Health Benefits and uses of Pomegranate

My weekly trips to the grocery store are always filled with veggies, fresh meats and an abundance of fruits. One of my favorites and one that is almost always in my shopping cart is pomegranate (if it is in season).

I grew up eating pomegranate in Jamaica, though they are a different variety than the deep red ones here in America, they are both equally tart, super juicy and delicious. Among other scrumptious descriptions, they are said to be one of the new super foods and boasts a host of health benefits. I am not in position to confirm nor deny these claims, but Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Oz have both endorsed this delicious fruit as one to include in our diets as often as possible for the many health benefits.

Juicy Goodness

Uses

• You can use pomegranate in your salads for a texture and a nice burst of juice.
• You can juice it or buy the drink for a refreshing thirst quencher
• You can eat it as a snack to replace a candy or other high caloric midday craving "satisfier"
• You can juice it and make a fantastic marinate for meats and seafood
• You can use it as a beautiful addition to your cheese and crackers platter
• You can juice it and add a tbsp to fluff, cream cheese and vanilla for a yummy fruit dip
• I'm sure you can figure out other things that would be greatly complemented with this super food

So if you have never had a pomegranate before, give it a try, you won't regret it. And if you are a regular, try using it in a different way to add a little pizzazz to your dish or snack options. You can buy them for $2-$3 depending on where you are in the country. Enjoy one of my addictions, hopefully you'll become addicted, too.

BNW~

Hearty Cheese, Meat and Crackers Platter

As you can see from my other posts, meat is VERY important to me. I love fruits and veggies too, but I am addicted, obsessed, hooked (you get the point) when it comes to meat. I made this spread for some friends that were stopping by my apartment recently. I knew they were coming in advance, so there was no way I would just offer them water or juice while we chatted. This is what I assembled for their visit.

What's in the spread?

Mothergoose Brand Liverwurst- This is my favorite, it's smoky and has a nice meat to fat ratio- YUM

Minced Garlic and Clam Dip  (Pictured in the cabbage leaf)

Melted Brie, topped with Maple Syrup, Strawberry Jelly, Toasted Pecan Nuts and a Sprinkle of Salt, bake just until it starts to melt. This should take about 8- 10 minutes in a preheated oven.

Cucumber- Worked nicely with the clam dip

Assorted Crackers for the Cheese and Liverwurst

Toasted Pita Bread for everything

Fruits- Grapes are a must along with anything else you have in your kitchen

Being the Jamaican lady that I am, I had to serve this up with some delicious Jamaican Rum and set the tone with some reggae music and scented candle. Ah, I love people, the conversations, and laughter never get old.Feeling Good with Beres Hammond

BNW~

Homemade (Chewy and Delicious) Granola Bar

Almonds, Craisins, Raisins and Sunflower seeds are always in my cupboard. I got hungry while I was driving from an interview the other day, and with no food in purse, I made a mental note to stock up on some granola bars for these occasions. So I bought a box of Nature's Valley Granola bar the next day and put two in my purse in case I get another hunger attack. I get them often but usually when I am home or work. As I was eating one of the bars, I thought to myself, why not make these with pure ingredients and no preservatives at home? Why not simply put the nuts and dried fruits I have in my cupboard together, and make my own? This is all they use, right? So here is what I came up with.

Homemade Granola Bars

Toffee sauce meeting the dry ingredients

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups of Old Fashion Oats (This is all I had in the house, so adjust the recipe accordingly)

¼ Cup of Raw Almonds- Chopped in two or three

2 Tbsp. Raw Sunflower Seeds

3 Tbsp. Salted Butter

2 Tbsp. of Brown Sugar

2 Tbsp. of Maple Syrup

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/4 Tsp. Cinnamon

Handful of Raisins or Craisins- I combined both

Handful of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Handful of Shredded Coconut

Pinch of Salt

Oil to grease the cookie sheet and the bread pan

Cashew (optional)

Method

Toast oat and chopped almonds for 10 minutes on a greased cookie sheet, just until you start to smell a delicious aroma. Meanwhile, make your toffee sauce with butter, sugar, vanilla, maple syrup and salt. Once melted, add to the toasted almonds and oats and stir to evenly distribute the flavor. Let cool for about 8 minutes and then add raisins/craisins and chocolate chip (and cashews if you have some handy) and stir to evenly distribute the goodness. Cover the bottom of a bread pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil and spread the granola mix in the bottom. Top with shredded coconut and press down on the mixture to make it firm. You want to pack it in as this will determine how your bars will look when you cut them, the less you press, the more space you’ll have in your bars.

  

Nicely packed in the bottom

Granola Bars are ready

Cover and refrigerate for as long as you can resist the temptation. I had mine stay overnight and they were perfect to cut in the morning. Remove from fridge and slice as narrow or as wide as you want them.

I used Ina Garten’s recipe as inspiration for this, but made adjustments based on what I had in the house. If you have a sweet tooth, you can add an extra Tbsp of sugar, maple syrup or honey. I am not big on sweets, so these were perfect for my taste buds.

Enjoy!

BNW~

I Made Homemade Mozzarella Cheese and So Should You!

I have been wanting to try to make some more seemingly difficult products at home for a while. Cheese was at the top of the list for the past year but I have always found a reason not to make it. In my defense, the ingredients were not available in the local grocery stores and I couldn't find any specialty shops close by, and it was not worth the effort to track down stores online and make it just for myself. This never left my mind, so I finally bought aaaa-lll-lllll the supplies I needed online (2 items), citric acid and some rennet tablets, I got milk from the grocery store and this is how it all played out.

All of the ingredients and tools needed for this fun experiment

I had already bought the Junket Brand Rennet before I did extensive research about it's strength. Since it is the weakest one on the market, I had to use more than the instructions stated. I found this out on a random website that sells cheese making supplies.

Ingredients

1 Gallon of Whole Milk- Not Ultra Pasteurized

1 1/2 Rennet Junket Tablets, or 1/4 Tablet if you use the strong Cheese Making one- dissolved in 1/4 cup of water

2 Tsps of Citric Acid- dissolved in 1/2 cup of cold water

Salt

You'll also need:

A Thermometer

Slotted Spoon

A Large Microwavable Bowl

A Large Pot

A Microwave

A long knife

Method

Empty milk and citric acid that you've dissolved into a deep pot and stir. Heat milk until it gets to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the rennet and stir to distribute evenly for about 30 seconds and remove from heat. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. You should have a nicely formed curd separated from the whey. Dice the curd by making horizontal and vertical strokes with your knife and return the pot to the burner to cook the curd. Keeping stirring the curd and as soon as it gets to 105 degrees, remove from the heat.

Time for fun

With your slotted spoon, scoop out the curds into your microwave safe bowl and drain the excess whey. Microwave for one minute, and then knead the curds and drain more whey. The curds will be hot so use a pair of clean rubber gloves and keep the cold water running to cool down your hands in the process. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and stretch and knead some more. This is where it may get tricky, you could stop here, but if your cheese (at this point) is not stretchy and shiny, microwave for another 15 seconds and as you stretch and knead some more, drain and add your salt. I added 1 tsp of salt but this is up to you. I ended up making a brine of water, salt and whey for the cheese because I wanted it to be more salty, so I'd say go with at least 1 and a 1/2 tsp. Fold your cheese and wrap it to form a large ball or small balls for petite mozzarella balls. Served with your favorite fruits, crackers and balsamic and basil soaked tomatoes slices. So yummy, quick and easy and  it's like magic. Enjoy immediately or wrap your cheese and refrigerate for a couple days of enjoyment. Please share this recipe with a friend, come back often.

Recipe should yield just under 1 lb of cheese.

I was so excited that I couldn't wait to cut into my homemade cheese.

BNW~

Please note**** I used the recipe that comes with the Junket Rennet, but made modifications to the amount of rennet I used.

Baked Whole Orange Chicken

I cannot remember the last time I cooked a whole chicken..you? Anyways, I was walking through the whole food store and saw heavy traffic in the meat area so I joined the crowd. Pork tenderloin, whole chicken, and boneless skinless chicken thighs were all on sale. Hmmmm, I kinda sorta bought all three, it's 50% sale, I cannot afford to pass on these great deals. Here is my little fresh chicken :)

I looked around my kitchen, I had lemon, lime, orange, mango, pears and a couple heavily spotted bananas. I have a thing with bananas, the spottier they are, the harder it is for me to eat them. I am trying to say it in a nice way, but I think they are next to gross. I am getting off topic, so back to the chicken. I decided to use orange and lemon from the fruit bowl. My seasonings rack is overload so I knew I could pull something together to give some bold flavor. These were my ingredients and semi seasoned chicken.

And before I popped it in the oven..... I didn't have an cooking string but found a lovely tutorial on how to truss without a string on YouTube [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S14l9dx3hkw]

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken

1 Lg Onion

1 Stalk of Celery

1 Orange

1/2 Cup of Orange Juice (if you do not want a crispy skin)

1 Tbsp of Black Pepper

1 Tbsp of Lemon Pepper

1 Tbsp of Rosemary

2 Tbsp of Butter

1 Whole Head of Garlic

A Handful of Cilantro

A Lot of Salt

Method

Remove offal and any giblets from inside the chicken. Season the inside with salt and pepper and add rosemary, thyme,cilantro, garlic, 1/2 onion, 1/2 orange sliced, and 1/2 celery. Truss chicken to keep all of this goodness inside. Season the outside with lemon pepper, salt and black pepper. You have to use a lot of salt so liberally coat every single part of the chicken with salt. Sprinkle the remaining herb,seasonings and orange slices on the bottom of the pan, and pour on 1/4 cup of orange juice. Place the beautifully seasoned chicken on top and bake for an hour and 45 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining orange juice with butter just until it starts to thicken. Baste chicken with the orange butter, 30 minutes before you remove it from the oven and again at the 15 minutes to go mark. Be sure to test the temperature before you declare your chicken COOKED, it should read 170 at the breast area and 180 for the darker pieces of meat. Let stand for 15 mins and then dig in. So delicious. You can add your twist to this dish as I did. I added a bold font to the things that I learned.

Look what happened!

I needed more orange juice in the pan

I dressed it up for dinner...

Beautiful chicken

Enjoy

BNW~

Jamaican Peanut Porridge

I am long over due for a yummy breakfast recipe. I made delicious Chai Pancakes and Bacon on Saturday and decided to do a full blown Jamaican breakfast the next day. There a few recipes out there that has more of everything else, than the peanuts, so I went in a direction that I remember my friend Nicole went with hers (I guess it is a old country style of cooking) with ingredients that I could get. Not much to talk about with this one besides the fact that it is not for everyone. If you have a problem with textures (my partner....clears throat) you probably won't lick the bowl. It's packed with protein, vitamins and deliciousness so that's key for me, and I love textures, the nuttier or chunkier the better.

The stuff

And then I had to bring out the tool...

Ingredients

1 Lb of Raw Peanuts

1 Can of Coconut Milk

1/4 Cup of Sugar

2 Packets of Oatmeal

2 Tbsp of Condensed Milk

1 Tsp of Vanilla

1 Tsp of Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp of Cinnamon

Pinch of Salt

Method

Blend the two packets of oatmeal, the peanuts and 4 cups of water. Meanwhile, bring a cup of water to boil in a deep pot and add the blended mixture to it. Cook for about 15 minutes and then add the coconut milk and cook for another 15 minutes.

Adding some yummy coconut milk

Sweeten with sugar and condensed milk and spice it up nutmeg (THIS IS A MUST), cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt. If it is too thin, mix a Tbsp of cornstarch in cold water and add to porridge, and cook for an extra minute while you stir. Mine was a little too thin and I had to use the cornstarch. If you had a green plantain, you could blend it with the oatmeal and peanuts as this would work as another flavorful thickening agent. Nicole used this in her recipe, for the record.

Nice bowl of Peanut Porridge:

Jamaican Peanut Porridge

Give it a try, it's very filling, nutty, and nutritious.

BNW~

Seafood (Mussels, Shrimp and Crab Legs) Curry Fest

Seafood (Mussels, Shrimp and Crab Legs) Curry 

I love curries, and I find ways to play around with the spices to create a balance for the meal. I go for earthy and bold when I am doing chicken dishes. No coconut milk when I am doing goat meat, and I leave off ginger and use a small amount of cumin for seafood. Sometimes, though, I do leave off the coconut milk if I am doing a quick curried shrimp steam or boil. There are so many ways to make curries so I am having my fun on this exploration :)

Ingredients

1lb Cooked Snow Crab Legs

1lb Raw Large Shrimp (Deveined)

2 Cups of Cooked Mussels with Juices (I had leftovers that amounted to 2 cups and they were cooked in garlic, white wine, butter, lemon and salt and pepper)

2 Tbsps. of Curry Powder-I used a Jamaican Brand called Grace but the McCormick one is great as well

1 Onion- Chopped

½ Red Bell Pepper- Chopped

½ Green Bell Pepper – Chopped

1Tsp of Crushed Red Peppers (Use less if you are not a fan of the heat)

4-6 Fresh Sprigs of Thyme

1 Tbsp. of Oil

¼ Tsp of Cumin

1 Packet of Chicken Bouillon

1 Cup of Water

I Can of Coconut Milk

Method

Heat oil and sautee, onion and peppers until they start to soften. Add curry powder, chicken bouillon and water and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, crushed red pepper, thyme and cumin and stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add your crab legs, (ensure that you crack the claws and bend the legs to allow the flavors to soak in). Add the mussels and shrimp and cook for 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and more pepper if needed. The chicken bouillon and curry powder were already salty and spicy so I didn’t need to add anything to mine.

Suggestions:

You can add more seafood if you’d like, or just change it up to include what you have in your house. I am sure this would work great with scallops. Enjoy

BNW~