A Thick and Hearty Spicy Lamb and Lentil Soup

Nothing beats a thick, hearty soup in the Winter. I like any kind of bean soup as long as it's spicy, and can be made in a slow cooker. For this version of lentil and lamb soup, I wanted something that had complex flavors and would be spicy so I took  inspiration from my Jamaican-Lebanese cultural heritage. It does require some work to get the right balance of flavors but I found that adding some chicken bouillon cubes (1-2) towards the end, tasting as I did so, resulted in what I wanted to achieve. The flavors are a mix of Jamaican and Lebanese spices and include, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, and cloves, all of which are contained in the prepared spice mixes that I used.. The Habanero pepper is ubiquitous in Jamaican cooking as we put that in almost every dish that we make! You will need a large (7-8 quart) slow cooker for this unless you plan to make it in a stockpot on the stove. The length of time for which the soup is cooked is not so much for the lentils but more to ensure that the lamb is cooked to the point where the meat falls off the bones. Lamb is a very fatty meat so if you prefer something less so, I guess beef or chicken could be substituted.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs Lamb neck bones

4oz spicy Andouille Cajun Sausage, sliced

1 large onion, finely chopped (yellow, sweet, white, it does not matter)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 lb very ripe tomatoes, pureed

1 lb lentils, washed and picked over

1/2 cup pearl barley

1 8 oz can mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1-2 tablespoons Jamaican Meat seasoning

1/2 rounded tablespoon Lebanese 7 spice mix

8-10 whole Allspice berries

5-6 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons Maggi Spicy Masala sauce (if you cannot get this, use 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce)

1 Habanero chili pepper, whole

10 oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

8-10 cups chicken broth (depending on capacity of slow cooker or stockpot)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 cups Swiss Chard or Kale leaves, washed and cut into thick strips

Directions
Have the butcher cut the lamb neck bones into small chunks (see photo)

 Season the lab with the meat seasoning and 7 spice mix. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Brown the lamb chunks in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit(see photo)

 Sauté the chopped onions, sliced Andouille sausage, garlic, thyme, and allspice berries in the oliveoil until the onion becomes translucent. Add the pureed tomatoes and the whole habanero pepper to the mix and sauté 2-3 minutes longer.

Put the lentils, barley, sautéed mixture of onions etc, drained mushroom pieces, Maggi sauce, oven browned lamb chunks (I discarded the small amount of drippings), and butternut squash in a 7 quart slow cooker. Add 8 cups of broth and cook on high for 6 hours (you may need to top up with broth as the liquid is absorbed during the cooking process. If you need to do this, boil the broth before adding to the slow cooker to prevent a drop in cooking temperature). Taste at the end of the cooking period and season to taste using 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes (I like the Wylers brand). Add the Kale or Swiss Chard leaves 5-10 minutes before serving

Puffed Millet Cookies

Update: A friend has told me that he sprinkled some coarse sea salt over these cookies prior to baking, and then pressed the grains into the cookie mix. I can well imagine that this would be delicious as one would end up wiath a salted caramel taste especially if Panela sugar is used! I plan to try it with my next batch!

I wanted to make a biscuit (sometimes called a cookie in other countries) using puffed millet, and Piloncillo. Most of the recipes I found for this were in the form of "no-bake" bars, and was not what I wanted. Piloncillo is a type of raw sugar that is common throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a mixture of sugar crystals and molasses, formed at the stage of sugar processing where the two have not yet separated. Different countries have different names for it. The name piloncillo refers to the traditional cone shape in which the sugar is produced (see photo)

Piloncillo

. It is also known as panela and panocha. There are actually two varieties of piloncillo produced one is lighter (blanco) and one darker (oscuro). In Jamaica, we call the very dark "wet" variety, "New Sugar" or "Wet Sugar. This is softer, more liquid than Piloncillo, and we would eat it "as is" or use it to preserve Tamarinds. I could not find that here in the US so Piloncillo or its Indian cousin "Jaggery" would have to do! I put the lump of Piloncillo or Panela in a plastic ziploc bag, the wrap the bag in a clean kitchen towel. I use a wooden mortar or a hammer to hit it through the towel so that it breaks into smaller pieces. The result is a soft center coated with a caramel outside. I use it to sweeten my coffee as the taste is far more flavorful than just dark brown sugar.

Piloncillo is very hard compared to the brown sugar you purchase in a box in mainstream American supermarkets. I like the dark, Colombian variety called Panela that comes in a flattened shape.

Panela

If you cannot find Piloncillo in your neighborhood Latino market, you can substitute dark brown sugar in this recipe but you will not end up with the same taste. The recipe yielded 30 cookies, and using one of the nutrition calculators online (Calorie Count) it said that each cookie had approximately 7 grams sugar and 14 grams carbohydrate. I cannot verify that with any accuracy. Are these cookies healthy? I have no idea. Are these cookies delicious.....Hell, yes! They are crisp, crunchy with a hint of caramel that goes great with a cup of coffee. You will not be able to eat only one!
Ingredients

• ½ cup self raising flour+1/2 cup durum atta flour
• 3/4 cup Piloncillo
• 1 cup flax meal
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 cup Scottish oatmeal
• 1 cup puffed millet
• ½ tsp salt
• 75g butter+50 grams coconut oil
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 6 tbsp boiling water

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Place flours, oatmeal, puffed millet, sesame seeds, salt, and flax meal in a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre.
2. Place butter, Piloncillo, coconut oil, and golden syrup in a saucepan to melt, heat over low heat until bubbly and smells like caramel. Dissolve baking soda in the boiling water. It will foam when added. Add melted ingredients and dissolved baking soda to dry ingredients and mix to combine.
3. Using both hands, shape 1 heaping tablespoon of mixture to form balls ( see photo)

and press onto prepared baking trays, lined with parchment paper, using the bottom of a drinking glass. I oil the bottom of the glass, and press lightly until the ball is flattened to about 1/2 inch thickness (see photo above). Allow space for biscuits to spread while cooking.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.
5. Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for another 45 minutes to one hour. It is this drying out phase that makes the biscuits crisp and longer lasting. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack. Store in an air tight container.

 

Jerk Pork Loin Back Rib Tips in Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce

This is a recipe I developed to balance the fiery taste of jerk pork with the sweetness of an American Style BBQ Sauce. The seasonings I used are spicy but not significantly so when used in the proportions in the recipe. It is a very simple recipe, and not one that requires a lot of preparation or ingredients. My supermarket sells the pork loin back rib tips, in strips, at a very reasonable price. These tips are what is cut from a rack of back ribs to give it a nice, straight edge. They look like oriental style cut ribs that are sold in strips in Asian supermarkets but the back rib tips are much meatier. The supermarket tends to put out a couple of packages each day so I tend to check every time I'm there to build up my stock. The "jerk" seasoning provide the background flavors while the Jack Daniels BBQ sauce gives the necessary sweetness and glaze to the ribs.

Ingredients
3 lbs Pork Loin Back Rib Tips
1 heaping teaspoon of Grace Hot Jerk Seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoons of Grace Caribbean Meat Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon Pickapeppa Sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcester Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sriracha Pepper Sauce
1 bottle Jack Daniels Hickory Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce
Method
1. Cut the rib tip strips into 2-3 inch lengths. Put in a ziploc plastic bag.
2. Add all the seasonings with the exception of the BBQ sauce. That is added later. Mix to coat all the pieces in the bag with the seasonings. Marinate in fridge overnight.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the ribs to an appropriate size baking dish (I use a 9X13 inch baking dish). Bake the ribs for anywhere between 30-45 minutes until they are nicely browned. Remove from oven and add the bottle of BBQ sauce to the ribs.
4. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and return to oven for another 30 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, take off the foil and place the ribs under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and thick, and the ribs develop a slight char. Have a lot of paper towels handy as these are very moist and coated with the sauce.

Honey Persimmon Quince Tea Bread

This is a spin-off on my Plantain Cranberry Bread but it is a difficult recipe, and very labor intensive. Don't try it unless you have a lot of time, a lot of help or both! The result, however, is outstanding so it's well worth all the effort I put into it.....and no, I did not have any help! The flavor is not strong as the fruits used do not themselves have strong flavors. I wanted to find a way to use Quinces since this is their season, and the usual method of poaching is too sweet for me (not that I don't do that and have it with plain yogurt, and granola). The spices have been adjusted to compliment the combination of quince and persimmon, and I have substituted honey in place of molasses to result in a more pleasing, lighter color for the bread. I also used a Meyer Lemon

as it's like a cross between an orange (the flavor that goes best with Quince) and a lemon. This delicately flavored, and not very dense bread goes well with a fragrant tea!

Asian pear, Quince,and Persimmons

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup bread flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice Powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup yogurt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

½ cup oil

1 Asian Pear or Apple( the skin is quite tough so I just cut it in quarters, cored it, then grated only the inside of the fruit. The peel stays intact while you are doing this and can be discarded). Drain the accumulated liquid before adding it to the rest of the mixture.

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 cup grated Quince (The quince can be peeled easily using a regular vegetable peeler. Cut the fruit in half with a large, sharp chef's knife. Be sure your cutting board is secure; the fruit is very tough and spongy and will be hard to cut.)

3/4 cup shredded Persimmon (Peel the persimmon, then grate it)

½ cup chopped dried cranberries

Juice and zest of one Meyer lemon
Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper, Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 5 spice powder, coriander.

3.In another bowl, mix together well, the shredded persimmon, grated apple, ginger root, Meyer lemon juice and zest, chopped cranberries, grated quince, and yogurt.

4.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, dark brown sugar, oil, and honey.

5. Add the Quince and persimmon mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the edges are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Chewy or Crunchy Oatmeal Granola Treacle Breakfast Bars

 Update: 11/29/15. I decided to give this a new title, as well as revise the directions. My reason for doing this is that the bars can either be "chewy" or "crunchy" depending on a simple tweak to the ingredient list, and the baking method. 
These started off as chewy, oatmeal seed bars that are different to my breakfast cookies. I wanted to make a bar that was not too hard but also not very soft. These fit the bill! I did not put the chopped, dried cranberries in these but will do so next time. It's important to make sure that the mixture is really compacted tightly in the baking tin. I used the method of covering the mixture with plastic wrap and using a rolling pin to to the compacting. It worked well. Press the mixture in the pan using your fingers first, then use the rolling pin to really pack it tightly. I used puffed millet to give add some crunch to the bars but any of the puffed cereals can be used. I like the Arrowhead Mills range. If you want to make the bars crisp, replace 1/2 cup of the Scottish Oatmeal with Durum Atta flour, and extend the time of the second bake by 1 hour at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. The bars also have to be placed on a rack for this second bake. 
Ingredients

3 cups Scottish oatmeal

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Lyles Golden Syrup

2 Tbsp water

1/2 tsp baking soda

2-3 Tbsp Molasses

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup puffed Millet

1/2 cup Flax meal (or 1/4 cup wheat germ+1/4 cup flax meal)

1/4 cup Finely Chopped Pumpkin seeds

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup chopped, dried cranberries (optional)
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, vanilla, chopped cranberries, golden syrup, butter, coconut oil, salt, and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined and the mixture is bubbling.
2.Toss together the oatmeal, puffed millet, wheat germ, baking soda, flax meal, cinnamon, sesame and pumpkin seeds. Pour in the sugar mixture, water and baking soda, stirring as you pour. Mix until everything is well coated with the liquid mixture.
3.Press firmly into a shallow baking pan lined with parchment paper. The mixture fits perfectly in a 9x11x1 inch pan. Make sure the paper overhangs the sides of the baking pan (photo). Use your fingers to press the mixture first, then cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and use a rolling pin as seen in the photo

4. Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and score into squares with a sharp knife (do not cut all the way through).

Then decrease the temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven,  cut along score lines to form squares but leave to cool in pan.  Lift parchment paper out of the pan and fully cut square pieces with a sharp knife. To make the crunchy variation, modify the oatmeal mixture as explained at the beginning, after the first bake break the bars along the score lines and place on a rack in a baking tin. Lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for about 1 hour to dry the bars out completely. Remove from oven when the bars are a dark brown color, cool on the rack and keep in an airtight container. 

Plantain Cranberry Bread

This is one of those recipes that you can taste in your mind but translating it to reality is a challenge. I came up with this as I wanted something for Thanksgiving that was not made with Pumpkin! We do not celebrate Thanksgiving where I'm from but if we did, I guess this could be called Plantain Thanksgiving Bread. I can't call it Harvest Bread as the ingredients I have used, grow year round in the Caribbean. I therefore settled on Plantain Cranberry Bread as that would bridge the Caribbean-American gap. I also used American Sweet Potato or Sweet Yam as it's sometimes called. I did not use the Caribbean sweet potato or Boniato as it is more starchy, and has a different taste and texture to the American variety. It is a tedious recipe to make because of so many ingredients but it's well worth the effort......very "Moreish" as we say in the Caribbean!

·          INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup bread flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon nutmeg

⅛ teaspoon allspice

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup yogurt

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup oil

1 Chayote squash, peeled, seed removed, and finely grated (I would imagine that 1/2 cup of grated zucchini could be used as a substitute)

2 tablespoons molasses

3/4 cup grated raw, American sweet potato

3/4 cup "turn" plantain ("turn" means that the plantain is firm with yellow skin, not soft and ripe with blackened skin), peeled and shredded(if you are not familiar with how to peel it, there are many sources on the Internet that show you how to do it)

½ cup chopped dried cranberries

Juice and zest of one lemon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper, Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg and allspice.

3.In another bowl, mix together well, the shredded plantain, grated chayote, ginger root, lemon juice and zest, chopped cranberries, grated sweet potato, and yogurt.  To shred the Plantain, use the coarse shredder (larger holes), and use the smaller holes to grate the other ingredients)

Grater

Shredded "turn" Plantain

4.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, dark brown sugar, oil, and molasses.

5. Add the sweet potato and plantain mixture to the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, and mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the edges are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then allow it to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Brown Butter Raisin Beer Bread

 This is a very quick and easy beer bread to make. Unlike others on the Internet, this recipe uses a variety of dry ingredients that enhance its nutritional value as well as its taste. I used a Boston Lager but I'm sure any light ale would work. I added the Flax Meal because of the high concentration of Omega3 found in that grain. The oatmeal adds fiber as well as helps lower cholesterol. All in all, it is a very satisfying breakfast bread that goes great with a morning cup of coffee.

Ingredients

1 cup bread flour

1 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 cup scottish oatmeal

1/2 cup flax meal

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins, finely chopped

2 tbsp butter

1 12oz bottle lager
Method

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside

2. Slowly melt butter,  molasses and finely chopped raisins in a saucepan until butter slightly caramelizes.

3. Add the beer to the cooled butter mixture then add all to the dry ingredients, mixing until a dough forms.

4. Pour mixture into a well greased and floured loaf tin. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40-50 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack to cool further. Slice when cooled completely. I cut the bread in thick slices, then cut those in half (see photo)

The bread goes well with butter or cheese.