In my stew tonight, there was okra, chicken neck, potatoes, throat pieces, green and red peppers, breadfruit, chicken feet, and noodles. Did you catch all the random chicken bits? When I first got to Belize, all of my host mom’s were very careful not to give Lex and I chicken hearts, fish heads, cow foots, pig tail – all the food that seems weird to eat and hard to digest.
I have found that, the longer I am in Belize the more comfortable people are to give me ‘Belizean delicacies’ Stews here, remind me of the Stone Soup book I read in elementary school, throwing in anything, including stones (yes, I have had soup with stones in it) BBQ seems to be a international feast, only here its not just chicken or beef, but any game meat that can be caught in the jungle or speared in the reefs (i.e. rodents, conch, squid, and other small animals that, I do not want to try and guess their origin) Seaweed is made into smoothies here, and resemble glue and slime with a hint of lime and pepper flavor.
No longer does Eva screen my soup when she hands it to me, hence the chicken ‘bits’. Ms. WeWe feels comfortable to give me chicken and cow heart, and is surprised when I make a face or comment. I know that all of these things are edible, that people all over the world eat them everyday, and even covet those who dine on Cow Foot stew or Gibnut innards, when they themselves cannot – still, it makes me cringe.
With all the new flavors and smells I have encountered in Belize, the strange and scary, the familiar and comforting, the food in itself has been an experience all in its own.
