Aunty May, was the oldest and most respectable Amerindian woman in my village. She was a real cook, the aroma of her food traveled miles and miles down our Street. Everyone would stick their head out their windows, gossiping of the smell, while their mouths ran water. She was a plain and simple woman, but by heart she was talented. Being one of the many admirers she had, I always wanted to cook like her. My boyfriend at that time, Anthony Singh, would tease me, he always said to me when you can cook that well, you’ll be my wife. As strange and stupid as it sounds, it troubled me a lot, because of the many samples I had from many cooks, none came quite close enough, and the thought of being so good seemed impossible.
My curiosity got the better side of me, so aunt May and I became good friends and she began to give me regular cooking lessons, and I would write and pay keen attention to every little detail. Even to this day when she is no longer with us her passion for good food still lives on.
It is on special occasion like Amerindian Heritage Month that we remember Aunty May.

RECIPES
Tacallalaca – Throw into a pot the bones of a fish just eaten, add handfuls of red pepper, cassava water and very fine cassava flour and a few pieces of crab; stirring the whole with a flat-ended stick.
Hot sauce make from boiled cassareep juice and squashed pimento. Limejuice was included after European contact.
Plants played an essential part in the daily social and economic life of the early islanders. 
A plant-based culture provided the early people with food, utensils, ornaments and drugs; in fact materials of all kinds.  To say the least, Antigua & Barbuda’s environment was fully exploited.
The early islanders brought with them from South America their principal useful plants, without which they would have had to rely on the scarce resources of the natural flora and fauna of the Lesser Antillean Islands.

Pepperpot
Ingredients:
2 pig trotters or 1 cow heel
2 lb stewing steak or brisket
8 oz pickled meat
2 lb ox tail
¼ pt cassareep
2 red peppers
1 inch piece dried orange or lemon peel
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 oz sugar
salt to taste
Instructions:
Wipe and clean meat thoroughly.
Put heel or trotters in pan. Cover and bring to boil. Skim.
When half tender, add other mats, and hot water to cover. Cook for about 1 hour.
Add other ingredients and simmer until meat is tender. Adjust flavor for salt and sugar. Serve hot. Serves 8

Note
This dish develops more flavors when left over a period of days. It must be reheated to boiling point each day. This is a typical Amerindian dish.

Cassava Bread Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
•    1 cup fresh cassava meal
•    1 1/2 tbsps. all purpose flour
•    1 tsp. baking powder
•    1 Tbsp. sugar
•    1 medium egg
•    3/4 cup milk
•    1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
•    1 tsp. lime juice
METHOD / DIRECTIONS:
1.    Mix together all dry ingredients, and then add egg and sufficient milk to produce a thick batter.
2.    Stir in oil and lime juice.
3.    Pour the batter into a well greased 20 cm / 8″ frying pan.
4.    Cook over a moderate heat for about 10 minutes, making sure it does not burn at the bottom, turn over and cook for a further 3 minutes.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Serve cold. This recipe may be made without sugar and can serve as a savoury accompaniment to any meal.

RECIPE NOTES:
*Cassava is a staple found in Africa and the Caribbean. It has a starchy texture and is used to make the famous Jamaican bammies.

Farine 
Ingredients
1/2 cup or 8 tblsps cassava (ground) 125ml
2 cups water 500 ml
1 tblsp margarine 15 ml
3 tblsps dark Brown Sugar 45 ml
6 tblsps dried whole Milk Powder 90 ml
Pinch salt
Directions:
Dissolve dried milk powder in 1/2 cup water.
Mix cassava with remaining 1-1/2 cups water. Stir until smooth.
In a medium saucepan bring to a boil (low heat).
When thicken, add margarine and milk (cool).
Serve from a bowl with spoon.