Ama de Casa

Martha Stewart, Julia Childs or Carmeita Frasier, I'm not, but anyone who knows me, knows that I certainly know my way around the kitchen when it comes to cooking real food. Real food meaning, Rice and Peas wid stew wid macaroni pie, some baked potato and all the other trimings that accompany such traditional Bajan or West Indian cooking plus. Now I come from a cooking family. I have two close cousins who have caterering services in Barbados, my mom runs a small catering business in the Big Apple, and the list goes on. Apart form the fact that we like our stomachs we just have the knack for cooking. But on the other hand there is cooking and then there is baking.

Now that is where the trouble comes with me. Because the mother cooks and can bake her Bajan butt off, I Campfyah, decide dat I ein learning how tuh bake. Well that was until I saw that the mother getting on in age and she need tuh past on some of the family receipes such as she sweet bread, and most importantly the traditional fruit cake or rum cake or better know as Black Cake. Mothers own is vicious. Another reason was that I ventured into a situation where entertaining became a part of my job. When you entertaining, you just can't cook and ghi de people regular rice and peas all de time and no desert or nuttin different, so I had to put all my skills and non-skills to use with many ah fone calls from mother of course.

Over the course of time, I've baked the sweet bread, (got that under control) the casava pone and last year for Independence Day, I stewed some stew dumplins...lordee...talk bout sweet. OK, so I know that some of you reading ein got a clue about some of these foods, but if you ever check out this hey book ,you see what I'm talking about. I ein trying to link nuttin, cause wunna see already that me and linking doan agree, I just doan get it right. So see hey de book. One of the best Caribbean cook books around, well especiall with Bajan food.

Anyhow, today I had to do some entertaining for a brunch, so I decide that I will not order in any of the baking items, it's all gonna be done como ama de casa... just like a real house wife. So here was my attempt at baking last night. firt it was this. The hubby just walked into the kitchen, looked at me and walked back out. Hey, but I din paying he nuh mind, I busy baking, I got all my ingredients out, all my measurements together and my reciepe firmly stuck onto the wall, (see above right). I was on my way. So I mixed, and beat and measured and poured. I had to do a substituon, but I had the remedy for that and in true Camp style It was All Good.

Next came the batter for the orno and it looked like this.

yea, boye, it looking good so far, I ein know if it tasting good, but it looks good. In de orno it gores for 45 mins. So Camp, cross yuh fingers and wait. clean up de kitchen, sit back and sweat it out.

But what if it doan come out right? Wha is yuh back up plan??? Back up wha?? Plan, I ein got no back up plan. Hey there is a Panaderia (bread shop) right around de corna, dat gonna be muh back up plan, plus ah got another french toast in de oven. that ah know gonna come out right. Time clock moves slowlya round, then I hear ***click..beep*** 45 mins up oven finish and gone into warm and hold mold....so should I look or not...O.K here goes, it do or die, finish or not, look good and taste good or look good and taste bad.... Wha wunna think????

Beinvenidos ah Camps Blueberry crumb coffee cake, subsituted with boysenberries, since you can't get blueberries here. The Brunch meeting was a success. Less than half the cake remains.

and this is only a portion of what was there to be eaten..... Well done Camp....well shucks, if ah doan congratulate muhself who gonna congratulate me.....Lata..muh belly full, ah gine and relax.