Jamaica Countdown:

7 DAYS!

Today's Jamaican cuisine recipe:

Festival

(from http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/food_and_drink/festival.htm)

1. Sieve 1 1/2 cups flour in to a bowl and stir in 3 tbsp cornmeal, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp baking powder.

2. Add 1 tsp vanilla to 1 cup of water.

3. Add a small amount of the vanilla water in to the flour mixture and work it in to the mixture with your fingertips. Keep adding small amounts of water to the mixture. When half of the cup has been added the mixture should resemble breadcrumbs.

4. Keep adding water until the mixture becomes a firm dough which is only slightly sticky (you should not need to add the whole cup) If the mixture gets too sticky to work with, add more flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes.

5. Divide the mixture in to eight portions Knead each portion and roll it in to a small sausage shape. Cover each festival with a mixture of flour and cornmeal.

6. Deep fry the dough in a sauce pan of oil until golden brown. This should take about half an hour.

7. Dab excess oil off of the festival and then enjoy!

I'm working all day today so I will post pictures and a review of the concert tomorrow!