Jamaican Cornmeal Pudding #SundaySupper

Jun 3, 2012 by lovelypantry

It’s time for another #SundaySupper and this week the theme is “Heritage”. I was undecided for a while as to what to prepare, but a quick phone call to my Mom helped to narrow it down. Most of my Jamaican favourites have already been shared on The Lovely Pantry, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share something new.

When I think about my heritage, I think about the country and culture that influenced my life the most. As some of you may know, I grew up in London England, Jamaica, and currently reside in Toronto, Canada. My parents always instilled in my brother and I, the importance of family, and knowing our heritage/culture. This was a challenge while raising a family in a foreign country with so many other cultures blended around you. But my parents made it work. From the music, to the dialect, to the FOOD – oh, my parents love their food!

I’ve always been a part of a close-knit family (more like a tribe). In fact, there are so many of us, we could form our own small community. As a child, my father showed us our family tree so that we could see exactly who started this awesome family of ours. I plan to do the very same thing for my children. It will be a larger family tree compared to what my father had shown me but it will definitely be a wonderful family project. Perhaps one day we’ll go to Cuba to see where my paternal Grandfather was born, and then perhaps travel to Ireland to see where his father was born. Hopefully we will get to do the same for my husband and see his German-Irish background. That’s the beauty of Jamaica and being Jamaican. We are truly “out of many, one people“.

Being Jamaican is great, but living and experiencing other cultures is amazing too! I love having friends and family, from other cultures. What better way to learn about this wonderful world we live in! We are all alike in so many ways, but our cultural differences are what make us so unique. I’m so honoured to participate in this weeks #SundaySupper and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful recipes from a diverse range of cultures.

I hope you enjoy my recipe today – Jamaican Cornmeal Pudding. Growing up, I much preferred cake over pudding. But after I made this pudding, I believe I have been missing out!!! Pudding of some sort (Cornmeal, Bread, Sweet Potato) can be found at many gatherings and is especially good with ice-cream. My pudding would not have been the same without a few “drops” of some Appleton Rum. This pudding is authentic at the very least, and I’m glad to have come across this recipe so that I could put my own personal touch to it. Enjoy!!

 

 

 

Before I go into the photographs, I wanted to include images of the Jamaican flag as well as the Coat Of Arms 🙂

 

      

 

I always remember pudding or “pudd’n” as we call it, being thick and moist. I figured the raisins wouldn’t sink in the batter, but I went ahead and tossed them in flour any way.

 

 

Fold the raisins into the batter, ensuring that everything is full incorporated.

 

 

I had to buy a baking pan big enough to hold the batter for this pudding. Of all the items in my kitchen, I did not have a 9 X 13 Baking pan. I chose to line it because I find it easier to clean the pan but also to remove/transfer the cake after it has cooled. Parchment paper is one of those multi-use items that I always have handy.

 

 

50 minutes later, the pudd’n is ready! The kitchen smells AH-MAZING!

 

 

Cornmeal Pudding is served in squares (or slices if you use a round pan). I prefer squares because it gives a great place to rest the ice-cream!

 

 

You can’t go wrong with having pudding on the menu. It’s a crowd pleaser! Either that, or the rum just makes people really enjoy it.

 

 

This is by far my favourite part of eating this pudding. A nice chunk of pudd’n with some softened ice-cream! Heavenly!

 

 

My other favourite Jamaican recipes include: Oxtail (my favourite), Ackee & Saltfish (Jamaica’s National Dish), Escoveitched Halibut and Sweet Potato Bun. Let us not forget Rice & Peas!

 

Here are the recipes for todays Heritage theme. Check out the posts from these amazing food bloggers!

• Scotch Eggs and Brotchen Rolls – The Meltaways
• Apple Kuchen – Mrs. Mama Hen
• Spaghetti Carbonara – Katherine Martinelli
• Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash – Make Dinner Easy
• Potato and Spinach Knishes – The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• German Potato Salad – Magnolia Days
• Sausage and Broccoli with Orecchiette – Daddy Knows Less
• Chicken Enchiladas Suizas – The Weekend Gourmet
• Strawberry Tiramisu – Chocolate Moosey
• Chocoflan – Juanita’s Cocina
• Egg Liqueur Cake – The German Foodie
• Rasmalai (Ricotta in Sweet Coconut Milk with Almonds and Pistachio) – Sue’s Nutrition Blog
• Mediterranean Couscous Salad – In the Kitchen With KP
• Rouladen – Midlife Road Trip
• Lemon Balm Roasted Chicken and Rum Raising Cupcakes with Maple Frosting – What Smells So Good?
• Keftikas (Turkish Meat and Leek Patties) – The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Croque Monsieur with a Béchamel sauce  – The Daily Dish Recipes
• Momma’s Meat Pie with Poutine Sauce – Momma’s Meals
• Polish Rustic Plum Tart – Comfy Cuisine
• Drop Scones (Scottish Pancakes) – Cositas Bonitas
• Jamaican Cornmeal Pudding – The Lovely Pantry
• Borscht Shooters – Cookistry
• Shepard’s Pie – Big Bear’s Wife
• Parsnip Cakes – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Roasted Curried Vegetables – Hot Curries & Cold Beer
• Portuguese Mussels and Shrimp in a Chorizo Sauce – Family Foodie
• Kalbi Steak Kimchi Grilled Cheese – Damn Delicious
• Wine pairings for all the recipes – ENOFYLZ

 

For more awesome inspiration, be sure to follow our Pinterest Board and also follow our #SundaySupper hashtag on Twitter. To find out more about or even participate in #SundaySupper as a food blogger, the sure to check here for further information.

 

Happy Sunday, and as we say in Jamaica…”Walk Good!” … which is the same as saying take care!

~Lyn

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Coconut Jam Muffins

May 28, 2012 by lovelypantry

Recently, I’ve developed this fascination with coconut products that are out there. There are a lot of course, jumping on the coconut health food band-wagon. The use of coconut and its by-products has been well established in the Caribbean. I have only been using Coconut Oil and Coconut Milk for the past few months due to my growing interest in all things “natural” and healthy. Recently, I attended the Good Food Festival in Toronto and found the best thing I’ve ever tasted!! Okay, perhaps I’m going a tad bit over board. But I can honestly say I love what I found. I had no idea that it existed.

Have you ever heard of Coconut Jam? If you are familiar – kudos to you. If you are like me, and this is a new phenomenon to you… welcome! From the moment I tasted the samples at the booth, I knew I found something really cool. It comes in a few flavours – plain, vanilla and mango. The difference was really subtle between them, but I  went with the mango. I’ve had it on toast and english muffins, but I wanted to do something extra special so I adapted a basic muffin recipe and created my very own Coconut Jam Muffin. I should actually call it Triple Coconut – Jam Muffins because I used some Coconut Flour. And some Coconut Milk too. This is my first time cooking with coconut flour as well as the coconut jam. It came out very well. Certified AWESOME. I need to contact the company and secure some more of this good stuff. I’m hooked!

 

 

 

I need to contact these people. We need to be friends. VERY good friends.

 

 

I used some teaspoons to drop a small amount into the batter. I like that a little goes a long way. This jam smells so good. The kids loved it too – on toast, on crackers, in a sandwich and in muffins!

 

 

I placed a dab of jam in the centre of the batter… just like this…

 

 

Then I covered it with more batter, then sprinkled it with my topping of preference if I am not using a streusel ~ Raw Sugar! I love that little crunch!

 

 

This one is mine!!!

 

 

Allow muffins to cool for a few minutes because the jam will be hot. Don’t ask me how I know this.

 

 

 

Aside from the amazing aroma these muffins gave my home, I really love a few things about these muffins. Just looking at them, they look like ordinary muffins. Nothing special, at a glance. A few crunchy bits on the top, and a tender but firm exterior. But then there’s that one muffin where the jam started to ooze out. That is what drew me to that muffin, that slight difference. A slight imperfection, perhaps? Many times, there is goodness in the ordinary. We just have to take a chance and dig deep. See beyond what is right before us. Only then, will we see and experience that beautiful sweetness and goodness that a muffin can offer.

 

 

Biting into that jam was the business! LOL! Happy Monday everyone!

 

~Lyn

 

 

 

 

 

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Orange and Almond Muffins

Apr 23, 2012 by lovelypantry

Muffins are so simple, and tasty to make. I mean, who doesn’t love a good muffin, right? I pulled out my little muffin recipe book called “100 Muffins from 1 Easy Recipe” and found another nice recipe. The last muffins I made from this book were the Easter Muffins and they were great. These were just as light and just as simple. They could easily be a quick breakfast on the go, or a snack. What I love is that there’s not too much sugar but it has a lovely citrus flavour. Really nice! The kids loved them, but they started to slow down once they hit the middle. I guess there’s no sugar in the middle! They also asked where the frosting was….

 

 

 

 

Even before it is baked, it smells really good!

 

 

I like the coarse grittiness of the Turbinado Sugar. It gives a nice crunch at the end.

 

 

The house smells great right about now!

 

 

I used Navel Oranges for this recipe. I find them to be sweet and very juicy.

 

 

Such a great little muffin. Bake, grab, go!

 

 

Happy Monday my dear friends! Have an awesome week!

~Lyn

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Sweet Potato Bun

Apr 15, 2012 by lovelypantry

I had to share this recipe. It tastes too good to keep to myself. I will also say that this is the last bun recipe I will post until next Easter. Seriously.

However, I will not classify this bun as an Easter Bun even though I found it in The Gleaner’s Easter Cookbook 2012 (Page 26). No, not this bun. This bun can be prepared at any time throughout the year. There are many recipes in the cookbook that I will be trying very soon. I have the best Dad. He mailed me the booklet so that I could have a resource for my posts. He knows how much I like to flip though pages. Isn’t he great? I’m sure you guys remember one of my most favourite things is sending and receiving mail. My dad put a really big smile on my face! Thank you Dad!

The first time I made this bun, and it was a hot mess. I’m not a baker so I had no idea what I did wrong. The batter was thin and after baking it for more than the suggested time, it still came out like a pudding. My husband described the texture of the outside of the bun felt like leather. I was so disappointed because the flavour was quite pleasant but the texture was not good at all. This was my very first baking flop. I decided to look through the ingredients again and compare with all the other bun recipes. I realized that there was probably too much liquid and not enough flour. I made some changes to the original recipe and got it right! Success!!! This is the bun that I will be making next year! I only used raisins and there’s no mixed peel to pick out.

The only way I’ll be making this bun again this year, is if someone specifically asks me to make it or places an order ($$).

 

 

 

 

I was watching the consistency so closely the second time around.

 

 

I like the contrast in colours here.

 

 

In go the raisins. The batter at this point is fairly firm and has a thick consistency. Exactly what I want.

 

 

Ready for the oven!

 

 

Fresh out  the oven, looking good, smelling great and not feeling like leather on the outside 🙂

 

 

Checking for the consistency – looks perfect. And then I realized I had cut my bun before I glazed it.  So anxious!

 

 

Now this is more like it!

 

 

This bun was so nice, I had to double up on the cheese. It was moist and dense, as it should be. I think that’s totally acceptable since I’m not having this bun again until next year.

 

 

I feel great about this bun. Have you had any baking triumphs? I’d love to hear about it.

Have a wonderful Sunday and an awesome week!

~Lyn

 

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Easter Muffins

Apr 7, 2012 by lovelypantry

It has been a busy few days and I’m just getting to post this now. The kids were tugging at my legs to get at these little treats. I did not decorate all the muffins because, well… my kids do a really cute thing. They eat the frosting and then say “Mommy! I’m finished!” – and they literally leave the muffin behind. Seriously. If there is frosting, more than likely, they will not eat the cake. Maybe this little thing they do isn’t so cute after all.

I found this recipe in a little book called “100 Muffins From 1 Easy Recipe”. Chances are, I’m going to make every muffin in this book. What caught my eye about this recipe was not necessarily the theme, even though I was certainly looking for an Easter recipe. The cupcakes were adorable! Very simple, compared to what I’ve seen out there, but adorable none the less. I will be the first to say it out loud that I’m not the best at decorating cakes. I only just started a few months ago (barely). I’m teaching myself so that I can at least do something, if needed. Practice makes perfect. I did my best so here’s my first Easter Muffin 🙂

 

 

 

 

I found these a few weeks ago. So perfect! I love that they are reusable and colourful too.

 

 

I wore my apron to do this. I’ve been powdered up by Cocoa one time too many! 🙂

 

 

So this recipe called for only 1/2 Cup of brown sugar. The muffins were not overly sweet so I can see myself adding chocolate chips to this recipe in the future. No frosting needed, of course.

 

 

 

 

These came out quite wonky to me 🙂 The photograph in the book looked waaaaaay better than mine. A+ for effort though, right? 🙂

 

 

And then my Diva daughter decided that she did not want the cupcake with the mini chocolate eggs. Actually, she said that they were not in fact cupcakes because they had no sprinkles on them. She pointed to where I keep the sprinkles and requested that I make “real” cupcakes for her so that she could eat it.

Well excuse me.

The sprinkle princess had her way.

 

 

Take good care of you

~Lyn

 

 

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Jamaican Easter Bun

Apr 5, 2012 by lovelypantry

I wanted to make something Jamaican for Easter. I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate than Bun and Cheese. It’s a Jamaican tradition! I’ll be cooking all this weekend so this is the first of interesting things to come. I remember as a child living in England, my parents made Easter Bun and it made our home smell so fragrant. I was super excited when my Mom found the recipe that she had used all those years ago. I’m using some of the ingredients for the first time with this recipe. I’m glad I now have things like Anise Seeds in my pantry for future recipes. And I would have never guessed that I would be cooking with Dragon Stout again so soon!

This Bun smelt good in a traditional way. I personally prefer my bun with just raisins and not the mixed peel. But I really wanted to make it as traditional as possible. After looking at a few other recipes, this particular recipe uses Anise Seeds which is not included in modern Bun recipes. I’m fine with that. That means my recipe is special.

In Jamaica, Bun is a big deal. It is generally available throughout the year. If you usually buy Bun at the store, and have not yet purchased some by now – you may very well have missed out. Good thing I have this here recipe for you to actually MAKE Bun 🙂 That way, you won’t miss out. 🙂

I was asking some friends and family about the origins of Jamaican Easter Bun… it’s a tradition that not too many people are familiar with. Thanks to my Bestie for sending me the info as to how Jamaican Bun came about. The British traditionally had Hot Crossed Buns on Good Friday. This same custom was brought to Jamaica and transformed into what we know today as Easter Bun. Jamaicans spiced it up!

“Jamaica’s version is made with molasses, while the buns from England were made with honey. In Jamaica, you eat the bun with cheese, a combination that has become ingrained in island culture. British custom has waned when it comes to eating hot cross buns as fasting food on Good Friday, but in Jamaica the practice is as prevalent as ever. Today the custom is seen as more Jamaican than British. And eating cheese is now a year-round practice, while the bun and cheese dish is prevalent primarily during the Easter holiday.” – An excerpt from an article found on Jamaicans.com

 

 

 

 

This is the one cheese I have a severe weakness for. I’ll eat it any day of the week! It’s so terribly expensive here in Canada though. If it wasn’t for this post, I would have left it right there on the shelf. I’ve been delaying my cheese fix for when I visit Jamaica.

 

 

Dragon Stout, Guinness or Red Stripe Beer can all be used to make Bun.

 

 

Stout mixture reduced to a simmer.

 

 

 

Flour, Mixed Fruits, Raisins and Anise Seeds

 

 

 

 

Stout mixture combined with flour mixture

 

 

 

Ready for the oven.

 

 

The house smelled wonderful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making this for the first time was great. The kids loved it. My husband was appreciative. He LOVES this stuff. I bet you next year, he’s going to be looking out for his Easter Bun.

 

Shout out to my Mom! Thanks for keeping this recipe safe so that I could do the unexpected and actually use it!!! *hugs*

I love my Mom.

 

For those that celebrate, have a happy and blessed Easter.

~Lyn

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Other Buns you may like to try:

Sweet Potato Bun

Jamaican Easter Spiced Bun

Zucchini Spiced Bun

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