When parents are strapped for money, mackerel in tomato sauce is the go to meal that is satisfying without guilt.  Most Jamaicans can relate to this staple. As a child, I enjoyed eating tin mackerel with dumplings. To be quite honest, I’m not a huge fan of canned mackerel. Even though there are so many brands to choose from in the USA, I never seem to seem to appreciate tin mackerel as much as I did back home.  If you served me tin mackerel (as we call it), I would often call out the taste of the poison.  I would ask the next person, ‘yuh can’t taste di poison?”  Being the health conscious person that I have evolved into, I’m now aware of the poison. It’s BPA (Bisphenol A) that lines most canned and plastic bottled products. It’s a chemical toxic compound that should have never even made it’s way into my  Temple. The BPA, in addition to the preservatives was probably the responsible for that nasty taste in my mouth.

My palate is highly sophisticated. I taste all kinds of stuff. I can taste a meal and dissect the ingredients without knowing firsthand what was utilized. I don’t know the taste of EVERYTHING  because I haven’t tried everything on this planet but I can definitely identify foods that I’m familiar with.

Anyway I had this craving for tin mackerel (dutty gal is what most Jamaicans call it). I went to the supermarket and read every label, like I usually do. I found a tin mackerel which ingredients were mackerel, tomato sauce and I think salt, so I grabbed that one. I swear, it’s the best tasting dutty gal I had eaten in YEARS. Either that or my hormones were out of whack, but it was GRREAAATTT!!  Swear to God, I felt like Tony the tiger and I just couldn’t get enough. I added broccoli to create a more nutritious meal because I have to get my veggies in, somewhere, somehow and it complimented the dish beautifully. I cook fish with vegetables all the time. Just because  mackerel is canned, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a fish, so I dolled her ass up and made her beautiful. Ain’t she adorable?