THE SECRET PLEASURE OF DINING SOLO By Marianna Farag I love to travel- something I deeply miss in these times. Travel has always been a big part of my life, but I’ve had to hit the pause button since 2020. How did my love affair with traveling begin? When I got my first job, I used to save money towards trips. I realized that if I didn’t buy a USD$1,000 designer bag, that would buy me a plane ticket AND accommodation (especially if you knew what websites to book on). And while I love to travel, I grew to love travelling on my own. On my own: but not alone. And I believe the word “alone” or “loneliness” might be one of those psychological obstacles for many to explore the world of solo travelling, perhaps even more so as a woman. Perhaps. My first leap was somewhere in my early 20s from Paris to Milan. I found a really cheap flight on Ryanair (this was many years ago when Ryanair and EasyJet had just entered the airline market and flights could be as low as 20 Euros). I figured Milan wasn’t too far and it would be a good way to start this life of my suitcase and me. Of course, with solo traveling came solo dining.
But there’s a huge mental “fear” of some sorts that you have to overcome to feel comfortable walking into a restaurant on your own and telling the restaurant staff that “no, I’m not waiting for anyone-it’s just me”. But after the first time, it became liberating. Liberating in a bigger way than I ever imagined. And while I love eating with people, I also love to go out to a restaurant and eat by myself. To me, it’s the ULTIMATE guilty pleasure. First of all, it’s just you. There isn’t the annoying friend of a friend that you have to put up with, or the one that is a fussy eater and doesn’t want to share all the cool items on the menu. Or how about the work colleague who loves to interrupt everyone, that you find yourself never able to finish a sentence around them. That peace of mind, is luxury, my friends. Secondly, you get to order what YOU want. Someone is cooking for you and bringing the food to you (a nice change from what I do professionally these days). And after, there are no dishes to wash! There is no sink to scrub! Indeed, we eat out to take a break from cooking at home (if this applies to you). Restaurants, when well executed, become a form of decadence because you have someone cooking for you- a feeling I can deeply appreciate, from the bottom of my heart, as I’m the one on the other side of the counter. I also never grew up with a housekeeper who cooked for us (it was my mother who cooked, and we cooked with her), so I appreciate having someone cook for me perhaps a little more than usual. But maybe most of all, is dining solo became a food school for me. The lack of human distraction, the luxury of time, and the freedom to pick my favorite dishes, taught me a whole lot about food. Because in my own company, I wasn’t simply eating. I was savouring. My full attention went on focusing on the flavour and textural experience happening in my mouth. It wasn’t interrupted by conversation. In fact, it’s very similar to the concept of mindful eating, taught in Buddhism. Many Buddhist teachers encourage their students to meditate with food, broadening consciousness, chewing slowly and paying attention to every sensation in mouth. Dining solo offers one the opportunity to eat with a genuine and authentic intention. It is an experiment of the mouth & mind. It is the ultimate practice of eating mindfully, understanding flavour on a more nuanced level and also understanding your body: what it likes, doesn’t like, and how it feels, without someone’s opinion or external influence of what you should or should not eat (because it’s not “healthy” or because “you have added some weight”). After that first time in Milan, I became addicted to this feeling of liberation. With liberation, came a new exercise in confidence too- which is an added bonus of being perfectly comfortable to eat out on your own. While I’ve had to put all travel on pause in the last 2 years, in 2022, I’d like to make it a point that I dine solo every now and then. Now that we have fewer restrictions around curfew and our time.
I also learned something else along the way: turns out I also have favourite cuisines to enjoy solo. Dishes that come from South & South East Asia are always the most special, to me, because of the complexity in flavours. One thing I have always appreciated about this part of the world is the importance of balance between salt, sugar, fat and acid. For instance, if you look at Thai cuisine, it is built on the premise of balancing five flavours: salty, sour, sweet, spicy and bitter. Some literature will also refer to a sixth flavour: creamy (treated as a flavour, not a texture). And for these kinds of cuisines, I can only fully dissect its glory by meditating with my food during the next level experience that solo dining can sometimes offer. But of course, we are not going to ignore the elephant in the room that I know some female readers are thinking of right now: how can a woman dine solo when she is simultaneously trying to avoid uncalled for male attention? My experience from travelling is that I tried hard not to allow that to ruin MY experience. It was important for me that I lived a first handed experience, not a second handed one controlled by someone else. I had been to some places where male harassment is on par or far worse than Jamaica, but I learned how to deal with it. I never tolerated or accepted it, but I learned how to deal with it. And I also learned how to work with my environment. I learned that people wanted to feel acknowledged, and that I was also in their territory. So I had to learn how to move around, but also how to draw the line firmly. Solo dining taught me how to say NO. So if you’re reading this and you’re intimidated by the thought of eating out alone: my suggestion is please do it. Start by finding a spot where you know you would feel safe and where you like the food. And build from there. Research different restaurants and menus and make it an adventure: something to look forward to. Remember that once you overcome the fear, the benefits will far outweigh people’s opinions. Then if you can, with the world slowly opening up again, book a plane ticket and start eating your way around the world. There are always great deals to find online, so don’t limit yourself to the idea that traveling is expensive. Traveling can be cheap as it can cost an arm & a leg. Happy eating & exploring locally & abroad!
HOW TO FEED A COMMUNITY WITH JACKFRUIT By Simi Brenner Those who have a jackfruit tree in their yard know about sharing that sweet sticky fruit full of seeds and fragrance with family, friends and neighbors. The fruits get so big, and the trees bear nuff nuff nuff, there is no way to not let any fruit spoil. But there is a way to change that. Ripe Jackfruit does not just have to be eaten ripe as a fruit, it can be preserved as jams, ice creams, hot sauces, yogurts, frozen and used later for smoothies, etc. But we should not underestimate and forget about the young green unripe fruit. In addition to eating jackfruit as healthy snacks and desserts, green jackfruit makes delicious healthy dishes and is oftentimes used as vegan meat substitutes. Curry jackfruit, barbecue jackfruit, jackfruit burgers, sloppy joe sandwiches, jackfruit patties, fried jackfruit balls, frittaz, jackfruit wraps, jackfruit Shepherd’s pie, gyozas….. Ripe seeds make curries and spreads, the ripe strings between the pods can fry into gummy-bear like candy… The creations are endless and can feed an entire community in many ways with one fruit alone. When we think about all the food problems around the world, we must recognize the importance of learning the skill and having the mindset to grow & harvest food and plants within communities in the bigger picture and acquire the knowledge to use them properly and creatively, in order to fight against food deserts, hunger, poverty etc.
In most western schools (from my experience and from what I hear / see) farming, nutrition, health & food is not included or prioritized in most curriculums. I keep wondering why learning about what to feed our bodies and how to live a better life through sustainability and food autonomy within communities is not given the same importance as learning how to read, write, count, about history, geography, physics and chemistry. Learning how to garden and farm sustainably from a young age means learning about nutrition and what our body and brain need to stay strong, fit and healthy; it generates automatic skill sets for youths to work within the food and health industry (working on farms, landscaping edible gardens, reforestation, working and creating community gardens and restaurants, import and export, technology within the food industry etc.) and most of all it can incentivize and motivate more youths and adults to eventually create their own business in this sector. We learn how to read and write in order to live and do things within society, why not give food and health related topics the same importance? Nature and sustainable agriculture should have a more important role to play within society and urban places especially, but schools around the world (rural or urban) should treat and include those topics just as any other subjects. Supermarkets should be able to have their own farms on their roofs or work with farms nearby, communities should have a community garden / farm, schools and universities should have an agriculture department that feeds the institution’s students in the cafeterias and where possible have their own garden or close-by partner farm, or at least a pot in the classroom to teach the skill and normalize planting. Reforesting deserts and minimizing food deserts should be prioritized on agendas around the world. But to begin with here on a small scale, let’s give jackfruit trees in Jamaica the full respect they deserve since they look after us and our communities by gifting us with an insane amount of food that can feed the entire community with a lot of different dishes and nutrition. Let’s be creative and use the fruit to its fullest extent instead of wasting its powers.
BEAM ME UP FOODIE: THE FUTURE OF FOOD INVOLVES A LOT OF SCIENCE. By Marsha M. Hall Plant-based meat, plant-based seafood, plant-based chocolate, plant-based milk and now introducing lab grown foods made with and without the cells from plants- are consumers ready? Are consumers palate directing the taste of food or big businesses deciding on the intersection of food & technology? If the latest developments and offerings in science and food innovations is anything to go by, then many of us will have to boldly go where our bellies have not gone before. And this will require you my dear readers to do some research and give this ‘food for thought.’ However, on a food note – see what I did here- lab grown foods involves a lot of cellular agriculture. What is the science behind cellular agriculture? Individual cells from plants, animals and single-cell organisms, are used in cellular agriculture to create agricultural products. These include meats, shellfish, dairy, and other protein-rich foods and functional ingredients made without the need to "cultivate" entire animals or plants via tissue engineering or precision fermentation.
Sounds scary, well it does not have to be. Think of it as eating your favourite meat with fewer saturated fats and more unsaturated fats, or now you can drink milk without lactose and enjoy your eggs ‘sunny side-up’ without cholesterol. However, the process of growing foods in a lab, such as lab-grown meats, should not be confused with and is not the same as plant-based meat alternatives. In giving you a quick history here, the first lab grown burger was created in 2013, by scientist Mark Post, a professor of tissue engineering at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Back then, no one could have foreseen or even believed that lab grown meat would become a reality and, in some ways, this is now gradual norm in food consumption. At least in Singapore, where the country’s food agency was the world’s first regulatory authority to approve the sale of cultured meat. This was with lab-grown chicken made by a U.S. start-up. Sustainability and ethical eating With billions of mouths to feed, food scientists and venture capitalists are having their cake and licking the bowl too. Nowhere is this more evident than in white-washed laboratories and not as we would have loved, our colourful kitchens. As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, unsustainable agricultural practices and issues of global food security; the traditional ways of producing and sourcing food is no longer the règle du jour. Fuelled by governments, researchers, entrepreneurs, big companies and influencers, many of whom are encouraging people to eat less meat to reduce their impact on the planet, lab-grown meat, dairy and chocolate are gradually gaining a shelf-hold in supermarkets and mouthfuls in many bellies. It is not just environmental and sustainability impacts that seems to be an ‘automatic win’ for those in favour of lab-grown foods. But this has gain support among those who advocate for ethical eating. Numerous concerns have been raised over the years, particularly about the growing and sourcing of chocolate. Yes, chocolate lovers, the luxurious bean did not elude the lab, researchers from Zurich University of Applied Sciences have cracked the bean code and voila! Introducing lab-grown chocolate“adding a sweet treat to the lengthening list of lab-grown foods. With child labour a reality on many large cocoa planation farms in West Africa (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon), where 70 -755% of the world’s cocoa is produced, no doubt, we know where our responsibilities rest. Still, an uptick in flavours, textures, wellness lifestyles and growing consumers demand for taste and transparency is catching on in the chocolate industry. The future of food We cannot ignore one of the most important group of people in this global food innovation- our farmers, specifically those small family farms dependent on consumers like you and I for support. Yet, farmers can learn more, get familiar with and perhaps adopt to the technology and tools that can also make sustainable agriculture achievable. Whether it is cellular agriculture, lab-grown meats or clean-meats, socially conscious or ethical consumers, big investors or start-ups that are all pushing the trend, cell-based grubs are here. It cannot be denied that alternative methods of growing foods are gaining interest globally. Is cellular engineered food then, the final frontier? Food Note: Some researchers speculate that depending on the efficiency of the production process for lab-grown meat, the rise of this industry could actually make climate change worse than traditional beef production. One issue is the longer lasting impact of carbon pollution versus methane gas pollution. But hey, investors are putting their money where their mouths are and analysts project the cultured meat market could be worth as much as $85 billion by 2030.
REFERENCES Aprcovic, Ilija. “Is cellular agriculture the climate-friendly answer to growing food demands?” World Economic Forum, 4 Nov. 2021, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/cellular-agriculture-climate-friendly-answer-to-food-demands/ Kaye, Leon. “Next on Your Food Tech Radar: Lab-Grown Chocolate.” Triple Pundit, 16 Aug. 2021, https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/food-tech-lab-grownchocolate/726991 McClements, David Julian. Future Foods: How Modern Science is Transforming the Way We Eat. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2019. Newberger, Emma. “As the lab-grown meat industry grows, scientists debate if it could exacerbate climate change”. CNBC, 19 Oct. 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/19/labgrown-meat-could-exacerbate-climate-change-scientists-say.html Saik, D. Robert. Food 5.0: How We Feed the Future. LionCrest Publishers 2019. Scipioni, Jade. “This restaurant will be the first ever to serve lab-grown chicken (for $23).” CNBC, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/18/singapore-restaurant-first-everto-serve-eat-just-lab-grown-chicken.html Sheik, Knvul. “Lab Grown Meat That Doesn’t Look Like Mush.” The New York Times, 2 Dec. 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/science/lab-meat-texture.html Stein. Joel. “Could This Be the Lab-Made Dinner Party of Our Future?” The New York Times, 21 Feb. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/business/fake-meat-eggs-dairyproducts.html Tan, Audrey. “World's first commercial cultured meat production facility operational in Singapore.” The Strait Times, 15 Sept. 2021, www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/worlds-first-commercial-cultured-meat-production-facility-operational-in
ON “SPECIAL HERBS” AND LONGTERM MEMORY By Nadja Murray One of the (read: ‘the’) greatest rapper/producer hybrids to ever grace my ears is dead. While it’s debatable whether he ever was mine to lose, I’m fixating on a quote, inappropriately but nonetheless, from one of my favourite pieces of white-woman ethnographic fiction. “This is who I am, perhaps who we all are, keepers of the absent and the dead. It is the blessing and burden of being alive.”* I am committed to deadlifting both blessing and burden. To add context and subtract drama, I‘ve been listening to the Special Herbs Vol. 0–9 box set on shuffle since I heard the news, questioning why I gravitated towards Metal Finger’s instrumental work before listening to anything with vocal attachment. I’m recalling my father’s voice. The only evidence that he even had one is tucked away in my longterm memory. My longterm memory: a vessel in which to preserve the absent, a vessel in which to preserve the dead. The tapes are on repeat in hopes that the sounds stick. Some of the tunes — Coffin Nails, Burdock Root, Pennyroyal, Monosodium Glutamate (note to reader: Monosodium Glutamate is MSG) — already hold space here: sounds powerfully penetrative and arguably tangential to anything pristine. Myself in past-tense: blissfully taking my longterm memory for granted, not the least bit clairvoyant, entirely unaware of the weight these waves would mushroom to hold. Myself in the present: 27 years old, mourning the death of MF DOOM, wanting Special Herbs steeped into my semantic memory, requiring them infused into the appropriate cortices, and conjuring a brew reverberant as hums that trigger concentric liquid ceramic. and it’s ones that impress like Arrow Root / strong like the zest of sour fruit / unlike a stressed and harrowed roof / and unlike the best of cowards who’ll / question how aren’t you / or what haven’t you done? / the Lavender Buds making you laugh out your lungs / thought you were naturally glum / a bastard to some / but nah you’re just, um / quiet. and dark. / like to spend nights at the park with White Willow Bark / not the type to be snarky / or bite really hard / it’s actually like, “will he bark?” / i slyly remark / ah well. well, well, we lost him / eyes filled, they swell, they’re glossy / nostrils craving Elder Blossoms / pungent, sweltering hell deposit / …a breath before my mental chasms… / an inhale of Lemon Grass / the kettle roars the devil’s anthem / i’m in hell with metal mask / and some other weird dudes and misfits / sipping Eucalyptus brews with biscuits / watching dick dastardly / how’s that for a crew to kick with / how’s that for choosing mischief / mystics and powers / them’s thems, this ours / and Chrysanthemum Flowers / rest in peace. *Sweetness in the Belly by Camila Gibbs
‘ONE ONE COCO FULL BASKET’: THE AWAKENING & BANKABILITY OF THE JAMAICAN CHOCOLATE By Naita Chamberlain Hello, my name is Naita Chamberlain, and I am a chocoholic. It has been my addiction for as long as I can remember. It doesn’t take much to reminisce about the excitement I had whenever my dad came back from the US with a barrel of goods because there was always a sweet surprise for me. One of my earliest memories with chocolate is going to the shop down the street to purchase one of Highgate’s delectable bars. Unwrapping the bar was like an early Christmas gift; it was filled with anticipation knowing that I was one step closer to enjoying this special treat. Jamaica is fortunate to inherit some of the finest cocoa globally, placed on a pedestal of being one of the eight exclusive producers of high-quality cocoa. Many international chocolate companies combine some of Jamaica’s cocoa beans with others to enhance the flavor of the final product. One would easily assume that Jamaica is home to tens of chocolate producers using the bean-to-bar method to produce great chocolate with such a crop. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. In the late 80s and early 90s, Highgate was the primary supplier of Jamaican chocolate to the public. However, in the late 90s to early 2000s, one would be hard-pressed to find local chocolate in the supermarkets. Due to lack of interest and possibly lack of investment, the cocoa industry experienced a steady decline, with the number of cocoa farmers at its peak 12,000, to a handful. One cannot fault the farmers for leaving the crop, because the returns for their hard work are minimal. As Carl Sharpe, the founder of Chocollor Chocolate, stated: ‘Farmers do not earn enough to make a livable wage. They only receive the down payment for their cocoa beans and, in the end, do not get their full compensation on time or at all. The lack of payment can leave them feeling demoralized and discouraged; therefore, they switched to other crops to monetary gain.’ One could easily assume that the Jamaican chocolate industry was going through a slow and painful death from these events. However, in the late 2000s, a collection of producers set out on a mission to bring it back to life. It is heartwarming to see persons from all walks of life not just falling in love with Jamaican cocoa and producing high-quality chocolate but placing high value on supporting the farmers. Ensuring they are paid at top dollar for their product, uplifting and encouraging them and their communities to continue the cocoa legacy. Currently, Jamaica is blessed to have approximately seven chocolate producers incorporating aspects of both direct and fair trade farming into their practices to produce chocolate that can bring positive ripples ethically and socially. According to The New York Times article ‘Everything You Don’t Know About Chocolate,’ written by Melissa Clarke, she defined direct trade chocolate as: ‘… beans that are bought outside this system, most often directly from farmers or farmers’ cooperatives. These beans are usually higher quality, and the farmers are paid anywhere from 50 percent to 300 percent more than the market price of commodity cacao. Direct trade chocolate producers have strong social goals that include living wages for the farmers.’
As good as it sounds, the initiative begs the question, ‘Can this method of production bring sufficient profits to the local chocolate industry?’ As mentioned earlier, the chocolate industry became nonexistent in the early 2000s. So much so one would be hard-pressed to find a locally made chocolate bar, unless they’re the farmer or have close ties with a cocoa farmer. That all began to shift when a chocolatier named Michelle Smith created her homebased business known as Chocolate Dreams. In the early 2000s, she noticed that Jamaica exhibited a widely popular and highly revered commodity, yet the country was not reaping the benefits from its own crop. So in 2004, she decided to test the waters and ‘go dabbling in chocolate.’ For five years, she tested, created, and produced chocolate delights from scratch in her two-bedroom apartment. In 2009, she opened her first retail store at Devon House and it wasn’t long before the corporate world in the country came knocking on her door, ordering her treats for events and special occasions. By 2012, the Jamaican public grew an appetite for local foods, sparking an interest in producing and cultivating local chocolate. For Nick Davis, the owner of One One Cacao, the idea grew out of a necessity to make healthier alternative foods due to his allergy from Sulphur. Through his travels and interactions with other Caribbean artisans, his desire to produce high-end chocolate made him decide to set up shop in Jamaica in 2015 and begin his love affair with the crop. He developed close relationships with the farmers, ensuring that they would be fully compensated for their hard labour and using the direct trade method to ensure that the end product was top-notch. Other producers such as Markus Braun from Seed of Life, Carl Sharpe of Chocollor, and Nadine Burie from Likkle More Chocolate echoed that vision. They all have expressed their determination in reconnecting and motivating farmers to get back into production. They all ensure that the farmers are paid at a premium and on the day of delivery, which has been one of the inconsistencies by the Jamaica Chocolate Board in the past. They all expressed that fair/direct trade is the only method to ensure that cocoa is produced ethically and sustainably. Each one has their interpretation of what fair trade chocolate is; however, Wikipedia defines fair trade cocoa as: “an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families.” The fair/direct trade benefits farmers, preventing them from living below the poverty line and having to revert to environmental malpractices to make a profit. As Emma Rose, the founder of Rosie Chocolatier, stated on her cocoa Podcast: ‘The only sustainable way to eradicate poverty is to pay more for cocoa…The solution is simply to pay farmers more so they can afford to send their kids to school and give them hope. Enough so the next generations will keep farming and ensure the future of fine cocoa.” There are many Jamaicans like me who want to ensure that our local chocolate continues to thrive, but we have to take a hard look at ourselves and ask, ‘are we willing to pay a high price for Jamaican chocolate?’ Jamaicans are filled with pride when our locally made food products are on our shelves; nevertheless, they turn away and go towards an imported equivalent as soon as they notice the price. To
be fair, it is understandable that for some, buying high-end locally made foods is unattainable due to the continuing high cost of living. Nevertheless, the public will have to shift their thinking that it should be cheaper because it’s made in Jamaica. My hands are not clean from this. Sadly, there was a time when I thought that Jamaican-made products should be lower in cost than their imported competitors. One local producer expressed his dismay, stating that: ‘The resources to produce high-end chocolate are not cheap; electricity in Jamaica is more expensive compared to other countries. Therefore, the public should not expect the makers to mark down their price. For too long, the public are willing to place high value on the end products of the food supply system, rather than the people providing the raw materials. The mentality towards the agriculture need to be shifted from being looked on as a lower-class employment to been looked as a top priority in the country to ensure food security in the country.’ Collaboration between the Government and chocolate producers & farmers is key to the longevity of the cocoa industry. Some producers have stressed the importance of formulating a board between themselves and the farmers. The board will be able to lobby the private sector to invest more into the cocoa industry as well as provide amenities to educate the cocoa communities of all age groups. As Nick Davis, owner of One One Cacao, stated: ‘it is crucial to become an advocate for developing a collective among other producers and farmers because unification is stronger than individualism.’ Nadine Burie, owner of Likkle More Chocolate shares a similar perspective: ‘The government needs to offer the farmers more help and training and the knowledge. The knowledge will therefore benefit the farmers in knowing how to properly harvest and preserve the cocoa, which will, in turn, enable producers to continue chocolate of a high standard which will benefit the public’s understanding of our food system and their health. It has the possibility of becoming a closed system, where each component can reap great rewards. Training is vital and involves the community in the process, which in turn encourages them to take pride in their crop and educate the younger generations on the industry, making them more self-reliant in the future.’ Cocoa is an adaptable crop with a 40 to 50-year lifespan, making it a sustainable crop that holds an immense wealth of knowledge. The life cycle of cultivating cocoa trees to the end product of chocolate bars can instill lifelong vital lessons that are needed now more than ever. Chocolate teaches one the importance of knowing one’s history in order to know where you are going. It teaches the importance of patience, taking the time to create magic, appreciating the journey rather than the final destination. More importantly, it teaches us the importance of respecting your fellow man, that each person has a vital part to play in the process and should be treated as an equal. For many of our local producers, the history and the knowledge of chocolate is their bible. Markus Braun, owner of Seed of Life, considers cocoa as:
“Food of the Gods, a commodity, and a sacred food.” Jamaican chocolate has the potential to reach and exceed its expectations and become a profitable commodity. It is fair to say that Jamaicans share the same goal of seeing Jamaica becoming prosperous in our culture, economy, and of course, food. There is no question Jamaica is home to numerous high-class resources. It is up to us to put in the labour and love to elevate our local products to new heights, and when that happens, the money will follow. Maricel Presilla, the author of “The New Taste of Chocolate, Revised: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes,” has a quote that I think embodies the conviction of our local chocolate producers, farmers, and Jamaican consumers share: “Chocolate is part of history, it’s part of culture, and it’s delicious.” But it goes even deeper than that. “Where there is cacao, there is life.”
PRESERVING CULINARY TRADITIONS FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION: LATIN AMERICAN & CARIBBEAN STYLE. By Stephanie Lumley. Note to Reader: while Marianna’s Kitchen is a vegan restaurant, we do not discriminate towards articles that may include animal ingredients in the discussion. Millennials are growing up. They are buying houses, becoming parents and some are even trying out investing on the stock market. More and more, Millennials in Latin America and the Caribbean are choosing to abandon archaic traditions that have lost their lustre due to modern society’s advancement in almost every facet of everyday life. However, despite the many advancements in technology and globalization, certain culinary traditions across the region such as Saturdays being designated Soup days and cooking up a batch of Pinto Beans and Rice for dinner have stood the test of time. I got a chance to discuss the culinary traditions some of my Millennial contemporaries across the Caribbean and Latin America & had the distinct privilege of sharing a few recipes which I hope you’ll want to try at home! Brazil In my recent travels I got to meet Ana & Fernanda, two sisters and Orthodontists working in the United States who hail Brazil as their home. Though Brazil is known worldwide for their unique flair on the football field, I was surprised to learn that Brazilians have a daily tradition of consuming Pinto Beans and Rice. It was explained to me that although different households may add various protein, you would be hard pressed not to find the average Brazilian deviating from this culinary tradition. Want to try your hand at this dish? See a delicious and easy recipe below for Brazilian Pinto Beans: Equipment •
Dutch Oven/ Heavy Pot
•
16 oz dried pinto beans, rinsed 8 cups water 4 oz pork belly (fat), (alt: pancetta or bacon) cubed (small)
Ingredients • •
1 small white onion, diced (small) • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 tbsp tomato paste Seasoning & Spices • 3 bay leaves • 1 tsp each, paprika and coriander • 1/4 tsp cumin • 1 1/2 tsp sea salt •
Instructions Place your dutch oven or heavy pot on stove and turn heat to medium-high. Add in the small bits of cut up pork belly. Alternatively you can use pancetta, bacon or even bacon grease for flavoring. The key is to use some type of animal fat. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often until the pork belly bits are golden brown and crispy. Add in onion. Lower the heat to medium-low. Saute the onions until translucent. Add garlic, tomato paste, and all the seasonings beside the salt and bay leaves. Give it a good mix. Add pinto beans to the pot and 8 cups of water. Stir everything up and add in bay leaves. Cover the pot about 95% of the way, leaving a small opening for the steam to be release. Cook for 1 hour and half to 2 hours, stirring occasionally more often towards the end. Beans are done when soft upon squeezing and broth is creamy and has thicken a bit. Most of the liquid will have reduced by now. Add in salt and mix well. Taste and adjust the salt as needed. (credit: https://gardeninthekitchen.com/brazilian-pinto-beans/) Grenada Grenada is an idyllic island nation in the Eastern Caribbean. The people are proud and have done a remarkable job in preserving their culinary traditions from generation to generation. Indeed, the premise of this piece was inspired by a conversation with Glenisha (@lifewithglenisha), a travel and lifestyle blogger I met via Instagram. We discussed dishes that we loved from each other’s island and marveled at how similar yet different our upbringings were. Glenisha mentioned that it was almost a guarantee that her grandmother would prepare Mutton soup on a Saturday once she was visiting. Grenada is known around the world for having the best quality nutmeg, cocoa among other spices; so much so they are affectionately referred to as the Caribbean’s ‘Spice Isle’. Having lived in the Spice Isle, I can say that there is much more to the country’s spices that is worth exploring. Glenisha’s grandmother, Gloria McGillivary, was kind enough to share her recipe for Mutton soup; something Glenisha has shared that she fully intends to carry on the culinary tradition by preparing for the younger generations of her family. Grandma Gloria’s Mutton Soup Ingredients Onion Chive and Thyme Garlic Seasoning pepper Barley Salt meat Mutton Potatoes Tanya Flour for dumplings Salt
Carrots Cabbage Instructions Half way cook the seasoned meat. Add other ingredients along with 4 cups of water to the pot and let it come to a boil for about an hour. You can check if additional salt is needed. If you want it thick, you can crush a potato. You can also add pumpkin for colour and taste. Jamaica There is much to love about Jamaican cuisine, but one thing that can be widely agreed upon is that everyone should experience a true Jamaican breakfast before they die. As a little girl I was not the biggest fan of cornmeal porridge, (a culinary tradition brought over by the British during colonial times) much to the chagrin of my dear mother who is arguably the best cook in the world. There was one porridge however, that would be a guaranteed hit among my siblings & me: Hominy Corn Porridge. Hominy corn requires a pressure cooker but it is nutritious, easy to prepare and vegan. The creamy consistency comes from the use of coconut milk, a staple in food preparation throughout Jamaican cuisine. If you have tried to get a precise recipe from a Caribbean mother or granny, you will be able to relate to my elation in finessing this recipe from my mother as this was no easy feat. Jamaican Style Hominy Corn Porridge Ingredients 1 cup of Hominy Corn 4- 6 cups of Water 2 Tbsp Flour 1-2 cups Coconut Milk ½ tsp salt Cinnamon stick or leaves ½ tsp grated nutmeg Method Pressure the hominy corn or soak overnight if you don’t have a pressure cooker. Cook the hominy corn until soft. Add coconut milk and mixed out flour to thicken the porridge. Sweeten to taste adding grated nutmeg, cinnamon or your favourite spices.
From L to R: Hominy Corn, rinsing and soaking, Brazilian Pinto Bean Soup, Grenadian Mutton Soup.
CONTRIBUTORS:
From L to R: Naita Chamberlain (Food blogger at @nclives2eat), Stephanie Lumley (Fundraising & Communication Advisor at SOS Children’s Villages Jamaica) , Nadja Murray
From L to R: Simi Brenner (Head Chef and Owner of The Moussa Pot in Port Antonio), Marsha M.Hall (Founder of @StayConnectedAfrica and author of the book “What it takes” available on Amazon), Marianna Farag (Head Chef and Operator of Marianna’s Kitchen)
Food for Thought is published and printed by Marianna’s Kitchen at 67 Constant Spring Rd. This Zine is inspired by zines that began to emerge in the 1930s-1970s as an informal publication around topics that people felt passionate about. Food for Thought explores various angles of the larger than life topic that is Food. For sale strictly at Marianna’s Kitchen. Enjoy and thanks for your purchase.