I grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, a twin-island state in the Caribbean with an ethnically diverse, multicultural population. My parents loved taking my sisters and me on trips to the beach for some time in the sun with relatives and friends.
For my siblings and me, there was always boisterous excitement about these trips. We were impatient about getting a whiff of that fresh sea breeze, diving into the water and running across the sand; we were also eager about the food. The menu was important!
Our family preferred to make everything from scratch, including the numerous bottles of mauby that we miraculously fit into the cooler. So, the menu needed to be easy to scale while still satisfying all the flavours: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoriness (umami).
Drawing from my childhood “beach lime” memories, I came up with this Afro-Trinbagonian inspired menu that would be a hit at any picnic with these easy-to-make dishes. Enjoy!
