Hi all,
Firstly thanks very much to those of you who commented on or responded to my last blog - its great to get feedback and thanks for reading!
Don't you just love it when the accident of unexpected meetings turns into new relationships and friendships, either in a personal or business capacity? I especially like it when such a meeting with someone leads to the sparking of new ideas and exciting possibilities. Indeed if I trace back in my life, probably like most of us, I see that the unpredictable and perhaps most unlikely crossings of paths have led me in new directions that no plan could forsee. As John Lennon famously said "Life happens when you are busy making other plans" - that pretty much describes my life experience and that of most people I suspect.You have to be open though to exploration,it might lead you down a blind alley, or to a new project or business idea.In any event it gets you thinking differently.
I had one such encounter last week when I met Dawn Williams from Pimento Hill
http://www.pimentohill.co.uk/shop/.
Pimento Hill is based at the Malthouse, right next to the Granary in Barking.They can be visited regularly at their stall on Borough market or their products purchased online.
Although we have been based in the same vicinity in the Icehouse Quarter for some time this was the first time I had met Dawn. I knew that her business makes original Jamaican chutneys and Carribbean sauces and seasonings in her small first floor kitchen but that was pretty much what I knew about what she does! But I was about to find out more.
We met because Dawn was interested in buying some of my fifties tables and chairs for her exciting pop-up due to open shortly in Westfield Shopping Centre. I had expected to spend 10 minutes with her negotiating the price of my tables - but in fact we ended up spending over an hour and a half sitting at one of the tables engrossed in sharing ideas. The conversation centred around how we might bring food, design and performance together with a flavour of the Caribbean.
As we sat at the table Dawn recounted to me how her passion for cooking had come from her grandmother in her early days in St Mary, Jamaica. She smoothed her hands over my table and conjured up her Grandmother's kitchen which she said had a table just like that one.
I have been to Jamaica just once but knew what she meant when she talked about a typical back yard, full of mismatched furniture and interesting objects - a place of sharing and eating for friends and family and sometimes for playing games like dominoes. As we talked we shared ideas about settings for Westfield and I agreed that she could borrow my tables for the three months she would have her pop-up. By the end of our conversation it was no longer about negotiating prices! We had agreed to work together on a secret project for later in the year which would use both of our passions and skills and would bring together food. music and performance. I'm looking forward to working with Dawn on it.
Opportunity for connections and idea sharing are everywhere if we open our eyes to them and take the risk of pursuing them.
I suggested to Dawn that she might give me a regular original recipe for my blog - and so here is the first - she says its the best and you will end up eating at least four!
1/2lb of
saltfish
1 onion
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 clove of garlic
3 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 cups of water
Oil for frying
Preparation
Cooking
Firstly thanks very much to those of you who commented on or responded to my last blog - its great to get feedback and thanks for reading!
 |
| Dawn at Borough Market |
http://www.pimentohill.co.uk/shop/.
Pimento Hill is based at the Malthouse, right next to the Granary in Barking.They can be visited regularly at their stall on Borough market or their products purchased online.
Although we have been based in the same vicinity in the Icehouse Quarter for some time this was the first time I had met Dawn. I knew that her business makes original Jamaican chutneys and Carribbean sauces and seasonings in her small first floor kitchen but that was pretty much what I knew about what she does! But I was about to find out more.
We met because Dawn was interested in buying some of my fifties tables and chairs for her exciting pop-up due to open shortly in Westfield Shopping Centre. I had expected to spend 10 minutes with her negotiating the price of my tables - but in fact we ended up spending over an hour and a half sitting at one of the tables engrossed in sharing ideas. The conversation centred around how we might bring food, design and performance together with a flavour of the Caribbean. As we sat at the table Dawn recounted to me how her passion for cooking had come from her grandmother in her early days in St Mary, Jamaica. She smoothed her hands over my table and conjured up her Grandmother's kitchen which she said had a table just like that one.I have been to Jamaica just once but knew what she meant when she talked about a typical back yard, full of mismatched furniture and interesting objects - a place of sharing and eating for friends and family and sometimes for playing games like dominoes. As we talked we shared ideas about settings for Westfield and I agreed that she could borrow my tables for the three months she would have her pop-up. By the end of our conversation it was no longer about negotiating prices! We had agreed to work together on a secret project for later in the year which would use both of our passions and skills and would bring together food. music and performance. I'm looking forward to working with Dawn on it.
Opportunity for connections and idea sharing are everywhere if we open our eyes to them and take the risk of pursuing them.
I suggested to Dawn that she might give me a regular original recipe for my blog - and so here is the first - she says its the best and you will end up eating at least four!
Saltfish Fritters
(aka Stamp and Go)
Ingredients
1/2lb of
saltfish1 onion
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 clove of garlic
3 cups of flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
2 cups of water
Oil for frying
Preparation
Soak the
saltfish in water for half an hour
Chop the garlic, pepper and onion in to small pieces
Flake the fish in to small pieces after it has finished soaking
Sieve the flour into a bowl
Stir in the saltfish, onion, garlic, pepper, salt and pepper
Slowly stir in the water, stop adding the water when the mixture has a slightly sloppy consistency.
Chop the garlic, pepper and onion in to small pieces
Flake the fish in to small pieces after it has finished soaking
Sieve the flour into a bowl
Stir in the saltfish, onion, garlic, pepper, salt and pepper
Slowly stir in the water, stop adding the water when the mixture has a slightly sloppy consistency.
Cooking
Fill a
frying pan about 1/2cm deep with oil and heat.
Spoon fritters (about 1 heaped
tablespoon of the mixture) in to the pan, fry for 10 minutes, turn over then
fry the other side for a further 5 minutes.
Repeat until all of the fritters
are cooked.
Place the fritters on to a piece of kitchen roll to absorb some of the excess oil
Place the fritters on to a piece of kitchen roll to absorb some of the excess oil
Serving
Serve on
their own or with bread or bully beef.
Enjoy!
* About Pimento Hill
Dawn grew up learning how to cook typical Jamaican dishes from her grandmother who used to prepare meals for the laborers near Pimento Hill in St Mary.
St Mary is famous for its particularly aromatic Pimento, aka ‘Allspice’, made from the dried, unripe fruits of an evergreen tree of the West Indies. The allspice fruit looks like a peppercorn though in flavor recalls and combines the sweet and heady mix of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon and is a key ingredient to the authentic jerk marinade.
The original St Mary Pimento has a distinct and incredibly deep flavour and forms the backbone to much of Pimento Hill’s amazing range of jerk marinades, pepper sauces, seasonings, chutneys, pickles and chilli jams.
Drawing on her grandmother’s recipes and her experience of cooking for the local workers, for Dawn cooking Jamaican is all about old memories and creating new ones. She puts all this magic into her stunning creations, which are all hand-made with the best ingredients and guaranteed to feed your body and soul!
Enjoy!
* About Pimento Hill
Dawn grew up learning how to cook typical Jamaican dishes from her grandmother who used to prepare meals for the laborers near Pimento Hill in St Mary.
St Mary is famous for its particularly aromatic Pimento, aka ‘Allspice’, made from the dried, unripe fruits of an evergreen tree of the West Indies. The allspice fruit looks like a peppercorn though in flavor recalls and combines the sweet and heady mix of clove, nutmeg and cinnamon and is a key ingredient to the authentic jerk marinade.
The original St Mary Pimento has a distinct and incredibly deep flavour and forms the backbone to much of Pimento Hill’s amazing range of jerk marinades, pepper sauces, seasonings, chutneys, pickles and chilli jams.
Drawing on her grandmother’s recipes and her experience of cooking for the local workers, for Dawn cooking Jamaican is all about old memories and creating new ones. She puts all this magic into her stunning creations, which are all hand-made with the best ingredients and guaranteed to feed your body and soul!
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