Hot patty, hot patty!!!

If you know anything about Jamaican people at all..it would be, we like our patties hot,hot,hot! Not spicy hot, just hot enough so you run the risk of scorching the roof of your mouth and burning your tongue. I have never understood our obsession with this, but everywhere in Jamaica that patties are sold they have to be piping hot, and if not, you can be assured of  a complaint hurled across the room 'da patty yah cole, mi cyan eat it!'

Patties are often referred to as the cheapest hot meal you can get on the island. And it is a very popular choice on rainy days, sunny days and pretty much any day. Its used to pacify and incentivise. Often used to form friendships and quite often ruined a few especially when some 'craven' person has eaten all the patties, or when a friend who has been given the task of buying patties for you declares on his return, quite seriously, that 'your patty' fell out of the bag and he had to throw it away. This is usually done with patty crumbs stuck between his teeth, or all over his face (personal experience)

Often  the nicest thing someone could ever do for you is bring you two nice hot beef patties on a rainy afternoon, its an indication of thought and caring (one pattie is an insult! and says you are mean!) No lamb, or spinach, no saltfish or even chicken..just pure beef patties thats our favorite.

Breakfast

Its the most important meal of the day. Not so much by content, but also who you share it with. Certainly from my experience if you share it with family, you are set up for a great day..one that leaves you ready for anything. Share it with a husband/lover it can make your day more lighthearted. With a business partner, that sets you up for taking on the world with both hands..and beating the hell out of it!

This morning, I shared with a business friend and all I have to say is 'bring it on world'
Top photo: Fried dumplings
Bottom photo: Saltfish fritters

Saturday soup

What is the most popular meal in most Jamaican homes on a Saturday???
Soup..rich thick yellow beef soup. One filled with ground provisions like, yam,
coco, dasheen, dumplings and chunks of beef. Yum!

Recipe:

11/2 lb beef 
1/4 lb turnip 
1/3 lb carrot 
1/3 lb cho cho 
1/3 lb carrot 
1 lb yellow yam 
1 lb coco 
1 lb Irish potato 
1/2 lb pumpkin 
1 package beef noodles 
1 tsp salt 
2 stalks scallion
Directions:
Boil beef shank in boiling water until meat is tender
Add cut up vegetable to pot
Add seasoning to pot
Add dumpling to pot (optional)
Let cook until soup is medium bodied

Curry goat...not Goat Curry!!!

Mention 'Curry goat' in this country and some people either lick their lips in delight or screw their faces up in disgust. Some will even 'tear up' as they recall the fun and antics they had as kids playing with their pet goat until it went missing.....Back home in Jamaica, that's what happened to goats.
On a Saturday morning the meat would be 'prepared' and by early afternoon it would have been placed in a huge 'zinc pan' with all the various seasonings put in it. Amidst all of that there would be arguments about who made the best curry goat, secret recipes, and how much rum should be had and added to the goat while cooking!
And always, as best as I can recall the goat cooking would be left to one 'specialist'. This man would normally be of an East Indian heritage who would have earned his reputation as being 'a curry goat man', and would be a prolific rum drinker.
These goat cooking ceremonies went on forever, no rushing that masterpiece! Sometimes it would rain, they would cover it with a bit of zinc or banana leaf, but the process wasn't shortened in any way.
Finally after hours of waiting, the great reveal! Served on a bed of buttery white rice with a bit of green banana on the side...
Those were the days![Image]