Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Jamaican Feast!

We have a great little Jamaican restaurant here, Evelyn & Olive. And we were supposed to eat there last week for February's Vegan Drinks, but I had to cancel the event due to an ice storm. I'd been craving Evelyn & Olive's rice & peas, but no dice. Stupid ice.

But I had a can of Jamaican red peas in coconut milk in my pantry that I'd picked up from the international aisle at Kroger back in November. And there was a recipe on the back!


So tonight, I finally satisfied my Jamaican food craving!


The Jamaican Rice & Peas were so simple. I just combined the can of soft red peas in coconut milk with dry brown rice, green onion, garlic, water, and chopped habanero pepper. And then I cooked the dish just like I'd cook plain brown rice. It tasted so very similar to rice & peas at Evelyn & Olive!


I'd share the recipe, but it's on the can. And I think you'd need these specific peas to make this dish the same way. The coconut milk is all thickened and paste-like, and I'm not sure how it would convert using regular coconut milk and red beans.

But I will share a couple other recipes! To serve alongside the rice & peas, I made Fried Plantains with Sriracha Mayo.


When Megan hosted her Veggin' Out potluck back in October, she served Tostones with a Spicy Mayo, and it was so good! I wanted to recreate her sauce, and I could have just asked for the recipe. But I figured it'd be more fun to come up with my own version.

Fried Plantains with Sriracha Mayo
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1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 plantains, peeled and sliced
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp. vegan mayo
2 Tbsp. vegan sour cream
2 Tbsp. plant milk (I used coconut)
1 Tbsp. sriracha

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the plantains, and fry on one side until golden, about 5 minutes. Use tongs to flip each side, and fry on the other side until golden. When they're done, remove with tongs and place the slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Season with salt.

While the plantains are frying, mix the mayo, sour cream, plant milk, and sriracha in a small bowl. Drizzle the sauce over plantains to serve.
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At Evelyn & Olive, they serve a fresh Tomato-Cucumber Salad as a side. So I knew I wanted that with my home-cooked Jamaican feast, too. Here's what I whipped up. It would have been best with summer tomatoes, but hey, you gotta work with what you can in February.


Tomato-Cucumber Salad
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1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
3 roma tomatoes, halved and then sliced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Allow to sit and marinate for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

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To wash it all down, I drank some home-brewed Ginger Beer!


I've been brewing kombucha for more than a year now, but I've just started brewing ginger beer, and it's so easy. First you make a starter with sugar and fresh ginger, and then you use that to ferment a gallon-sized jug filled with ginger, sugar, and water. After a few weeks, it gets all fizzy, and then you bottle it. I'll be demonstrating how to make ginger beer and kombucha at Vida Vegan Con in Austin in May!

4 comments:

Hillary said...

Everything looks so amazing. I love plantains. I've become a 'booch brewer myself. I'm going to look-up making ginger beer. Is that Fozzie the bear on your glass?

Cate Lawrence said...

some delicious food here! I also love red peas and rice, it inspired me to make a soup! http://atravellingcook.blogspot.de/2015/02/red-beans-quinoa-and-jerk-spice-soup.html

Marja @ StuckInYourBeard said...

Whoa. Brewing your own ginger beer sounds so cool! And all of that looks delicious. We used to be blog-pals about 5 years ago, then I disappeared, but now I am back and writing again! I will be glad to be following your delicious food adventures once again.

foodfeud said...

This all looks sooo good! I'm not sure I've ever had real Jamaican food! Oh man, tostones.