My Trinidadian Baking Lesson...

So I lived in Trinidad for a little while chasing a dream of owning and running a successful cargo shipping company...(that's an entirely different blog for a different day!) :-D  During my time there I discovered my love of all foods Trinidadian!  Curry chicken roti, doubles, Trini Chinese food, fudge, fresh bread, samosas...The cuisine is a mixture of all the cultures that have settled on the island over the centuries but primarily consists of produce and food indigenous to the Caribbean island, influenced by African and East Indian spices and techniques.  

My culinary life in Trinidad had all the comforts of modern amenities with a KFC in Independence Square, a pizza joint that garnishes your meal with ketchup (yes, you read that right), a great burger spot a maxi drive away, and a Chinese takeout on every corner.  But when I cooked for myself it was easy to find fresh picked fruits and vegetables from a row of farmer's markets and fresh baked bread came from bakeries lining the street.  My meat came from a butcher that prepared the meat for you while you picked up your other groceries or while you wait.   I hated hearing the chickens cluck for their lives, so the butcher shop was always my first and last stop!  And let's not forget the seasonings!  Freshly ground spices and garden-fresh herbs were always part of my meals.

When I moved back to the states I didn't have to wait long for roti because my uncle married into a Trinidadian family!  His wife knows to call me whenever a pot of curried channa and potato is going on the stove or a vat of oil is warming for the shrimp wontons!

But this past weekend it was my turn to learn first hand the secrets of Trinidadian cooking.  Thanks to the matriarch of the family I've begun to understand the techniques that make Trinidadian food so uniquely delicious.  I took copious notes, got my hands nice and grimey with bread dough, and burned my hands packing up 16 hot buss-up-shuts...I now have at least a clue what is in authentic Trini curry...

For our purposes though, in a later blog, Trini sweet bread will be on our loaf menu!  I'm going to test this recipe a few hundred times until I get it just right, then I'll share!