I guess part of me is still in Tobago. I’ve been cooking Caribbean food, mostly homemade roti, mild curries and rice. I have a few books about Rastafarianism and I was thinking about their diet and the similarities between it and
macrobiotics…

The Rastafarians believe that they are what they eat. They
shun additives, preservatives and processed foods, red meat and dairy. They strive to be at one with nature, even cooking without salt, a practice known as”ital”. All the care taken in preparing the food is to preserve the natural purity of ingredients and this extends through the preparation to the serving and eating. They try to use only utensils made from natural materials such as stone, wood and earthenware. Only foods that are organic and in season are used, and only minimal amounts of spices are added to enhance the natural flavors and keep the food as vital as can be.

Here is my interpretation of a complete Rastafarian meal:

Celery ginger rice

4 stalks celery, diced

1 tbsp minced ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 cups long grain organic brown rice

1 large bay leaf

4 cups of water

Pinch of  sea salt

Heat oil in a frying pan. Gently stir fry celery and ginger until celery is soft. In a heavy pot wash and rinse the rice, add the bay leaf ,the celery mixture and water. Bring to a boil and add a pinch of sea salt. Put a cover on the pot and turn down heat, simmer for 50 min or until water is absorbed.  When rice is done give it a gentle stir and serve.

Kidney beans

2 cups cooked kidney beans

1 sun dried tomato, sliced

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 pinch allspice

1 tsp cumin

1 small dried red chili (optional)

Heat oil in a heavy skillet, add spices and tomato and gently brown for 1 min . Add beans and cook on low for 25 min, adding a bit of water if beans dry out. Stir gently and be careful not to crush chili. Add salt as desired.

Curried butternut squash

4-5 cups butternut squash, cut into chunks

1/2 lg onion sliced into thin half moons

2 tsp curry powder

1 cup coconut milk

1/4 cup water

sea salt to taste

Add all ingredients into a medium size pot and bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer for about 20 min or until squash is very soft. Mash all ingredients in the pot with a potato masher until  smooth and creamy.

Cabbage salad

1/2 a medium green cabbage, shredded

1/2 cucumber sliced into thin rounds

1 cup bean sprouts (aduki or mung bean) loosely packed

11/2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp  seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup orange juice

1tsp ginger juice

2 tbsp raisins

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside to marinate for 1/2hour before serving .

Carrot fritters

3 carrots grated

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp rice syrup

3 tbsp soy milk

oil for frying

whisk all the dry ingredients together, add carrot, rice syrup and soy milk. Heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan and add small spoonfuls of mixture to pan , flatten them out slightly and brown each side. Place on a paper towel when done to absorb oil.

Banana Punch

4 ripe bananas

11/2 cups water

1/2 cup soy milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg

honey or rice syrup to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth and frothy. Chill before serving

Ginger drink

1 lb ginger root, grated

8 cups water

juice of 2 limes

maple syrup to taste

Put water and ginger in a large pot and bring to a boil . Turn down heat and simmer for 5 min. Cover the pan and turn off heat and let sit until cool. Store in the fridge overnight. Strain liquid through a sieve. Add lime juice and maple syrup and serve.

Kukicha with lime

11/2-2 tbsp roasted twig tea

6 cups water

2 limes, juiced

Bring water and tea to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 min. Strain trough a seive  and add lime juice. Chill in the fridge or serve room temperature

Peace , Love and Yummy food!

It can be really easy to get stressed out over birthday parties! Whether it’s for you, your husband, sibling, friends or children! The easiest is to do something outside if possible. Less mess, less clean up and less hectic energy if you invited lots of people!  My daughter is turning 10 on Feb 23rd. This year she wants to have a sleepover….I’m undecided still on that one! In years past we have had her party in the community room where we live. With themes such as Flowers or Purple ( I even made a purple cake with grapes all over it!) We have done crafts, played musical chairs and hot potato. I provided snacks and a birthday cake and we invited a bunch of kids and they ran around for 2 hours! I like to invite the same amount of children as how old my child is turning.  It seems to work out best.

last year for Lucy’s Birthday we had a quiet dinner with just family. Then on the following weekend she invited 3 friends over for pizza

and we all went out to a movie! that was also fun. For Ingrid who has a spring birthday it’s always outside! She likes to go on birthday walks/hikes

and have balloon games in our yard and play dress up! One year she had a Royal party, only royalty invited! I dressed up as snow white and we had a lot of kings and queens and princesses around! Fun thing about outside parties is that the kids usually play on the grass or jungle gym and watermelon is a great snack! and you can invite twice as many people!

Felix’s birthday is in the summertime . We tend to be back up in Canada, so there is lots of family! Sometimes he gets 2 parties! one at our house and one at a grandparents house. The theme over the last many years is usually cars/trucks/dirt! At the beach or at our farm. We had a truck party last year. Invited kids who liked to play in the dirt and race dinky cars. He even had dinky cars driving across his cake!!

My brother in law likes to make up outdoor games like follow the trail he cuts in the grass with the lawnmower all around our large property. He also does an amazing scavenger hunt with handmade cards with clues that take you all over the yard, garden and woods in search of hidden treasures!

Some fun snacks for  birthdays  :

Veggie wraps- Saute tofu, greens and Hommous wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla!

Dips and spreads

fresh fruit like watermelon or fruit kabobs

a homemade cake is always fun and of course if the kids get involved in the snack making they always end up eating more!

Pan’s Birthday cake With help from Christina Pirello’s Cooking the Whole foods way on this one!!!

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut– unsweetened
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup olive oil
1 cup brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons brown rice vinegar
2 cups vanilla soy milk
frosting
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup amasake
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
1 pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons kuzu
2 cups non-dairy chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut — unsweetened
1 cup pecan pieces — toasted

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly oil and flour two,
9 in. round cake pans. Use cocoa powder and place of flour to
avoid white deposits on your cakes. Whisk together dry ingredients.
Stir in oil, rice syrup and brown rice vinegar. Slowly add soymilk
to create a smooth spoonable cake batter.

Divide the batter evenly between pans and bake until the center of
the cake springs back to attach or a toothpick comes out clean,
35 to 40 minutes. Cool ten minutes before removing from pan, transfer
to a wire rack and cool completely.

Prepare the frosting by combining even bland, amasake, rice syrup,
salt and vanilla in a saucepan and place over medium heat. When the
liquid is warmed through, stirring the dissolved kuzu, stirring until the
mixture thickens about three minutes. Stir in chocolate chips, stirring
until the mixture thickens and turns smooth. Fold in coconut.

Transfer to he resisted bowl and cover. Set aside until firm, about 15
minutes. To assemble the cake, using a serrated knife, slice off the top
of what it takes to create a flat surface and place on a platter. Spoon a
generous layer frosting over cake. Press the cake into the frosting.
Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Press over tops and sides
if you have any left over.