Over at SupermarketGuru.com you can find answers to frequently asked questions about storing wine. Questions include: • Should I be storing the wine I drink everyday in a special way or place? • Where should I store wine I don’t plan to drink immediately? • Where should I store wine after it is opened? • How long will an open bottle of wine keep? Thanks to their answers I have decided... 

I love checking out the various culinary stories from around the world that show up both in my Trinigourmet Times and via iGoogle. They give me a glimpse into cultures and traditions from places I’ll probably never see, as well as spots right next door! This week I stumbled across a story, published on NPR, from Ramin Ganeshram, author of the extremely popular Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from... 

Have you tried splashing Angostura bitters on your ice cream? Because Angostura has a light uplifting flavour with some citrusy undertones I find it works better with pale colored icecreams like vanilla and citrus-flavored icecreams like orange and lemon. This post was originally published November 23, 2006. It has been updated once since. Tweet  Read More →

Caption: President of the Santa Rosa Carib Community, Ricardo Bharath-Hernandez singes a banana leaf over a fireside, as he prepares to make pastelles at the Carib Community Centre in Arima yesterday. The community prepares dozens of pastelles annually for sale. PHOTO BY AZLAN MOHAMMED This image and caption appeared on the front page of the Newsday Newspaper (December 20, 2006). Sadly, the website... 

Are you as much of a Food Television junkie as I am? It’s bad, I tell you. This year has been particularly bad with the nonstop flow of competitive reality shows and the launch of Cooking Channel! I’ve even taken to live tweeting and following the chatter on the various Twitter channels that accompany the airing of my favourite shows. Before you write me off as a neurotic techno-addict,... 

Kurma is one of my favourite Trinidadian snacks. Fried mouthfuls of spiced dough in a sugary glaze, they can be found and purchased throughout the island at school ‘tuck shops’, pharmacies, supermarkets and corner shops. East Indian in origin they are also a staple treat at many Hindu and Moslem functions. Little did I realize however (until doing some research for this post) that the... 

The hills of Paramin, where much of Trinidad’s seasonings are grown Hey everyone, I think there is a national conspiracy against my waistline. It started with Divali, continues through Hanukkah and will reach its peak once all those Christmas eats start arriving with friends and neighbours in tow. I see a treadmill in my not too distant future! This month Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad... 

How cute are these ‘latkes’? I have to put the quotation marks because they are neither fried, nor flat (oh the sacrilege!). But… they are so light, crisp and flavourful that I can’t get too worked up so do ignore my faux outrage Ignoring weighty fillers, this latke recipe (which like yesterday’s Oven-Crisped Latkes comes from EatingWell Magazine) is instead oven-baked,... 

This latke recipe is adapted from one that I saw several years ago in EatingWell Magazine. It has become a perennial favourite and is one that will probably please latke purists/minimalists in the crowd. I particularly enjoy it with sour cream. Technique wise this latke is started in the frying pan with a shallow fry and then is finished in the oven for a purported lighter, healthier result. The... 

Just a few words as I am writing this at 3:10 a.m.and am rapidly fading after a day of automechanical mishaps (ugh!) Ochroes are one of those ingredients that rapidly divide people into one of two camps, the love ‘ems and leave ‘ems. Well, I was hoping that this dish would be the one that could potentially convert its detractors but I suspect it won’t. However , if you are an ochro... 

How have you been enjoying my Hanukkah 2010 series so far? At the moment I seem to be having a little trouble with my RSS feed so if you have not received the posts so far you can check out the recipe roundup to date here. I first whipped up these curried potato mini latkes two years ago for an installment of my blogger friend Stephanie’s now defunct Blog Party series. Latkes are probably... 

It may seem odd to launch my Hanukkah menu series with an Asian noodle dish, but scratch the surface and you can see that it is not that far a stretch. Hanukkah after all commemorates a miracle of oil, and this is a fried dish. Not only that, but Judaism has had a long and fascinating history in China spanning well over a thousand years! Did it mention it also tastes great? The most intensive part... 

Hey everyone, here’s yet another installment of my ongoing Caribbean Beachcomber 1969 series. This year has all been about rediscovering vintage Caribbean Cookbooks and recipes from eras past. I’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg so far, and am so excited about what 2011 will bring both for my kitchen, and this blog! This Broiled Banana Cake is so simple and yet it looks as though... 

So funny the things we take for granted sometimes. Growing up around plantains all my life it never occurred to me, until recently, that this fruit is almost completely unknown in many parts of the world! It was only through various conversations with people, primarily from Europe, and an episode of the recently concluded MasterChef US, that I realized that it was high time to shed a little light... 

I have 3 large folders of cutouts y’all. You know the folder I’m talking about. The one where you have stashed all those pages you’ve torn out of magazines through the years. All the recipes you’ve clipped out of the newspaper. Yeah that one. I have 3 of those folders and I’ve decided that now is the time to actually start preparing them. Well actually I decided that... 

The following is my take on a very popular Middle Eastern salad. The parsley and lemon juice give the carrots much needed brightness, while the cumin deepens all the flavours, creating an exotic side that complements most dishes In 2007 I submitted this recipe to Gluten Free By The Bay‘s “Cooking for Karina“, a food event that focused on cooking around her friend’s food... 

Malta Carib has been a staple in my home since I was a child. Growing up I felt like quite a ‘big woman’ drinking it from the bottle (I had no idea it was non-alcoholic ). During the 80′s it was promoted not just as an energy booster, but also as an aid for students preparing for exams! From CaribBeer.com Malta Carib is a full-bodied, refreshing non-alcoholic malt beverage that... 

Divali deeyahs, Adam Smith Square, Woodbrook 2008 Hey everyone, still catching up on my blog posts, Divali really snuck up on me this year! By the time you read this post I’ll probably be sleeping off the inevitable food coma that follows consumption of that many carbs and candy! This month Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad and Tobagocontinues its dominance but Rita Springer’s... 

As previously mentioned, Malta Carib was actually posited as an integral ‘educational aid’ I don’t know if it ever helped me in my exams, but I certainly loved (and still love) the taste. Yum! Please visit my earlier post for more information on Malta Carib. Amazon.com Widgets This post was originally published October 3, 2009. It has been updated once since then. Tweet  Read More →

This Tridoshic dal comes from a cookbook that I’ve been using for years called The Ayurvedic Cookbook. I’m always interested in learning about the culinary traditions and philosophies of other cultures. Eastern cuisines in particular often fixates on the concept of warming and cooling foods. Maintaining a balance of the two within a meal, or strategically stimulating or calming ones...