Dairy-free Cornmeal Porridge (Cooked Cereal)

I used to love milk. Here in Dominica, evaporated milk is the milk of choice and I loved it. I would use almost half a can in just one cup of tea. When making cooked cereals like the one below I would definitely use more than a can.

Dairy-free cornmeal porridge

We gave up milk and cheese and it's by-products a few years ago. So now we enjoy our porridge without milk and sometimes with coconut milk. In my milk days I would never have thought I would be able to enjoy porridge without milk but it's been okay. I just make sure I use plenty of whatever spices I put in and I'm good to go.

So if you're lactose intolerant or you've chosen like me to stay away from cow's milk, here's a cooked cereal for you to enjoy. Just remember to add plenty of spices like I said.  In the picture below I added grated nutmeg and raisins to it.

Dairy-free cornmeal porridge with nutmeg and raisins

Dairy-free Cornmeal Porridge

2 cups cornmeal

8 cups water

1 cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

3 bay leaves

Almond essence/extract

Vanilla essence/extract

Method

Boil half of the water with the cinnamon and bay leaves.  While they spices are steeping, add the remaining water to the cornmeal in a bowl. Stir well.  Add cornmeal to the boiling water, stirring constantly.  Keep stirring until cornmeal is cooked. If it gets too thick add some more hot water.  Add the sugar and the essences close to the end.  Serve and enjoy!

P.S. In this recipe I used cinnamon and bay leaves. Sometimes I use other spices like lemongrass and pwev geenay(don't know the english name for it).

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
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Ground Provision Balls Recipe

Another versatile recipe. Eating ground provisions the same way every day does not appeal to me. My hubby came up with this ingenious way of preparing them. I just gotta love him! Woooosh!

Ground Provision Balls Recipe

2 tanias

1 dasheen

1 yam

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Peel the ground provisions(tania, dasheen, yam) and place in a pot of salted water to boil.  While provisions are cooking, grate onion and garlic and set aside. When provisions are done(soft when pricked with a fork), mash them with a fork or run them through the food processor.  Add grated onion, garlic and a bit of coconut or olive oil.  Mix thoroughly and taste. Add sea salt if necessary.  Form into balls. Serve and enjoy!

P.S. The provisions in this recipe can be changed to suit what you have in your kitchen. You can use green bananas or sweet potatoes as well.

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
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Avocado Egg Bites Recilpe

This recipe is a derivative of the avocado pizza recipe I posted before.  It tastes good and is a different way of eating avocado. It can be used as an appetizer or just a snack. Delicioso. I've linked to the dough recipe which can be used for this.

Avocado Egg Bites

1 wholewheat biscuit dough or wholewheat pita bread dough

2 eggs

1 avocado

1/2 onion

Sea salt

1 clove garlic

Method

Roll out dough and put to bake for about 10 minutes. While dough is baking, put eggs to boil.  Peel avocado and place in a bowl.  Grate onion and garlic and add to the bowl. Mash avocado with the onion and garlic and add sea salt.  When eggs are done, let cook slightly, then slice.  When dough is done, let cool slightly then paste with the avocado mixture. Cut into pieces the approximate size of your egg slices. Add the egg slices on top of the avocado mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and voila! You're done.  Serve and enjoy!

P.S. A little cayenne pepper should kick this up quite a notch.

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
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Green Banana and Pumpkin Mashup Recipe

Sometimes I have to cook what I have on hand if I'm unable to go to the store. Finances are low sometimes and other times going to the store is just not possible.  So I am learning to do like our grandmothers and great grandmothers did in times past - make do with what I have.  This has led to some interesting recipes, some of which you've already seen.

On one such occasion when I was unable to go to the store, I had pumpkin and I had green banana so I decided to do a mashup.  It came out tasting good surprisingly.  It made a great side dish.  Here is the recipe:

Green Banana and Pumpkin Mashup

Green Banana and Pumpkin Mashup

3 green bananas

1 cup diced pumpkin

1/2 onion

1 clove garlic

Dash of curry

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Peel green bananas(see how to peel green banana video here). Place pumpkin and green bananas in salted water to boil.  While they are cooking, chop onion and grate garlic.  Saute the onion and garlic in  a bit of oil until onion is translucent. Add a dash of curry, mix well and set aside. When green bananas and pumpkin are done cooking, mash with a fork or use a food processor.  Add the sauteed seasoning and mix well.  Taste and add more sea salt if necessary. Serve and enjoy!

P.S. Peeling the pumpkin is optional. I prefer to leave the green skin on when I cook pumpkin for the added nutrients.

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
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Wholewheat Tortilla Recipe

Tortillas. They are so versatile. They can be used for breakfast, lunch or supper.  You can fill them with any thing you want, sweet or savoury.  I don't make them often enough. Here's the recipe so you can make them more often than I do. Hmmm...  In the picture below I served it with sauteed pumpkin.

Wholewheat Tortillas

4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp salt

1/2 cup water

1 cup oil

Method

Mix flour, salt, baking powder.  Add oil and mix until dough begins to form a ball.  Add water and continue kneading until it's like a solid ball without air bubbles.  Knead for another 5-10 minutes.  Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.  Break off small balls and roll out until the dough is paper thin. Heat pan but do not grease.  Place rolled out dough in pan and heat until slightly brown. Flip and repeat on the other side.  Enjoy!

Jenn
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Ground Provision Spaghetti Recipe

This one was my husband's idea and his project so that's his hand in the picture(if you ever wondered what my hubby's hand looked like) ROFL - I crack myself up.  Anyway let's get back to the recipe at hand. It went down pretty well. It requires a meat grinder or some other type of grinder like machine like the one in the picture. I don't know all the correct terms for it so feel free to educate me in the comments. Thanks in advance. And please excuse the dark nature of the picture. It was taken with a blackberry with no flash in the days when I was waiting for the Lord to provide a camera. Love y'all.

Ground Provision Spaghetti

Ground Provision Spaghetti

1 medium sized dasheen

2 tanias

4 green bananas

1 medium sized white yam or yellow yam

2 sweet potatoes

Method

Place a pot of water on the stove with sea salt to boil.  Peel the provisions, rinse them, cut them into chunks and place in the pot of water.  Cover and let cook. When the provisions are done drain the water(you may reserve the water to be used in a soup or broth for another meal, if you want to. I do that sometimes). Cut them into smaller pieces if necessary and run through the grinder, alternating the provision you put in so that you have a good mix in your spaghetti. Serve with your favorite gravy and enjoy!

P.S. Feel free to change the combination of provisions to your liking. I imagine cassava would be a good addition and eddoes as well.

From my kitchen to yours. Bon appetit!
Jenn
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Veggie Pockets Recipe

These were done on a whim. The idea came into my head and I thought why not? It didn't come out too bad at all. Here's the recipe for these delicious veggie pockets. Sorry about the lighting. I was still learning how to use my new camera.

Veggie Pockets

Veggie Pockets

1 pita bread dough recipe or biscuit dough recipe

2 carrot

1/4 cabbage

1 green pepper

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Grate onion and garlic. Chop cabbage and slice onion and green pepper.  Saute onion in coconut oil/olive oil until translucent. Add vegetables and garlic with a bit of sea salt. Stir and keep sauteeing until vegetables are 3/4 done. Turn off heat. Turn the oven on to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take portions of the dough and form into balls. Roll out the balls very flat but not too thin that the veggie mixture will leak through.  Place a spoonful of the veggie mixture in the center. Fold one end of the dough over and secure it by using a wet fork and pressing it into the ends of the dough all around.  Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the pockets are golden brown in color. Serve and enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours. Bon appetit!(Happy eating!)
Jenn
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Carrot and Green Bean Saute Recipe

As usual, a very simple recipe. You know how I like to keep it simple. Love the kitchen but love simple.

Carrot and Green Bean Saute

Carrot and Green Bean Saute

2 carrots

1 cup green beans

1/2 onion

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Wash and grate carrots.  Cut green beans if needed. Slice onion. Saute onion in coconut oil/olive oil until translucent(clear).  Add grated carrots and green beans. Mix well and let saute for a minute or so. Add sea salt, stir and let saute for another few minutes.  Turn off the heat. 

Serve and enjoy!

P.S. If you are using canned green beans then you need only to saute it until the green beans are warmed through. If you're using fresh green beans, you would have to saute them for a bit longer until it is cooked through. With the fresh beans you may have to put the burner on the lowest possible heat and cover to help the green beans to cook faster.

Jenn
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Wholewheat Pita Bread Recipe

I do this recipe often. It is one of my go-to bread recipes for breakfast and supper.  I prefer baking in the mornings because those are my high energy times. When I bake I usually do more than one batch so we can have for supper and quite possibly the next day. When I'm tired and rationing my energy I only do one batch.  Here it is stuffed with Bok Choy(Chinese Cabbage) and Tomato Saute.

Wholewheat Pita Bread stuffed with Bok Choy(Chinese Cabbage) and Tomato Saute

Wholewheat Pita Bread

4 cups wholewheat flour

1 tbsp dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix 2 cups of flour, salt and yeast.  Add water and mix well.  Gradually add in remaining flour until dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl. Knead for about 4-5 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.  Be careful not to over knead. Form dough into about 10 balls.  On a floured surface roll each ball into a circle about 1/4 inch thick.  Dust with flour on both sides to prevent it from sticking.  Place on a non-stick baking sheet and allow to rise for about 30 minutes or until slightly raised.  Just before you put it into the oven, flip each pita over.  Bake on bottom rack for 5-7 minutes(the instant heat will help them puff up). Serve and enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
If you have a question on vegetarian eating that you would like me to answer then fill in this short form to submit your question. I'll answer in an Ask Jenn video on Wednesdays.

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Christophene in a Basic Sauce Recipe

A simple yet tasty recipe from my kitchen to yours.

Christophene in a Basic Sauce

2 christophenes

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig parsley

1 tsp curry

Wholewheat flour

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Water

Sea salt

Method

Peel and dice christophene. Put in a pot of water with the sprig of thyme and some sea salt to cook. While christophene is cooking peel and chop garlic and chop the parsley.  When christophene is done, drain but keep the water in a bowl to use in making the sauce. Saute onions in coconut/olive oil until translucent. While onions are sauteeing, mix 2 tbsp flour in 1 cup of the water drained from the christophene and grate garlic. Add curry, garlic, parsley and a bit of sea salt to the onions and stir. Add flour/water mixture and keep stirring so that it doesn't burn. If the sauce gets too thick add water to thin the sauce to the consistency you want it to be. Add christophene and mix well. Taste and feel free to add more sea salt or curry or whatever other seasonings you desire. Turn off heat.  Serve and enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours,
Jenn
If you have a question on vegetarian eating that you would like me to answer then fill in this short form to submit your question. I'll answer in one of the Ask Jenn videos on Wednesdays.

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Green Banana and Ripe Plantain Patties Recipe

This recipe was an experiment. I like trying new things with the everyday foods we eat. I like to keep it varied so we don't get tired of eating the same thing over and over.  It came out pretty well so I'm sharing it with you today.

Green Banana and Ripe Plantain Patties

Green Banana and Ripe Plantain Patties

2 green bananas

1 ripe plantain

1 sprig celery

1 sprig parsley

1/4 onion

Sea salt

1 clove garlic

1 tsp curry

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Peel green bananas and plantain. Place in a pot of water, add some sea salt. Cover and let cook. In the meantime chop parsley, celery, onion and garlic. When the green bananas and plantain is cooked, drain the water and mash.  Add the chopped seasoning and curry. Mix well. Add more sea salt if needed and additional seasoning according to your taste. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and add mixture by spoonfuls into the oil. Fry until golden brown. Serve and enjoy!

Jenn
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Egg and Tomato Scramble

For me tomato and eggs go together like nothing else. This dish is a favorite of mine, so in honor of the day I was born as I celebrate my birth anniversary here it is:

Egg and Tomato Scramble

2 eggs

1 tomato

1/4 onion
1 sprig parsley

Sea salt

Coconut oil/olive oil

Method

Break eggs into a bowl, whisk  and set aside.  Chop tomatoes, parsley and onion. In a pan heat oil and saute onions until translucent.  Add eggs, tomatoes, parsley and sea salt. Stir.  Keep stirring until eggs are almost done.  Turn off heat and continue stirring - the remaining heat will finish cooking the eggs.

Serve and enjoy! 

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Pumpkin Rice Recipe

This is a very simple recipe that I've done quite a bit for lunch. I love the taste of pumpkin especially in a pumpkin soup.

Pumpkin Rice Recipe

1 large chunk of pumpkin

1 cup rice

Sea salt

Coconut oil/olive oil

Method

Put rice to cook in a pot or rice cooker with salted water.  While rice is cooking, wash and grate pumpkin leaving the skin on.  When rice is almost done, add pumpkin and coconut oil or olive oil.  Stir and cover.  When rice is done cooking stir again. Serve and enjoy!

Rice cookers available for under $25 with free shipping!

Jenn

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Wholewheat Biscuit Recipe

Just about everyone I give a taste of this enjoys it. My family is no exception and this has been a frequent part of our breakfasts. We've done the American style biscuits and gravy meal with it as well as made mini sandwiches. It takes the place of store bought bread for sure.

Wholewheat Biscuits

Wholewheat Biscuits

1 1/4 cups warm water

1/3 cup coconut oil/olive oil

1/4 cup sugar/honey

2 tbsp yeast

1 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

3 1/2 cups wholewheat flour

Method

Combine water, yeast, oil and sugar in a bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes. Add salt, egg and flour. Mix together and knead for a few minutes.  Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees.  Roll out the dough 3/4 inch thick and cut into rounds.  Place rounds on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve and enjoy!

N.B. If you have a biscuit cutter go ahead and use it to cut the rounds, but if you don't you can use whatever you have on hand to cut the biscuits to your size and liking.  I don't own a biscuit cutter so I use a stainless steel cup we bought at Nassief(department store on the island) for the boys to drink in. Works for me. It looks something like these here.

Photo credit

Here are some fun shapes of biscuit cutters to help your biscuits come out with more flair. Let me know how it goes if you try this biscuit recipe.

Jenn

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Titiwi in Coconut Milk Recipe

My hubby is not a great fan of titiwi but I enjoy it on occasion. It is mainly prepared as an accra (like a pattie) but I've prepared it in many other ways. This is one of the ways I've prepared it.

Titiwi in Coconut Milk

Titiwi in Coconut Milk

1 parcel titiwi

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic, grated

1tbsp lime juice

1 tsp tomato paste

Coconut oil/olive oil

1 cup coconut milk

1 tsp curry

Method

Chop onions and add to a pan with coconut oil.  Saute until the onions are translucent.  Add curry and tomato paste. Mix well.  Add lime juice and titiwi.  Let cook for a few minutes.  Add coconut milk and let cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add grated garlic, stir, serve and enjoy!

Jenn

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Sweet Potato & Christophene(Chayote) in a Pumpkin Sauce Recipe

We've had this recipe for breakfasts and it was really good. You can use it either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here the recipe is pictured with half of an egg(boiled).

Sweet Potato & Christophene(Chayote) in a Pumpkin Sauce

Sweet Potato & Christophene(Chayote) in a Pumpkin Sauce

1 sweet potato

1 christophene(chayote)

1 chunk of pumpkin

1/4 onion

3 cloves garlic
Sea salt

Coconut oil/olive oil

Method

Peel christophene(chayote), dice and put in a pot of salted water to cook.  Wash sweet potato, dice and put in the pot as well(peeling the sweet potato robs you of some of its nutrition but the choice is yours).  While they are cooking, chop onion, grate garlic, dice pumpkin and set aside.  When the christophene and sweet potato are finished cooking drain water but do not throw it away, set it aside.  Saute garlic and onion in coconut oil/olive oil until it is translucent.  Add pumpkin and reserved water from the sweet potato and christophene.  Add sea salt and let pumpkin cook.  When pumpkin is done, use a hand blender and blend the pumpkin to make the sauce(see note).  Add salt to taste then add the cooked diced sweet potato and christophene.  Serve and enjoy!

Note: If you don't have a hand blender then use a fork or wooden spoon and crush pumpkin and stir well to make the sauce.

Hand blenders are available on Amazon for Under $25

Jenn

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Ground Provision Salad Recipe

When I lack money in my budget to get potatoes at the store but I have an abundance of ground provisions I make this recipe. Ground provisions for those who may not know are root crops like yam, dasheen, tania, sweet potato. This recipe can be changed many times over by changing the combination of provisions or the combination of vegetables.

Ground Provision Salad

Ground Provision Salad

1 cup cooked sweet potato, diced

1 cup cooked tania, diced

1 cup cooked green banana, diced

Mayonnaise

Sea salt

1 cooked carrot

1 sprig parsley

1 sprig celery

Method

Put all cooked provisions into a bowl.  Chop carrot, parsley and celery and add to the bowl.  Add mayonnaise and sea salt and mix well.  Adjust salt to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

Jenn

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Christophene(Chayote) Pattie

This is one version of a christophene(chayote) pattie that I did. Christophene takes on whatever flavours are added to it. It is a very adaptable food.

Christophene(Chayote) Pattie

Christophene(Chayote) Pattie

2 cups christophene(grated)

1/2 onion

5 cloves garlic

3 seasoning peppers, preferably red(see note)

2 sprigs parsley

1/2 cup flour

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Put grated christophene into a bowl.  Grate onion and garlic and add to the bowl.  Chop peppers and parsley and add to bowl.  Mix well.  Add flour and sea salt. Mix well and form in to balls.  Heat coconut oil or olive oil in a frying pan.  Flatten the balls and place in hot oil. Turn when the edges start appearing brown.  When the other side is brown, remove from frying pan.  Serve and enjoy!

Note: Seasoning peppers are a small type of pepper that is not hot like scotch bonnet or cayenne. it has a slight sting when you place it against your tongue but the sting quickly goes away. It comes in red and green colors and gives a wonderful flavour to the food.  If you don't have seasoning pepper you can use bell pepper(or what we call sweet pepper here in Dominica) instead.

Jenn

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No Whisk Scrambled Eggs Recipe

This is a recipe that I've done quite a few times. When I'm tired or rushing and don't feel like whisking the eggs, this is what I do.

No Whisk Scrambled Eggs

No Whisk Scrambled Eggs

4 eggs

1/2 onion

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Finely chop the onion and set aside.  Heat coconut oil or olive oil in a pan and add the onions. Saute until translucent.  Break the eggs into the pan one at a time. When the whites are just beginning to set, stir and add sea salt. Keep stirring until the eggs are cooked.

Voila! There you have it. Very, very simple. You know that's how I like it.  I love the two colors of the eggs in this recipe,white and yellow versus just yellow when I whisk the eggs.
Serve and enjoy!

Jenn

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Celery Rice Recipe

Celery is a delicious herb to add to any dish. 

Celery Rice

Celery Rice

1 cup rice

5sprigs celery

Sea salt

Coconut oil/Olive oil

Method

Put rice in a pot or rice cooker. Add water to about 1 inch above level of rice.  Add sea salt and a tbsp of coconut oil or olive oil.  Cover and let cook. While rice is cooking chop celery and set aside.  When rice is almost done, add chopped celery and mix well.  When rice is done, stir again.  Serve and enjoy!

Vegetarian Lunch Idea or Dinner idea: Serve celery rice with peas or beans and a salad.  Enjoy!

Rice Cookers Available Here for Under $25.
Jenn

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