After a forced break, because life happens, I'm back in the kitchen doing what I enjoy the most: cooking new recipes!

For this triumphant return I'm doing the next country, which happens to be a Caribbean one: Barbados!

Barbados is an island nation in the Caribbean located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and is the easternmost island of the Caribbean region.

Inhabited by Kalinago people since the 13th century, and prior to that by other Indigenous peoples, the island was originally named Ichirouganaim. It was claimed for the Crown of Castile by Spanish navigators in the late 15th century, who named it "Barbudos," and it first appeared on a Spanish map in 1511. The Portuguese Empire claimed the island between 1532 and 1536, but abandoned it in 1620, leaving wild boars — which they had introduced as a meat supply for future visits — as their only remnant.

An English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados on the 14th of May 1625, and its men took possession of the island in the name of King James I. In 1627, the first permanent settlers arrived from England, and Barbados became an English and later British colony.

On 30 November 1966, Barbados moved toward political independence and assumed the status of a Commonwealth realm, becoming a sovereign state with Elizabeth II as Queen of Barbados. On 30 November 2021, Barbados transitioned to a republic within the Commonwealth, replacing its monarchy with a ceremonial president.

Barbados's population is predominantly of African ancestry. While it is technically an Atlantic island, Barbados is closely associated with the Caribbean and is ranked as one of its leading tourist destinations.

Barbadian cuisine, also called Bajan cuisine, is a mixture of African, Indian, Irish, Creole, and British influences. A typical meal consists of a main dish of meat or fish, normally marinated with a mixture of herbs and spices, hot side dishes, and one or more salads.

Beyond savory dishes, Barbados is also famous for its rum, having the oldest rum distillery. And with it, they created the world-famous rum cake.

These Caribbean countries are turning out to be more challenging than other countries, because since they're located in the middle of the ocean, obviously their dishes are highly influenced by what can be found in the sea.

In Barbados, its main dish requires flying fish, which is a fish native to that region. And precisely that makes it so difficult to find outside Barbados. Especially in a city so far away from the sea.

So I had to choose the second most popular dish in the country, and it may seem to be simple, but it sure is special in its own way.

For this week, I cooked: Macaroni Pie!

In fact, it is so popular that it's considered the unofficial national dish, and in Barbados it's called simply "pie."

If you order a pie, this dish is what you get.

It's so popular that this recipe comes directly from the official Barbados webpage, so you can bet this is as authentic as I can get.

230 g (0.5 lb) tubed macaroni

4 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup evaporated milk

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 small onion, grated

1 egg, beaten

I think this is actually the recipe with the least ingredients I've cooked 🤔.

That means it was not hard to procure all the ingredients. In fact, I'm a bit amazed that this dish, which has no fish or seafood, or even weird ingredients, is the second most popular dish of a Caribbean country.

But who am I to judge? I'm here to cook whatever is popular in all the countries in the world!

It is important to note that the Bajan version uses macaroni tubes instead of elbow macaroni! That's why I emphasized it when listing the ingredients.

And sorry Italians, you may want to look away for this part… but before you begin, you have to break the macaroni pasta tubes into smaller chunks so they look like actual macaroni.

This is not what I expected at the beginning. It is way better than I imagined, and this dish easily enters the top five favorites.

One would think mac and cheese is not a big deal, especially after seeing this version includes ketchup as an ingredient. But nothing could be further from the truth.

I can safely say this is one of the best mac and cheeses I've ever had, beyond the fact that I cooked it. And in this version made as a pie, it elevates it even more.

I can easily see myself cooking this again, either for myself, to share with my family, or for a reunion with friends.

I enjoyed the flavor and how easy it was to prepare this dish.

I was expecting to cook seafood or something fishy, and I ended up cooking something more "traditional." I was wary at first and, to be honest, not fully convinced, but it was what it was.

I was so pleased with the result that I realized I was actually closed-minded at the beginning.

Just because it's a place next to or in the middle of the sea, it doesn't mean people can't enjoy anything else other than seafood. Especially a dish that is so popular it is ranked as the unofficial dish, or the second best of the country.

Going forward, I need to be more open-minded about the recipes that cross my path, and I should be open to cooking anything.

And lastly, just because a recipe looks simple and doesn't have a huge list of ingredients, doesn't mean the result will be poor or not memorable.

Beyond the complexity of a dish, I think what makes it special is the intention you have when cooking it. It may sound trivial or a joke at this point, but love really is an ingredient when cooking, and it's not a secret.

I could make you a piece of bread with butter and sugar, and if I do it with a good intention and love, it can become the best dessert you've ever had.

I've been away so long that I can't wait to cook the next one, and for that one I'm going back to explore Eastern Europe. Coming up next: Belarus!

Eleven countries down, all starting with the letter A. Thankfully the alphabet has many more letters, and the world is even bigger! This week I'm starting countries with the letter B — and it's a longer list than A, with 17!

For this first country on the B-list, I go back to America to cook something from a country made up of islands: the Bahamas!