Spice up Christmas dinner
Published:Thursday | December 12, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Krysta Anderson, Gleaner Writer
Sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest difference to your Christmas dinner. This week, Food shows you how to put a spicy twist on your main meals with the use of unique herbs and spices available right here in Jamaica. To do this, we journeyed to Jack's Hill to the source of freshly grown Jamaican herbs - Family Garden.
Sunny skies, cool air and refreshing views greeted us when we arrived at the home of Family Garden. Coupled with the natural setting was the warm welcome we received from the owner, Rebecca Harper.
Family Garden is a community hydroponic farming business - a Jamaican company - selling living herbs, lettuce, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers to supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and chefs/caterers islandwide. Harper explained, "We have living herbs - this allows our customers to get all the nutritional value with a burst of great flavour, taking the farm quality directly from the root to the table."
After extensive research on designing and building of hydroponic systems, Harper entered a competition for a project of solar-powered hydroponic farm and won, receiving funding from the Inter-American Development Bank and the Department for International Development, opening the window of opportunity for her to expand her business, taking it to a whole new level.
Harper took us straight to the kitchen, where the titillating aromas were already airborne. Harper teamed up with Best Dressed Chicken's brand ambassador, Brian Lumley, and Honey Bun (represented by Marketing Manager Elizabeth Swaby) to present culinary masterpieces elevated by a cacophony of herbs and spices. Using their line of herbs, The Family Garden prepared a herb dip, a Best Dressed chicken ham, and roast chicken with The Family Garden stuffing. Even the drinks had a touch of spices, and topping things off was a sweet treat - Honey Bun fruitcake.
Cherry tomatoes, cloves, and lemon basil were part of Lumley's arsenal to add colour and flavour to the Best Dressed chicken ham - a nice substitute for persons who do not eat pork.
Cherry tomatoes - small yet sweet veggies are low in calories but rich in Vitamin C, potassium and fibre. Known for being in salads, they work perfectly with meats such as chicken and ham, and go well with pastas.
Lemon basil - growing best in tropical climates, it is an excellent source of vitamin K, iron and calcium. It provides a nice lemon flavour to most meats especially salmon.
The Family Garden dip was made with lemon basil, garlic, chives and dill - a combination that takes a regular dip to new, delectable heights.
The savoury Best Dressed chicken, roasted to perfection and stuffed with the Family Garden stuffing of lemon basil, chives, sage and rosemary - all grown on the Family Garden farm.
Sweet and savoury, sage is high in antioxidants, as is rosemary. Chives are rich in vitamins C and E. According to Harper, "All the flavours are infused into the chicken and the ham, enhancing the taste and a burst on flavours on the taste buds."
Harper's parting gift? Her stuffing and herb dip recipe.
Sometimes, the simplest things can make the biggest difference to your Christmas dinner. This week, Food shows you how to put a spicy twist on your main meals with the use of unique herbs and spices available right here in Jamaica. To do this, we journeyed to Jack's Hill to the source of freshly grown Jamaican herbs - Family Garden.
Family Garden Herb Dip
Ingredients
1 pack The Family Garden garlic chives
1 pack The Family Garden basil
1 pack The Family Garden dill
8oz sour cream
One pack cream cheese
Method
Finely chop all herbs and add sour cream, cream cheese and mix with an electric mixer. Mix until texture is smooth, then serve with either crackers or bread
Family Garden Stuffing
1 pack The Family Garden lemon basil
1 pack The Family Garden garlic chives
1 pack The Family Garden sage
1 pack The Family Garden rosemary
1 pack Honey Bun Shordy Bread (White/Wheat)
Soak with milk
Method
1. Remove herbs from stalks and chop finely.
2. Break bread into cubes and add milk.
3. Combine with your hand to a creamy batter then stuff into chicken for baking.
Best Dressed chicken ham - a nice substitute for persons who do not eat pork.
Cherry tomatoes - small yet sweet veggies are low in calories but rich in Vitamin C, potassium and fibre. Known for being in salads, they work perfectly with meats such as chicken and ham, and go well with pastas.
Lemon basil - growing best in tropical climates, it is an excellent source of vitamin K, iron and calcium. It provides a nice lemon flavour to most meats especially salmon.
The Family Garden dip was made with lemon basil, garlic, chives and dill - a combination that takes a regular dip to new, delectable heights.
The savoury Best Dressed chicken, roasted to perfection and stuffed with the Family Garden stuffing of lemon basil, chives, sage and rosemary - all grown on the Family Garden farm.
Sweet and savoury, sage is high in antioxidants, as is rosemary. Chives are rich in vitamins C and E. According to Harper, "All the flavours are infused into the chicken and the ham, enhancing the taste and a burst on flavours on the taste buds."
Harper's parting gift? Her stuffing and herb dip recipe.