Bronx eats and treats

Food in the Bronx

August 27, 2023

Sunday Mornings, Growing Up Jamaican (The Food Version)

My mom would always say:

“Rise with the morning sun”

I never truly understood what that means until now. Sundays were for chores, worship and some good Jamaican Food. Rising with the morning sun allowed us to accomplish so much, especially on Sundays.

Breakfast would be a flair of porridge (grits for American reference) which consisted of cornmeal, peanut, green banana, oats, bulgar, farina, green plantain as the main ingredient. The main ingredient may be singular such as cornmeal porridge or a combination of multiple ingredients. My Dad would refer to any food combination as ‘Bolo Slush’.

Porridge was usually sweetened with milk, coconut milk, sugar and molasses. Served in a bowl with hard dough bread; or crackers on the side.

Tea was a must have. Bush tea (cerasee, mint, fever grass, rosemary, soursop leaf, chamomile, tamarind leaf, moringa, neem and cinnamon leaf tea just to name a few. Bush teas are served plain or sweetened with sugar or condensed milk.

Chocolate (Cocoa) tea was like a delicacy. My grandfather ‘Dada’ or ‘Maas Morris’ as he was affectionally called would pride himself in making chocolate balls for his grandchildren. He would pound the chocolate seeds in his mortar until it was a paste. After which, he would use his hands to round them into balls. Once balled, he puts them on the zinc top of the outside kitchen to dry. Once dried, he ships them to ‘town’. What a labor of love.

One chocolate tea ball makes about 6-8 cups of tea. The chocolate tea ball was boiled in water until it dissolved. Added to the boiled chocolate was cinnamon, vanilla extract and condensed milk. It was sweetened to taste. The tea is then strained. Sometimes cayenne pepper was added for sweet heat.

I got lost in nostalgia now I’m back. Coffee was served but with age restrictions it was only for the adults of the household. We served teas for every ailment. Ginger tea emerges as the King tea🤣 it’s good for gas/ bloating, headache, fever the ‘whole 9 yards’. Do you have a King tea in your country?

Still on breakfast, the array of main course may be:

Calaloo only or combined with salted fish.
Ackee with salted fish (cod, red herring or mackerel)
Bully beef (sautéed corn beef with peppers, tomatoes and onions)
Run dung ( mostly salt mackerel cooked in coconut milk reduction with sautéed ground seasonings)
Steamed fish ( Doctor, goat, snapper, turbot) are mostly used.

Steam fish with boiled potato,pumpkin,cabbage and broccoli

Chop Suey ( a steamed combination of pak choy, cabbage and carrot may include meat, poultry or fish).
Mackerel in tomato sauce.
Chicken ( brown stew or curried)
Fritters/ flitters ( fried dough with sausage, salted fish or vegetables).

Pumpkin and Kale Fritters/Flitters

The accompaniments are as follows:

Rice- believe it or not we have rice for breakfast.
Boiled food/ ground provisions- yams, banana, potatoes, dumplings, corn, cabbage.
Fried dumplings, breadfruit, plantains, bammy and festivals.

Ackee and Saltfish with Roasted Breadfruit and Fried Ripe Plantain

There is a large Caribbean community here in the Bronx and I am still able to keep my food culture alive. There are multiple corner stores, dedicated Caribbean aisles in supermarkets, restaurants and family members visiting that I ask to, “Carry something from yard (Jamaican food) for me”. There is more to come…. Food is Love.

My other sites:

I just listed: Act Jamaican high-Waisted Bikini US Size XL, for $58.00 via @amazonWe are on Amazon

Bronxinit Clothing Store

My health and wealth store: