Chookooloonks

Reunited

Alleluia

Just a quick note to say Marcus is home safe, I got my laptop back, and they came and installed DSL yesterday.

And all the cherubim and seraphim sing "alleluia."

More soon.

The Seriously Huge Downside to Living in Paradise, and, At Long Last, APOTDWMIA #21

So yesterday, after Alex’s nap and lunch, I decided to go to the local grocery to pick up the ingredients for my Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies - sort of to celebrate Marcus’ homecoming. (Incidentally, you know how the exact same food can taste completely different, depending on which country the ingredients were procured? Well, here in Trinidad, my Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Cookies taste slightly rummy.

Not that that’s a bad thing.)

So I grabbed my bag and loaded Alex into the car.

After buckling her safely in her car seat, I came around the back of the car to climb into the driver’s seat. As I neared the car door, I stopped cold: I had come face-to-face with the biggest, ugliest, most ginormous insect I have ever seen in my entire life.

Let me see if I can convey to you the hugeness of this freak of nature: It was HUGE. Its body, which resembled a large beetle, was bigger than he palm of my hand. If you included its legs and antenna-like things, this horror was the size of Alex’s head. It was shiny, black with yellow markings, and mean-looking. And I swear the thing glanced at Alex, scoffed, and muttered to itself:

“She would barely make an appetizer. I want the big one. The one with all that ass.”

And then it licked its buggy lips.

Seriously, this monster had me spooked so badly, I actually slowly backed away, returned to the passenger side of the car, climbed in, and climbed over the gearshift into my seat. And when I returned from the store and saw The Thing was still there, just in a different position, I did it all over again, backwards. I hate I didn’t have the presence of mind to run in and grab my camera, because trust me, your skin would still be crawling if you saw it.

After getting Alex and the groceries safely inside, I noticed the groundskeeper making his rounds. He nodded. I nodded back. And then I caught myself.

“Hey! I have a question for you!”

He walked over, quizzically.

I pointed to The Thing. “What the hell is THAT?”

“Aw Gaw, dat? Dat eh nuttin, man. Dies jus’ a little flyin’ inseck.”

The he picked it up (a task requiring both hands), and threw it in the garden. And the whole time I was doing the Giant Heeby-Jeeby Dance of Disgust.

All I can say is thank God Marcus is coming home tonight. Because that Thing?

It’s still out there.

****

UPDATE!!!

I found a picture of the beetle. (Do you see the buggy lips?) According to the photographer, a Professor Julian Kennedy:

This tiger beetle, a common element of the forest fauna, is one of the largest in Trinidad. It often comes to the lights of homes in forested areas at night, and although not particularly aggressive, are capable of inflicting painful wounds with its powerful jaws.

OH MY GOD I COULD’VE DIED!!!!

****

So, yes, Marcus returns tonight, which means this is the last of the APOTDWMIAs. Thanks for your sweet words letting me know how much you’ve enjoyed the pictures. That said, I’m afraid I can’t keep doing the Alex Picture of The Day. It actually wears me out, and Alex is starting to whimper when she sees the Nikon lens. Besides, we’re going to spend the next few days concentrating on being a family again.

So again, thanks for your support while Marcus was away, enjoy this last APOTDWMIA, and see you guys really soon!

More Geopa (APOTDWMIA #20)

Roas' Bake

Re-posting of recipe:

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"Johnny-Bake":

A firm, solid, disc-shaped bread, averaging 11 inches in diameter, 2 inches thick, baked in an oven, or cooked in an iron pot which is covered with a metal sheet and upon which live coals are placed. Originally a "journey bake," cooked especially so that it will remain edible on a long journey. More commonly known as roas' bake.

-- From Cote Ci, Cote La: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary, by John Mendes, © 1986.

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A little over a year ago, around Christmastime, my husband Marcus and I hosted a "Trini Open House" in our home -- complete with Trini music, rum punch, and of course, food. A Trini friend of mine brought some of the most delicious Coconut Roast Bake that I have ever tasted, and it brought memories of my childhood crashing back. As a child on Sunday mornings, there was nothing like some hot roas' bake, some of my mum's saltfish buljol, and a steaming cup of Milo.

A couple of days ago, I begged my friend for her recipe, which she generously sent me immediately, including her tips on how to make it just a bit better.

Yesterday, I made it. While I would never presume to say it was as good as hers, let's just say there's very little of it left.

So here, for your enjoyment, is the recipe for Coconut Roast Bake. I'll post my recipe for saltfish buljol at a later date, but in the meantime, this is best served hot with butter, cheese, ham and/or eggs, on a lazy weekend morning.

Coconut Roast Bake

4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 cup sugar
4 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 13.5-oz can of coconut milk
Extra flour for "bringing in the dough"

1. Sift flour with the baking powder, salt and sugar.

2. Rub the butter into the flour mixture until a fine, granular consistency.

3. Slowly add the coconut milk to make a smooth dough. If necessary, add the extra flour to "bring in" the dough -- i.e., make the dough a similar consistency to this:

4. Shape the dough into a ball, and leave to rise in the mixing bowl covered with a dishcloth for 1 hour.

5. During a second kneading, use a little more butter if desired. Re-form into a ball, and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

6. Flatten the dough into a 3/4"-1" round on a greased cookie sheet or pizza-pie sheet. Prick all over with a fork, so it looks like this:

7. Bake for about 25 minutes in a 375 degrees Fahrenheit oven, or until golden brown. My mum's tip: if you tap on the top of it, and it sounds hollow, it's ready.

8. Enjoy!

Curry Chicken & Dumplings

Several of you have expressed both appreciation for Petipak and dismay that the recipes have disappeared. Not being one who likes to disappoint, I repost for you here the Trini recipes that were formerly located on Callaloo. Stay tuned for more of them here on Chookooloonks - and as before, they'll be located under the category Razzle-Dazzle.

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"Curry mout'":

A strong urge, liking for curried foods and East Indian culture.

-- From Cote Ci, Cote La: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary, by John Mendes, © 1986.

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Once we moved into our new place, on the recommendation of a good friend, I contacted a lovely woman named Celeste to assist me with housekeeping and to watch my daughter, if ever I needed to run a few errands. Celeste is doing an admirable job, but her real gift is cooking. Once I discovered this, as any smart person would do, I decided to brazenly exploit her gift for my own benefit.

“Celeste,” I said, “I need you to teach me how to cook real Trini food. While you cook, I’m going to take notes, photograph what you do, and I may even put it all on the Internet.”

“No problem,” she said, in her usual affable manner.

So a few days ago, I got her to show me how to make a Trini classic, Curry Chicken and Dumplings. Indian food features heavily in traditional Trinidadian cuisine, and curry chicken is one of my favourites. Like most good cooks, Celeste doesn’t measure any of the ingredients precisely; as such, most of the measurements shared here are approximations. And don’t let the length of this post fool you: the wordiness is more due to my propensity to go on and on, not a testament to the complexity of the meal – it’s actually a very simple dish to make.

And so, without further ado:

CELESTE’S CURRY CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

What you’ll need:

- About 10 pieces of chicken
- 9 cloves of garlic (Celeste says, “De garlic is de t’ing self!” Translation: “The garlic is what makes the dish special.”)
- 1/4 large onion (or 1/2 a medium onion, or 1 small onion) chopped coarsely

- fresh ginger (We used two pieces, each about the size of a single clove of garlic)
- “seasoning” (This one is tricky. Trinidadians usually make a homemade green seasoning, which I didn’t have. Instead, we used Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, which I had from the States, and it turned out fine. In the event you don’t have any green seasoning, I’m sure any commercially-bought seasoning powder – particularly if it’s “creole” – will do)
- Mild curry powder
- Vegetable oil
- 2-2/3 cup of water
- 2-1/2 cups flour
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- Chicken-flavoured bouillon cube (If you`re not in Trinidad, Knorr`s bouillon cubes are great, but if you are in Trinidad, clearly only Maggi`s will do!)
- Coconut milk (Either powdered or canned will do, but if using powdered, DO NOT DILUTE, but use in pure powdered form)

For the marinade:

1. Clean chicken, removing any excess fat.

2. Grate 6 cloves of garlic and 2 garlic-clove-sized pieces of ginger into the chicken.

3. Add onions

4. Add seasoning and salt to taste

5. Add 2 tbsp of curry

Mix well, and let stand for 10 minutes.

”Choonkaying” the garlic: (I have no idea what this word means. When I asked Celeste, she responded, “I eh know, aw Gaw, just choonkay!” When I asked her how to spell “choonkay,” she said, “I doh no how to SPELL it, but you go see how to DO it.”

Indeed.)

1. Place about a “potspoonful” of oil (the amount of oil it takes to fill up a cooking spoon) in a large pot, and place on high heat.

2. Peel and flatten 3 cloves of garlic. Once the oil is hot, place flattened garlic in oil, and toast until golden brown.

3. Add 2 potspoonfuls of curry to the pot, and stir rapidly until the curry turns a cinnamon brown colour (apparently, this signals the end of the “choonkaying” process).

4. Add seasoned chicken pieces, occasionally stirring to ensure pieces don’t stick to the pot.

5. Add about 2/3 cup of water, adding it by pouring along the sides of the pot, rather than in the centre of the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cover, allowing to simmer for about 15 minutes. While simmering, prepare dumplings.

For the Dumplings:

1. Mix together flour, sugar and salt.

2. Slowly add 1 cup of water, kneading constantly, until the consistency of a stiff dough.

3. Roll out into a thin tube, about 1” diameter, and cut into 1/2"-thick discs.

4. Discs are then flattened to about 1/4” thick, or, in the alternative, turned into smaller tubes, as shown.

To finish:

1. Add dumplings and remaining cup of water to simmering chicken.

2. Add 1 tbsp. Brown sugar to the entire mixture and stir.

3. Add 1 potspoonful of coconut milk to the entire mixture, and stir.

4. Add chicken-flavoured bouillon cube, crumbled into the entire mixture, and stir.

5. Add salt to taste.

6. Simmer for 10 more minutes, and serve!

Enjoy!

Girlie in Red (APOTDWMIA #19)

Alex loves a lovely plant:

And speaking of lovely plants: Marcus, you know all your lovely plants on the veranda/gallery/loggi’al fresco? The ones you thoughtlessly left in the care of Karen, The Mighty Plant Slayer?

Yeaaaah.

Umm, I think the word is desiccated.

The List of Words (more or less) that Alex Knows and Uses in the Proper Context (more or less), and APsOTDWMIA #18

The following is a list of Alex’s words. The asterisks indicate words she’s picked up since Marcus has been away:

1. Mummy (which she uses ad nauseum, particularly when she wants something, as in “Mummymummymummymummymummymummy…”)

2. Daddy (used when she’s happy, as in “Daaaaaaaaddy…”)

3. *Happy (okay, I don’t know if she actually understands what this means, but she only says it, repeatedly, when she’s in a good mood, so it counts)

4. *Auntie (again, not sure if she understands it, but she can say it)

5. Fish

6. *Shoes

7. Hat (she loves this word)

8. *Back (and she points to my back when she says it)

9. *Please (again, used ad nauseum when she wants something. It sounds like “Peaspeaspeaspeaspeas…”)

10. *Peas (her favourite food. I often wonder if she thinks it’s strange to have to say “peas” when she wants something)

11. Banana (okay, she actually says “ba-ba,” but hey, she uses it in the right context, so it counts)

12. Duck

13. Dog

14. *Up

15. *Cock-a-doodle-do (sounds more like “CAH-coo-coo!!”, which she knows is the correct response to “How does the rooster go?”)

16. Poppy (my dad)

17. *Car

18. *Truck

19. *Me (which she knows is the correct response to “Who’s my favourite daughter?”)

20. Baby

21. *Allie (which is how she refers to herself, given that “Alex” and “Alexis” are a bit difficult. Actually, “Allie” is no piece of pie for her either - it sounds like “Addie”)

21-1/2. Music (which she actually uses “ya-ya” for. It’s my fault, really. I bought a CD to do yoga, and there was a man chanting “Om-Ya-Ya” over the music. She loved to shout “YAYAYAYAYA!!!” every time she heard it. However, it’s now become her catchall word for any type of music, and I can’t break her of the habit)

So, as you can see, this child is already SO DAMNED TALKATIVE.

I have no idea where she gets it.

APsOTDWMIA #17, and Why Alex Isn’t Nearly As Cute As You People Seem To Think She Is

For the past month or so, I’ve been religiously going to the gym for an hour a day, 5 days a week. Let me say here: I loathe the gym. It is a testament to my burning desire to lose the extra weight I’m carrying that I actually get in the car and go to the gym, much less actually work out, much less do it 5 days a week.

Anyway, while I’ve made a commitment to myself to work out Monday through Friday, I’ve made an equally fervent commitment not to work out on the weekends. Yesterday morning, however, I waivered from this second commitment. Thanks to my darling daughter, though, I’m back on track.

To explain: yesterday morning, for some unknown reason, I thought I’d start the day with a few yoga stretches and some stomach crunches – you know, sort of get the blood pumping. So after feeding Alex and getting her dressed, we wandered onto the loggia: me, to do my exercises; her, to nibble on her digestif cracker and enjoy the fresh morning air.

The stretches went fine. Then I started to do my crunches.

Well, Alex thought this was the funniest thing she’d ever seen in her young life. First, she would approach me slowly with a quizzical look on her face. Then, once she was close enough, she openly guffawed, spraying cookie crumbs all over me. Then she walked away shaking her head, like “Yeeeaaahhh. Good luck, lady.”

Then she would do it all over again.

But the ultimate indignation came when, on her third round of laughter, the little punk actually walked up to me, turned around, put her backside in my face, and started bobbing up and down in the same rhythm as my crunches. Then she laughed even harder, and walked away.

Mocked by my 1-year-old.

Hmph.

But you know what? It’s okay. Because somehow, someday, about 25 years from now, she’ll be obsessing about her weight, and doing crunches, and I’m going to walk over to her, smile sweetly, turn around and bob my 62-year-old backside up and down just like she did to me. And trust me, it’ll be far more unpleasant for her then than it was for me yesterday.

Hmph.

Another New Dress (APOTDWMIA #16)

Celeste, our wonderful part-time housekeeper, has fallen in love with Alex. She insisted on buying material and having a dress made for her, and wouldn’t hear of letting me pay her back.

And such a lovely dress it is, too:

Incidentally, I feel I must apologise for the quality of today’s APOTDWMIA. It’s technically not one of my best; however, her pose is so cute in this picture, it had to be posted.