Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Eating fresh basil reduces arthritis swelling and pain!



If you need a strong anti-inflammatory to ease your aching joints, then try eating basil.
Several varieties of basil - with their fresh-tasting, aromatic leaves - have been shown to be as strong as anti-inflammatory medication when it comes to easing the swelling and pain of arthritis.
The research, presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester, found that, when taken orally, concentrated extracts from two types of basil - Ocimum americanum and Ocimum tenuiflorum - reduced joint swelling by up to 73 per cent within just 24 hours.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1216278/How-eating-fresh-basil-help-banish-arthritic-aches-pains.html#ixzz0SYQIpIQo


Saturday, March 14, 2009

Jamaican Shrimp Patty

JAMAICAN SHRIMP PATTY
This recipe may require some trial and error to get it just right!
INGREDIENTS:
Below is a delicious recipe for Jamaican Shrimp Patties:
PASTRY
2 cups Flour 
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup Solid shortening 
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine
1/3 cup Cold water
Recipe by ©eatjamaican.com
Sift the flour, curry powder and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and margarine until crumbly. Add the cold water to make a stiff dough. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and roll out the dough until about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 8-inch circles. Cover with wax paper or damp cloth until ready to use. You can place the dough in the refrigerator overnight. If you do refrigerate, remove the dough at least 15 minutes before using.

SHRIMP FILLING
Recipe by ©eatjamaican.com
For this recipe to work just right the shrimp should be frozen and chopped up as it begins to thaw (the outside is soft but the inside is still frozen) or the shrimp should be chopped up and semi frozen otherwise the shrimp filling will be over cooked.
Ingredients:
12 raw medium to large shrimp chopped up in 1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces
1.5 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoon Kikoman soy or substitute
3/4 teaspoon jerk seasoning, preferably Walkers Wood
Process: mix oil, soy, and jerk seasoning then add shrimp and use as filling.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Uncover the dough circles and place 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling on half of each. Moisten the edges of the dough with water and fold the dough circle over the filling. Pinch the edges closed with a fork. Lightly brush the pastry with a mixture of the egg and water. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry are golden brown.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Carrot sweet potato casserole

Carrot sweet potato casserole
Ingrediants:
     ¾ cup grated carrots
      1 and 1/4 cups mashed, baked sweet potatoes (best done with American sweet potatoes)
      ¼ cup flour with dash of baking powder and salt
      ¼ cup vegetable oil and ¼ stick margarine
      1 cup milk
      ¼ cup brown sugar
      ½ grated nutmeg
      small piece of fresh ginger grated
      PROCESS
  1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into mashed, baked sweet potatoes.
  2. Add other ingredients to mixture.
  3. Mix until well blended
    4. Bake in greased casserole dish for 45 min to 1 hour at 350 degrees

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Jamaican Fired Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking power
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup cold water

Combine flour and baking power in a bowl. Mix vegetable oil into flour and baking powder mixture. Add water. Knead dough until it is a tight mass. Divide into 12 roughly equal pieces. Kneed each piece into a ball. Flatten, fry in hot oil, that is at least half the height of the dough balls, until golden brown.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Avocados: A very versatile and healthful food

Avocados are very versatile and healthful







In Jamaica, avocados are often eaten with bread, especially hard dough bread, with bullas (a round basic firm sweet cake, in which stale bread is often an ingredient), in vegetable salads, and as a side dish with meals. When eaten with bread and bulla avocados function as cheese or butter. When eaten in a salad or as a side dish avocados are treated as a vegetable. In some other places, avocados are often treated as fruits and are often used in drinks. Avocados are native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Avocados are healthful: High avocado intake has been shown to have a beneficial effect on blood serum cholesterol levels. "Specifically, after a seven day diet rich in avocados, hypercholesterolemia patients showed a 17% decrease in total serum cholesterol levels. These subjects also showed a 22% decrease in both LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels and 11% increase in HDL (good cholesterol) levels." Moreover, "Approximately 75% of an avocado's calories come from fat, most of which is monounsaturated fat. Avocados also have 60% more potassium than bananas. They are rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamin E and vitamin K. They have the highest fiber content of any fruit - including 75% insoluble and 25% soluble fiber." (This information draws heavily on Wikipedia's excellent article.)

According to Wikipedia, “The avocado is very popular in vegetarian cuisine, making an excellent substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of its high fat content. The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, distinctly yet subtly flavored, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole, as well as a filling for several kinds of sushi, including California rolls. Avocado is popular in chicken dishes and as a spread on toast, served with salt and pepper. In Brazil and Vietnam, avocados are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to ice cream and other desserts. In Brazil, Vietnam. The Philippines and Indonesia, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk or water, and pureed avocado. Chocolate syrup is sometimes added. In Australia it is commonly served in sandwiches, often with chicken. In Ghana, it's often eaten alone in sliced bread as a sandwich. . .The avocado flesh oxidizes and turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled.”

Try the following recipe: scoop out the flesh of one or two very well ripened avocados, puree it in a blender, add sweetened condensed milk to taste, and dilute as necessary with either water or cows milk. It makes an excellent shake. Seasonings such as nutmeg and or vanilla may be added sparingly. And the undiluted mixture can be processed in an ice cream maker to make an interesting ice cream.

Use the comments button to let us know about your special avocados recipe.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Welcome to Jamaican and Caribbean Recipes blog.

Welcome to eatjamaican.com's Jamaican and Caribbean recipes and restaurants blog. We hope you will use this blog to share  information and comments about Jamaican and Caribbean recipes and restaurants.

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