Jamaica part 2

Finally the last series of pictures from my Jamaica trip last month are here!

Honestly guys it’s a mixture of different foods (welcome to my Jamaican food store online)  and beautiful scenes.

A visit to Coronation market was necessary to get the last few bits and bobs for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately the “indoor covered” area was closed.
This area of Jamaica (west Kingston)  is notorious for being not so tourist friendly 🙂
I don’t advise you venturing around here alone. I was taking pictures and video very discreetly with my ipod (which has a very unassuming case) when a lady exclaimed:

” Yuh cant tek picture a people! Dem wil kill yuh!”

I put my ipod in my bag after that and sat in the car ha ha.

And NO I don’t know how to write in patois!

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More of the market

Here is the  (half) table spread from Christmas dinner 🙂

Let me introduce you to a few of our national rock stars…of course I mean in terms of FOOD 🙂

Meet Mr. Oxtail.

He tastes good with butter beans and the right assortment of spices. I can do a recipe on this if anyone would like some details.
*He is also a waist line killer if moderation is not exercised!

Meet cousin Fried Fish.
This was done outside as you can tell, over some wood.

I LOVE fried fish (in moderation of course).

It goes great with bammy (made from Yucca aka Cassava) and festival (made from cornmeal flour).

Meet sister Sorrel.

She is a beautiful and fragrant drink  which goes great with lots of ginger.
Sorrel. I think, is from the hibiscus plant.
OK…don’t quote me on that. But after visiting Egypt and indulging in what appears to be their national tea, hibiscus tea, I made this correlation that it’s the same…plant/tea/drink.
Which can also be found in Senegal—->bissop drink/tea
( I only know this about Senegal because I was planning on moving there 2 years ago).
Anyway if you go to a Jamaican families’ house during the holidays and they are not brewing this drink or have a flavorful spiked concoction waiting to be served….LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Because they are not really Jamaican! Ha ha I kid I kid.
But seriously this drink is a staple during Christmas time.

*In the picture is the used plant pods. They were brewed and drained of their liquid 🙂

Meet brother Chocolate Tea!
Another staple that can be found in kitchens during Christmas time or any Sunday morning!
It’s made from the actual cocoa beans. And spiced to taste. No old nasty store bought packets here.
I will also show you a picture of the cocoa beans in its pod. It is actually really beautiful to view. Well at least I think so 🙂

Grated coconut.
Added to many dishes especially rice and peas. The coconut is first grated. Then water is added. Then my mom squeezes the pulp until the liquid turns into a cloudy white color (old school #phuckyofoodprocessor).
Then my friends, you have “coconut milk”.
The liquid is strained and added to the rice and peas. I bet you didn’t know making coconut milk was so easy 🙂
A true rock star because of the authentic flavor it gives to Jamaican style rice and peas.

Sir Ackee is a breakfast, lunch or dinner staple. It’s usually served with salt fish and sauteed veggies.
It is  hard for me to describe the taste and texture.
But to the people who say it tastes like eggs—>that is just foolishness.
I think some tourist only have eggs to relate ackee too so that’s why you may hear this notion.
You just have to try it to understand it is pure deliciousness 🙂

Auntie coconut jelly! OK…I am going to share a secret with you.
Coconut water..hmmm…I find is pretty disgusting.
Like sometimes I can stomach it. But most times not.
HOWEVER…the jelly of the young coconut and I are BEST FRIENDS. I’m drooling right now thinking about it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love coconut but unless coconut water is the only option left on earth for re-hydration and replenishing your body…I am NOT drinking it!

The road side icy!
Every kids’ favorite drink!
I usually get “fruit punch” which is all the flavors mixed together.
The best part of this drink is watching the road side vendor make it. They use a giant block of ice and shave it super fast.

Now I had the opportunity to visit a family friends fruit farm which was absolutely massive!
The views from the house were gorgeous as well. Here are a few snap shots from that day.

Hi guys! My name is rambutan 🙂

I don’t even remember what these berries are called. But apparently the birds loved them since they practically ate the tree clean. It was a shame 🙁

Here are two pictures of the cocoa fruit. The beans are nestled in their pods which are covered in a white meaty flesh. You can eat the skin but I did not taste it. I did try the beans though and it taste like bitter and slightly oily chocolate.

There were also some very lovely flowers.

Shot from a different day, but I love the red color of the dirt in Jamaica.
If you visit bring some comfortable walking shoes 🙂

I hope you enjoyed my pictures but I’ll stop here!
I really should open a flicker account because I have hundreds of pictures from my travels.

Well actually my external hard drive committed suicide during my return home from
 Viet Nam.
I basically lost all my pictures from Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and some oldies 🙁

Oh well!

Leave a comment if you have any questions about traveling around Jamaica. I will try my best to answer them ^_^