Chicken Pumpkin Soup is a classic Jamaican recipe that I’ve been making for years. The ingredients are exactly the same ones used to make Jamaican Beef Soup. Literally all you have to do is substitute the chicken in this recipe for 1 lb of stewing beef, though it does take longer to cook the beef til tender. I think this recipe will bring everyone lots  joy. That’s because I got email requests from two people named Joy for my...

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  When you’re making Jamaican chicken or beef soup Caribbean Pumpkin is must. I use it to make a richly flavoured broth that is as delicious as it colourful. I also dice it and use it as an ingredient in my Cook Up Rice recipe. Caribbean pumpkin is more comparable to varieties of squash than to the typical North American pumpkin–the symbol of Halloween. That’s why if I can’t find any Caribbean Pumpkin at my...

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If you’re someone like me who grew up in the tropics, you often crave fruits and vegetables that are not always easy to find when you live elsewhere. And when you do, they just don’t have the same deliciousness that you remember. That’s why I rarely eat papayas. I associate papayas with my grandmother. Whenever my siblings and I would visit her home she always seemed have a nice ripe papaya ready to slice up for us to enjoy. In Jamaica we...

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There is an online joke going around about the Jamaican Olympic track team: Early morning raids at the residence of the Jamaican Triple Sprint Champ Medalist, revealed a large stash of Jamaican drugs. Investigations are continuing… (then the photo above is presented) Coaches have been quietly taking notes and it’s been rumoured that future Olympians are going on the Jamaican Drug Diet. Seems that the Jamaican love of starchy fruits...

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  It’s been quite the treat to watch the London Olympics this summer. Not just because of how well the Jamaican track team did during the games, but because it all happened at the same time that Jamaica is celebrating its 50th year of  independence. As a result, the Jamaican Olympic medals helped to reinforce Jamaica’s sense of identity. This also applies to Jamaicans no longer living on the island and, like me, there are...

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  This video says it all. I thought it would be an easy way to address some of the many questions I get from all of you. I hope to do this from time to time, so I hope you like it. I also want to thank you for your on-going interest and support … keep the questions coming! Blessings,...

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Since this week marks Jamaica’s 50th anniversary as an independent nation, I thought it would be fitting to feature ackee, Jamaica’s national fruit, as the Ingredient of the Week. As you may know, ackee is considered a fruit, but it’s cooked as a vegetable. It’s a key ingredient in Jamaica’s national dish, Ackee and Saltfish. There’s nothing like using fresh ackee in this recipe. I grew up in a house with a...

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  There are many names for this tropical fruit. In South America it’s called Guanabana, but in Jamaica we call it — Soursop. the flavour is so good and so hard to describe. It’s like a combination of strawberry and pineapple with an underlying creamy flavor of coconut or banana. If you’ve never had soursop, I urge you to seek it out and indulge. When buying a fresh soursop it should be soft but firm. If it’s...

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  I am one of eight children in my family. So my mother was a very busy mother! During my formative years there were usually four kids at home, since my eldest brother had left Jamaica to go to university in Washington, D.C., and the other ones hadn’t come along yet. Still, my mother could always be counted on to cook a quick meal and this one is one her speedy favourites because it takes not time at all to pull together. The key...

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Anyone who has had fresh tamarind knows that it’s mighty sour and a little sweet. I think it’s nature’s best candy if you like to pucker up. When I was a child, our neighbours had a tamarind tree in their yard. When they weren’t around, my sister and I would shake the tree and gather the pods to make tamarind candy balls or a drink called Tamarind Fizz. But mostly we’d just pick them up and eat them. We learned...

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