Vegetables Styles

This post will be a lesson in vegetables of different cuisines.

String beans, mac and cheese, plantains, rice and beans, and  curry potatoes.

Jerk shrimp, plantains, rice and beans, and callaloo.

Let's begin with Erin's dish.

• Steamed string beans - a simple classic that could be found as a normal home-cooked side
• Fried plantains - a Latin-style dish that works well as a palette-cleanser and dessert
• Rice and beans - a Caribbean staple
• Mac and cheese - a hearty southern US rendition that reminds me of Georgia
• Curry potatoes - straight out of India

Surprisingly, each one was great.  Freda's Soul Food is now Erin's second favorite in all of NYC.  It's just one block outside of Harlem and you can tell.

My dish was fine, but stood out because it came with callaloo.  You probably have no idea what that is.  I didn't either, which is why I ordered it.  It turns out, it's spinach and okra in coconut milk.  It's the only restaurant I have ever seen it at, so I had no real way to judge how good it was.  It was pretty unique.  It's not the kind of side I would request at home all the time, but I would certainly have it again.

Come visit me and try some callaloo.  It'll be fun.  If you don't like it, you can put five other styles of food in your mouth instead!