Hope everyone is having a great weekend! This was my first time using a pressure cooker to make my oxtail stew. It was delicious, so I think I did ok, lol. I saved about 3 hours of cooking time using the cooker. It was easy to prepare the oxtail but once you close the pressure cooker lid, that's it, you can't taste or add anything until it’s done.


​Oxtail Stew Directions
​Served with rice and peas.
Serves 4.
​
3 1/2 pounds of oxtail in lime and vinegar water, wash oxtail thoroughly then drain water. Season to taste, add to the oxtail (1 1/2 teaspoons each garlic salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil) along with 1/2 cup each chopped ingredients - onion, garlic, green pepper, red pepper, ginger and 2 stems thyme. Then add my recaito recipe mix of blended 1/2 onion, 1/2 green pepper, 1 scotch bonnet pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger, 2 stem thyme, 5 pimento seeds, 2 stem cilantro, 3 garlic cloves. Add your secret ingredients, 2 tablespoons ketchup and 2 tablespoon Gravy Master Browning.
 
Put gloves on and mix everything together and place in the refrigerator overnight or 1 hour. Sear the oxtail - in a large nonstick pot over high heat, add a little olive oil then oxtail and cook, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until they are dark browned. 
 

Pressure Cooker Directions
Seasoned to taste, marinaded overnight and seared in a separate pot, I placed the oxtail in the pressure cooker and poured in 2 cups of water. Then added chopped carrots before closing the lid. I cooked the oxtail with all its juices in an Elite Platinum pressure cooker for 50 minutes and sat for about 20 minutes without releasing the pressure from the exhaust on the top of cooker. After 20 minutes release the rest of the pressure and carefully open the lid. 

Nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, refreshing summer drink. The past two months have been very challenging for me – carrying difficult and unpleasant loads. Trying to recover. Trying to find the time to practice the things I love to do, like drinking my favorite wines and making cool cocktails, lol.

I would like to share with you a homemade drink I call Jade Skirt Mojito. A delicious and satisfying mojito made with fresh mint leaves, lime, Kiwifruit, white rum, sugar, Midori Melon Liqueur and club soda.


Jade Skirt Mojito

6 mint leaves
1/2 Kiwifruit
1/2 lime (freshly squeezed)
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon of Midori Melon Liqueur
1 1/2 shots of white rum
1/2 cup of club soda
Ice (optional)

​Muddle the freshly squeezed lime, sugar, Kiwifruit and mint leaves in a mortar and pestle or you can use the end of a wooden spoon and small jug. Pour into a glass of ice. Add the Midori Melon, white rum, club soda and stir. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.

I would like to share a refreshing summer cocktail I put together called Lush Chiaro, lol. When I’m not drinking wine, this is the most delicious thing to drink during my home events or backyard barbecues. The recipe makes one serving, but you can adjust accordingly and make more.

Lush Chiaro

1 cherry (remove stem and seed)
1 strawberry
1/2 medium lemon, cut 1 wedge
1 shot of Ciroc Summer Citrus
1/2 cup of pineapple mango juice, or as needed
1/2 cup of ice cubes, or as needed

1. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the cherry, strawberry and lemon wedge. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use the end of a wooden spoon instead and a small bowl.

2. Remove the lemon wedge from the mortar.

3. Add the crushed cherry, strawberry with lemon juices, 1 shot of Ciroc Summer Citrus and 1/2 cup of pineapple mango juice to the cup of ice cubes.

4. Stir, taste and enjoy!

Prepare ingredients. Sweet peppers or scotch bonnet pepper for spice, thyme, ginger root, chopped onions and green peppers, 1/2 cup of pimento seeds, cilantro, peeled garlic cloves.

Ultra blend all the ingredients

Add your dry seasoning along with the jerk blend. Garlic salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano and your favorite dry jerk seasoning.

Enjoy!

​It couldn't be easier. A great way to cook jerk wings has become my new favorite. Trust me, air fried jerk wings are just as delicious as the traditional ways of cooking them. I'll admit that I was skeptical at first, jerk wings or chicken are traditionally cooked on a grill or smoker. Air frying should at least be in the top 5 ways of cooking wings. I will share with you my jerk wings recipe on my next blog post, here is how I air fried the jerk wings...

Enjoy! ..don't forget to like and leave a comment below when you can.

Happy New Year!!!! and hope you had a great holiday.
​
“This is goooood”, ...one of the compliments I get from someone when I cook oxtail stew for dinner. I’m not sure if it’s directed to me or the oxtail stew, lol. Although I’ve made oxtail many times before, this time I added ingredients like ginger, basil, cilantro to my usual blended ingredients and herbs (thyme, onion, green pepper, red pepper, parsley, pimento) and a scotch bonnet pepper to the pot while the oxtail is cooking. Oxtail takes a long time to cook, about 4 hours, so plan accordingly and add water to your pot when needed. There’s no official recipe for my oxtail stew and I'm not a chef, lol.

OXTAIL STEW
Feel free to serve with rice and peas, collard greens or sautéed cabbage.
Serves 4.
​

​Add seasoning to the oxtail (1 1/2 teaspoons each garlic salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil) along with 1/2 cup each chopped ingredients (onion, green pepper, red pepper) and 2 stems thyme. Then add your recaito mix of blended 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 red pepper, 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh ginger, 2 stem thyme, 5 pimento seeds, 2 stem cilantro, 2 stem parsley, 3 garlic cloves. Add the secret ingredients, 2 tablespoons ketchup and 1 tablespoon Gravy Master Browning.

In a large nonstick pot over high heat, add a little olive oil then oxtail and cook, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until they are dark browned. 

Lower heat to medium, add 3 cups of water and 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, cook for 4 to 4 1/2 hours, adding water when needed.

P.S. Leave a comment below about how you make your oxtail stew. Stay healthy and be safe.

So Gigi made the perfect summer dinner we call the "noodle dish" when she came to visit us in June for Ailah's high school graduation. If you've eaten this dish before you know how delicious it is. Poppy said, "I remember eating my mom's noodle dish ever since my sister and I were kids..., it's AMAZING! - a one stop shop type of dish".