Nothing tastes better on a hot day!
In a tall pitcher, combine the rum, orange juice, pineapple juice and lemon or lime juice. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add enough red food color to make the drink bright red.
Pour over ice and serve
‘A little peanut flavor in your salad? Why not? (Courtesy of Peanut Better) ‘
Spicy Southewestern peanut butter, olive oil, french bread
Also called escabeche, this tart, hot and spicy marinade for fish is an integral part of Jamaican and Puerto Rican foods. In Jamaica it is made with consists of pimientos (allspice), black pepper, onions, garlic, vinegar and Scotch bonnet peppers. Although in Jamaica this dish is made with saltwater fish, use whatever individual-sized fish you can find, like trout.
For the Fish:
• 4 medium fish, gutted and heads removed
• 2 cups vegetable oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
For the Sauce:
• 3 large onions
• 6 large Scotch bonnet peppers (or substitute habaneros)
• 12 pimento (allspice berries)
• 1 cup vinegar
For the Fish:
Pour the oil into a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium high heat.
Rinse the fish with plain water and dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle each fish heavily with salt and pepper, inside and out.
When the oil is hot, add the garlic, let it cook for a few seconds and then remove it.
Fry one fish at a time, turning when the top is golden, until the whole fish is golden brown.
Drain the fish on paper towels and serve with plenty of Escoveitch Sauce.
For the Sauce:
Peel and slice the onions into thin rings. Stem, seed and slice the Scotch bonnets into strips.
Add the onion, pepper, allspice and vinegar to a saucepan over low heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Pour contents over fish before serving
In Jamaica, they call pimento allspice. You can find allspice berries in the spice section of your grocery store, but they are often less expensive bought in bulk at a natural foods store. If you can’t find goat meat you can substitute lamb or mutton.
• 2 pounds goat meat, diced
• 3 tablespoons curry powder, divided
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 3 (or more) Scotch bonnet peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced (or substitute habaneros)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt to taste
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 12 allspice berries
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
In a large bowl, toss the meat with 2 tablespoons curry and everything except the potatoes and carrots. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Pour the oil into a very large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon curry to the oil and stir. Add the meat, marinade, carrots and potatoes to pan and stir. Pour in 1 1/2 cups water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked through, about 40 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasonings. If desired, add another Scotch bonnet, whole, and cook 5 more minutes.
Serve with rice or flatbreads.
Jambalaya is the kind of dish that can feed a big crowd. It takes a long time to cook, but it seems to get eaten pretty fast! Normally made with some combination of shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage, this recipe takes on an exotic twist with smoky wild boar bacon, chunks of alligator tail meat and kangaroo sausage.
• 1 pound alligator tail meat, cubed
• 2 tablespoons Cajun spice mix
• 1 cup cubed wild boar bacon
• 1 pound kangaroo sausage, sliced into rounds
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 2 cups diced celery
• 2 (6-ounce cans) tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce can) tomatoes
• 2 quarts low-sodium chicken stock
• 4 cups uncooked long grain white rice
In a large bowl, toss the alligator with the Cajun spice mix and reserve.
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, brown the bacon. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the sausage to the pan and fry until browned. Remove the sausage to a bowl.
Add the alligator meat to the pan and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the alligator meat and add it to the sausage.
Add the bacon to the same bowl.
Add the onion, bell peppers and celery to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown. Add the tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables with the paste. Then let the mixture cook, without stirring, until the tomato paste darkens a little. Add the tomatoes and the juice from the can, and stir to incorporate. Add 2 cups of the chicken stock and stir.
Add the bacon, alligator and sausage, then stir in the rice and the rest of the chicken stock. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked through.
Adjust the seasonings and serve hot.
