Travel with JoY

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. 

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 ...