7 Steps Newly Diagnosed Diabetics Should Take - US News and World Report

7 Steps Newly Diagnosed Diabetics Should Take - US News and World Report

Read more @ www.caribbeanframes.com

Guyana Pepperpot

Pepperpot is Guyana’s national dish, which was derived by the Amerindians. It is traditionally served at Christmas and other special events.

Last Sunday, Father’s Day, I had pepperpot with bread for breakfast, YUM!. So I thought, why not share this with everyone.

Here is my mom’s recipe I tweaked a bit.

You will need

2 lb pork with bone
1 lb beef, cut into 3 inch pieces
1 lb cow heel or pig feet
1/2  lb pig tail, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 Lime juice or vinegar

1/2 cup cassava cassareep
2 hot peppers
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 bunch thyme
2 Maggi cube
2 tbsp sugar
5 -7 cloves
2 pieces orange peel
2 cinnamon sticks

Method

Trim excess fat off meats, wash them with lemon juice or vinegar and season as usual.

Lay the cow heel or pig feet at the bottom of the pressure pot, followed by the pig tail, beef, pork thyme, orange peel, clove, cinnamon sticks, 1 pepper, chopped onions, and garlic.

The reason for laying the meat like that is to have the tougher meat at the bottom. Turn the heat on medium and cook until water dries out. Cover pot during this process, however not in pressure mode.

Once the water evaporates add the cassava cassareep and hot water to cover the meat. Pressure for 25-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cook further until the pressure is safe to open. Test the texture of the meat especially cow heel and pig tail. If necessary you may need to pressure it for another 5 minutes. Skim and discard the oil which sits at the top. In addition, if the meat and gravy are not dark enough add some more cassareep. The color should be dark; the pictures tell the story.

Add sugar, the second pepper, salt to taste and cook slowly for another 10-15.

It is okay to eat this dish immediately, however, it is best after 24 hours. Besides, it tastes even better as the days go by. As such it is advisable to make it a day ahead. Note there is no need to refrigerate this dish after cooking it. It is safe to remain at room temperature once it is warmed up at lease once per day.

This meal is typically served warm with bread (home made); however some people eat it with store bread, rice and ground provision.

If you were to visit Guyana, pepperpot should be one of the things on  your must have list or if you have a Guyanese friend ask them to make  you some. To take it a little further, if you are able to put your hands on some cassava cassareep  go right ahead and experiment.

I understand versions of the dish are also served in several other countries in the  Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St Vincent. I wonder if it taste the same?

Learn more about the Caribbean @ www.caribbeanframes.com

Vacation in Bermuda

My visit to the Island of Bermuda just over a year ago convinced that vacationing away from our habitat is good. I spent just over a week on the island and I am willing to dub it as one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Bermuda is a British overseas territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean which seems to be a world away from any other land. The closest land to it is the coast of North Carolina U.S.A. It consists of 138 islands that form a fishhook-shaped landmass, stretching some 22 miles in length and about a mile in width. Bridges and causeways connect the eight largest islands. Tourism is an important to the island's economy, although international business has overtaken it in recent years. Shopping with the Bermuda dollar or the US dollar are welcomed the exchange rate is US$1= BMD$1. Bermuda has developed into a highly successful offshore financial center.

As a child, I recall hearing all the horrid stories about ships and aircrafts miraculously disappearing into the Bermuda Triangle. To date, there are grown people who are still of the view that something is amidst and it is all based hearsay.

Well, I love to investigate things for myself and I decided to hit two birds with one stone; visit a friend and get a personal experience on the Island. I flew to the island from the John F. Kennedy Airport JFK New York (NY) and arrived at my destination within less than two hours. No!!! The plane did not disappear because I am here!. Nevertheless, before the plane landed I was in love with what I saw. The view from the aircraft was majestic. The island is surrounded by a wide platform of underwater coral reefs. The closest thing I have seen to it is Oprah flying the coral reefs in Australia. I was so caught up with what I saw that I was unaware the plane was on the runway. The lone airport is located in the parish of St George’s and is 10 miles (16 km) east of Bermuda's capital city of Hamilton where I intended to reside for the rest of my vacation. On my way to the city I quickly realized that all the roofs were white, the buildings were painted in beautiful bright colors and the place was a bit mountainous. This unique display of architecture captivated me and before long the Q and A session began. I learnt that the roofs are made from large pieces of limestone tiles and painted white for two reasons:

1.    They are designed to retrieve the water from the rainfall and channel it down to a tank that is usually located under the house. The rain is the main source of water on the island. and

2.    To keep the inside of the house cool in the summer.

The reasons made sense to me since similar methods of trapping rain water are practiced in Guyana. I was like a kid in a candy store looking left and right as my Guide and the taxi driver provided me with tons of information.

Bermuda is truly a beautiful tropical island. My stay was so relaxing. The view from Front Street in the city of Hamilton across the water way at the Hamilton Harbour is breathtaking. My ferry ride to the Royal Navy Dockyard was the highlight of the visit, even though I arrived a bit late. I watched in awe at young men and women jet skiing, kids sailing and a boat owner playfully entertained us as he rode behind us in the path of the waves made by the ferry. At first I thought it was scary, but he seems to be a professional at the display as he waved at the passengers who were mostly visitors to the Island. As I looked at these activities it dawned on me that there is so much for the world to learn. While some kids are stuck in a house with a Xbox here in Bermuda the kids have a sail boat. Interesting!

The Dockyard or Kings Wharf is located in Ireland Island, at the western tip of Bermuda's Sandy’s Parish.  It spreads across some 24-acres and offers many attractions in addition to being home to a marina, a working boatyard, many restaurants and shops. Some of the largest Cruise Ships dock the harbor. I returned to Hamilton with the bus service which was prompt. Some of the roads are relatively narrow and I found myself worrying unnecessarily about the driver hitting the oncoming traffic. Then it was Dinner at the Pickled Onions. I love to cook my own food so my criticism may be biased; it was nothing to shout about other than the cost. Expensive!

[caption id="attachment_812" align="alignright" width="300" caption="On my way to the Dockyard"]<img src="http://www.caribbeanframes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/bermuda-054-e1307459914467.jpg" alt="&quot;On my way to the Dockyard&quot;" title="Me on a boat in Bermuda" width="300" height="225" class="size-full wp-image-812" />[/caption]

Unfortunately, I missed out on a ride with the glass bottom boat which enables you to see the coral reefs below the beautiful turquoise water but I will make up for that on my return. I also missed out on the beach activity since it was in February and the temperatures and weather were not cooperating. The Island is north of the Caribbean and while it was snowing in New York it was raining and windy in Bermuda.

Bermuda is one the Islands I will revisit not in February of course and I suggest you visit it as well. I was told by a local that besides the water being turquoise, it is warm and it is the delight of swimmers, snorkelers, divers and deep-sea fishermen. It is an Island that is touted to be an Island for the rich and famous, but wait, I am neither. I say you explore the possibilities and take a trip.

Who is my Neighbor

Loving God and loving neighbor are foundational to our Christian faith. As Jesus points out, total love of God is the greatest commandment followed by love of neighbor: "He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matt 22:37-39). Often, we focus on one to the exclusion of the other.
Another polar shift that we do lies in how we view neighbor. We tend to swing between recognizing that everyone is our neighbor and keeping a more restrictive view of neighbor to our inner circle. The trouble is, we often seem to find it easier to take up the cause of an unnamed group that we can champion than to show mercy and justice to those beside us. How do we show mercy to our friends and family and the people who do not share our core values and deeply held opinions? How are we neighbors to them?

By Claire Smith
www.missionandyouth.com

Redjet and Caribbean Airlines Feud.

Let me categorically state that I am in no way supporting either airline; I am simply stating what I discovered!

I was reading the news earlier this week and discovered that there is a feud between the new airline REDjet and the authorities in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago over the airline flying to these islands. From what was reported, a petition has been created by supporters of “the regional low-cost carrier”, REDjet to force the authorities in Jamaica and Trinidad to give the airline clearance to fly to those territories. The petition called the ‘Freedom of Caribbean Air Travel’ was created over the weekend, and had garnered a number of signatures from people all across the region, including Trinidad and Jamaica. According to Caribbean 360, the document addressed to the Governments of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, appeals for an explanation of the REDjet delays.

I investigated to determine the answers to two burning questions plaguing my mind at the time:

(1).Whether REDjet was having cheap fares? and

(2).Whether the Governments of these two territories were really holding back on the airline’s clearance?

I visited the REDjet’s website and it immediately deepened my interest so I had to do some additional browsing to confirm that the figures I saw were accurate. They were! But, it depended on my destination, the embarkation point, the particular day of the week selected to depart, the time of departure and the length of stay. Interestingly, I recall flying to Barbados and Trinidad a few years ago and paid a ridiculously higher price than the highest prices offered by REDjet. How could this be possible?

Intrigued further, I went to the website of the Trinidad owned Caribbean Airlines to do a comparison and some extra browsing. I must admit that the prices there in comparison to REDjet were incredibly higher. As such I concluded that Politics and Monopolization were at work and ventured on to the Caribbean Airlines News link. This visit was all I needed to confirm my suspicions and conclusions. The headline read:

“CARIBBEAN AIRLINES / AIR JAMAICA DEAL FINALIZED"

27 May 2011, Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago W.I. - Days before the deadline for a notice of closure of the largest aviation merger in the Caribbean, Caribbean Airlines has finalized its acquisition of Air Jamaica. The deal was made official at the Office of the Prime Minister in St. Clair, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. Minister of Finance, Winston Dookeran, and Jamaica's Finance Minister, Audley Shaw, signed the agreement which was witnessed by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, and Works and Transport Minister, Jack Warner.

After reading the first paragraph I started to get the picture as to why REDjet was having difficulty with these two governments. The release added that the Government of Jamaica will now have a sixteen percent stake in the Trinidadian airline and a member appointed to the Caribbean Airlines Board of Directors. I personally think that the merger is good; however trying to shut another airline out is not in the interest the people of these islands, the people of the Caribbean in general, or people from around the world who may want to Island hop via this means.

I noted that the penultimate paragraph of the release ended with the line, “A truly Caribbean airline will now be of service to the Caribbean and its people”. As such, I investigated to determine who the owners of REDjet were. I found that REDjet is privately owned and may have an Irish connection. I am stunned by this situation! Does it really matter whether an airline is Caribbean owned or not? I can pinpoint numerous benefits to the Caribbean basin from a foreign airline taking to the skies, for example, increase in jobs, easy, frequent and inexpensive flying from island to island, tourism sectors reporting increase in revenue and most of all making traveling, spending and saving extremely easier for all concerned. And I’m sure they are additional benefits you can add.

What are your views on this situation?

Remember to visit www.caribbeanframes.com for this and more Caribbean information.

On Thursday May 30th, 2011, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) celebrated Indian Arrival Day. On May 30th 1845, the Fath Al Razak docked at the Port of Spain harbour in Trinidad and Tobago with 225 adult passengers on board. The passengers were immigrants from India who had come to the British colony to work on the sugarcane plantations. There were over 140,000 East Indians Immigrants listed to have arrived over a 70 year period. At least 75 percent of those who came remain and settled. They continued with their religious traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and eventually transformed Trinidad into a diverse, colorful society, with their customs, style of dress, dance, food, music, singing, and language. Descendants of these Indian immigrants, now comprise about half of the 1.3 million multi-ethnic society of the island.

Indian Arrival Day was first celebrated in Skinner Park, San Fernando, as the East Indian Centenary on May 30, 1945 which marked the hundredth anniversary of the coming of Indians to Trinidad. However, this historic day was only declare a national holiday since 1994. It was called Arrival day, however in 1995 it was renamed Indian Arrival day.

Since its establishment in Trinidad, Indian Arrival Day has given rise to similar celebrations in Guyana, Jamaica, Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

The commemoration takes the form of prayers, speeches, songs, music, dances and plays in communal as well as public spaces. The spirit of the day is invoked at various beaches with the reenactment of the landing of the first boat-load of pioneers who gave birth to the Indian community in Trinidad.

As a part of the celebration also there was an annual Miss Indian Arrival Trinidad and Tobago, which is in its eight year. Twelve beautiful young women will vie for the title on Saturday at the Rudranath Capildeo Centre, Couva.

East Indians have made significant contribution to the Caribbean history and culture. Indian foods have been the most significant; Roti, dhal, doubles, sweets, curry etc.  are a must have at least once per week. These dishes have become popular among the the other ethnic groups and are sold in restaurants in the Caribbean, Canada, US, and UK.

Oprah's Finale

The Rapture didn't happen on Saturday but an end happened yesterday, “I will not say goodbye, I would say until we meet again; To God be the Glory” she said as she closed the show, a very significant chapter of her life. Yes I am talking about Oprah Winfrey, a woman who has given us twenty five (25) years of her life. I recalled hearing one of the late night comics saying, the world could not end on Saturday because Oprah’s last show was on the 25th. Well he was so right about that. We had her for one hour one last time on that stage as the host of the show.

I am convinced her guess’s anticipation of what the finale show would be stirred emotions of all sorts. Call her what you want, I think the title of TEACHER suits her. A teacher is a person who is many things under that one title. Besides, as she said, she wanted to be a teacher while growing up. The distinct difference between her teaching career and the teacher who goes to school each day is that she had the largest classroom ever and she loved what she was called to do and enjoyed every bit of it. Her classes were filled everyday with millions of people, men, women, boys, girls, gay, straight, black, white etc.  from every corner of the world. Some listened attentively with pens and notepads in hand while others listened with their hearts and soul. She was present every day of the 4516 lessons she taught. It is always a great thing to do what you love and get paid to do it!!!

There was always a lesson for one to walk away with from her classroom, regardless of how infinitesimal it may sound at the time. She brought the right people on to discuss the right issues and in the process she made them a name for themselves. The Caribbean was definitely a part of that classroom and I am sure there are many who would attribute their success or their new perspective on some crucial issues in life to Oprah Winfrey and the Oprah Winfrey Show. Sadly the real impact the show and Oprah, as a role model, had on the lives of persons around the world may never get aired because there is no one to adequately record such.

When I was in Guyana, one of the things I was planning to make a reality when I get to the United States was to attend the Oprah Winfrey Show. Well, so much for that plan! I have no one to blame but myself because I never made the effort to get tickets. There is a lesson to learn here though, and that is that having plans with no action is absolutely useless. It leaves us with thoughts of “What If”, “What would have been”, “What should have been” etc.  I have always been an ardent viewer of the Show and I am encouraged even more by this last Show to pursue my goals, listen to God as he guides me on this journey, which is not easy but not rough enough to detour me.

As Oprah said thank you to the world for allowing her into our homes and hearts for a quarter of a century, I am sure there were tears of joy and some that are just unexplainable.  As she graced the stage for the last time as the host, her warmth, elegance, and radiance lit our TV screens and our hearts. She looked stunningly beautiful in her peach to pink three quarter sleeve dress with a low cut U- neck and of knee high. This was a perfect last show image to leave her audience.

I am sure many would agree with me that one hour was not enough to put 25 years of the Oprah Winfrey Show. However, I must say that that is the very reason she is Oprah, she did a great job of putting the right pieces together. Like a true teacher she has encouraged, inspired, taught, learned and provided solutions for problems. Looking composed for the most part the queen of Television could not hold back the tears as she spoke of her childhood and the journey she took to this day.

Her final words on the show were, “WE DID IT” though they were to her dog …, they were actually the repeat of what she said to her team who she always praised throughout her career because there would be no Show without their contribution. That is what sets her apart from other talk show hosts; she is humble, reasonable in her judgment and leadership, all remarkable qualities of a great teacher.

The thoughts she shared over the years were obviously too much to fit into a one hour show. However those were shared pertinent enough to be repeated while there were a few new ones. Here are some of the thoughts I found significant during the last hour of the show and one of the most significant hours on Television.

“I just wanted to do a good job and cause no harm”

“Life is energy and the way we respond to it determines how the universe will respond to you”.

“The energy you put out comes right back to you”.

“No one completes you”.

“You are responsible for your life”.

“I had no vision”, “My team and Jesus…Nothing but the hand of God made it possible”

“What God?  The one and only GOD I talking about, whatever it is to you”.

“Grace is working in your life if you let it in.”

“Be still and know it, I waited and listen”.

“God is love, God is Life.”

“What are the whispers in your life? What does it stay”?

“Connect, embrace, liberate”.

For more things Caribbean visit www.caribbeanframes.com