Caribbean Diaspora Summer Cooking And A Twist On A Summer Dessert Classic

Melon and mint rum flavored sorbet.

By Minna LaFortune

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 27, 2016: Summer cooking and eating in the Caribbean and its Diaspora in North America is very exciting! It’s the time of year when The BBQ grills are used more often than the stove in the kitchen and where there are many, many food festivals to attend and sample a smorgasbord of cooked Caribbean dishes.

For me, like most, I will grill most of my meals and I will experiment with different super foods (starchy vegetables), regular vegetables, meats and fish.

Some of my favorite vegetables grilled are Eggplant, corn on the cob, Zucchini, and sweet peppers. I also like to grill various starchy vegetables such as Irish potatoes, American sweet potatoes and ripe plantains.

When grilling my vegetables, I like to marinate them in coconut oil, salt, black pepper and cider vinegar for one to two hours. For the potatoes I would add some rosemary. My favorite fish on the grill is Jack Fish Steaks and my favorite meat on the grill is boneless chicken thighs. When grilling Jack fish steaks, I also marinate them overnight in coconut oil, garlic, thyme  and black pepper.

For my boneless chicken thighs, I marinate them in jerk seasonings for at least three days. My marinade would consist of the dry and wet jerk seasonings with a dash of my secret spice and  cayenne pepper. Grilling is fun as you can put the whole meal to cook at once and attend to them until it’s all cooked! To complete my meal, I would add a fresh garden salad (spinach, cucumber and tomatoes from my summer garden) with a homemade yogurt and dill salad dressing.

For desserts in the summer, I like to serve water melon and mint/ rum flavored sorbet. It is so delicious! Today I will share with you my recipe for melon and mint/rum flavored sorbet.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

4 cups cubed watermelon (remove seeds)

2 tablespoons lime juice

1/4 cup minced fresh mint

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons Jamaican White Rum

Method

Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved; set aside.

Put watermelon in blender , blend until smooth.

Add watermelon in a large bowl (freezer safe).

Sir in the sugar mixture lime juice, mint, honey and Rum.

Mix all ingredients well. Place in freezer and freeze for 8 -10 hours until firm.

Just before serving, place portions in a food processor.

Process until smooth.

Add a dash more rum to each serving.

Bon Appetite

EDITOR’S NOTE: Minna LaFortune is a trained Caribbean caterer and also president, Society for the Advancement of the Caribbean Diaspora (SACD). Check out her food group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/bestfoodscaribbean/