Cassava latkes, an idea so simple, so obvious, and yet so left-field, that if it wasn’t for a chance comment from Ramin Ganeshram a year ago on Twitter, I may never have thought of whipping up a batch! I had been on a cassava kick, trying to see how many uses I could find for my favourite provision, besides the tried and true. I had made Vichysoisse Creole, and Cassava porridge, and then, as it was Hanukkah, Ramin asked “Have you ever tried cassava latkes?”

Eureka! I mean why not? Cassava, like potato, is a starchy tuber. It’s a shoo-in! I immediately headed to the kitchen, grated my little heart away and half an hour later was munching on cassava latkes. In some ways I even prefer them to the traditional potato (imagines purists fainting at the very thought). Underneath the slightly sweet crispy exterior they retain that warm, slightly gooey texture that to me signals the best qualities of comfort food. Because cassava has a more neutral flavour than potatoes they respond well to slightly more aggressive seasoning, however if you prefer your latkes on the milder side that’s OK too. Serve them with the traditional sour cream, or if you like to venture to the spicier side of palate town, pair them with tamarind or mango chutney. Veni mangé!

Cassava Latkes

Makes 12 latkes

INGREDIENTS
3 cups peeled and grated cassava root (also sold as yuca and manioc)
1/2 cup grated onion
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbl chopped chadon beni/culantro (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

TOPPINGS
Sour cream
tamarind chutney
mango chutney

METHOD
1. For crisp latkes you want to press as much liquid out of the grated cassavas and onions as possible. You can do this by pressing them against a strainer or colander with the back of a spoon, or by wrapping them in a clean dish tower (or 2 layers of paper towels) and squeezing vigorously.
2. Transfer the cassava and onion to a large bowl.
3. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and chadon beni (if using).
4. Warm the oil on high heat in a large nonstick skillet.
5. Take 1/2 cup of batter per latke and drop into skillet.
6. Flatten with spatula.
7. Fry on both sides (about 5 min. per side) until brown and crisp.
8. Drain on paper towels.
9. Serve with suggested toppings.

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com and linking back to this site

This year Hanukkah falls from sundown December 20th – December 28th. Many people know this holiday as the Jewish ‘Festival Of Lights’ however it is also often mistakenly thought of as a Jewish equivalent of Christmas causing me to field many a puzzled look when someone wishes me a Happy Hanukkah around December 25th only to be made aware that it ended quite some time ago. Although there are times (like this year) when the two festivals do overlap it isn’t a regular occurrence.

Hanukkah cuisine is marked by an abundance of fried foods, all edible testimony to the story behind the festival.

I hope you will enjoy this listing and draw some inspiration from it for your table (or for the table of a friend if you are invited to a celebration)!

DECORATING/TABLESCAPES

Hanukkah Tablescape Ideas

APPETIZERS

Curried Potato ‘mini’-Latkes
Samosas
Trinidad Sahina
Trinidad Saltfish Accra
Trinidad Pholourie

BEVERAGES

Bubbly Guava-Ginger Ale

BREADS

Poori

DESSERTS

Trinidad Black Cake
Trinidad Kurma

ENTREES

Asian Crisp-Fried Noodles and Chili Vegetables
Caramelised Onion & Anchovy Tarts
Pan-Fried Snapper with Tomato Salsa

SIDES

Fried Okras
Oven-Crisped Potato Latkes
Pesto Latkes
Cassava Latkes (above!)

As promised, here is a recipe for Paime (pron. PAY-me)! Paime is basically a sweet version of the savoury pastelle. I only recently discovered that Paime is also a traditional Xmas dish. Well that explains why it seemed I never could find it lol! No one in my family makes this traditionally, so I have only been offered/given it by acquaintances of myself or my family. It is definitely a favorite of mine, being sweet (yet not candyish) and slightly chewy in texture (like a pone). Thanks to Titilayo I now know that in Barbados they also have a dish that is similar to paime, but they call it conkie and eat it around the time of Guy Fawkes day (who knew anyone in the Caribbean observed it!). Unlike paime it includes milk, flour and eggs. Jamaica also has a similar dish to Paime, but there they call it by several different names, some of which are Tie-A-Leaf, Blue Drawers (no don’t ask me why!), and Duckanoo …. we’re an interesting lot us Caribbean types!

Paime (from theThe Naparima Girls’ High School Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 grated coconut
1 lb. cornmeal
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
4 oz. dried fruit
banana leaves
1 lb. pumpkin
1 oz. shortening
1 oz. margarine
sugar to taste (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 pt. water
twine for tying

Directions:

1. Grate coconut and pumpkin (I decided to try out this cassava farine that includes coconut, sugar and spices. It worked out quite well!)

2. Add all other ingredients
3. Stir in enough water to make a dough of dropping consistency (I think 2 1/2 – 3 cups in all will do)

4. Wipe banana leaves and heat them to make them pliable (or use foil if you’re lazy like me )
5. Cut into pieces about about 8″ by 8″
6. Place about 2 tbsp. mixture on each piece

7. Roll up, fold over and tie. (Click here for a video on how to fold the leaf/foil)

8. Place in boiling water and boil for about 20-30 minutes.

9. Test one to see if it has set, if not, cook for a longer period of time, depending on size of paime.

Makes 12 paimes

Spelling variations: paimee, paimie

This post was first published December 15, 2006. It has been updated twice since then.

I see plenty of recipes for accra in West Indian Cookbooks but often they bear little resemblance to Trinidad Accra. My Jamaican mother tells me that what she knows as accra is a saltfish fritter, flat, fried brown. Here in Trinidad however accra is a puffy fried dough ball, made of a highly seasoned dough into which shredded saltfish has been mixed. I’ve had it at weddings, gatherings, and of course bought it from street vendors. This recipe comes together quite quickly once the saltfish has been boiled and picked. For those of you who hate the time-intensive shredding I found that after the initial picking apart to remove the bones (and boneless saltfish is also available) by adding the chunks to a food processor/chopper for a few seconds of pulsing I was able to get a bowl of perfectly shredded saltfish, and no one is any the wiser. Aren’t shortcuts great?

February 20,2009 ETA: Need to be gluten-free or cooking for someone who is? I’ve now adapted this recipe for gluten-free flours. Enjoy!

Trinidad Saltfish Accra
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INGREDIENTS:

1 egg
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb boneless saltfish
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon pepper sauce
1 1/4 cup flour (1 cup rice flour + 1/4 cup gluten-free white flour for gluten-free version)
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup water (inc. to 1 cup for gluten-free version)
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions
1 tsp italian seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper
Pepper and salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Boil saltfish in sauce pan for a few minutes in 6 cups of water.
2. Throw out the water and boil for a second time in a new 4 cups of water for 30 minutes

3. Check to see how salty the fish is. If it is overly salty you will need to boil it a third time
4. Use a fork to shred salt fish, you can also use your fingers or a food processor

5. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and stir vigorously until the batter gets thick. Let batter rest for 30 minutes.

6. Teaspoonfuls of batters should be deep fried over moderate heat, until golden brown

7. Ensure that the inside of the fish cakes are well-cooked and the outside is not burnt before it is cooked
8. Carefully monitor the heat
9. Use absorbent kitchen paper to drain the fish cakes on

10. Serve hot with pepper sauce.

For more Caribbean Recipes check out the Caribbean Cooking section of Veni Mangé – the Trinigourmet Amazon Bookstore.

Makes 6 servings

This post was originally published on February 2nd, 2007. It has been updated twice since then.

Alternative terms: acra, akra, saltfish cakes

I have a confession to make. I have grown up utterly hating ‘provisions’. You know what I’m talking about. Yams, eddoes, dasheen… I always had a fondness for cassava so that was granted a pardon, but the others? I wanted nothing to do with them. The antipathy began from childhood and stretched without interruption into my adult years. Memories of fist sized cubes of starch submerged in dark cloudy water, often with green bananas, held no appeal to me either visually or taste-wise.

Then, quite unexpectedly, late last year I ran into a post by Taymer Mason, author of Caribbean Vegan, where she expressed sheer adoration for dasheen. Her glowing praises had me wondering if we could possibly have tasted the same vegetable! After sharing my experiences with her she confirmed that my mother’s method of plain boiling and serving was probably the least appetizing approach to be taken, and she gave me some alternative recommendations. When I later ran these ideas by my mother, she confessed that she too didn’t like ‘provisions’, hadn’t grown up eating them, and really only made them from time to time for my father. Now convinced that it was probably her dislike for her own pot that had added to the lackluster experiences I had had growing up, I decided it was time to revisit dasheen – on my own terms.

A little over a year ago I received a review copy of a small self-published cookbook called “Harriet’s Tobago Cookery Book“. I have deservedly received some criticism in the past for not featuring/exploring the cuisine of Tobago much on this site. The omission, I have always said, was not deliberate but more due to a lack of resource materials and exposure to dishes that I could eat within my own dietary restrictions. I often asked my critics to share a recipe or two with me that I’d be happy to feature on the site (giving them the credit), to which I never received a response. That’s why I was happy when I finally received a copy of “Harriet’s Tobago Cookery Book” after many online-searches for Tobago culinary resources. Though small and thin it is full of concise, no-nonsense recipes and directions for dishes unique to Tobago, and others that would be familiar to Trinidadians as well. I have recently started to familiarize myself with its contents (it disappeared for an extended period amidst renovations) and will offer a more indepth-review at a later date. However, let’s just say that I decided that if I had a fighting chance to get on good terms with Dasheen, I was going to rely on this book to do it for me.

I was not disappointed.

This recipe for Dasheen Balls is pretty much the same as a potato croquette however, because of the nature of dasheen it is a good bit heavier in result. The addition of seasonings is essential to counter the rather non-descript flavour of dasheen, unadorned. Although the recipe doesn’t call for it I also recommend a healthy pat of butter or margarine as well I enjoyed it immensely as a snack, and can see it as a perfectly acceptable side dish or hors d’oeuvres as well. For an extra special twist you can also use panko crumbs. Any way you approach it, this recipe is most definitely worth a try!

Dasheen Balls
SOURCE: Harriet’s Tobago Cookery Book

INGREDIENTS:

1 dasheen root
1 egg
salt
pepper
parsley
chives
butter or margarine, to taste (optional)
bread crumbs (I used rice cracker for gluten-free)
oil, for frying

METHOD:
1. Peel, boil and puree dasheen

2. Mix with parsley, chive, egg, salt and pepper and butter/margarine (if using)
3. Make into balls
4. Roll in bread or salt biscuit crumbs (I pulverized rice crackers to keep it gluten-free)

5. Fry

Sandwiches and soup go together so well that I had to mention them in this series. If you are having an evening wedding, sandwiches can form part of your appetizer course (cut as quarters). However, for a breakfast or lunch reception they can share the stage with your soup course, forming a light entrée all on their own (cut as halves).

Quick and easy to prepare (they freeze and thaw very well), look for a variety of fillings and breads, however don’t feel that you have to go overboard. Three, I believe is the perfect amount! Even better, create a gluten-free version of one or more of the sandwiches so that those with dietary allergies need not feel left out If one of the gluten-free versions is also vegan you’ll make even more attendees feel welcome with little extra effort. Any of the sandwiches above can be easily made with a gluten-free bread, and Tofutti is a well-known vegan cream cheese alternative. Vegan Soul Power also has a great listing of 50 Vegan Sandwiches that are sure to alleviate any guesswork.

Whether offering gluten-free or vegan fare, such dietary mentions are easily added to the placecards for each item being offered and the printed menu (if used) itself. Although optional, it also always good to make note of any items that contain common allergens such as nuts, as well.

For the above selections I turned to some of my mother’s vintage cookbooks.

I enjoy going through old cookbooks as many of the flavour combinations and stylings offered are nothing like what one finds in contemporary publications. Although some of the pairings seem odd on the surface (cream cheese & ginger?), it is this unexpected element that I believe will create interest and raise curiosity. Always a good thing. And yes, they taste good (well I think so ).

The following recipes are deliberately vague as the taste adjustments need to be made on your side to your own personal preference. Fortunately they are also quite forgiving so feel free to add a dash more of this, and dash less of that, or even to omit/replace as you see fit.

All recipes adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 1965 Edition

Egg Sandwiches on Wholewheat

Eggs scrambled with minced onion and green pepper. Apply a thin layer to lightly buttered bread. (The thin butter layer will prevent the sandwiches from getting soggy)

Tea Time Sandwiches on White

Soften two 3-ounce packages cream cheese. Add 2 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, 1/4 teaspoon grated onion, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup mayonnaise; mix well. Chill. Spread on lightly buttered bread.

Cream Cheese and Ginger on Rye

Softened cream cheese with chopped candied/crystallized ginger

It often happens that culinary inspiration hits me late at night. Although this is great for my confidence, it’s not so great for my waistline The other night, as I was relaxing to a new episode of Jersey Shore (don’t judge me!) I started to get a craving for fried goodness. Maybe it was the boardwalk scenes, maybe it was the platters of home fries, but before I knew it I started to think about what I chomp on with little more than some tins of tuna fish and salmon on hand.

The result was this – French Toast Tuna Sandwiches! As soon as I mentioned it several people on Twitter asked me to share the recipe. I rarely post the snacks I make for quick consumption because I figure they are not really ‘recipe-worthy’, but maybe I’m wrong? Either way, here it is. The recipe reflects my current fascination with combining sweet and savoury flavours. As with most snacks, treat this recipe as a template and go ahead and make it your own. It’s infinitely flexible and will work with whatever you have on hand with regards to seasonings, herbs, even the type of tinned fish!

===============
Sarina’s French Toast Tuna Sandwiches
SERVINGS: 1

INGREDIENTS:

1 egg
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 slices bread (you want a sturdy bread that won’t disintegrate upon soaking)
1 7oz. tin tuna
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
butter
salt
pepper
1 teaspoon honey
finishing salt or sea salt (click here to see my favourite)

METHOD:

1. Combine egg, evaporated milk, water and sugar
2. Butter both slices of bread
3. Combine tuna, parmesan cheese and mayonnaise.
4. Season tuna mixture with salt and pepper to taste
5. Spread each slice (on buttered side) with about 1 tbsp tuna mixture per side (save the extra for other sandwiches )
6.Pair both slices to form the sandwich.
7. Preheat a small frying pan or skillet over medium heat and melt 1 – 2 teaspoons of butter
8. Dip both sides of sandwich in egg & milk mixture (about 8 seconds per side – use a spatula to help you turn the sandwich, it keeps it from breaking!)
9. Transfer sandwich to pan. Cook about 90 seconds per side – it’s ready to turn when heated side is crisp and has lovely dark brown streaks running through.
10. Transfer sandwich to plate and drizzle top with 1 tsp of honey
11. Sprinkle with a slight dash of finishing sat or sea salt (table salt will work too but the flavour won’t be as complex).
12. Slice diagonally.
13. Enjoy!
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This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com and linking back to this site

Kurma is one of my favourite Trinidadian snacks. Fried mouthfuls of spiced dough in a sugary glaze, they can be found and purchased throughout the island at school ‘tuck shops’, pharmacies, supermarkets and corner shops. East Indian in origin they are also a staple treat at many Hindu and Moslem functions. Little did I realize however (until doing some research for this post) that the two main forms of kurma which I have grown up with, relate directly in origin to each of those religious groups!

Kurma in Trinidad can take one of two forms. Hard or thin kurma, which are like large matchsticks and crunchy, and soft or fat kurma which are much richer and pillowy in texture. This Hanukkah I prepared both for my Hanukkah 2010 guide, using recipes from two other Trini food bloggers.

Hard kurma is by far the most popular form of kurma in Trinidad. It is fairly ubiquitous and is no doubt the image that pops into most minds when they hear the word. Some of this may have to do with it having a longer shelf life than ‘soft kurma’, some of it may also have to do with there being a larger Hindu community here (the group that food blooger Chennette attributes this form too, but more on that later!).

For the above I relied on a recipe posted by Simply Trini Cooking. I made no actual changes to the recipe but did treat the frying of the dough in a slightly different manner. For my own preference, I first fried the dough in oil over medium heat until the sticks were cooked through and barely golden. I then removed them from the oil and allowed to cool slightly. I then raised the heat below the oil to medium-high and refried the sticks until they were a rich honey colour. This method mirrors the best way to do french fries, and I believe it really helps to create a result that is light and crunchy rather than hard and dry.

Another note or tip that I’d like to share is regarding the sugary glaze (which is essential to kurma’s appeal). This part was one that took me some trial and error. Trial and error which I’d like to spare you For myself I have found the best results come from boiling the glaze until it is -just about- to form a thread when poured from a spoon. That’s the point when I move the pan from the stove, pour it onto the kurma and turn everything with a large spoon to glaze evenly. Just keep turning until the syrup has fully solidified (which doesn’t take long). Delicious clumps of ginger-infused sugar will form at irregular points with the repeated turns for an appeal which food programs have told me is apparently ‘rustic’ *chuckle*. However this will only happen if the syrup was brought to the very beginnings of the thread stage. Boiling the glaze to the point where it does form a thread easily means that the syrup cools and solidifies too quickly upon pouring, not coating the sticks properly. Not boiling it to the thread point just leaves a sticky mess. Don’t stress if you don’t get it right the first time. Just try again And, as usual when dealing with hot sugar, stay vigilant – once it burns there’s no turning back!

Soft kurma is hard kurma’s slightly less popular sibling. Unlike hard kurma it also seems to receive a divided response. People either love it or hate it. Why the dissonance? I suspect that it is due to soft kurma often having a more fragrant, sweeter dough due to the inclusion of evaporated and condensed milks as well as elychee (cardamom). I myself have no problems with its sweetness or with anything that involves cardamom so I’ve always loved soft kurma. However, the great thing about making your own recipes is that you can leave out those flavours that rub you the wrong way. That’s why I am so glad that food blogger Chennette shared her mom’s recipe for soft kurma, as well as shed a light on its roots in the smaller Trinidad Moslem community.

I stayed fairly true to her instructions but did make some modifications, mostly due to the fact I was only making enough for two (ended up being enough or 4-6 though when combined with the hard kurma lol) and also because I wanted to see if I could make a soft kurma that would satisfy J, who has repeatedly told me he does not like soft kurma through the years. Because he does not have a strong sweet tooth I suspected that the use of condensed milk would have been overkill for him. In its place I used more evaporated milk in the dough, and also used evaporated milk instead of condensed in the glaze. The final verdict? He loved it! As did I! I really didn’t miss the condensed milk one bit so I think I will make it this way from now on.

Trinidad Soft Kurma
Source: modified from a recipe by Chennette
Serves 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter (margarine for vegan)
1/2 cup evaporated milk (vanilla mylk of choice for vegan)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
seeds of 2 cardamom pods

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk (or vanilla mylk)

For directions visit the original recipe here.

Because this kurma is a richer dough, and cut thicker than hard kurma, I fried it once over medium heat. This ensures that it has a chance to cook through – without drying out- before the exterior reaches the rich golden brown that you want.

Another important tip: re the glaze. Because this kurma uses a milk-based glaze (unlike hard), it is important this time to boil the glaze (as Chennette states) to the thread stage. This time thread stage really means thread stage. You want a strong thread to form before you pour it on the kurma. The milk keeps things fluid enough for the pieces of dough to be thoroughly coated before it sets. Anything prior to the stage gets you into sticky mess-ville once more. And, as with hard kurma, keep turning as it cools. You want those delicious clumps!

One last tip! The taste and texture of hard kurma improves the longer it sits. For best enjoyment I recommend making it the day before. Of course it tastes great either way so if you find it being wolfed down before that take it as a compliment (or make two batches, 1 to enjoy right away, and the other to store) Soft kurma on the other hand is best enjoyed on the day. It’s not bad on subsequent days but something about that pillowy softness definitely gets lost.

I hope that sharing my experiences will help you to get up the courage to make your own Trinidad Kurma. There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you can do it yourself, treat your friends and families, and control the spices and flavours to your own particular liking! Enjoy!

Just a few words as I am writing this at 3:10 a.m.and am rapidly fading after a day of automechanical mishaps (ugh!) Ochroes are one of those ingredients that rapidly divide people into one of two camps, the love ‘ems and leave ‘ems. Well, I was hoping that this dish would be the one that could potentially convert its detractors but I suspect it won’t. However , if you are an ochro lover (such as myself) you are going to really enjoy it! Battering and frying the ochro gives it a crackly outer crust, while keeping the softer interior intact. You’ll be tempted to eat them hot out the pan, but don’t. They get even better as they sit and cool to room temperature. Their informal, slightly messy, and oily nature make them an ideal addition to my Hanukkah 2010 Menu.

This dish is easily made gluten-free by substituting pulverized rice crackers for the breadcrumbs. Parmesan crumbs and/or herbs can also be blended to the crumbs. Don’t be afraid to experiment, it’s a very flexible recipe! Season the batter well and once the ochroes are done finish everything off with a light dusting of fleur de sel for even more complexity.

Enjoy!

Fried Okras
SOURCE:Caribbean Cookbook

INGREDIENTS:
1 dozen okra
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg
salt and white pepper
fat for frying
breadcrumbs and flour (pulverize rice crackers for gluten-free)

METHOD:

1. Wash okras
2. Dry them and cut in half lengthwise
3. Brush them with eggs and milk
4. Dip in crumb mixture
5. Brush and dip again
6. Let stand for about 10 minutes
7. Fry in hot shallow fat
8. Drain on kitchen towels

This post was originally published August 10, 2007. It has been updated once since then.

This recipe is one of many to be found in mom’s homemade scrapbooks. She’s been compiling them since the 1970′s and as a toddler I would occupy myself on the kitchen floor by flipping through them, amazed at the colours and scribbles contained within.

Some of that must have rubbed off on me because as a teenager I began collecting recipes myself, pages from Seventeen and Teen magazines loosely held in various Lisa Frank folders. My enthusiasm for recipe collecting however was not matched by the quality of creations at that time though, and the files eventually grew dust.

It wasn’t until my first engagement (yes there’ve been more than one) that I gave cooking another try, and this time I found out I was pretty good at it! From that point on I kept my recipes in plastic page covers, neatly held together by three ring binders. A method that worked rather wonderfully until I stumbled across MacGourmet and learnt the wonders and advantages of recipe databases. I’ve been leisurely converting my considerable recipe collection into digital format ever since, and in the process have also found myself coming full circle, as I’ve also found myself rereading my mother’s scrapbooks with a new more appreciative eye.

My mom’s recipe scrapbooks came into being as she ventured into two unknowns. One, married life, and the second, married life in Trinidad. Many of the recipes chronicle Trinidadian recipes that obviously intrigued and/or delighted her. Many were clipped from newspapers and magazines, others were typed and/or stenographed, and others still were scrawled in various hands, their owners long forgotten. Most of the recipes appear to also have been forgotten, as I have not heard of quite a few them, and mom never got around to making them. Something that I plan to rectify

One of the big surprises of this carrot muffin recipe is that it doesn’t call for wholewheat flour. This was probably an addition that my mother made on her own, she’s even more of a health nut than I am I decided to stay true to the recipe and stuck to 100% all-purpose. I also lowered the cooking temperature from 375 to 350 degrees. The results were light and moist. It is not a sweet muffin, the only sweetness comes from the raisins and carrots, so it is quite healthy in that respect. This is the only dessert/snack that my mother makes on any regular basis and, when made with wholewheat flour (replace 1 cup of the all-purpose with wholewheat), it also has a nutty aspect. To be honest though, I didn’t miss the wholewheat flour, and neither did my mother apparently cos she said “hey it tastes better than when I make it”.

Carmen’s Carrot Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
2 or 3 cups finely shredded carrots
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla essence

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and brown sugar. Set aside.
3. Beat eggs and add vegetable oil, nutmeg, vanilla essence, raisins and carrots.
4. Combine flour mixture with egg mixutre, stirring until just combined. (If the mixture is too dry, add up to 1/2 cup water to keep it moist and ‘gloppy’ as shown below)

5. Pour into muffin tins

6. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown

This recipe is an exclusive TriniGourmet original. Please do not share it or post it to your site without crediting TriniGourmet.com. A link back to our site is not necessary but always appreciated

For more recipes like these check out the Bread, Baking & Desserts section of Veni Mangé – The Trinigourmet Amazon Bookstore!

No-bake fudge? I had never heard of such a thing before and was skeptical that this recipe would actually work. But it did and the final result was very satisfying!

The only thing I’m not sure of is whether the squares would stay firm at room temperature here in the tropics so I’ve kept them in the fridge. That way I don’t have anything to worry about.
If you’re looking for a quick remedy for your sweet tooth try this one out

Vegan No-Bake Peanut Butter Fudge
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Recipe By: WoodstockCandy.com

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vegan margarine
1 cup peanut butter
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions:

1. Melt margarine over low heat.

2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.

3. Gradually stir in confectioners sugar.

4. Put in 9 x 9 greased pan. Cool and cut into squares.

For more vegan/vegetarian recipes visit the Vegetarian/Vegan section of Veni Mangé: my Amazon bookstore!

This post was originally published on May 11, 2007. It has been updated once since then.