Bredda Anasi is a folklore that is pasted down through many generations. While there are many books that write down his his stories those book only came out recently. his stories and adventures provide weird reasonings behind things we see today like liver spots. My favorite Bredda Anansi story is the one about him, the king, and the porridge.

The story is basically about a king who owns a lot land and his daughter. The princess did not like any of the suiters her father set up for her she wanted someone different. So her father proposed a challenge for the people of the kingdom. In order to marry his daughter and insert the acres of land this man must eat a pot of porridge. So many people came far and wide to step to the challenge. What seemed as something simple was not that easy. Bredda Anansi watched as many got explosive diarrhea after just eating one bowl of porridge. So he made a plane to shove a cork up his butt to prevent himself from you know..

So when it came time for him to eat the pot of porridge he was very boastful to the king how he will the suitor. As a result of the cork, he was able to eat all the porridge but his stomach start to bubble. So he boast ed once more to the other men in line awaiting there turn and those who lost the challenge. He pointed his finger toward the hills and valleys outside the window and said “yuh see ah ah ah ah ah ah of dem land deh ah me soon have it”. At each “ah” he tried to hide fart. Soon the cork that held up the doodoo could not hold it any more so it popped out and explosive diarrhea splash on everyone. Till this day that story is told to children as the reasoning for liver-spots. It is said anyone who has liver spots ancestors came from the men in the room trying the get the princess and the land.

What is more even crazy is that for a good while thats how I thought liver spots came about. Until the 4th grade when I shared the story with a friend and said thats why the teacher had liver spots. The teacher herd it going around and told my mother it was all very funny but the teacher did not find it as funny.

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Here are images of what “liver spots”/ “age spots” actually are.

Jamaican Breakfast/ Snack

Growing up I would Look forward to waking up at my Grandmothers house to the sweet smell of porridge. Porridge is a sweet breakfast meal. It is essential for cold winter mornings. It is quick and easy to prepare. You can garnish it with fruits of your choice, dip bread or crackers in the porridge it’s all up to you!

This was also my favorite reason to stay home on snow days. The smell of freshly grated nutmeg is truly mesmerizing. It is a perfect way to start your day. Even through it resembles oatmeal and wheat cereals it is way sweeter and hearty. It is also extremely low in calories.

Ingredients

• 1 Cups Cornmeal Use yellow cornmeal
• 3 Cups Water
• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1/4 Tsp Nutmeg Ground
• 1 Whole Cinnamon Stick
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Tbsp Condensed Milk

Instructions

1. Add 3 cups of water, and 1 cup of coconut milk to a medium sized saucepan under a medium flame.
2. Add cornmeal to the saucepan and whisk until it becomes smooth in texture.
3. Add nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and vanilla extract, and bring to a boil.
4. Add condensed milk and continue stirring to avoid your porridge to become lumpy.
5. You can add more water of coconut milk to get the consistency that suits your taste.
6. Let cook for approximately 20 minutes.

Recipe Notes

Serve hot. Garnish with fruits of your choice.

Racism in America

My family came from Jamaica where racism was not really a thing. They came to America for what most immigrants come to America for the “American Dream”. In Jamaica there is just an ideal version of America painted in many thoughts; the harder you work the better your life will be in America. They never take in account of Americas social issues, finial issues, educational issues, etc.

My mother always point to the fact that she did not know of Americas racial issues before coming here. The racial issues of the US were not broadcasted as much as today so many smaller countries were not fully aware. I remember when the Trayvon Martin tradgity happened she still did not fully understand the reasoning and the history behind it. She knew of slvary in the south but still could not comprehend.

Colorism in Jamaica

She couldn’t wrap her mind around why was there still so much hate just because only a portion of the country was enslaved. She constantly brings up the point that the entire country of Jamaica was enslaved and there is not as much tension between black and white people there. Even through Jamaica is not racists the country is colorist. There is a idealization of light skin.

Several men, women, young boy and girls use skin bleaching to lighten their skin tone. The skin bleaching industry gains a lot of profit in Jamaica. There are several soaps, cream, and lotions that specialized in striping the skin of melanin. The process is in very harmful to the skin. Some people are even left with permanent chemical burns and scars. While other who bleached to their desired tone are now left to dress in long sleeved shirts and pants most often because there is not enough melanin to protect them from the sun. Even though they reached their dissed tone they are at higher risk of skin cancer.

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Popcaan is a Jamaican dancehall DJ, artist and songwriter. He is my favorite Jamaican artist because of his flow, lyrics, and humbleness. He resided his come up from Vybz Kartel who is another well known artist of Jamaica. Since Kartel put him on to the Jamaican music industry his popularity is now global.

Popcaan’s music is now essential to almost any party scene in the black community. His music is surly to make you want to get up and dance.

His success, music and humbleness attracted the likings of Drake. Drake signed the artist to OVO Sound, making popcorn the first Jamaican and Caribbean artist sign to OVO Sound.

Drake and Popcaan have collaborated to make several hit songs. some of my favites by the two are “My Chargie” and “Controlla”

Jamaican Chicken Soup, sometimes called Chicken & Pumpkin Soup, is my favorite dish its savory, spicy, and delicious. It contains a lot of vegetables and nutrients, as a kid growing up it was away my mom tricked me to eatery vegetables. The soup its self takes almost 45 minutes to prep and nearly an hour and 30 minus to cook. Even though the cook time is really long the flavor and taste makes up for it.

The soup self is thick and somewhat resembles a stew because of how thick it is and the amount of ingredients in it. It is best to eat during when the weather is cold and chilly. During Winter and Wall in Jamaica people most often reserve soup for Fridays or Saturdays because of how long it takes to prepare.

Below is a copy of a recipe used by cooklikeajamaican.com

What I like about the recipe is how versatile it is. Even though this recipe calls for just celery, chocho, and yellow yam to be the main vegetables of the soup, you can add more in. For example growing up my mom and grandmother would typically use Irish potatoes, yellow yam, chocho, Jamaican pumpkin, and corn cob cut into pieces. It really doesn’t matter what you put in the soup as long as you have chicken and pumpkin or butternut squash as at the backbone of the dish.

You are also not confined to just used Chicken legs you can use any part of the chicken most often people use chicken feet, chicken neckbones, or chicken legs as mentioned down below.

Its is also important that you allow the pumpkin tp boil out. This will result in your soup being thick and nice.

Ingredients

8 cups Water
4-5 medium skinless Chicken legs (thighs and drumstick)
3 cups diced Jamaican Pumpkin, or buttercup or butternut squash
2 Carrots, chopped (1-inch piece)
3 stalks Celery, chopped (1-inch pieces)
2 Chocho (chayote), peeled and sliced into 16 pieces
1 lb Yellow Yam, cut into large cubes
1/2 cup each red and green Bell Pepper, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
1 10-oz can condensed Chicken Noodle Soup
2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 sprig Thyme
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper
 
Dumplings
1 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
Mix together to make stiff dough. Form into 7 to 8 flat, round dumplings
 
Method

1. Bring water to a boil and add chicken and diced pumpkin
2. Cook (rolling boil) for 10 to 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is very soft and dissolving
3. Add celery, carrot and chocho and cook on for 10 minutes
4. Remove chicken and set aside to cool before removing the bones
5. Add yellow yam and dumplings (see recipe below) and cook/boil for 15 minutes
6. Add bell peppers, onion and chicken soup to pot
7. Add salt and pepper, and thyme
8. Place whole scotch bonnet pepper on top of soup, cover and cook (rolling boil) for 5 minutes
9. Remove scotch bonnet pepper, thyme, and if necessary remove some dumplings to make room for the chicken
10. Stir in chicken meat and turn off stove and serve.

Here is link to two of my favorite Jamaican YouTubers making it.