October 26, 2022
Yet again, I have found myself months away from my dinners. This fall was a truly difficult season with three deaths followed by three weeks of sickness in our house. Part of me does not wish to associate Samoa, which was a joyful banquet, with this weight, but it is intertwined.
Winkie, one of my mom’s best friends, died suddenly in September. Her ability to listen and take time helped people to feel truly heard and seen.
Jesi, my cousin, died in October after a grueling battle with cancer. We had the blessing of coming together as an extended family, but the pain was draped around all of us.
My cousins lost their father in November. I was so moved by the way they memorialized him and the honesty of their grief.
I was not the primary mourner to any of these beautiful souls. There were people who knew them better and felt the loss more deeply. If you are one of those people, please know that I am not trying to take sympathy from your loss, only to explain the space in which I found myself.
I come from a very large family, where there have been many seasons. There was a time when it seemed every weekend had a wedding. Once, we even had a double-header, one Larger cousin and one Reeb. It shifted to births of babies, and as a younger cousin I found it amusing when my babies were brewing at the same time as those cousins I had looked up to. Grief is the price of love, and I have been going to funerals since I was very young, but it felt like an event, not a season. As the leaves changed and fell, I looked up to see all of those I love who are nearing the end of their journey. This is why I stopped writing and cooking; there were days where I wandered into the kitchen and everything felt like too much.
Perhaps our concentrated illnesses in December were a gift. David began with a week-long mystery fever, everyone contracted the flu for the next week, Jakob rounded it out with a case of strep. Why was this good? First, we all came through it, but it placed me in survival mode. I did not have to achieve beyond surviving each day. At least one of the boys was with me at all times, and I was able to see the brilliance in my children. It was a retreat, and it allowed me to face the future with a little less desperation.
If you decide to cook from Oceania, coconuts are a recipe staple. The coconut flavor, from the milk, is not overly assertive. It was decided that these should be our new dinner rolls, and I could see them working with any main dish. They are the perfect texture, and so subtle that you might not notice the secret unless told.
Samoan chicken is awesome. Even if you are a person who normally goes for a fully prepped bird, buy some bone-in, skin on pieces for this one. The chicken is first browned, then finished in an intense sauce. Soy sauce brings salt, while apple cider vinager brings a tang, generous quantities of ginger and garlic make their presence known. Because the chicken cooks in the sauce, every bite will be infused with all of those well-balanced voices. Sometimes, when you cook skin on chicken, you lose the flavor if you do not like the texture of the skin, but that is not the case here. Bonus, the extra sauce looks beautiful covering a fluffy pile of coconut rice.
Coconut Rice
I did not make a mistake with the link. The coconut rice recipe is also included with the chicken. Basically, coconut milk replace water for cooking the rice. It is a stir fry game changer. I would suggest using it as often as you can.
Did I mention that this was a banquet, a feast? I found these recipes so inspiring, and I had half a water melon left, so we had drinks as well. Possibly because we do not have a blender, my drink seemed more of a smoothie than what was pictured in the recipe. You have watermelon, crushed pineapple, coconut, and coconut milk. Next time, I would serve this with a lighter meal, because it was very filling. If you get tired, this summer, of eating watermelon cube out of a bowl, I would recommend turning them into this drink.
You might be thinking that I’ve trapped you here, and this blog will never end. But this is the finale, and a feast should always have a dessert. The recipe I have given went big, the pies were enormous. I went small and made a lot more. I’m sure you will find what works for you. This dish is similar to the “pineapple pop tarts” Ben liked during Guyana week. It is a simple dough (with the addition of coconut milk, of course) encasing a homemade pineapple jam. I have no complaints about the results. The jam I was not able to fit in found its way onto my morning toast. Thank you for sticking with me through my ramblings. I hope this year is bringing brightness into your life.
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