Stepping off the dock, the hills above are jet black against an indigo sky. It is past sunset, but nighttime has not yet fully taken the sky. Gallows Bay is calm as sleeping sailboats now replace their pirate ship predecessors. However, there is energy across the water. Fires on the beach of Protestant Cay are not from marauders, but merrymakers welcoming the night. The breeze on the ride across the water finally breaks the daytime heat. It is a feeling of calm joy, release, anticipation for what waits on the other side. Moko Jumbie stilt walkers high step to a calypso beat, dancing, jumping, pumping. Fingers of fire in the torches and cauldrons jump and flicker to the beat, the conch shell sellers shout their prices to the beat, everyone is moving to the beat. Even the cooks passing out the food from their giant long grills and their big pots. Rice, Caribbean style, and chicken and seafood in a Caribbean marinade. The kind that combines tropical citrus, garlic, spices, and honey. Yes, it must be sweet, but also fiery. This is the tropics, but it is not a time to be languid. It is a time to get up, stand up, and move to the rhythm. Food fuels those passions, but it also fires those passions. That is the feeling I want again as I remember my trip to the Caribbean. Cooking will release those smells, release those tastes, release those memories. Cook yourself to the Caribbean with this recipe. Just watch out for those Moko Jumbies. Serves 2.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp minced ginger root
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp hot sauce
2 green onions, sliced
Directions:
Mix together all of the marinade ingredients. Combine with shrimp or chicken in a ziploc bag and seal, allowing to marinate 30 minutes for shrimp or 2 hours for chicken. Grill.
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