Stabroek Market as of August 24 2015 -with view of digital screen
Summer Greetings!
As the school year draws closer, I cherish these last few days of vacation and remain especially grateful for my time in Guyana. August 2015 has been so much of a blessing that I was moved to create this new post after a long period that lacked posts and updates. If it had not been for my travels to various villages and towns in Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara, I would not be as recharged for future partnerships in Guyana and America as I am now.
While I greatly enjoyed spending time in places like the N.O.C., Ana Regina, New Amsterdam, Union/53 Village and Kitty, the highlight of this year’s experience was attending the “Symposium on Youth Development Strategies- Then and Now” at the GNS Sports Complex at Carifesta Avenue. In the midst of the discussions with community members, Guyana’s honorable President David Granger listened to the sentiments and suggestions of the people before giving his own remarks and truly conversing with the people. Some of the many issues addressed were youth unemployment, the pardoning of youth and female prisoners, ECIS (Every Child in School) Campaign, successes with the Burnham Education Scholarship Trust program, increasing enterprise and eliminating the persistent problem of poverty. With permission and better wi-fi, I’ll work on releasing the video and full transcript of the conversation; but until then, the positive feeling of progress was palpable throughout that evening and all throughout the country.
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The honorable President David Granger
In order to express the general gratitude and optimism of the youth and people gathered, Blossom Parris and Faith Parris sang a song for the President and the people gathered that can be seen here: Click to watch https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByVVcnlf3P5MUURZMzhIbXY4UTg/preview
As the APNU-AFC coalition settles into power there is a sense of dignity and revolution in the truest sense of the word as the people of Guyana and it’s leadership move away from past trends of racial division & corruption and instead move towards uplifting the rights and power of people and encouraging enterprise through the development of Guyanese natural resources and treasures within the country. People were encouraged to continue to educate one another and use the power of the people to create industries and even start small companies that produce plantain chips, clothing and pepper sauce to let their gifts be shared in Guyana and abroad.
One of the places where the intellectual and cultural gifts of Guyana are continually circulated remains the National Library of Guyana in Georgetown. I thought that I’d close this post with one of the recipes from the rich resource of Guyanese Cuisine available at the library. Many recipes were displayed on the library bulletin boards including mettemgee, conkie and curry; however, I’d like to share how to make (and possibly sell) Bake & Saltfish or Saltfish and Bake.
If you have any recipe requests, please feel free to post in the comment section of this site… I hope that you enjoy this recipe:
The National Library in Georgetown
Bake and SaltFish or (Saltfish and Bake)
Fried Bake (Serves eight)
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
About 2 cups water
1 cup oil for deep frying
Instructions
Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add enough water to make soft dough. Kneed then let rest for half hour or more.
Cut in pieces and roll each piece five to six inches in diameter an1/4 inch thick. Fry in hot oil, turn once, and fry until brown. Drain on kitchen paper (or paper towel).
Saltfish (Serves six)
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. saltfish (I prefer either salted&dried cod or mackerel)
1 tablespoon oi (I prefer organic coconut oil or any vegetable oil)
1/2 tomatoes, chopped
a few drops of lime juice
1/2 cup sliced onion
Approx. 1 teaspoon minced garlic and shallot
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon chopped hot pepper
Method:
Break fish in pieces and boil for ten to fifteen minutes to remove the salt. Drain. Remove the skin and bones from fish and break into pieces.
Fry fish in hot oil for about four to five minutes. Add tomatoes, lime juice, onion, garlic, shallot, thyme and hot pepper. Cook for ten minutes.
Serve warm with bake or with white rice. To eat the saltfish with bake, slice open the bake and fill the inside with saltfish.
Alternative method for those who want to avoid fried food(!!!!)
You can also oven-bake the bake and also do not fry the fish since it is cooked when it is boiled. Do not boil the vegetables with the codfish though!
Below is a baked bake recipe:
Oven-baked Bake (Serves four)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 oz cold butter or margarine
1/2 cup of coconut milk
Method:
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Mix together the aforementioned ingredients with butter or margarine and also add the coconut milk. Knead until the dough is smooth and set in a cool dry place to rest for 25 minutes. After the dough has rested it should rise 1-2 inches and afterwards can be rolled Into circle about 1 inch thick. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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msparris.com 