"What-ish Waters?!" aka PAM Christmas Party

Last Thursday Ms. Francis the secretary at PAM invited me to the PAM staff term wrap-up/ Christmas party. Since I ended up not going to PAM at all that week, I wanted to be able to go up and see everyone again and say goodbye/ Merry Christmas.

But what I forgot was that "This is Grenada" aka "tig."

TIG: ABBREVIATION; "This is Grenada." informal. Used pretty frequently in the country of Grenada to sum up exasperation at every day, "Grenadian" things. 

Usage:

(spiteful) Just killed a cockroach the size of a cat. TIG

(funny) Today I spent 15 minutes stuck in line of 10 cars, because of a stalled Learner (student driver). TIG

(observational) I realized N.Y. Bagels on campus rips you off. TIG

(pondering) They sell locally packaged pork chops at IGA, never seen a pig on the island. TIG

So you get the picture. There actually used to be a website where students would post their "TIG"s to commiserate together. Living in a country and culture that is different from my own, I get it.

Without further ado, let me introduce "Mannish Waters." The soup I was able to sample at the PAM Christmas party, cooked over a fire pit, was interesting. I have sampled some local cuisine, and aside from breadfruit dishes, I guess I don't have much of a palate for it.

Like any good research-hungry, BA-holding, just plain curious individual I had to learn more. Turns out the soup is originally Jamacian (it seems most Caribbean food does).

Wiki's picture was spot on and provided the most concise definition:

"Mannish water is a goat soup in Jamaican cuisine. It is believed to be an aphrodisiac and is made from various goat parts, sometimes including the head, brains and heart."

As far as aphrodisiac, umm... I came home and fell asleep. Sleep slightly out won puking. And let me tell ya, if you think breath after a nap normally stinks, I couldn't breathe from post-nap-mannish-waters breath. TMI? But in all fairness, maybe goat brains and heart are an acquired taste and once I savor and crave them, the aphrodisiac magic powers will come.

<--Then, I ran across this photo accompanied by this caption:

 "The ingredients are a bit intimidating for a first timer but once you get a taste I can bet you'll be hooked...The 5th quarter (head, entrails and legs) are the featured ingredient in Mannish Water."

I, personally, don't think "hooked" was the word I was looking for. And I am no PETA President, but I will spare you from the other pictures in that Mannish Waters How To page.

If you haven't run out to get your piping hot bowl yet, I know it's probably because you are waiting for a recipe, all 20 ingredients, and I read that it is just fine if you would like goat testicles in there as well. 

I also noticed the Food Network offers a recipe for it in their "holidays and parties" section if you'd like to whip that up for your loved ones this holiday season. To help out, you can purchase Mannish Water Ram Goat Flavor Soup Mix at Amazon.

And a select few of you might get some packets from our local MNIB in the foreseeable future!