That Voo-Doo That You Do

Today the temperatures in Dallas dipped all the way down to 55 (when I walked outside to get the paper before breakfast) and never got above 80. This is the proper weather for thinking about the State Fair (weird fried foods/corny dogs/charburgers/funnel cakes) and . . . Hallowe'en (CANDY and parties). This year, I think I'm going to throw a proper Hallowe'en themed party, with voo-doo as the theme. There's a good chance that a few of my friends from Louisiana will come to visit, so it's appropriate for them, and it also reminds me of my Cruzan heritage. Oh, okay, so I only lived in St. Croix for five years, but I was ages 9-14 and those were very formative years. I embraced the island lifestyle with my entire being and will always think of that beautiful island as my home. Plus, one of my in-laws who didn't like me had fun spreading the rumor through that side of the family that my parents had used voo-doo to make my husband fall in love with me and marry me, which makes me laugh every time I think of it.

The food in the Caribbean is wonderfully exotic, yet homey and comforting. The first recipe that comes to mind is for tostones, made with plaintains. Those are the large banana-looking items in the specialty section of your grocery store. They stay green, with a hint of yellow when they're very ripe, but to make tostones you want the green ones. Peel the skin off and slice the fruit into one-inch chunks. Fry them in a little oil until both sides are light brown and then remove them from the oil and put them on paper towels to drain. Nobody likes a soggy tostone. There's a press called a tostonera that will press them flat but, if you don't have one, put the plaintain pieces between two pieces of wax paper and press them flat with a rolling pin or a heavy cookbook. Refry the flat plaintain pieces until golden brown on both sides and sprinkle them either with garlic salt, onion salt, or cinnamon sugar. Or you can top them with a little sour cream. Or scrambled egg and ham. They have a lovely, pleasing taste that complements a lot of different foods, so try them on their own first and get a feel for what you'd like to add to the mix.

Ripe plantains are sweeter, more like ripe bananas, and can be baked or fried with a little sugar and spice for a delicious side dish.

Living in St. Croix gave me the opportunity to try all sorts of new and different foods and to appreciate old favorites, like fried chicken cooked in a skillet over an open fire on the beach, or goat stew simmered for hours until the meat was tender beyond belief, or fish so fresh they were still swimming in big tubs at Teddy's Fish Shop in Christiansted, a kaleidoscope of colors shimmering as they wove figure 8's in the water. Conch fritters, kallaloo, fungi, Johnny cakes, black beans and rice, arroz con pollo -- it was indeed a magical place of food, love, and beauty.