My Favorite Market Lady

Meet Sheri.  She is my favorite market lady in Trinidad.  I have learned so much from her.  Even though she is on the busy walkway between buildings with a constant stream of customers, she always makes the time to explain what stuff is and how to make it. "Sheri, what is that green bundle?"  "Oh!  You don't know what bhaji is?  Ok.  Take this bundle.  Chop it up - all of it.  Fry it up in some oil (I prefer saute) with garlic and salt.  So good.  Here, take this bundle.  You got it?  You know what to do?"  "Okay Sheri.  How much?"  "No, no, no.  You take and try and then you come back and tell me."  She did this repeatedly with so many things.  I would come back and report.  Then I would buy more of whatever and it became part of the galley offering on sv Honey Ryder.  Bhaji, calaloo, pumpkin soup, same beans, etc.....She was always tossing in extra as we chatted.  Last year she was shocked when I knew about Diwali.  "You know about Diwali?"  Then she reached below and pulled out a bag of traditional Diwali sweets and gave it to me. The next time I saw her, I bought her no-bake cookies.  She looked suspicious but graciously took the bag of melted no-bake cookies.  *BTW - no bake are great because you don't need an oven.  However, in the tropics, they melt a bit after cooking.

I have introduced her to numerous cruisers who have in turned learned from her and hopefully will keep buying from her.

I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would like.  Maybe someday we can hang out and lime.  In the mean time, if you are ever in Trinidad at the local POS fresh market, go see Sheri. 

New Favorite Place in Trinidad

Westside Cuisine.  We had been there before on our Taste of Trini Tour with Jesse.  We tried to go another time that season but found it closed.  We went again but too late for Aloo pie so we settled for doubles.

This season we hit it just right.  Oh man, did we ever!  We took a maxi from Coral Cove with Stu, newly arrived from South Africa.  Walking up to this outdoor place we found Leo, one of Jesse's drivers and his wife and grandbaby.  "Leo, what are you doing here?"  "Oh man.  Hi.  I just live up the street.  We come here all the time."

There was a bit of a line so we waited our turn and watched.  Hoo....mon.....the food is fresh made on the spot.  You cannot get any fresher.

I opted for the Saltfish bake.  It was HUGE!  The bake is actually fried bread.  Who cares!  It is a golden circle of puffy pastry like a big soapia the size of a teacup saucer.  It is hot out of the oil and then sliced into.  Inside a big serving of saltfish (combined with finely chopped boch choy and seasoning) along with lettuce, tomato, onion and sauces ( it is Trinidad after all and Trini's love their sauces).  A full serving or even two of veggies.  "Baby you want it with everything?"  I had just seen one served up this way....."Hell ye.....er....I mean Yes mama."  The favors were amazing.  The saltfish was not too salty.  The seasonings and sauces were just right.   Tom and Stu had an aloo pie (potato pie) each.  Aloo pie is big, golden oblong fried bread with potato inside and yet light somehow.  Watching while we waited in line, they HAD to have a double each as well.  Tom said not only was it hot as in "peppa" but hot to hold since the doubles skins were being fried up right there on the spot vs pulled out of a cooler only room temp.

Amazing!

Wedge Season

It is always good to get back to the boat because it is home.  But it is also exciting because it is the start of a new season – even if it is only the prep work before the new season.  Plus seeing old friends, meeting new ones, visiting old stomping grounds and going to new places. 

In Trinidad it also means it is wedge season, yes indeed – wedge season.  Café Feel Oh in Trinidad has outstanding potato wedges.  These are just what they sound like, potatoes cut into full length wedges and fried up.  Café Feel Oh doesn’t make these from scratch but rather buys them frozen and then fries them up.  Doesn’t matter.  Somehow, they cook them just right and they are GOOD. 

January 2016 – we returned to Trinidad for carnival, a boat part and as a side bonus, wedges.  We had been back a few days when we popped into Feel Oh.  “Two cold Stag and two orders of wedges.”  “No wedges.  Finished.”  Oh no, we were crushed.  Okay.  A few days later we were back in there.  “Two stag and wedges please.”  “No wedges today.”  Oh man.  About a week later we were back in, we still needed our wedge fix.  “Two Stag and do you have wedges?”  “No wedges. “  “OH, no.  When do you think you will have wedges?”  “Hum?  We don’t have none at all.  I don’t think it is wedge season yet.”  “Wait, what?”  “Yeah, we don’t have any wedges and we won’t for awhile.  I not sure when we will start wedges again.” 

O-Kay…..did she bascially say it’s not wedge season?  But they are in a frozen bag.  There is no season.  Hum? After a few more beers, the manager came out of the kitchen.  We know her.  “Hi.  How are you?  What is new?”  Good.  Yes, we came back for carnival.  BTW- we also came back for your wedges.  We love the wedges here.  But you have been out.”  “Yes.  No wedges.  Let’s see….it’s February.  We won’t have wedges until March.  After March we will have wedges again.  Now is not wedge time.” 

I know, I know, I know…..we are thinking the same thing as you….how can there be a wedge “time” when they are frozen in a bag!  We had so many questions because it just doesn’t make sense…..to us.  But she is a lovely woman with a shy, quiet smile so instead we just chatted a bit more about carnival and local people and happenings.  See, to us American’s this was a bizarre setup – frozen wedges having a season and many/most American’s would, in typical American fashion PUSH to find out more by questioning the hell out of the situation.  And then when it doesn’t make any logical sense, we would launch into a reasoning session on why it doesn’t make sense.   Some/many Americans would, you know they would. However, those that have traveled enough outside the USA understand that many cultural things don’t make complete logical sense.  This is one of a reasons we travel to see, do and learn.  Sometimes things are different and sometimes it doesn’t make sense to us.  And it’s ok.  In fact, most of the time, it makes for a really great story, which is what has happened in this case.  

We don’t know why but now there is (to us) an actual Wedge Season much like mango season, breadfruit season, breadnut season, sorrel season and such.  We have told this story several times to friends and family.  It is a full fledged tale now.  We have turned many cruising friends onto the yumminess of Café Feel Oh wedges and of course given the warning that there is a season for this delectable item.  Now they are all taking advantage of wedge season while it lasts.

When we returned to Trinidad this fall, it was only a few days and we were in Café Feel Oh.  We were anxious, would it be wedge season?  We know it doesn’t start until sometime in March, but when does it end.  Oh man, we wanted wedges.  We entered and there was a round of greetings to staff and locals we know.  “How are you?  We are good.  What is new?  Yes, yes, we are back on the boat.  Blah, blah, blah”  Then it was time…..”Two cold Stag please…….. And do you have wedges?”  We held our breathes.  “Yes, of course we have wedges.  You want one order or two of wedges?”  YES!  

Philodendron or Spinach

Philodendron?  That was the question running through my head.  "What is this?"  I asked Sherry, my favorite market lady here in Trini.  "Oh that.  It's like spinach.  It's out my of garden.  Here take a bunch.  Chop it up and fry it up like you would spinach.  Here, you take some too." handing both Donna (sv Merlin) and I a bundle each.  She would not take any money for it.  "You try and let me know what you think."

My plan last night was to fix it just like I do spinach.  I don't really "fry up" spinach.  Usually I stir it into just cooked rice or such.  This heats it just enough to not be totally raw.  However, I was struggling a bit with the whole household plant look.  I couldn't shake the fact that this looked like someone's philodendron vs spinach.  The stems and leaves seemed thicker...just like a philodendron.  Hum?  

Time for plan B.  Slice up some garlic and get it warming in olive oil then toss in the spinach, sauteing it lightly.  Sauteing sounds so much better than "Frying" doesn't it?   I guess the leaves and stems of this are no different than say mustard greens or kale (meant only as garnish around the local salad bar IMHO) as they are thicker but hearing it was "like spinach" just stuck in my head.

Anyway, spinach or philodendron or other, it was good.  

Watermelon Year Round

Year Round!  Crazy I know!!  And yes, I realize these days you can get just about any produce at any time of the year in decent grocery stores in the USA.  However, we all know buying off season usually means less than great produce.  In fact, more often than not, it's some anemic looking fruit or veg that has been shipped half way around the globe.  Yuck!  But if you are insistent on fresh strawberries for New Years Eve, knock yourself out!   Instead most of us take advantage of growing seasons to buy whatever is in season.  Sometimes we go a little crazy because stuff come into and out of season quickly.  Raise your hand if you have gorged yourself more than once on strawberries, tomatoes, hatch chilies, etc....because they were in season.  

Anyway, one of the many things we love about Trinidad and Tobago is that you can buy wonderfully ripe watermelon year round.  And I am not talking about the so-so seedless stuff that exists now.  NOPE - I am talking about super sweet, bright red WITH seeds watermelon we all remember from our youth.  It seems the farmers simply plant throughout the entire year, rotating fields.  Boom - luscious, juicey watermelon year round.  Love it!


 

Portugals of Trinidad

Portugals for sale - pic by Bruce

I mentioned these before.  We first tasted them on our T3 - Taste of Trini Tour.  We cannot get enough of them.  The taste is something between a tangerine, mandarin and clementine.  The size is similar to those.  They are super easy to peel.  There are seeds but that is okay.  We still remember back to the days when fruits and vegetables had seeds and....omg....somehow we managed.  I wonder if taking the seeds out doesn't maybe take out a bit of the natural goodness/sweetness.  These are naturally sweet and just plain YUMMY.  Nice a cold, straight from the fridge for an afternoon snack.  Delish! 

Pic from Simply Trini

Portugal as explained by Simply Trini - awesome site! 

Sabrina's Roti Shack

Sabrina's Vegetable and Roti Stand in Trinidad

M-A-Y-B-E

Taste of Trini Tour - T3

Sabrina's T3 bib

We took a 12 hour food tour of Trinidad.  It was a terrific way to learn all about not only the food of Trinidad, but also about the diverse and rich culture that make up this special island nation.  To read all about this please click on Taste of Trini Tour - T3 to take you to our main blog page.

Super hot peppa double

Pineapple Chow

We first tasted this on The Flag Tour of Trinidad.  Jesse James made this treat for us in the Caroni Swap.  I then found it on the web site Simply Trini Cooking.  Today I made my own with one addition.  I added a bit of finely chopped red onion.  

Ooops - I forgot to put the hot pepper in the pic

Ingredients 

1 fresh pineapple - chopped into small bites

1 group chadon beni leaves - chopped (you can also use cilantro)

3 large cloves of fresh garlic - finely chopped and then smashed -*see below about smashing garlic

1 lime

1/4 red onion finely chopped

Salt and black pepper - generously (especially the black pepper)

1- hot pepper - finely chopped

Chop fresh pineapple into small bites.  Here in the Caribbean the pineapples are such that we can eat the core.  I find in the USA, the core is too tough.  Place the chopped pineapple into a mixing bowl.  Add the chopped chadon beni, finely chopped red onion, smashed garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper and  finely chopped hot pepper.  It is up to you the type of hot pepper you use and how much.  You want heat but it shouldn't overwhelm the other favors.  Stir it all together and taste.  Add more salt, pepper and hot pepper if needed.  Serve as an appetizer with chips or crackers.  Use it to top fish, shrimp, chicken or pork.  Add a dollop of it on top steamed rice if you like.  

Smashing the garlic -Sorry for the bad pic, cameraman issues.

*Smashing Garlic -

By smashing the garlic, this allows the oils in the garlic to come out and mellows the flavor just a tad.  I smash fresh garlic when I want a fresh garlic taste but I don't want too much bite.  This is done by finely chopping the garlic.  Then I usually add a couple dashes of salt and 1/2 t olive oil right on top the chopped garlic.  Then with the flat side of my knife, I smashed the garlic, grinding the salt into the garlic and making a paste using the little bit of oil.  Then I add it to whatever sauce or dressing.  In the above recipe I added the salt alone (no olive oil) and smashed it into the garlic.  This was mainly because I am out of olive oil (D-oh) but the oil of the garlic was enough that it still created a garlic paste.

Food of Trinidad - The Flag Tour

October 22, 2015

On a Member's Only tour today we had a chance to taste the below foods.  We've learned that on Jesse's tours more often than not, they involve food.  Awesome, right?!  Of course there is his world famous "Taste of Trini Tour" that is nothing but eating your way around the country for 12 straight hours.  FYI - the record for number of foods tasted on that tour stands at 99 foods....in one day...OMG!  We have yet to do that tour but have heard great reviews and plan to do that tour this year before we depart Trinidad.

Anyway, our tour today (now dubbed The Flag Tour) took us down south to the world famous Pitch Lake (made up of pitch), to the Temple in the Sea, the Karya Siddhi temple and finally to the Caroni Swamp to see the scarlet ibis.  All the while we were learning about the things we were seeing as we drove along;  about the history, culture, religion, politics and such that make up Trinidad.  This included food - snacks, lunch, more snakes and finally homemade pineapple chow (made right in the boat while we were in the swamp).  One word =Yum!  

One of many food booths at Doubles Corner

It all started when some of our group were feeling peckish in the morning so Jesse stopped at a place called Doubles Corner.  Now you know we love Trini doubles.  But instead, Jesse had us trying new things none of us had tried before.
  

1.  Saheena (Sahina) - layers of dasheen leaves rolled up and then sliced.  That is placed between two layers of chickpea crust and then the whole thing is fried.  There was mango sauce in there and peppa sauce if we wanted.  De-lish!  Alternative method of preparing Saheena.

Saheena

2.  Aloo pie - Aloo means potato in Hindi so this was cooked potato in a chutney sauce with Chadon Beni and peppa sauce.  This was served up in a golden fried bread.

Aloo pie

3.  Kachorie (Kachori) - split peas and channa (chickpeas) are soaked overnight and then ground up fine in a food processor, turning it into a dough similar to cornmeal.  Spices like garlic, salt and pepper are added as well.  Then it is shaped into small patties and fried up.  The accompanying sauce was a sweet Pommecythere chow - aka golden apple chow. 

4.  Barfi - was our take away goodie.  Condensed milk, powdered milk, ginger, and cardamon make a Trini type fudge with sprinkles on top for fun.  

Roti

5.  After the Pitch Lake, we all enjoyed roti's - chicken w/bones (more flavor) and veggie. 

Jesse making his pineapple chow

6.  Jesse's pineapple chow - pineapple, lime juice, garlic, salt and black pepper, Chadon Beni and finally a small bit of scotch bonnet peppa for heat.  

7.  We also enjoyed some Pholouri (pronounced po-lor-ree) - fried batter that is usually served with a chow, chutney or sauce.

It was all yummy, yummy but in the end we liked the Saheena and Jesse's pineapple chow the best.

Special Note - I found a terrific web site Simply Trini  Cooking.  I used it to help fill in the details I forgot on the foods we ate.  If you like food at all, take some time to cruise this web site.  It's very interesting.  I haven't had a chance to contact the web site cook/author but plan to soon.  Hopefully, I have given full credit with my links.  I didn't want to swipe pics without asking so please click the links to see the missing foods I didn't get pics of because I was too busy stuffing my face.     

Chadon Beni or Shadow Beni or Shadow Benny

This is not the bad guy in some crime novel.  Although, Tom says that is immediately what he pictures in his mind when someone mentions it.   Chadon Beni is a herb here in Trinidad.  The smell and flavor is very similar to cilantro. It's chopped up and used in chows and chutneys - like Jesse Jame's (Member's Only) Pineapple Chow.  Or it's finally chopped to make a sauce used in doubles and other foods.  And finally it can be tossed on top of a dish just before serving to give it that final touch.

 

Check out the full details on Chadon Beni.

World Series Snack

October 2015
We have discovered a new snack aboard sv Honey Ryder.  These spicy, baked/fried (unsure) chickpeas are crunchy and spicy and great for nervous pre-game World Series snacking as we prep for cheering the KC Royals to victory. 

Here in Trinidad, chickpeas are called channa.

Trinidad Market Day

Mother in Law is HOT, Cut Up Lime Pepper is moderate with great flavor

Tom accompanied me again to the Saturday market.  We eyed the fish and produce quickly as we worked our way to the far end of the market.  The first order of business was a double for each of us.  We stood in line for my favorite doubles guy and opted for medium peppa.  Tummy's satisfied, we backtracked in search of fruits and veggies, as well as a few other items.  We hit the V & P booth for a large bottle of "Cut Up Lime" a sort of Trinidad version of what stateside we might call chow chow or pickle relish or in Mexico pico de gallo or chutney in India - in other words, a basic side relish.  This one is made of lime, peppers, seasoning and small cut up veggies to flavor.  We have already blown through our small bottle.  

My favorite fishmonger

While I don't come to the market every Saturday (the Jesse James shopping bus leaves the marina areas at 6:30 AM - that is way early for a Saturday my friends!  At least it is for this sailor girl.) I have gone enough times to know my way around the market by now.  I have even started developing my own favorite vendors.  These are vendors that are willing to take a few extra minutes to answer my questions, give me instruction on how to prepare a new fruit or veggie, peel or cut something open in order to let me try it or toss in an extra orange or tomato for free.  My favorite fishmonger is a nice couple on the end of the fish line.  They are friendly and engaging, taking the time to visit as they prep your fish.  They don't make too much fun of me for not wanting the fish head and bones, prized parts of the fish in the Caribbean islands.  * It seems only crazy white girls from America give up the best parts of the fish!  

Near empty "dolly"

The market has narrow aisles between the rows of tables overflowing with produce.  The same is true outside with the vendor ringing the building.  Additional produce is delivered to the interior and exterior vendors on these long two wheeled carts that look like what we would call a "dolly" but stretched out to hold much more.  

Fully loaded

Headed for delivery

We decided to try taking a Maxi Taxi to the market vs the normal Jesse James cruisers shopping bus.  This would allow us to be on our schedule at the market vs the one hour the cruisers shopping bus allows.  the cost is less as well.  *However there advantages to taking the cruisers shopping bus.   Sometime the Maxi Taxi will take you the extra way down to the market vs stopping at the central Maxi station and sometime they won't.  We lucked out, our driver agreed to take us all the way to the market. Getting to the market isn't that big of deal.  It's getting back.  The Maxi's don't run back from the market to Chaguaramas.  For our return trip, we connected with Cheryl (sv Just Imagine) and Sheila (s/v Never Bored) Maxi Taxi pro's.  They lead us down a couple of side streets back towards the Maxi Taxi central station.  I was very happy to have my own personal sherpa named Tom to help me lug our produce.  We piled into the Maxi, holding our loaded backpacks in our laps.  Maxi Taxi's hold 13 people and all seats are taken.  There is no putting your packages on the seat next to you.  After washing, drying, prepping and storing all our produce, a nap was needed!  I told you, the 6:00 AM alarm is early for this cruising girl!

Trinidad Watermelon

Watermelons grow in Trinidad.  Really wonderful watermelons.  Who knew.  It's November 15th and we have been enjoying some scrumptious, sweet Trinidadian watermelon.  Now I know these days in USA grocery stores you can pretty much get anything you want any time of year.  However, unless it's really in season, it's generally marginal at best in terms of taste and quality.  So.....real, in season, ripe watermelon in November just makes me giggle as the juice runs down my chin.  *We feel very retro (not old) eating Trinidadian watermelons as these are seeded watermelons.  We have grown so accustom to seedless in the USA that this truly feels like watermelon eating from days gone by.