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Graines a Roussir

April 12, 2014 by Ariel 3 Comments

Here’s an easy recipe for an amazing and versatile spice blend that comes from the Caribbean! My step dad has a lot of family in Guadeloupe and this is where I was exposed to the delicious French Caribbean cuisine. I’m a sucker for a good chicken colombo and I always have some roucou in my fridge.

The only name I know for this blend is in French and it’s called: graines à roussir. If I was to give you a quick French course, the word “graines” means seeds and “roussir” means burn lightly, roast, turn brown.. you get the idea? I guess the best way to translate this would be: seeds to burn lightly.

That’s what you will want to do with these before either use them whole or in powder form, grill them gently on the stove top till they start smelling good and make sure not to burn them.

I usually make a bunch in advance, roast the pack, process it to powder and keep the powder for easier use. Although I’m sure doing it right on the spot is a much better option if you want maximum flavour.

Personally, I enjoy the simplicity of always having some already grounded in a small container. Mainly used as rubs for red meats, chicken or fish but you can also use them for a ton of other things like sauces and even bread!

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Fish Broth #01

July 27, 2013 by Ariel 1 Comment

I knew I did good to keep all those shrimps shells in my freezer from past recipes. I had two medium bags full so I thought this could be the right time to use them. What’s fun and so easy about making your own broth is that you can make it with pretty much everything: shells, bones, even the head and the tail of the fish you previously cooked. Keep everything in the freezer and you’ll be happy you did once you try this recipe or create your own. Homemade broth is so much better than the store version because you are 100% sure of everything in it, you’ll be able to customize it and control the salt quantities.

Ok this one is going in to the kitchen basics section because even if it’s sort of a recipe, I find making broth is part of the basic of cooking. There is so many different ways to make broth, like I’ve said, and this is why I wrote this one as #01.

Now be adventurous and try to customize your broth by adding different ingredients. You can modify it to better match the final recipe you have in mind and this could be the difference between a good meal and an awesome one. I created this broth for a fish soup/dinner I made few weeks ago when I had some friends over. The soup came out amazing and it’s in big part because of this broth. The recipe will be on the blog shortly so stay tuned and enjoy this one 🙂

This recipe will give you one full regular size masson jar and a bit more that you will be able to keep in the fridge. Since the recipe is custom, I don’t suggest you try to can it but maybe with a pressure canner it would become safe enough for shelf storage but I haven’t tried. I kept my masson jar in the fridge and almost used the entire thing when I made my soup….

Thai Fish Curry

September 14, 2012 by Ariel 1 Comment

I made this the other day and it was a real success! I wanted to make something with the yellow curry powder that I have sitting in my pantry because it’s incredibly tasty and I’m always wondering what to do with it. I took my inspiration from a restaurant I went with a friend the other day and on the table beside us they served a fish curry (that’s what I thought it was) that smelled amazing. From there I had fun and experimenting to end up with an amazing surprise! Hope you’ll like 🙂

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The Perfect Lemon Squares

April 24, 2012 by Ariel 2 Comments

We had some really good weather in Montreal a couple of weeks ago… The sun was out, the birds too and it really felt like a hot summer day. I decided to make some lemon squares that week end because there is something with lemon and the bright light of the sun that I find match perfectly. I always make sure not to add too much sugar in my preparation because I find it’s an mistake that some people do often. I understand that some might want to over power the zesty taste of the lemons with sugar and vanilla but it’s really not my case… I remember eating the lemon straight up like that when I was a kid and loving the tangy/zesty aroma of this fruit. I hope you will enjoy this recipe, I wish I had better photos because those were taken a little while ago but those were the only one I had on my computer…

…I guess I’ll have to do another post on lemon squares in the future…

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