Bronx eats and treats

Food in the Bronx

September 2, 2023

Sunday Evenings, Growing up Jamaican (The Food Version)

You might be wondering why there was no reference of lunch in my previous blog post, well, breakfast is so filling we just skipped to dinner. Dinner is magical. The main staple is Rice and Peas. Long grain rice was the rice of choice in my household but any rice can be used. This rice has a nutty flavor courtesy of the dried coconut. The peas (beans) may vary. The varieties are: kidney beans, gungo peas, black eye peas, Jerusalem peas (miniature kidney beans), black beans, peanuts ( for the Italist) and based on how experimental I was and still is, I sometimes used Jackfruit seed🙂. It felt as an insult if rice and peas was not served on a Sunday. I loved having “Bun Bun” which was the crispy sides and bottom of the rice.

Bob Marley “Jammin”

Shrimp, Crawfish, Conch and lobsters were done mainly for special events – birthdays, Christmas and Easter.

The meat was fancy on a Sunday. This is when we had choices. The food was plentiful because it was prepared to serve unexpected guests, Sunday’s Dinner was also Monday’s Dinner which we referred to as “Sunday Monday” or if consumed within the same day but eaten at a later time we called it “Bombai”.

Two meat was the norm. We would do a combination of Fish (Escovietch, Fried, Roast,Brown Stew, Curry, Steamed, Sweet and Sour) with either Goat (Curry/Brown Stew), Beef (Peppered steak, pot roast), Pork (only when I visited other family members since both parents had their own reason they did not consume it).

Roasted Tilapia Fish

Lobster, crab,conch, shrimp and crawfish were prepared on special occasions.

Vegetable may be served raw/steam or a combination of both. For tossed veg, we made our own Thousand Island Dressing consisting of mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, lime juice and salt and black pepper to taste. We also did lime juice and sugar or vinegar and sugar. If vegetable was not a part of the meal we refer to it as a “Barefoot Meal”.

A Barefoot Meal with Bun Bun (I.e. a meal without vegetables)

What is a Sunday evening without juices and punches? The good old grater and strainer/marina/cheesecloth was used to separate the excess pulp from the juice. Sweeteners were brown cane sugar, granulated sugar and condensed milk. Ice cream was a popular dessert. Rum and Raisin, Grapenut, cookies and cream were the flavor of choice.

I will feature a restaurant in the Bronx soon.

My other sites:

Bronxinit Clothing Store

My Health and Wellness store

https://lottoitash.isagenix.com/en-us/