Miss the island life? Cook Like You’re in the Exumas

1 cup long grain rice

8 oz. unsweetened coconut milk

1½ cups water

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. each allspice and cayenne pepper 

1 Tbsp. butter

1/3 cup red onion, diced

1 cup sweet pepper (red, green, yellow), diced

1 cup canned pineapple tidbits (or chopped pineapple), drained and juice reserved for cooking rice

¼ cup each chopped green chilies and diced jalapeños

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Add rice, coconut milk, water, garlic cloves, salt, allspice, cayenne pepper, and reserved pineapple juice to a medium pot. Stir well. Bring to a boil, then stir and lower the heat. Cover and cook rice 15-20 minutes until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Meanwhile, add butter to a skillet and set over medium heat. Add onions and peppers, sautéing 2-3 minutes to soften. Add pineapple, chilies, and jalapeños to the skillet and take off the heat. Add cooked rice to the skillet and toss. Sprinkle with cilantro and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve warm. 

Pork and Pineapple Lettuce Wraps*

Sauce:

1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced 

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. brown or white sugar

¼ cup Asian fish sauce (or soy sauce) 

¼ cup rice vinegar (or other mild vinegar) 

¼ cup lime juice

2 tsp. ground cumin 

1 cup scallions, sliced

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or 1 tsp. hot sauce)

Lettuce Wraps:

2 lbs. ground pork 

1 pineapple, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices 

2½ tsp. oil

½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped

½ tsp. each salt and pepper 

1 head lettuce (butter, iceberg, or romaine), washed and dried, leaves separated into “cups” for wraps

½ cup each cilantro and mint leaves, for serving

Combine first nine ingredients in a large bowl to make the sauce. Set aside half the sauce for dipping lettuce wraps and mix the remaining sauce well with raw ground pork. On a medium hot grill**, cook pineapple slices for 3-4 minutes per side to soften and warm. Dice pineapple into half-inch pieces. Place in a bowl and set aside. Place oil in a skillet and heat to medium-high. Add ground pork mixture and sauté until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add a half cup of cilantro and a half teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook another minute.

To serve, drain diced pineapple and mix juice into half the sauce reserved for dipping. On a platter, place lettuce wrap ingredients: lettuce leaf cups, cooked pork, drained diced pineapple, cilantro, and mint. To eat, place a spoonful of pork and a half spoonful of pineapple in a lettuce leaf. Top with a sprinkle of herbs and roll in your hand like a taco. Drizzle with or dip into dipping sauce and eat.

*If you prefer, replace pork with ground or diced chicken, lamb, beef, or shrimp and use mango or papaya instead of pineapple.

**Pineapple slices can be sautéed in oil or roasted. 

Conch Rum Cocktail

3 cups pineapple juice

1/3 cup passion fruit juice (if you are unable to find passion fruit juice, simply double the guava juice below)

1/3 cup guava juice 

1 cup dark rum

6 ounces of Myers rum to float on top of each drink (optional) 

1 lime, quartered

Mix first four ingredients in a pitcher. Pour punch into four individual glasses filled with ice. Top with a floater of rum (1.5 ounces each) and a squeezed lime quarter.

-by Lori Ross