Ackee and saltfish/codfish! Fried plantain and fried dumplings Jamaica breakfast

Jamaican breakfast that is enjoyed by many.

 Ackee is a vegetable that grows on trees in reddish pods with large black seeds and a fleshy inner piece that has to be removed before it can be eaten. They also come in cans but I prefer fresh ones whenever they're in season. A very important fact about ackee that I should point out is that they MUST be allowed to open naturally in their pods before cooking or they can be poisonous. When prepared the correct way it's very delicious.

Ingredients

Ackee
Salted cod fish
onion
bell pepper
hot pepper
tomato
thyme

Boil ackee in salted water and set aside. Then boil the cod fish and flake with a fork.
In a pan put oil and then add the ingredients starting with the onions and stuff, cod fish then ackee. Sprinkle a little black pepper and it's ready.
In this particular picture I served it with plantains and fried dumplings.

Plantains are larger than a banana and has to be fried before you eat it. Dumplings are made from a dough of flour, salt and baking powder then also fried.

This particular breakfast is indeed fattening so it's not something that should be eaten often but it is indeed delicious. Hope you'll be up for the challenge and try it sometime.

A non traditional "Jamaican" meal

Chicken breast, garlic parsley potatoes with green beans and carrots.

 I felt like stepping away from the usual meals I make and this is what I came up with? This delicious and easy meal will have you back to watching your favorite sports in no time. Well maybe that's just me since I'm such a sports junkie. :)

Ingredients
Chicken
Potatoes (this case I used the red skin ones)
Garlic
Carrots
Green beans
Parsley
Butter
Salt
Black pepper
Paprika

I start by washing my chicken breast with water and vinegar because it takes away that "fowl" smell that poultry can have sometimes. Then lightly seasoned with salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic.
I then let it marinate for a bit so the seasoning can infuse the chicken.

I then dice and put the potatoes to boil in salted water. Finally minced garlic and chop up parsley.
I then sauté the garlic in butter then add the potatoes and parsley and let sit.

I then brown my chicken in a sauté pan on each side for about 7-10 mins depending on how thick it is. Slice and serve with the potatoes and the blanched carrots and beans. I personally don't like over cooked vegetables to I don't cook it too long so if you desire it more tender then you can cook it longer.

This is one of those meals that taste great but won't have you in the kitchen all day. Whether cooking for your yourself or a group of friends. Try making it and remember you can always put your own spin on it. That's what I do. Enjoy!

Organic Multigrain Walnut Banana Pancakes

Organic Multigrain Walnut Banana pancakes with Egg White Havarti Mushroom Omelet.

 

Imagine the sweet aroma of thick maple syrup sweetly sliding down a buttered savory delight.

This delightful dish will have you screaming breakfast is ready!

All you need:

Organic Multigrain Pancake Mix

Unsalted butter

Olive oil

Pinch of salt

1 cup Blackberries

1 banana

Scoop of Walnuts

For the Omelet:

Egg whites

Havarti cheese

Baby Portabella Mushrooms

 

Preparation:
The trick here is to  thinly slice the bananas and crush the walnuts (covered in a paper towel with a wooden spoon) and add the goodness with a pinch of salt to the batter.  I like my pancakes thick, so I usually don't follow the instructions on the box. 

Cooking instructions
Lightly butter the griddle with a tsp of butter. When that melts add a sprinkle of olive oil but be careful not to overgrease the pan. Scoop your yummy batter while the pan is on a medium high flame, and after about 30 seconds cook for 2-3 minutes at medium heat (or until you start to see bubbles).

Voila! 

Slice some blackberries

In separate pan:

Toss some mushrooms into your egg whites , cook and top with Havarti cheese.

Surprise your boo with this lovely treat as a breakfast in bed option. And as always, 

Under 20 minutes!

Avocado Shrimpin' Is Easy Salad

AVOCADO SHRIMPIN' IS EASY

Come one, come all - this dish is super easy to prepare and it tastes really good!  

All you need is:

1. Cooked Shrimp (1/2 pound will be enough) - I usually season the shrimp with Old Bay before I cook it.

2. 1/2 Red onion or White onion chopped 

3. 1 medium tomato diced

4. 2 Avocados diced

5. Olive Oil (about a tablespoon)

6. Cilantro chopped (also about a tablespoon)

7. Lime juice (or juice your own limes (1-2 limes))

To prepare this salad:

Combine lime juice, olive oil with the chopped red onion.  Feel free to add salt & pepper. Let it sit for a few minutes.  Then add cooked shrimp, avocado, tomato.  Toss in cilantro and mix.

That's it!

Surprise someone you care about with this meal...you can't go wrong...

...if you do...leave a comment and I'll help you out!

HASTA TOMATO!

My favorite Jamaican meal. Stewed peas/beans

This is my favorite dish and nobody made it better than my mom. It's basically red beans boiled down to a stew (hence the name)with cured and fresh meats served with white rice. Usually made with beef and/or pork.There are different versions that are made with chicken, tofu to a meatless vegetarian style. I personally like pork so in this version I used salted/ cured pigs tail, beef and oxtail.

Ingredients
Dried red Beans.
Meat of choice beef, pork, lamb or chicken
Garlic
Green onion/ scallions
Habanero pepper
All spice/pimento
Thyme
Salt
Black pepper
Flour
Rice

Recipe
It's sometimes better to soak the cured meat overnight to remove excess salt.
1. In a large pot put beans and garlic in cold water and bring to a boil then add beef and pork. If using cured meat no need to add salt since it's already salted. If using chicken add when the beans are almost done cooking.
2.When beans and meat are soft to the touch of a fork add spinners which is a dough made from water flour and salt then rolled in skinny long shapes that's looks like a larger version of spaghetti.
3. Add scallions, all spice, thyme and habernero/chili pepper and reduce heat until it boils into a thick rich stew.

4.Wash rice and put on with a pinch of salt (optional) and butter lowering heat as it gets to boil.
When done flake with fork and serve in a plate with Stew and enjoy!

Welcome to HastaTomato.com! Four Friendly Cooks in the Kitchen!

My name is Lee Karchawer and I've called on 3 of my close friends to join me in a blogging experience about something I think we all love: FOOD!  A few years ago, I started a cooking blog and it was so much fun sharing my cooking experiences and finished meals with my family, friends and followers.  So I proposed to myself a question.

The question: What could be better than having your own cooking blog to share meals, recipes and pictures of delicious food?

The answer: A cooking blog to share meals, recipes and pictures of delicious food with 3 friends who know how to mix things up in the kitchen too!  

Be on the look out for fun posts, great recipes, delicious looking meals and we will even occasionally post videos!

A special treat:
Chocolate Cowabunga Empanada

Ingredients (very simple):

Banana (sliced)

Peanut Butter (chocolate or regular)

Cinnamon

Honey

Melted Butter

Vanilla Ice Cream

Empanada dough

Flour

Powdered sugar

Recipe:

1. Drizzle empanada dough with melted butter on both sides and lay on a tray with flour.

2. Mix peanut butter (chocolate or regular) with honey and cinnamon - you could also do nutella as well.

3. Spread peanut butter mix on the dough and lay banana slices (thin) on top.

4. Fold the empanada, fork the ends, and bake for 17-20 minutes.

5. Serve with vanilla ice cream, honey drizzle and powdered sugar.

(I also think substituting chocolate chips with regular peanut butter instead of chocolate peanut butter could taste great as well.)

This meal is a great dessert! High in protein, fiber and vegetarian!

Let's meet the Tomatoes...

Ian Bel: Mr. Cross-Food, a perfect blend of Cross-Fit meets Great Food! Ian loves to travel and live a healthy lifestyle.  He plans to share meals you can prepare quickly but are also super healthy and taste great!  Follow him @ianmbel on Twitter and Instagram

Shar Anderson: One of my most favorite people in the world, Shar is Jamaican and makes the best dishes with Caribbean spices and flavor that you'll ever eat. She hopes to soon open a restaurant and we will be lucky customers when she does!  And yes...it's very hard for me to deal with but Shar is a big Miami Heat and Miami Dolphins fan...Go Nets! Follow her on Instagram at @bossladytrudz

Bert Gervais: For all of the single guys out there or the ladies who want to drop a hint to the guys they're dating, meet Bert Gervais.  You might recognize Bert as The Mentor Guy, helping people find success mentors. He's also here to help single guys prepare quick and easy to make meals (in under 30 minutes) for a fun date night.  He subscribes to the "Food is Love" philosophy. Follow Bert on Instagram, @BertGervais 

Lee Karchawer: That's me! I'm inspired by sharing fun recipes of dishes from all over the world. I will be working hard to keep up with my fellow Tomatoes above and I really hope you all enjoy our posts to come.  Please follow our blog on facebook and twitter and all of the other social sharing sites.  You can follow me directly on Instagram, @kaptainkosh ...get ready to be "Cookin' with the Kaptain"