Welcome to another #FoodieTuesday linkup!   Would you eat something called blue drawers? Don’t answer just yet. Read on then let me know later. Jamaicans have a knack for christening people and things with more descriptive names. Some members of my family did it. If someone reminded them  of something else or if the person had a prominent feature, they’d call that person, behind their backs, of course, by that...

Hope Botanical Gardens or Hope Gardens, as most Jamaicans call it, is a popular spot especially for those who live in Kingston and surroundings. It’s where they go to relax on Sunday afternoon, or to enjoy nature. With the nearby Hope Zoo, Hope Gardens is also a favorite destination for school trips – it’s on almost every school’s excursion schedule. Hope Gardens sits on 60-acres of the Ligunaea Plains at...

This week’s Friday Focus visits with Kristi Keller, a Calgary native who fell in love with Jamaica and has visited the island about twenty times since 2003. Kristi has also spent months at a time in Jamaica. 1.     Tell us about yourself. I was born and raised in Calgary, Canada.  As a youth I was a dancer and a country girl, spending most of my time riding my horse.  As...

I’ve written about Devon House but only recently returned to do a tour of the Georgian style house, which is located in Kingston. Devon House was built in 1881 for George Stiebel on a property that was known as Devon Penn. Popularly described as Jamaica’s first black millionaire, Stiebel, the child of German and Jamaican parents, was a carpenter, shipper and gun runner. He struck gold after he invested in...

My father loved steamed fish. It seemed to me that he had it all the time, that it was his favorite breakfast meal. With green bananas or yam. I think this habit of his of eating this way for breakfast was because he grew up in rural Jamaica where a substantial morning meal was common. I was never a big fan of steamed fish. I prefer my fish fried as...

I’ve been hearing about the night blooming cereus for at least three years now. As the name suggests, this plant from the flowering cactus family, blooms only at night — and only once per year. I was lucky, this time, to be visiting family when their night blooming cereus bloomed on Friday night; luckier still because I had my camera, and it put out not one but four blooms. It’s a...

I’m fascinated by churches, especially their design. Sometimes they’re simple, almost stark, other times elaborate. If I have my camera and can stop, I’ll take photos or I’ll get my camera and return later. Whatever their design, however, churches inspire reverence. As I waited at the Rockville Center station for the train to Long Island a few years ago, I saw this church in the distance. I couldn’t believe how...

Portland Jamaica is probably the island’s best tourist destination you’ve never heard of. It’s got beautiful beaches, soaring mountains, a network of caves, romantic coves, shimmering waterfalls and dramatic coastline. Because of its location, Portland also records the most rainfall of any parish on the island. It is lush and infused with rugged beauty. Portland, a combination of the old parishes of St. George and part of the current St....

I didn’t know what to expect from this jerk lobster meal at Little Ochie Seafood Restaurant but let me tell you, it surpassed my expectations. The delicate and slightly sweet taste of the lobster is a seamless marriage with the pungent flavors of the pimento, Scotch Bonnet pepper, mace, scallion and garlic that are the main ingredients of jerk. It was as if they were always destined to be. It...

If you’ve been to Jamaica, one thing you’re sure to notice is goats, lots of them. Everywhere. Last year, while I was on a visit to St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Falmouth, I noticed this goat sitting calmly on one of the graves in the church yard. I thought it would move as I got closer so that I could get a better shot but it didn’t. I figured the...