Travel with JoY

with a wee bit o' help from old Jameson.... Grenada, the spice island, has a charming souvenir that is sold along the beachs and market stalls.  Mostly local ladies carry, over their arms, strands of necklaces made from the spices that grow on the island.  Although each artisan may have their own style and variation on the aromatic 'gems', typically at the center or base is a pendant of nutmeg and mace. O ften going up the , strand s ymmetricaly is ginger root, tumeric root, cloves, cocoa beans, cinnamon bark and folded bay leaves.  Annatto Pod and seeds in Jameson Whiskey Spice necklace "These are not for the kitchen", warns Charlotte, the Grendian. "They are to put in your bathroom or bedroom, to make them smell good," she touts.  "But you could use them in the kitchen, right?" "Oh yes" she affirms.  I suspect she takes this approach due to the fact that most people wouldn't know what to do with a nutmeg, m...

"I have to go gather the ingredients," says Ishon, the chef for the day.    We were staying at a small hillside resort, the Caribbean Cottage Club above the chichi Port Louis Marina on the island of Grenada, West Indies.  The half acre property has seven humble wooden cottages; the grounds lush with the growth of Coconut Palms, Banana trees, Citrus and flowering shrubs such as the Plumeria, all awash in the regular misty showers that waft down the mountainside to the sea.  I asked Ishon if I could watch or help prepare the Oildown for the evenings communal dinner. "I will let you know when I am ready" as he lumbered out the gate to find provisions. 'Provisions' is the term for the mostly ground crops such as sweet potatoes, dasheen ( aka Taro), Yam and breadfruit, a starchy tree fruit. Hours later, with all the ingredients laying out on his outdoor concrete table Ishon called me to help and said, " I should have told you to bring a knife" only to...

No I didn't get a massage with oil, and no I didn't get an oil change, but instead finally found one of the last three servings of Oildown, the national dish of Grenada at Babes.  Oildown is a culinary staple of the island, and the reason there were only three servings left at Babes restaurant is because when they make Oildown, there is, as Andre our driver said, "never any left".  If Oildown is available on the menu, that is what the Grenadians have.  Unfortunately for Andre who took us to Babe's we got the last three servings.  It was better than I expected. I'd heard about it; how you layer assorted meats or seafood, breadfruit or root crops, green bananas, yams, coconut milk and greens and stew it down until what remains is a savory stew with a coconut oil sauce.  I asked Babe how she made it and this is how she described it. She sauted the green spices: green onion, celery, thyme, possibly dill, and any assortment of green herbs, but very likely Shadon Be...

I haven't updated my paintings in a while.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, they suffer from a bit too much inspiration in that the subjects, and approaches are all over the place, from palette knife to decorative borders; from a colorful tropical palette to a subdued tone on tone grey piece. Jazz in 4/4 Time, 36" x 36" acrylic, with collaged fabric from Artfabrik (Grenada) Reef Impressions, 12" x 12" acrylic Fall Edge, 6pm, 36" x 36" acrylic Rocks & Waves V, 12 x 12 acrylic Flotsam, 24" x 36" acrylic North of Gouyave, 12" x 24" acrylic Grenada Cottage, 12 x 12 acrylic Homage to Breadfruit, 12 x 12 acrylic Sailin II, 12 x 24 acrylic, a tone-on-tone palette knife piece.

This recipe is originally from Tunisia and I altered the ingredients  to turn i into a West Indies style dish.  The curry replaces paprika and the coconut milk replaces water.  Cilantro for parsley (which I'm allergic to anyway).  Otherwise it's pretty similar. West Indies Shakshuka [Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce] Adapted from  S mitten Kitchen Serves 3-4 2 T coconut oil 2 green peppers sliced 1 med yellow onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed then sliced 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon West Indian Curry powder 1 tsp tumeric powder 1/4 tsp cayenne 2 T tomato paste 4 medium tomatoes chopped 1 cup coconut milk salt, to taste 3 eggs 1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro Warm pitas, for serving Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, curry, tumeric, cayenne, and cook, stirring ...

My paintings as well as my cooking suffer from a bit too much inspiration and possibilities. My pantry is well stocked now and I've been reading a travel book with recipes that takes place in the Caribbean including Grenada, The Spice Necklace. The following recipe is an amalgam of her Starburst Salad and a Yummly recipe I saw.  The Tropic of Pasta I avocado 2 T fresh lime juice 1 chopped tomato 1 c chopped cucumber 1 T banana ketsup 1 T pepper sauce (opt) 1/2 cup fresh coconut meat coarsely grated 1/2 c cilantro chopped 1/2 pound cooked and cooled pasta 1/2 cup or more dry roasted salt peanuts Mash the avocado adding the lime juice, banana ketsup, pepper sauce and cilantro. Combine well with pasta. Add remaining ingredients and top with crushed peanuts. 

Sailin’ past Kick ‘Em Jenny The swells were as big as a small house, with winds gusting to 28 knots….. I had downloaded Windfinder to my phone and it turned out to be perfectly accurate in its prediction of 25 knot winds (with gusts to 28) for Tues and Wed of our trip.  Yata and I being neophytes to this sort of sailing; we had only sailed on Lake Pepin and the Great Lakes a time or two; didn’t quite know what to expect. We sailed Sunday to Sunday, Jan 24 to 31st on the Chinook, a 42” mono-hull Bavaria yacht with three berths with Kay Hamilton, Dwight Jelle, Jeri and Dave Erickson.  Dwight was the captain and he and Kay have had a lot of experience including racing as well as weeklong trips through the British Virgin Islands and the Grenadines.  Dave and Jeri purchased Kay and Dwight’s Tartan sailboat and have it at the Pepin Marina. So they too have years of sailing experience.   We departed Sunday about 2pm after a couple hours of loading and instruc...

An excellent recipe by 1st mate Kay. Or should I say galley wench! Boat Babe Curry by Kay 2 onions chopped 3 fingers ginger, minced 3 cloves garlic minced 1 red bell pepper chopped Sauté above in 2 T coconut oil.  Add 1 c chicken broth 1/2 can coconut milk 2 T tamarind sauce 1/4 c peanut butter Salt Pepper 1 T turmeric or more 1 T cinnamon  1/4 c coconut cream 1 T fresh thyme Simmer

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

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 ...

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.

We leave for Grenada, in about six days. Excited anticipation is building to see what it will be. Will the bed be comfortable?  Will the water outside our door be good swimming?  How will the locals treat us?  What will I paint? Last year in Trinidad the birds were so beautiful and abundant I had to paint them. The spectacular national bird of Trinidad, the Scarlet Isis painting went back to the islands, to Barbados as a gift for for and from relatives.   The first bird influenced painting, Hummingbirth which was inspired by my little companion, the Copper-rumped hummingbird, will be in an exhibit while we are away, at the Janet Carson Gallery in Eau Claire,WIsconsin. Fabulous Florals is an exhibit of floral designs by area florists inspired by a work of art. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Hummingbirth .  I found a nice heavy canvas bag designed to carry golf clubs on a plane. I'm planning to load it with acrylics , rolls of canvas and stretche...