New Horizons Wishes you & your loved ones..
a very warm Merry Christmas
&
a Prosperous New Year!
Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanzaa & Happy Hanukkah!!
Here in the warm waters of the Caribbean there are traditions that are as deep as the oceans surrounding us. Below is a tradition that we would like to share with you and your family, and hope that you enjoy!
Wherever you are this Holiday Season, may it be warm inside and cheerfully abundant around you!
Kallaloo
“Kallaloo is for good luck in the New year, especially for lovers”, said Arona Peterson, local food expert and author of Food and Folklore of the Virgin Islands. “The old folks believed that if you served kallaloo to your loved one on Old Year’s night, there would be a wedding by June.”
½ pound salted meat—pigtail or salt beef
Water
Ham bone if available; a common substitute is smoked turkey
1 (10 ox.) package frozen cut okra
½ large onion
Seasoning (thyme, celery, parsley—about 1 teaspoon each)
1 cup boned fish (a white fish with skin is preferable), fried
1 clove garlic
½ hot pepper (scotch bonnet works well)
1 (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach
Soak salted meat in water for a few hours. As with the fritters, your world market may have pig tail. If it isn’t salted, there is no need to soak it. Wash and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until tender. In the meantime, fry fish and allow to cool. Remove meat from water and set aside. Add water to half full level. Put in the ham bone or smoked turkey and okra. Add onions, seasoning, garlic, hot pepper, boned fish and spinach. Let simmer for an hour until mixture has stew consistency. Return meat to stew and simmer for another ½ hour. This stew is generally served with fungi, a cornmeal dish similar to polenta. I think a round or two of polenta would work just fine. Serves 8. Per one cup serving, 155 calories, 2 grams fat, 43 milligrams cholesterol and 307 milligrams sodium.
(Christmas and Easter are important holidays in the Virgin Islands, as Christianity is predominant among the islands' many religious traditions. Other holidays include New Year's Day, January 1; Three Kings' Day, January 6)
