A St. Lucian Light Supper: Bakes and Di Te Cacao

Di te cacao (dee-te-cah-coe) or cocoa tea and bakes are very common in St. Lucia. Dinner tends be light there, so these two make for a light supper. I learned how to make them during my third week in St. Lucia. Bakes can be fried or roasted (baked in the oven).  I had cocoa tea and roast bakes served with butter and cheese for dinner my second night there. Fried bakes are sold stuffed with salt fish at the food stand I would go to during training.

The ingredients for the cocoa tea are:

• 1 cocoa stick
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 cups of water
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 3 table spoons of flour

To make it, you grate the cocoa stick (some people break it up, but it dissolves better when grated) and break up the cinnamon sticks in a pot. You can use a teaspoon of nutmeg, but we used the skin from the nutmeg. Then add sugar, salt and mix it together. Next, add water and put it on the stove, stirring it every 3-5 minutes. Then add in flour to thicken the tea. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Here is a video of me making the cocoa tea:

The ingredients for bakes are:

• 3 lbs of flour
• 2 table spoons of butter
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tables spoons of sugar
• yeast (baking) or baking powder (fry)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup of water or coconut milk

After adding all of the ingredients together, you have to knead the dough and let it rise for 30-35 minutes. This was my first time kneading dough. Here's a video of it:

For a medical session during training, the Peace Corps doctor went over different types of food we can eat. We split up into 4 groups: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. My group had snack, so we made guava juice, fried plaintains and bakes. Two of the volunteers and I did the bakes. We used fresh coconut milk instead of water because it gives the bakes more flavor. 

The coconut was cut up into small pieces and then put into a blender. Afterwards, it was poured into a strainer over a container and sifted through to get all of the liquid out. Next, we added flour, salt, sugar, yeast, cinnamon, cinnamon, butter and the coconut milk into a large bowl. 

 

After being mixed together, it was kneaded into dough and sat for 30 minutes. Afterwards, we took small pieces of the dough, rolled them into a ball and shaped them into circles. One of the volunteers made a heart. We put them in the oven on 350 F for 30 minutes and flipped them half way through. We fried about 10 of them which only takes a few minutes. 

Had a lot of fun making these and it's even better with friends. 

My Time in St. Lucia

I know I'm late with the blog posts, but a lot has happened in the past month and has taken me some time to get adjusted. I am currently in St. Vincent, but this post will be about my time in St. Lucia.

My time here in the eastern Caribbean has been outstanding. I found a certain peace in St. Lucia that I have never known.

During the first five weeks of Peace Corps training, I'd start my day by going to the food stand where you can buy fried bakes, fruit, snacks and soft drinks.

"Bonjou Stephanie."
"Bonjou Brooke."
"Mwen vle de fig me."

The standard greeting or how to say "good morning" is bonjou. "Mwen vle de fig me" means "I want two ripe bananas." Because mangos were in season, I'd buy one or two as well. I ate two or more a day because I learned how the locals eat mangos: just bite into it, peel the skin and eat it. After training was over, I'd fill up my water bottle for my journey to my homestay. It's a 45 minute walk of beautiful scenery. I took this walk home about three times a week for two and a half weeks.

On the weekend, I'd wake up late and eat breakfast. I'm used to eating cereal, oatmeal or pancakes  for breakfast in America. My host mom would cook a chicken patty, cut up a mango, shred a cucumber with added garlic, fried plantains and ginger tea. Or I may get porridge or a fruit smoothie with two bananas or an apple.

My host mom likes to leave the door open to get a nice breeze into the house. After I got done with breakfast, I liked going outside and enjoying the view.

My host mom is a Seventh Day Adventist and goes to church on Saturday. After Church, her family would come over for a big lunch and to spend time together. I always looked forward to Saturday for the family visits. I was able to integrate into the family and community by spending time with them. My host mom's sister-in-law actually carved my name out of wood and painted the St. Lucian flag on the first letter as a gift for me (1st pic).

I got to try new food while in St. Lucia. My host mom's neighbor planted a lot of fruit and vegetables in her yard. I got to try starfruit for the first time after picking it from a tree. It's not too sweet and make a great afternoon snack.

 

Guavas are yellow and green with a pink flesh and you can eat the skin. It makes a great juice. Sugar cane is good to chew on as well. I got to drink water from a coconut for the first time and that was amazing. The provisions they have are dasheen, breadfruit, green fig or green banana, yellow, red and purple yams. The national dish in St. Lucia is green fig. I am officially and whole-heartedly obsessed with lentils. And if served with rice? Will put me in a good mood for an entire day.

A common dish is a roti (top right pic) which is a tortilla stuffed with chicken or beef with potatoes. Sometimes chick peas are added to the tortilla. Here are a few pics of the meals I got to eat.

 

  

I also learned how to make fried and roast bakes and cocoa tea or in Kweyol, di te cacoa. Dinner tends to be small and light, so these two are served together (although bakes are eaten at anytime of day). Some times the roast bakes are served with cheese or can be stuffed with salt fish. I ate it on my second night in St. Lucia and learned how to make it three weeks afterwards.

St. Lucia is the first country I got to go to and live in outside of America. The people I met, food I ate and partaking in the culture was an outstanding experience I will never forget. I can't wait to go back and visit someday.