From the category archives:

Tropical Plants

Quick and Easy Shrimp

October 1, 2009
Quick and Easy Shrimp

I always like to have a few dishes like this shrimp in coconut oil in my repertoire.  Quick, easy, delicious, pretty.  And made from pantry ingredients I always have on hand.  Or almost always.  We’re rarely without a bag of shrimp in the freezer.  Who doesn’t have black pepper?  And the curry plant in our garden reproduces with rabbit-like speed.  Anyone need a curry [...]

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The Beach House

June 10, 2009
Conch Pelau

A funny thing about living on an island is the way you enter a house you’ve never been in before.  After saying hello to your host, you go immediately and check out their view.  Architecture, interior design, furniture, kitchens…those are all great, but we live for our seascapes.  The more panoramic, the better.  Given Tortola’s small size, [...]

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Sorrel Drink

May 30, 2009
Dried Sorrel

You may recall I wasn’t too impressed with the sea moss drink I made this week.  So I thought I’d move on to making sorrel drink, a beverage I definitely like.  I first had a drink made from sorrel in Mexico, where it’s called agua de jamaica.   Sorrel is a Christmas tradition in the Caribbean and our friends, Mike and Julia Donovan, gave us [...]

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Curry Leaf

May 8, 2009
Curry Leaves

Bones has pointed out that I’ve called for curry leaves in a few of my recipes and this ingredient may be unfamiliar to some of you.  The curry plant (Murraya koenigii) is native to the sub-tropical forests of Asia and is widely used by cooks in South India.  You may also see the name written as kari [...]

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Frangipani in Bloom

May 2, 2009
Frangipani

I’m pleased to report that my frangipani did not blow away in Tuesday’s gales as I feared they would.  The baby buds are now blooming and the view from the balcony is even more stunning with the soft pink and white flowers dotting our seascape.

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