St. Martin / Sint. Maarten Recipes: Callaloo Soup and Crab Backs

Tonight we set sail for the small Caribbean island consisting of two countries with the same name...St. Martin and Sint. Maarten.   Confusing right?   I actually never realized that all those small islands in the Caribbean Sea were their own countries.   And even though they are nearest in proximity to South America,  they are actually part of the European Union.    We're learning so much already and we haven't even gotten to the food!

According to my best 6 year old recollection, the island of St. Martin was the first foreign country that I ever set foot on.   I boarded a huge cruise ship in Puerto Rico with my family and the next morning we arrived at St. Martin.  

My only knowledge of cruising at this time was what I saw on the episodes of The Love Boat...let me tell you, this was no "Love Boat".   There was no Isaac serving umbrella drinks poolside.   In fact,  my sister and I were the only passengers that dared enter the swimming pool "pits."    To enter the pool you had to climb down into a literal pit.   The pools were about 12 feet deep and filled with about 6 feet of strong ocean saltwater.   It was similar to swimming in a crater.   Good thing we were strong young swimmers as it was impossible for anyone to see us down there.  


Back to the food,  tonight I decided to tackle two recipes: a Callaloo Soup, the national dish of French Sint. Maarten and Crab Backs, from the Dutch St. Martin side.

Callaloo Soup (not to be confused with my kids' TV friend Calliou) is a dish of Caribbean Greens.    Callaloo is a native term for amaranth.  Many countries in the south make a similar dish using whatever greens are available.   I used Beet Greens, Spinach, and Swiss Chard for my recipe.   

Callaloo Soup

2 pounds fresh kale ( or other greens,  I used Beet Greens and Swiss Chard)
1/2 pound callaloo, or fresh spinach
12 okra pods
1/4 pound salt pork, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound fresh lean pork, cubed
1 onions, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 hot pepper, seeds removed, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
6 cups chicken stock

To Make:

Pull all stems from greens.  Discard stems and roughly chop the leaves. Wash leaves thoroughly. Place salt pork in a large, heavy soup kettle and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, rendering fat. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat.

Add pork cubes and onions to pan. Sauté over medium heat until cubes are brown and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add greens, okra, black pepper and hot pepper. Add thyme and stock. Cover and simmer 2 1/2 hours. 

This makes an enormous pot of greens!  It was super simple to throw together, all you need is time to let it simmer on the stove.   Perfect for a Sunday supper.

For our main dish,  I prepared "Crab Backs".   Although the name sounds rather daunting, this was an amazingly quick and simple dish.  

The recipe, listed below, calls for 12 live Blue Crabs.   I was nervous that Blue Crab would be impossible to find in our land locked state of Colorado.  Marc even suggested that I'd have to buy it online.   Wanting to make this dish tonight,   I approached the seafood counter at our local Safeway grocery and inquired about the availability of this elusive, exotic sounding "Blue Crab".   I thought for sure I would be sent away empty handed or even worse, sent over to the local Whole Foods store to blow my entire week's food allowance on a few measly crabs.   

But alas... I got my idiot card handed to me.   The seafood clerk smiled and led me to over to the self-serve seafood section.   There she pointed at numerous varieties and brands of pre-packaged Blue Crab staring me in the face.  Duh!

Crab Backs

12 live blue crabs ( I used 1 lb. lump Blue Crab claw meat.)

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 Tbsp.  green onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup prepared bread crumbs

(Skip this part if using lump crab meat.) Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add crabs. Boil 15 minutes, until the shells turn bright red. Drain and cool. Break open the claws and pick out the meat. Discard pieces of shell. Carefully open the crab backs, removing and reserving any meat and fat, but discarding gill and white intestine. Scrub empty shells thoroughly.

Preheat broiler. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, tomato and green onions. Cook until softened and remove from heat. Stir in flaked crabmeat, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Refill crab backs with the crab mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Place stuffed crabs on a baking sheet and brown under broiler. Serve hot.

Since I didn't have access to the live crabs,  I also didn't have the crab shells for presentation.    Instead I just used a frying pan.   This made for a very easy dish and easy one pan clean up.    Please, if you attempt this dish at home,  make sure you use a broiler safe dish.    I've actually experienced a glass dish exploding in the oven as it wasn't broiler safe.   No fun.   Also,   remember to use a hot pad or towel when retrieving your pan from the broiler. 

(Also no fun- ouch!)

Now for the critics....

I was a bit nervous that my kids would not like either of these dishes.    The Callaloo Soup was definitely lacking in toddler plate appeal aesthetics.    But, to my surprise,   I got two completely different reactions.   

Lauren,  my youngest (just turned 2 yesterday), squealed with delight as she slurped up her bowl of Callaloo soup, even interjecting a few "yum's" along the way.   However she took one bite of the crab and daintily spit it out into her hand.

On the other hand,  Zach, my 3 year old, gobbled up all the crab dish. Even adding,  "This is tasty fish, Mom!"   But he didn't even touch the soup,  a bit odd,  as he normally loves slurping soups of all kind.

My husband Marc said he enjoyed both dishes and cleaned his plate.    He's the true critic as he is an amazing home chef.   Obviously he is easy to please as well.

Me?  Well, I found both recipes to be lacking a bit in the flavor department. I like spice and these flavors were a bit flat.   

The crab dish was easy to prepare and tasty,  but could have also used a bit of spice or heat.    

And the Callaloo Soup had an nice earthy  aroma  but again left me wanting more flavor dimension.   Perhaps this could have used a bit of salt on the pork and a few cloves of garlic or bay leaves.

A New Quest - Eating around the World

I'mtaking my family on a new journey,  one that will transport us to a new country every couple days. Sounds impossible,  or perhaps the word I'm looking for is INSANE,  especially considering  we have 2 outgoing, spunky toddlers.

Rest assured,  I'm only a teensy bit insane.   Instead, this would be a culinary journey.   A journey into the most fascinating part of travel - FOOD!   Here's my challenge:   Cook an authentic, from scratch recipe from every country on Earth within the next year and blog about it.

Why? What?  Well...Marc actually put the idea in my head.    He's currently reading a book about making your life more meaningful through life "quests".    He offered up this culinary quest as an example from the book and well... now I can't stop thinking about how interesting and fun this could be.     Of course, I'm always up for a new challenge.   Furthermore, as a work from home mom,  I crave the potential intellectual stimulation this quest could provide.

So,  I'm now putting the challenge out there as a written commitment.    Take Note!  Starting this Sunday, October 5th, I vow to cook my way through all 196 countries.   I vow to make one original, from scratch recipe from each country on this great planet of ours within the next 365 days.  When given the opportunity,  I will attempt to stick true to our low-carb lifestyle of eating.    However,  I'm sure that there will be a tasty dessert treat here and there that I must sacrifice to the benefit of the research - Oh, twist my arm!

Now, how to pick the countries?    I came up with an idea to start with countries I have visited in chronological order.   My first international trip , to the best of my recollection, was a Caribbean Cruise when I was about 6 years old.    So,   for the next week I am going to tackle the following countries:

St. Martin/ St. Maarten ( wow, one island two different countries, never knew that!)
Antigua
Martinque

So,  stay tuned in.   "Aruba, Jamaica...oooo,.. I wanna take ya,  Bermuda, Bahama...come on pretty mama"

Lies about Childhood Hunger

Last night, while watching the tail end of the Olympics,  I saw a public service commercial stating that "one out of every five children doesn't have access to affordable nutritious food".   Really?   Is this the new "hunger" campaign?   All I can say is BULLS**T!

I spent the first ten years of my nutrition career working with government funded nutrition programs.   There are a lot of programs out there providing nutrition education, healthy foods, financial aid and other resources to families in need.    Let me tell you,  there isn't a shortage of programs for families - there is a shortage of families seeking programs.

I've worked with many tax payer funded nutrition programs including,  WIC, Head Start, Cooperative Extensions, and  Public Schools.  We would often have to "beg, borrow and steal" in order to get families interested in attending nutrition education.  We would offer free food, prizes, childcare and even transportation.    Our turnout rates were still less than 1%.     Frequently the one or two families that would attend,  were the ones that already had an interest in nutrition and didn't need the information.

With childhood obesity growing at alarming rates,  the "feed the children" campaigns have lost their fuel.    They have accomplished with gusto to feed the hungry and now we have one out three kids who are overweight.    So,  now what?    Now our families "can't afford"  nutritious foods  or they just don't have the education they need to make healthy choices.  

The media would like for us to believe that families can only afford to eat at McDonald's or other food outlets because its cheaper than eating at home.  With an average meal costing $6.66 at your favorite fast food chain,  the bill equals about $25 for a family of four.     That's a hefty budget for one meal.  

Think about what you can make your family for dinner with $25.    I live in Boulder which has a high cost of living and thus expensive grocery store prices.    I shop the sales and occasionally use coupons.   I can make my family an "expensive" meal of steak & shrimp and sauteed asparagus on a budget of less than $5 per person.   On a tight budget,  we have homemade Chicken Soup or Rice and beans which feeds all four of us for at least two meals and costs about 20 cents a serving.

The average home receiving SNAP benefits (aka. food stamps), gets $133 per person.   Add to that free and reduced breakfast & lunches at school and I tally about $850 for an average family of four.    Do you spend that on groceries every month?    My grocery budget is around $500/ month and we eat about 99% of our meals at home.   We also eat "low carb" so I am buying lots of meats, cheeses, nuts and vegetables.   (Definitely not the cheapest items at the grocery store.)

I figure a family of four can easily survive on a monthly food budget of $300 or less -  yes, they'll have to prepare their own foods at home and eat healthy things like peanut butter,  eggs, beans, potatoes, oatmeal, rice, vegetables and meats like chicken, ground turkey and tuna fish.

These foods are infinitely cheaper than the unhealthy options such as processed frozen dinners, pizzas, canned macaroni products, cereal, cookies, chips and the like.   Many people think Ramen Noodles are the cheapest route to go at 25 cents a serving but actually a bag of rice and a bag of beans or a bag of potatoes goes a lot further cost-wise with much more nutrition.

So the question remains in my mind,  Why are one out of five kids going without nutritious meals?   Its not lack of nutrition education options,  its not financial assistance,  its not lack of food at school?     Perhaps its just that the parent doesn't see the need to change.  And, well, how do we solve that?  I'm sad and sorry to say that all the money, education and best intentions can't help those that don't think they need it.

 In looking back on my advanced training with  behavior modification,   this cardinal rule always comes to mind -  "You can only change those that want to be changed."

Ratatouille - Low Carb, Beautiful and Delicious.

The elusive french classic... if you're anything like me,  you've heard of it but never attempted to make it.     It's extremely simple,  and a delicious way to prepare vegetables.   Impress your guests or family,  they'll think you are a cooking genius.

Another bonus of this dish is that it makes excellent leftovers -  I used the sausage and vegetables as a filling for a breakfast omelet.    It was amazing!

Ok,  here we go with the ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup tomato puree

2 Tbsp.  Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Thyme

1/2 tsp. Oregano

1/2 tsp. Basil

1 small long Japanese eggplant  (regular eggplant also works but will need to be cut into similar size slices.)

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

3 red mini peppers (or one longish red sweet pepper)

Salt and Pepper

4-6 Links of Uncooked Italian Sausage

Preheat oven to 375.

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over low-medium heat until soft.   Add spices and tomato puree.  Let simmer for 5-6 minutes to allow flavors to blend.   Season with salt & pepper.

While sauce is simmering,  use a mandolin blade slicer to thinly slice your vegetables.  Approximately 1/16th of an inch thick is best.

An oval baking dish is best for presentation,  but a 9x13 rectangle dish will is fine too.   Pour your tomato sauce into the bottom of your baking dish and spread to cover the entire bottom.   Arrange slices of vegetables, overlapping in an alternating fashion - as shown in the photo above.    Add uncooked sausage links to the pattern as shown above or to your own liking.

Cover dish with foil and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45- 50 minutes.

PIE! Ok maybe just quiche.

As promised, I'm finally posting this recipe. It's pretty and so simple to make. You can make this the night before, throw it in the fridge and bake in the morning. I love broccoli and cheddar quiche so the recipe is as follows, but feel free to adapt with your own favorite ingredients.

You'll need:

About 8-10 thin slices of deli ham - enough to overlap and line the bottom of your pie plate.
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup half & half
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup cooked broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup sliced, sauteed mushrooms (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste.


Grease a 9" pie plate with butter or oil and line with slices of overlapping deli ham. Very thin round slices work best. I used Buddig Deli Selects.



Beat your eggs, add the cream and other ingredients. Pour over the "ham crust".

Bake at 375 for approximately 35 minutes or until eggs are completely set. I suggest foil around the edges so the "crust" doesn't burn like mine did.



Depending on your choice of ingredients, this delicious breakfast pie only serves up about 2-3 grams of Carbs (as prepared).

Pad Thai - Low Carb Version

Pad Thai is one of my favorite dinner choices. When I was pregnant, I couldn't get enough of it and was eating it at least once a week. So much that we both had the recipe memorized. But sadly, this dish will send you into sugar overload with its whopping 140 grams of carbs. So, rather than forgo this favorite dish, I decided it was time to adapt so we could enjoy it again.

To adapt the recipe, we just replaced the rice noodles with thin slices of sauteed cabbage. It was delicious, in fact so delicious that I'll never go back to the rice noodle version again. This version has 18 grams of Carbs and 330 calories for a generous 2 cup serving. The recipe below makes about 3-4 servings, depending on how much you love Pad Thai. For us, it was only 2 extra- large helpings.



Ingredients:

1 small head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds), thinly sliced.
1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. oil
1 lb raw shrimp
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4 green onions, chopped

The sauce:
2 tbsp. fish sauce.
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. tamarind (or white vinegar)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. red chile flakes

Garnish:
cilantro sprigs
1/4 cup cashews, chopped (or peanuts)
1 cup fresh bean sprouts.
2 lime wedges
Sriracha (optional)

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over a low to medium heat. Add cabbage and saute until soft, stirring occasionally to avoid browning.

While your cabbage is sauteing, add oil, ginger, green onions and garlic to a separate saucepan. Saute over medium heat until soft. Add the beaten eggs and scramble ingredients until cooked through - resembling scrambed eggs. Remove the egg mixture from the pan and add the raw shrimp. Cook the shrimp over medium heat until pink.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Set aside.

When the cabbage is soft with a noodle like consistency, add the cooked shrimp and egg mixture. Gently stir in the sauce and heat for just a few minutes to warm.

Garnish with fresh squeezed lime juice, bean sprouts, chopped nuts and cilantro. And if you prefer, a few drops of Sriracha.

Clean Plate Rule

As I sit here typing, my husband, Marc, and Zach, our 2 year old, are downstairs locked in a power struggle over zip-lock baggies. Zach refuses to pick up the baggies that he threw all over the floor and Marc refuses to let him go play until he does. I can't help but reminisce of my childhood days sitting stubbornly at the dinner table refusing to eat my dinner. My parents had a strict clean plate rule when I was growing up and it was enforced regularly.

I need to tread lightly here as I realize there so many disciplines of thought on this subject. Some folks swear that the clean plate rule leads to obesity. However, common sense prevails with me. I know many a "clean plate rule" survivor and they are not obese, far from it.

Instead of the clean plate rule, today I find that many parents turn to bribes, coaxing, or catering to their kid's mealtime desires at the expense of their own exhaustion. It makes me wonder... Are we pacifying our kids for fear that we'll ruin them psychologically? Or are we all too tired to put up the fight? A little of both, maybe?

I'm the first to admit that before I had kids, I had all the answers to dealing with picky eaters. In fact, I use to write articles and give lectures on the subject. My steadfast belief was that kids will not starve. Provide them with healthy choices at mealtime and if they do not eat, do not offer food until the next meal. Don't make it a power struggle, just offer healthy stuff and take it away if they do not eat it - no food until the next meal.

That was all before I became a parent. I now realize that kids have the tenacity to make your life a living hell when they are hungry. They whine, they cry, they throw things, they sneak into the refrigerator, and then they eat the dog's food (Okay, maybe just my kid does that.) They do everything possible to wear you down until you just want to throw in the towel and give them what they want.

So I have the utmost empathy for those that look for the quick fix... I understand the "just get him/her to shut up already" desperation. I'm not going to lie, I find myself acting out of parent desperation more often than I like. I know I need to get it under control because 2 year olds turn into 16 year olds and it will just get harder with each passing year. No he won't be crying for a lollipop at age sixteen, it will be something worse...much worse.

Alas, I know Marc is hurting right now as he stands his ground. (AND he is already an hour late for poker night!) But as I have discovered via bike trip and all, the path feeling really good about yourself involves enduring some pain. And that is one of the most important lessons we have to teach our children.

Instant gratification, although it makes you feel good right now, never leads to long-term happiness. In fact, its just the opposite... only through hard work, effort and sacrifice can you achieve a greater sense of self-worth and happiness. These actions go a lot further than any gratuitous "good job" or undeserved participation trophy.

So as I painfully listen to Zach's constant whining downstairs, I remind myself that we all have to look at the big picture when making choices as parents, as dieters, exercisers and in other aspects of everyday life as well.

Marc and Zach -