Goodbye Guadaloupe, Its been a blast. Hellooooooo Dominica!

There is an image of the Caribbean most people have in mind. All inclusive resorts, white sand beaches, endless Pina Coladas and tourists EVERYWHERE. Dominica is very different in this sense. There are certain island, for example Aruba, that I would not even consider true Caribbean anymore. Yes, its beautiful no doubt but it is so busy filled with thousands of tourists, american shopping malls everywhere that the charm of the island seems to get lost. And because it is constantly being named a top Honeymoon Destination the prices are outrageous. Another island is St. Barth’s and again very beautiful but lets face it, most people are going there because of the name and who you might run into. $20.00 Euro hamburger anyone?

Dominica on the other hand is what we consider true Caribbean. There are not mega hotels that go from one end of the beach to another, the vibe is more laid back and you defiantly will not be surrounded by 1000 tourists. Its arguably one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean.

First off, the hiking is the best you will get anywhere in the Caribbean as well as the abundance of natural hot springs. Seriously, no one can complain about that. A good majority of the hikes end at a waterfall and although it can be a little cold it is quite refreshing. My favourite among them is the hike up to the boiling lake which takes about 6-9 hours round trip, depending on your skill level, which leads you to you guessed it, a giant boiling lake. Along the way our guide cooked us hard boiled eggs in the bubbling waters, gave us a face mask of clay which is better than any spa and we drank fresh water out of giant leaves. To me this is what the Caribbean is all about.

Can anyone tell me where this year has been going?

It was as if just yesterday was February and now it is already the middle of April. Sadly, this means that the sailing season is almost over but I am not ready for it to be. Hurricane season starts in June and this is when most people leave their boats and head to land for 4 months but we are going to wait till July this year. We will be leaving the boat in Grenada which is almost below the hurricane belt so there shouldn’t be any problems … fingers crossed.

Grenada is where I started this crazy adventure almost 7 years ago so it is always exciting going back. Seven years, has it really been that long?

A couple new food things I have embraced this year is for one, eating way more plantains. Not quite sure why I wasn’t eating them that much before as they are delicious but I have hoped on the plantain train and there are no plans to get off. Another is the delicious black radish. I had never had one or even seen one before. I first picked up a couple in St. Maarten and made some Kimchi with them and then after looking at a few recipes on line I decided to make this simple shaved black radish salad. They are so delicious and have just the right amount of sweet to spicy. The dressing is soooooooooo good too it might become a new staple for you. A couple months ago I found all these specialty mustards, about 10 flavours, and as you guessed it I bought everyone. Needless to say there has been a lot of mustard consumption lately.

Why do I think you will enjoy this salad so much:

1. Simple
2. Healthy
3. Sweet and Spicy
4. Addicting
5. Quick

I ended up serving this as part of a German meal comprised of Pork Shnitzle, Roasted Bacon Potatoes and apple cider braised cabbage with you guessed it, lots of mustards on the side. The next day we turned the leftovers into a sandwich and it made for a great crunchy topping

Oh, It only takes 5 minutes to come together. How can you not make this. No excuses.

Slice, Dress, Serve!

Perfect for Spring, Perfect for Summer, Perfect for when you just want to be out of the kitchen and enjoying the sunshine