Recipe #2: Cabbage and Saltfish

For my next Jamaican recipe, I went for a breakfast dish; Cabbage and Saltfish. For those of you who like salt and codfish without all the bones, it is a nice alternative. It might be hard to find saltfish back in the states but if you can, it is quick and easy make. Surprisingly, it came out good the first time I tried it and lasted me three days. In this case the meal was served with a quartered boiled potato on the side. Usually if you go to a restaurant you will find it with a your choice of fried or boiled dumpling, boiled potato, boiled yam or a boiled banana. There are also other variations of saltfish such as and Callaloo and Saltfish and the national dish, Ackee and Saltfish. For the recipe check out: http://www.jamaicans.com/cooking/fish/steamedcabbagesaltfish.shtml.

Quote of the Week #1

I will post quotations on a weekly basis with the intent that they will stimulate your mind as they have mine. Many of these adages you will not find in a book of quotations. They were the words of people who were, and are, largely underrepresented in the greater society. Many of them did not acquire significant degrees from universities but all have one thing in common; they were people who experienced life and shared those experiences with the hope that they would one-day help to foster a better humanity. Hopefully, these quotes will cause you to explore further the people who uttered them. So with this in mind, I leave you with the first quote of the week from the Guinea-Bissaunian revolutionary, Amilcar Cabral:

". . . to support those who are suffering and fighting for their liberation, it is not necessary to be courageous; it is enough to be honest." (Return to the Source, 16)

Recipe #1: Rice and Peas

Today I cooked Rice and Peas for the second time. The first time was alright but the peas came out too hard. This time I resorted to the good old can-of-peas (if you don’t mind the preservatives it’s a faster and easier alternative). Hopefully this will become a part of a larger project to get these Jamaican recipes down to science before the end of this Fulbright. If I learn nothing else, at least I will be able to cook up a little taste of Jamaica. For the recipe check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWCl7USUtWw

The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness . . .

Yesterday I took my sister to see the new apocalyptic movie "2012." While I didn't anticipate that much from the film, I was intrigued by one part. Not to give away the film, but there is a scene where two monks are discussing their views on worldly matters and the junior monk is clearly fixed in his judgement. In the midst of the discussion, the senior monk proceeds to refill the younger one's tea beyond the point of overflowing. The young monk tells him that the cup is already full and can't hold anymore. In reply the elder likens the cup to the younger monks mind; you must first empty your cup before you can properly accept what others have to offer.

I'm not sure exactly where this story comes from but I came across it several years ago in paper on Jeet Kune Do (click link to download) authored by Bruce Lee himself. Jeet Kune Do means "the way of the intercepting fist" and is the martial art style he created some years ago. In this paper a similar story is told with reference to a Zen master and a "learned man." I liked the fact that the filmmakers were able to translate such a meaningful tradition into an audiovisual form. Maybe one day we will be able to see a visual representation of the Tao Te Ching.

Nyabinghi 2009

"There is not in this world a more disgraceful denial of human brotherhood than the Jim Crow car of the southern United States; but, too, just as true, there is nothing more beautiful in the universe than sunset and moonlight on Montego Bay in far Jamaica.” (Darkwater, 1920)

These words penned by W.E.B. DuBois in 1920 still resonate today. On the 1st of November, two bus loads of students embarked on a journey from the University of West Indies campus in Kingston to Montego Bay for a Nyabinghi. Every year Rastafari from around the world gather in Mo Bay to celebrate the 1930 coronation of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. This year was no different. While the turn out may not have been as large as previous years, the caliber of the event was nothing short of monumental. Rastafari from at least America, Jamaica and Japan were represented. When we arrived at the campsite around 10 p.m. on the 1st, the drumming and chanting had already began. An elder came out to greet the group and provide some background on the history and meaning of Rastafari before everyone was ushered into the campground to witness the 12 a.m. lighting of the Nyabinghi fire. The lighting of the bonfire officially marks the start of the weeklong ceremony and is kept burning for the entire duration. Throughout the ceremony songs are sung reminiscent of church hymns, while others are particular to Rastafari. At various times the drumming is interrupted to allow for elders to pass down oral histories and for readings from the Bible. People came as went as they pleased. Noone is designated tasks but everyone plays a role. If the fire is dying out someone will add firewood. If a drummer retires, another will take his place. There is even a member from the local community who voluntarily cleans the camp at daybreak.

For the students the event seemed to be very enlightening. Many of them admittedly knew very little about Rastafari prior to the Nyabinghi and professed to have extinguished many negative views afterwards. We stayed until around 10 a.m. the next day, taking sleeping rotations in the bus before finally heading back to campus. Some went straight to work the next day with no sleep; thankfully I have no classes on Mondays.