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Bare essentials for Caribbean vacation cooking?
We would like to cook in most nights since our travel companions have a 2 y.o. and that doesn't make for a relaxing night out. What would you pack to prepare simple fresh fish/lobster/veggie/pasta dishes? Not equipment, but rather spices, condiments, etc. that would give you the most flexibility. I'm not menu planning, I will just wing it with really simple preparations. We'll be in a furnished condo with a nice kitchen. We'll have an IGA grocery for ingredients, but I want to bring anything that I either couldn't find there (Providenciales), or it wouldn't be worth buying for a use or two (like spices.) I haven't committed to carry-on only, so assume that the bag can be checked.
(I know a lot of it is preference, so I would actually like to know what others would bring if they personally were doing it. Inspire me :-)
(Bonus points for stuff for cocktails.)
Re: Bare essentials for Caribbean vacation cooking?
Ditto PP. I am from the Caribbean. We have a couple of grocery stores that carry IGA products. They have everything. Stick to regional ingredients to avoid paying a premium. If you are feeling adventurous ask around for somewhere you can buy seafood from the fishermen - the product will be fresh and much less expensive, and they most likely will clean the fish for you.
Research the growing season, local produce and seafood and check out some preparations before you go.
Re Cocktails - Just pick up some liquor at the duty free store at the airport and enjoy yourself!
I'll clarify... I will be getting fresh fish and lobster from fishermen, and whatever local veggies I can find. I don't want to have to be at the store more than once or twice in the week and I don't plan on re-buying spices there that I have here, so I was hoping people had suggestions for what they'd use to simply prepare fresh ingredients. An example would be blackening seasoning, if that's what someone likes for fish. Or a particular spice blend that is great for veggies.
Basically, if someone were to hand you a fresh snapper fillet, and you couldn't buy anything, what would you reach into your pantry (or masala dabba) for?
I would not expect spices to be cheaper there, especially in Turks and Caicos. That country isn't a big spice producer (unlike say Granada).
I'd probably bring salt, pepper, ginger, coriander and maybe white pepper too. Oh and probably some kind of chile powder. Sure you can buy that stuff there, but it won't be cheaper than at home, and spices don't take up an space in your bag.
My husband spends 3-4 months a year on various Caribbean islands for work, so I do a fair amount of cooking down there. Go to the local markets and not to supermarkets as much as possible. Everything will be fresher and cheaper (and at least in some places people are pretty amused that the foreigners are buying their papayas etc.).
As for cocktails, I'd be planning on drinking a lot of rum. Most islands produce their own rum (not sure about TCI thought).
I'd probably bring a blackening seasoning, lemon pepper, dill, corriander, and maybe old bay. These things all go well with fish.
Another option - you could buy a few of those McCormick spice blend bubble pack cards. They're relatively cheap, would be easy to pack, and would allow for variety.