Buenos dias, students, staff and guests.
My name is Hector Garcia. I was born in Bogata, Colombia and for the past eleven years, I have been a Canadian citizen.
In Canada, many things have been new to me. I have gotten to know many people from other countries and at the same time, I have also gotten to know some of their customs.
In Colombia, food is an indispensable and essential part of our life and culture: from celebrating births, birthday, religious and national holidays to weddings and funerals.
Colombia is a tropical country and is quite mountainous. There are cities at sea level and cities at more than three thousand metres above sea level. Colombia’s soil is very fertile and as a result, we have excellent mineral products (especially emeralds), fruits, vegetables and a wide range of animals. In Spanish the names of some of these animals are: zapote, ranadilla, guama, tamarindo, maranon….curuba, mora, lulo….
We do not have very distinct seasons like in Canada. In Colombia it is always sprint time. Because of our beautiful climate, it is easy to find fresh, local and affordable products of excellent quality in any month of the year.
Christmas and New Year’s are our most important holidays. We spend them surrounded by family. At midnight, we celebrate with a special dinner, festive drinks, music, dancing and fireworks.
It is customary to divide the feast so that each family prepares a special dish. (pies, buenelos, arepas, natilla, postre de natas, picadas, ajiaco…)
These dishes are traditional family favourites or from other regions of the country. The food is then offered to close friends and neighbours.
I would like to invite you all to visit and get to know Colombia. The media often portrays Colombia in an incorrect way and shows only the bad things that happen there.
I would like you to know that Colombia is wonderful. It has so many qualities and let us not forget; the best coffee in the world.
Please do not miss the opportunity to visit the country where I am from.
Gracias a Dios. Gracias a Canada and Gracias Havergal for allowing me to share some of my beloved Colombia with all of you today
I have fond memories of our family outings at the beach when my father would buy us a treat called “Rojak.” Rojak is typically a fruit salad of pineapple, cucumber, dried tofu, mango and Fuji apple which is topped with a sweet dark sauce made with chilies, palm sugar, shrimp paste, tamarind juice and chopped peanuts. Another treat for us was a snow cone topped with coconut milk and syrup.
Malaysian food is normally very spicy. In our cooking we use spices such as chili, 5 star aniseeds, garlic, shallots, cumin, tamarind, turmeric and many other spices.
(ANI-SEEDS)
I have many favourite Malaysian Foods.
One of my favourites is Nasi Lemak which is coconut rice that is served with dried fish and Sambal which is a spicy sauce.
I also enjoy both Satay chicken and beef that we serve with groundnut sauce made with curry power and other spices.
As a beverage, Malaysians enjoy the pressed juice from sugar-cane, coconut water and water melon juice. Coconut water is now popular in Canada with Athletes as it is full of nutrients and natural ingredients.
Most Malaysian desserts are made from coconut milk, rice flour and palm sugar. We enjoy them as a snack in the afternoon.
After our main meal at dinner time, we like to enjoy a variety of tropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya and mango.
Good morning.
My name is Valerie Taylor and I am from the beautiful Tropical Island of Jamaica, where you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and the most delicious foods.
I lived in the country in the Parish of St. Ann, also known as the “Garden Parish”. Living in the country we were fortunate to be able to grow most of our food. My dad was a farmer and our neighbour had a butcher shop so we really ate from the field to the table, a phrase that we hear often these days.
Sunday was our favourite day of the week. This was when we could have breakfast and dinner together as a family. For breakfast and before we left for church, we enjoyed Ackee and saltfish with fried dumplings. For Sunday dinner we always had rice and peas along with different meats such as: oxtail, fish or my favourite, Curried Goat. Our favourite beverage was a tall glass of Sour Sop or Carrot Juice.
Another fond memory of food I enjoyed while living in Jamaica was what was eaten after Lent. At this time we would have a meat roast on a big open fire with pimento wood seasoned with some of the most delicious spices you can find anywhere in the world. Pimento is also known as “all spice”.
We would put the meat on the open flame and cover it with pimento leaves. The aroma from this pit would travel for miles away.
After the meat was roasted to perfection, we would eat as much as we could to make up for the meat that was not eaten during the lent.
Some of these foods and the foods mentioned today along with favourites contributed by the Food Service Staff will be featured this week at lunch time.
Thank you and enjoy!!
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