baking sheet will help with this.
7. Turn over a few times to ensure both sides are get crispy.
8. While chicken cooks, heat butter on medium heat and add garlic and let infuse in butter. Take off heat.
9. Add hot sauce and rest of ingredients.
10. When chicken is done, take out and toss in sauce.
11. Garnish with herbs and serve immediately.

 

© Chillibibi Food Blog  All Rights Reserved