Haitian Flag Day!

Several things have happened since I last wrote. It would be beautiful to be able to sit and capture the sum of my day every day in a beautiful, engaging blog post. For now, I will settle for the bare minimum of a once-a-week goal—at best, twice a week.

First, I want to shout Happy Haitian Flag Day to all my #zoes! Back in the day, with one of our groups called YAM (Young Adult Ministry), we would have all types of food from our culture lined up for everyone to eat. Lalo, Griot, Fish, Militon, Beregen, Mais Chaka—just Google a good Haitian cuisine because you really have to taste it to experience the wonderful flavors that dance in your mouth.

My mom would help me by making black rice, Lalo, or any other request throughout the years. If i can find photos, I will come back to the blog - I know some exist, because my mom would make dresses for people for a mini fashion show at the church.

Two women holding up the Haitian flag, dressed in traditional Haitian dresses, walking down a street parade celebrating Haitian Flag Day in New York.

It took me years to feel comfortable making our traditional dishes because depending on where you are from determines the flavors of your food. Like Militon translated is legumes. In this legume dish, some people put eggplant. After a while, I dared to tell my mom I didn’t like the eggplant in the dish. And she stopped putting it in the dish. Now it’s one of my favorites. My mom adds shrimp, crabs, and papaya! Yes, papaya and carrots help with the spicy and salty flavors of the dish. It’s truly a party in your mouth, though visually, not always pleasing to look at.

During COVID, I recorded myself making it in hopes of sharing to help a friend who lost her mum. I’m sure I have the videos and simply never posted them to YouTube.

Check out this spread photographed by the Creator: Photographer Copyright: N H Teetelli