Mango salsa and painting. What do those two have in common? A lot. In my world at least. Both mango…
Haitian-style salt-cured pork and shrimp paella with djondjon
On the menu today, my Haitian-style salt-cured pork and shrimp paella. Did that flavor combination just make you grimace? If…
Haitian poisson gros sel my way, two ways
Raise your hand if you’ve accidentally cooked fish before without scaling it! Yes, I just raised my hand. You read…
Haitian Salade Russe à la Tchakayiti
Good Friday is knocking at our door. And I cannot wait for the traditional Haitian meal we prepare on that…
Banm graten diri djondjon…a Haitian wild mushroom story
♪♩Diri djondjon, diri djondjon, banm graten diri djondjon… ♫ (Djondjon rice, djondjon rice, give me graten from djondjon rice) This is…
Pitimi pumpkin risotto style
I feel like I should start this article with an apology. Last week, I promised you a risotto-style djondjon pitimi.…
Millet salad, a new way to eat Haitian pitimi
Have you ever bitten into microscopic rocks while eating millet without meaning to? Is their crackling sound something you’re familiar…
Tchaka, a family tradition
Pretend today is Saturday. Now dim the lights. Better yet, light a tèt gridap in a room featuring a straw…
How to prepare and enhance dishes with salt-cured pork meat
Dear salt-cured pork, how did it take me so long to fall in love with your bold flavors? Yes,…
Creole Kitchens Mardi-Gras Edition: a beignets cook-off
“I really should have named this article: How a beignets cook-off convinced me that I am not destined to be…
Would you try a sour orange marmelade?
Got an excessively fruitful sour orange tree? Why not make a sour orange marmelade!? We have two sour orange trees…
Rum infused layered Haitian chocolate truffles dessert
Today, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I am revisiting our chokola peyi. I am serving you layers of flattened chocolate…
Creole Kitchens cook-off and a mirliton soup
The mirliton soup recipe below is part of a food challenge. I created it in hopes of showcasing this vegetable…
My not-so-Haitian crab salad
A zesty chipotle crab salad on a food blog devoted to Haitian cuisine?!? I can imagine your shock at seeing…
A Caribbean chestnut hummus recipe
Every year, we host the family at Christmas. To mix things up a bit, my mom and I always try…
A cheese spread and childhood memories
This morning, I woke up with cheese spread and kids birthday parties from my childhood on my mind. Truth be…
Haitian cheese sticks: my very first baking lesson
Haitian cheese sticks are probably the very first pastry I ever baked. I was about eight or nine when I…
Herring Chiquetaille
For lack of an accurate translation, I use the name “chiquetaille de hareng” throughout this article to refer to this…
An onion hater & an onion pie
On the menu today, a young girl, a grown woman and a traditional onion pie recipe. It’s Christmas Eve. The…
Douce kokoye, Haitian coconut fudge
Foreign readers, think of douce kokoye as a Haitian-style coconut fudge bold in flavor. What happens when you’re stuck at…
Haitian pain patate (sweet potato pudding) recipe
Pain patate in French, pen patat in Haitian Creole, petit pain pa’ as a term of endearment…sweet potato pudding in…
Bonbon Sirop Recipe
“Goodgood syrup, goodgood syrup…” – I can still hear my dad using those words to refer to this special sweet…
Haitian style baked sweet potatoes
Today’s recipe features our local sweet potatoes, which I have oven-roasted, mashed and reduced to a puree topped with prepared…
Haitian dried salted codfish in oil
In Haiti, codfish is about as popular as salted smoked herring. Our repertoire of recipes is quite rich. It includes…
Spicy grilled shrimp sandwich with caramelized bacon
The spicy grilled shrimp sandwich finally comes together! It’s my adaptation of a New Orleans shrimp po’boy. I always loved…
The “everything” spicy orange rum glaze
World Food Championship Po’Boy sandwich Part 2: Spicy Orange Rum Glaze Remember how I promised to share my first World…
Spicy garlic grilled shrimp with a splash of rum
A year ago, on October 12, 2017 to be exact, I was excitingly telling you about my qualification for the…
A savory Haitian pumpkin pie
Joumou in Haitian Creole, Giraumon in French, English translation of our Haiti pumpkin to be determined. I have yet to figure…
Sour orange infused hot pepper sauce
I should probably start this hot pepper sauce article with an apology. Perhaps, I should apologize to the person who…
One weekend, four yuca recipes
Yuca, tapioca, manioc in French, manyòk in Creole, cassava elsewhere… Boiled yuca, mashed yuca, yuca garnished with cheese, yuca fries…
Aransò, smoked herring recipe
An impromptu olfactory visit of a neighbor’s kitchen while he’s cooking mayi ak aransò. A smoked herring mousse. Cold polenta…
Want a mango cocktail?
Remember those mangos that attacked us daily one summer at the office? And how we had decided to take our…
Vinaigrette for those artichokes
Vinaigrette…a word you’ll rarely hear in Haiti, if ever. “Sauce de salade” (salad dressing) is more commonly used. Why share…
Haitian mayi moulen bites, a new way to eat polenta
I am not typically fond of cold mayi moulen (Haitian cornmeal). I actually strongly dislike it. Yet, here I am…
Djondjon polenta bites & a food contest
“Prepare a locally inspired dish. Post it on Facebook with a mouth-watering picture. Include recipe instructions and you’re set. You…
Zanmann jam, an unusual jam
One afternoon, a few moons ago, I came across a rather unusual dish being prepped in our kitchen. My mother…
Silky-smooth mango ice cream
Yes, you read right! The ice cream recipes on this blog keep getting more interesting year after year! Just last…
Veritab boukannen, “véritable obsession”
Today, we’re taking a road trip outside of Port-au-Prince. Our destination? Jacmel, a city located in the South East of…
Shrimp marinades next door
Remember that I told you about how, without wanting to, I often inadvertently take a peak into a neighbor’s kitchen…
A leftover seafood bisque
What do you do when you have tons of leftover seafood in your fridge? If you’re Haitian, you definitely mix…
A sumptuous peach jam
What do you do when you have too many peaches? Why, you make a homemade peach jam of course! And…
Our marinades are not a seasoning mix
A first communion without marinade? Have you lost your mind!! Pa gen komunyon san marinade! (You can’t have a first…
Cabbage, mèchi & 7 cooks
– Should we cook the rice and meat first? – The recipe says not to cook them, but you know…
Got (coconut) milk?
After sharing four coconut milk based recipes that include our famous blan manje, Haitian goodies known as dous kokoye, Haiti’s…
How do you cook your rice?
Yes, you read right. Rice is once again featured on this blog. You didn’t really think I would leave you…
Sòs pwa, Haitian bean sauce
My grandmother’s dining table on a weeknight, eight regulars, a bowl being passed from one set of hands to the…
One pot coconut ice cream
A few weeks ago, I decided to finally give in to what I had been longing to do all summer…
Summer in a fruit cup
At first, I wanted to name this article the deconstructed fruit bowl. Instead of a fruit cup, I was planning…
Goudrin, a pineapple beverage
What if I told you that for some the pineapple peel is just as important, if not more important, than…
Douce Kokoye, Coconut Recipe
These chewy looking chunks of goodness are not brownies. They are homemade melt-in-your mouth coconut milk and sugar bites by…
Haitian Apricot Jam
Yes, you are reading right. Caribbean apricots are back on this blog, and it’s only been two weeks since this…
Haitian Touffe Legume
….or how to start eating vegetables Carrot, cabbage, mirliton, eggplant, green beans…how do you get someone who hates vegetables to…
Banana Beignets
In exactly ten days, it will be Carnaval here in Haiti. Dance, music and mostly letting go of the daily…
Herring Mousse
What if I started this article with a statement like: cream cheese is a must in any worthy fridge? Would…
Cremas, coconut Holiday drink
As I commit these words to paper at 7:00 in the morning, I can’t help but think of the fact…
Gou Epis Lakay
Just last week, I attended Haiti’s first Pork Festival. As the name implies, pork was the main ingredient on the…
My frustration with an avocado tree
As many of you know, it’s avocado season practically everywhere around the globe. Here in Haiti, the season is at…
Marquise au chocolat à l’haïtienne
It’s been a while since I last shared a recipe with you. To make up for it, today I am…
Accras, Haitian Appetizer
The appetizers pictured above, known as accras, don’t ask for much to disappear on a plate. Don’t fry them quickly…
Lambi Grille Recipe
This week was a very hot one. And when the temperature is this high, the sky as blue and sunny…
Bonbon Amidon Recipe
These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are prepared with amidon (starch), a manioc (yucca) flour. As a child, I loved eating bonbon amidon…
Sauce Ti Malice, a hot sauce
The typical Haitian sauce Ti Malice is served with any fried or grilled meat or seafood. It is a hot…
Blan Manje, a Coconut Dessert
Blan Manje has to be one of the easiest Haitian desserts I know. I first made it in college for…
Cassava Pudding spiked with Rum
I discovered cassava pudding a couple weeks ago and really loved it. I actually combined 2 recipes because the one…
A fresco with peanuts
In Haiti, fresco is shaved ice drizzled with a thick and sweet syrup that comes in different flavors. Among these…
Haitian Beignets Recipe
This Haitian beignet recipe is inspired by an experiment my mom did this year. She substituted sugar cane syrup for…
Bananes Pesees
I got this bananes pesees recipe from an uncle who added his own twist to it. He used to add…
Haitian Pikliz
The Haitian pikliz recipe is a mix of vegetables cut using the julienne method (shredded in long thin strips) spiced…