Culinary Challenge Week #14

And welcome back! Last week(read here) Tay and I journeyed to a magical island(Greta Britain) and this week we continued that theme by island hopping to the Caribbean. Get ready for the tropics!

Cabbage Slaw 6 out of 10

First up is this island cabbage slaw, which though very good was not my favorite… yeah it was missing something.

Jamaican Coco Bread 9 out of 10

These were fantastic!!! So buttery and fluffy and soft. The only thing is they don’t keep very well. Just make sure you eat them all in the first two days and you’ll be fine. Which isn’t hard by the way.

Shrimp Curry Soup 10 out of 10

Speaking of eating it in two days… yep we inhaled this soup. Probably my favorite soup during this whole culinary escapade. (Seconded only by the Cioppino Soup in week one)

Coconut Rum Cookies 9 out of 10

These were also amazing! Again super buttery and the sweetness of the coconut paired with the spice of the rum was to die for. I’d definitely make these cookies again.

Ackee+Salt Fish(but really tuna+eggs) 6 out of 10

Okay so there is a whole story that goes along with this breakfast… experiment. So I wanted to make Ackee and Salt-fish a traditional Jamaican breakfast. But for the life of me I could not find either ackee or salt-fish. Like anywhere. What is ackee you ask? Why it is the national fruit of Jamaica and is highly poisonous if not prepared right. Therefore it is illegal in the U.S. except in its canned version. That supposedly Walmart and Target sell… Yeah not any of the Walmart’s and Targets by me. Anyway instead of a traditional Jamaican breakfast we ended up with a tuna helper style… thing.

Nonalcoholic Kiwi Sparkler 5 out of 10

This was just okay. Nothing special, but when in the tropics one must have fancy drinks right?

Pineapple Upside Down Cake 8 out of 10

Yes it tasted as good as it looked. I love all things pineapple and I love cake… so win win.

Pineapple Salsa 7 out of 10

Rice+Beans with Jerk Pork and the above Pineapple Salsa 6 out of 10

The rice and the pork and the salsa(pineapple again) were pretty good, but the beans… were an absolute disaster! It’s the first time I’ve ever tried my hand at using dry beans and I am not sure what I did wrong. I soaked them over night. I followed the cooking directions but still they were hard and disgusting… I’m so sad. I guess I’ll have to stick to canned beans.

Tostones(Fried Plantains) 9 out of 10

I absolutely loved these(and they were super fun to make late one night after work) Tay wasn’t as crazy about them but that’s okay- MORE FOR ME! (Insert evil laughter)

Nonalcoholic Pina Colada 8 out of 10

Again I enjoyed these(didn’t love but liked) and Tay didn’t even finish hers. Not a fan I guess.

And there you have it! Our week in the Caribbean had varying degrees of success. But in the end we enjoyed it. We are going to keep our theme of island hopping as we head north to Iceland for our next culinary treats. Until next time…

Lots of love,

Tally