Re: Mishaps with soup: Freshmen year in college the freshmen dorm which was 9 floors had to evacuate because someone left a cup of Ramen Noodle Soup in the oven for too long -I regret to admit I was the freshmen.
In Bedstuy - if you want to try some Haitian food I would go to Grandchamps! It's a little gentrified though but still worth the experience. If you really want some authentic Haitian food I recommend going to East Flatbush - that's as Caribbean it'll get. I'll give you some options to try when you are ready to make the trip.
To answer your last question, I wrote recently about the responsibility to pass on certain traditions (and not pass on others) from the POV of a matriarch or a patriarch.
And if you become one, it means that those who came before you are likely no longer alive. So, my post was titled "A Eulogy For my grief."
Thank you for sharing a part of Haiti’s rich history, Marc. I love how you expertly weave your family’s past with your present and future. Well done! I’m sharing with my Haitian sister-in-law. I’m betting she probably has similar memories to you about New Year’s Day and her mother’s soup joumou.
For reasons I don’t fully understand and can’t explain, I’m not big on traditions. A part of me feels like it stems from not having my father in my life and a working single mother whose four children, like her before them, sprouted, scattered and started their own families, with their own traditions. So I’ve been left to start my own. It feels like a gift (a fresh start) and a curse (little connection to the past).
Happy Independence! I love that you guys start the New Year with a reminder of who you are and how powerful a people you are. As a Caribbean person, Haiti and the Haitian Revolution has always held a special place in my heart, your country really paved the way. Respect to you for holding the tradition and legacy. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Thanks for sharing your powerful history. I have so much respect for Haitians -- what a powerful ingredient in that soup of yours.
I hope you learn to make it, even just for the simple joy of making and eating soup. I always have some kind of soup.
A culinary tradition I appreciate comes from my Mom's Welsh side of the family. For the most part in Wales the traditional meat, potatoes, two veg was the standard (at least in my family and when I visited Wales about thirty-five years ago), but they made something called laver bread, which is seaweed mixed with oatmeal and, I think, fried. It was delicious. You've inspired me to try making some.
I don't generally make resolutions, but sometimes set intentions, and this year I want to decrease my intake of sweets, which has gotten a little out of hand the past few months.
Diana, that sounds delicious. I love trying different foods. Appreciate you for commenting and joining us here! I should decrease on sweets too, it's so hard though. I am a sucker for some ice cream year round.
Ice cream has been my downfall! I get this salted caramel cashew with chocolate chunks soy ice cream, and last Friday, since it was 10% off day at my local store grocery store, I bought two more small tubs of it. I won't start slowing down on the sweets until all the delicious ice cream is gone. I put it on top of fruit, but that's not a lot of consolation.
I love trying different foods too, especially soup. I'm going to try a version of the soup you make and keep its meaning in mind as I make and eat it.
Sak pase mi hermano! happy independence day and thankful for the traditions and recipes passed down through generations, and thankful for our Haitian ancestors, leading the the first and most successful rebellion, paving the way for liberation for many countries.
we eat 12 grapes when the clock strikes 12, to represent each month. 🇭🇹🇩🇴❤️💙
Marc, I LOVED reading this!! You're doing such a beautiful thing creating these cultural footprints for Myles to follow.
Even I, a bland white Canadian 😁, enjoyed learning this little snippet about Haitian independence and the significance of freedom soup. History lessons are so important, not only for those growing in the culture but for those ignorant to other cultures.
I used to closely study Jamaican history when I was a destination writer for the island. It is fascinating, colorful, and raw, as I'm sure Haiti's is. Thank you for sharing this. Myles is a lucky boy to have you for a father. ❤️
It was a FANTASTIC gig. I created the gig myself and flourished in it for 10 years! That's actually part of what my publication is about, staring tomorrow - how to become a destination writer and create the coolest lifestyle doing it.
I'd say one of my other most memorable destinations was New Orleans. Sounds basic, I know. But if you dig deep into the culture rather than just getting drunk at Mardi Gras, the city is fascinating and the people are incredible.
I'd love to check it out. I follow another travel blog on here that I really love. I'll make some time to read it! I love New Orleans. I went for a wedding and instead of going to Bourbon Street we found ourselves somewhere in the French Quarter, can't remember the name right now - but live music, food, and Blackness all around!
Happy Independence Day!! A fantastic informative post, I loved the video! Your bitmoji singing was a real joy. And thank you for sharing all about Soup Joumou - it sounds absolutely delicious - Long live freedom soup!
I prefer resolutions to go with the seasons instead of the new year, my father always says it makes no sense to start a resolution in the dead of winter when we should be resting 😂 I much prefer to have aspirations instead of resolutions as well. Way less pressure, slightly more lighthearted and no big deal if they don’t happen. Equally, I enjoy to set intentions with the solstice cycles as 6 months at a time is always more manageable than a year! Since I lost my health a few years ago I’m all about 0 pressure haha.
Your way sounds a lot more manageable and makes a lot more sense - why do we even think to make goals when it's so cold out! 0 pressure is the way. I learned a while ago from your about me page about your health. Wishing you strength and comfort, friend. ❤️
I loved this little history lesson, Marc. It made me hungry not just for the soup, but for more knowledge of my daughter's Jamaican background (her father is Jamaican, my kid is first gen Jamaican American on that side)
My Brooklyn born mom had a Southern upbringing. She used to make collard greens, black eyed peas and a piece of meat, mostly ham. She said it would bring us luck in the new year. She also made us wash everything in the house and do ALL the laundry by New Year's Eve. That's actually the oart of the tradition I still hold on to. It really helps you purge the home of unnecessary stuff and give it a "new" feeling, you know? Happy New Year to your Beautiful family ❤
Jennice, I always love hearing from you. Feels like we live the same life. I just moved here to the south and we had the trifecta - greens for money, black eye peas for luck, and Catfish (cant remember what that was for). Although I miss being in Brooklyn, I’m getting to love the south for what it is. We cleaned the house vigorously today too! Thank you! Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
My husband and I are Irish ethnicity. On my mom's side, I am Southern Italian and Swedish. My maternal great grandparents were immigrants and my paternal third great grandparents emigrated from County Donegal (still the poorest County in the Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪) when the 1820 famine hit. They were peasants but had the forsight to leave before The Great Hunger 25 years later. There had been famines before that (Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a response to one in the 18th century). They seemed sick of them. My second great grandmother was an infant when they left. As my paternal aunt would say, "We come from strong peasant stock."
Same for my maternal side. Even today Southern Italy (Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia) remains poor and looked down on by central and northern Italy. When I told my Italian teachers who were from northern and central Italy that I was a quarter Calabrese, their tones and attitudes changed toward me.
My daughter is more Irish. She's at the age where she is "whatever" with almost everything, but I never hesitate to tell her about her Irish ancestry. I"ve shared with her the music of Ciara Sidinie, Sinead O'Connor, and Luka Bloom (her name "Ciara" partly comes from one of his songs). I also let her know U2 is Irish but also let her know Ireland itself isn't really a fan because they're tax dodgers. I've played some traditional Irish music for her, but she's at the "whatever" stage of her life like I mentioned.
I also share with her about how Ireland was oppressed for centuries under English/British rule in addition to the Vikings centuries before. I tell her about The Great Hunger. I also tell her that Ireland's native language is not English but Irish. Last year we did Duolingo's Irish lessons. She's learning Spanish and French at her school, so she has a strong multilingual foundation, and she picked up the few lessons we did much faster than me. I've studied Italian for years and taught her some Italian before she entered kindergarten. She would watch Muzzy's Italian section with me too.
Growing up, I was closer to my Irish and Southern Italian roots. My father and paternal aunts and uncles always celebrated and acknowledged it. My grandmother was first generation Italian-American, so a lot on our dinner table came from her parents. When my dad was first dating my mom and first had dinner at her house, he whispered to my mom, "Does your mother know the green beans are cold?" Green been salad is a Southern Italian dish. Southern Italian cuisine is also spicy. For me any meal is not complete unless it has a kick. The first time we went to an Ethiopian restaurant, I loved it. My husband and C. broke out in perspiration and couldn't finish their meals because it was too hot.
Irish cuisine is overall bland (very meat and potatoes), but we do have Irish soda bread, and I love fish and chips. Of course we also havd Guinness and Irish coffee. The first time my mom had Irish coffee she threw up. My dad though had no problem.
Thank you for sharing the bits of history connected to you. Love that you’re doing your best to share the ancestry and culture despite your daughter’s reticence. I really want Myles to learn Haitian Creole, but I’m the only native speaker. I read books to him and speak to him the most I can. Sometimes passing on our culture and ancestry feels hard because so much is connected to food and language. Cooking food feels out of the question because where I’m located and access feels limited, so I’m riding on language. Really enjoying getting to know you and your family though our convos! Thank you again for sharing!
That's too bad regarding food. I thought with Birmingham being a city, you would have some options. I've never been to Birmingham though. Did you or your wife move there for work or was it a personal choice?
There's only one Irish restaurant and one Southern Italian restaurant near where we live in Chicago. Our Albany Park neighborhood is diverse and multiethnic and multicultural but we have to take the bus or el to get to those restaurants. We have a fantastic Mexican grocery store near us, but of course it doesn't carry the specific spices and chil's for Southern Italian cuisine. Irish food is so bland no spices needed!
If.you, your wife and Myles ever choose to visit Chicago, Kedzie Avenue near me has a great variety of restaurants: Mexican, Korean, Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese,.Persian, Afghani. On Foster' off of Kedzie there is even a Swedish restaurant.
As I mentioned, I've had Ethiopian but never Haitian and now I'm curious.
I think Kitchen and Kocktails started in New York. One opened in Chicago's River North last year. One of the best meals I had in my life. The shrimp and grits were amazing. I wanted to get the.peach and bourbon drink, but it was 65 dollars! Maybe for my next birthday. I think Kevin Klark is opening another one.in Texas.
Just realizing you responded. Sorry for the late reply. The TLDR version: My wife grew up here. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. We went to Ethiopia to teach after trying to conceive took a toll on us. 2 months into a two year contract there, she finally got pregnant. Decided to move here to be closer to her family and it’s a lot more cheaper
Conception always happens when we stop focusing on it. That happened to my husband and me. I was prepared tp go back on my MS medication when I finally became pregnant.
Re: Mishaps with soup: Freshmen year in college the freshmen dorm which was 9 floors had to evacuate because someone left a cup of Ramen Noodle Soup in the oven for too long -I regret to admit I was the freshmen.
In Bedstuy - if you want to try some Haitian food I would go to Grandchamps! It's a little gentrified though but still worth the experience. If you really want some authentic Haitian food I recommend going to East Flatbush - that's as Caribbean it'll get. I'll give you some options to try when you are ready to make the trip.
This is fantastic. No new years traditions in the underfunded household but this inspires me to start some!
Happy New Year! Yes, hopefully next year I can get this soup together!
To answer your last question, I wrote recently about the responsibility to pass on certain traditions (and not pass on others) from the POV of a matriarch or a patriarch.
And if you become one, it means that those who came before you are likely no longer alive. So, my post was titled "A Eulogy For my grief."
Here it is for anyone interested.
https://robertsdavidn.substack.com/p/a-eulogy-for-my-griefT
Thanks David! This sounds great. I’ll for sure check it out.
Thank you for sharing a part of Haiti’s rich history, Marc. I love how you expertly weave your family’s past with your present and future. Well done! I’m sharing with my Haitian sister-in-law. I’m betting she probably has similar memories to you about New Year’s Day and her mother’s soup joumou.
Appreciate it bro! Things feel like it was getting ready for me to be a parent and do this work. Do you ever feel
Like that with Parker?
For reasons I don’t fully understand and can’t explain, I’m not big on traditions. A part of me feels like it stems from not having my father in my life and a working single mother whose four children, like her before them, sprouted, scattered and started their own families, with their own traditions. So I’ve been left to start my own. It feels like a gift (a fresh start) and a curse (little connection to the past).
Beautiful. The soup reminds me of Sancocho.
You know we all have these small nuances. Love me som Sancoho!
Happy Independence! I love that you guys start the New Year with a reminder of who you are and how powerful a people you are. As a Caribbean person, Haiti and the Haitian Revolution has always held a special place in my heart, your country really paved the way. Respect to you for holding the tradition and legacy. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Appreciate you Amara! As we get older I think about how keeping these traditions alive really will rest with us.
Thanks for sharing your powerful history. I have so much respect for Haitians -- what a powerful ingredient in that soup of yours.
I hope you learn to make it, even just for the simple joy of making and eating soup. I always have some kind of soup.
A culinary tradition I appreciate comes from my Mom's Welsh side of the family. For the most part in Wales the traditional meat, potatoes, two veg was the standard (at least in my family and when I visited Wales about thirty-five years ago), but they made something called laver bread, which is seaweed mixed with oatmeal and, I think, fried. It was delicious. You've inspired me to try making some.
I don't generally make resolutions, but sometimes set intentions, and this year I want to decrease my intake of sweets, which has gotten a little out of hand the past few months.
Happy New Year to you!
Diana, that sounds delicious. I love trying different foods. Appreciate you for commenting and joining us here! I should decrease on sweets too, it's so hard though. I am a sucker for some ice cream year round.
Ice cream has been my downfall! I get this salted caramel cashew with chocolate chunks soy ice cream, and last Friday, since it was 10% off day at my local store grocery store, I bought two more small tubs of it. I won't start slowing down on the sweets until all the delicious ice cream is gone. I put it on top of fruit, but that's not a lot of consolation.
I love trying different foods too, especially soup. I'm going to try a version of the soup you make and keep its meaning in mind as I make and eat it.
Great post and soup. We learn so much from what we eat.
As always, thank you Stanley!
Very, very nice - especially the shout-out to the local Restaurant!
Got to give credit always. Going to reach out to them and let them know I showed them some love as well!
Yes, you should because they have potential to get flooded with orders.....
I'm want to be the Keith Lee of Substack! (manifesting)
Sak pase mi hermano! happy independence day and thankful for the traditions and recipes passed down through generations, and thankful for our Haitian ancestors, leading the the first and most successful rebellion, paving the way for liberation for many countries.
we eat 12 grapes when the clock strikes 12, to represent each month. 🇭🇹🇩🇴❤️💙
That's love! I never knew that about DR. Are these regular grapes? About to go down a Google Rabbit hole and learn more about this.
Marc, I LOVED reading this!! You're doing such a beautiful thing creating these cultural footprints for Myles to follow.
Even I, a bland white Canadian 😁, enjoyed learning this little snippet about Haitian independence and the significance of freedom soup. History lessons are so important, not only for those growing in the culture but for those ignorant to other cultures.
I used to closely study Jamaican history when I was a destination writer for the island. It is fascinating, colorful, and raw, as I'm sure Haiti's is. Thank you for sharing this. Myles is a lucky boy to have you for a father. ❤️
A destination writer sounds like a really nice gig! Did you enjoy that. Where else have you been that's been memorable?
It was a FANTASTIC gig. I created the gig myself and flourished in it for 10 years! That's actually part of what my publication is about, staring tomorrow - how to become a destination writer and create the coolest lifestyle doing it.
I'd say one of my other most memorable destinations was New Orleans. Sounds basic, I know. But if you dig deep into the culture rather than just getting drunk at Mardi Gras, the city is fascinating and the people are incredible.
I'd love to check it out. I follow another travel blog on here that I really love. I'll make some time to read it! I love New Orleans. I went for a wedding and instead of going to Bourbon Street we found ourselves somewhere in the French Quarter, can't remember the name right now - but live music, food, and Blackness all around!
Does Frenchmen Street ring a bell? I let some locals take me there in New Orleans and it was amazing. I could've packed my bags and moved in 😁
Happy Independence Day!! A fantastic informative post, I loved the video! Your bitmoji singing was a real joy. And thank you for sharing all about Soup Joumou - it sounds absolutely delicious - Long live freedom soup!
I prefer resolutions to go with the seasons instead of the new year, my father always says it makes no sense to start a resolution in the dead of winter when we should be resting 😂 I much prefer to have aspirations instead of resolutions as well. Way less pressure, slightly more lighthearted and no big deal if they don’t happen. Equally, I enjoy to set intentions with the solstice cycles as 6 months at a time is always more manageable than a year! Since I lost my health a few years ago I’m all about 0 pressure haha.
Your way sounds a lot more manageable and makes a lot more sense - why do we even think to make goals when it's so cold out! 0 pressure is the way. I learned a while ago from your about me page about your health. Wishing you strength and comfort, friend. ❤️
❤️❤️ thank you friend - means a lot
Nice read Marc, love the content
Thanks for reading Ibrahim!
I love this, Marc. For so many reasons. And now you've got me looking up Haitian restaurants in Nashville!
I loved this little history lesson, Marc. It made me hungry not just for the soup, but for more knowledge of my daughter's Jamaican background (her father is Jamaican, my kid is first gen Jamaican American on that side)
My Brooklyn born mom had a Southern upbringing. She used to make collard greens, black eyed peas and a piece of meat, mostly ham. She said it would bring us luck in the new year. She also made us wash everything in the house and do ALL the laundry by New Year's Eve. That's actually the oart of the tradition I still hold on to. It really helps you purge the home of unnecessary stuff and give it a "new" feeling, you know? Happy New Year to your Beautiful family ❤
Jennice, I always love hearing from you. Feels like we live the same life. I just moved here to the south and we had the trifecta - greens for money, black eye peas for luck, and Catfish (cant remember what that was for). Although I miss being in Brooklyn, I’m getting to love the south for what it is. We cleaned the house vigorously today too! Thank you! Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
Soup Joumou sounds delicious.
Okay. This will be a long one.
My husband and I are Irish ethnicity. On my mom's side, I am Southern Italian and Swedish. My maternal great grandparents were immigrants and my paternal third great grandparents emigrated from County Donegal (still the poorest County in the Republic of Ireland 🇮🇪) when the 1820 famine hit. They were peasants but had the forsight to leave before The Great Hunger 25 years later. There had been famines before that (Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a response to one in the 18th century). They seemed sick of them. My second great grandmother was an infant when they left. As my paternal aunt would say, "We come from strong peasant stock."
Same for my maternal side. Even today Southern Italy (Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia) remains poor and looked down on by central and northern Italy. When I told my Italian teachers who were from northern and central Italy that I was a quarter Calabrese, their tones and attitudes changed toward me.
My daughter is more Irish. She's at the age where she is "whatever" with almost everything, but I never hesitate to tell her about her Irish ancestry. I"ve shared with her the music of Ciara Sidinie, Sinead O'Connor, and Luka Bloom (her name "Ciara" partly comes from one of his songs). I also let her know U2 is Irish but also let her know Ireland itself isn't really a fan because they're tax dodgers. I've played some traditional Irish music for her, but she's at the "whatever" stage of her life like I mentioned.
I also share with her about how Ireland was oppressed for centuries under English/British rule in addition to the Vikings centuries before. I tell her about The Great Hunger. I also tell her that Ireland's native language is not English but Irish. Last year we did Duolingo's Irish lessons. She's learning Spanish and French at her school, so she has a strong multilingual foundation, and she picked up the few lessons we did much faster than me. I've studied Italian for years and taught her some Italian before she entered kindergarten. She would watch Muzzy's Italian section with me too.
Growing up, I was closer to my Irish and Southern Italian roots. My father and paternal aunts and uncles always celebrated and acknowledged it. My grandmother was first generation Italian-American, so a lot on our dinner table came from her parents. When my dad was first dating my mom and first had dinner at her house, he whispered to my mom, "Does your mother know the green beans are cold?" Green been salad is a Southern Italian dish. Southern Italian cuisine is also spicy. For me any meal is not complete unless it has a kick. The first time we went to an Ethiopian restaurant, I loved it. My husband and C. broke out in perspiration and couldn't finish their meals because it was too hot.
Irish cuisine is overall bland (very meat and potatoes), but we do have Irish soda bread, and I love fish and chips. Of course we also havd Guinness and Irish coffee. The first time my mom had Irish coffee she threw up. My dad though had no problem.
Thank you for sharing the bits of history connected to you. Love that you’re doing your best to share the ancestry and culture despite your daughter’s reticence. I really want Myles to learn Haitian Creole, but I’m the only native speaker. I read books to him and speak to him the most I can. Sometimes passing on our culture and ancestry feels hard because so much is connected to food and language. Cooking food feels out of the question because where I’m located and access feels limited, so I’m riding on language. Really enjoying getting to know you and your family though our convos! Thank you again for sharing!
That's too bad regarding food. I thought with Birmingham being a city, you would have some options. I've never been to Birmingham though. Did you or your wife move there for work or was it a personal choice?
There's only one Irish restaurant and one Southern Italian restaurant near where we live in Chicago. Our Albany Park neighborhood is diverse and multiethnic and multicultural but we have to take the bus or el to get to those restaurants. We have a fantastic Mexican grocery store near us, but of course it doesn't carry the specific spices and chil's for Southern Italian cuisine. Irish food is so bland no spices needed!
If.you, your wife and Myles ever choose to visit Chicago, Kedzie Avenue near me has a great variety of restaurants: Mexican, Korean, Turkish, Vietnamese, Japanese,.Persian, Afghani. On Foster' off of Kedzie there is even a Swedish restaurant.
As I mentioned, I've had Ethiopian but never Haitian and now I'm curious.
I think Kitchen and Kocktails started in New York. One opened in Chicago's River North last year. One of the best meals I had in my life. The shrimp and grits were amazing. I wanted to get the.peach and bourbon drink, but it was 65 dollars! Maybe for my next birthday. I think Kevin Klark is opening another one.in Texas.
Just realizing you responded. Sorry for the late reply. The TLDR version: My wife grew up here. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. We went to Ethiopia to teach after trying to conceive took a toll on us. 2 months into a two year contract there, she finally got pregnant. Decided to move here to be closer to her family and it’s a lot more cheaper
Conception always happens when we stop focusing on it. That happened to my husband and me. I was prepared tp go back on my MS medication when I finally became pregnant.
Grateful for the unexpected!