First, I just want to express my joy of surviving another day. I want to give God thanks that Jamaica was spared the worst of Dean. I want to extend my sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives or were injured and to those who have lost their homes or business places.

I want to give my deepest respect to the members of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the security forces, the fire services, volunteers and media at large who risked their lives to help and to report to us what was happening around the island. God bless you all, my admiration for your selflessness knows no bounds.

During this time, most of us are without electricity and water, which proves very challenging indeed. For those of you fortunate to have gas or coal stoves, a warm meal can be made in minutes with the canned foods most of us have kept in stock while we were preparing for the storm.

All of the recipes can be served with bread, crackers or rice.

Rosie’s Tinned Mackerel Rundown:

Many people warm this up as is in a saucepan or add seasoning to jazz it up. My housekeeper Rosie told me that if you have a can of coconut milk on hand, give it an extra kick with a squeeze of lime, seasoning such as Scotch Bonnet pepper, thyme and onion or escallion then add the milk towards the end and reduce by half for a lovely sauce.

Pat’s Corned Beef Chilli: I had rang up my friend Marjory to see how she was coping post-Dean and was mentioning to her that I had to do a special piece on cooking with tinned food. Her friend, Pat, suggested I prepare a chilli-styled corned beef, so I am naming this dish after her. Chilli is one of those great Tex Mex dishes which can be prepared with regular beef cut in chunks or minced beef and is typically served with shredded cheese, lettuce, tortillas and sour cream. This is my interpretation. You will need one onion chopped finely, one sweet pepper, chopped finely, can of red kidney beans, a can of chopped or plum tomatoes, a teaspoon of chilli or red pepper flakes (remember this is a spicy dish) or, if you want it really fiery, a small, finely chopped Scotch Bonnet pepper, a teaspoon of cumin powder and two tins of corned beef. Sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon of oil until translucent, add the tomatoes, chilli or pepper and beans and simmer for five minutes, add the corned beef and heat through until hot. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Other ways with corned beef: For other hot meal alternatives, you can make a hash using Irish potatoes, or mix the beef with cabbage and for a cold option, make sandwiches with a little mayonnaise, pepper and onion and a few slices of tomato and lettuce or, as I have seen, it can be mixed with tomato ketchup and hot sauce.

Tuna Salad: For something quick and light, wash a lettuce and tear the leaves, cut up some tomatoes, sweet peppers and cucumbers, slice some avocado, hard boil an egg or two and slice in half and arrange on a plate with tuna. Drizzle with your favourite salad dressing or very simply with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Sardines with Pasta: With the oil from the sardine tin, sauté a clove of garlic, and add tomatoes, flake the sardines and add to the sauce with some parsley or basil, add black pepper to taste, toss with freshly made pasta and serve immediately.

Jacqui Sinclair is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef/food stylist & hotelier.

She has worked in the world of food photography and film in Europe. A bon vivant, she is passionate about sharing her food secrets with enthusiastic home cooks.