My Mom's Pepper Sauce(The Ingredients are all Secret)

I'm sorry, but I can't reveal the ingredients of my mom's pepper sauce but at least I can post some pictures of her delicious sauce. It is completely original and is made up of a variety of hot peppers, vegetables and other ingredients. She has been making this for years and I have to say it's the best hot pepper sauce I've tasted in my life, literally. It's out of this World. I put it in almost everything I eat. All her friends love it and her family consumes it like water. My family just love HOT PEPPER.

Absolutely Delicious!

Jannishal

Mom's Fried Rice

This is a recipe that I wanted to post for a long time. Now in my family we have a tradition. Every Sunday we have a large family lunch compliments of my mom. And one of the highlights is her famous Fried Rice which absolutely tastes divine. Now fried rice is a local dish in Trinidad and Tobago. There are so many variations of it and the dish is influenced by the Chinese culture in Trinidad and Tobago. Many people in Trinidad know how to make this dish which is usually made on special occasions. In my family we make it every Sunday. My mom has her own twist to this rice dish that it is so unique and different from the usual fried rice recipes.

First of all one of the secrets that makes the taste of this fried rice unique is the use of extra virgin olive oil to cook this dish. Extra Virgin Olive oil has a wonderful flavour that blends with vegetables and any kind of dish.My mom also use a combination of herbs and vegetables which is really unique in her recipe. In my family we love to eat lots of fruits and vegetables so we enjoy adding lots of veggies to our fried rice.

The procedure that my Mom use is really quick. Instead of chopping all the ingredients below. She chops sweet peppers, carrots, pimentos, onion, garlic, parsley and chive in a food processor together. Saute all these ingredients with the olive oil in a large pot until tender, about 3 minutes. The next steps must be done quickly to avoid overcooking the rice. Add the rice, Mix well. Add sesame oil, then add soya sauce and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until an even colour is achieved (You can continue to mix with the fire turn off). Do not overcook the rice, it must be just done.

3 cups of cooked Uncle Ben's Brown rice

5 pimento peppers ( I love the taste of pimento so I would definitely add more)

2 carrots diced finely

3 medium sized sweet peppers diced finely

1 onion chopped finely (This is optional, one tip concerning onions; once you cook a recipe with onions such as rice or pasta make sure to place the extra in the fridge within 4 hrs after cooking to prevent spoilage of food).

1/4 cup of olive oil (you can use more or less if necessary)

1 tbsp of sesame seed oil ( really brings out the Chinese flavour in the fried rice)

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

1tbsp of chopped chive ( You can add more if you love the flavour of chive.)

3 cloves of garlic chopped

salt and pepper to taste ( We love to add fried rice seasoning to this dish but it is optional, you can use whatever flavourings you prefer.)

aprox. 2-3 tbsps or less of Chinese Soya sauce ( We use the dark soya sauce, and we don't really measure. After making the recipe for years we just automatically know the colour of the rice we desire.)

You can also added 1 tbsp of grated ginger, it gives a nice flavour to the rice but it is optional.
My mom rarely use it in her fried rice recipe. Some people also add egg to their fried rice.

Enjoy
Jannishal

Health Tips for the Week

Always eat a balanced diet everyday, three meals a day on time. Include whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods such as peas and beans.

If you want to eat in between meals ensure it’s a healthy snack and a very small portion just to satisfy your hunger, but don’t make it a habit.

Always eat to satisfy your hunger never to overfill your stomach.

Remember breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so eat a hearty breakfast to last till lunch.

Eat organically grown foods.

Eat in moderation and small portion sizes.

Eat the right foods according to your calorie intake, weight and body mass index (BMI).

If you can’t eat certain foods make sure you gain the same nutrients from other foods that you can eat.

Drink plenty of water; the human body is approximately 70% water.

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep! Get 8 hours of sleep per night and one hour rest during the day. If you are pregnant get 2 hours sleep during the day and the usual eight hours at night.

Exercise for at least thirty minutes each day.

Love God, Love Life, Love People
courtesy Jannishal

What's for Breakfast?

I really need to turn on my time alarm. I’ve been waking around the latter half of the mornings, say 12 noon. Speaking of recipes, a few weeks ago I was watching one of my favorite programs on the Food Network, Giada at Home, and she made these savory biscuits called Crispy Parmesan Biscuits. Actually my favorite chef on Food Network is Paula and I love all her shows. Anyway, as I was saying, I then told myself I must try this recipe. Would you believe this was my first attempt at a biscuit recipe? Yes people, could you believe it, having studied this discipline you would think I would have made some biscuit recipes by now but I have known about biscuit recipes for ages but I never attempted one. I live in the beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago so we usually make our local breakfast meals such a fried bake and buljol, shark and bake, aloo pies etc.

At home I love to try my hand at all types of international cuisines which I love to do. I’m a big Italian food lover so I just had to attempt Giada’s version of Crispy Parmesan Biscuits. To my joy it came out extremely well and my entire family loved it. My only regret is not taking pictures at the time. Oh well I just have to make it again and post pics later. Now I must confess I did alter Giada’s recipe a little by adding cheddar cheese. You can reduce the amount of parmesan to facilitate for adding the cheddar cheese. I also served it with some delicious Guava and Pineapple Jam, I just had to add some Caribbean flavour, and with a cup of Jasmine Slim Tea. You can also use cheese paste, which is a Trinidad favorite, or chicken paste or any filling you like. It all depends on what you like to eat with your biscuits for breakfast. It’s your choice. Enjoy!

Here is the Recipe taken directly from Food Network Website:

Crispy Parmesan Biscuits

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Prep Time:

12 min

Inactive Prep Time:

hr min

Cook Time:

20 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

12 biscuits

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 cups (5 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup Lemon Butter, at room temperature, recipe follows
• 3 cups baby arugula
• 10 ounces smoked salmon or prosciutto

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the butter. Using fingertips or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the Parmesan and green onions. Add the buttermilk and olive oil. Stir until the mixture forms a dough. Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 12 equal-sized pieces. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until golden. Cool the biscuits for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Slice each biscuit in half and spread the bottom half with 1 teaspoon of lemon butter. Add some arugula leaves and place a small slice of smoked salmon on top. Add the top half of the biscuit and serve.

Lemon Butter

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 lemon, zested

In a small bowl, mash the butter and lemon zest together using a fork. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Prep Time: 1 minute

You can go directly HERE to view this recipe.

Happy Eating!

Jannishal