Good Food and Times in Toronto , And A Recipe For Grainy Oriental Seed and Honey Mustard !

Last week I had a  week long business trip to Toronto. I hadn't been back in a few years, since my first visit , where I was lucky to meet Peter of Kalofagas. Naturally we were destined to meet again with more outrageous T shirts and high jinks planned, free time permitting. You see, Peter loves racy T shirts and he made me promise to wear one he chose especially for me. Not being uptight and pretty free, I went with it, warning Certain Someone ahead of time. The photos speak for themselves. I wont put up Thursday nights shirt as it really pushed the limits, but all in good fun.We had agreed to meet up in a cozy Gastro pub  called The House on Parliament , in Cabbage Town ,with fellow Canadian Food  Blogger and online friend Jasmine of Cardamon Addict. Jasmine, living a distance away made the  trek into town Monday night to meet up, bearing a Canadian Specialty , Butter Tarts. She was concerned about her crusts and unorthodox use of chocolate in one version, but I thought they were superb. These rich , flaky butter tarts served as snack and breakfast during my work week, and I'm grateful. I gifted Peter and Jasmine Chicago's Famous Garrets Popcorn, the cheese and caramel mix. The Popcorn is like Crack , and I got them hooked. My colleague Irene wolfed hers down on the way from the airport. I gave her another bag with a chocolate mix,  that was evident in the car all week , as she nibbled.
 Work was pretty intense , but we had agreed to one more rendezvous with Peter Thursday night. I managed to connect with my other blogger friend Gianna, who has a blog, not necessarily devoted to food, but should be. We had met once before in Chicago, and I find her a kindred spirit. We started out with my colleaugue and I meting up with Peter in the St. Lawerence Market, where I samapled some Peameal bacon, and purchased a few items. It was there where I fell in love with the Kozliks Mustard stand, and learned Canada is the largest importer of mustard seed to the world. Who knew!. I purchased a bag of the extra hot Oriental Mustard seeds, to make my own. We then picked up Gianna and wound our way to the lovely Distillery District. I wish I had more more time there as this was my favorite spot. Gianna showed me Soma Chocolates and A Taste of Quebec,where I purchased more goodies and the most amazing Gelato. Once home I made Soma's Mayan Elixir of the Gods, an intense spicy Chocolate shot which was aptly named.
Dinner was at the Miller Street Brew Pub, where I imbibed more than I ate, being full from the previous goodies.Excellent evening with Irene, my colleague, Peter, and Gianna. Irene then took me to Mas Camps. Walking Mas in Caribana is a important yearly rite of passage for many Caribbean Canadians. Caribana is the largest Caribbean festival drawing hundred of thousands of people from all over the world.Street parades, bands, food, competition, and plain good fun celebrating the Caribbean Culture . Toronto profits from this event to the tune of over $400 million . It's that huge. And with it comes year long preparation. The Mas Camps are scattered throughout where people drop buy to make and purchase their elaborate costumes. A perfect finale to fantastic week of work, and a little fun.I do heart Toronto.

Grainy Oriental Seed and Honey Mustard
Mustards are one of the easiest condiments to make. So many variations are possible.I used the extra hot Oriental Seed , softened with honey.  Use this in BBQ, Salad dressings, sauces, or as a plain condiment for sandwiches .Enjoy.
1 cup Oriental Mustard Seeds
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
6 tablespoons honey
Pour vinegars over the mustard seeds and spices( mustard powder, cinnamon, ginger) in a non reactive bowl, mix, and cover/soak overnight at room temperature. The seeds will swell and absorb the vinegar. Using a immersion blender or food processor mix while adding the honey gradually. Mix and blend thoroughly . If you feel you need to add more honey or vinegar, do so gradually until its a smooth consistency(not to thick or not to runny). Spoon into clean sterilized jars and refrigerate . The flavor will blend more after a few hours setting in the fridge.I find it tastes even better the second day as any bitterness from the mustard seed has subsided. Store for up to four weeks in the refrigerator.

Honey Basted Jerk Chicken

 What is Honey Basted Jerk Chicken you may ask? I confess I took culinary artistic license with traditional Jerk chicken . Rather than BBQ outside I wanted  an easy indoor version of the Spicy Jamaican Favorite. The method of cooking Jerk style is essentially making a dry or wet rub of all spice, cloves, garlic, hot peppers(scotch bonnet ) and  other spices that was originally developed as  a smoking method of preservation among the natives of the Caribbean Islands.Jerk anything has evolved into a world wide favorite with commercial blends readily available. Rather than buy a commercial  Jerk blend , I wanted to make my own Jerk rub as I had a canister of allspice sitting on my pantry shelf.I saw a television spot on a local Jerk restaurant and became fascinated watching how they make their own Jerk rub. I figured I could make my own.I took some liberty and switched out  some ingredients for what I had. For instance, I used my Sambal, in place of Scotch Bonnet Peppers for the heat. This recipe is  by no means authentic, but makes a very tasty overnight marinade for chicken.To neutralize the heat, I basted my boneless chicken thighs with honey as they cooked on the indoor grill pan. The result was a a great chicken dish in which Certain Someone devoured.  Bear in my nothing beats Jerk Chicken cooked over coals and fire, but this recipe will do in a pinch.

 You will need a good blender or food processor for this. You can alter and adjust ingredient proportions to taste. Less heat, more sweet, etc.

Honey Basted Jerk Chicken
8 Boneless Chicken thighs or breasts
Jerk Marinade
2 Tablespoons of  whole All Spice Berries
1/2 cup lime juice
1 cup water
1 inch fresh ginger peeled
2 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or grape seed oil
1 bunch scallion chopped
1 onion chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon Sambal or 2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
Baste
1/2 cup honey
In a mixer of food processor combine all the Marinade ingredients and puree thoroughly.Pour marinade over chicken pieces and cover. Refrigerate over night .
Remove chicken from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. 
Make sure kitchen is well ventilated.
Prepare an indoor grill pan and heat. Brush grill pan with a little vegetable oil and add chicken which has been removed piece by piece from the marinade.
Sear  chicken  on each side for a few minutes each  to make grill marks. Continue to grill chicken until almost done. During the last few minutes of cooking brush the chicken pieces with honey on both sides . Remove from heat .
Serve.

Grand Bahama and Some Pigeon Peas and Rice

Well I'm back. I don't want make this a wordy post so I'm going to let Certain Someones pictures speak for most of the trip to Grand Bahama. We stayed at the the Westin Our Grand Lucaya. This is a wonderful resort that allowed us to just chill and do nothing. Unfortunately Certain Someone could not escape work and spent the first half of the trip working. But he did manage some beach time and a round of golf on one of their several golf courses. I was amazed at how easily Certain Someone could become a beach bum. I like to see him relax.

Isn't this beautiful? These are debris from a earlier hurricane . The photo was taken at a beach in the Grand Lucayan National Park. We took these pictures after a visit to underwater caves across to road. If you were a diver you could dive between the cavernous caves which housed Arawak Indian remains.The path to the beach was a lesson in flora and fauna. Who knew walking mangrove could be so beautiful. Reminded me of a tropical vineyard with all the gnarled branches. I was startled by the depth and life down there.But it was nice to come up and take in this beauty. A Victoria Secrets Photo shoot was going on a few miles down the sand bar.
I like this shot Certain Someone took. It doesn't make me look fat.

After our excursion we went to this lovely sea side restaurant and beach, Banana Bay. I had my first real Bahamian lunch of cracked conch( like fried calamari) and pigeon peas and rice in which I will give you the recipe at the end.Certain Someone regretted his fries and took to my rice. Unfortunately the Bahamas let me down with the food. Cynthia explained its not really the Caribbean because of its close proximity to the United States. And at the resorts its a lot of tourist fare.The Port Lucaya marketplace across the street was the got to place if you didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for hotel food. Thinks bars, pizza, Greek , Italian , etc.Stuff I can get at home. Conch is huge in the Bahamas. You will find this shell fish in Chowders,fritters,pasta, pizza, fries, steamed, etc. Its on every menu and pretty cheap. I liked it, Certain Someone not so much.Fish Fry's are big too. Grouper rules, but Barracuda can be found. A local told me not to fear it. A test to see if Barracuda is poisonous is to see if the flies come to it. If so, its good!But the drinks were plentiful and excellent wherever you went.Rum Runners was our favorite hangout. Drinks averaging $5 and great fun staff. I was sure to bring back my allowed liquor allocation. One of our favorite drinks was this retro Bahamian cocktail called a Gully Wash. Its Gin, Coconut Water, Condensed milk, with cinnamon and coconut meat shavings. Its great for the hoildays and even better served up in a coconut and allowed to brew. Its packs a punch for sure.
My final thoughts are of the locals. The dependence on tourism is huge in the Bahamas and the economic hardships we are all facing will really trickle down to to places like this where tourism employs a lot of the island. Even though it was still coming off season, there were a lot of empty tables and shops.I loved that they really thankful for each and every guests business. You don't get that lot and it makes you feel appreciated. In same token we were conscious of where we spent to be sure to visit everyone. The high season is about to begin and hope it goes better than expected. But as one retailer told me, we are all in this together.

I leave you with this Pigeon Peas and Rice I recreated at home today. Its full of island soul.

1 can Pigeon Peas( 1 lb)

2 cups rice

2 slices salt pork( soaked in water for a few hours and chopped up)

1 small can tomato sauce

1 red bell pepper

1 small onion

3-4 cloves garlic

3 cups water

black pepper to taste

In a large skillet fry up salt pork, onion, pepper for a few minutes. Add chopped garlic. Cook a few more minutes. Add sauce and pigeon peas. Add rice and water. Cover and cook until rice is done. Approx 30 minutes.

*Due to the salt in the salt pork, no extra salt is needed. Bacon is used more commonly.

Mauby Kick!!!!

Not much cooking this week. However my prizes I have won are starting to roll in and Ive been busy exploring. Bren
sent me my prize based on some questions I answered on Trinidad Tobago. I got some Mauby,Geera,curry, and Amchar Masala.Bren has a terrific recipe on her blog featuring curried plantains in coconut milk. I want to try that sometime soon.Shes awesome and spicy like the spices she sent! In the meanwhile I was curious about Mauby. The pack was a spice pack of Mauby bark, anise seeds, cinnamon, etc. I researched on the web and saw varying recipes. I wanted something more than just boil with water , add sugar. So I emailed Cynthia, the Queen Bee of Caribbean cooking and asked for her recipe.Its a family recipe that goes way back. I didn't have the whole nutmeg but followed her recipe in principle and theory in regards to brewing and fermenting. I had my first taste this morning as its a 48 hour process. On first sip its sweet, almost tea like.Then a slightly bitter after taste. It grows on you and you find yourself sipping more. Very refreshing. The jury is out on its health benefits. Some say it lowers high blood pressure .And some wild theories are that causes impotence!A study showed blood pressure reduced if mixed with coconut water.Each island had there own version and the recipe gets tweaked to ones preference.Some people even add vanilla or mix with alcohol.The sugar content can be adjusted to your tastes. All I know is I like it and want to get some more Mauby bark and play.It is an acquired taste and I urge you to try it if you ever have an opportunity!

I also cooled off with the coffee I won from Marye recently. If you haven't had a chance to check out her numerous blogs on , do so. She's an amazing woman who can do just about anything in my opinion and never lets much shake her faith. We can all learn from someone like that. My first brew was a chilled ice coffee drink with a splash of Chambord. Delish!So you see not a lot of cooking this week, just brewing and sipping!

And on a final note, Mary from Shazam In The Kitchen sent me this lovely prize. She says I'm glamorous and exciting. If she only knew things aren't always how they seem but it is an interesting and blessed life! I feel you are all creative and fascinating or else I wouldn't spend much of my down time following you. So consider this passed on to all of you.