Get The Flavors Of The Caribbean Delivered To Your Doorstep With The Callaloo Box

For those of you who have been following my blog for some time now, you know that I am from Guyana. I grew up in Miami, FL for most of my childhood and was heavily immersed in the Guyanese-Caribbean culture. We had so many West Indian shops nearby and never went without the kitchen staples. I remember when I moved to Columbia, SC more than 18 years ago. It was major culture shock for us. Having access to my West Indian food items was pretty much non-existent. I depended on my relatives in Florida to send me stuff. We have one West Indian store here and the pickings are VERY slim. The prices are ridiculous and when I look at the expiration dates, you can tell the items have been sitting around for a long time. 

I have shopped around on Amazon and can't believe how expensive some of the most basic things are. I was lucky to get connected with a new business called Callaloo Box on Instagram. Callaloo Box is a new U.S. based subscription box service featuring seasonings, marinades, and hot sauces from the Caribbean twin-islands of Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad is Guyana's neighbor and we use the same exact products for the most part. The founder and co-founders are 3 girlfriends who are all immigrants from Trinidad currently living in the U.S. and Canada. Their aim is to get these products into the hands of anyone interested in Caribbean cooking that live in the U.S. and don't have easy access to them, or anyone who simply loves food, cooking, and experimenting. This made me so happy! 

The September Callaloo Box did not disappoint! It came with 3 Chief brand products: Hot & Tasty Pepper Sauce, Green Seasoning, and Kuchela (mango chutney). Also a bottle of the classic Angostura Aromatic Bitters, as well as a package of curry powder.

The pepper sauce is so spicy and delicious. It is the perfect addition for if you want a little hot kick to your meal. It tastes very similar to what my mom used to make. The green seasoning is similar to what I make which is a blended mixture of green onion, garlic, hot pepper, and herbs. It is so convenient to have it already made in a bottle so you can marinate your poultry or meat with ease. I also add it in soups and stews for extra Caribbean flavor.

Kuchela is what Guyanese people call mango achar. It is shredded green mango with hot pepper, garlic, and spices. I remember my mom cooking achar on the stove top early on a Saturday morning, and all of our eyes and noses would be burning from the hot, HOT pepper. Now that my mother is no longer around, I'm happy to have access to it, without the tears. Every West Indian home has a bottle (or three) of Angostura Aromatic Bitters. What is it?: It is an aromatic botanically infused alcoholic mixture consisting of water, ethanol, gentian, herbs and spices. Although the product contains 44.7% alcohol by volume, each dash contains an insignificant amount of alcohol and therefore remains non-alcoholic. Suggested Uses: It is a well-known key ingredient in many alcoholic cocktails, but is also widely used to flavor non-alcoholic drinks, baking, and cooking. I personally add a few drops to certain savory dishes when I feel like it is missing something. It will balance out the flavors nicely. Also, I have learned that bitters never expire. This is good to know in the event you have had a bottle lingering around for a long time.

Last item in the box is curry powder which is is a blend of turmeric, coriander, cumin, salt and spices. Growing up Guyanese, we curried everything under the sun from meats, poultry, vegetables, chick peas (channa) and even eggs. I have a new tradition that started this year where I cook curry every Saturday morning. The family really does look forward to it!

A post shared by Shelly 🇬🇾👑 (@momfiles) on Jul 22, 2017 at 8:35am PDT

One of the things I love to share with my family and friends is my passion for cooking. No matter what I'm making, I love to add my Indian-Guyanese twist into my dishes. I am so thrilled that I have access to my West Indian goodies via the Callaloo Box. I was quite surprised at how heavy the package was and it is a great value at $39.99 a month (cancel any time), or you can pre-pay a year for $419. If it sounds expensive to you, I challenge you to look up the products I listed above on Amazon and see for yourself what a value you are getting.

Right now Mom Files readers can use the code: MOMFILES5 for $5 off of your 1st box when signing up for a month-to-month subscription. I am so happy with my first box and think you would be, too. Give Callaloo Box a try today!

You can find Callallo Box here and please be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for product updates, promotions, and sneak peeks into upcoming boxes. Please let me know if you decide to give them a try. I would never recommend anything I did not believe in. Thanks for stopping by today and big thanks to Callaloo box for providing a sample box for us to try.

Kitchen Confessions: My Biggest Fear

I am a kitchen adventurer. I am almost always willing to try exotic ingredients and semi-outrageous cooking methods. I have torched things, gutted fish while they were still alive and too many things to list. I just have this one phobia-- The Pressure Cooker. I have owned one for about 15 years now and grew up using one probably a few times a week. I used it here and there the first few years I had it with no fear. It didn't even phase  I was making the most tough meats melt-in-your-mouth tender. I was also making dishes that would normally take hours in 1/4 of the time. It was that one time that I was using it to make dhal (an Indian soup-like dish made with split peas) and I had the burner on too high of heat and the shaker top popped off. All I remember was a volcanic eruption of turmeric colored split peas spewing out the top and I had to act quickly. I threw a wet towel over the top and grabbed pot holders to remove the pressure cooker off the burner element. Holy cow, it was an absolute mess! I can't believe by some miracle, I was able to clean it all up from the ceiling and walls. I was panicked since we were living in an apartment at the time. That was many years ago! I washed my pot up and packed it away. I didn't want to go through that drama again.

Fast forward to this past weekend... I had been talking to my sister for a few weeks now about how I cook dhal for almost 2 hours because I am deathly afraid of the pressure cooker. She would make fun of me for being such a wimp and told me it would be fine. I finally got enough courage to try it out one more time. I won't lie, I felt the fear move through my entire body. I washed each component and could feel my heart racing. I had to take deep breaths and calm myself down. It's just cookware after all. I proceeded to get my ingredients in the pot and it all came down to that moment-- putting the lid on the pot and placing the weight topper on it. I think my blood pressure spiked at this time. I actually prayed as I waited to hear the sound when you know the actual pressure is locked inside the pot. Slowly, the topper started to move and make a hissing sound. Once this started I did not take my eyes off of it. I had my oven mitts set beside me and a wet kitchen towel, just in case.

It started going a little faster. This is where I turned the heat down a bit. I wasn't taking any chances! Fifteen anxiety-riddled minutes later, I had completely cooked dhal! I even got all of my estimated measurements right. I was able to breathe and know that I don't have to be (as) afraid of the pressure cooker any more :)

Do you own a pressure cooker? Have you ever had any bad experiences with it before?

Easy Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

Hi Everyone! I made a dish this weekend that was purely experimental and it turned out so good that I just had to share it with you. I get so tired of making the same old things over and over again and craved something completely different from the usual. I was shopping in Kroger the other night with my hubby and we were looking at their Private Selection brand of products that were on sale. They currently have a bonus sale where you can save $4.00 by purchasing 4 items. He was looking at a couple of the simmering sauces. I had that "look" on my face since I am the Queen of homemade. Is this man really looking at an Indian inspired sauce from a jar? He insisted we give it a try, so I reluctantly agreed. The price was really good so I figured I didn't have too much to lose.

The directions on the jar called for ingredients like bell peppers and onions. I decided to do things my own way. I used one pound of chicken tenders and cut them into 1-inch pieces. I then very lightly seasoned (no salt) the chicken with my staple spices. Next, I heated about 1 teaspoon of olive oil and one teaspoon of vegetable oil in my skillet. I lightly dusted the chicken with some plain flour and added chicken to pan. I let it get nice and golden brown and then added some sliced red onion. After sauteeing onion for about 2 minutes, I poured my jar of sauce over chicken and onion and held my breath.

I let the chicken simmer for about 5-6 minutes and finished it off with some fresh cilantro. I served the chicken tikka masala over jasmine rice and the entire family (even little William) LOVED this dish. It had the most amazing balance of flavors. You could taste a hint of sweetness, a slight tang and a good pinch of spice. We didn't find it too spicy at all. I really can't believe how delicious this dish came out. It tasted like it came from a really good Indian restaurant. What's so great about this dish is that it really only took about 20 minutes to make. This would be perfect for a busy work/school week dinner. Just add a side salad and even some naan.

If you live near a Kroger, you must try out their Private Selection brand of gourmet products. We have already tried so many items and have never been disappointed. We are big fans of their Greek yogurt, artisan breads, preserves and fruit spreads, pasta, frozen pizza and more! You can also go here to see if any other stores may carry the brand as well. I did a search for some out of state zip codes and some different store names I'm not familiar with came up. Their $4 off 4 sale at Kroger is still on, so I plan to go pick up some more items this week. Let me know if you try this out. Have a great week!