This weekly column, “Adventures in Good Eating,” by Back Door Café chef/owner Fran Ginn usually appears each Thursday in the Marion County Informer. It is appearing today because of technical issues that occurred last week.

……I relish the opportunity of finding something new and different to eat wherever I go.  I love to explore why people eat what they do and how food has shaped their lives.  Adventures in Good Eating is my way of sharing the pleasure of culinary discovery and also the anticipation of tables and tastes yet to be found.

This week, May 23-29, is National Hurricane Preparedness Week.  The actual opening day of the official Atlantic hurricane season is June l.  Predictions are for a “very active” hurricane season this year.  You can read about hurricane preparedness at the web address:  www.hurricanes.gov/prepare.

Thinking about hurricanes made me think about Cuba.  This island nation has been battered both by physical storms and emotional ones generated by politics.  In 2008 Hurricane Gustav roared across the island, the worst hurricane there since 1944.  The storm lasted more than seven hours.  Watching reports of this storm devastate Cuba, I thought of the terrible things  which had happened to this beautiful island in the last 50 years and the people who were forced to flee the island, either legally or in tragically overloaded boats. 

In the years before Castro’s reign began in 1959, Cuba was an island paradise.  It was an exuberant world of sunshine and plantains, fishing boats, fruit vendors and congenial, leisurely meals.  the sweet aromas which emanated from the kitchens signaled the times of the day – the scent of dark, smoky Cuban coffee brewing and raw milk boiling for café con leche began the day.  Next the tantalizing fragrance of sautéing sofrito, the mixture of onion, garlic and green bell pepper  which is the base for so many Cuban dishes, marked lunch time.  Finally, the tangy scent of sour orange juice marinade or mojo criolla, marked the preparation of meat for the evening meal.

The Cuban food experience is an extraordinary one.  Layered over the tropical abundance of fruits and vegetables and the riches of the sea are the spices of the Spanish who colonized the island, the ingredients of the Africans who were taken there as slaves and the cooking methods of the Chinese who came still later as laborers.

Rice, beans, and root vegetables are staples in the Cuban diet.  The root vegetables differ from those familiar to the American palate.  Some of these are yucca and malanga, and boniato. These vegetables are often flavored with a marinade, called mojo, made of olive oil, lemon juice, onions, garlic, cumin and a bit of water.  Rice and beans are a ubiquitous combination.  A very traditional dish is made with rice and black beans and called “Moors and Christians”.  Plantains, a  starchy cousin to the banana, is used extensively. 

The Cuban sandwich owes its popularity to the cigar trade in Miami in the late 19th century.  Workers moved easily between southern Florida and Cuba and brought the idea for this sandwich with them.  The sandwich is made on Cuban bread, a softer bread than French bread.  The bread is spread with yellow mustard, then sliced roast pork, Serrano ham,  Swiss cheese and dill pickles are placed on the bread.  The filled sandwich is then put onto a grill similar to a panini grill and heated.

Most meats in Cuba are slow-cooked.  A well-loved beef stew has the unusual name of “Old Clothes” – Ropa Vieja.  The shredded flank steak in tomato sauce is said to resemble old shredded clothes.  

Savoring this cuisine has assumed a crucial role in preserving the culture of a homeland to which many Cuban refugees may never return.  Cubans will tell you that they have always found joy and friendship in their kitchens and around their tables, wherever   they may live.  Here’s hoping that all the people who fled this magical island may return one day to their homeland in safety.  As they rebuild from Gustav, and the other inevitable storms which wash over their island,    perhaps one day they can reclaim the freedom they have been denied.

Mojo Criolla

8 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt

1 tsp. whole leaf oregano

½ tsp. ground cumin

1 cup sour orange juice  ***  see note

¼ cup oil

***Note:  if orange juice is not marked “sour orange”, one can add ¼ cup lime juice to ¾ cup orange juice.

Mash the garlic with the salt to form a paste.  Add the oregano and sour orange juice.  Let the juice mixture stand for 30 minutes.  Whisk in the oil.  Use a marinade for meat to be grilled.