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Catherine's Kitchen

Catherine Manning

GROWING UP

WHEN I THINK BACK, we must have put our mother through a hard time. She's now gray at eighty-two but it's a wonder she didn't start turning at twenty-eight. My father died at seventy-two with hardly a gray hair, but then I guess he would have added to hers as well!

There are six of us, three boys and three girls produced in eight years, but not in that order. It went boy, girl, boy, girl, girl, boy. Definitely says something for the Blue Point oysters and no TV! Mind you, I had three in two years and nine months and I had TV and no oysters!

Being the first girl and second child, I was very much a tomboy as there were no other girls my age close by and my girl cousins lived the other side of the island. As a result I was on the tractors and trucks and up to no good as much as the boys. We all learned to drive very early and were quite proficient at six or seven, at least the three oldest. After our escapades there was a bit more control with the younger ones in the early years. We had a lot of cart tracks to drive on and could get from one plantation to the another five miles away, only having to cross over a main road.

Naturally we made the most of this, especially on weekends when people were scarce and my father was out fishing, my mother sleeping and whoever was supposed to be watching us, was also sleeping! Vehicles to drive were no problem as they were many and the keys were never removed. Quite often what we did was fairly drastic and ended up on occasion with the police being called to help look for us. I think they came three Sundays running; we got to know them quite well. We heard afterward that they quite liked having the Sunday shift.

The fourth Sunday was my father's turn. He and his helper Blackie had gone out fishing at 4 a.m. but by 4 p.m., their usual return time, there was no sign of them. At that time there was no VHF or other contact and the boat was only a single engine 32-footer called 'ME TOO'. Night came and still no word, when finally we got a call about 9 pm. from the coast guard in town to say that they were there and to come and get them. They were lucky, the engine had broken down early in the day and for once my father couldn't fix it. They had drifted about 80 miles when a Norwegian oil tanker on the way to the USA actually stopped, turned around and towed them back to the island! Amazing! Neither did they claim salvage, as my uncle, who was Norwegian Consul at the time, told the captain of the tanker they were poor fishermen, so they took the 1700 Flying Fish that 'Me Too' had caught that day instead! I often wondered if they knew what to do with them.

FLYING FISH are found in the waters off Barbados and Tobago and are so called because they fly or skim over the water for long distances. They are caught in nets and can be about 10 to 12 inches long. They may be bought whole in the fish markets but for convenience should be gutted and filleted so they end up flat with four fingers.

Another useful dish which may be served as an hors d'oeuvre or with a meal is:

For those of you who drink, try some:

Bon Appetit
Cath