Costa Rican Afro-Caribbean Food (with recipes)

[pacanis]

Pretty cool.
This thread originally ran The winter of 2009. Where it ran it's course 1/13/09.
Then it was revived 12/10/10, almost one year later, by someone who only made one post while here visiting DC...
Then it was revived again 1/11/11... by yet someone else who only made one post while doing her stint here. hmmm... And again, amost one year later...

A little hubub that time. A few comments. Finca, the OP, came back. And then it fell dormant yet again. Only to be resuscitated yet again, this 27th day of February, 2014. Another cold... winter... day...

Coincidence? I think not.

Can't help you on the red beans, but thanks for bringing this back. I only wish I could find the ingredients in some of the recipes. I would love to eat this.

 

[KatyCooks]

Pretty cool.
This thread originally ran The winter of 2009. Where it ran it's course 1/13/09.
Then it was revived 12/10/10, almost one year later, by someone who only made one post while here visiting DC...
Then it was revived again 1/11/11... by yet someone else who only made one post while doing her stint here. hmmm... And again, amost one year later...

A little hubub that time. A few comments. Finca, the OP, came back. And then it fell dormant yet again. Only to be resuscitated yet again, this 27th day of February, 2014. Another cold... winter... day...

Coincidence? I think not.

Can't help you on the red beans, but thanks for bringing this back. I only wish I could find the ingredients in some of the recipes. I would love to eat this.

Hadn't spotted the dates Pac. But yes, the recipes look very interesting and tasty. Sadly, I can't make some of them either. (Plaintains are definitely not available in my neck of the woods.)

 

[pacanis]

No plantains in England. I will remember that.

 

[Dawgluver]

Hadn't spotted the dates Pac. But yes, the recipes look very interesting and tasty. Sadly, I can't make some of them either. (Plaintains are definitely not available in my neck of the woods.)

In a pinch you can sub out greenish bananas for plantains, Katy.

 

[Zhizara]

Can anyone tell me what type of red beans are used in Caribbean cooking?

I'm not positive about Caribbean, but in New Orleans red beans are kidney beans as in red beans and rice.

 

[GotGarlic]

Can anyone tell me what type of red beans are used in Caribbean cooking?

The recipe includes this information: "If small red beans aren't available, substitute red kidney beans or black beans."

 

[PrincessFiona60]

No plantains in England. I will remember that.

Or coconuts...

 

[Mad Cook]

No plantains in England. I will remember that.

You'd probably get them in West Indian shops in London Birmingham, Nottingham or Manchester (probably not the only places but those are the ones I've seen.)

 

[Mad Cook]

Or coconuts...

Where did you get that idea, PF? We do have coconuts. Saw some the other day in the village greengrocer's shop.

 

[Mad Cook]

I'm not positive about Caribbean, but in New Orleans red beans are kidney beans as in red beans and rice.

The W. Indian mum of one of the children I taught years ago told me to use red kidney beans. Not sure which island she came from as it's a long time since I knew her.

[I remember very few of "my" mothers but I remember Mrs Henry. Tall and "statuesque", stunning looking with almost blue-black complexion and a commanding presence, to put it mildly. We always tried to take her with us as a helper on field trips. She only had to look at a child who was misbehaving and it shrank! "Well, dear", she said to me one day "I have the advantage over you. I know all their mothers!" I don't know what it's like nowadays but back then in the 1980s it was the matriarch who ruled the roost in West Indian families - there was none of this namby pamby "Wait 'til your father gets home" nonsense!]

 

[Mad Cook]

You'd probably get them in West Indian shops in London Birmingham, Nottingham or Manchester (probably not the only places but those are the ones I've seen.)

Thinking
back about this post it occurred to me that the aforementioned are all university towns with largish African student populations.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Where did you get that idea, PF? We do have coconuts. Saw some the other day in the village greengrocer's shop.

Sorry, that was a Monty Python reference... They slip out at odd times.

 

[Mad Cook]

Sorry, that was a Monty Python reference... They slip out at odd times.

Aha! I see.

I didn't go much on MP so didn't pay much attention. It was a very poor spin off of "The Goon Show" (surreal radio programme with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe and Peter Sellars which ran throughout the 1950s). That sort of comedy relies on the "mind's eye" and doesn't really translate well to a visual medium.

"The Goon Show" is being re-run on BBC Radio 4 Extra at 8am on Tuesdays. I listen to it sitting up in bed and try not to choke on my first cup of tea of the morning!

 

[Gravy Queen]

We can of course easily get coconuts and plantains in the UK . Coconuts are easily available in supermarkets and plantains in Asian and Caribbean type shops. I love these type of shops specifically to hunt out different ingredients and try new recipes .


MC you forgot to mention Liverpool ....

 

[buckytom]

old bump.

has anyone used salsa lizano? what do you think of it? can you break it down for us?

also, anyone ever hear of the "blue dras" thing that was mentioned on page 2 or 3?