Today on Foodie Tuesdays, we are going to meet a local food wizard and learn to make sweet potato pudding.

Meet Frances! Born and raised on St. Kitts, Frances moved to Saint Martin 30 years ago with her husband, who relocated for work. She can work wonders in the kitchen. I met Francis at a local event, where she was selling delicious meat patties, pies, puddings, and cakes.  She calls her business “Secnarf’s Place,” and you can find her at almost any public trade show or market event.

As you can see, Frances loves to cook. Before she retired, she worked in a store nearby. Now, she spends a lot of her time in the kitchen, baking for her family or preparing for an event. She told me that she stayed up all night to make fresh-baked goodies for her booth. She doesn’t mind the work, though, because she loves what she does. “I like to use my hands,” she says, “It’s like a work of art.”

Frances’ culinary skills aren’t limited to the oven. She also makes her own all-natural fruit and vegetable juices. All she adds is a little bit of sugar for flavor, if it’s not quite sweet enough. Passion fruit is her best seller. “It’s so much better than what you can buy in the stores,” she says. No preservatives, no shipping. Just natural goodness!

I asked Frances what her favorite food is. She thought for a moment before answering, “Sweet potato pudding.” The pudding is actually what sparked Frances’ interest in cooking. When she was a girl, her mother would make sweet potato pudding every year as a special Christmas dessert. As she got older, Frances would help. The rest is history.

Here is how you can make sweet potato pudding, as described on Jamaican Caribbean Favorites. You can visit their site to learn how to make many more awesome Caribbean dishes!

Sweet Potato Pudding:

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs sweet potato, grated
• 4 green bananas, grated
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup grated coconut trash
• 4 cups coconut milk
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp baking powder
• raisins
• rum to taste
• 2 oz melted butter
• Greased 9 inch pan

Directions:

1. Mix grated potato, banana, coconut trash, raisins, flour and baking powder.
2. Combine coconut milk, vanilla, sugar, butter, rum, salt, nutmeg and mixed spice.
3. Add milk mixture into potato mixture and batter until smooth.
4. Pour mixture into greased tin and let sit for 30 – 45 minutes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
6. Serve hot or cold.