I have eaten Pacific Island food at least a dozen times with a dozen people and I keep forgetting to pull out my stoneware with images of Polynesian palm fronds and huts to set the ambiance for the meal. Approaching Tuvalu, I had three goals: 1) remember the dishes, 2) find someone who hadn’t already eaten Pacific Island food with me, and 3) find recipes that would combine the indigenous foods in new ways. I was delighted that Chris volunteered to cook with me and that there is a whole cookbook online dedicated to Tuvalu: https://livelearn.org/assets/media/docs/resources/Tuvalu_Cookbook_Final_LR.pdf
Chris made the bananas cooked in coconut milk (page 34). This took longer to get the bananas soft than the recipe says, so plan accordingly. It comes out a little like mashed potatoes. I made the pumpkin puree (page 72) and taro leaf puree (page 76). I used canned tuna and swiss chard in the taro leaf puree, which sped up the process and avoided the taro risk (see my Solomon Islands blog for a cautionary story about taro). We had a delicious meal and I remembered the plates!
I haven’t had a chance yet to steam fish in banana leaves like this Tuvalu recipe, but I’ll get there: http://culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com/2019/05/steamed-fish-tuvalu-style.html
In the meantime, I watched The Disappearing of Tuvalu: Trouble In Paradise on Kanopy to see the country and hear the voices of the people as they express concern over the loss of their land due to rising sea levels.
There are stories out there set in Tuvalu, but few at the library, so I turned to Ann Morgan for a book review: https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/2012/11/17/tuvalu-how-to-make-it-rain/
YouTube has a channel called MusicTuvalu. Here are just a few of the beautiful and fun videos to enjoy:
Other online resources from Tuvalu include:
· Return to Tuvalu - A Peace Corps Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_01FoG52c0U
· Tuvalu games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U_GL3V_D6Q&t=34s
· The men’s dance that starts slow and builds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YoSgMzQeY
· The women’s dance – a different dance but the same building momentum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZemzm_3lh8
· Yes Theory on traveling there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODuEl4oNae0
· Geography Now! With so much information and a great guest host from Tuvalu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8z8glfqsm0
· A Tuvaluan wedding in diaspora – watch for the reception details paying honor to their heritage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77bMyXdaZzY
The things to do in Tuvalu are relaxing island things: https://southpacificislands.travel/10-things-to-do-in-tuvalu/. I would love to go! I hope for a time when broad travel gives us new perspectives. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Tuvalu and throughout the world.
Photo Credit: Weifly https://www.flickr.com/photos/weifly/4919861512/
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