Tag Archives: turks and caicos

Shelter from the Storm (Roasted Plantains and Mango Painkillers)

  March 1, 2013 - 6:52 am | , , , , , , , , , , ,
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On the afternoon of February 6th, 1978 thousands of people left work early to avoid a heavy snow forecast for the area. Their cars piled onto Rt. 128, along the outer edge of the Boston area. Quickly the cars were overcome with the heavy snowfall and travel became impossible. As snow piled up on the roadways, the trapped commuters began to realize they would not make it home anytime soon. In fact, most of them would not make it home for days. Many of them, my father-in-law included, would spend most of the next week trudging through record snow levels to and from their car every day just to get to basic food and water. Here’s a link to picture of rt. 128 during the Blizzard of ’78.

Eventually the national guard was called in to evacuate the interstate. While all of these people were stuck living out of their cars and trying to survive, their families had to do without them at home. My mother-in-law was trapped at home without power or any means of transportation with three sick children. Neighbors had to bring her in supplies on sleds. If you live anywhere in New England you hear the stories like these of the Blizzard of ’78 on a yearly basis. Every storm is compared to it and everyone has their own where were you story of the blizzard.

Flash forward exactly 35 years to February 6th, 2013. It was day five of our trip to Turks and Caicos and we awoke to a message from our airline that we should consider rescheduling our return trip due to heavy snow forecast for the Boston area the day of our return. We were more than lucky. Not only did we take action early enough to get a flight out two days after the storm, but we were able to find a place to stay that would allow us to continue to enjoy our vacation while our friends and family endured hurricane force winds and over two feet of snow.

The new place was the opulent Ocean Club West. With it’s huge two bedroom unit and screened-in porch just four stepping stones from the vast tropical pool, we lived our last two days on Providenciales in luxurious style.

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Our view from Ocean Club West

I like the idea of karmic reward for my in-laws who traded in their blizzard of ’78 horror stories for walks on the beach and sweet coconutty rum drinks. I like the idea riding of their karmic coattails too. I don’t know a lot about karma except that it is important that I show gratitude for my gift, which I do. I am very grateful for the extra two days in paradise while taking shelter from the storm.

To show my gratitude, I share with you two recipes which were particular hits of our trip. The roasted plantains with orange juice and rum is adapted from a recipe in Modern Caribbean Cuisine by Wendy Rahamut and Michael Bonaparte (see link below). The recipe calls for almost ripe plantains, but after making this a few times now, I highly recommend using ripe plantains so you can avoid an gummy/starchy texture. We had these twice in Turks and Caicos. The first time was the magical night with the grilled lobster. The sauce is what makes these delicious. It is really something else with the grilled lobster and even more so when it’s mixed with a little melted butter and lime juice. The second time we had these was our last night at Ocean Club West where we had them with rice, grilled shrimp and a salad of local veggies.

The local veggies were a rarity in Turks and Caicos. Almost all produce is flown in from the mainland and from other islands like Jamaica and Puerto Rico. However, there is a revival of local produce lately. There are farms in Turks and Caicos like the Misick Farm which is discussed in this post from 2 Gringos in the Caribbean. The local produce I had was all hydroponic, but tasted perfectly ripe. The tomatoes tasted like summer fruit which is pretty special in the middle of February.

The second recipe was the one we had more often than any other. The Mango Painkiller is my take on a rum drink we discovered on our previous visits to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Painkillers are a mix of orange juice, pineapple juice, cream of coconut and aged rum. They are served over ice with a grating of nutmeg on top. The local rum drink on Turks and Caicos is rum punch, which was delicious but we all still craved the sweet and creamy Painkiller. We picked up all the supplies for the Mango Painkillers on our first visit to the grocery store and kept ourselves stocked the entire time we were there. The mango nectar is my addition which makes this decadent drink even more dessert-like, but also even more tropical. One of these is capable of transporting you to your own island paradise. Enjoy!

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Roasted Plantains with Orange Juice and Rum
Serves 4

Be sure to use ripe plantains in this recipe so the finished product is soft enough. Adapted from a recipe in Modern Caribbean Cuisine, by Wendy Rahamut and Michael Bonaparte

2 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons rum

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss the plantains, orange juice, sugar, salt and rum in an oven-safe baking dish and cover. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the plantains are very soft and the sauce has thickened. Serve with seafood and rice.

 

Mango Painkiller
makes 4 drinks

This is one of those curiously strong drinks that can catch you by surprise. The mixture of juices and coconut are surprisingly good at disguising the amount of rum in this drink. So, watch out; more than one of these can really get you. It’s important to note that there is a difference in brands of cream of coconut. Coco Lopez is the creamiest and makes the best finished product. The flavor of the grated nutmeg really stands out in this drink. Try to avoid using pre-ground nutmeg.

1 cup Coco Lopez brand cream of coconut (1/2 of a 15 oz can)
1 cup mango nectar
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 cup aged rum (not spiced rum or light rum)
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
Pineapple spears for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish

Combine, cream of coconut, mango nectar, orange juice, pineapple juice and rum in a large pitcher. Stir well and pour over glasses of ice. Top with sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon and garnish with pineapple spears and lime wedges.

Turks and Caicos Recommendations and Links

I thought I would share a list of places we recommend for those of you considering a trip to the island.

Lodging

  • Atlantic Beach Front Villas – This is where we stayed for the majority of our visit. These comfortable villa units of varying size are set in the sleepy area of Turtle Cove. Some of the villas, including the one we stayed in, are as close to the beach as any on the island. The owners and staff are exceptionally friendly and helpful.
  • Ocean Club West – This super luxury resort has very spacious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units set among manicured tropical gardens, a lovely freshwater pool, prime beach space and several restaurants on site. OCW, as it’s called, is over-the-top comfort and luxury at an over-the-top price. It’s located in the heart of Grace Bay and is walking distance from most of the well-known restaurants as well as a grocery store.

Restaurants

  • Sailing Paradise – There is a view here as pretty as anything you will ever see. The food is outstanding and the ambiance is casual, laid-back and everything and island restaurant should be. If you go be sure to try their cracked conch and fried snapper with escabeche sauce. I swooned when I tried the snapper with escabeche sauce.
  • Bugaloos Conch Crawl – I found out about this place from a post at a fantastic blog about life in Turks and Caicos called 2 Gringos in the Caribbean. All the hype on the island is about a place called da Conch Shack. This place is better (we tried both). The people here are friendlier than most (and almost everyone in Turks and Caicos is VERY friendly), and food is exceptional. The conch salad was the standout dish, but even Little Guy’s chicken fingers were delicious.
  • Le Bouchon – This new french bistro is in the heart of Grace Bay. It is classical french with strong hints of island flavor (such as the conch croissant amuse bouche they served). The food is good for any city, New York included, but this is not a family restaurant. Hubby and I enjoyed a date night out here.
  • Caicos Bakery – Caicos Bakery is a wonderful small french bakery that sells freshly made croissants, danish and a variety of breads. The almond croissants here are different than others I’ve had and are filled with an almond pastry cream instead of almond paste. I was lucky enough to score one still warm from the oven, and I am very happy that I did.
  • Mother’s Pizza – Pizza is generally sub-par on islands I’ve visited, but this pizza was a significant step above any others I’ve had. It will also be the cheapest meal you eat on the island!

Places to Go, Things to Do

  • Caicos Tours and the Undersea Explorer: This is a semi-submersible boat that tours the reef so you can see everything the reef has to offer without getting wet. It is the perfect way for young children, and those not up to snorkeling to see the beauty of a healthy reef system. On our ride we saw turtles, stingrays, lots and lots of fish, beautiful fan coral and even JoJo the dolphin famous for it’s desire to interact with humans. Little Guy was awe struck seeing the coral and all the sea creatures. This did more to increase his understanding of the world that lives under the sea than anything we’ve done.
  • Sapodilla Bay: This 1/4 mile long beach has some of the softest sugary sand I’ve ever seen. The water calmer than many lakes I’ve been to, yet as crystal clear as any pool. The real treat here, besides the sunset views, is that it remains about 3′ deep a good 100 feet out from the shore which makes it perfect for children. In fact, the locals have dubbed it children’s beach.
  • Grace Bay Beach: This is as famous as a beach can get and for good reason. The beach is seven miles long and is an uninterrupted stretch of soft white sand. Almost all of the islands resorts are along this beach, but the beach is also the entry point to two stellar and HEALTHY reefs (Smith’s Reef and Bight Reef) with fantastic snorkeling. The Turtle Cove end of Grace Bay Beach is much less crowded and has better deals on rentals.

Turks and Caicos Information and Links:

  • Where, When, How: A site devoted to information on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
  • Turks and Caicos Reservations: A travel booking site by locals from Turks and Caicos. There blog is an unlimited source of information.
  • Home Away: A site that lists vacation rentals all over the world. This is where we first found our rentals in both Turks and Caicos and St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

This is not, of course, a complete list, but rather the things we did and the places we ate that we recommend.

 

The Fish Guy and Grilled Caribbean Spiny Lobster

  February 24, 2013 - 11:23 pm | , , , , , , ,
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We’ve spent a week vacation in the Caribbean once a year for a while now, and we’ve learned that when the weather forecast says it’s going to rain, unlike in some places, it probably will. However, that rain will only last about fifteen minutes and the rest of the day will be sunny with warm breezes and the shower will be quickly forgotten. Only once have we had a full rain day. That was day three of our trip to Turks and Caicos. I knew when Little Guy woke me up at Oh-It’s-Still-So-Dark o’clock that it was raining, and the sound of the pounding surf suggested this was not a tropical shower. A quick dash outside to grab the still-soaked swimsuits from the day before informed me that it was not going to be a warm day either. Little Guy and I cuddled up and watched TV from his fold-out bed. We watched a lot of TV that day. It was so dark that even Squishy Delishy and Miss Magoo slept late. That was the morning that I discovered that even though Sponge Bob Square-Pants lives in a pineapple under the sea, it still rains and snows in his town of Bikini-Bottom. Who knew? Like I said, a lot of TV.

It might have been the third day we were there, but the beach was so nice and the condo so convenient that we hadn’t bothered to leave the villa to do more than buy groceries. So, a rainy day was a good excuse to see the island. We all piled into the Japanese mini-van and headed off to explore Grace Bay. My goal was to try to find some local seafood to cook.

You would think that this would be an easy goal to fulfill, but finding the fresh local fish on Turks and Caicos is not as easy as it seems. The average fisherman here doesn’t sell to tourists; he catches for his family and probably his close friends then sells the rest to wholesalers who immediately fly the fish to Miami. The fish is then sold to the same seafood suppliers that provide snapper, grouper and other local catch to the US market. Many of the Turks and Caicos restaurants buy their fish from these suppliers to guarantee a reliable who turn around and fly the fish back to the island. Sad, isn’t it?

I did a lot of research on sustainable fishing before leaving for vacation in the Caribbean because the fish usually associated with this part of the world are not harvested sustainably. What I have learned is the the question of whether or not a fish species is sustainable is not answered with a simple yes or no. Many of the fish species that are not sustainable to buy and eat at home are much more sustainable if caught in an environmentally responsible way and eaten here as a local product. The problem is not the local guy with the small motor boat and a few lines; its the deep-sea guys with long trolling lines that catch the fish you want as well as others you don’t (known as side catch). In addition, eating fish local to an area is a more natural way to eat than to eat fish from half way around the world which then needs to be kept fresh and flown thousands of miles to your plate. It’s when you want fresh grouper in Boston and fresh scallops in Turks and Caicos (which they offered at insane prices at the local grocery store) that you have a bigger problem.

Blue Ocean Institute has a fantastic sustainable seafood guide that lists an incredible number of species along with the problems associated with the sustainability of that fish. When I was researching the fish of the Caribbean, this guide was a huge help. According to them grouper, which seems to be the most overfished fin fish in the area, as fine if it is not long line caught. The same is true with snapper and mahi mahi. Local queen conch is slightly more problematic because of the need for better species management.

I had heard that finding local fresh fish was difficult. Message boards on cooking and traveling sites said to get fish at this Marina or from the fish packing plant, but all the messages were mixed with very little concrete information.

For the first few days I was there I kept asking people where to get fresh fish, and I kept getting the same responses that provided ideas but no real answer. Then finally I talked with the owner of a shop that told me where all the locals go. There is a guy who parks his red pickup truck in a pot-hole filled dirt parking lot on the road to the airport and lines up his coolers by the road each day with fresh caught fish to sell. It was certainly a place for locals; everyone seemed to know each other and most of the people who would come did not even see the need to get out of their cars.

When we got there he walked us over to the coolers and showed us the fish. He then reached down and pulled out a grouper and a huge snapper that looked so fresh I would not have been surprised to see either of them move. We agreed on the snapper which weighed in at a little over eight pounds and he then told us he would clean it but that we would have to give him “a little something”. With the most basic of supplies: a plastic bin for scaling the fish, a utility sink (without running water; it drains to a bucket), several absolutely huge knives and a single stainless steel work table set up under a bean umbrella, he scales, cleans and filets the fish to your specifications. Our eight and half pound snapper lasted four adults and Little Guy three meals.

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Three days later, when the fish was finally all gone, we got back in the car and headed back to the guy with the red truck. Much like main lobster, Caribbean spiny lobster is sought after and overpriced in restaurants. In St. John, U.S.V.I., the one and only time I had spiny lobster cost me about $50 for one lobster tail. Unlike Maine lobster with its big meaty claws, spiny lobster is always sold as just the tail. The fish guy told us on our first visit that he had Lobster on Wednesdays and that a bag costs $90.00. We did know how much was in a bag, but figured since the prices were so affordable for the snapper, that we’d give it a chance and that we would probably end up with 4-6 tails to grill; enough for the four adults in our group.

Like the first time when we got there, our fishy friend led us over to the coolers by the curb. He pulled open one of the coolers and pulled out a gallon-sized ziplock bag full of lobster tails. He then counted them (an even dozen!) and we paid him and were on our way with huge smiles on our faces. That night we would FEAST on lobster.

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I have a confession to make. If there were only one lobster of any species left on the planet and my eating it would mean extinction, I would probably stare at it and ask myself if I wanted it steamed or grilled. I blame my parents; they started me out on steamed blue crab at an early age, and we all know that blue crab is the gateway crustacean.

In fact, the Caribbean Spiny Lobster is not seriously endangered, but its harvesting requires more study, responsible fishing methods, and needs a Caribbean-basin-wide management plan.

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Cooking a Caribbean spiny lobster was one of the recipes I had committed to memory during my months of armchair traveling. The books I read on Caribbean cuisine had recipes for curried lobster, BBQ lobster and many others, but I knew if I had one chance at a spiny lobster dinner there would be only way to make it: grilled with just a little seasoning, butter and a spritz of citrus. The meal was one of those meals that you know while you are eating it, it will go down in your mind as one of the most memorable meals you ever had. Years from now, I’ll still be able to feel the warm evening breeze and the sounds of the waves on the beach as I ate that meal.

You could make this same recipe with Maine lobster. Maine lobster is tougher and not as sweet, so it is not grilled as frequently as spiny lobster is, but the difference is minimal enough that this recipe would still be delicious using Maine lobster if that is the lobster local to where you are. This same recipe is also wonderful with shrimp, scallops and many types of fish. Enjoy!

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Please note that the pictures from this and other posts from my trip in the Caribbean were taken using a point and shoot camera with flash. I apologize for the lack of any photographic skill in these pics. I was trying to relax, put down the camera and enjoy my vacation.

Thanks needs to be given to the lovely bloggers, Byron and Polly, at 2 Gringos in the Caribbean. The endless amounts of information on their fascinating blog, along with the information they shared with me were very helpful on my research for this and all of my Turks and Caicos posts.

Grilled Caribbean Lobster Tail
Serves 4

4-8oz lobster tails
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter plus more for serving
1/2 lime, cut in wedges
1/2 lemon, cut in wedges
about 1 tablespoon Caribbean seasoning (see below for links to some options)

Heat a grill to medium heat. Butterfly the tails by cutting through the thinner, underside of each tail. Then take a large sharp knife and cut through the hard upper shell. Slide your fingers through either side of the thin bottom shell and try to pry the shell back, breaking open the shell into two parts, still connected at the end of the tail.

Brush the lobsters with 1/2 of the butter and sprinkle with the seasoning. Run a skewer down through the center of each tail to prevent the tail from curling on the grill. Place the tails bottom (cut side) down on the preheated grill. Grill the tails for five minutes and turn over.

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Spritz the tails with a few wedges of lemon and lime juice and cook for about another five minutes. Remove from heat when the meat is firm and they have cooked a total of about 8-10 minutes. Cover and let the lobster rest from about five minutes before serving. Serve with butter and the remaining wedges of lemon and lime.

Seafood Spices:
These are a few of the brands that I’ve tried and enjoyed

  • Old Bay: The classic is always a good choice. It’s good on everything!
  • St. John Spice: I discovered St. John Spice a few years ago on a trip to St. John and love the Cruz Bay Grill Rub and Roasted Garlic Pepper. The Cruz Bay Grill Rub is what I used for the lobster in Turks and Caicos.
  • Sunny Caribbee: A small spice company out of the B.V.I. I love their Super Spice on veggies, and it would have been lovely on the lobster as well.

It’s Really Not Easy Eating Green on Vacation

  February 14, 2013 - 8:00 am | , , , ,
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On Groundhog’s Day I packed up the family (I actually packed two weeks before that) and headed off to the breathtakingly beautiful island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. My main goal was to have no goal at all; to relax and soak in some winter warmth, but I was also in search of a sustainable Caribbean.

At first glance you would think a natural life would be easy. With water the color of topaz, sugar-white beaches, and sweet breezes it seems like everything is right in the world. It’s not as easy as it seems though. Most of the what the tourist sees, eats and does is anything but sustainable. Turks and Caicos is not an agrarian society, although there is a growing farming community. When flying into the island, it looks a lot like a flat sand-dune sticking up out of the ocean, hardly ideal farming conditions. Most of the produce and even most of the fish is flown in now creating a wallop of a carbon footprint. Resorts use water and electricity at alarming rates, and even our sunscreen damages the delicate coral reefs.

I wondered if it was possible to live an even-remotely sustainable life while enjoying paradise. The next few posts will be about my successes (and failures) at sustainable vacationing on heaven-on-earth Turks and Caicos in the British West Indies.

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