Posts Tagged With: Pudding

It wasn’t just the package

I’ve found a new item to add to my quirky list of edibles. It’s been around for ages and finally has found it’s way to me! I wasn’t told about it nor did I read about it in some Dr. Doozy list of “top miracle health products nobody has ever heard of”.  I was walking the isles of the local Massy (a popular chain grocery store here) snooping like I do, when something caught my eye. 

 
Take a look at that package… I’ve never seen seaweed look like this before! (Make sure you read the previous sentence with a high pitched sarcastic tone).

STEP 1: Stare at the package again… for the instructions.

STEP 2:
Rinse and soak 

   

STEP 3: Remove from the fridge and hold it up to the light. Inspect the curious looking monster in the container that you’re supposedly going to eat.



STEP 4:
Boil for 20 min and strain. This is when the recipes can vary a bit.  My minimal research shows that some of the more popular dishes are sweet and aim towards a pudding desert-like substance. I’m going to make a veggie cake(ish) creation, so bare with me.

STEP 5: Blend it up with enough water until there are no lumpy plant chunks. Note, it expands during this process! 

   

STEP 6:
Put this mess aside and bring out your other ingredients.  Here’s what I’m playing with today: butternut squash, sweet potato, egg, coconut milk, kale, vanilla, turmeric, ginger, ground flax seeds, cayenne pepper, himalayan salt and a splash of palm sugar. 

I have no measurements for you as I generally just pinch here, dash that, pour more and finish with a shoulder shrug.  I suppose if I master a phenomenal flavor, I’ll then post a proper recipe.  

   

  

STEP 7: Combine everything together with no method to the madness.  Just shove the ingredients in a blender and let ‘er rip!

 

STEP 8:
Realize you forgot to preheat your oven and rush over to get it started. Then lightly oil a baking dish and poor in the mixture.

  

STEP 9: Bake until you can stick and remove a clean toothpick from the center.  If you’re like me, this is when you should crank up the heat to brown the edges a bit more. 

 
Final step is to remove the strange looking green cake-like dish and let it cool.  You don’t have to worry about anyone sneaking a bite because well, look at it.  

 

If you choose to eat it warm out of the oven, I suggest pouring a bit of coconut milk (or your milk of choice) over the top and eating it like a pudding.  You can see the texture of the warm version in the top photo.  

If you put it in the fridge, the seamoss will set up and turn the dish into more of a brownie texture (in the bottom picture).   

   
A few other of my favorite edibles can be seen in Coconut and cashew, yes please and My favorite Cambodian dish.  Cheers to the open road, new flavors and a creative kitchen!

   
 

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Calories – Love to consume them… love to burn em!

“Th Ackee Tree” – otherwise known as “The home of the one pound Roti”.
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What’s a roti? Delicious. It starts with a thin wrap (skin) pressed together with dried chickpeas in almost hummus form.  Then they fill it with your choice of meat, veggies and sauces.  Today I got shark with chickpeas and pumpkin. Added some tamarind, pepper sauce and a hint of curry. It’s wrapped up in almost burrito form and served a la carte.
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Can you see the two separate wraps with the dried hummus in the middle?
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I decided to destroy it and eat it with my fingers by tearing the wrap and pinching the filling into each bite.  As I was feeling a little silly (just a little), Ryan informed me that I was eating it the traditional way. The roti “burrito” is fairly modern and more for convenience.   
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Coconut jelly is the meat in a green young coconut (the white part before it turns hard). It can be so soft that it reminds you of gelatin. I dont think it’s like anything near what your typical coconut tastes like. This is mildly sweet and personally one of my new favorite flavors!
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Catch of the day choices at an outdoor restaurant called “Just Grillin”. After you pick your fish or meat you can make it a sandwich, salad or plate and pick from a variety of sides.   www.justgrillinbarbados.com .
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This is Souse, the national dish of Barbados. Traditional a Saturday night food to serve with a pudding made from either sweet potato or blood. Back in the slavery days the owners of the land would butcher the pigs and keep all of the “good” meat and pass the left over “parts” to the workers. They would then pickle and season with peppers and spices, topping it off with onion or cucumber.  When eating this authentic dish you may encounter an ear, hooves, a tail, or maybe even a shoulder.  
The dark brown you can barely see to the top right is the pudding. The other side is green banana, a fruit that compliments the flavor of the souse.
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These stands are the common “fast food” choices.
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The menu
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The grill master
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Ryan got the barbecued chicken with fried plantains, chips and salad shown in the pictures. I ordered the grilled fish, chips and salad but ate it before it dawned on me to take a picture.
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Time to burn off some of those calories!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with my past in gymnastics, I never did it as a child but started coaching at 14. Through training and teaching, I worked my way through the upper levels until reaching the head coach position of a completive team. I then finished up my journey in the gymnastics world as a judge and member of NAWGJ.

Although coaching is where my heart stays, it was so much fun to be on the other side as a student.  I got to try new things in the hands of one of the best. No, seriously… This is Shane De Freitas. He is the only gymnasts to have ever represented Barbados in the 1996 Olympics!  

His cheerful and laid back attitude combined with an extreme amount of knowledge made a perfect match for this class.

From left to right: Ryan, me, Shane, Michelle and Jodie.
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Time to stretch-out and warm up.
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A little floor with handstands, cartwheels, back walk overs and more.
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Beam- I dedicate these two pics to all of my gymnasts from years past.  Great memories girls!
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Bars brought a lot of laughs.  It seems pretty typical for little girls to “play” on a set, so childhood memories of recess came to mind. We started with some swings, then holds and the last photo is mid rotation of a back hip circle (which sounds cooler than it is) but I did it after all these years!
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Although Ryan claims to not be a natural (and never had lessons), here he is with extreme height and great rotation in a back tuck. “I just like to jump off of things”.
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Palma horse is a men’s event that we got to give a try.  Attempting some of the most basic skills brought an entire new level of respect for the athletes that make it look so easy.
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To say he was showing off would be like accusing a doctor of showing off by knowing the alphabet. This stuff was extremely elementary for him and really entertaining to watch.
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I have no idea what this is called but it was fun!  You grip two separate bars and proceed to elevate your body sideways to an inverted position. Yeh… Right.  With Shane’s boost, I was able to get a feel for it, thanks pal!
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Girls just wanna have fun! Our three attempts for a perfect rope picture.  I wouldn’t say we failed, just had creative results.  All great times ladies!
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Final photo of the night with the whole crew.  Just a bunch of big kids with big hearts and bigger smiles.  A personal thanks to this group for the open arms (and monkey toes) to send me on my way…  High-fives!
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Categories: Edibles!, Fitness, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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