Jamaican sunday dinner

One of the most distinguished days in the Jamaican culture is Sunday. It is the day of showcasing the best! #Sundaybest!!! It is the day where we dress in our best clothing and have the best meal of the week! A protein complimented by rice and peas (usually red beans) but as it gets closer to Christmas gungo peas tek over. 

As a child, Saturday nights my mom would season the protein that is to be cooked for Sunday dinner and she would put the peas in 3-4 cups of water in the pot and leave it overnight! This was before peas come inna can already cooked!  She would wake up early Sunday morning, put the peas on the stove, then you could hear her grating the coconut! The process involved cutting the harden coconut jelly from the coconut shell then grating it and adding water to get the milk. But as technology improved we moved from the grater to the blender. It was fairly recent we had the convenient packages of coconut milk.  

For my mom, cooking Sunday dinner was a long meticulous process... it seemed almost as if, if a single step was missed, Sunday in its entirety would be ruined. To compliment this delicious rice and beans was NEVER tin mackerel , NEVER, corn beef, NEVER  chicken back... ALWAYS Snapper, Doctor Fish, Pork Chops, Chicken Breast (only part of chicken for Sunday), Oxtail or Goat. The presentation was different, the smell was different, simply everything about Sunday was different.  

Today, Sunday October 21st as I type this blog I am munching on pizza, feeling lazy about cooking, but there is something telling me "Crystal you don't want to ruin Sunday...guh cook!" The Sunday tradition of Jamaica lives in the hearts of all Jamaican and no matter where you are, you are inclined to cook yuh rice and peas and chicken or what ever other decadent protein, katch on some vegetables and have a nice drink of Carrot juice or some Lasco.

The Jamaican culture is so unique and so vibrant. Placing so much emphasis on food and food preparation. Though we have progressed to having prepacked coconut milk and canned peas, the seasonings and spices have remained the same. Grace, Easispice and Lasco among other authentic brands have continued to ensure that the foods we fell in love with as kids, remain the same throughout life. This then gives us the opportunity to hand down these recipes to over kids and future generations of Jamaicans born or living the diaspora as well as to Jamaican enthusiasts. 

Exploring our website you will find under meal preparation our prepackages based on meals you want to recreate. Each package is mailed with a laminated recipe so you can recreate or for the first time create and authentic Jamaican meal.
​Meal Preparation