Thursday, May 20, 2010

Reunited and it TASTES so good! Oxtails with Rice & Peas


"In this bright future, you cannot forget your past"- Bob Marley

Since the onset of my cooking obsession, there has been one type of meat that I would quickly push my shopping cart away from in the supermarket. Oxtail (in my "i see dead people voice"). Yeeshy! Just the thought of it made my palms sweat. Quincy has been practically begging for oxtails for months. He ordered them regularly from Orvril's restaurant until sadly, they closed. I am afraid of oxtails. They bring back memories of eating them. Every. Single. Sunday. I mean, it was like you couldn't have another dish if you didn't have oxtail to go with it. Oxtail, rice, chicken. Oxtail, rice, beef. Oxtail, rice, goat. Oxtail and rice. Oxtail and macaroni pie. Oxtail, oxtail, oxtail, freaking OXTAIL! By the time Jannell and I were 12, we had come to despise oxtail. It wasn't that it tasted bad, but we were tired of it. My mother, bless her heart, was very keen on paying attention to what we liked to eat. The problem with that was, she wasn't too keen on paying attention to when we stopped liking it (hence, too much oxtail). Once we were old enough to refuse to eat it, I swore off oxtail. Flash forward to Thanksgiving 2009. I was having a conversation with Mrs.Blake (KB's mom-Love her!), and told her about my bad relationship with oxtails. I admitted that part of my fear was the fact that it seemed so difficult to make. She assured me in her loving Jamaican mama way, that I was wrong. She then proceeded to tell me her recipe. Months later, Quincy and I had gotten into some silly argument, and instead of admitting that I was wrong (something I need to work on), I yelled "I won't be here when you get back" as he walked out the door on his way to work. I sat stewing (no pun intended) for the whole day. Not wanting to leave, but also not wanting to admit my part in the argument. I finally decided that there was no better way to end the drama than to pull out my secret weapon. I headed to the supermarket in the pouring rain ( POURING RAIN! That alone should have served as an adequate apology). After spending 15 minutes looking at the oxtail they had in the freezer section, I called KB. No answer. Shit, shit, shit! How am I supposed to know if I should buy the oxtail in bag or the one in the package? Another 10 minutes goes by and I finally follow my chef intuition and buy the freshly packaged meat.( TIP: When purchasing meat, it should be bright red, not brown looking). So, I headed home and got to work in my usual "anything goes" way. ( I should have written down Mrs.Blake's recipe). When Quincy burst threw the door, he was smiling from ear to ear. "Baby, you made me oxtails".....He sucked the bones, then asked for seconds...... and just like that, the argument was over.
Yeah, I'm bad. I know it. Me too hot and a dat nuff gyal nuh like; dem a everybody something and me a wife! POW!
This blog post is dedicated to my yardie sisters (pls say with Jamaican accent):
Samantha (Sam-an-Ta), Franny (Fran-e),Karen (Kar-ren), Tania (Tan-ya), Tamika (Ta-mee-ka), Tanisha (Ta-nee-sha), Nadine (Nay-dine), & Rashelle (Rah-shell)

LYMI- The Delicious Diva

Ingredients
Oxtail:
1lb of oxtails (you can purchase these freshest at the meat market)
1 green bell pepper (cut in slices)
Salt
Fresh black pepper
Paprika
Onion powder
Garlic Powder
1/2 Onion (cut is slices)
Adobo
Cayenne Pepper
Jamaican Choice Oxtail Seasoning
West Indian Green Seasoning
A handful of Jamaican Choice All Spice Pimento
Worschester Sauce
Sugar
Olive Oil
Vinegar
A cast iron pot (not a requirement, but def best results)

Rice & Peas:
1 cup red kidney beans, dry (wash beans before cooking)
coconut milk (or creamed coconut)
1 thyme, sprigfresh
1 clove gralic, crushed
1 green onion, chopped
3 hot peppers, sliced (can be edited out)
2 cups rice, uncooked
salt, to taste

Oxtail Recipe:
Soak oxtails in a bowl of cold water and vinegar for 1/2 hr (just a small amount of vinegar does the trick)
Rinse oxtails well, then season. I always use my hands to really rub the seasonings into my meats. I think it really makes a difference in them absorbing the flavors.
Let oxtails marinate for at least 1/2 hr. Longer if you can!
In a cast iron pot, add oil (not too much!). Once oil is hot, add a large pot spoonful of sugar. Let the sugar brown. When it gets dark and starts bubbling, add the oxtail. Mix well to coat the oxtail with the burned sugar, then cover and lower stove to a simmer.
Stir occassionally and add more water if it looks like it may be drying out. Add the green peppers, onions, and pimento.
Cover and cook under low/medium heat for 2 hrs. Oxtail is a tough meat, and needs to cook for a long time to become tender. ( I learned that the hard way)

Rice & Peas recipe:
In a medium saucepan, place the washed beans. Add the coconut milk and bring to boil. Reduce the heat. Cook until the beans are tender. Add the thyme, garlic, green onion, and salt. Add the hot pepper if you choose to use it. Simmer for a few minutes. Add the rice.
The liquid should come up to 1-inch above the rice. Add water if needed.

Cover the pot. Bring to a boil again. Reduce the heat to low. Cook until liquid is absorbed.


Once cooked, plate oxtails with rice & peas, a side of plantain, and salad. Enjoy! (and win arguments)
Oxtails, Rice & Peas

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

For the mommies- Spaghetti e pollo cacciatorre


"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh

Today, I did absolutely nothing. Here it is, 4pm, and I have yet to get out of bed to take a shower. Thank God for the need to pee first thing in the morning, or I may have yet to brush my teeth. Sigh. I have zero energy and zero motivation. Thank goodness that I'm not a mommy right now. My kids would be coming home to chicken that has yet to defrost, and a sleeping mother. I don't know if I would have even gotten up to open the door for them. (memo to self: make sure children have house keys). They would be hungry. They would be excited to tell mommy about their day, but mommy will want to sleep. Sleep like she has been doing allllll day. No, I couldn't do that to my children! I would not! I would just re-route them to aunty B's house, who would for sure listen to the stories and fill their bellies. Sigh. Thank goodness I'm not a mommy. Mommies have to get up when they don't want to; stay home when they don't want to; say no when they want to say yes. Mommies have to cook the dinner, iron the uniform, comb the hair, go to open school, make the project you told them about just today. They sacrifice their last dollar to give you money for the prom (thanks mommy), or pay your bills when you quit your job because you were unhappy (thanks mommy). They buy your twin sister more clothes than they buy you, but you are not mad because you know mommy loves you too. Sigh. Mommies are the bestest, aren't they? I am so so so thankful for mine. Although, she reminds me of that song by Jimmy Cozier that goes "she nags me, and complains a lot but I ain't letting her go, she's all I got". I think he was talking about his girlfriend, not mommies, but isn't it strange that it still applies? Wait, is mommies even a word? Whatevs, this is my damn blog! Today's recipe is one of my favorite fast recipes for a weeknight dinner. I dedicate it to the mommies who may not feel like cooking, but have to. Kids absolutely love it, and its an easy way to sneak veggies into their diet. If you add salad and breadsticks, it can serve as a great meal to have friends over as well (for all you non-mommies). Let's get started, shall we? P.S.- S/O to all my fav mommies: Tanisha, KB, Samantha,Cara, Tania, Tamika, Nay, Tracy, Cambry, and of course, my own mommy Vanya. LYMI

Spaghetti e pollo caciatorre Ingredients:
Chicken Breast (sliced into medium sized pieces)
1 red bell pepper (chopped into large pieces)
1 green bell pepper (chopped into large pieces)
2 plum tomatoes
1 package of spaghetti (any brand will do. For a healthier meal, use whole wheat pasta)
1 large jar of Prego mushroom spaghetti sauce ( I know, I know. The Delicious Diva using jar sauce? Well, mommies don't have time on a Wednesday to make sauce from scratch, do they?)
1 onion (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch of oregano ( or, you can use the dried kind)
Salt
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
Red pepper flakes
1 package of Texas Toast garlic bread (or, breadsticks. Kids seem to like those better)

Recipe:

Soak and season chicken as you normally would (see my other blogs to find out how)
In a large pan, add olive oil. Once heated, add onions and garlic. Sautee until onion is soft.
Add chicken to pan and brown on both sides. Turn down heat and let chicken simmer.
Add red and green bell peppers. Sautee.
Add jar of spaghetti sauce and turn stove down to a simmer. Sprinkle in a few red pepper flakes.
Boil a large pot of salted water. Add spaghetti and a bit of olive oil. Cook until al dente, then strain.
Once chicken/sauce has simmered for about 20 minutes (veggies should be soft), you can add spaghetti to sauce and mix it all together or you can plate spaghetti, then add sauce on top. Garnish with a sprig of parsley to make it pretty. Kids tend to like everything mixed in. The flavors from the chicken will blend with the sauce and make it delish! No one will tell that its not homemade.
This is a great dish to serve family style in a big platter. With the breadsticks/garlic bread on the side.

Quick Garlic Bread:
I know mommies are usually on a budget, so if you don't want to buy the garlic bread, you can make some yourself. All you need is 2 tbls of butter,slices of white bread, and a clove of fresh garlic. In a pan, melt butter and add garlic. Brush onto bread slices, and bake at 350 degrees until crispy.