CRAB GUMBO (simple recipe)

Crab Gumbo

Ingredients:

6 cooked crabs

6-7 okras (sliced)

2 tbsp. butter

3 large tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 onion (chopped)

Spring of parsley & thyme

1-2 blades chives

½ red peppers (sliced)

Water to cover 

Instructions: 

Prepare crabs, extracting meat. Skin tomatoes; wash and cut up seasonings. Melt butter and brown crab meat. Add seasonings and sliced okras. Brown all and add bay leaf and water to cover. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Consistency should be like a thick soup. Serve alone or with white rice.

GUYANA BLACK CAKE (RUM) w/ icing recipe (see below)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. mixed dried fruit (chopped or grinned)

1 tsp. mixed spice

2 oz. mixed peel

8 oz. white sugar or soft brown sugar

4 oz. peanuts (chopped finely)

6 eggs

¼ tsp. baking powder

8 oz. flour

½ bottle wine

Guyana Black Cake

½ bottle rum

8 oz. margarine

1 lb. sugar (for caramel)

2 tbsp. wine (for caramel)

Instructions:

Wash and dry fruits then grind or chop fruits and nuts. Pour rum over the fruit and nut mixture and leave to soak for a day or longer (up to three months).

Make Caramel: heat sugar and when melted, add wine. Simmer until mixture turns dark in color.

Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan and put aside. Cream the sugar and margarine together and add eggs on at a time. Add fruit mixture and stir well. Add enough caramel to make it as dark as desired. Sift flour, baking powder and spice together and slowly fold in. Mix to a soft dropping consistency using wine and/or rum to create consistency. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours (on the middle shelf in the oven). Immediately after the cake is baked, pour a little more wine and rum over the cake and allow soaking in, repeating pouring rum and wine over cake three or four more times. Let cool.

ICING FOR BLACK CAKE

Ingredients: (icing for cake base) 

Marzipan-almond paste

2 egg whites

I cup. Ground almonds

1cup. Confectioners’ sugar

½ tsp. almond essence

Royal Icing:(cake icing)

2 egg whites

1 lb. confectioners’ sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions:

Beat egg whites to a stiff froth. Stir in ground almonds, sugar and almond essence to make a paste. Remove cake from pan, place on cake plate and cover the top of the cake with almond paste. Roll the rest of the paste thinly to cover the sides. Allow to dry 1 day before icing with Royal Icing.

Royal Icing:

Beat egg whites to froth and add sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice and continue to beat until mixture forms a peak. Dip spatula into hot water and smooth the icing over the almonds paste. A second layer may be applied when the first has thoroughly dried. Decorate as directed. If cake is for a wedding, choose appropriate colors and decorations. If cake is for Christmas, colors chosen may be red and green on white.

PUMPKIN & SWEET POTATO FRITTERS

Ingredients:

1 cup raw pumpkin (grated)

½ cup cooked potatoes (crushed)

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. spice

½ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. melted shortening

¼ tsp. salt

Milk to mix

Oil for frying

Instructions:

Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add sugar, spice pumpkin, potatoes and shortening. Blend in milk to make a thick batter. Fry by spoonful in hot oil. Drain and serve hot.

CODFISH DELIGH

Ingredients:

½ cup boneless codfish (soak for ½ hr.)

½ cup potatoes (cut into small squares)

½ lb. cabbage (chopped coarsely)

A piece of thyme

A pinch of black pepper

1 small onion (sliced)

2 small tomatoes (sliced)

1 small red pepper (sliced)

1 cup par-boiled rice
1 avocado (sliced for garnish-optional)

2 cups coconut milk

Instructions: 

Soak codfish in cold water for ½ hour. Clean and wash vegetables. Drain codfish and pour hot water over it. Flake into small pieces then put with potatoes in a saucepan to steam for 10 minutes, adding just enough water to steam. Add the cabbage and steam on top for 10 minutes. Cook rice in another saucepan with coconut milk, and season with onion, tomatoes, red pepper, thyme and black pepper. Combine codfish and rice mixture and serve hot; garnish with slices of avocado (optional). 

SUGAR CAKE (coconut cakes)

Sugar Cake

Ingredients:

1 lb. brown sugar

¼ pint water (or use water from coconut)

1 coconut (grated)

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 dried orange peel (for flavoring)

½ tsp. ginger

Instructions:

Boil sugar and water (or coconut water) together until syrup spins a thread. Add grated coconut, vanilla, orange peel and ginger to syrup and cook until mixture thickens and leaves the side of the pan, stirring constantly. Moisten a pastry board with water and drop a spoonful’s of the mixture unto the board and form little round cakes. When the cakes are set on one side, turn them over to the other side to dry. When cakes are dry, it’s ready to be served and enjoyed.