The twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, part of the West Indies, enjoys a rich melting-pot cuisine derived from a multitude of far-flung cultures: Indian, African, Syrian, Lebanese, Italian, Chinese, Arabian and Creole. Over the course of its history, colonizers, laborers, and slaves all left their mark on the islands’ food, producing a delicious and uncommon diversity, even for the Caribbean. Particularly on Trinidad—the larger of the two…
Recipe: Pigeon Peas + Rice from the Bahamas
Courtesy of The Foreign Fork
Bacon fries in one pan and then cooks alongside rice and peas to make this scrumptious main or side dish. A one-pan wonder and 40 minutes from start to finish, this dish is…
Recipe From Afar: Ducana, Antigua and Barbuda
In honor of our month of Caribbean food on social media, we have a recipe for ducana, one of our favorite Antiguan dishes, provided by our friends at The Foreign Fork. Ducana is a dumpling made of grated sweet potato, coconut, cinnamon, and other seasonings that’s wrapped in a banana leaf, boiled in water,…
How Americans Can Travel Independently to Cuba: 5 Steps
Centro Habana
It may not be as easy as hopping on a flight to the Bahamas. But there’s no place on Earth like Cuba—and it’s not nearly as hard (or illegal) to get there as the U.S. government…
A few summers ago, I conducted my graduate-school research at a health clinic in a batey, or rural community, about an hour north of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Punta Cana’s high-end resorts and all-you-can-eat buffets are a stark contrast to the impoverished former sugarcane plantations that make up the bateys in the island’s interior. Electricity is rare and subject to apagaones (blackouts) that can last an…
