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Posts from the ‘beach’ Category

Dec 31

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No. 102: ‘Ti Punch

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‘Ti Punch, short for petit punch and best pronounced “tee paunch”, is the boisson préférée en Martinique. I’d never heard of it before this adventure. Superman, a bit more experienced, jumped right into the island vibe and enjoyed one on the Air Caraibes flight over.

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I had hoped to get to one of the rhum distilleries yesterday and learn about the process of making rhum from sugar cane, but oh la vache, our gas tank is still presque à sec, so we are only making short trips here and there, hoping we will have enough gas to make it to the airport.

Even though I’m not a hard alcohol enthusiast, I have come around to enjoying this punch over the last few weeks. It’s a simple and casual drink and it goes down smoothly.

‘Ti Punch is a combination of rhum, lime juice and cane sugar, all of which can be found freshly grown/made in this tiny island paradise. What I like about this easygoing drink is that en famille it is served déconstruit/deconstructed. Meaning, the rhum, limes and sirop de canne or sugar are put on the table and each person mixes their own drink to suit their tastes.

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As my dad used to say: “choose your poison”, or as I heard this week: chacun prepare sa propre mort (each prepares their own death).

Here is a simple recipe to get you started:

‘Ti Punch

2 fingers of Rhum Agricole

½-1 small Keylime, juiced

1-2 tsp cane sugar or cane syrup

Serve over ice and stir with a bois lélé (swizzle stick). Usually served as an aperitif—or, en Martinique, when the spirit moves you. Try spicing up the syrup with a bit of cinnamon or allspice to make it more festive.

Vocabulaire

An nou pran on lagout : Let’s have a glass of rum; créole

aperitif: before dinner drink

bois lélé: swizzle stick, créole

boisson préférée en Martinique: preferred drink in Martinique.

chacun prepare sa propre mort: each prepares their own death

en famille: with family (at a family get together)

oh la vache: holy cow

presque à sec: almost empty (as in the gas tank); literally, almost dry

rhum agricole: rum made from freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice and then distilled

sèk-sèk : a small glass of pure rum, créole.

Shrubb; rum made with marinated orange or tangerine rinds, served at Christmas

sirop de canne: cane syrup

un planteur: fruit juice and rum

Dec 31

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No. 100-101: The Colors and Creatures of Martinique

Our time in Martinique is drawing to a close and as the gas strike is still in full swing, I spent the afternoon wandering, watching and snapping photos, soaking up the vibrant colors, creatures and flavors of our temporary piece of the French Caribbean. Profitez!

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Vocabulaire

Profitez! Enjoy!

Dec 31

No. 99: Island Christmas

I know Christmas has come and gone, but I really loved it this year. This is my last year with a child living at home. Next year we will be empty nesting it, although I hope not for Christmas. Here are a few memories from our island Christmas with Kitcat and Button en Martinique.

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Dec 29

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No. 97-98: Flowers and Plants of Martinique

logo-villes-et-villages-fleurisMartinique is bursting with flowers and most of their cities are designated villes fleuries. I think they should go one step further and designate the whole of Martinique as a “flower and plant island”. The diversity of flower and plant life on this tiny island knocks my socks off. Take a look (and hold on to your socks).

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Vocabulaire:

villes fleuries:  literally flowered villages/cities; a designation given by the French government (since the 1950s) to cities and towns in France that foster not only beautiful flowers, but also improve the quality of city life and make newcomers feel welcome; the designation is based on a four flower rating system.

Dec 28

No. 96: une grève: a strike

Yesterday we had big plans. We were going to drive the length of the island and see what we could see. Trunk packed with hiking shoes and guidebooks, maps and mosquito spray, rain gear and beachwear, we were ready for anything.

Anything, that is, except une grève.

The French are famous for their strikes, and it appears that Martinique is no exception. Unfortunately the strike involves gasoline and all the gas stations were/are closed. Of course, our tank was nearly empty.

Because we are on holiday, we have not been listening to the news, so we had no idea this was coming, but as it turns out, neither did the Martiniquais. Usually in France, the strikes are announced ahead of time (and often you even know exactly how long they will last), but this one was not. Sprung upon the island, on the day most mainland French vacanciers were arriving and expecting rental cars with full tanks of gas, this one was/is a proper and effective strike.

So, you may ask, how do I turn une grève into something I love about France? The girls had the same question. The answer: forced relaxation.

With no gas in the tank and no place to go, we were forced to head to the small local beach and spend the day resting, talking and laughing, playing cards, reading and eating ice cream, watching the locals’ picnic and play with their beautiful families and remember how lucky we are to have each other.

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Fun family time. The silver lining to une grève.

Vocabulaire

une grève: a strike

vacanciers: vacationers

Dec 27

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No. 95: Quirky French History

Yesterday I came across a bit of inspired French history on our way to Anse d’Arlet on the south western shore of Martinique.

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To access Anse d’Arlet, a sleepy fishing village, we had to pass by Rocher du Diamont. Diamond Rock is a volcanic island across from Diamond Beach. Lush and green and 600 feet high, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Nowadays it is a famous diving spot renowned for its colorful sea life and assortment of marine birds, but it has a bit of quirky history attached to it from the colonial days.

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Although Martinique was mostly held by the French colonialists, the British governed (or attempted to govern) the island for a few years here and there. In 1804, about a 100 English sailors landed on the rock and constructed a fort and armory. Once established, they proceeded to pester the French navy with surprise attacks and cannon fire as they attempted to cross the passage to deliver necessary supplies for the colonialists. These constant disruptions forced the French to abandon this passage. After 18 months (and no luck in retaking the fortified rock), the French decided to get creative.

Having heard that the British soldiers were becoming distraught from their long confinement on the rock and that the limited access to fresh water was contributing to their restlessness, they hatched a plan. They sent a small sailboat loaded with rum to the island. (Some accounts have them simply floating barrels of rum across the channel.) However the rum reached the soldiers, between the combination of thirst and stir craziness, the Brits were soon completely sloshed.

The French retook the outpost in a matter of days.

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Now that’s some pretty clever military strategy, n’est-ce pas?

Vocabulaire

n’est-ce pas? isn’t it?

Rocher du Diamont: Diamond Rock

 

Dec 26

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No. 94: Le Réveillon

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All day yesterday (Christmas Eve), the friendly Martiniquais were wishing each other (and us) un bon Réveillon. Le Réveillon is the huge feast traditionally following la Messe de Minuit.

Although not many of my French friends attend midnight mass, they certainly wouldn’t miss out on le Réveillon. The meal can run into the wee hours of the morning, and usually includes a pause for the older children (the little ones are already tucked in bed) to open their presents from Père Noël.

In Paris le Réveillon is not for the faint of heart (or for the vegetarian in your life). No self-respecting Réveillon would be complete without foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon, a chestnut stuffed capon, turkey, or goose, and possibly some assortment of wild game.

For some families this late evening meal is the gastronomic highlight of the entire year.

This year we stuck to our family tradition of fondue, followed by snuggling together to watch a Christmas movie (usually A Christmas Story, but this year It’s a Wonderful Life), while happily ensconced in our petite maison en Martinique.

While each region in mainland France has its own slight variation on the traditional Christmas menu (in Provence, apparently it includes 13 dessert!), the Réveillon en Martinique is made up of an entirely different menu.

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I’m lucky enough to know this because our landlords here (or our Martiniquais grandparents) were kind enough to recreate le Réveillon for Christmas lunch today. After four appetizers and five main course dishes, we all had the top button of our pants undone. The highlights of the feast included accras (fried fish and vegetable dumplings), petits patés Créole (bite sized savory meat pies, filled with langoustine, shrimp or pork), smoked caramelized ham, cooked yellow-fleshed bananas with tender pork ragu, and of course, Punch coco.

On my I-don’t-think-I’ll-eat-that-again list: Boudin noir —a fat sausage of spicy pig’s blood.

Donc, a Christmas very well spent. I am so grateful for our new friends, this wonderfully diverse country and all the marvelous encounters we have had along the way.

Joyeux Noël à toutes et à tous une bonne nuit.

Vocabulaire

Joyeux Noël à toutes et à tous une bonne nuit. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

la Messe de Minuit: midnight mass

le Reveillon: Christmas/New Year’s Eve feast, literally, eve, from the verb réveiller, to wake up, awaken, or revive.

petite maison en Martinique: small house in Martinique

 

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