Mmmmm! Smell that?

That's the smell of mom's rice and "peas" (actually beans of some sort), cooking on the stovetop. It involves coconut milk and magical Jamaican know-how.

In the oven is a huge mucking ham. It's been glazed with brown sugar and dotted with cloves.

Ham, under going clove and glaze work by my mother's hands.

The finished pig. My apologies to all you vegetarians, but it was goooooood.

Sunday dinner: ham, rice and "peas", sweet potato casserole (with the marshmallows on top), and a salad by Scott & Sierra.

Caitlin loved the ham and the sweet potato casserole. Of course she totally went nuts for the marshmallows (can't remember when marshmallows last crossed my threshold). She went on 3 separate tomato hunting expeditions. We have a lot. Want some?

Earlier, for "lunch", we had ackee and saltfish, breadfruit, and Johnny-cakes.

Ackee and saltfish. Barely survived long enough for photography. Caitlin inhaled 3 Johnnycakes, but didn't like the ackee and saltfish. More for me!

Johnnycakes and breadfruit. Breadfruit is the sliced stuff that almost looks like pieces of pineapple. When it's still on the tree, with the rind on, it looks like it could kill you if it fell on your head.

Mom, working hard.

On Friday night it was curry chicken with rice and fresh corn on the cob.

Too tired to photograph it while she was making it, remembered suddenly as we were serving it up. Mmmm! Caitlin had three helpings!

I made Eric wait to dig in. Heh!

Ayup, that's my mom!

You know what I forgot to tell you about? The blueberry cobbler. My brother had all the ingredients for one, so mom made it and brought it over. Unfortunately it had a small accident when we picked Caitlin up from school - she stepped right in the middle of it. Luckily for us, it had foil over top and she moved off it it pretty quick. It was yummy. Too yummy to survive long enough to be photographed.

What? Like a little dent in the middle would keep us from eating a cobbler?! Get real!

Wish you were here, dontcha?

I wish I could capture the scent each dish releases, it would be like having Mom in a Bottle. Instead I'll just have to eat it all, freeze the leftovers and store up the memories.

Mmmmm!