CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING IN THE ISLANDS

To be perfectly honest, we almost forgot about Thanksgiving this year. We're visiting islands that do not celebrate this exclusively American holiday, so we had no reminders. A few days before, we were talking with new friends Bobbi and Craig Brown on a 40' Catamaran just like ours, and realized it was only a couple of days til Thanksgiving. We decided to celebrate island-style. First we hired an open-back taxi truck for an island tour of Bequia. Here's a photo taken from the Hamilton Fort.  

Our Thanksgiving lunch was a far cry from the normal turkey and dressing with pumpkin pie for desert. We chose to have lunch at the beautiful Firefly Plantation Resort in their excellent restaurant that grows much of the produce used in their kitchen. The 30 acres still belonging to this sugar plantation were beautiful, and after our delightful lunch, we enjoyed a tour of the plantation. We sampled fruit from many of the plantation crops, including sugar cane, coconuts, tamarinds, almonds, oranges, limes, pomegranates, soursop, apples, pumpkins and various herbs. 

I ordered something I've been dying to try, Coconut-crusted Lion Fish, while Ricky ordered Chicken Roti with breadfruit. Roti is a wrap of chicken with potatoes baked in plenty of curry. 

 
 Ezra gave the plantation tour!

Toasting our beautiful tropical Thanksgiving Day with Bobbi and Craig drinking fresh coconut water right out of the rind. 

Now that's the way to end a great day in Bequia!

Ricky cleaning his fresh catch of the day-Barracuda, my favorite.

LEARNING ABOUT NEW LOCAL FOODS

COOKING CLASSES AT TRUE BLUE RESORT

Friends Mike and Roycelyn invited us to attend cooking classes every Thursday afternoon while we were in Grenada so we could learn more about the local cuisine. They didn't tell us it was also a comedy routine of sorts with larger-than-life OMEGA (between me and Ricky) and her partner ESTHER   Not only did we learn how to make Cou Cou, but we fell in love with these amazing ladies and the friendly staff at the resort. First they fried Barracuda in a nice batter, then set it aside. They threw together what looked a lot like our Ettoufee with tomatoes, bellpepper, onions, garlic, etc. After the "gravy" cooked a bit, they added the fried fish back to simmer in the rich, creamy sauce. It was wonderful!!!

I'm a very lucky girl to have a husband who likes to make breakfast, not just every once in a while, but EVERY DAY!!! He fixes my coffee at 7am to sip while I read my Bible, then we usually have breakfast at 8am. The photo above shows pancakes with turkey bacon and fresh mango. He switches up between pancakes, oatmeal, fried eggs and granola, and always serves fruit on the side.

PUMPKIN SOUP

We have really enjoyed Pumpkin Soup at local restaurants, one of the specialties of the Caribbean Islands. As I looked over fresh fruit at the market, I decided to buy some pumpkin and try to make it on the boat. Turned out yummy!

Basic Recipe:

Peel and cube Pumpkin and boil in chicken broth (I used Chicken Bullion Cubes) with onion and garlic until soft enough to mash. Season with salt and pepper and parsley flakes. Be creative with different spices.

Passion Fruit is one of our favorite new fruits
Sweet and sour at the same time
Allow the skin to wrinkle first

It's fun to browse the local fruit stands!

I was reading another boater's blog who mentioned how much they liked Roti. It was on all the local menus, but I never bothered to ask what it was. Turns out to be very good!

Chicken Roti is popular, pictured right. It's chicken and potatoes baked in a flour tortilla wrap, and it's served with a sweet mango chutney. It reminds me of pot pie, and it's very filling. Some people use other meats and vegetables.
(Photo doesn't do it justice!)

FRIED PLANTAIN CHIPS
We visited local waterfalls and the care-taker offered us some plantains he had just fried in coconut oil. It tasted like candy, so I had to try it on the boat. It's now one of our favorite healthy snacks. Plantains are very similar to bananas, in fact I bet you can use bananas as well.
Simply cut thin chips using a ripe plantain. Get oil hot and drop pieces in, turning when browned. Drain on a paper towel and wait a few minutes to taste so you don't burn your mouth. So good!

Yesterday at the market I picked up a large yellow "melon" to inquire what it was, and was told it was papaya. I'm sure I've had papaya before, but this is the first time I've ever bought one.

This morning we scooped out the seeds and peeled and cubed it, and were very pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Reminds me of a cross between watermelon and cantaloupe.