Ginger Turmeric Shots

Ginger and turmeric as a remedy to most ailments has been passed down from generation to generation within the Caribbean. I recently discovered why ginger and turmeric are such powerful remedies. Ginger contains a component called "gingerol" which once consumed becomes activated to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. These effects can alleviate a range of symptoms like bloating, nausea, indigestion and infections. Turmeric on the other hand contains compounds called "curcuminoids", "curcumin" is the main active compound. Like ginger it has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a exceptional antioxidant. Turmeric has been studied for its ability to alleviate symptoms of inflammation, arthritis and depression amongst other ailments. The easiest way to incorporate ginger and turmeric into my daily diet has been by taking daily or bi-daily shots of concentrated ginger and tumeric juice. The recipe I use is below, feel free to try something different or add to it! :)

Ingredients:

5-8 oz of fresh ginger

2-3 lemons

2 oz of fresh turmeric is best but can use turmeric powder instead

I used about 1 - 2 teaspoons of powdered turmeric

Cracked black pepper (just a sprinkle)

Filtered water

Blender or Nutribullet

Baking soda

Apple cider vinegar

Large strainer or cheesecloth

Preparation:

1. Wash your ginger, lemons and fresh turmeric (if you have any) using baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Let them soak in that bath for 5-10 mins.

2. Gently scrub them with a vegetable scrubber to ensure the skin is clean.

3. Cut up the lemons (I peel the skin off but its not necessary), cut the ginger and turmeric into small pieces (DO NOT PEEL).

4. Place everything into your blender or nutribullet.

5. Add enough filtered water so that everything is submerged.

6. If you didn't have fresh turmeric, add in your powdered turmeric at this point as well as a little ginger powder (optional) and your cracked black pepper.

7. Blend everything together until there are no big chunks and everything is mixed together.

8. Pour your mixture into a strainer that is sitting above a bowl, use spoon to press the juice out and if needed use cheesecloth to squeeze the juice out until the pulp is dry.

9. Use a funnel to transfer the juice into a storage container.

10. Take a shot of the juice daily, preferably in the morning!

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Song: Speed Off - Valiant

Jamaican Stewed Beef

For the last two weeks I've been battling fatigue, weakness, muscle soreness, an obviously pale face and a cold I couldn't seem to shake. It was only after ruling out obvious ailments like Covid and once a random craving for things with no nutritional value began, that I realized my iron levels were likely low. So I did exactly what my mother taught me to do, cook a red meat dish.

Ingredients:

Meat

2.5 - 3 pounds beef

Vegetables

2 stalk scallions

1 sprig of fresh thyme

1 tomato

1/2 sweet peppers green/red

2 small carrot

1 Irish potato was used (I recommend using 1/2 Potato instead)

4 cloves garlic

1 Tsp pimento seed

1 inch or so of ginger

1 onion

Seasonings

1 Tbsp all purpose season

1/2 Tsp garlic powder

1/2 Tsp onion powder

1 Tsp Seasoned salt

1 Tsp black pepper

1/2 Tsp smoked paprika

1 Tsp beef maggi cube (I substitute with all purpose seasoning)

2 Tsp complete season/optional

1 - 2 Tsp browning

1-2 Tbsp ketchup

Preparation:

1. Wash meat with lemon juice and water, strain as much water as possible.

2. Add about 1 Tbsp of oil (olive oil or canola)

3. Add in your dry seasonings, keep the all purpose seasoning out because you may need to add some during the cooking process

4. Add in your wet seasoning: garlic, pimento seeds, onions, tomatoes, scallion, thyme, ginger, bell peppers

5. Leave the carrots and potatoes for later

6. Add in the browning

7. Mix the seasonings into the meat and vegetables so that everything is thoroughly combined.

8. At this point you can marinate your meat and vegetables for 1 hour, overnight or not at all (I did not marinate).

9. After combining or marinating separate the wet seasoning from the meat as much as possible.

10. In a pot, heat up some oil and add in the BEEF only, its ok if bits of your veggies fall in but try to seperate them from the meat.

11. Add the beef to the hot oil and let the beef brown uncovered for about 5 mins

12. Remove some of the liquid that's forming and add it to the bowl with your wet seasonings

13. Let the meat sauté for another 5 mins, removing some more liquid and adding it to your veggie bowl.

14. Once the meat is nice and brown, add 1 cup of hot water to your wet seasoning and then add that to the meat, leave about half of the veggies and herbs for later.

15. Add in a little more browning to the pot if needed (if the liquid in the pot looks too light)

16. Add in maggi stock cubes or all purpose seasoning

17. Let the beef simmer for 1 hour, after 1 hour, add enough water to cover your meat, if a fork can’t puncture through the meat it’s not ready.

18. Let beef simmer for another hour or until tender. Add in a little more water.

19. Add in the remaining fresh ingredients along with the carrots and potatoes

20. Add in 1-2 Tbsp of ketchup

21. Taste and add in more all purpose seasoning if needed

22. Let everything cook, covered for 10-15 mins on medium heat. Be careful not to cook the stew too long otherwise the gravy will get thick and the meat will start to flake off which is what happened to mine. If this happens add in a little bit of water or just eat it same way.

23. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or cooked dumplings!

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Song: Nuh Ramp - Lion D ft. Skarra Mucci

Jamaican Chicken Soup

As a child, nothing filled me with more joy than coming home from school to see the giant soup pot sitting idly on the stove in preparation for dinner. My mom would often make chicken soup when we were sick, down in spirit, or just in need of something to warm us up. Now that I'm an adult, I knew that I needed to learn how to make my mom's famous chicken soup so that I too could spread the joy I felt as a kid!

Ingredients:

Chicken

3 Pieces of Chicken Breast or 4 boneless chicken thighs

(typically I'd chop up bone in skinless chicken thighs and add everything to the

pot because the bone contributes to a more stocky or brothy soup but I was

too tired and wanted to use what I had on hand so I improvised)

Vegetables

1/2 peice of yam, cubed

2 large carrots, cut

1/2 cho cho, cubed

1 potato, cubed

1 scallion, cut

3 cloves of garlic (chopped or crushed)

6 1/2 pieces of corn on the cob

1 piece of scotch bonnet pepper

Pumpkin, diced (if available)

Miscellaneous ingredients

1 cup of flour for spinners

1/2 cup of cold water

~8 cups of water for soup stock

Seasonings

1 Cock chicken noodle soup packet

1 Pumpkin soup packet

3 sprigs of thyme

5 whole pimento seeds

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a soup pot.

2. Wash, cut up and place chicken into the boiling water.

3. Add in the salt, black pepper, scallion, garlic, thyme and pimento seeds. Let everything boil for 10 -15 mins.

4. Mix the flour and salt with water to make a stiff dough. Separate into small pieces and mold into spinners.

5. Add the carrots, cho cho, yam, potatoes, corn and pumpkin if available and let the vegetables boil for ~10 mins

6. Add in the soup packets and scotch bonnet pepper (whole). Cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 - 45 mins. Stir occasionally and add more water if the soup becomes too thick.

7. Once done, remove the scotch bonnet pepper and serve.

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Song: Healthy Body - Admiral Bailey