Tag Archives: food

Foodie Tuesdays: Bahamian Johnny Cake

January 26, 2016Caribbean, Cooking, International Travel, Uncategorizedbahamas, bahamian, baking, Caribbean, cooking, dinner, flat bread, food, foodie tuesdays, fry bread, johnny cake, kitchen, pancake, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, snack, st martin, St. Maartenbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Hi friends! Usually of Foodie Tuesdays, I tweak an international recipe and share it here on 3rd Culture Wife.

Today, I have glorious amounts of leftovers and absolutely refuse to cook.

We have ribs and pizza, so I doubt Ben will argue with that sentiment.

Instead of the usual, I decided to share with you my favorite Word Press baking post of the day. Incidentally, it fits in with my Caribbean theme. If you’ve ever visited the Caribbean, odds are you’ve enjoyed a nice, warm johnny cake. If you haven’t, now’s a great time to try it for yourself!

Click on the link below to visit Mandy G’s blog and learn how to make this classic Caribbean staple.

Bahamian Johnny Cake

Med School Block Week

January 21, 2016American University of the Caribbean, AUC, Cooking, Expats, Expats and TCKs, Spouses Organization, UncategorizedAmerican University of the Caribbean, AUC, bake sale, block week, blocks, food, friends, fundraiser, Med school, medical school, nachos, sale, spouses org, spouses organizationbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Well, it’s here again.

Block week is the week before blocks, which are a set of important tests that happen four times per semester at American University of the Caribbean. It’s the time when many pizzas are consumed, many blank stares are met with, and many Netflix shows are ignored.

I am always glad to not be a student during block week, but I admit that it’s a little rough on the spouses, too, especially the first time around. I last semester, when we were experiencing our very first block week ever, I wasn’t sure I was going to survive. I can’t go to sleep unless Ben is there, so I stayed up late every night waiting for him to get home. There was a night he never came back from the study rooms, and I finally fell asleep at 2:00 AM. Those of you who know me well will understand what a struggle it was to go to bed that late! Now, I’m more used to it and it’s a lot less stressful to Ben. It’s just a part of life.

But block week isn’t all bad– at least for us spouses! One thing we all look forward to is bake sale. During the weekend before block, the AUC spouses organization holds a bake sale in the main building of campus to feed hungry students and spend time with each other. We sell nachos, drinks, and desserts to make money for our group activities. Last semester, we made enough for us to go to the zoo, do craft nights, and spend a day at an all-inclusive resort.

Bake sale is great because we get to meet and encourage hundreds of students. I love talking to them as they pass through the line. Another great thing about bake sale is eating the dregs of the chocolate frosting out of the container with a spatula and not being judged. And of course, getting free nachos is always awesome. But the best part is spending time with friends and making new ones!

Foodie Tuesdays: Amish Baked Oatmeal

January 19, 2016Cooking, Uncategorizedbaking, cooking, food, foodie tuesdays, sugar, sweetbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Ben’s favorite breakfast is baked oatmeal. I usually make him something quicker, like toast or eggs, but once in a while I get up early to make this treat. It’s soft, chewey and sweet. It’s also filling and staves off the snacking.

I adapted this recipe to make ours.

Gather your ingredients:

-3 Cups Oatmeal

-1 Cup Brown Sugar

-Tablespoon cinnamon

-2 teaspoons baking powder

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 Cup Milk or Almond Milk

-2 Beaten Eggs

-1/4 Cup Melted Margerine

-4 Tablespoons Plain Yogurt

-2 teaspoons Vanilla or White Vanilla Extract

-1/2 Cup Raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C

Mix together dry and wet ingredients separately.

Stir wet and dry mixtures together.

Coat a glass pan with margerine.

Pour mixture into pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Yum!

Carousel

January 17, 2016American University of the Caribbean, Caribbean, Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten, Spouses Organization, Uncategorizedboats, carousel, cotton candy, food, gelato, global, horeses, ice cream, ice cream shop, ice cream shoppe, kiwi, ponies, Saint Martin, shop, shoppe, Sint Maarten, sorbet, st martin, St. Maarten, sundaybreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Some of the best places in the world are the little tucked-away gems that you’d never expect to find. Carousel is like that. This gelato shop in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten is not your average ice cream stop.

My friend Stacey suggested a spontaneous trip to Carousel this afternoon. I’d never been, and I was more than happy to make an ice cream run on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The theme of the shop is, of course, carousels. The building is round, and so it the counter. We entered through the revolving glass door and viewed our options.

We bypassed the cotton candy bar– tempting as it was– for the ice cream. There were so many flavors! I’m slightly lactose intolerant, so I was happy to see a dozen sorbet flavors. I chose kiwi. Yum.

Stacey showed me around– inside are monochromatic murals of carousels, and outside are famous historic photos of people eating ice cream– everyone from U.S presidents to British actors to iraqi school children. Iced treats are a universal delight!

The best part of all was the giant, real-life carousel in the back, just waiting to be ridden by children!

Even the gift shop was adorable. Stacey said that when she has a daughter, she’ll give her a ballerina music box like the ones in the shop. I liked the porceline carousels best.

We took our ice cream outside and watched the boats in the lagoon. I can’t think of a better way to spend a warm, slow Sunday afternoon in the tropics.

Foodie Tuesdays: Persian in an Hour

January 12, 2016American University of the Caribbean, AUC, Cooking, Expats and TCKs, Uncategorizedchicken, cooking, cumin, easy, Eating, exotic, fast, food, foodie tuesdays, foreign, garlic, neighbor, paprika, persian, recipe, rice, seeds, spices, yogurtbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Today’s recipe is one of one my most successful food attempts of all time. It is close-your-eyes-and-enjoy-the-moment delicious. My husband told me that this is the best way I’ve ever made chicken and that I have to make it again.

Now, that’s what I like to hear.

I have honestly never thought of trying Persian food before yesterday. Our neighbor down the hall is leaving the island in a few months, and he offered us the spices, food, and first aid stuff he doesn’t plan to use before he leaves. Do we have the most awesome neighbors ever, or what? Some of the spices he gave us are used in Persian food. He explained their uses enough to me to be able to Google intelligently and find some yummy recipes.

Behold, zeerah polow and chicken.

Zeerah polow is rice with cumin seeds. This and the chicken should take about four hours to make the right way, but I only had an hour before dinner time, so I sped things up a bit. Here’s Zeerah Polow in cut-time.

Gather your ingredients:

Brown rice, 3 cups
Cumin seeds, 3 tablespoons
One chicken quarter or two breasts
Olive oil
Plain yogurt, one cup
Dried mint, 1 tablespoon
Garlic powder, 1/2 tablespoon
Black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
Paprika, 1 teaspoon
Salt, 1/2 tablespoon
Flour, one cup

Rinse rice until the water is clear. Boil six cups of water and add rice. Simmer. Scoop rice from the bottom of the pan to the top every few minutes.

Toast the cumin seeds in a pan. Set aside.

When the rice is done, drain rice and mix with cumin seeds.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken. Cut into strips.

Mix garlic powder and yogurt. Let chicken marinate in the mixture for ten minutes.

Mix flour and rest of spices in another bowl.

Heat oil 1/4 inch deep in a skillet. Coat chicken in flour/spice mixture and fry in oil until the chicken is cooked and the batter is crispy.

Serve with limes. Enjoy!

Foodie Tuesdays: Indian Kidney Beans

January 5, 2016Cooking, Uncategorizedfood, foodie tuesdays, foreign, India, indian, masala, rice, spicesbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

I love making ethnic food. Especially when I have absolutely no idea what it is. Today, I tried something that I’ve never made before, and it was a winner. An empty-the-pot-and-ask-for-more winner. Kidney beans and rice with rajmah masala!

Sometimes, Indian food is a little to spicy for me– sometimes it is way too spicy for me. This, on the other hand, was the perfect amount of spicy and savory.

I got the box mix last night from my neighbor. He was cleaning out his kitchen and offered me a bunch of cool spices and other yummy things– perks of having an awesome neighbor! If you don’t have as box mix, you can make your own rajmah masala from spices in your kitchen.

You will need:

Kidney beans (2 or 3 cans, or a package of dry beans, prepared)
Three cups of rice
Small onion
Tomato or tomato paste
Rajmah Masala, either packaged or:
- Crushed coriander, salt, dry mango, pomegranate seeds, chili, cumin, musk melon, black pepper, slack salt, fenugreek leaves, cloves, mint, nutmeg, dry ginger, bay leaf, cardamom seeds, caraway, mace, cardamom green.
- If you don’t have all the ingredients, no worries– go with what you have.

Prepare beans and rice.

Mix all the spices together.

Chop onions, fry in a pan until golden brown. Add tomatoes.

Add a tablespoon or so of the spice mix, stir until it forms a paste.

Mix the spices and onions into the beans. Let simmer for a few minutes.

Serve beans over rice.

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