A Jamaican Art Project

Whew, I almost forgot!

Doctor Bird

I bet you thought I forgot to do an art project for Jamaica.  Or did you not even notice?  Either way, here it is.  We did it a few days ago and I almost forgot to include it.  It's a flag project- nothing too fancy or mind-blowing I'm afraid.  I had planned on doing one on the Doctor Bird, a Jamaican Hummingbird with 2 really long tail feathers, but now it's already Saturday night and I'm not sure we'll have time tomorrow.  Oops.

The Jamaican Flag has been flying in Jamaica since the country gained its independence from the British Federation of the West Indies on August 6, 1962.  The design was decided by the people of the country in a contest.  The flag consists of a golden saltire (crossed lines), green triangles on top and bottom, and black triangles on sides.  The colors are symbolic of Jamaica itself.   Gold for the shining sun.  Green for the vegetation and agricultural richness of the land.  Black symbolizes the strength of the people of Jamaica and the hardships that they have endured.   It's a simple design and one that was pretty easy for the kids to reproduce.

Jamaican Flag
For the project you will need:

• green, gold, and black paper
• glue
• scissors

 

1.  Cut two long strips of gold paper.  Glue them to the black paper in an "x"- that is called a saltire.

2.  Cut some green triangles.  I did an eyeball measurement and just tucked it under the saltire a little.

3.  Trim any weird edges to make it a nice rectangle.

Wave your Jamaican flag proudly!!!!

Roots, Rock, Reggae

First, the roots...

When you think of Jamaican music you think of Reggae.  Even if that term doesn't come to mind, that music that's playing in your head is probably reggae!!  It's a rhythm and a beat, an easy- going, be-bopping around kind of music that makes you want to move slow and easy.  The lyrics can be hard to understand sometimes because of the thick Jamaican patois (accent) and the unique phrases that Jamaicans use, but a lot of early Reggae music was political- mostly about the corruption and inequality in Jamaica during the 60's and 70's. 

Haile Selassie

Another main concept in Reggae is the Rastafari Movement.  Rastafari  is a religion that is very prevalent in Jamaica - I believe (and I have only a very minor understanding of it) that the followers believe that an Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie, was the next coming of Christ (he denied his divinity).  Some of the main tenets of the religion are resistance of oppression and pride in the African heritage.  Rastas usually avoid unnatural foods and follow a vegetarian diet, avoid alcohol, and wear their hair in dreadlocks. From a few quotes I have read it sounds like a very interesting religion, but it is discounted by many as just an excuse to smoke marijuana.  The Rastas  use marijuana (ganja) as a sacrament, similar to the Catholic communion, as a way to get closer to Jah (God) and be open to hear his communications.  It's like meditating, and very similar to some of the Native American traditions.  But enough religion, let's get to the music.

Bob Marley is the most well-known Reggae musician.  Many of his songs are about political themes but even with this dark subject matter they are still catchy and fun.  His music strikes a chord with many people because of his messages of redemption, freedom, and peace.  When he died of cancer in the early 80's Reggae music was just becoming known around the world- since then it has been an influence on many bands of today.  I chose a couple of my favorite Bob Marley songs for you to listen to - enjoy!!!

Redemption Song by Bob Marley and the Wailers - an acoustic recording of a song.  Beautiful and powerful political message.

3 Little Birds by Bob Marley and the Wailers- I love this song and it's positive message.

One Love by Bob Marley and the Wailers- This video was made after Bob's death and a lot of the stars of the 80's make cameos.  Another powerful but simple message - One Love.

The reggae world is now rocking with many of Bob's children.  The next song is by his eldest son, Ziggy (real name David)

Tomorrow People by Ziggy Marley

I hope you enjoy the tunes- peace.

 

On the Menu: Jamaican Food

What a jerk!


No, I'm not talking about my husband- he's the greatest guy around.  I am talking about the Jamaican recipe of Jerked chicken/pork/goat that is one of their most famous dishes.  It's a dish that has been made for hundreds of years.  Basically the meat is marinated with garlic, herbs, allspice and one of the hottest peppers, the hot scotch bonnet.  The meat is then grilled.  In the time of the Arawak tribes, this would dry out the meat and help to preserve it, now it's just a delicious, flavorful way to prepare meat. So, of course, we had to try it.

Ackee fruit

  I would've tried the national dish, Ackee and Saltfish, but ackee (a fruit/vegetable that resembles scrambled eggs when cooked) isn't easy to come by and is supposed to be poisonous if not prepared correctly.  I don't like dangerous food so I went in search of a homemade jerk sauce.  I found this one on allrecipes.com and liked the fact that it used rum in the sauce. 

The Scotch Bonnet Chile Pepper- BEWARE!

I couldn't find scotch bonnet chile peppers (and probably couldn't handle the heat) so I used a serrano.  Anyway here is the recipe, in Jamaica it is used on every type of meat or fish you can imagine, but I used chicken and pork.  It makes a lot of marinade, BTW, if you mix the dark rum with some lime juice and diet coke it makes a very tasty beverage :)

Jamaican Jerked Chicken and Pork
For the recipe you will need:

• 3 oz. dark rum
• 6 oz. beer or other liquid (orange juice would probably be good)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 T minced garlic
• 2 T minced ginger
• 1 scotch bonnet chile pepper or other pepper- minced
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tsp chopped fresh marjoram (I used dried)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 bay leaves
• chicken pieces
• pork chops

1.  Put all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and add the meat.  Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight if you plan ahead like that- I never do.
2.  Preheat your grill.  The chicken was much thicker than the pork so I put that on first and when it was halfway cooked I added the pork chops.  Grill the meats until cooked thoroughly.  I boiled down the leftover marinade and served it with the meat.

We served ours with some Jamaican coleslaw (which has an oil and vinegar dressing instead of a mayonnaise based one) and some sweet potato fries.  When I was tasting the marinade (before I put the raw meat in), I wasn't sure I was going to like it.  I'm not a big fan of nutmeg it seems.  However, after it was grilled and the sauce was all caramelized, it was really good.  I was afraid to make it too spicy so I used a Serrano pepper and left it rather large, but I wish I had made it a little spicier.  Also, while the rum gave it a nice taste, the beer wasn't noticeable, I think maybe some orange juice would have been really good!!  All in all, it was good but I don't know if it's one of my all time faves.  I must admit, though, that I am really enjoying the rum!!  Yah Mon.

 

 

Week 44: Jamaica

We be jamming...

... to Jamaica!!  Woo hoo :)  Hi everyone, we're back from our week off.  We spent a few days camping and then had a great birthday party for my son who turns 4 today!!  So, because he loves warm weather and going to the beach, and since his name starts with a "J", we picked Jamaica, a place I've always wanted to visit, but, like so many of these countries, one I'll probably never see! 

So lets just pretend that we are sitting at a beachside restaurant eating some jerk chicken and sipping some rum drink with a little umbrella (no rum for the kids of course).  Or, we could be hiking in the Blue Mountains looking for Giant Swallowtail butterflies and enjoying the cool breezes. 

Or sitting under a waterfall in Ocho Rios (and, since this is a fantasy, I'll have lost a bunch of weight and look great in my swimsuit).  There are so many fun things to do in Jamaica, it's no wonder that it's such a popular tourist destination.  But here are a few facts about the island nation...

• The capital of Jamaica (and also the largest city) is Kingston.  It's coordinates are 17.99°N/ 76.80°W.
• Jamaica is one of the islands in the Caribbean Sea.  It is south of Cuba and west of Haiti.
• The island was inhabited by native people called the Arawak Indians when Columbus claimed it for Spain in 1494.  It was called Santiago until the British took control of it in 1655.  They changed the name to Jamaica.
• Jamaica became the first island in the Caribbean to become independent in 1962.

• They were also the first country to commercially export bananas, which along with coffee and sugar, remain one of it's main exports.
• Jamaica is also known for it's great athletes.  They have won many Olympic medals and were the first tropical country to enter the Winter Olympics.  The Jamaican Bobsled team entered in 1968 and, although they came in dead last, were so popular that a movie was made about the team- Cool Runnings.

• Jamaica is known for it's music too.  Reggae is a popular form of music all over the world and the "King of Reggae", Bob Marley, is known world-wide.  More on him to come :)

Jamaica looks so incredibly beautiful, the people seem so nice and friendly, add to that great food and fun music and we've got a fun new country to discover!  Can't wait :)