We are already April, but summer still seems far away. Many of us dream of white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, exotic islands, breathtakingly beautiful sunsets. One such place is the American Virgin Islands, a group of islands in the Caribbean, which are the United States’ extraterritorial territory. Three are the main islands – St. Thomas (there is the capital Charlotte Amalie), St. John and St. Croix. There are also many smaller islands. The archipelago has a total area of ​​352 km². Columbus finds them, and then great powers like Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and France have struggled over them. Gradually, the islands pass under the rule of Denmark until the early 20th century, when the United States redeems them for $ 25 million and turns them into their extra-territorial territory. The US Virgin Islands are the only part of the United States where the vehicles move from the left.
The main livelihood is tourism and agriculture. Bananas and sugar cane are grown from which they make rum. 🙂 Coral reefs around the islands except that they are beautiful but also serve as a barrier to the ocean waves and the waters there are very peaceful as in an improvised lagoon. Paradise for tourists with great opportunities as they are an expensive destination. Unfortunately, the US Virgin Islands are at the head of a grim statistic. Because of the number of murders (49.26 per 100,000 inhabitants) occupies the fourth place in the world. In front of them are only El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela.
When we talk about the Caribbean and talk about a traditional drink, nothing different than rum does not come to mind.Here, the famous brand is Cruzan Rum, which is produced on the island of St. Croix.
They also have a range of healthy and fruity drinks that are found in all Virgin Islands and the Caribbean – fruit juices, coconut milk, tea. Seamoss is a popular beverage of seaweed that is cooked until dissolved and then mixed with milk and spices. Mauby is obtained by cooking the bark of mauve, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla and anise.
Island cuisine is a mix of Indian, European and African influences. The local Indian population used the cassava and knew how to make bread from it. Europeans bring new foods like beef, onions, garlic, and wheat. They also bring many food products, which today are synonymous with islands such as jackfruit, lemon, mango, and sugar cane. With the import of African slaves, new crops such as okra and new cooking styles come. From America comes from beans, corn, potatoes and different kinds of peppers. With the abolition of slavery, many workers leave the islands in search of happiness elsewhere. There is a shortage and Europeans are starting to use Indian and Chinese workers. With them come new styles of cooking and curry becomes very popular for Caribbean cuisine.
In today’s and previous times, the best chefs are the older women in the community. For precise recipes, there is little to say – a little bit of that, a little pinch of love, and finally, another culinary masterpiece, crafted with fresh and delicious ingredients. Fish soup is eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Callaloo soup is another popular dish. Its ingredients are the leaves of dasheen (a plant that looks very much like a triangle), mixed with okra, local herbs, and often different meats or seafood.
The dishes include rice and peas, sweet potato, fried bananas, dasheen root, sweet potato, cassava, beans and lentils.
I chose to do for you “Johnnycake”. Journeycakes, johnnycakes, hecakes, ashcakes, jonikins, shawneecake, and jannock cake are names for flat cornmeal loaves that have been used as food while on the road and were comfortable to carry in saddle bags. This recipe can not cover these requirements except if you do not want to get a large, sticky baggy bag. In the Old English jannock it means honest and fair. Hence the origin of the name for the modest corn cake, which can be seen as a “pleasant” and “generous” gift for the passengers. As with many recipes, we decorate them far beyond their usual origins. We try to make them more interesting or use existing ingredients. This recipe is an example of this. Apples and cranberries make the cornbread a delicious and not too sweet dessert, which is certainly not boring.
About cake:
1 tea cup of sugar
1/3 tea cup of butter
1/3 tea cup plus 3 tablespoons apple cider
1 1/2 large peeled apple, cut into slices 0.5 cm thick
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
1/3 tea cup of dried blueberries
2 large eggs
1/3 tea cup full-fat milk
245 grams of corn mix for muffins
Since I had to adapt the recipe to the available products in the Bulgarian stores, I prepared the corn mix myself. Here is a recipe for ingredients for 400 grams mix:
1 1/3 tea cup of white flour
1 tea cup of corn flour
6 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of baking powder
½ teaspoon of salt
Steps of preparation:
Heat the oven to 220 degrees. Smear pan with a diameter of 22- 24 cm with vegetable oil. In a small saucepan heat the sugar and oil until boiling at medium temperature, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons apple cider and cook for one more minute. Pour the mixture into the prepared tray and allow to cool. In a small bowl, mix apples and lemon juice together. Arrange the pieces of apple in a circle on the chilled caramel, overlapping the pieces slightly. Add blueberries. Beat the eggs, milk and the remaining 1/3 cup cider in the bowl. Add the corn mix. Pour the dough onto the fruit in the pan and carefully smear it with a spatula. Bake until a wooden skewer, stuck in the middle, comes out clean for about 30-35 minutes. When it is baked, let it cool for 30 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the tray so you can get the cake out well. Turn the cake on a serving plate.
That is all. It does not take much time and is in the category of Saturday – Sunday treats for the family. Something light and fruity about coffee or tea. A way to tell your loved ones that we love them without words. 🙂
Next destination – Anguilla.
