Jamaican Jerk Chicken

The term “Jerk” comes from the term “Jerky,” which comes from the Spanish “Charqui” (char-key), which is meat cooked over a slow wood fire. Today “Jerk” doesn’t refer to the cooking method, but the fiery spice mix rubbed on the meat before it’s grilled.

While originally from Jamaica, jerk chicken is a popular recipe among spicy food fans all over America. This amazing chicken recipe is great paired with a cold and crunchy coleslaw or stir fry asparagus.

Serve jerk chicken with stir fry asparagus and rice.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken 
Seasoning Ingredients
3 Jalapeno, remove the seed
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped spring onions
1/2 thumb size ginger
1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon canola cooking oil

1 chicken, cut into 4 parts. Pat dry with kitchen towel.

Jalapeno chillies 

 Fancy chicken coop

1/  Pound the jalapeno, onion, ginger, spring onion till fine. Mix with the rest of the seasoning ingredients.
2/  Put the chicken in a large bowl, and pour over the marinade. Mix the chicken pieces around to coat them completely, cover, and marinate at minimum 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
3/  Grill the jerk chicken until cooked through. You may also broil, or roast the chicken in a hot oven at 190 deg C.

Grill until slightly charred to get the burnt scent.

One for the road

must eat with your fingers....

The chicken will taste better eating by the beach with a lover or hubby, if he not watching football.

 And after that dinner....

Stir fry asparagus with chopped garlic, westchester sauce and pepper.

Designer sweater.

And for dessert......
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook.

For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit.

Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavor, you have to add your own!

Molten lava flowing down active volcano

Molten lava flow from active volcano
Swimming or fooling around on the beach here is not a very good idea......

What did the mama volcano say to the baby volcano?  "don't erupt while I'm talking."
What did one volcano say to the other? "I lava you".


Ring Of Fire
The large series of volcanoes (some active) encircling the Pacific Ocean are referred to as being part of the Ring of Fire, and notorious for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The Ring of Fire, coinciding with the edges of one of the world's maintectonic plates, (the Pacific Plate) contains over 450 volcanoes and is home to approximately 75% of the world's active volcanoes.

Nearly 90% of the world's earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire; most recently, the devasting quakes in Chile, Japan and New Zealand.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes of note:
Christchurch Earthquake, New Zealand
Mount Saint Helens, Washington, USA
Mount Pinatubo, Philippines
Mt. Fuji, Japan
Paricutin Volcano, Mexico
Santiago Earthquake, Chile
Sendai Earthquake, Japan

 Pacific rim of active volcanos.

 

Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes
Ingredients
50 gm butter
120 gm granulated sugar
250 mls Sweetened Condensed Milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
375 gm bittersweet chocolate, melted
150 gm all purpose flour

Garnishing Ideas
Fresh raspberries/ strawberry
Strawberry sauce

1/  Preheat oven to 200C.
2/ Using electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until pale coloured. Gradually pour in sweetened condensed milk, beating until well incorporated.
3/  Gradually beat in egg mixture, making sure each addition is well incorporated before adding the next.
Beat in vanilla. With mixer on low, beat in chocolate.

Life is short, break the rules. Laugh uncontrollable and then just eat one of the piece.

4/  Stir in flour. Divide mixture evenly among eight greased ovenproof ramekins.
5/  Bake in centre of preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until top has lost its sheen and edges are set.
6/  Immediately run small paring knife around edge of ramekin. Invert onto plate.
7/  Serve immediately dusted with icing sugar, fresh raspberries/ strawberry or strawberry sauce.

Note: Always chop your chocolate coarsely before melting, whether it’s melted in the microwave or on top of the stove. There's less chance of it burning this way.

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream Balls
Ingredients
4 scoops premium vanilla or your favourite ice cream
16 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup shredded coconut

1/  Using an ice cream scoop, form four evenly shaped balls and freeze until hardened on a baking sheet.
2/  Toss the chocolate into a mixing bowl and set the bowl over a pot of simmering water.
3/  Stir the chocolate until it has almost completely melted, then take it off the heat and continue stirring until it's smooth, glossy and fully melted.

 Best to serve the Chocolate molten lava cake with chocolate ice cream ball.

4/  Place the coconut into a mixing bowl. Using two forks and working quickly, dip the frozen ice cream balls one at a time into the melted chocolate, turning until well coated.
5/  Remove and toss with the coconut until evenly coated.
6/  Return to the baking sheet in the freezer and wait until it's time for a treat! Repeat with remaining balls.
7/  If the ice cream melts a bit into the chocolate just return it briefly to the water bath and whisk smooth before dipping the next ball.

Money may talk, but Chocolate sings.

Have a fabulous week ahead. Enjoy!
Amelia

Pineapple Fried Rice

Hawaii Pineapples
One of the things Hawaii is famous for is its pineapple production. Pineapple is a delicious fruit and is known worldwide for its sweet taste. The fruit was first called “anana,” a Caribbean word for “excellent fruit.” Hawaiians called it “halakahiki,” which means “foreign fruit.”

The Fruit’s Origins
The pineapple, believed to have its origins in Paraguay or Brazil, was loaded on trade ships and taken to distant places like China, India, Australia, and Mexico in the 15th and 16th centuries. It is believed that the pineapple first arrived on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1527.

A ripe pineapple is one that has green leaves and a firm body. A large pineapple doesn’t mean that it is riper or better tasting. Also, the color of the outer shell doesn’t indicate the state of ripeness, for even a pineapple that is green outside can be ripe inside.

A pineapple won’t become sweeter or riper after being picked. Therefore, it is best to eat a pineapple as soon as possible after its purchase. If you plan to store it for a few days, it is best to keep it in the refrigerator to preserve its freshness.

A pineapple is ripe if one of its top leaves can easily be pulled out.

Hawaiian pineapple plantations produce almost a third of the world’s crop and supply about 60 percent of canned pineapple products.

Pineapple Fried rice
Fried rice is a wonderful way to use leftover cooked rice as well as any leftover meat. You may cook the rice ahead and simply reheat and place in pineapple shells when guests arrive. You may substitute canned pineapple for a simpler family version at home.

Serve fried rice in hollowed-out pineapple, this makes an excellent presentation.

Das
3 bowl cooked rice
1 whole pineapple
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 piece chicken breast
200gm shrimps
1/2 bowl slice button mushrooms
1/2 bowl frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Salt or to taste
Dash of sesame oil
Dash of pepper
Garnishing
Slice red chillies
Coriander leaves

1/  Shelled and deveined the shrimp. Season with 1 tbsp soya sauce and dash of pepper, keep aside. 
2/  Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and remove the fruit from the middle. Cut out the eyes and core. Set the pineapple shell aside. Dice the pineapple fruit. Dry the diced pineapple with paper towels.

3/  To cook the chicken breasts, in a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water with 1 tsp salt to a boil and cook the chicken for about 15 minutes. Cut the cooked chicken into 1/2-inch diced pieces.
4/  Heat a wok until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and tilt the wok to coat the sides. Add the eggs. Cook and stir until the eggs are thickened throughout but still moist. Remove the eggs from the wok and set aside.

5/  Reheat the wok until very hot. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and tilt to coat the sides of the wok. Add the garlic and onion and stir-fry until slightly brown.
6/  Add the prawns, button mushroom and stir fry for one minute. Add  frozen vegetables, 1 tsp salt and stir fry until prawns is cooked. Remove from heat and keep aside.

7/  Wash and dry the wok, heat up the wok and add 1 tbsp oil. Pour in the cooked rice and stir fry for 2 minutes. If you cannot stir-fry fast enough, reduce the heat so the rice will not burn.
8/  Stir in the soy sauce and continue stirring until the rice is mixed well with the soy sauce.
9/ Stir in the shrimp, chicken, eggs and add 1 tsp of salt or to taste.

Light soya sauce enhances the flavor, color of the vegetables and other ingredients.

10/ Stir-fry for 2 minutes, or until the entire mixture is well mixed. Stir in the pineapple cubes, sesame oil, pepper and mixed well.
11/ Rinse the pineapple shell with boiling water; dry with paper towels.

12/ Scoop the fried rice into the pineapple shell, cover the rice with the pineapple lid. Remove it just before serving.

Garnished with cut chilli and coriander leaves. If you like, decorate the plate with fresh rose petals and jasmine flowers for the lovely floral scent.

World's most famous Hawaiian. Guess who?

This is my simple and fragrant pineapple fried rice.

This fried rice can be a  little sweet, you can counter it by adding slice chillies.

 From CNN

And now for dessert..... Dragon Fruit combo

Dragon fruits, are native to Mexico, Central America, and South America. Currently, they are also cultivated in East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand,Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia and more recently Bangladesh. They are also found in Okinawa, Hawaii, Israel, northern Australia, southern China and in Cyprus. The fruit was probably introduced by Europeans who brought it from the New World.

Dragon fruit trees

The dragon fruit
The Pitaya is more commonly referred to as the dragon fruit. It is an extremely beautiful fruit that has dazzling flowers and an intense shape and color. The dragon fruit is usually a dark red color, although some types of this fruit are pink or yellow. The skin of the dragon fruit is a thin rind. The skin is usually covered in scales, and the center of the fruit is made up of a red or white, sweet tasting pulp.

And now for dessert.......Dragon Fruit Combo

Ingredients
1 dragon fruit
1 ripe mango
1 pomegranate fruit
150gm cooked chick peas
1 small bunch snow pea sprouts
Lettuce

Arrange all the fruits in a bowl and serve immediately.

For fruit dressing
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Nu Stevia Vanilla or vanilla extract
1 tsp Nu Stevia prebiotic blend or 1 tsp sugar
Dash of pepper

1/  Mix all the dressing ingredients together and chill in the fridge.
2/  Serve with dragon fruit combo.

Health Benefits of Dragon Fruit

Dragon Fruit Cholesterol 
Keeping a heart healthy low cholesterol diet? Don't worry about your cholesterol. Dragon fruit cholesterol is not an issue. Dragon fruit is both low in cholesterol and has little to no unhealthy cholesterol producing fats (certain fats which are metabolized to cholesterol contribute to increased cholesterol levels more than even cholesterol itself in food sources of cholesterol).

Dragon Fruit Vitamin C
The amount of vitamin C in dragon fruit is high, and because the dragon fruit is a natural fruit providing you with a rich balance of nutrients coming along with the vitamin C, you absorb the Vitamin C in dragon fruit efficiently when you eat dragon fruit as part of your fruit healthy diet.

Oppss, wrong picture.

Dragon Fruit Antioxidants
Eat dragon fruit as a good natural source of anti-oxidants which help to prevent the dangers of free radicals which can cause cancer and other undesirable health detriments.The number, quantity, and variety of antioxidants in real foods like dragon fruit is completely unmatched by any food supplement or pills - even those claiming to have 'antioxidant' health benefits. Nothing compares to the rich array of nutrients and antioxidants in a real natural food like the dragon fruit.

Dragon Fruit Fiber
Dietary fiber is an important nutrition factor for everyone from young to old, and the best way to get dietary fiber is to eat fruits and vegetables including fruits like the dragon fruit. As you might expect, like many fruits, dragon fruit has lots of dietary fiber with almost 1g of fiber per 100g of the fresh dragon fruit. The health benefits of dragon fruit fiber are just one other example of the reason that eating natural sources of nutrients is superior to getting them from pills and supplements.

 

Flowers are our greatest silent friends.
Have a fabulous week ahead.
Amelia