The first time I had Thai Green Curry was at a tiny restaurant in Cocoa Beach, FL.  The reviews were not stellar but we decided to chance it being on vacation and all.  We decided to do take out, so we called ahead and ordered.  At 7pm we popped up at the restaurant and it was ghost town!  Not one customer.  At this point we started getting worried because maybe the food was worse than the reviews.  The owner was extremely friendly and even gave us a free bottle of plum wine after a 15-minute chat about mutual interests.

We get the order and rush back to the hotel filled with trepidation. We opened up the containers and a beautiful savoury aroma filled the air.  Nervously, we tasted the curry and BOOM….absolutely amazing!  Spicy with a hint of sweet, creamy but not too thick and off-putting.  Tons of beautifully cooked vegetables.  tender scallops and shrimp. The food was so good we had lunch there the following day and again the food was fantastic.  I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but next time we are on that side of Florida I will definitely take photos and post!

So recently, I had a craving for this creamy, yet light curry and decided to try making it….here’s my version

Ingredients (enough for 4 servings)

2 lobster tails (washed, cut in half and cleaned thoroughly)

10 medium shrimp (washed, deveined and cleaned thoroughly)

10 medium sea scallops (washed)

2 tablespoons green seasoning

6 asparagus spears (washed and halved)

2 baby Bella mushrooms (wiped clean and sliced)

1/2 red bell pepper (washed, cut lengthwise into strips)

10 snow peas (washed)

1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots (drained)

2 sprigs scallions (washed, finely chopped)

1 shallot (washed, finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

4 chadon beni/cilantro leaves (washed, finely chopped)

5 pimento peppers (washed, finely chopped)

1 bottle of Thai green curry paste

1 can of coconut milk

1 tsp brown sugar

Jalapeno peppers

Celery or Parsley

2tsp chili garlic sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Jasmine rice

*****Basil and kefir leaves which are key ingredients in the authentic dish have been omitted from my dish but are present in the store bought curry paste.

******THIS IS NOT AN AUTHENTIC RECIPE

Method

Wash and thoroughly clean seafood.  Season seafood using 2 tablespoons of green seasoning, salt and 1 tsp spoon of each of the following chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots.  Set aside.

In a non stick saucepan, add 1tsp of olive oil and sauté half of the remaining items chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots.  Add 2tsp Thai green curry paste and cook for 2mins on medium heat.  Add 2 cups of coconut milk, 1tsp of brown sugar, salt and pepper to preference and bring to a simmer.  Turn heat to low and allow flavors to develop.  

Cook Jasmine rice according to packet directions.

In a separate pot sauté veggies lightly (approximately 3mins) and set aside.

Finally, add 2tsp of oil to a frying pan on high heat.  Add seafood to pan and cook (approximately 5mins) until shrimp and lobster are pink/red and scallops are opaque.

Add vegetables to green curry sauce and turn heat up to medium, after 5mins, add seafood to curry sauce and any juices the seafood would have released.  Simmer for another 2mins.  Add the remaining chadon beni, pimento peppers, scallions, garlic and shallots.  Salt to your preference and add chili garlic sauce.

Serve with jasmine rice, using celery, jalapenos and parsley as garnish!

I absolutely love corn muffins/cornbread muffins.  Whether plain or spiced up to bacon, jalapenos or cheese.  This morning I woke up craving a warm corn muffin and decided to whip up a batch.  Now my basic corn muffin recipe is

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 eggs

4 tbsp vegetable oil or butter

3/4 cup milk (almond, whole milk, skimmed, just depends on what’s in my refrigerator)

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2-3/4 cup sugar (sometimes I use brown sugar/maple syrup/agave, just depends on what I have available and sweetness is a personal preference so start with 1/2 cup and taste your batter).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Combine dry ingredients with milk, eggs and oil/butter fully and set aside.  Now here’s what makes the muffin extra special…

1 sprig scallion (finely chopped)

1 mushroom (finely chopped)

1/2 jalapeno (seeded and finely chopped)

2 breakfast sausages (diced, I used chicken, but any sausage can be used)

1 small shallot (finely chopped)

In a non stick fry pan, saute scallion, shallot, mushroom, jalapeno and sausage over medium heat with cooking spray until onions, mushrooms and jalapenos are tender.  Set aside to cool while you prepare your muffin pan.  I usually use liners to reduce clean up but you can also spray the muffin pan with cooking or baking spray and the muffins usually pop right out!

Once your pans are ready, pour the sausage mix into the corn batter, add 1/2 shredded sharp cheddar and combine completely.  Pour batter evenly into muffin pan and bake for 25-28mins.

Use a toothpick to ensure your muffins are cooked thoroughly.  Serve warm.

I served mine with avocado salsa!!!

Perfect adult dessert. Hints of coconut and rum creates a decadent and moist cake to die for!! Let’s dive right in…I usually use a basic 1234 cake to avoid any complication. There are only 2 additional steps to create pina coco goodness 😋 but first let get to the ingredients…

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Ingredients

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans.

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed. Add coconut flakes and combine thoroughly.

Mix melted butter and brown sugar and line cake pans with mixture. Then arrange pineapple slices and cherries on the brown sugar mixture. Pour cake batter into pans evenly.

Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans until fully cooked. Invert cakes onto racks and sliced! Pour a couple capfuls of your favorite liquor. I always use sherry or rum 😊

I love the smell of bread. It makes the entire house smell so good and I can’t resist freshly baked bread! Took me a while but this is my basic bread recipe…

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tsp instant yeast

4 tablespoons butter (melted)

1 cup warm milk

For this particular recipe you will need 1/3 cup pumpkin purée.

Add all dry ingredients to a bowl, make a well and pour melted butter and milk. Combine and knead mixture until dough leaves edges of the bowl. Keep about 1/4 cup all purpose flour close to sprinkle on mixture if it’s too sticky but it shouldn’t be.

Let sit for 1hr in a warm place or until dough doubles in size. Select a bread pan for your dough, grease and flour pan and set aside. Once the dough has doubled in size, place on counter and roll flat about 1/2 inch think using a rolling pin.

Roll dough into a log and place in greased pan. Allow dough to rise again, should take roughly 30-45mins. Preheat oven to 375F.

Bake for 30mins or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Cut and serve!

Sweet and sour fish

This is definitely one of my favourite ways to cook fish at home after fry, curry, stew, broth 😂😂 anyway, this is such a simple and satisfying dish that’s packed with undeniable flavour. It’s a great weeknight, date night or even dinner party meal. It’s not a 30 minute special but you won’t be slaving in the kitchen all day or night. Hope you enjoy this sweet and sour fish as much as I do ♥️

Fish Preparation

* 3lbs of your favourite fish, rinsed clean, pat dry and cut into bite size cubes (for this recipe I usually use Covina or Snapper)

* 4 tablespoons green seasoning

* 1 teaspoon fish seasoning

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/2 black pepper

* Juice of 1 lime

For frying

* 3 cups canola oil, for frying

* 1 cup all-purpose flour

Sweet and sour sauce

* 1/2 cup onion, cut into a 1-inch dice

* 1/4 cup red bell peppers, cut into a 1-inch dice

* 1/4 cup green bell peppers cut into a 1-inch dice

* 1 tablespoon ketchup

* 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced

* 1/2 cup carrots, cut into coins

* 2 teaspoons soy sauce

* 2 teaspoons sesame oil

* 2 teaspoons fresh ginger

* 2 bottles of a store bought sweet and sour sauce of your preference (I used Kikkoman)

* 1/4 cup of Water to thin sauce out if a bit it becomes too thick (optional)

Method

Wash fish and pat dry. Cut into bite size cubes and place in a bowl. Add fish seasoning, salt, green seasoning, black pepper and lime juice to fish and set aside.

Place flour in another bowl and set aside for battering. Chop onions, bell peppers, pineapples and carrots and set aside. Finely chop ginger. In a saucepan, add sesame oil and heat to medium as well.

Add ginger to sesame oil. Allow ginger to cook for approximately 3 minutes. Add onions, bell peppers, carrots to saucepan and sauté until tender. Mix soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce and ketchup and add to saucepan. Stir and allow to simmer on low heat. Finally add pineapples and adjust flavours to your preference. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.

Heat canola oil to medium in a deep pan fit for frying. While canola oil heats up, coat the fish pieces in flour, shake off excess flour and set on a plate or baking rack. (I do not season my flour in this particular recipe because the fish was seasoned and the sauce is as well. I don’t want the flavours to be overwhelming or salty. Also, I don’t use a thermometer to monitor my oil temperature, I usually place a wooden spoon in oil and observe bubbles forming around the spoon.)

Carefully place battered fish into oil and fry. Remove from oil using a slotted spoon when golden brown and place on a paper towel. When all of the fish is fried, place the fish in a large bowl, pour half of the sauce over the fish and toss. Continue adding sauce a little at a time until the fish is evenly coated.

Serve with rice or noodles!

These wraps are packed with flavour and so satisfying. Some hints of sweet from pineapple and mango, some heat from the jalapeño, and a beautiful garlic flavour that’s not too overwhelming. You can definitely add sour cream and cheese to these wraps but I think it’s perfect as is! Perfect for a hot and lazy afternoon…let’s get into it…

Meat filling2lbs lean ground beef (I used beef but any meat can be used)

2 tblsps green seasoning

1 tsp all purpose seasoning

2 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 tblsp sweet soy

Salt and pepper to taste

Wraps

Romaine lettuce

1/2 cup pineapple (diced)

1/2 mango (diced)

1/4 cup red onions

2 jalapeños thinly sliced

1/2 cup tomatoes (diced)

5 sprigs of cilantro

Steps

Preheat a non stick sauté pan on medium high heat. Add ground beef to pan. Add green seasoning, all purpose seasoning, chili garlic sauce and sweet soy to the pan and allow flavours to develop. When the meat is cooked (no longer pink) taste and add salt and pepper.

Allow meat to cool off a bit.

Wash and dice pineapple, mango, red onion, jalapeños and tomato. Wash lettuce (individual leaves) and pat dry.

Start building wraps! Use two leaves per wrap add all the ingredients and garnish with cilantro…I think a creamy garlic sauce would be extremely lovely with these wraps. Any way, super easy, super delicious!

Hope you enjoy!

Simply delicious and worth the time and effort…

1/2 cup boneless salt fish

1/2 cup chopped shrimp

1/2 cup chopped lobster claw meat

1/2 cup crab meat

1/4 teaspoon Chief fish seasoning

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 small onion

4 pimentos

2 cloves garlic

2 culantro leaves

3 green onion stalks

2 teaspoon green seasoning

1/4 teaspoon saffron

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon hot pepper

1 egg

dash fresh ground black pepper

¼ to 1/2 cup water

pinch of sugar

1/2 teaspoon parsley

Vegetable oil

So the method is the same as a traditional salt fish accra only difference is adding some extra seafood.

Boil salt fish to remove excess salt,drain and put to cool. Chop all seasonings finely and set aside. Chop up raw shrimp, lobster and crab set aside. Measure dry ingredients and mix together in a bowl, add seafood, green seasoning, water and beaten egg. Combine thoroughly and set aside for 1 hour.

Heat oil and fry!! Low to medium heat depending on the pot to allow the inside of the accra to cook fully before the outside gets to dark. Make them bite size so you can eat lots 😂

Stuffed mushrooms are an absolute favourite of mine. The best part is I can definitely serve these beautiful crowd pleasers at home gatherings. Looks fancy and tastes like I spent sometime in the kitchen preparing them 😂. I think you can stuff mushrooms with almost anything but here’s my favourite!

Ingredients

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside

Using a wet paper towel, wipe mushrooms clean and place in casserole dish, top side down

Bake cornbread following directions on the box. I usually add only 1 egg and a 1/4 cup sugar to the cornbread mixture (my twist🙂). Let cornbread cool.

Cook the stove top stuffing following directions on box. I use warm stock to make my stuffing.

Add shallots, celery and dried cranberries to cooked stuffing

Break thawed crab cakes into small pieces and add to stuffing

Cut cornbread into small cubes and add to stuffing mix.

Mix until cornbread in completely combined with stuffing

Stuff mushrooms to your preference…I like mine over-stuffed 😂

Pour some warm vegetable stock in the casserole dish

Drizzle mushrooms with olive oil

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-45 mins

Sprinkle with fresh parsley

Eat!!!

😘