Last Thursday’s crazy storm cleared just in time for our Edible World: The Spice Necklace event in Chestnut Hill. However, we still moved the event inside the Chestnut Hill Hotel, which offered a respite from the oppressive heat. Things didn’t cool down too much inside, however. At least not once Claudette Campbell’s homemade hot pepper sauce hit the tables, enhancing our doubles and stew chicken with a tangy kick. Luckily, nobody seemed to mind.

Guest author Ann Vanderhoof charmed (and possibly inspired?) our audience with her tale of leaving her life in Toronto behind to sail the Caribbean with her husband, sharing her adventures with homemade “island Viagra” and the mishaps and rewards of catching your own crab dinner. Questions came one after the other as people wanted to know about Ann’s favorite dishes (oildown and buss up shut), what it’s like living in close quarters on the sailboat with her husband (they seem to get along abnormally well!), and how she was able to meet so many people so easily (admiring mangoes was key). We all fell in love with Claudette, the chef behind family-run Calypso, first for her delicious Trinidadian fare and then again when she shared stories about her cooking and background. The phrase of the night? “A little bit of this, a little bit of that,” the mainstay of pretty much all of Claudette’s recipes.

We were joined by special guest Rick Nichols – host of our next Edible World Food Tour in August, Behind the BBQ, and the reason why we discovered Calypso in the first place – who couldn’t turn down another chance to taste Claudette Campbell’s cooking. The meal included doubles; her Tanti Slaw (“coleslaw with a kick,” she says); a beautiful salad of greens, sliced avocado and cherry tomatoes; stew chicken (my personal favorite); fried plantains; peas and rice; veggies; and her special pound cake, ever so subtly imbued with fresh lime. Claudette doesn’t over spice her food on purpose, but if you like a bit of heat then her hot pepper sauce will be your new best friend. If you haven’t already enjoyed Claudette’s food, head to Calypso immediately (Chestnut Hill Farmers Market, 8229 Germantown Ave). Tell her that First Person Arts sent you.

Photos clockwise: Claudette Campbell, Ann Vanderhoof, a tray full of doubles. All by Mia Aronson.

Today resident foodie Mia Aronson (once a pastry cook at Le Bec Fin before entering the world of Razorfish) gives us an inside look at next week’s Edible World menu and shares another recipe from Ann Vanderhoof’s memoir, The Spice Necklace. Check out Mia’s last adventure in Caribbean food here.


Ann Vanderhoof passes on some Trini (Trinidadian) wisdom in her book, The Spice Necklace: My Adventures in Caribbean Cooking, Eating, and Island Life- “Cold water, slight jelly coconut, and doubles will fix anything.”


Whether or not you’ve got something ailing you, a taste of Calypso’s doubles (tender fried dough around a savory chickpea filling with a healthy dash of homemade hot sauce) is worth a trip to the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market. At the next next Edible World you can meet Vanderhoof, hear about her travels, and eat a fabulous dinner from Calypso that starts off with… you guessed it… doubles.



While reading The Spice Necklace the Tassa Chicken recipe caught my eye but seemed too time consuming for a weeknight meal. A couple quick revisions solved that problem and made this one pot dish a great addition to my regular rotation. This is a flavorful, spicy curry with a touch of sweetness from raisins and mango chutney. If you’d like to follow my shortcuts and have your meal on the table in under an hour, substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the chicken pieces, which cuts the cooking time by 10-15 minutes, and season the chicken early in the day and leave it in the fridge. I wasn’t able to easily locate West Indian curry powder, but the regular curry powder I had on hand tasted pretty good!


Tassa Chicken
4 bone-in chicken quarters (about 3 lbs)
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp West Indian curry powder
2 onions, cut in eighths
4 medium tomatoes, cut in eighths
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp raisins
1/2 cup whole peanuts
1/2 cup sweet mango chutney
1 tbsp tomato paste


1. Cut the chicken into pieces at the joints, and season with the garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the curry and cook for about 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring to avoid burning.
3. Add the chicken pieces, and stir well to coat them with the curry mixture.
4. Add the onions, tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 50 minutes until chicken is tender and sauce has thickened.
5. Stir in raisins, nuts, chutney and tomato paste; cook for a couple minutes more to blend flavors and heat through.
Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.


- Mia Aronson

Claudette Campbell (pictured) is preparing an awesome meal for June 24th’s Edible World: The Spice Necklace. Imagine sitting outside of the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market, enjoying stew chicken and pound cake while guest author Ann Vanderhoof reads about Caribbean treats and travels from her upcoming memoir, The Spice Necklace. Sounds like a sweet summer night to me!


We just got the menu from Chef Campbell and here’s the scoop…


Appetizer – “Doubles” (“Spiced chick peas inside two pieces of a bread like thing – it’s delicious,” says FPA volunteer and resident foodie Mia Aronson.)
Entree and sides- Stew Chicken with peas and rice, fried plantains and a tossed green salad
Dessert – Pound cake
Drink – Strawberry Mango lemonade with fresh cut-up fruit.


In yesterday’s New York Times, Alida Becker reviewed Vanderhoof’s upcoming book and made one criticism, “Vanderhoof’s curiosity about the food and (lots of) drink on the islands is appropriately all-consuming, but attempting to retain even a fraction of the information she uncovers about sapodillas, nutmeg, sorrel, passion fruit, conch and the seemingly endless array of other Caribbean edibles can be a dizzying experience. Try too hard and you may collapse with something resembling the buzz from Jah Daniel, the moonshine she tracks down in Dominica, ‘flavored with a generous fistful of ganja.’” Luckily, at Edible World: The Spice Necklace, you’ll get some help courtesy of Vanderhoof herself and Chef Campbell’s cooking.


Jah Daniel’s buzz not included. Sorry about that.


Photo by Mia Aronson.

Guest blogger and new First Person Arts volunteer Mia Aronson has an eclectic past: after years working as a pastry cook at Le Bec Fin, she moved into finance and operations with Razorfish. She’s bringing her foodie experience to the First Person blog where she’ll be trying out Caribbean-inspired recipes from upcoming Edible World guest author, Ann Vanderhoof. First up? A sweet and sour summer drink ideal for a sweltering day like today. I could go for one right about now myself (though I would probably add a splash of vodka to mine!). Salud! – Karina


Philly’s hot and humid Memorial Day weather was the perfect reason to test out a refreshing drink from Ann Vanderhoof’s soon to be released memoir, The Spice Necklace. The book is about Vanderhoof’s travels around the Caribbean with her husband on a 42-foot sailboat, with frequent stops to eat and learn about delicious local food and drink.


I am a huge fan of lemon and lime drinks. Margaritas, Mojitos, the lemonade from Nam Phuong in South Philly, Schweppe’s bitter lemon — I love them all. So it seemed a natural first choice to try Vanderhoof’s recipe for LLB (Lemon Lime Bitters), a drink she describes as “reminiscent of a lemon-lime soda, but with an adult edge…”.


The most difficult part about making the drink was finding the bitters. Rick Nichols wrote about the 2009-2010 shortage of Angostura bitters in his Inquirer column in March of this year. I’m not sure if the shortage is still going on, but I had to go to three PA Wine and Spirits stores to find it. After finally tracking down the bitters, the rest of the drink was easy. Whip up some lemonade, squeeze some lime, add the bitters, and stir up a cold, thirst quenching drink that will be my citrus beverage of choice for the rest of the summer.


A few food equipment and ingredient tips. The citrus presses pictured here are part of my “must have” cooking gear. I even cart the lime squeezer around in my suitcase if I’m headed for the beach. Nothing beats fresh squeezed citrus, and these are easy to use and get all the juice out. Pop half a lemon or lime in the press, cut side down, and squeeze the handles to get every last drop. They are available at pretty much any store that sells cooking supplies. I’ve been using organic agave nectar (a steal at Costco when they have it in stock) to sweeten my lemonade lately, but you can also use sugar syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil then cooled) or plain sugar in a pinch. And if you want to save some time, I imagine that no one would be the wiser if you used a good quality store bought lemonade and a squeeze of fresh lime.


Do-It-Yourself LLB (Lemon Lime Bitters)


10 – 12 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 cups lemonade
1 cup soda water (club soda)
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 slices of lemon or lime (for garnish)


1. Shake the bitters onto the insides of two tall glasses.
2. Add ice and swirl until the glasses are evenly coated.
3. Add half the lemonade, soda water and lime juice to each glass. Stir and garnish with lemon or lime.


Makes 2 tall drinks.


Want to learn more about Ann Vanderhoof’s travels and recipes? Come meet her in person at Edible World: The Spice Necklace on June 24 at 6pm at the Chestnut Hill Farmers Market. Tickets are $35 and include a meal from Calypso.


- Mia Aronson

How far have you traveled to get an obscure culinary specialty? How much trouble did you get into? And was it worth it? We all know that even a trip for a cheesesteak to Pat or Geno’s can provide an excellent story.


Ann Vanderhoof – guest author of our June event Edible World: The Spice Necklace – had dozens of food adventures as she sailed the Caribbean, plucking fresh nutmeg, eating oregano-infused goat straight off the farm and tracking down the best moonshine the islands had to offer from underground stills. Now, we want to hear YOUR “Foodie on the Road” adventures!


Edible World: The Spice Necklace is June 24 and we’ll be showcasing your stories on the First Person blog in the weeks prior to the event. Just send them to me at kkacala[at]firstpersonarts[dot]org and definitely include a photo!


Then, come hear Ann’s tales live and enjoy a meal of roti, pelau, curry chicken and more from Rick Nichols’ fave Calypso at Edible World: The Spice Necklace! Get your tickets here!


I might have to write about the just caught and freshly fried fish I enjoyed in Lebanon… or maybe the first time I ever had pizza with an egg on it in Italy… or my road trip down south a couple years ago when some of the best fried chicken and cornbread passed my lips. So much good food out there. I can’t wait to be driven to hunger by your stories!