The Spice Island

Deborah

Nutmeg growing on the tree, Grenada's most famous crop.

The best way to kick the prolonged winter blues is to get out of town. Last week, spent in the incredible Caribbean island of Grenada, was completely restorative and beyond inspiring! This charming island hosts a rain forest and is dense with lush beauty. We saw a lot of rain while there which is unusual for this time of year, but the result is a lot of healthy greenery. The people of Grenada are so kind, warm, and gracious my heart was captured the minute I arrived.

The Grand Etang Forest Reserve in Grenada has trails for hiking.

The Seven Sisters waterfalls was a short hike into the forest. The water was really that green and a perfect temperature for cooling off. Too bad we didn't get to see any monkeys.

Pink Gin Beach, a dramatically beautiful beach on the southern tip with billowing clouds worthy of a Turner painting.

Sea shells collected by the 

sea shore

Ahhhhhhh, paradise!

The benefits of rain!

Lest you think all I did was walk around with my jaw hanging open admiring all the natural beauty, let me assure you that my jaw was also moving up and down quite a bit eating all the delicious local delicacies the island has to offer. The smell of nutmeg follows you just about everywhere and that is not a bad thing as far as I am concerned. I had nutmeg waffles, nutmeg ice cream and nutmeg scented polenta, just to name a few spectacular offerings. The resort where we (husband and I) stayed was the incomparable LaSource. The food was fantastic and much local produce was featured. I began to take notice of the braised vegetable dishes that usually contained pumpkin and chayote, two very typical Caribbean crops. 

The green chayote is about the size of a large grapefruit. These whole spices which include nutmeg and cloves are sold strung together as natural air fresheners for your kitchen. I bought mine from a beach vendor. (Check out my friend Pat's blog post about shopping on the beaches of Grenada.)

These vegetables are easy to cook, have great flavor and are very satisfying. Pumpkin has a nice creamy texture and sweet nutty flavor. Chayote (or christophene) has a crisp watery texture and a light bright flavor. The two combined create an attractive dish. I picked up a Grenadian spice mix at the market which is a blend of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and bay leaves. I am going to be using it to season EVERYTHING for a while.

I cannot say enough about the wonderful island of Grenada, it is well worth making a visit to this very special place!

Braised Pumpkin and Chayote with Grenadian Spices

2 Tbs. butter

2 cups cubed pumpkin

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups cubed chayote

1/4 teas. ground nutmeg

1/4 teas. ground cloves

1/4 teas. cinnemon

1/2 cup water (or coconut milk) 

1/2 lime

3 Tbs. toasted peppitas for garnish

Heat butter in a saute pan and add the cubed pumpkin and the salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently for 10 minutes till the pumpkin is almost cooked through. Add the chayote, the spices and the water. stir to copat all the vegetables with the butter, pan juices and spices. Cover and cook for another ten minutes till the chayote is tender. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lime over the vegetables and top with toasted pepitas.

To toast the peppitas (pumpkin seeds) lay them flat in a pan, sprinkle with a little olive oil and salt  and place in 350 oven for 5 minutes till lightly golden brown.

Amanda
Welome home! Sounds (and looks) like you had a marvelous trip! The pictures are gorgeous. I hope you came back well-rested! As for your delectable recipe...I have looked up and down for pumpkin this time of year and have been unable to come across any. Where did you find it? And, is the chayote readily available? That is a vegetable (or fruit?) I am entirely unfamiliar with.

Gewurztraminer would be a very interesting, and I'm sure beautiful, choice for this dish. Typically off-dry, this grape produces wines with astounding floral aromas. Flavors of lychee and passionfruit are common. Gewurz (it's nickname) is incredibly unique and really cannot be compared to any other wine. Loaded with spice, it would complement the Grenadian spices in Deb's dish perfectly.

To find the finest expression of Gewurz, look for one from Alsace, France. Styles range from dry to very sweet. The sweet wines are perhaps among the most delicious I have ever experienced - they are indeed heavenly. But for Deb's recipe, I would stick with dry or slightly off-dry.

And, as an "aside"...20 more days till Spring! Yay! Looking forward to switching culinary gears and loading up on all of nature's Springtime goodies!

How do we eat now?

“Vegetarian doesn’t have to suck!”
-Anthony Bourdain
                         
Deborah
He should know. An avowed carnivore, Bourdain became swayed on a recent episode of No Reservations by an Indian vegetarian meal served in a Hindu temple in a Queens basement, no less. The variety of dishes and flavors convinced Bourdain that given the right attention vegetables can hold their own and satisfy a hardcore meat eater.

There are so many ways we are being encouraged to eat these days. Local, organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, grass-fed, hormone-free, sustainable, natural; these are terms swirling around the markets. But at this point they are just words, some with good ideas behind them, some still meaningless. I believe that proper food labeling is the next crucial step towards clarity in the marketplace. We need real information on packaging and store signs which allow us to make our own healthy choices, not the ones the food industry decides for us.

To minimize confusion I like to stick to some basic food guidelines that work for me:

•Seasonal ingredients- Yes, no fresh strawberries for me in January, ever. There is no point. They wont taste good, they will cost too much and they just don't belong on a winter menu in the North East.

•Variety of flavors-I could never be a true locavore.  Give up olive oil and coffee? No way. Certain things are perfect for exporting and I still have to satisfy my global palate. Organic coffee is delicious and follows Fair Trade practices. Herbs and spices travel really well and give you a glimpse of world cuisine (I've always had a thing for Marco Polo). Variety can come from the colors of food, the texture, the sweetness vs. savory. Not too much of any one thing. A balance is what I am always seeking.

• A basic interest in knowing where my ingredients are coming from- It is not always easy to tell. I read a lot of labels, and I look for a lot of labels and don't always find them. Other times I just don't bother or don't have time. But when I do look I always find something of interest.  During a recent purchase of heads of garlic in a supermarket I glanced at the label to see they came from China! Well, that is plain silly. Whole Foods does a good job of labeling their fish and I really appreciate that. Not so good on labeling their produce. At my local supermarket in early May I saw corn on the cob labeled "local". I knew this was not possible and asked the produce manager who responded to me "It's just a sign".

Garlic on drying racks at Hook Mountain Growers, Nyack, NY August '09

•Skepticism of anything that comes pre-made in a package - Convenience is great, but it comes at a price. I make as much as is practical from scratch. Not everything is practical. I compromise. My kids would flip out if I stopped bringing home Gatorade and frozen pizzas (%#*!@).

The question then becomes how does one shop?

Fantastic Plastic Tree by Megumi Tomomitsu at Socrates Sculpture Park, August 30, 2009

This blog features among other things, my passion for farmer’s markets. I love to see what is fresh and growing in any area I visit. Stopping at farm stands has been a lifelong pursuit. I was exposed to this early on as a child summering every year on the East End of long Island. My family feasted every summer on corn, tomatoes, potatoes and cantaloupes from the local farms, anticipating the harvest of each crop. It is a passion I can't resist.

Falkowski's Farm Stand, Scuttle Hole Road, Bridgehampton, NY,  August '09

But farm stands can be expensive and they are not the only game in town. NYC has many ethnic markets that carry all kinds of wonderful produce. Bodegas are great for plantains, yams, limes and chayote. Mexican markets always have cilantro, mangoes and avocados. The Indian markets in Jackson Heights, Queens are regularly plundered by my cooking enthusiast friends and me for the freshest garlic and ginger. Chinatown always has fresh greens for sauteing.

Traditional supermarkets are also on my radar. Any produce the supermarket may feature at a good price can be counted on to be seasonal and probably local. I also am not above checking out the “quick sale” section for produce. I often find excellent buys of items placed there not because they are spoiled but because they are perfectly ripe and must be used right away. I always look there for apples to make pies or apple sauce, and tomatoes to cook down and freeze for winter stews and soups. Lemons and limes can also be a great bargain when slightly soft or starting to turn brown. And softened, wrinkled bell peppers are the best ones to roast according to Marcella Hazen.

Fresh herbs come out of my backyard garden. I grow thyme, sage, dill, mints, tarragon, chives, basil, you name it. A small pot on a window sill can offer a bit of herbal cheer, but the quantities you need to add to a recipe will pretty much leave the plant for bare. If you have any access to outdoor growing space herbs are a very easy and rewarding crop.

Basil growing in my Queens, NY backyard,  July '09

Labels are just labels, unless they contain real information. I am a true omnivore with an inclination towards fresh, seasonal and local. I eat organic chicken, eggs and coffee. When I can, I buy all organic ingredients,  but it is not an imperative for me. Flavor, value and integrity of ingredients guides me more. And yeah Tony, vegetarian doesn’t have to suck. Vegetables are a wonderful and healthy way to eat. The more we eat them the better. We don’t need the experts to tell us that. If something comes from a package in a supermarket we have to be prepared to read the fine print or accept that there will be things in it we don’t need or want. Eating low on the food chain makes sense for our health and the environment. Until our food industry gets straightened out we need to do the best we can to make the choices that we decide are right for us.

If you are interested in other voices from the sustainable food movement, check out this Newsletter from Roxbury Farm and this wonderfully passionate case for humane farming practices by Pamela Yee of Hook Mountain Growers.