Baking soda vs Baking Powder and how to use them effectively

Baking soda vs Baking powder Have you wondered what the difference was between baking soda and baking powder?Were you ever in the process of making something which required one of these leavenings only to realize that you didn’t have the one which the recipe listed? And if so, did you simply substitute one for the…

Cinnamon Maple Cookies

This little cookie is quite a surprise. It’s a mix between a sweet pastry and a shortbread. There’s a lot of flavor in a little bite and a fine complexity that is derived in the rolled version. As the cookies bake, the butter, sugar, cinnamon and maple syrup meld together magically creating a golden crisp…

Fragrant Rice Pilaf

Rice is a staple which is commonly consumed by a large portion of the world’s inhabitants daily. There are long, medium and short grained rice varieties and each type has its own appearance, flavor and characteristic. Long grain rice tends to stay separate once cooked, while medium grain rice yields a stickier outcome; the best…

Ginger Tea with Aromatic Spices

Ginger is a such a glorious root which offers so many favorable properties. Ginger rhizome is related to curcuma or turmeric and originated in South East Asia. Ginger can be found in fresh or dried form, with each form being slightly different both in flavor and potency level. Rich in Vitamin C & Magnesium, ginger…

Citrus Magic: Lemons, Limes and Sour Oranges

It never ceases to amaze me how flavors come together in food preparation. In my opinion, cooking can be compared to alchemy. Like magic, ingredients and spices marry together to produce wondrous outcomes. A good cook seeks to balance flavors ranging from sweet, savory, spicy and acidic and transforms them into tasty delights. Too much…

The Best Pie Crust Recipe You’ll Ever Need

So many people say that pastry making is difficult and the outcome is never favorable. I hear this time and time again from so many. I have been making pastry at home for about 30 years and it’s become second nature to me. I can whip it up in no time. I have tried so…

Tarte à l’oignon or Creamy Onion Tart

Tarte a l’oignon is a family favorite which I was introduced to on my arrival to Haïti. It’s origins are French and it’s the type of dish that appears on Sunday Lunch tables or brunches. It is a delicious concoction of sautéed onions, a creamy filling which binds the soft caramelized onions and the buttery…

Cassava Coconut Pudding with Rum Raisin Sauce

Cassava is a root tuber which we in the Caribbean know well. It is actually native to this part of the world and has been cultivated in the northern portions of South America, Southern meso America and the Caribbean for ten thousand years. This starch tuber is also known as manioc or yuca. Cassava has…

Peanut Chrysanthemum Cookies

Peanut Chrysanthemum Cookies I remember those cookies fondly as a child. I was never a big fan of peanut butter, but I did like these dainty cookies whenever we had them on special occasions. The pastry was very refined and the filling was slightly sweet and peanut flavored. There was the characteristic red dot in…

Portuguese Guyanese Style Shrove Tuesday Pancakes Malasadas

The Lent season which is the 40 day religious period of prayer, reflection and penance in the Christian traditions will begin next Wednesday. The Lent period then officially ends on Easter Sunday. This weekend and the days leading up to Ash Wednesday will be ones of excesses for some, with the Carnival festivals enjoyed in…