Delicious Jamaica!: Vegetarian Cuisine (Healthy World Cuisine) [Paperback]

Yvonne McCalla Sobers (Author), Yvonne M. Sobens (Author)

Book Description

Series: Healthy World Cuisine | Publication Date: January 1996

Jamaica has been a melting pot of many cultural influences including the Africans, Spanish, English, Indians, Asians and Arawaks (native inhabitants pre-Columbus). Out of a diverse mix of foods, spices, and cultures has come this wonderful array of tempting dishes as lively as the people of Jamaica themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

>From pre-Columbian times to the present, Jamaica has been a melting pot of many cultural influences. Nowhere is this better reflected than in its wonderful food. From the delicious barbecue style of the Arawak Indians (the inhabitants of the island when Columbus landed) to the Spanish escoveitch, Jamaican cooks have taken many different styles of cooking and given them all that "special island twist". Out of a diverse mix of foods, spices, and cultures has come this wonderful array of tempting dishes as lively as the people of Jamaica themselves. "Duckana" "Steamed Callalu", "Avocado Sauce", "Fried Green Plantain", "Johnny Cakes", "Stuffed Breadfruit", "Tabouli", "Falafels", "Vegetable Lasagna", "Nutty Bean Loaf", and a lot more mouthwatering taste delights await within the pages of Delicious Jamaica! -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Yvonne McCalla Sobers, in addition to being a cookbook author, is very active in her community. A practitioner in community development and participatory research in Jamaica, she is also chairperson of the civic group Families Against State Terrorism (FAST).

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Book Publishing Company (TN); 1 edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570670218
• ISBN-13: 978-1570670213
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #742,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Yvonne McCalla Sobers is a Jamaican and a graduate of the University of the West Indies. A career educator, she lived in Africa and England, travels the Americas and the Caribbean, and is based in Kingston, Jamaica. She wrote the cookbook - Delicious Jamaica! Vegetarian Cuisine (Book Publishing Company, 1996)- when she became vegetarian and wanted to be able to continue to enjoy her ethnic food. Her most recent work - Lifelines: The Black Book of Proverbs - is the culmination of decades of collecting proverbs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Great Cultural Book on Great I-Tal Food", May 12, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delicious Jamaica!: Vegetarian Cuisine (Healthy World Cuisine) (Paperback)

I had the pleasure of meeting and dining in the home of Yvonne Mc Calla Sobers of Kingston, Jamaica in July 1997. It was indeed memorable, to sit and rest after the long drive from the northcoast, in the hot midday, and enjoy the quiet breezy veranda of the Lingunea Mansion gifted to her by her childhood friend, Prime Minister Hon. Michael Manley, Chatting in depth about Jamaica, Food and Life, with her Sons and Herself, and reminesing of a childhood in Jamaica when "Bustamante Backbone" was a treat.

The Ben Johnson Vegetable Stew, made of all the great leftovers and pieces of vegetable in the fridge made for an adventurous treat on a hot afternoon, when shopping was out of the question. Sweet, Flavorful, Rich, Filling, Heaven in a bowl.

Yvonne treated us to her Fried Breadfruit, and some creamy vegeterian Solomon Gundy, which I have yet to locate outside Jamaica, namely in Kingston. Her conversations about the 38 different Mango's that were introduced to Jamaica and the West Indies, assures you that this isn't just some Local Cook.

We brought with us 2 bunches of country Gynip to the dinner party, and that was the payment for the truly fabulous country delicacies. approximatly $1.00 u.s. Unbelievable.

Indeed Mrs Sobers, is an internationally known consultant, responsible for bringing many international development projects closer to the people of Jamaica, instead of just the Tourist Regions. Hearing Her name mentioned daily on the radio stations in Jamaica, and seeing her Photograph in the Newspapers Islandwide, makes one know this is a Very Special Lady, and to be invited to sit on her special part of the earth and enjoy the treat of her hand is truly a dream come true for this aspiring cookbook writer.

I Advise, if you are looking for a Great New concept in Vegeterian Healthy Cooking Buy This Book and Share it With someone You Love.

My Recommendations - Hot and Spicy Shepards Pie, Ben Johnson Stew, Cashew and Gungo Loaf, Jamdown Curry, JamaicanStyle Veggy Burgers, Maro! ons, Callalalu - in all the styles; and of course Breadfruit, Tropical Gingerbread, Number 11 Mango Chutney named for one of the 38 types of Mango found in Jamaica; and Chef Yvonnes' Special Ital Rasta Pasta; (much better than that place on the hill in ochi.) This book is recommended for Senior Citizens, Dieters, Fat Free and Low FatDiets, Diabetics, Children, and Fussy Folks. The food is so delicious they will never know how healthy it really is. Guaranteed.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great cookbook, January 20, 2003

By 

merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delicious Jamaica!: Vegetarian Cuisine (Healthy World Cuisine) (Paperback)

When I became vegetarian I worried about missing out on some of my favorite flavors like jamaican jerk. This book has a number of terrific recipes for doing jerk potatoes, jerk vegetables and even jerk tofu (I haven't tried that yet but certainly will). It has all the classics in here - pepperpot soup, plantains, etc.I've only scratched the surface in terms of making my way through the recipes but so far so good.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical Jamaican Cookbook, March 17, 2000

By 

Craig Russell (Westport, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delicious Jamaica!: Vegetarian Cuisine (Healthy World Cuisine) (Paperback)

We bought this book last year before leaving for a vacation in Jamaica. In Jamaica we had rented a house that had a cook. She was a wonderful Jamaican woman unfamiliar with vegetarian cooking. We showed her this book. She was familiar with many of the dishes in this book, but in non-vegetarian forms. With this book she was able to adapt her recipes and we had a wonderful week of home-cooked Jamaican, vegetarian meals. At the end of our vacation she was delighted when we left her our copy of this book.