Criss-Cross Cultures

Published on March 16, 2009 By foreverserenity In Life Journals

A response I made on KFC's Holiday Foods blog, http://kfc.joeuser.com/article/343369/Holiday_Foods, triggered one of my earlier and happy memories of my mom.

In my response on her blog I mentioned a meal that we Jamaicans loved to eat, which I do believe is more reminiscent of our mixture of cultures on our Island, was and still is Bully Beef and Cabbage with a variety of other foods. For example as a Breakfast meal it could be with fried dumplings or Johnny cakes, which dumplings are also called, or with bread, or even breadfruit, (another food that is known in other Caribbean and Island nations); or as Dinner with Rice or with what we call "food", boiled dumplings, boiled green bananas and potatoes and yellow yams! (not the yams we eat here for Thanksgiving). This wasn't the Brisket as many people knew it, rather this was corned beef in a tin (or can as I've learned to say in the US)

My fondest memory of this dish was as a lunch prepared by my mom. I was about 11 and half years at the time and there were really serious exams going on at my school. These exams would make or break your dreams to attend one of those really good high schools, meaning if I successfully passed that exam, my parents dream of me attending one of the better high schools for girls would be realised!

I was at school, having completed the first section of the exams, it was lunch time and I felt really horrible because I felt, knew that I had messed up that part of the exam! As I was sitting outside feeling miserable, I saw my mom coming towards me with lunch! I was happy to see her. She reassured me that everything would be OK and then she whipped out her concoction of Bully Beef and Cabbage with white rice, plus a banana for dessert or snack!

That meal have never tasted so good to me, it was what I needed at the time, and mom and I sat and enjoyed the sun and the tropical breeze before I went back inside my classroom to face the rest of the exam!

No I didn't pass the exam that day, but I did ace it the next year I took it, and it was my last chance at it too!

Copy of pictures from the following link: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2636437446_9e3a1ea775_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bonitajamaica.blogspot.com/2008/07/treats-from-grand-lido-negril.html&h=266&w=400&sz=123&tbnid=fsxUUQbVHhkzUM::&tbnh=82&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpicture%2Bof%2Bjamaican%2Bbully%2Bbeef&hl=en&usg=__aF10GtRYGAdayenh3Te6WkC_rn8=&ei=X5S-SaCdLYGGtgeei5T7Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image&cd=1

Comments

judi75

on Mar 17, 2009

Mine isn't really cultural, but sometimes the simplest, everyday things are the strongest memories. My mother was not an inspired cook (and my father was not an adventurous eater), so I can pretty much recite what we ate on each specific week day (at least until she passed away when I was 11). One grandmother was an incredible baker; the other was the source of all holiday or ethnic (Jewish/German) food. But my grandfather used to make us rye bread toast for breakfast and neither my sister nor I have ever been able to duplicate the exact taste. It is my clearest positive food memory and the taste/smell of any approximation I make takes me back to childhood more surely than anything else--always with a smile on my face.

foreverserenity

on Mar 18, 2009

Aren't Dad's just great? They are usually up to try anything mom's cook just because! I remember my dad loved being in the kitchen cooking, he always made a mess, but the end results were always unusual and fantastic! lol! It's great when childhood memories leaves us smiling and wanting so much more!

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