The 14th Annual Bordeaux Farmers Rastafari Agricultural & Cultural Food Fair. Part 1

 Pumpkin Soup.

This was a two day festival, held on the island of St. Thomas, it's like a big farmers market.  I was accompanied by my eldest niece, and we had a wonderful time.  There were tons of fresh produce and plants, farm tours, live demonstrations and a variety of prepared vegetarian, vegan, and raw food and drinks.  I had an amazing bowl of pumpkin soup, it was choc full of veggies and whole wheat dumplings, it was so delicious.  Oh, how could I forgot my peas balls, ( those are the brownish balls on the top of the soup) they were crunchy on the outside but soft and spicy on the inside.  It was a wonderful experience we learned a lot, and I mean a lot, and I actually saw some local plants that i never knew had medicinal properties.... like this one ....

The bunch with the frilly edged leaves, the farmer said that it is very good for the cold & cough.  One has to seep it like a tea, then drink it; I was amazed, that plant grows wild everywhere in my back yard.  I actually thought it was a weed and destroyed it several times.  To think that when i had the cold last year the cure was right in my back yard (before i destroyed it ) was pretty ironic.
I bought a lot of plants to replant in my garden and produce I also bought some jams that were absolutely delicious.  Have you ever heard of soursop jam?
I know right?
Crazy, even for me and I have made some pretty strange sounding things, that tasted great; this jam did not disappoint.  It was delicious, I bought 8 jams total: sour sop, basil, &, sorrel.  I have them hidden in my refrigerator they are excellent with my Tahini Scones.

These wonderful Jams are the brain child of Ms. June Archibald of Virgin Islands Fruit Preserves.  Like myself , she is somewhat of a kitchen connoisseur and has started her own company in St. Thomas, where she has a farm and grows several tropical fruits;she  makes her tasty preserves from the harvest. website:  www.mydrizzler.com / email:vifruitpreserves@mydrizzler.com
What  is your favorite exotic condiment, something that you absolutely cannot live without?

 Sorrel 

I bought some of these too, Sorrel flowers makes an excellent drink, one of my favorite actually and it is very easy to make:

Just place the flowers in a big pot with some water and a cinnamon stick, a few whole cloves, and a piece of ginger root (optional) and  let that baby boil for a few hrs (maybe 3 depending on how much sorrel is used).  After it has boiled, the water will become the color of the flower and the flower will look white, then it is ready.  Just let it cool, sweeten with sweetner of your choice, then presto ... Sorrel Drink.

Fresh Produce