The Caribbean's cuisine is a major attraction at this time of year.
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MIAMI - Christmas in the Caribbean is truly special and
this year I managed to make it to Barbados to spend Christmas Day with
my parents, sister and my extended family.
Getting
up to frigid temperatures on Christmas morning was not easy, but warm
thoughts of sunny skies, and more importantly some sumptuous Christmas
cuisine, motivated me to make the effort.
After
a lengthy journey which started at LaGuardia Airport in New York, and
continued to Barbados from Miami, gloomy skies and a heavy downpour
greeted my arrival - rare for Barbados which seldom experiences
precipitation on Christmas Day.
However,
the culinary presentation at my cousins - The Barrow family - did not
disappoint, and after blessing the table, I dug into some clam chowder,
ginger-flavored baked fish, baked pork, a pea-based soufflé called
"jug jug" and my Guyanese mother's signature pepperpot.
The
company was delightful, a great time to catch up with senior
relatives, and to meet new acquaintances, one of whom was a
Caribbean-American software professional from Maryland, who was
actually seated across the aisle from me on the flight from Barbados to
Miami.
While
flying the friendly skies in such proximity, we had no idea we would
be breaking bread together later that day. It turned out she is a good
friend of our family, and we also discovered we had a number of mutual
friends in neighboring Saint Lucia.
Then,
there was the Toronto-based West Indian magazine editor; a
Bajan-Canadian MBA student at the University of the West Indies' Cave
Hill campus; and a Turkish-West Indian US college student who led a
stimulating conversation on healthy lifestyles at our table.
Interestingly,
he is a proponent of "beyond organic" fatty foods which alleviated any
passing remorse I was experiencing for overindulging in the Christmas
feast.
I
am currently in Miami getting ready to attend a wedding of two
Haitian-American friends, after which I head back to New York to start
digging my vehicle out from the weekend's Boxing Day blizzard.
When
I land in New York and the cold air sinks into my bones, I am at least
assured to have warm thoughts of the region whence I came, and will
promptly check the calendar to schedule a return.
Happy New Year everybody!
