What’s red, good for you, and appears during Christmas? No, it’s not Santa Claus, it’s sorrel.

Jamaicans know the holy season is approaching when sorrel appears in abundance in the markets and supermarkets. Many families begin to dig out their special recipes in anticipation, boasting that their formula is the best. It is not only us Jamaicans. For many islanders across the Caribbean, it is not uncommon to be served a nice cool glass with a slice of rum cake. In fact it is a big faux pas if there is no sorrel drink present in your house to offer your guests, evidence of a serious tradition.

There is something seductive about sorrel. The deep ruby red flowers of the hibiscus sabdariffa plant (the scientific name), also resembles beautiful roses; there are also the more rare white sorrel plants. In the West Indies, we use sorrel habitually as a cold beverage, but more recently, with our typical creative flair, sorrel is appearing in cakes, jams, sauces, chutneys and squashes. In Mexico, it is popularly known as agua de Jamaica and is one of the more popular agua frescas—the common refreshing drink served everywhere in the summer from street food stalls to high end restaurants. On the continent of Africa, especially in the western Francophone countries such as Senegal, it is known as bisap, and is mainly drunk as a tea in the Arab North like Egypt or in the Sudan. In Europe, its uses are totally different and used mainly as a herb to garnish salads and other savoury dishes since its leaves have a pleasant sour tang closely resembling citrus, or utilized as a vegetable such as callaloo or kale.

In the last few years the adaptation of sorrel has grown not just in the nutrition sense, but in pharmacology internationally. Locally, intensive research led by the Scientific Research Council (SRC) in Jamaica, has taught us that there is more than meets the eye to this plant. Sorrel has high levels of vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and iron just to name a few values. The researchers at the SRC have worked incredibly hard to apply their findings to the anti-cancer fight and provide valuable antioxidant information. Sorrel is also known to fight hypertension and act as a diuretic. Every part of the plant, has wonderful properties, which can be put to use in medicine, cosmetics and pigments for dye. Sorrel calyces (official name for the flower-part of the sorrel plant) are nutritionally rich due to the high levels of flavonoids that present itself in the rich hue. Therefore, it is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is also good for you. The seeds produce oil that has anti-inflammatory components and is used in shampoos and lotions.

It is said that the sorrel Axplains why its uses vary in the north (as a herb and vegetable because the calyces do not develop in a colder clime), and the south where it is used as a beverage. It is believed that it came to the West Indies via the French colonialists and their slaves in the 17th Century, and was first planted in Jamaica in 1707.

The next time you drink a glass of sorrel you are armed with the knowledge that you are making a healthy choice, so let’s celebrate to that fact this holiday season, cheers!

Source: skywritingsmagazine.com

Perhaps because I am so fond of goats—having grown up surrounded by them, and occasionally having them for dinner—I found this article by Dave Martins in Stabroek News delightful.

Living in a generally benign climate, Caribbean people have a close relationship with the creatures of nature, but there’s a particular relationship with dogs (another subject for another day) and, to some degree, goats. In relating these things, sometimes I have an explanation, sometimes not; in this case, while the relationship with dogs can be traced to a number of things, the goat connection is not so obvious.

Mind you, I have some theories: sheep, by comparison, are kind of, well, sheepish.  You know – they almost always appear bedraggled, needing a trim and a good washing. Even their colouring is usually a drab dirty brown. Also they emit this mindless bleating – four houses away it can wake you out of a dead sleep – and a sheep on the run is a totally graceless creature.

Goats, on the other hand, even the mature ones, always look like they just walked out of the haberdashery – neat shiny coats, no bits hanging, and lovely colours sometimes with beautiful contrasting designs. In addition to how they look standing still, a goat on the move is fluid motion, athletic, with delicate little hops, and the occasional soaring leap.

I haven’t seen it lately, but a few months ago there used to be a goat herder who would bring his charges down from seawall grazing, in the late afternoon, and they would come across Vlissengen Road heading east somewhere, (must have been about 80 animals) moving in a tight pack following their leaders.  Traffic would stop patiently as they crossed, even the minibuses, and it was a delight to see this swarm of sprightly animals, sporting their various colours, in one graceful stream across the road.  By contrast, picture a herd of cows, or a bunch of sheep, in the same process.  The sheep would be scattered in all directions, and the cows would be moving as slow as molasses going uphill, each on its own flight path, and even stopping to make a delivery in the middle of the roadway. In 5 minutes, the goats are over the roadway, one clean sweep and gone.  You have to love that.

I’m not sure about other countries, but in the Caribbean, sheep, cows, donkeys, horses, just wander aimlessly, as if they’re lost. Goats always seem to know exactly where they’re going, which often means the part of your garden overhanging the fence, and they’re also better athletes.  A goat will get up on his/her hind legs and reach up at full stretch to grab some high-level plant, whereas a sheep will just take a look, bleat and walk off.  In three words, goats are sexy; sheep and cows, well, you know what I mean. Before you bring it up, yes, goats on a hot day don’t smell like a rose, but when you consider all their other attributes, I can deal with the odour.

On the purely practical side, once you get used to the taste, goat milk and goat cheese are wonderful and apparently very nutritious, and goat skin makes excellent drums. (The late Andrew Beddoe, Trinidadian master drummer, swore by his. In a show in Ottawa one time, he told me, “Look na, padna.  Dis is goat; when yuh beatin’ it, yuh cyan beat it.”)  There is also the ubiquitous curried goat which appears on regional menus. Beloved by Caribbean people, especially the Jamaican brethren, it has also become a favourite with tourists.  Restaurant waiters, however, dealing with an American (“Whaddya gat? Any of that goat stuff?”) or an Australian (“Any gowt, mite?”) do sometimes need a translator to get the order right, but in the end curried goat on the menu is a plus.

We sing songs about goats (“The Goat Back-back On Me,” or “Ram Goat Liver,” or “What Sweet in Goat Mouth”; etc).  Have you ever heard a song about sheep or cows? Okay, we sing about donkeys a lot, but that’s because they’re so comical and they’re such jackasses.

One myth: Caribbean people will tell you that if a goat bites a plant it will die.  It’s nonsense. Leave your plants overhanging your fence, and goats will regularly trim them for you, but the plant doesn’t die. The myth actually is a result of the goat being a meticulous forager (it will eat anything short of barbed wire) and particularly because, if allowed to, it will eat a young plant right down to the ground; cows will eat the top branches and leave a lot of the tree; with a goat, unless you chase him in time, all you’re left with is a stub from which few plants recover. It’s not the actual goat bite; it’s the complete surgery.

Goats also feature in scores of Caribbean stories, including many on the subject of “wearing goat horns” which refers to men being replaced sexually, unknown to them, by another man. But the stories can be diverse.  For many years, a group called the Seattle Seafair Pirates participated regularly in Cayman’s Pirates Week Festival. A member of the Pirates Week Committee, by the name of Colin Wilson, decided to treat the Seattle guys to a fortifying  goat dish called “mannish water” (the base is goat testicles, but he didn’t tell them that) and drove to East End in the rented Seafair car to collect the goat. On the drive back, not only did the live goat have a bowel movement in the back seat, but the cook in town was incredulous. “How come yuh bring a female goat?” On the return trip from East End, this time with a certified male animal, the rented car’s back seat got another shipment of goat manure.  The story ended badly on two counts: discovering they were about to eat goat testicles, the white boys who made up the Seafair Pirates bolted en masse from Grand Cayman.  In the process, they left the rented car at the airport parking lot, keys in the ignition, complete with back seat deposits.  Wilson did not return calls from the rent-a-car company for several weeks.

Source: repeatingislands.com

The Cayman Turtle Farm is offering companies and individuals an opportunity to participate in an important part of its sea turtle conservation programme by sponsoring a turtle for release into the wild in the annual event during Pirate’s Week. Sponsors will be able to personally release their turtle on the beach to make its way into the sea and swim out to become part of the Caribbean’s population of green sea turtles. For corporate sponsors, turtle farm representative Lynne Byles said, this is a special way to recognise and reward one of their employees by giving them a unique experience.

“There are two sizes of turtles being released this year,” Ms. Byles said. “The hatchling turtles are from the 2011 nesting season just now coming to a close. The 1-year-old yearling turtles have been part of a headstarting programme in which they are trained to be able to forage for food in the wild.

“Their larger size makes them less susceptible to predators, and there is greater possibility they will remain within the Cayman area,” she said. “This year the turtles are being released into the North Sound, which has large expanses of turtle grass beds for the turtles to feed on.”

Goodie bag

Each sponsor will receive a sponsorship certificate and a goodie bag from Cayman Turtle Farm.

In addition, people visiting the Cayman Turtle Farm: Island Wildlife Encounter between 4-11 November are eligible to fill in a raffle ticket at the farm’s Box Office. Five winners will be announced at the drawing at the Pirates Week opening festivities downtown at 8pm on Friday, 11 November. Winners will be contacted by phone.

The turtle release will take place at 4.30pm on Sunday, 13 November, on the North Sound, opposite the North Sound Golf Club.

Source: CaymanCompass.com

The bumper sticker on her car reads “Angel with Attitude’’. But that only hints at the many layers to the life of acclaimed artist PJ Stewart.

She calls herself a “true Gemini’’ and embodies many of the astrological sign’s signature traits: curiosity, versatility, and adaptability. Not only is she a prolific fine art painter who exhibits frequently but she is a tireless promoter of Jamaican culture, and for nearly 30 years, she has worked with legendary “ghetto priest’’ Fr Richard Ho Lung, putting on musicals at home and abroad to raise funds for six Kingston shelters for the homeless and destitute.

Born in England and raised in Kenya, PJ (as everyone calls her) graduated from the Hammersmith College of Art in England where she was a lecturer for four years. She found her way to Jamaica in 1972 to take up a teaching post at the Edna Manley School of Visual Arts in Kingston. She married, raised a family and became a citizen. She is anxiously looking forward to becoming a grandmother to her daughter Jamie’s first child.

Her palette, influenced by the strong tropical colours of the Caribbean, is lush with vibrant greens and luxurious pinks which flow through expanses of pastoral tones. Growing up on her father’s farm in Kenya undoubtedly fostered her love of nature and why she also paints beautiful floral studies.

Although PJ likes to experiment with mixed media and different techniques, she prefers oils which she employs in thin layers, as with tempera, relishing the clarity and transparency she can achieve, especially with skin colour. Bold and freeform, her figurative paintings, inspired by the people and “human situations’ that surround her, exude a compelling intimacy. “I am not into total realism,” she says of her work, which has an almost lyrical abstract element. “I like things which are ambiguous so that the viewer has to work and find the image.” In a recent oil painting I’m With You Always, a female torso stands just off-centre, head dropped to her right, face hidden by a fall of blond hair. Behind her is a male form, the nuanced outline of head and torso merging into the background while his fully realised strong hands frame but do not touch her upper arms. The intriguing narrative is left to the viewer to determine.

P J easily developed a passionate love for her adopted country. “Jamaica has been really good to me and given me a great life. We are only a breath away from turning into such a productive place because we have all the ingredients: we just haven’t figured out the recipe yet! But you just can’t ignore Jamaica — it’s in your face, and there’s nothing bland about it!” This passion found a practical outlet when in the early Eighties she met Father Ho Lung. “I went to see one of his smaller musical productions,” she recalls, “and was captivated by the rhythms. It was so lively and varied. Then a friend took me to visit one of the homes, and I reckoned I could spare a little time now and then to help.”

S he is being typically modest for that “little time now and then” turned into much more of a commitment. Not only does she spend time with the children in the shelters, playing and providing stimulation through art, and receiving in return hugs, laughter and unconditional love (“They light up my life’’), she has also become production manager for the musicals and is responsible for all the painted finishes.

The performances involve a huge group effort from singers, actors, dancers, musicians, and stage crew, all of whom give their services freely. “There’s a lot of creative interweaving with the talented production team,” she explains, “so that costumes, lighting, set and direction build a whole image.”

PJ’s studio and set work frequently dovetail, and the people linked with the performances often inspire her. Working in the theatre has also influenced the size and scale of her work. She has just completed a 60-by-25-foot canvas backdrop which she draped with different fabrics before painting the surface. “I use collage quite a lot as it is quick and forces a reaction.’

W hen it comes to her own studio work, she craves quiet and privacy. “I can at times be very anti-social,” she says. PJ’s airy and spacious studio adjoins her Kingston home and opens onto a garden, a reflection of her need to constantly adapt the space to accommodate the work at hand. Visiting, one might find it abuzz with assistants working on backdrops for one of the musicals, or else with curtains closed and the soft sounds of classical music, signalling not to enter.

Source: MacoMag.com

Some things are simply in our blood. For the Shirley family it’s restaurants – even if they did not always plan on it.

Celebrated chef and restaurateur Norma Shirley passed away one year ago. In her lifetime, she opened several successful restaurants both in the United States and then in her native Jamaica. An internationally acclaimed culinary innovator, she was dubbed the Julia Child of the Caribbean, featured in international publications and receiving many awards. She was living in Sweden, working as a midwife, when her son, Delius Shirley, co-owner of the equally acclaimed Ortanique restaurants, was born. It was only when she moved to the US and met Terence Hill, a spaghetti western actor, that she considered cooking for a living. A self-taught chef, she opened her first restaurant, The Statin Restaurant, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts when Delius was 9-years-old.

Returning to Jamaica in 1986, she opened the first Norma’s on Belmont Road. “From there she opened a second, then a third, then a fourth restaurant. It just snowballed,” her son recalls. “A lot of people really feel she revolutionised the West Indian view on food. She educated West Indians that it’s not all about a boxed lunch. She encouraged people to use fruit and vegetables more, to promote what your island has to offer. That was her gig, her fame.” Norma Shirley was also instrumental in changing attitudes towards working in the service industry. “Unfortunately in the West Indies that whole idea of servitude is embedded and people don’t want to serve tables. She tried to change that point of view and really advocated that with a lot of Jamaicans and West Indians. That’s why we have now made this culinary foundation in Jamaica [The Norma Shirley Scholarship Fund]. This is the first year we are doing it. We take an underprivileged child and the foundation will pay for them to study hospitality management for four years at the University of Technology in Kingston.” The Ortanique restaurants support the foundation by donating $1 for every Norma’s Terrace Salad sold both here in Grand Cayman and also Miami.

Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine was not always Norma Shirley’s specialty, however. “My mother’s cooking was more European style, probably due to the fact my dad was English. He was accustomed to eating very rich, French foods. Later down the road she incorporated that West Indian style with classic French cuisine and created her own style of food,” Mr. Shirley said. As a child, he did not even taste a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a McDonald’s until he was at least 7 years old. “When I went to school, my mum used to make me Brie cheese sandwiches and Foie gras,” he said. “When I got a little older and I understood the whole barter system, I would trade my school lunches with the other kids.” By the age of 9, Delius was working as a dishwasher twice a week after school at his mother’s restaurant. She did not, however, push him to pursue a culinary career himself. When it comes to cooking, Mr. Shirley said, “I always say, a chef creates, a cook emulates. And I’m a cook.”

His mother had natural ability to create a feast out of virtually nothing, he says, but he does not have the same flair. Although he watched and absorbed a wealth of knowledge about the business of running a restaurant, his mother never sat him down and taught him how to cook. One of the most valuable lessons she did teach him though, was how to manage staff. “We run a very family style restaurant,” he said. “Every person who works in the restaurant is considered part of the family. My mother was a big proponent of that – she taught me to work side by side with staff, get down in the trenches with them, and earn their respect that way.” Throughout high school and college, Delius worked in restaurants because the hours were flexible and it was a good way to make some money, but ultimately he studied finance. “When I got out of college I was a financial analyst for almost a year,” Mr. Shirley said. “I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d like to so my mum said, ‘Why don’t you come to Jamaica for six months and help me open my new restaurant?’.” A year and half later, when the restaurant was up and running, Delius returned to Miami to open his own restaurant and in this, his mother encouraged him all the way. “The restaurant was called Norma’s on the Beach,” he said. “I named it after her. At that point her popularity was huge, not only in Jamaica but internationally, so I thought, ‘Right, let me ride her coat tails through the door’.”

It was Norma who introduced her son to Cindy Hutson, who is now his partner in life and business. “They got along like peaches and cream,” he said. Much like Norma Shirley, Ms Hutson is an acclaimed self-taught chef, and has made a name for herself for by mixing culinary traditions from different parts of the world. And just like his mother, Mr. Shirley, along with Ms Hutson, has since gone on to open seven successful restaurants under the Ortanique banner, in addition to consulting on three more.

Source: www.compasscayman.com

Divers are scratching their heads up in Florida after a camera washed up on Crescent Beach, St. John’s County, Joe Shooman reports.

Finder of the barnacle-encrusted piece of equipment was Mike Golubovich, who works for St. John’s Country Beach Services in St. Augustine.

“During an inspection on 7 October, 2011, of a Sargassum wrack line that began to form on Crescent Beach, I found the housing,” he told the Caymanian Compass exclusively.

”I took the housing back to our work shop and pried it open with a screwdriver. I was completely astonished when the housing revealed a bone-dry camera. The batteries were not working, but after I changed them, the camera turned on and 153 photos were available for review.

“The camera contains an assortment of images including reef fish, coral, divers, the mermaid statue, and the Kittiwake dive site – a photo of the placard on the wreck,” Mr. Golubovich said.

No date record

As the camera had run out of battery power, the time and date defaulted to zero, therefore there is no date record of when the camera may have been first lost.

“I did notice that there wasn’t a substantial amount of algae growing on the wreck in the photos, possibly suggesting that this dive happened shortly after the sinking of the Kittiwake … I believe this camera was only used on two dives in the Cayman Islands before it drifted to Florida,” he said.

The ship was sunk on Wednesday, 5 January, to form a special wreck dive as well as serve as an artificial reef for marine life. The project was some eight years in planning and negotiation and drew worldwide interest from media and divers intrigued by the Caribbean’s newest dive attraction.

Calling all divers

As soon as Mr. Golubovich was able to get the photographs off the camera he uploaded them onto the Facebook page of the Kittiwake, where a call was put out by his wife, Angie, to divers who may have lost the camera.

“The housing was covered in barnacles suggesting that it spent some time out at sea,” she wrote. “Did this camera float to Florida from the Caribbean? Do you recognise the diver in the photo?”

Although the distance is more than 1,000 miles, it is not unusual for items to make their way to Florida sands, Mr. Golubovich said.

“We find all kinds of things that wash up on our beaches. We see increases in debris after large storm events and sustained southeasterly to easterly winds,” he said. “We have collections of common household items from many Caribbean Islands.”

The sea, it seems, holds many mysteries – but this is one that people of the Cayman Islands and the wider dive community may well just be able to solve. Sea sleuths, to your computers!

The pictures are viewable on the Kittiwake Cayman Facebook page.

Source:  repeatingislands.com

For getting about on Grand Cayman, car rental gives you the freedom and security you need for comfort away from your home territory — and most major rental companies are on the island. However, on Grand Cayman there are other options:

Jeep tours rentals are popular and rightly so. The wind in your hair, the open road — and away from George Town the road is open — and a guide to be sure you see all you can see, whether you’re staying on the island or filling your few hours ashore. A number of car rental places rent Jeeps, Andy’s, Avis, and Marshall’s all have them. If any convertible will do, every car rental can fix you up. Grand Cayman Jeep Safari Tour stops at all the best stops; Tortuga Rum Cake Factory (well I think it’s a great stop — I love rum cake), Pedro Castle and Bluff, and out along the road to East End and Rum Point. Island Scooter Rentals (345-949-2046) can fix you up with another fun way to tour Grand Cayman. They rent modern scooters by the day, the week, or the month. It’s an eco-friendly way to see the sights and it has the advantage of being cheaper than a car.

If scooters or bikes scooters aren’t your thing, Hog Tours with its Harley-Davidson’s just might be. Hog Tours are 2 or 4 hours long and come with a guide who gets you hassle-free to the various scenic stops along the way. They’re arranged so you can take the tour even if you arrive by boat. Contact them at: 345-943-8699 and 345-927-8500.

For those of us with a bit more money to spend, private tours are the way to go. AA Transportation Service offers individuals or groups a uniformed driver and personalized sightseeing tours for getting about on Grand Cayman, as well as simpler trips like the airport or dinner. If you can persuade your company to pay, or if you’re on a company trip, they take company charge accounts for monthly billing. Contact them at: 345-949-7222 or their website: www.islanddrivers.com

Another intermediate kind of private tour, somewhere between the individual freedom of the tours above and the social setting of the bus tours below, is Grand Cayman Private Island Tours for family or small parties. These private tours are in comfortable, air-conditioned vans holding up to six people, with a minimum of 4 people required. They do East End and West Bay tours but you can modify either of those to suit your wishes. Contact Private Island Tours at: www.caribbeanshoretours.com/GrandCaymanIslandTours.html

Tour buses offer a way of getting about on Grand Cayman without all the hassle and worry of renting anything. Your resort will even book them for you, saving even more stress. Companies to look for are:

Majestic Tours provide all the usual services you’d expect from a bus company, for example airport pick-up and drop-off, as well island tours. Contact them at (345) 949-7773 or visit their website at: www. majestic-tours.com

Tropicana Tours provide a range of different options ranging from 2.5 hours to all day 7 hour trips and they can be as simple as ‘George Town area and shops’ or a full island tour. They also provide excursions that include transportation with boating, snorkeling, and kayaking. Tropicana can be contacted through their website: www.tropicana-tours.com or call them at (345) 949-0944

There are two other bus companies, Regal and Royal, whose buses you’ll also see throughout the island.

Getting about on Grand Cayman is just a matter of choosing your ride and I haven’t even included bicycles!

Source: Grand-Cayman-Wanderer.com

Diving with specialised ultra violet dive lights at night on a coral reef in the Cayman Islands is being described as ‘the perfect dive for someone who thinks they have seen it all.’

The Ocean Frontiers Dive Shop in Grand Cayman is offering what they term a unique and exclusive one-tank night dive to see how coral reefs fluoresce.

Inspired by an article in National Geographic, Stephen Broadbelt from Ocean Frontiers said he had been searching for a reliable underwater ultra violet light system for more than two years before finally finding it in January 2011. A light he thought would work came in to production by a company called Glow Dive, started by an old friend and former Cayman Divemaster, Carlos Villoch.

Ocean Frontiers purchased the first box off the production line and has been running a sold-out ‘Glow Dive’ every Thursday night for the past few months.

“We have had 100 per cent positive feedback, even from the most experienced divers and those who were a little sceptical about the idea”, Mr. Broadbelt said.

Full potential

Ocean Frontiers tested a prototype of the UV Glow Lights on a number of different sites – including a reef in Little Cayman, Iron Shore Gardens and off the wall at The Maze in East End. Impressed with the results but still feeling the Glow Lights had more to offer, they started exploring inside the East End lagoon and uncovered the full potential of diving with ultra violet lights. Their most glaring find was the fluorescence of the Sea Anemones, which blanket the lagoon reefs.

“It’s the closest thing to the movie Avatar you will see in real life. It is like someone has hooked all the anemones and corals up to a power supply and flipped on the switch”, Mr. Broadbelt said.

Ocean Frontiers’ dive staff and customers continue to explore the shallow lagoon reefs of East End every week looking to find what glows; Fire-worms, Lizard Fish, Anemones, Finger Corals, Star Corals and Lettuce Corals. There is much to learn about coral fluorescence, said the divemaster, with potential links to coral spawning indicators and theories that corals with more fluorescent pigments have greater resiliency to coral bleaching events.

“The Glow Dive is becoming a signature dive trip that has become one of the most memorable night dives Ocean Frontiers customers have ever had,” Mr. Broadbelt said.