Homemade Local Goodies

A woman who works in the clerks office at the court gave me a copy of a local cookbook a few weeks ago. It has tons of recipes for all the local foods we'd never heard of before we moved here - like kallaloo soup, soursop ice cream, plantain pie and pious nuns, fungi, dumb bread, johnny cakes, benye, banana fritters, sea grape marmalade, and sugar cakes!

The weekend after we got the recipes, we decided to try making sugar cakes. We tasted sugar cakes for the first time at the Havensight Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and then we had them again at Miracle on Main Street. They are made from coconut, sugar, and water, plus optional flavoring. We had tasted the standard almond flavor, plus ginger, and maybe plain. We've made them a few times since that weekend, trying new flavors each time. I was quite popular when I brought some to work. Everyone told me they'd never tried to make them at home, and always just made sure to get them at the agricultural or food fairs, or holiday events. My favorite flavor is pineapple, and Dave's is almond. We've also tried plain, vanilla, and peppermint.

Coconut Sugar Cakes:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups grated coconut

Mix everything together in heavy sauce pan. Cook slowly, stirring only occasionally to avoid sticking, until mixture forms a soft ball when dropped in water that is room temperature. (Really just cook it until it looks like it'll be able to keep its shape.) Remove from heat and beat a while. Add any desired flavoring while beating. Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Let cool. Enjoy the sugar high!