Low Country Hospitality

Low Country Boil and Hushpuppies

Schooner on the Ashley

Charleston is certainly worth seeing.  It was founded in 1670 and soon became a wealthy colony of rice, tobacco and indigo plantations.  Wealthy plantocracy meant not only stunning plantation houses but equally stunning town houses.  The old district has a wealth of striking and well cared for houses.  Gardens are maintained to show standard and even public buildings seem to reflect that gracious, southern charm.  Streets were lined with live oaks dripping with Spanish moss or beautiful pink crepe myrtles.  We were entranced.

Cannon at Fort Sumter

South Carolina had been the first state to declare independence from the Union.  Soon after, in 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired just off the city’s harbour.  We had sailed near the little island where Fort Sumter stands proudly on our way in and were keen to see it and learn a little more about American history and the war.  Our experience so far had been that a great deal of effort goes into not only preserving and caring for the past but also educating America’s citizens about their cultural heritage. 

Our guidebook suggested many options, so after an extensive bike ride through some lovely streets, we chose to board a horse and carriage for a more leisurely twilight tour.  We filled our heads with places to see and things to do.  But first, a drink at an old English Pub, then a seafood dinner!  Dinner was not to be recommended but we wandered about Waterfront Park and Old City Market, found a coffee pot (yahoo!!!) and caught a glimpse of sweet grass basket sellers and their wares.  This style of basket weaving is traditional to the African-American Gullah peoples. 

Singin' the Blues on Catfish Row

Nearby we chanced upon Catfish Row, a small side street that is said to have inspired that classic Gershwin musical, “Porgy & Bess”.  A little further on in Chalmers Street is the Old Slave Market area, which at the time was credited as one of the busiest.  

We found out that a “raw bar” serves raw oysters, cold shrimp and sushi (American style – almost cooked) aside from a cold beer or two.  We gave grits a miss and wondered about hushpuppies (corn breads deep fried) served with honey butter.  Fried green tomatoes really do exist as a popular starter or appetiser.  A menu listed entrée is to us a main course. And worst of all, coffee aint coffee...  Are you keeping up with me? 

With Lightning Speed

Technology in a bottle

For those of you who are keen to look at pictures rather than read our posts, please be patient.  Internet, if we can find it....and then, if it works (sigh)... is also subject to intermittent power outages.  Its just like India again!!  However, our helpful friends at Staniel Cay Yacht Club have provided the following advice to assist us improve our internet blues:

The secret to happy surfing on a slow network?
1. Click on the link
2. Take a drink of your Kalik (that's Bahamian beer but any local rum is ok too)
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above until network appears to have blazing speed.

We've tried it & it works....even better if you don't have a computer.  Isn't technology  just amazing?  

PS....meanwhile it's a very long wait for photos to upload

Giving 'em the twitters

A Bird in the Hand: 5 May 09

Discovery Trail

Delayed yet again by broken or missing replacement parts, Cap’n & Crew headed out for a little local bird watching….twitchers or just plain twits?  After an early start, and snacked up on “doubles” and “saheenas”, our group arrived at the Asa Wright Nature Centre, hidden up high in the hills behind Port of Spain.  A former coffee and cocoa plantation, the centre is now an award winning eco-reserve; an old planters house (1907) set in a lush tropical rainforest reserve.  We took a tour, led by knowledgeable naturalist Molly, to see tiny, shy, flittery birds.  Only one, which resembled a tawny frogmouth, seemed to match our beefy birdlife.  He watched with disdain as we desperately tried to take photos, yawning offhandedly as we moved on down Discovery Trail.

Feeding Birdies

After lunch in the main house buildings, the Cap’n & Crew were the only takers to brave icy mountain waters of nearby Clearwater Pool for a refreshing dip – our very first swim of the season!  Too lazy to walk back up the hill to the change shed, we stripped off our wet bathers at water's edge.  It was only then that Cap’n Observant noticed a security camera!!  Bird watching of a different variety and I'm sure highly amusing for security staff.  Damn……

Jhandi Flying

Leaving the steep hills of the Northern Range, our drive took us onto the flat lands of the Caroni Plains, home to many descendents of indentured Indian workers who replaced freed slaves in 1840’s.  Hindus only make up about 24% of the population (more are of East Indian descent) as many had to convert to Catholicism during Spain’s long period of rule.  It was a requirement then to be Catholic to marry or own land.  Reminiscent of prayer flags in Nepal, many Hindu homes fly colourful flags (jhandi) on bamboo stakes to appease gods and bring blessings.

Caroni Swamp

Once at 9^th Cut, we boarded our open pirogue for a little bird watching in the Caroni Swamp, an intriguing & somewhat brackish 40 sq kilometres of mangroves, marshes and tidal lagoons.  Trinidad’s national bird, the scarlet ibis, calls this home.  Our boatman, resplendent in gold “herb leaf” (da smokin’ kine, mon) ear studs, took us through a maze of channels to see blue heron, white egret and one lonely, green tree python.  Just before dusk, we moved as closely and quietly as possible, to a designated roosting island.  Whilst our guide book mentions viewing flocks of 12000 scarlet ibis, we still felt fortunate to see hundreds of these almost luminous, bright red birds swirling through the soft evening light.  Unfortunately, unless kitted up with the latest high-tech birding cameras, catching them on film is nearly impossible.

Buying Doubles

We ended a successful day out slurping on home-made rum & raisin ice-cream from Point Cumana.  This somewhat run-down area is home of “rum & coke”.  Now a little less popular than in the 1940’s, Fernandes Rum Bar was frequented by visiting US soldiers during their stay at a nearby military base in Chaguaramas.  Now sing with me to Lord Invader’s  (he's not a Star Wars character!) calypso tune… "

Drinking rum and coca-cola,

goin' down to Point Cumana. 

Both mother and daughter,

working for the Yankee dollar…..” 

A Well Stocked Galley

Deh Conch Ting: 23 Sep 08

 

The Galley Slave has improvised…1001 ways with chicken. My many market visits have inspired me to find out more about local or Creole foods. Our nearest supermarket for instance has a freezer stocked with pig’s tails, cow heels, liver, tripe, chicken feet, hogs toes, blood sausage, pickled pig’s snout and other such interesting/choice cuts. 

Beef of any variety is a rare sight indeed, although we have been able to find minced beef at times. But there’s always plenty of frozen chicken! A whole new meaning was added to “chicken” in Dominica, however. Mountain chicken’s little legs belong to an unfortunately named frog, the crapaud.  

Fisherman, Antigua

Creole cooking traces its beginnings back to the times of Plantocracy and “imported” African slaves. A hard life meant adapting traditional recipes with what was available. The Planters weren’t that generous, so little piggie destined for Sunday roast, meant offal and disposables for the slaves to make do with. And so they did, remarkably well. 

In fact, some dishes like Mannish Water (Goat Water) made from ram goat offal etc is declared a popular performance enhancer. Perhaps they could whip up a quick batch for some of our footie teams…. BW is devastated that the Broncos were defeated recently, especially by Melbourne! (Yes, yes...I know what they mean by performance!!)  

Coconut Palms Antigua

Coupled with these popular cuts are the wonderfully descriptive dish names. Roti (yes, East Indians became indentured workers as well) can be served plain or stuffed with curry as doubles – popular fast foods. It can also be called “bus-up-shut” when beaten to a flaky consistency or “fling up &clap”. Blaff is a spicy fish stock; coo coo fungi is a polenta-like cornmeal with okra; foo foo is cooked plantain; and jerk, a popular spicy dressing used mostly on chicken destined for the bbq. Grenada’s national dish is “oil down”. Dumplings are popular and are known as spinners, floaters, sinkers depending upon – well, who knows! Soups, stews and curries (the spicier the better!) are very popular. 

Easy catch

Seafood is a popular meal-time basic too; it’s abundant and fresh. However lobster & lambi (or conch) supplies have suffered due to their popularity - one of the downsides of a tourism driven economy. The aroma of dried saltfish permeates every supermarket aisle…..driving me well away. On the up side, Grenada is known as the spice island, so the market in particular is fragrant with the aroma of freshly grown nutmegs, cloves, mace and cinnamon.

Feeding Baby Stingrays

Ground provisions or earthy “blue food” are also piled high on market stalls. Readily available root crops include sweet potato, yam, tania, eddo and dasheen (taro). I think most gardens have a patch or two of these favourites. Dried lentils such as pigeon peas, kidney beans and chick peas (Americans call them garbanzos) are also plentiful and cooked imaginatively. Staples like limes and coconuts (brown, green and in-between) are in plentiful supply. We use lime in everything, from a chicken “wash” to slices in our beer but I still buy coconut milk in tins. The lovely market lady brandished her huge cutlass (machete) with such precision when prepping our coconut water drinks; it’s a real skill! I can’t be trusted with anything sharper than a butter knife…

Who kicked over my gin, again? (whilst cleaning a fish)

Other vegies available in plentiful supply are okra, christophene (choko), plantains (also called green figs or locally “bluggoes”), calaloo, similar to spinach but with a nasty prickle if eaten raw, and the biggest avocados (zaboca) I’ve ever seen. Of course, fruit & veg are mostly seasonal and not always grown commercially as we do, so quality is not always guaranteed. Supply also varies tremendously between islands. Breadfruit, though considered an island staple, was introduced by Captain Bligh in 1793 as a way of improving food supplies for slaves. He would have had plants delivered earlier had it not been for the famous mutiny which sidetracked him for a wee while.

Lunch-time snooze wired for sound

The best has been left to last… Mango season is nearly over, so we’re indulging. Some are a bit stringy and BW complains that they just aren’t to Queensland standard but the crew could not be called scurvy! 

Over the course of our journey we’ve sampled small sweet pines, sun-ripened paw paw, local green-skinned oranges, guava, soursop (custard apple), passionfruit and carambola or star fruit. We also tried a fruit that is lychee-like but I’ve yet to find out what it’s called (possibly the guinep). My attempts to ask the rasta vendor resulted in some interesting hand waving and a few laughs for us all. Well, we now know how to eat what-ever they are! 

A great place to start

Only Thinking of You....

Food for the Soul: 13 Aug 08

Caribbean Red (Quick, grab him!)

While we’re on a homey theme here, thought you might like this local (Creole?) recipe for chicken soup. (It appears on a Maggi soup mix packet). At least you can’t say we’re not thinking of you!

Chicken Foot Soup

Add 227g of chicken foot (yes, really!) to 2.5 litres of boiling water with a clove of garlic and few grains of pimento. Simmer 10 mins. Add 454g pumpkin and simmer for 15 mins more. Add 1 sliced carrot, 1 small cho cho (christophene) (still wondering?… for the Queenslanders amongst us it’s choko!), 3 small potatoes, chopped and 114g of yellow yam diced. Add 3 sprigs of thyme and 3 sprigs of escalion (chives). Season with spinners (I believe that’s small dumplings – no recipe for that!) and 1 scotch bonnet (a hot pepper). Continue cooking until vegetables are tender. Add 2 packets of Jamaica Cock Soup Mix with Pumpkin. Remove pepper before serving.

Roti Hut, a lunchtime snack bar, Antigua

Well, good luck. At least the vegies will be nice. Reminds me of that old story about cockatoo & stone soup? When the bird is cooked, throw it out and eat the stone.  

Oh yes, they really do have frozen packets of chicken foot here in the supermarkets if you need some! The Cap’n & I tasted this “local delicacy” of chicken’s feet in Hong Kong many years ago – I wasn’t going back for seconds then….

Rum & Roti

Fine Dining

Cuisine here is a fascinating mix of hamburgers and fries, steaks or curried up rotis – flat breads filled with chicken & potato curry and drenched in mango chutney. All designed of course to sop up any alcoholic over-indulgences. Bars abound and some are more infamous than others – partying any night is de rigueur here. Needless to say, Hollywood’s right into it.

Dinner for who?

True local dishes offer soups and stews – not really appealing to us in this climate. GS went through the checkout last week with a lady buying “hogs feet front, toes on” (even less appealing!) but with lime and hot pepper sauce added, it is the main ingredient in souse.

Fish has hardly featured in our diets so far due to a cunning organism called ciguatera. This toxic critter is eaten happily by reef fish but less so by humans, who tend to die. So fishing is out. A fishing licence is also necessary. Just ask the chap who is now languishing in jail thinking about his US$ 46,000 fine. Ouch!

Cane Gardens Bay from high: a great surfing spot

Rum is the drink de jour, with enough varieties to please even the most ardent connoisseur. Captain S has even been persuaded to give up the G&T's. Yes, we're all in shock! Anyway, I'm sure we'll have more to report as we travel south, sampling local varieties. I have a little stock of oz wine and hope to expand the cache to include some Chilean whites...no casks though, so we feel very indulgent.

For those like us who knew only a little about the Caribbean and even less about the BVI, the following map of the islands and this interesting web site for visitors may help...