I've recently been obsessed with eating hummus - I just can't get enough of it. I think it has to do with the weather turning into summer on St Thomas, hummus is so cool and refreshing. So, last week I made this hummus recipe and took it to the beach:

2 cans of garbanzo beans drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp salt
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 hot pepper
sprig of fresh parsley
sprig of fresh chives

Blend all ingredients together until smooth (you might have to add more water for the blender) and chill before serving.

Happy cooking!!!

Have you ever eaten Quinoa? It's a yummy whole grain and I made it for the first time with the recipe on the back of the package. It came out so good:

Quinoa Taboule

2 cups of cooked and cooled Quinoa
1 up chopped parsley
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint (I recommend more)
1 garlic clove minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil (I would do more)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (I would put a little less or add a tbsp of sugar)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper

Toss all ingredients together. Chill for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend. Makes 6 servings.

I added a 1/2 cup of fresh diced tomatoes.
Happy cooking!!!

Last week I was obsessed with eating pasta and fresh green salads, this might be from the new walking routine I started last week. Yes, I'm still walking in the mornings on Megan's Beach and loving the fresh start to each day. Since I've started cooking this year I have found it difficult to stick with a recipe, which is why I love making pasta, I feel as though pasta doesn't have any 'rules.' Besides the yummy shrimp and veggie pasta dish above I also made a huge pan of lasagna that is out of this world amazing (sorry no photo.) Do you have a favorite pasta dish?
Now I just need to find something new to make this week that's not involving so much pasta (giggle), suggestions?

The wind today is really incredible on St Thomas (25 to 30 mph with gust up to 40 mph) I couldn't imaging being out on the water on day like today. I can imagine baking some hot bread in the kitchen though. This weekend I made my first French Bread! It was so easy to make and the recipe I used is very similar to my pizza dough recipe. I've got a little room for improvement with my bread for some reason the texture wasn't just right, guess I'll have to try it again. A little tip I tried was to toss a couple of ice-cubes into the bottom of the oven to make the crust flaky. Here's the French Bread Recipe that I found on allrecipes.com:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 12 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon cornmeal

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Mix first 5 ingredients together.
2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and continue mixing.
3. Place in lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until double in size (30 minutes.)
4. Divide in half. Roll each portion into 8x10 rectangles and roll up starting from long side. Pinch seams to seal.
3. Sprinkle greased baking sheet with cornmeal, place loaves seam side down on prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, (about 20 minutes.)
4. Whisk egg and water - brush over loaves. Make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!!!

It's been a long week of working for me and I have a big wedding to photograph on Saturday, so it's not really truly a Friday for me. When I was a kid my mom use to call our Friday night dinner a 'pizza party' and we would make our own pizza's or calzones together - it was always a lot of fun! Since I've started cooking this year I thought I should learn how to make pizza dough.... well it's so easy and it's now my Friday night tradition. You too could do it if I can, here's the recipe:

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients, knead until smooth and elastic on a lightly floured surface.
2. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, place in a warm location, and let rise for about 30 minutes.
3. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out to desired shape and place on pan.
4. Cover dough in all your pizza toping goodness.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes or until brown on bottom.

Truth be told I've got a salt problem and anyone that lives on the NorthSide of St Thomas knows what I'm talking about. The humidity level is so high where I live that no matter how much rice you add to any saltshaker you will still not be able to shake salt with ease. That's why I'm so excited that I found this little handmade saltshaker that works!

I found this saltshaker at a shop downtown called  Gallery St Thomas, it's made by Kazooti Clay USVI, they call it The Salt Vault. The reason that it works is because it's made out of clay and it's not glazed on the inside; since the clay is porous it naturally absorbs the extra moisture in the salt and allows it to shake with ease. So simple, yet brilliant!


Keep up with post via my new facebook page HERE!

There is nothing like a warm slice of bread with melted butter on it to make any day better. Here's a simple white bread recipe that I tried this weekend. Happy cooking all!!!!

Happy Cooking!!!


PS Next week I hope to have made my own photos of the food I make (the above photos are linked back to sources.)

Yes, it's true I baked a cake and it's my first flourless cake.
Do you ever read the magazines that are in the seat backs on the airplane? Well, Liat Airlines has a Caribbean Magazine in their seat backs called Zing Live Life To The Full and on the last flight we where on Eric pulled out this Chocolate Coffee Sin Cake recipe. Since our new kitchen is so wonderful and it happened to be our friend Kim's birthday I baked. Wow, is it good!!!




Chocolate coffee sin cake
You Need
6oz chopped chocolate
6 tbsp butter
3 tbsp brewed coffee
2 tbsp Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs separated
shaved chocolate for garnish

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 300F. Melt (in a bowl over pan simmering water) chocolate, butter, coffee and Mount Gay Eclipse Rum. Remove from heat and stir in almonds, sugar and yolks, one at a time.
2. Whip egg whites until peaks form and fold in slowly to chocolate base.  Pour mix into a greased 9 inch pan and bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
3. Let cool completely.Whip 1 cup  heavy cream with 1 tbsp sugar and 3 tbsp Mount Gay Eclipse Rum until stiff and serve as a side topping.

Cooking has never been my forte. My mom on the other hand loves to cook and is always trying out new recipes. Recently we made a French upside-down apple tart, Tarte Tatin, it was amazing and not really that complicated. Of course the only thing I did to help bake this yummy little tart was take photographs and grease the pan.