Travel with JoY

January 23, 2016 Here's an update on our current adventure: Grenada is one fine place for so many reasons.  We're on the water on the lee shore (quiet side) on a very private section beach cut off from the rest of the masses due to private property, rocks and a cliff.  We swim everyday and catch plenty of rays.  We're also on the bus route into town so there's easy access to shopping.  The island is very clean, no litter, and the people are friendly and not trying to hassle you with selling stuff.  You simply say "no thanks" in a nice way, and they leave you alone.  Anyway, we leave tomorrow for a week long sailing voyage up the Grenadine Islands.  We've never done something like this before, so it should be quite an adventure.  There's a full moon tonight which will be amazing to see from the water. Jean is working on her 7th painting since we arrived two weeks ago.  I've written two pretty good songs and am writing lyrics, as...

Lunch today for the two of us Combine 1 1/2 cups black beans slightly mashed 1 egg 2 slices white bread crumbled 1/4 c West Indies green seasoning 1 large clove garlic minced very fine.  Form into patties and fry in coconut oil medium hot. Turn after a couple minutes and cook until both sides are golden crisp. Plate and top with Avocado Salsa Combine gently 1 lg avocado cut into 3/4 in cubes 1 tomato cut into 1/2 in pieces 3T Tabasco or other hot sauce 1 T honey

We were woken on Saturday morning by our neighbor Noel who were  going to go to the Honey Nursery with; he and his wife Lorna. Noel's first words that day were, " I think Bev is dead". What? Are you sure?  "I touched her, she's cold".  What a strange, literally shocking thing to hear.   Bev or Beverly Modder was our landlady, living upstairs.  She was about 65 years old, slim, medium complected with dyed black hair.  She was originally from Sri Lanka but currently a resident of Canada with a home in Vancouver.  Lorna had heard from Brian, the caretaker here, that Bev had been blacking out periodically and wouldn't go to the doctor. Bev had taken Lorna and Noel's laundry to wash on Friday afternoon and would normally have returned soon thereafter to hang it on the line.  But Friday night there was no appearance of Bev or laundry.  Lorna tried calling via phone and emailing to no avail. They could hear the television though.  In ...

We've come to Jessamine Eden with our neighbors Lorna & Noel, our Irish neighbors at the Seaglass place. It is in the Grand Etang Valley, a multi acre apiary/ nursery. Jessamine Eden won the UK NHS Best Honey of 2015...in the world! So nearly every dish has some touch of this liquid gold. There is also beautiful grounds, where the nursery started from chaotic bush just six or seven years ago! Jerry took us on a hike of the grounds while Val prepared lunch.  We were seated in a what appeared to be a long greenhouse in the shade nestled next to a bubbling stream just 20 feet away. Lunch started with 3rd*** season honey with lemongrass and nettles tea. Next was Cream of Tania* soup topped with fresh thyme. Everything so well presented and intriguing. Third course is: avocado, goat cheese drizzled with honey hot sauce on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. So good I feel a hint of guilt! What? Avocado, goat cheese salad Main course is  fish baked in a banana leaf ...

I'm not sure where these culinary inspirations are coming from, but then again I am gleaning from some of the best things I've prepared in the past year or two and then tweeking things towards a West Indian touch.  This remoulade is similar to one I found in a book of New Orleans cooking I brought back from the The Big Easy last April.  That was a green tomato fried in cornmeal with a remoulade. I also served this with a salad in the Jessamine Eden style where I put larger than bite sized pieces of Avocado, Tomato and Papaya on the plate and drizzled with the Worldwide winning Grenada Honey and lime juice.  One thing I realized about the large avocado chunks is that avocado is a subtle flavor and if the bite is too small or mixed with more powerful flavors it looses out.  So a large hunk, with the honey and lime was heavenly.  I also served the fish with a piece of toasted whole wheat baguette to sop up the sauce.  Sitting on the verandah with the strong ...

This is a variation on a salad I make with Quinoa. Combine: Rice, 2 cups cooked brown rice Lentils, 1 cup cooked lentils Cucumber, 1 cup  1/4" dice Granny Smith Apple: 1/4" dice Red Onion, 1/4 c. dice Sauce: 3 T plain yoghurt 1 T Olive Oil 2 T lime juice 1 t. hot sauce or cayenne powder ( to taste), optional 1/2 t.salt 1/2 t.sugar 1/4 c. chopped cilantro (or to taste) Mix and combine with rice/lentil mixture Serve sprinkled with 1/4 c. chopped roasted salted almonds per serving. Tonight we have fresh fish again and I'm thinking of making a Creole Sauce (coconut milk, etc.) to poach the fish.  I'll post the recipe if it's good! I've been painting everyday.  I tend to go with subject that is readily accessible like the sea, waves and rocks just below my verandah studio.

Oh, my...fresh tuna!  Brian, the handyman on the property where we're staying, got us some fresh Tuna today.  Lots of it, about 8 pounds of fish for only $24!!  So I froze some and tonight made: Fresh Tuna with Golden Apple Salsa Saute with 2 T butter and 2 T canola oil: 1/4 c. red onion and 1 lg. clove of garlic When onions are softened and oil is med high, sear the tuna (1 1/2 to 2 pounds). Lower temperature to low and continue to slow cook for about 5 minutes, turning once. Meanwhile plate up lentils: 2 1/4 c. broth (chicken/celery/onion/asstd. herbs) 3/4 c lentils simmer til liquid is absorbed (about 30-40 min) Place tuna on 1c. of cooked lentils, top with 1/2 c. salsa Salsa: 2 Golden Apples (Pomme Cythre) or peach/pineapple/mango 2 T lime juice 1/4 diced red onion 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. sugar/honey Chop Top all with chopped fresh mint leaves.

I have so many ideas for paintings. Thank goodness I brought plenty of supplies and a couple of stretcher bar sets. So I work back and forth between a 12x12 and a 24x36.  This is a 12x12 abstract. The next was actually the first painting here so it's titled First Impressions. It's also a 12x12. 

We woke to a sunny day today. It's lovely here in Grenada. It's charmingly small and less developed than some of its bigger sister islands in the Caribbean   Although it does  have a cruise port with the big cruise ships and yet even when the cruise ships are in it doesn't feel like Cozumel or those bigger cruise ports.  The Flamboyant tree  that's in the picture here,I hear that a week ago it was covered with bright orange flowers. It's also called the Poinciana and it's actually beautiful when it's not flowering. It has a Fern-leaf and it's hanging over the water creating a shadow on the sand. Waves are coming in underneath it creating a lacy foam, couldn't be lovelier.