Food and Folklore of the Virgin Islands

9780962657702

0962657700

This animated book by Arona Petersen is but a single extension of a versatile & creative lady. A native of St. Thomas, she has spent most of her years on the island interspersed with travels to many lands. She went to Santo Domingo as a child, spent about ten years in Puerto Rico & 15 in New York. She also lived briefly in Costa Rica & has visited several Central & South American countries. "I meet people, get used to the customs & make friends," she says. For many Virgin Islands children & newcomers to the Caribbean, she has been a walking, talking textbook on Virgin Islands history & culture. Her "lessons" began in the kitchen. She spent years as a chef in various restaurants & then opened her own "Hillside Way" - better known as "The House with the Green Roof" - where she dished up a myriad of traditional West Indian foods. It was just a step away for her to put some of her recipes & instructions into print in a newspaper column. She started with a column on food in the Virgin Islands Daily News. It soon evolved into a column for the mind as well as the body. She became a social & political commentator & - appropriately - her weekly column was moved to the editorial pages.