Tastes Like Home

There is no one absolute recipe for garam masala. Each continent, each country, each county, region, and household has its own proprietary blend.

More than a decade ago, I wrote a column about the confusion between a sponge cake (which is what we call it in Guyana) and a pound cake.

What’s Cooking is a series in which I answer questions and share advice about food and cooking that you have but may be too shy to ask.

Last weekend was a four-day holiday weekend here in Barbados and I made bread pudding to share with friends.

Salt fish and rice is a combination that has been cooked in various iterations throughout the Caribbean for many, many years.

It was pleasing to read of Mahaica River cattle farmer Mohan Singh’s exploits of Paneer-making and sale in the local market.

Weekend baking is a mixture of tradition and treat. It was one of my favourite things while growing up and a practice I continue today.

My interest in food has never been about the pleasures of eating, rather, it’s about many of the things associated with food – origin, history, politics, economics, identity, community, culture, communication, engagement, techniques etc.

What’s Cooking is a series in which I answer questions and share advice about food and cooking that you have but may be too shy to ask.

The versatility of breadfruit makes cooking and baking with it, whether sweet or savoury, an engaging and rewarding experience.

There are certain items you see in a supermarket, grocery or specialty store at prices that raise an eyebrow or two.

If any of you reading this column has access to red food colouring, send me some.

Shake, shake, shake! Shake that roti! For years I have heard about people shaking roti (oil/paratha roti) in jugs, all in an effort to get away from clapping the roti hot off the tawa, avoiding the sting from the heat and subsequent tenderness of the hands.

A few years ago, I did a What’s Cooking on Baked Chicken.

I am temporarily displaced for several days so I’m in ‘de countryside’ staying with friends.

Regardless of what is sandwiched in between, it is the bread, the roll, the bun, that makes a sandwich exceptional.

If you like your Pepperpot with cowheel and trotters (pig feet), then you should like this sandwich – it is made with one of the parts of the animal considered to be an odd bit.

One of the things that is selling cheap at the market for the past few weeks is cucumbers.

The other day I was craving something homely with a hint of sweetness that I could have with a hot or cold beverage.

The loud whistling kettle interrupts my thoughts. Slowly, almost reluctantly, I raise the upper half of my body that was leaning on the kitchen counter, looking through the closed glass window.