{"id":6238,"date":"2022-11-09T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/?p=6238"},"modified":"2022-11-08T21:46:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T02:46:18","slug":"love-notes-to-haiti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/love-notes-to-haiti\/","title":{"rendered":"Love notes to Haiti\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today\u2019s article is doing double duty. I will take you back down memory lane through some old content. In doing so, I hope not only to introduce new readers to this blog, but to reignite that passion I once had about writing about Haiti&#8217;s cuisine as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See, lately, loving Haiti has been\u2026difficult, if not borderline impossible. We\u2019ve been having a love and hate relationship, Haiti and I. And, as much as I tried these past few months to get myself to write positively about it, I simply couldn\u2019t. My soul is too tired and hurt for that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?ssl=1\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4134\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/tchakayiti-home\/soupjoumou-tchakayiti-haitian-food-blog-food-photography-haiti\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Annick Megie&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Tchakayiti \\u2022 Annick M\\u00e9gie, All Rights Reserved&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?fit=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?fit=800%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4134 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?resize=800%2C1000&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?resize=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?resize=768%2C960&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/SoupJoumou-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog-Food-Photography-Haiti.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 819w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, when I launched this blog in 2014, I did give myself a mission to showcase Haiti under a more positive light through its cuisine. And I must hold myself accountable to that.\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I need Haiti just as much as Haiti needs me, after all.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Had I not been born and raised here, this blog never would have seen the light of day. That\u2019s what reading some of the very first articles I published reminded me of. I may not be proud of the featured image on some of my old entries &#8211; my photography got so much better through the years &#8211;\u00a0 but I am damn proud of what those words reveal about my life here.\u00a0 I did have a beautiful childhood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?ssl=1\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6248\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/love-notes-to-haiti\/grilledshrimp-tchakayiti-haitian-food-blog\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?fit=1080%2C1350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1080,1350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?fit=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?fit=800%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-6248 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?resize=800%2C1000&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Grilled shrimp with a taste of Haiti | Tchakayiti, a Haitian Food Blog\" width=\"800\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?resize=240%2C300&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/GrilledShrimp-Tchakayiti-Haitian-Food-Blog.jpg?resize=768%2C960&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Articles like that one about my <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/fraises-des-bois-mures-rezen\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mountain escapades<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with family, or my <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adventures on what used to be <a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/grandmother-haitian-cordon-bleu\/\">\u2018my\u2019 mountaintop<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remind me that Haiti did not completely do me wrong after all. Had I grown up somewhere else, I never would\u2019ve enjoyed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/lakou-lakay\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the fruits of our abundant backyard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I wouldn\u2019t have\u00a0 learned how to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/zanmann-tropical-almond\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">crack zanmann<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or to drive adults nuts <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/acerola-caribbean-cherries\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hand-picking cherries<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from fire ant crowded branches either. I wouldn\u2019t be able to speak fondly of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gou lari a<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, that street flavor caught in the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/spicy-fried-shrimp-a-trip-back-in-time\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Kafou tifou<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fried shrimp<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and those <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/papita-gou-lari-a\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">salty papita plastic bags<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0I licked as a child<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Had it not been for our gorgeous beaches, I wouldn\u2019t have those vibrant and happy memories of devouring <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/lambi-boucane\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grilled conch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/fresh-raw-oysters-beach\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">slurping fresh oysters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the Caribbean sun. I wouldn\u2019t be longing for that gooey bite of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/tablet-pistach-post-beach-treat\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tabl\u00e8t pistach<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> after a weekend seaside. Speaking of the beach\u2026 I haven\u2019t basked under the sun on one of our beaches since 2018\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But wait, I digress, this article is about positivity\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3495\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/tacos-with-plantain-tortillas-breadfruit-and-cassava\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=1200%2C1800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,1800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;All rights reserved. Tchakayiti&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3495 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=800%2C1200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"These plantain tortillas are light and airy. They're perfect for your tacos. | tchakayiti.com\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=640%2C960&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/plantain-tortillas-haiti-tortilla-banane-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=100%2C150&amp;ssl=1 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can I not love this place that inspired my writing and gave me beautiful culinary anecdotes and family memories to last a lifetime. Had it not given us those spicy piman bouc, I never would\u2019ve been able to poke fun at that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/piment-bouc-hot-peppers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">red-faced guy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or write about my family\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/accras-haitian-appetizer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">squabbles<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over accras<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/for-the-love-of-graten-haiti\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mischievous<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cousin and his <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">love of graten<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So many wonderful stories and recipes came out of my childhood and life here in Haiti: that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/one-weekend-four-yuca-recipes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yuca adventure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/my-potpourri-citrus-pie\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">potpourri citrus pie<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; those <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/tacos-with-plantain-tortillas-breadfruit-and-cassava\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">plantain tortillas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/homemade-breadfrut-taco-shells\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">crispy veritab taco shells<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Hell, I probably never would\u2019ve eaten wheat a day in my life again had this blog not inspired my <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/light-fluffy-red-bulgur-salad-with-mint-and-parsley\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">red bulgur salad<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?ssl=1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3289\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/light-fluffy-red-bulgur-salad-with-mint-and-parsley\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=1200%2C1800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1200,1800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;All rights reserved. Tchakayiti&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?fit=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3289 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=800%2C1200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Infused with fresh parsley and peppermint leaves, this red bulgur salad is light and fluffy. And it's a breeze to make for a taste of Haiti. | tchakayiti.com\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=640%2C960&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/minty-red-bulgur-farro-salad-haiti-salade-ble-tchakayiti.jpg?resize=100%2C150&amp;ssl=1 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s not forget my new found <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">passion for <a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/food-photography-haiti\/\">food photography<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Had Haiti not inspired this blog, I probably wouldn\u2019t have fallen in love with this art.\u00a0 Yes, I have always been fond of cooking and food styling, but, without Tchakayiti and my longing to talk about our cuisine, I wouldn\u2019t have acquired the necessary skills to share <a href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/food-photography-haiti\/\">those <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appetizing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shots with the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And these, dear readers, are a few of\u00a0 the reasons I chose to be thankful for this country that has been giving me a hard time these past few years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For these stories, and the ones I have yet to tell, I say : thank you, Haiti Cherie\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And with that said, I will go back to reading a few more entries to boost my morale. I hope you too shall find solace in them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today\u2019s article is doing double duty. I will take you back down memory lane through some old content. In doing so, I hope not only to introduce new readers to this blog, but to reignite that passion I once had about writing about Haiti&#8217;s cuisine as well.\u00a0 See, lately, loving Haiti has been\u2026difficult, if not borderline impossible. We\u2019ve been having a love and hate relationship, Haiti and I. And, as much as I tried these past few months to get myself to write positively about it, I simply couldn\u2019t. My soul is too tired and hurt for that. However, when I launched this blog in 2014, I did give myself a mission to showcase Haiti under a more positive light through its cuisine. And I must hold myself accountable to that.\u00a0 I need Haiti just as much as Haiti needs me, after all. Had I not been born and raised here, this blog never would have seen the light of day. That\u2019s what reading some of the very first articles I published reminded me of. I may not be proud of the featured image on some of my old entries &#8211; my photography got so much better through the years &#8211;\u00a0 but I am damn proud of what those words reveal about my life here.\u00a0 I did have a beautiful childhood. Articles like that one about my mountain escapades with family, or my adventures on what used to be \u2018my\u2019 mountaintop remind me that Haiti did not completely do me wrong after all. Had I grown up somewhere else, I never would\u2019ve enjoyed the fruits of our abundant backyard. I wouldn\u2019t have\u00a0 learned how to crack zanmann or to drive adults nuts hand-picking cherries from fire ant crowded branches either. I wouldn\u2019t be able to speak fondly of gou lari a, that street flavor caught in the Kafou tifou fried shrimp, and those salty papita plastic bags\u00a0I licked as a child.\u00a0 Had it not been for our gorgeous beaches, I wouldn\u2019t have those vibrant and happy memories of devouring grilled conch or slurping fresh oysters under the Caribbean sun. I wouldn\u2019t be longing for that gooey bite of tabl\u00e8t pistach after a weekend seaside. Speaking of the beach\u2026 I haven\u2019t basked under the sun on one of our beaches since 2018\u2026 But wait, I digress, this article is about positivity\u2026\u00a0 How can I not love this place that inspired my writing and gave me beautiful culinary anecdotes and family memories to last a lifetime. Had it not given us those spicy piman bouc, I never would\u2019ve been able to poke fun at that red-faced guy or write about my family\u2019s squabbles over accras, or that mischievous\u00a0 cousin and his love of graten. So many wonderful stories and recipes came out of my childhood and life here in Haiti: that yuca adventure; that potpourri citrus pie; those plantain tortillas or crispy veritab taco shells. Hell, I probably never would\u2019ve eaten wheat a day in my life again had this blog not inspired my red bulgur salad.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not forget my new found passion for food photography. Had Haiti not inspired this blog, I probably wouldn\u2019t have fallen in love with this art.\u00a0 Yes, I have always been fond of cooking and food styling, but, without Tchakayiti and my longing to talk about our cuisine, I wouldn\u2019t have acquired the necessary skills to share those appetizing shots with the world.\u00a0 And these, dear readers, are a few of\u00a0 the reasons I chose to be thankful for this country that has been giving me a hard time these past few years.\u00a0 For these stories, and the ones I have yet to tell, I say : thank you, Haiti Cherie\u2026 And with that said, I will go back to reading a few more entries to boost my morale. I hope you too shall find solace in them.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[18,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-inspirational"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mouthwatering love notes to Haiti | Tchakayiti, Haitian Food Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A look back on everything my beloved Haiti has given me through the years with mouthwatering pictures and food stories.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/love-notes-to-haiti\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mouthwatering love notes to Haiti | Tchakayiti, Haitian Food Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A look back on everything my beloved Haiti has given me through the years with mouthwatering pictures and food stories.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tchakayiti.com\/home\/love-notes-to-haiti\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tchakayiti - Haitian Food Blog &amp; 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