SOUP WITH DUMPLINGS

I make this soup all the time.  My children simply love this great soup.  I believe your newly adopted little one will be very thankful for this wonderful, flavorful soup.

1 bunch fresh spinach
1 lb of beef stew meat
1 onion
1 bunch fresh watercress
3 to 4 potatoes
3 to 4 carrots
3cloves garlic
1/2 -1 teaspoon sea salt
 32ozs can of beef broth

Cut up the stew meat into bite size pieces
add some oil to the pot
chop onion and garlic
saute the meat onion/garlic
add the sea salt
add  half the broth, let simmer slowly  until meat is tender
add chopped carrots, potatoes
remove stems from spinach and watercress, chop into small pieces
add the spinach and watercress, let simmer until carrots and potatoes are cooked
TO MAKE DUMPLINGS:
2 cups  all purpose white flour
add a pinch of salt
add enough water to make a sticky paste
form  a  small round clump, add each clump to soup
add   the remaining broth plus a cup of water, let simmer until dumplings are completely cooked

Some Haitians add green plantains, but I prefer the soup without them.
You can also substitute the beef for chicken

HAITIAN GRIOT & FRIED PLANTAINS

Here is a very yummy recipe for making one of Haiti’s favorite meat dish.  Most Haitians eat this often.  I personally like it around the holidays.  My kids and husband like griot a lot.  Usually , I make it for my guests and they seem to always come back for  seconds.  The griot is always eaten  with fried plantains.  I took the above picture at my sister’s house when we visited her in Florida in June.

RECIPE FOR GRIOT- 
1-2 pounds of pork( you can buy the diced tender  pork in the meat section)
fresh lemons or lime
fresh garlic
salt
adobe seasoning
fresh hot peppers

wash the meat with the lemon or lime
place meat in a bowl
mix meat with salt, diced garlic, peppers and some adobe seasoning let marinate overnight for best results
some Haitian fry the meat in oil,  I prefer to bake mine in the oven, the last 5 minutes you can place the meat
under the broiler so it can get that rich dark color.  The reason I like baking the griot is because the plantains have to be fried in oil, I try to balance the amount of fat I consume.  Before serving, cut up some raw onion rings and place on top of the griot just like in the picture above.

RECIPE FOR FRIED PLANTAINS-

Buy the amount of plantains you want
remove the peels
cut into  round pieces
heat some oil in a frying pan
fry the plantains until it  is 3/4 cooked
flattened  each piece with a roller pin(using the bottom of a cup is just as good)
put the flattened  piece back in the pan until it is cooked all the way through
for ripe sweet plantains follow the same steps, but   be sure to skip the flattening part( see picture above, the pieces are cut on a slight slant as oppose  to the round shape for plantains that are not ripe, ripe plantains are in the middle of serving plate)

ENJOY WITH A GREEN SALAD OR RICE AND BEANS(see previous post on how to make the rice)

Haitian Peas and Rice- A delightful dish guaranteed to please

Would you like to put some sparkle in the eyes of your little one?  Here is a recipe that will definitely bring some delight to their faces.  This is one of my favorite meal, my mom made for me. Here is the recipe.

Cook white rice according to directions.  For the peas you can use frozen .  This is similar to American pea soup, but has no ham, carrots and Haitians eat it with rice.

2 packages of  frozen sweet peas.
put peas in a pot cook until tender
take half of the cooked peas
blend in a blender until smooth
mix the blended peas with the
remaining half of peas, and enough  water to make a hearty soup consistency  add some
seasoning like  seasoned garlic salt( I prefer to use a can of chicken broth as opposed to water, the broth makes it more flavorful)
or chicken cubes, simmer for around
ten minutes until all of the seasoning is
well blended, serve over white  rice
with chicken.  Refer to my previous post on
how to make Haitian chicken.

ANOTHER HAITIAN FAVORITE AMONG CHILDREN

Haitian children  love maiz moulu.  This is basically coarse ground corn.  In the United States it is called polenta.  To prepare it  boil three cups of water, add one cup polenta and stir well.  Most Haitians eat it with avocado slices  and top it with herring.  To prepare herring stir fry onions, garlic and oil, add the herring  let it  simmer until the onions are tender.  This dish is definitely a favorite for all Haitian children.  You can buy the herring at most grtocery store.  Make sure it is the salted variety.  Look for it in the fish section of your grocery store.