Christopher's Chicken Stew Recipie

Nutmeg Nanny came to Grenada in November and early December to participate in the Pure Grenada Nutmeg Festival. This festival was hosted by the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association, and was aimed at strengthening the linkages between tourism and agriculture, as well as raising the profile of our yummy spice heritage.

During the course of the festival, Nutmeg Nanny and another blogger that publishes Running to the Kitchen served as judges for the culinary competition, the mixed drink competition, as well as just enjoying all the great things Grenada has to offer; white sand, vibrant colour, lush vegetation...the usual.

The article she wrote was inspired by a visit to our home in early December. :) You can view the story here:
Nutmeg Nanny Chicken Stew or www.nutmegnanny.com

An excerpt of her recipe, adapted from my husbands is pasted from her blog below.

Grenadian Chicken Stew

This Grenadian chicken stew is made with bone in chicken legs, vegetables and lots of flavorful spice. It's the perfect Caribbean chicken dish.

yield: 2-4 SERVINGS

 

prep time: 15 MINUTES

 

cook time: 65 MINUTES

 

total time: 80 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

6 chicken legs, skin removed
3 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons sugar
2-3 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for topping (optional)

Adapted from Christopher

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl add chicken, carrots, garlic, onion and bell pepper. Mix together.

Sprinkle on curry powder, smoked paprika, oregano, kosher salt and pepper. Stir to evenly coat the whole mixture in seasoning.

In a large pan (I used my 3.5 quart braiser pan) add sugar over medium high heat. Keep an eye on the sugar and watch it start to melt and slowly turn from clear to golden brown to dark amber brown. You have to keep your eye on the sugar as it can go from perfectly caramelized to burnt in a few seconds.

Once the sugar is dark amber in color (think the color of maple syrup) add in the chicken and just enough chicken stock to reach the top of the chicken without totally covering it.

Stir in ketchup, cover with a lid and let simmer over medium heat until the chicken is fall off the bone tender and fully cooked, about an hour. The mixture will cook down so if it starts to get dry and the chicken is not fully cooked simply add a little more stock.

Once full cooked sprinkle with cilantro and serve plain or overtop rice.

Met with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Yesterday, I met with Mr. Alejandro Tapia, the Regional Programme Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He was an amazing fellow, with good energy and a lot of enthusiasm. Originally from Bolivia, Mr. Tapia is a global citzen, having lived and worked in many parts of the world and worked for many institutions including the World Bank. I joked with him that his job now was a karmic pay-off for high carbon footprint for his life so far! We had a lot of jokes and a lot of laughs and that makes me very excited about what's ahead.

Along with Mr. Alejandro, was Grenada's local consultant, a man named Mr. Telesford. I don't know much about this man yet, but I think we will be well aquainted in a few weeks time!

The International Renewable Energy Agency is conducting a renewable energy assessment of Grenada and Peru (pilots). These assessments will identify what forms of renewables would best suit Grenada and well as generating a roadmap for renewable energy conversion. They were organizing individual meetings with stakeholder groups in advance of a larger workshop. I was nominated by the Non-State Actors Panel to participate.

The workshop is scheduled for July 23rd and may be anywhere from 1 to 3 days long. I suggested that if we had such a meeting it would be good to book a venue that could provide catering on real dishes instead of disposable meal containers. It would seem a shame to be generating a bunch of garbage at a meeting designed to evaluate our readiness to reduce our carbon footprint! :o)

Demand for the Zero Carbon Future Grows

I got a call this weekend from one of Grenada’s largest companies. They are feeling the squeeze of the high electricity costs, and are seeking a cost effective renewable solution. They want “in” on the GHTA campaign.

It comes as no surprise that in a nation with one of the highest electricity rates in the world, other major players want to get involved in the GHTA project. As a sustainable development specialist; this is an ideal situation (and one I could barely imagine 20 years ago!). However, even though I want to run with the excitement and advise the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association to open their arms and let anyone join in: Doing so may not be as good of an idea as it seems on the surface.

Question: If we want a zero carbon future, why not have anyone and everyone possible join in the campaign???

Answer: This campaign needs phasing –there are so many logistical hurdles to overcome, if we want a sustainable and eventually national solution we need to be strategic about it. In Phase One, it’s best to stay focused, solve the problems that need solving and branch out from there in Phase Two.

One thing needs to be clear: The GHTA campaign is the beginning of a National energy transformation. Not because my clients demand it, but because the rest of Grenada does. Regardless of what the government and GRENLEC want – once the private sector and the people of Grenada start to sing with one voice – it must be listened to.
There are limited Grant funds available – so those grant funds need to be used in a way that opens doors to a national transformation. Grant funds also need to be applied within the context of an energy monopoly that necessitates GRENLEC’s cooperation. Also, since history has shown again and again that technology transfer from wealthy countries to developing nations are rife with challenges – the GHTA project can provide the learning ground to ensure that Grenada’s energy renaissance will be a sustainable one. GRENLEC is also looking at renewable investments, and their expertise and research cannot be underestimated.

Hopefully, if we approach this right – we can work with GRENLEC as partners, rather than adversaries by keeping our eye on a win-zone that is appealing to everyone. Not just one side or the other.

The other reason for keeping it simple is because the GHTA project must consider much more than installing panels on the roofs of hotels. The project needs to address issues like who will fix, install and decommission the technology, what would we do with the e-waste (decommissioned panels at a later date), which technologies are the best priced and most efficient, what are the best back-up systems and what does GRENLEC need to ensure that our investments feed efficiently into the grid. These issues and more have to be resolved and they have to be resolved with a very small pot of money (to start with). This project development is being done solely through Member financial contributions and if we wanted to go bigger we’d need donor support and that would slow the whole thing down as we waited to obtain grants to obtain more grants. No thanks – we want results now.

What is great about other members of the Private Sector expressing so much support for the GHTA campaign is there is power in numbers. When we need negotiating strength we have it. It means that our political leaders will have to recognize that the Nation is ready for sustainable development, and it also means that as the opportunity landscape for national transformation presents itself – it will be a quick and welcome transition!