For quite some time I had heard of the method to roast peppers, but I didn’t think it could be nearly as easy as it sounds. Char it over a flame (or under a broiler) on all sides, remove and place into a ziploc bag for about 10 minutes, then you’ll magically be able to peel it with no problems.

Guess what? It really is that easy! Once I tried it, it was an epiphany for me. No more expensive jars of roasted peppers when I could do it myself. I’m partial to throwing it on my gas grill instead of using the oven. Sometimes this leads to me forgetting I have something going on the grill, though; last week it stayed on there for about an hour (now that was charred). Not so easy to peel at that point. Moral of the story – don’t forget about your pepper!

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Cooking outdoors, Dairy free, Gluten free, Quick tip, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

I’ll have to admit, when I first received the Morgan Freeman and Friends |Caribbean Cooking for a Cause cookbook, I was disappointed. I had seen him on one of the morning shows, promoting the book, and I had expected the book to be packed with recipes from islanders themselves. When I got the book, it was more about fancy hotels’ restaurants, and less about the simple island cooking, so it sat on my bookshelf for quite a while.

After a while, I started trying some of the recipes, though. First, a simple recipe, more like what I thought the book should be featuring, Pasta, Smoked Fish, and Cream. Then I ventured out a bit more and tried the Ital Soup. Then I decided to go the uber-fancy route, and make Chicken and Shrimp in a Pineapple Pontoon (a huge hit with my hubby, with an inspiring combination of flavors – orange and star anise… mmmm!). (more…)

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Cookbook Review by Courtney

I know, I know. I can barely keep Madd Hatter’s Diary up to date, and here I go creating not one blog, but a site containing three! Well, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for more than a year, and now I’m ready to jump in with both feet.

In April of 2009, I read a blog post somewhere (can’t remember where now) about whether or not cooking was intimidating. “Why on earth is cooking intimidating??!!” I thought. You either cook something you know how to cook, or you experiment – be it via a recipe, via instructions over the phone from a family member, or hell, you just wing it. Most of the time it’s gonna turn out okay enough to eat, and if not, just go out. As I read through the comments that day, however, I started thinking more about “intimidation” and what that meant to me. (more…)

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miscellany by Courtney