Patsy's seafood medley, finished and ready to be served. Rosemary Parkinson, Contributor
Today, we end this series. Three strong and vibrant women, all from different walks of life, women, whose common bond - the love of cooking - has created a ripple-effect of friendship.
Food has already featured the South African dishes of Elinor Sisulu (Zimbabwean author/lecturer married to Max Sisulu, son of Walter Sisulu who was in jail with Nelson Mandela) and Helen Moffet (South African academic, editor to Elinor's book, In Our Lifetime, ghost writer to coach Bob Woolmer's own). The limelight now falls on Patsy Peltier, wife of Joey Peltier - Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, Barbados.
Born in Aruba of Dominican parents, a mere child in the fishing village of Point Michel in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Patsy met Joey. Theirs was to be an alliance that produced a marriage with four children. Definitely a case where the old adage - the way to a man's heart is through his stomach - must have prevailed, for Patsy is a mean cook. Joey Peltier, without fail, goes home daily to his wife's cooking, claiming that he contributes on weekends by spoiling her. A declaration none of us believe for a minute, having come to the conclusion that Joey is a spoilt Caribbean man - spoilt by his love for great island food and his love for Patsy's creative ways of providing this!
THE MEETINGS
Joey, a youth then, had been in Lusaka as an activist at the ANC school where he befriended Max Sisulu; had studied in The Hague Institute of Social Studies in Holland where he shared 'student digs' with Elinor Sisulu; he instigated Max and Elinor's marriage, by way of introduction.
Visiting the Caribbean for the first time during the ICC Cricket World Cup, Elinor enjoyed the hospitality of Joey and Patsy in Barbados, introducing Helen (her good friend) to both of them. In keeping with his reputation for introductions, Joey ensured all three of these women met me; the bond of food uniting us all forever.
PATSY COOKS
As previously mentioned, several South Africans, Bajans, Trinis, Dominicans arrived at the home of Joey and Patsy Peltier to nyam everything in sight; to imbibe Joey's 'nanny' (a Dominican speciality - rum laced with different medicinal herbs and spices, left to infuse for months before 'shots' ensure spirits are lightened!); to solve the problems of cricket worldwide.
As Patsy began sautéing seasonings for the last of the many dishes she had produced for that day, we chatted: "I learned everything from my mom who is still alive and kicking at 92 years. On his return from Aruba to Dominica, my dad bought a farm, Champigny, where we lived throughout my adolescent life. We grew almost all the food we consumed, including ground provisions, vegetables, and many varieties of tropical fruit; as well as duck, geese, chickens, goat, sheep, pigs and cattle."
The shrimp was added to the large skillet, the room filling with delicious island aromas: "Our cooking was done on a massive stone stove which my dad constructed, complete with six burner bays and an oven, using wood and charcoal we made the traditional way. We also had a big iron stove on which we cooked dishes that needed simmering on a slow fire. My mom was the king of the kitchen, not the queen, the king."
Joey joined us in the kitchen to make dumplings. "I like Joey tomake these. It's good to keep him busy or he'll consume all that nanny he makes!" Patsy added crab meat to the shrimp mixture folding in the already-cooked okra and spinach. "I used to wonder how come my mother's food tasted so good. I concluded it had a lot to do with the flavour of the wood we used. I also understood from young that the combination of family, friends and home cooking is the essence of a good life."
Coconut milk was then added. Tasting for spices, the dumplings carefully joined the rest of ingredients, simmering on a low fire: "My husband always says that God gave us one of the greatest gifts to enjoy life, and that is our taste buds. I brought up four children with that adage. I was always busy in the kitchen preparing delicious, tasty meals and treats for family and friends of all ages. There was, and still is, always something to eat."
Patsy began placing her other dishes on the makeshift buffet table. "I love to experiment with different foods and flavourings, inventing and trying out new recipes. My dad and my brothers used to go hunting at night bringing back bags of mountain chicken (edible frogs), blue crabs and loads of wild meat; Joey also loves wild meat like mountain chicken, manicou (wild opossum) and agouti (coney). I learned ways to make great, tasty meals out of these things."
The seafood medley, now ready, was added to the table: "Joey used to manage a certified organic farm; we grew most of the food we ate. His motto was always 'we know what we put in, and we know what we didn't put in'. He encourages organic farming a lot. Because of his work, we've lived in Guyana, St. Lucia and Barbados. I have learned to prepare their national dishes, sweets, cakes and pastries using indigenous herbs, spices and flavourings. I love experimenting, adding my own twists. I am in the process of preparing a recipe book. I want to make my dishes available to all those lovers of Caribbean food. Preparing sumptuous meals is not mysterious. Everyone, rich and poor, young and old, male and female can do it, just by using the richness that we have in the Caribbean. Do you want to help me put this together, Rosemary?"
Not a problem, Patsy. Not a problem.
Rosemary Parkinson was last seen, dressed in camouflage, hunting for crab in the gullies of Barbados.
