We welcomed our speaker, Madge Spencer, who was to demonstrate Jamaican Cooking. Madge started by telling us a little about herself, she was born in Manchester but Manchester Jamaica and she is a potter. Then she proceeded to make rum punch. She said she was going to cook Jerk Chicken and had already made the rice and beans. We then learnt about the spices grown and used in Jamaican cookery, one of the main ones was Allspice which looks quite like elderberries when growing but turns brown instead of purple. Jerk chicken consists of onions, tomatoes and chicken pieces with added jerk spices, the temperature of the spices may be brought down using a little yogurt in the final stage of cooking. The ingredients are all cooked together until the chicken is cooked through. Whilst the food was cooking Madge regaled us with stories about experiencing her first trip to Scotland and Stornoway and the differences she found from Jamaica. After the rum punch and a dish of jerk chicken, rice and beans everyone was in a very good mood; Madge certainly knew how to keep everyone interested and a good time was had by all.
The usual monthly raffle was won by Susan M.
The competition for ‘something Caribbean’ was won by Pauline M with a banana! The other items were a palm leaf woven bird, a necklace, a brooch, a decorated shell and a Pirates of the Caribbean DVD.
Our next Meeting is on Thursday, 17 November when we will be welcoming Mike Storr who will be talking about ‘Masters of Mirth’. The competition is for ‘a joke’.