Grilled Pineapple Mojito with Barbancourt HAITIAN Rum

I came across this recipe and of course the "Barbancourt Haitian Rum" stood out to me. For those of you who can legally consume alcoholic beverages, I thought I would share the recipe with you. Mojitos are refreshing summer beverages. ENJOY (responsibly)!

 Grilled Pineapple Mojito

 2 oz. Barbancourt Haitian Rum
.75 oz. agave nectar
2 oz. pineapple juice
 grilled pineapple
 mint sprig

 In a tin, muddle four to five mint leaves and a bar spoon of agave soaked in grilled pineapple chunks. Add liquor, lime juice, pineapple juice, and agave nectar. Shake with two cubes of ice and strain into a tall glass. Add another bar spoon of grilled pineapple and two mint leaves and swizzle with pellet ice until frosty. Garnish with mint sprig and a piece of grilled pineapple.

 From JIMMY Bar at The James Hotel Source: .

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Kenep: Summer Stories Series

My fondest childhood memories in Haiti are lodged in the summer.
In the summer we had time for mischief, time to be creative, time to discover all kinds of things. Well at least that's how it was for my best friends and I.

Every summer was different in the amount of freedom we took, the things we discovered, and how scorching hot the weather was but one thing never changed.
Starting in July, when my mother would be doing her usual summer teaching and side hustle activities, she would leave a couple of dollars on the table for me and my best friend/cousin every morning. Without fail, we would be up bright and way earlier than kids should get up in the summer. We would grab the dollars and marched on to roam the outdoors market nearby for one thing; the sweetest kenep we could find. Later with satisfied smiles,  hands full, and sometimes a seller calling us out for sampling without buying, we would make it back to my front porch to sit there and enjoy our kenep while we  people watched.

To this day I can hear warnings from our neighbors "timoun nou manje trop kenep, yon pye kenep ap leve nan vant nou wi" We would giggle and shake our heads no, there is no such thing as too much kenep and no a tree cannot possibly grow inside our stomachs and if it did well, more kenep for us lol.

Now that i'm older and certainly not in Haiti every summer, I relish every chance I get to savor this fruit. It's amazing how I never tire of it and I'm forever telling people to try it. I'm a kenep pusher lol. I could eat it every day for the whole summer. I get ridiculously happy when someone brings me some as a gift. As a matter of fact, the bunch that my grandma brought me from Haiti last week inspired this story. 

If you're looking for it, it's usually called mamoncillo around here and sometimes you can find it in Publix stores in Florida and also different Caribbean stores everywhere else. Once I found some at a local health food store in Central Florida, so just keep your eyes open and enjoy if you find some good ones :)

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My Haitian Plate: Lalo Legume Fey

My mom made Lalo  legume (fey) I was so happy I took a picture haha. That's one of my favorite food ever.     This stuff takes forever to make ... I almost never have the patience to make it but as a proud Artibonitienne it's essential that one knows how to make this dish properly or so I've heard lol

Artibonitienne: mostly means from the region above

( BTW All 5 of the A l'Haitienne crew are from Saint-Marc and Gonaives)

. It's an Artibonite staple (White Rice, Beans, and Lalo).
This dish is hearty and filling. It naturally contains a good amount of iron and protein as much as it is tasty.
 If you are interested to learn more about this dish (the recipe and better pictures) comment so that I can work on it. Otherwise, enjoy!

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Featured: Kwase le 8

This is one of my favorite music videos. The song is called Kwase le 8 and the group is ZatRap.  I think they capture Haitian beauty very well. It's also a catchy song that fuses Troubadour style with rap kreyol. I love the song (and Zatrap)

All pictures are stills from the video. Watch the video to see these scenes :)

I think this girl is absolutely gorge.  I wanna be like this next time I go to Haiti lol

Here's the video

Zatrap kwaze le 8-

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Touristic Dreams: Jardin Botanique Des Cayes

I think most of my touristic dreams have been in the South.  There's just so many beautiful places... I can't help but want to be there for my next trip

The Jardin Botanique in Les Cayes is one of the places in my must see list.

Check out some pictures courtesy of Haiti Tourism Inc -  They have been doing such a good job of showing places in Haiti!z They make my Haiti Touristic Dreams so much easier (haha)

A little about the garden from their website.

• Cayes Botanic Garden was founded in September 3rd 2003 and has 8 hectares. This garden mainly focuses on: conservation, education and research. It is located between the two majors protected areas in Haiti: Pack Macaya and Park La Visite. On the Google map it is easy to find it on 18.234397, -73.755347. The establishment of this garden is rooted to the biodiversity loss and lack of long-term structures to conserve biodiversity in Haiti. In consequence the garden has been involved in helping the government to conserve Haitian biodiversity and encourage the parliament to elaborate laws for its management and the establishment others.

See more here http://www.haitigarden.org/index_.php

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Moso Manman

Grandma, Me, Mom, and my sis

In honor of Haitian Mother's Day today I wanted to post a couple of songs about mothers. These are some of my favorite songs to listen to because I love my beautiful manman cherie to pieces.
Mothers are so important. Especially in a country like Haiti where the mother is basically the heart of the family. Most Haitian mothers that I know are like super heroes.



 I appreciate fathers and give them props for taking care of their families but everybody that has had a mother, especially one who has made so many sacrifices for her children like mine knows that they are indispensable.
So to every mother out there I say Bonne Fete Manman!
Show love to the mothers in your life everyday and share some of these songs with them sometime. They will appreciate it.

The song that I know the best out of all of them is Emeline Michel's "Moso Manman"

Old School Manman-

 Tropicana

Herold Christophe

Some of my favorite newer manman Songs

Beethova Obas

Freedom- Manman

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: Our Haitian Plate: Grilled A l'Haitienne

 We haven't done a food post in a while so at the last minute I decided to share these pics from our impromptu grilling craze .



 No preparation or recipe for this one... just the pictures :/
It's only grilled beef ribs marinated with a mix of Haitian spices or "Epice" and  corn on the cobb.

Starting the fire A l'Haitienne...

Na being extra fanning the flame lol

Ready!!!!

Our huge Haitian plate lol

It was our first time but certainly wont be the last because it was YUMMY! We're gonna make a meal real Haitian meal out of it next time.
Thanks for reading :)

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