Book excerpt: In The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook, the Morgans show that you do not need to live in the Caribbean to cook in the island style. In more than 250 recipes that use ingredients easy to find in American groceries, they demystify island cooking. They celebrate the many roots of Caribbean cuisine - native Carib and Arawak, African, Cajun, Latin American, and European - and they make it accessible to home cooks without sacrificing its authenticity or its subtle nuances. Caribbean food features intense flavors, lively combinations of spices, and delectable juxtapositions of coolness and heat, sweetness and tang. From their California roots, the Morgans bring an emphasis on fresh seasonal produce and a light and elegant style. With menu suggestions for sophisticated entertaining, and with a wealth of ideas for simple and terrific everyday meals, this book is the ideal companion for travelers who have visited the islands and want to recreate its cooking at home and for fans of global cooking who want to master a new and fascinating cuisine with ease.