Spiced up Cheese Biscuits

My MIL and my Mom (pretty ladies, great cooks)

Mother in-laws seem to get a bad rap especially with their daughter in-laws, but I was fortunate to inherit one of the most amazing MIL's when I married my husband Johno (and I am not just saying that cause she could read this, I am pretty sure she doesn't know how to check my blog). I think I was dealt a great mother-in-law because the universe realized we've got our share of crazy's in the combined Harris-Miller family and we couldn't take any more...So when I married into The Clark clan I married a whole new brand of crazy, but the fun drinking red wine til 4 am and laughing til you can't breathe kind of crazy.

Dorothy and my own mother, Marilyn, are amazing cooks and as Johns lived with both of them I have quite a standard to live up too. So as my fav. cook in Zambia, George, used to say I've started "pinching recipes for my collection."

Chef George

Chamilandu gang

So in the spirit of my new family I'll give you Dorothy's recipe for chili cheese biscuits which are a perfect compliment to red wine or tea, but this yank can never seem to get her act together to serve afternoon tea. Though it's my favorite thing to do in the bush, but I think being able to watch elephants cross adds a certain excitement to afternoon tea.

Ele's in the Luangwa

Dorothy's Cheese Biscuits with a Caribbean Twist

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or 2 oz (if you are using the metric system)
4 oz of grated cheddar cheese
pinch of chili powder
pinch of salt
and a teaspoon of Baron's West Indian hot sauce (or grated chilis)


Cream the butter mix in the flour and cheese and mash it up (as the West Indians say) continue mashing while you add the chili powder, hot sauce and salt. Once you have formed a dough transfer to a floured surface and and shape the dough into a log. Roll in wax paper and place in the fridge for an hour. When the dough has firmed up take it out and slice into thin pieces put on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes (until golden brown) on 180 C or 356 F.

Take out and enjoy with tea or our favorite red wine!

Much to be thankful for

After a rough October which was plagued by car problems, money problems etc... I decided to shake it off with a trip to Barbados to start the process that will officially make my husband an African-American. Of course a girl can't go all the way to Barbados without having some fun so I enlisted Suzette and Kathy to help me brave the US Embassy and explore Barbados. While I was waiting at the embassy they kicked off our girlie lime with Pims on the golf course later followed by Champagne (veuve of course) when the embassy allowed me to pay them a small ransom for the privilege of filing John's paperwork. That was cause for celebration as we weren't sure they would let me file the paperwork in Barbados and I was a nervous nelly going in! Just last week we got the checklist of what they need next and besides the 6 background checks John needs it doesn't look too bad!


We had a blast in Barbados and it was one of the best girlie limes to date!


Recently we celebrated our first Thanksgiving together with some friends from school and it really was an amazing feast! Great friends, great food and a beautiful view. You can't ask for much more on Thanksgiving!



Now it's December and we are so excited for our trip to Africa where we'll go from the beach back to the bush. John and I absolutely can not wait. We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to a spectacular end to 2009 and an amazing start to 2010!

Bipolar Island

Some days I am not sure if its me or this island but my moods seem to swing from one extreme to the next. One minute we are as my friend Kathy says "living the dream" enjoying the amazing beauty and opportunities Grenada has to offer.




Enjoying an amazing day on Keith and Suzie's boat... Can't get much better than this.




And Then...This happens



Which significantly alters your mood....


After you realize you've been rooted to the earth with your mouth hanging open in disbelief for the last five minutes... you start to get mad. I am talking blood boiling want to punch something MAD then you shrug and laugh and take a photo. And then you go to the police and my god you only thought your blood was boiling and now not only do you just want to punch something in general that something has now become a someone with a face who sullenly and slooooooooooooooowly takes a report from you. You don't punch, you grit your teeth so hard you lose about an 1/8th of an inch of enamel and then you try and smile through those tightly gritted teeth and after the insanely tedious report which you know and they know does no good you walk out and shake your head and you are not sure whether to laugh or cry and maybe you do a bit of both.

I only mention this as this is the 3rd time we've dealt with police and insurance on this island. Both are fairly inept though insurance does cover some things just not stolen tires, stolen scooter parts but it does cover broken windshields when you are hit from behind...Above is our first theft on the island stolen tires,I don't have the heart to take a photo of our current vehicles which include: a suzuki escudo with a busted out windshield which has a trash bag duct taped in its place and a scooter that was mysteriously returned after another filed police report...with most of the parts missing. Thank you Bobby, mechanic who works behind the Texaco on Maurice Bishop Highway! We will not be using you again...

Anyway, some days I find the Caribbean the most relaxing place on earth and other days I wonder if I should up my dental policy as I may be investing in dentures by the time I leave this island...We'll take the good with the bad and living life here is nothing if not adventurous, maddening and touched with a bit of mental illness...

Devin's History Lesson and Rum Punch

After posting yesterdays rum punch recipe I decided it was in fact crap so I enlisted my friends Devin and Christine who used to run one of my fav places on the island www.laluna.com and are currently globe trotting and being all around rockstars. Anyway, Devin makes or in this case made the best cocktails in Grenada so I wrote and asked him to contribute to the blog. The following is the history of planters and rum punch and a recipe for Devin's rum punch. Some of this info was taken from other internet sites and we're not plagarizing but he's not a bookmarker either so no idea where it came from. The rum punch recipe is authentically Devins' though.

Grenada Style Rum Punch by Devin:

The old rule of one sour, two sweet, three strong, four weak still applies in achieving a well balanced rum punch cocktail. But, as the Grenadian version is closer to a planter’s punch recipe it uses more fruit juices so you must use less sweet (simple syrup) or it will be too sweet and “off balance”.

Grenada Rum Punch Recipe

Use a large cup to measure the parts:

1 part sour = fresh squeezed lime juice

2 part sweet = 1.3 parts simple syrup, .2 parts grenadine, .5 water(to balance the sweetness from the fruit juices)

3 part strong = 1 each clarke’s court strong rum (rocket fuel), clarkes court superior white, clarke’s court special dark (or old grog)

4 parts weak = 1 each OJ, Pineapple juice, Guava juice, & whatever else is local and fresh (golden apple, carambola or star fruit, papaya)

*the secret ingredient from the isle of spice is spice of course. Grate cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger into your large container of Grenada Rum Punch.

*The other secret is to let it cure…….this takes time, so make your rum punch and leave it under your counter in a cupboard for a month or two for the flavors to break down and mingle. The color of the punch will change during this process.

Enjoy with lots of ice and top with fresh grated nutmeg.

This recipe was created and pimped by Devin Nelles

When you experience real rum punch you will know you have been pimped by Devin!

Who’s Your Daddy? Sizzler!

Thanks Devin and Christine for your recipes! Will skype you two sizzlers later! We miss you

Word of the day: Sizzler meaning someone's brain who has been pickled by too much rum punch, sun or ganga...Can be used when you do anything excessively stupid! Also created by Devin and Christine!

On the island

Not to be left out you can see some pretty crazy stuff in the Caribbean as well. What we've seen thus far in Grenada and Carricou....






























































In Grenada the rum flows freely so may I suggest:

Rum Punch

3 oz pineapple juice
3 oz orange juice
8 dashes Angostura Bitters
6 oz Rum (use Mt. Gay the cheap stuff will blind you)
2 oz simple syrup
garnish with grated nutmeg

WARNING: Stay away from White Jack or Iron Jack Rum as my friend Christine says you'll be sizzled if you drink that stuff...

Only in...

Some things you may come across in Africa. When you do may I suggest imbibing in the following:




2 oz Malawi Gin (see below) very portable in case you need an on the spot tot
5 oz. tonic water
1 lime wedge



Davy putting the tire back on the vehicle that flew off as we rounded a corner. We drove back to camp with only a few of those bolt things holding the tire in place...
















































Santa making a surprise visit to the bush on a bike..reindeer were lion food! Paul, looking like he maybe served himself some of the guests drinks. The annual elephant migration through the reception area at Mfuwe Lodge. Dean...in this case a picture is worth a thousand words...

Malawi Gin
Makes you realize why they have portable gin in Africa after seeing that.

Girl Chat from the City that Never Sleeps

It's midnight and we've just ushered out the last of our impromptu party guests who are 'liming' in our apartment for really no good reason other than its a Monday in the Caribbean and what else are you going to do...we are as my friend Kathy says "living the dream" after all. We've had a few glasses of Chilean red at our local bar/pub, The Red Crab, with our friend Kevin who's retired and currently bobbing in the bay on a sailboat. We've had a good night. Kev and my husband, John, have debated the economy, politics and death all quite heavy topics for a Monday, and none of which seems particularly relevant to our current situation except perhaps my imminent death on this island at the hand of a Reggae bus driver. Driving in Grenada is not for the faint of heart.



Just as I am about to go to head for bed my skype starts ringing and it's Sarah, calling to recap a date gone right after a relationship gone very, very wrong. I can't tell you how much receiving a skype call thrills me. I've lived abroad for over two years now: a year in the African bush and a year in the Caribbean during which I have fallen in love, planned a wedding, gotten married and watched my friends have babies, fall in love, get engaged and just get on with their everyday lives. Because of modern technology, skype being my fav., we've been able to stay connected through it all.

So, thanks to skype I'm getting to do the thing I miss most (its not Target, fast food or hot water) its girl talk... Conversation goes something like this:

Sarah: (munching on something from what looks like a whole foods container) Had a great date with Irish.

Me: Who's Irish and what are you eating?

Sarah: Dates. This guy I met when I was dating the crazy guy who ended up having a crack pipe

Me: Hold on..I want something to eat. (I grab a jar of pickles) What guy with a crack pipe? When was this and how do you not tell me these things?

Sarah: Are you eating pickles? That's disgusting...Yeah, I found a crack pipe when I went through his stuff after he disappeared for two days... Shan, and I googled imaged it...I'll send it to you

Me: Ok, I don't know what one looks like anyway...just got it... wow, is that really a crack pipe? ok, so did you change your locks? where is this freak?

Sarah: Yeah, Tommy changed them for me. Hold on (she's now eating Doritos) So, Irish is great.

Me: to myself: I want Doritos, can't get them here closest thing I can do is cut up some corn tortillas, slap some olive oil on them and pop them in the toaster oven...ugh...too much work, why is everything so difficult here? So tell me about Irish. What's he do?

And that's pretty much how it went, but what I thought about after that conversation is how fortunate I am to be able to stay connected whether I am in the bush, on the beach or in any foreign land. I've planned my wedding on skype, chatted with my two year old nephew who thanks to skype knows who I am, can keep up with my girlfriends dating dramas and simultaneously eat strange food after midnight with my close friends.

I've decided to start writing about what life is like living abroad in countries that are a bit slower paced and don't offer all the modern conveniences of the good ole US of A. Things are slower, not as convenient and can be a challenge, but they can also be eye opening, hilarious and you'll do things you never thought you'd ever do.

Since my first post was inspired by my girlfriends I'll post a girlie recipe. My homemade face mask which I poached from some internet site that I can no longer find...I am not a good bookmarker.

Anyway with no Bliss on the island and no trips planned back to the States anytime soon I started making a face scrub from honey, brown sugar and oatmeal. It makes my skin softer and is a good exfoliant so worth a try for any of you out there who are without access to a make-up counter or who are pinching pennies due to the credit crunch.

Almost Bliss:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons dry oatmeal

mix together and scrub your face for about one minute. Tip: you may want to do this in the shower as its messy and sticky. Pop the leftovers in the fridge. It should keep for up to 5 days.