Cook Islands
Novel:
Miss Ulysses from Puka
Puka by Florence “Johnny” Frisbie (available on Kindle)
Summary:
Written when the author was only sixteen years old,
this book is a memoir of Johnny Frisbie’s life as a child in the Cook Islands. She
recounts what life was like on her home island of Puka Puka and describes her
travels to Samoa, Fiji, and other islands in the South Pacific. The book
takes places during World War II, so there are several passages in which they
encounter American soldiers or take precautions against Japanese bombers.
Despite their best intentions to join the war effort, the war ends before the
Frisbie family is able to reach a military base.
Response:
This book is charming and eye-opening. The author has such
an intimate view of the South Pacific and really made me realize how I sort of
lump all of the Polynesian islands together. This author points out how they
are differentiated from each other and really makes each place feel unique. At
one point, she wonders what the islanders eat in Tonga. I immediately thought, “Fish
and coconuts, just like everywhere in the South Pacific.” But, to her, as someone
who has a deep familiarity with the region, what seem like pretty minor
differences to me are what makes the food cultures distinct. It was quite an
education in my own ignorance! She also describes learning the particular songs and dances to each island as well as the individual dialects, bringing each one's "soul" to life.
The author’s youth works both for and against her. Her
enthusiasm and naivete are very appealing, and her simple prose makes the book
very easy to read. It is also, apparently, intended for children, and I
certainly think it would be a great book for kids to read. At the same time,
she skips over some of the most compelling parts of the story rather than
describing them in detail. At several points in the narrative, she writes that
she could write 30-40 more pages about a certain topic, but she decided not to
in order to keep things moving along. Often, these comments would come just as
I was getting really interested in what was happening, so I wished for just a
bit more time in those areas. I also wished for just a bit more background
information. I found myself constantly looking things up on Wikipedia, so perhaps
in a subsequent edition, the editors will provide more historical notes to help
readers have a better understanding of the context in which the author was
writing.
Food:
Raro Tarati Salad
This recipe does not include amounts, so just do whatever you want, I guess!
The finished product:
First off, let me say, buy good coconut cream. I recommend Chaokoh
brand, which I have only found at Asian markets, but is totally worth the special
trip. You could also buy a full fat coconut milk and instead of shaking it up
so the cream mixes in, skim the cream off the top. The Trader Joe’s and Goya
brands, even though they are labeled “Cream” are really more like oily coconut water.
You want only the cream part, not the oily, watery part.
I used lump crab meat instead of corned beef, or “bully beef”
as they call it in the Cook Islands.
This was really good. I have never used coconut cream as a
dressing before, but it was very nice.
Cocktail:
I based this cocktail on a list of produce grown in the Cook
Islands that I found. There are coconuts, of course, and also passion fruit.
They also grow some sugar cane, so there is rum. The perfect combination for a Passion
Colada: 1 ¾ oz rum and ¾ oz passion fruit syrup blended with ice and coconut cream. Pour over ice.
Again, use a good coconut cream for this. You want it to be
creamy and thick, not watery and oily. Oily cocktails are terrible. I didn’t
have any Chaokoh on hand today, so I skimmed the cream off of the top of a can
of Thai Kitchen coconut milk – not the best, but not bad at all!
Kia Orana!
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