Trini to the bone...

Yesterday I saw this link tweeted by my friend - 'In pictures: Indian Africans'. They are photos featuring the Sidis, a small community of Indians who are of African descent, that were taken by photographer Ketaki Sheth over a period of five years. These photos now form the basis of her book, 'A Certain Grace, The Sidi: Indians of African descent'.

One of the quotes under the photos stood out for me. Historian Mahmood Mamdani said,

"Whenever I asked a Sidi person I met whether they thought of themselves as African or Indian, I inevitably get a quizzical look. What, they seemed to think, was wrong with me: they were of course Indians". 

It interests me because of the fact that Trinidad and Tobago is made up of descendants of persons from India, Africa, Europe,  China, Syria, Lebanon and the native people of the island. We are a melting pot of different races and cultures and although we claim to be 'Trini to the bone' there are a lot of people who would identify themselves as Indian or African or whichever race they could most identify with. 

Is it that not enough years have passed since our ancestors came here? Is it that people want to identify with where their forefathers came from? I've often wondered why, when most of us are now very mixed, many people would still identify as something other than Trinbagonian. 

It is a puzzle. 

Thoughts?

peace,
Ren

There are men sexier than I am.

"I am not handsome or sexy. Of course, it's not like I am hopeless." ~Keanu Reeves 

I should clarify that title by saying that there are men that are sexier in a feminine way than I am. I've known this for years of course (I know guys that can rock super high heels *way* better than I can)... it's just a little bit unnerving. Surely as a female I should have some innate sense of sexy movements?

I don't. At all. My body does not know how to move in certain ways... or it's just that I'm sexy in a way that's not the norm. It occurs to me that I should look up the meaning of sexy since I seem to be using it a lot in this post... and so, as defined by dictionary.com,

sex·y

[sek-see]  

–adjective, sex·i·er, sex·i·est.

1. concerned predominantly or excessively with sex;  risqué: a sexy novel.

2. sexually interesting or exciting; radiating sexuality: the sexiest professor on campus.

3. excitingly appealing; glamorous: a sexy new car.

So... hmm. Now I'm not sure that's the word I should be using... maybe sensual? seductive? Am not sure.

By now you're probably wondering why I'm rambling on about sexiness (or lack thereof) and it's simply that - I signed up for belly dancing... except it's a combined class which teaches both belly dancing and burlesque... Today was my first class and whilst I'm excited about the belly dancing (though my hips don't move by themselves - am a poor example of a Trini), the burlesque moves just make me want to giggle ... in a 'really? you want me to move like how now??' kind of way... if moves like the bend and snap can make me feel awkward then these moves... oh my word.  

Awkward in the extreme... and because I've got a fairly expressive face the whole class was aware of my level of discomfort... and the instructor - one very slim guy with way more moves than I could hope to have (and way better hair as well) just shook his head at me... in a 'oh-honey-you're-hopeless' type of way (at least that's what I interpreted it as). *sigh*

I'm told to practice, practice, practice. The thing is that I enjoy watching burlesque and belly dancers... I think they're most sensual and fabulous and just generally awesome... can I see myself in those moves? nope. Obviously I need to change my mindset... maybe then I'll get some moves.

night all,

Ren

Some insight to Trini Food...

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." ~James Beard  

My family is obsessed with the Food Network... maybe not my dad so much... but the rest of us? We ♥ Food Network. Perhaps it's that we like to learn about new things... perhaps it's that we like to eat... perhaps it's that we like competitions... perhaps we like to cook (this is true in my brother's case... only sometimes true in my case)... I'm not sure what it is really but the most watched channel at home is - The Food Network. It's particularly exciting when we see them feature something we're familiar with in T&T... e.g. karela known here as carailli (known in the U.S. as bitter melon) was an ingredient in one of the baskets in the recent Chopped All-Stars Competition. Oh excitement! my brother and I would have had so many ways to cook that if we were there... lol...

What's also exciting is when we see shows featuring T&T or Trinis abroad. My cousin posted this video on facebook - an old Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode featuring Pam's Kitchen, a Trini restaurant in Seattle, WA. I had to share... it's something to be proud of I think - that our food is loved by many people :)

It reminded me of how excited I was when I saw the Chicken Wings Throwdown... Bobby Flay was defeated in this throwdown by Colette of Super Wings NYC. 

Finally, this show is not from the Food Network but from the Travel Channel... it was actually one of the first shows featuring Trinidad & Tobago and our food that I saw... Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame visited our islands and did an entire show on it... this video below is video 4 of 6... chosen because at this moment I feelin' for some doubles... lol

Am not going out for any at this hour though... ah well. 

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead.

peace,

Ren

An After-Valentine's-Day post...

"Love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile." ~Elizabeth Browning

It's the day after Valentine's day. How was yours? Everything you thought it would be? Everything you wanted to avoid? I think a lot of people tend to focus on valentine's as a romantic occasion - a between-me-and-my-lover type of occasion... and in fact, I have found myself focusing on that aspect (or rather the total lack of that aspect).

When I reflect on it today though I wish that aspect wasn't the only one that is [forced] into our consciousness... I had a good day yesterday... I had ole-talk and laughs with my family, cake [and cheesecake - what? it was *Valentine's Day*] with a girlfriend, and ended it all by going to see Black Swan (a most excellent yet somewhat creepy movie) with a couple of my long-time girl-ppl [and one new one]... I got chocolates from a work-colleague... a rose from my girl-ppl... and makeup from my brother's girlfriend [my brother says I should be offended in a 'what exactly are you trying to hint at by giving me makeup Zar?' type of way - doesn't he realise I'm just happy to get gifts? pfft].

It was overall a really good day and so... that's all I'm saying. I didn't know what to write really about V-day... there is a lot of stuff out there already...  and so here's what I've found:

♥ Two great personal Trini blog posts (one by a girlfriend of mine, one by a blogger I've recently started following):

• Ahhhh Valentines again!
• Too Much Of Anything Is Too Much: Relationships

♥ Tips for making peace with Valentine's Day

♥ The Single Girl's Valentine's Day - Ideas (from Cosmpolitan!)

♥ Dr. Eva Selhub's "The Love Response" page - In 2009, I attended her workshop at Kripalu - it was all about using love to heal yourself and others and is, in my opinion, an interesting concept.

Hope you all had a good day and if you didn't then I hope you have a new view on V-day...

much love to u,

Ren

Rice & Dhal & ...

"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices:  take it or leave it."  ~Buddy Hackett

~this post dedicated to one birthday guy and two adventurous ladies~ 

When I was younger I absolutely did not like dhal... which was unfortunate as we had rice and dhal and something for lunch just about every Saturday. My dad is a dhal-lover... in fact most (I can't say all as I don't know for sure though I think it may be all) of his siblings are dhal-lovers as well. I've found though that sometime over the past couple years I've developed a liking to dhal. Ok... more than a liking. Sometimes I crave some good rice & dhal & ... lol. Perhaps it is not absence but repeated exposure that makes the heart grow fonder? Or maybe my dad's family's dhal-loving genes are kicking in? Am not sure what it is but now dhal is no longer my enemy... but quite often a very welcome guest to my table. 

And so I thought I'd try a food post... Last September I spent a wonderful Saturday with three friends before we all transitioned out of a shared community and into new adventures... one of the things that came up was that they'd like to know what sorta food Trinis eat... and I kinda said I'd send pics and such - which I didn't although I did take out pics to send (that does count for something right?). Today is the birthday of one of those friends though and as I remember him and times spent together it feels like a good time to try this out...

So... pls keep in mind that everything given here is subject to the tastes of d persons cooking/eating them... e.g. I don't cook with pepper... am a poor example of a Trini cuz I doh like pepper (though strangely enough I can handle American pepper sauce... hmm)... each dish can be - and most likely is  - cooked in varying ways in households throughout T&T so what I write here is just ... my version. 

And so ... Dhal. I think by now everyone who has had some kinda interaction with Indian food has had dhal of some sort... Trinis use yellow split peas...

You measure it out... rinse it out and then put it up to boil. While that's boiling... you prep the rest of stuff going in the pot..

As I've said above... what is put in the pot typically depends on who's cooking... I like more garlic... not everyone uses carrot but I do every now and then (I try to sneak in carrot in everything I cook - carrots.. blergh). All stuff is cut up and added to boiling pot of split peas. And if you want measurements: 

• about 1/2 lb of yellow split peas (yields 4 - 6 servings)
• enough water for it to boil in
• about 1/4 - 1/2 tsp saffron
• about 2 tsps salt? (season to taste)
• 3 - 4 - how-much-u-want cloves of garlic
• about 1/4 - 1/2 onion
• a lil bit (tsp?) geera and methi goes in dhal while boiling..
• carrot (if u want to try ah ting)
• bandhania leaf (optional but adds extra yum)

Leave dhal to boil down... make sure all water does not boil out... if it does but you see it in time before it sticks to the bottom of the pot and burns - add more water... if it does and you don't see it in time - remove pot to airy area - start all over with new pot. 

While the dhal is boiling you can make whatever other dishes you want to go with it... usually you'll find some kinda chokha (chk out this site for more on what is a chokha) or some kinda meat or something so... The day I took pics I made tomatoes chokha...

Wash and roast tomatoes... you can do this on any grill I guess... then peel skins off tomatoes and mash... how much you do this depends on how chunky you want it... cut up onion & garlic & etc... add to dish... or you can chunkay (sorta like sauté) your onion/garlic/etc and then add to dish...

By this time... check on your dhal... I've found that if I just leave it to boil a while it boils down really smooth without help of a swizzle stick or any other instrument... I like my dhal smooth-ish... some ppl like it with split peas grains still fairly visible... my dad likes dhal more on the watery-side... my mom prefers it more on the thick-side... we've had *lots* of dhal discussions over the years...When dhal is nearly at consistency you'd like it... chunkay some garlic and geera ... maybe some ground geera too ... and then add to dhal... then you have... Deliciousness...

And voilà one now has rice and dhal and tomatoes chokha... where's the rice? In the rice cooker... come on... you all must know how to cook rice ... with or without a rice cooker..

One other thing I made that day: five fingers chow... Some of you reading may already be lost... so...

These are five fingers...aka carambola... aka ? starfruit? am not sure what else it may be called... it's a fruit with a citrus-ish taste...

And then chow... chow is - just about anything cut up with salt and pepper and garlic and bandhania... again it's basically seasoned to taste... and just about anything can be made into a chow... what's in season for example... mango? yay! mango chow! plum? plum chow! pineapple? pommecythere? pomerac? only have cucumber available? cucumber chow! :D Chow is a major thing in T&T... everybody can make a chow... it's usually available at most limes... actually any time is a good time for chow... and so I made...five fingers chow:

And that's one menu for today.

Yum.

lol... and now I feeling for dhal... ah well... hope you all have a great weekend... be inspired... get in the kitchen.. :)

peace,

Rtr

 

Lunch Room Conversation...

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." ~Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

This quote makes me wonder whether Lewis Carroll had any Trini blood in him. It sorta sounds just like the directions that a Trini would give... :)

So we're sitting in the lunch room today (some of us having lunch... some of us avoiding going back to work) and talk comes up about the wonder that is Google Maps... You can find Trinidad and Tobago on Google Maps... You can find lots of stuff on Google Maps... including my house. I have a friend who spends time on Google Maps correcting the labels they have for roads and spaces and I know of persons who've started taking photos to map to places in T&T...

View Larger Map

And while all of that is exciting and maybe you're now thinking you can go label some places on Google Maps... that's not my story. Today's post is on our lunchtime conversation and just how confusing it can be for persons to find places in Trinidad and Tobago. Apart from our vague (yet strangely accurate) direction-providing skills, today's lunchtime convos emphasised that our road names can be a bit.. confusing.

Take, for example, the old Southern Main road which runs from north to south Trinidad. This road was used before the main highways and is still used today as it links all the villages and towns together. This road turns into Main Roads when it passes through towns... What do I mean? If you're travelling south along the Southern Main road from Chaguanas to Point Lisas you drive down the Southern Main road until Isaac Junction where you turn right... then... although you're still continuing on the same road - it's called the Couva Main Road... then after you pass through Couva you turn left and - the road name changes back to the Southern Main road.

View Larger Map

This is one of many places in which it does this. Talk in the lunchroom is that the road we all know as the North Coast road (Maracas anyone?) becomes the Paria Main Road after Maracas Beach till Las Cuevas where it is again called the North Coast road for a little while before turning back into the Paria Main Road to get to Blanchisseuse... lol

When you consider the naming issue and the fact that we tend to have place names repeated... e.g. Palmiste in Central... Palmiste in South... it's pretty amazing that people don't get lost. As one of my workmates say though... "is ah good ting T&T small cuz if yuh get loss yuh just hadda make 2 turns before yuh find yuh way..."

Lol... I ♥ T&T...

peace,

Rtr