Sharing .... a Caribbean thing.

Do you recall anyone starving to death in the Caribbean? 

Perhaps somewhat malnourished, starving hungry maybe but with breadfruit trees, pumpkin vines, lime trees and people so willing to give you a helping hand its kind of hard to believe we could lose anyone to starvation.

 

Limes

Pumpkin Vine

Breadfruit

This particular week, Samaritans were lurking at every corner.  It was a wonder of amazing gestures of kindness, by the end of the week I was dizzy with joy.  Really though, think about it all the little acts of thoughtfulness people did for you this week and pass it on.

My frenzied week began with my sister in law; we were sitting around drinks in hand when Miss Sweetness announced that she had something for me, big smile on her face and hope that I don’t take offense!  Now I’m intrigued, especially as she took ages to get the ‘thing’ out of the bag.  No worries! I should know that she has my back.  She happened upon a product that is working for her and she wanted me to look as lovely as she does.  Bless her cotton picking heart.



My new wonder product!

Back home, I popped across the road to deliver some mangoes to my neighbour and she offered me a huge breadfruit the size of a very large melon.  Manners prevented me from declining so I asked for a wedge instead. As I turned to leave, her husband was coming through the door, he greeted me and at the same time reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a some limes and two cucumbers and gave them to me.  Wow!

Now I don’t normally visit the telephone company (doctors orders!), but since they are a law unto themselves I became compliant and paid my bill on due date.  I was ever so surprised to see my cousin patiently awaiting her turn as one does in the throes of a monopolized giant.  (You’re right not my favourite provider).  I complimented my girl on looking sharp, nice lipstick and so on, then quipped her about a hot date.  Well would you believe that a couple of days later she surprised me with up a new lipstick and some mangoes.  

Next my good buddy called to tell me that our mutual friend left some cabbage, okra, and bean that she was able to reap from her kitchen garden, before the pesky monkeys helped themselves to the results of her hard labour.  As I went to collect my goodies, the very same buddy, not to be outdone slipped me some DVD’s.  

I’m not done yet, an elderly couple living next door to my office sent over two huge boxes of mangoes.   Same day, as I sat in my office there was a knock on the door, I opened it to find my gardener standing there with some mangoes and two moringa plants.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-of-moringa.html

Moringa Oleifa

 

 

All these mangoes were wonderfully delicious, I was only too happy to share them with others.  I sliced and froze the set at the end (above) and took them to a beach picnic where even more people delighted in them. 

 

 

Another delight was soup made by a work colleague from Grenada.  We have a little “all Nations” in the office and work stops when presented with something from another country.  Not sure of the complete ingredients in the soup, but it did include pumpkin, spinach, ginger, dumplings of course, green plaintain, lentil powder and it was a winner.

I happened to be in the lunch room later as the evening shift came on.  Whilst unpacking her lunch Ms. Jamaica passed me a container and simply said, ‘you came to mind as I was putting out my lunch." My workmates are amazing.

There’s more, I went over to the Bank and the security guard asked me whether I would be at work the next day?  Next day he turned up with ......... Breadfruit.

 

Roasted Breadfruit

Roasted Breadfruit - halved

As he handed over the breadfruit I joyful gave him a some Soursop that I picked from my tree that same morning.

 

 

 

 

Soursop is a versatile and amazing tree, with all the parts of it having important uses in traditional medicine. Juice made from the fruit, as well as the fruit itself, are effective in exterminating all kinds of intestinal parasites and amoeba. I routinely gave my beloved tea made from the leaves when he was ill.

 Back to the breadfruit.....

Breadfruit has a reputation of being bland but there are many ways to cook (baked, boiled, roasted, friend, crushed) and use breadfruit that this lowly tropical staple can be transformed into a gastronomical experience.  

The breadfruit is abundant in the tropics and really quite cheap.  It has been written that “the breadfruit is a nutritional giant capable of alleviating hunger in the world’s poorest nations.” 

Remember Captain Bligh's ill fated mission on the HMS Bounty?  He was to bring breadfruit saplings from the South Pacific to the Caribbean, because the breadfruit tree produced huge, nutritious fruits as often as three times a year, and it was thought they might provide an inexpensive food supply for African slaves working on Caribbean plantations; there you have it!

For the beach picnic I made a breadfruit and tuna salad, consisting of cooked and diced breadfruit, sweetcorn, green pepper, and of course canned tuna.  Normally I mix together with mayonnaise but as we were

beaching it I used grapeseed oil for the mix. 

A simple and quick recipe. 

 

Quicker still is Pickled Breadfruit:

You will need, breadfruit, lime, onion, salt and pepper

(I use Cajun pepper for the additional seasonings).

Peel, core and cut an under ripe breadfruit. 

Boil in salt water.

Squeeze fresh limes for the pickle and chip the onions,

add salt and pepper to desired taste.

Pour this over the cut breadfruit pieces. 

This can be served hot or cold.

 

My mother was a great one for sharing. 

Like a lot of the old folks in the country,

she would not allow you to leave her house empty handed. 

Whether it was cherries, soursop, herbs, ground provisions,

avocados, homemade bread,

whatever little she had she believed in sharing. 

She even took her doctor little parcels on visits.