….to the little island off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico called Vieques, accessible by taking a twenty minute flight on a tiny plane from San Juan’s International Airport or by a thirty minutes ferry but requires driving south one hour from San Juan to the coastal town of Ceiba.
There’s wild horses everywhere. The band of horses that stay on property had a new foul, my friend Donna said it had been born a few days ago by the way it was walking. Packs of wild dogs also roam free on the island along with lots of chickens. Watching these dogs in the wild made me analyze if they are happier this way versus having them put into animal rescue shelter were they are taken to the States by vacationers to live fancy lives in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In PR a wild or stay dog, however you look at it, are called Sato. My sweet friends from San Juan coincidentally just opened an Asia-Latina restaurant called Sato Fino, a name I love, fino means fine/high quality. Check them out when you’re in PR this summer going to see Bad Bunny in concert, he’s opted to have a residency there instead of touring throughout the states. I think its an act of resilience after Trump called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage”.
I have been feeling the pinch of the recession so my yearly plans of heading out during the winter for a chuck of time was deferred but in the very beginning of spring when NYC is still very winter I was tapped to go to Hix’s Island House in Vieques to do an artist residency. The offer came up very quickly and within a week I was on a plane. The graciousness of the team there offered a place to stay while I took on a small project of investigating the wild and island’s indigenous edible plants world
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I didn’t realize that this visit would very much be a lesson in architecture. The owners Jon and Neevagayle Hix and I really got to know each other between dinners we put together for friends of the island and talking architecture, life and food, they are amazing cooks and foodies. The couple both in their 80 going on 40, opened the Hix Island House in the 90s, starting with a triangle house called Casa Triangular they slowly build the rest of the property, a round house, rectangular house, an all sustainable house running on solar called Solaris this one was by far my favorite, especially the top floor loft where you can see the national wildlife refuge and Caribbean Sea. John Hix is noted as saying, “The house should be the machine.” staying there you fully live it. As with most of the lofts, the one I stayed in had no windows but large openings that stay open, these “windows” face the right way to catch prevailing winds and swoop in to keep all cool, beds faced the sunrise and you are awaken minutes before the sun beams in. The first morning there I woke up and thought it was looking at a large photograph before I was able to come to consciousness.
Sleeping in fresh air is a deep sleep, the breeze on your skin also feels like your lymphatics are being happily stimulated. In the mornings you hear nature waking up, all singing what feels like praise to the new day, I felt their excitement. At night putting on any lights felt disruptive to nature. The Hixs also took me to the current project, a residential house to show me the process of making one of his designed cement homes. They basically make a mold of the house with wood and pour in the cement, fascinating. Neevagayle a textile expert instills very intentional aspects to the experience, like the loaner pajamas in each room that are made with the best quality fabric that double as a very chic shirt dress for going out.
I met so many great people, Donna an artist from Connecticut is the Hix’s trusty confidant and owns the textile brand See, she was a main reason for being down there and took me around. One of the many people she introduced me to was a fellow chef, Wanda, she and her husband own Playa Negra Fine Food, a restaurant located next to a black sand beach. She taught me so much and fed me well on our many hangs. A traditional and regional stuffed crab dish is a must and I still dream of cazuela, a pudding dessert made with local pumpkin and coconut baked in banana leaf. I picked achiote from her tree, the red seeds are used in many foods to add a beautiful orange hue, orange cheddar cheese uses it and is prevalent in many latin cuisine.
Field notes;
Noni
- a wild fruit that grows all over the island, it was bearing fruit during my time there in the month of April. I learned its many medical properties and considered a superfood powerhouse both reasons to use. Picked when ripe, its tender to the touch and pale yellow from its unripened bright green. It has very strong scent, identical to a stinky blue cheese. I decided to sugar ferment it, a process that has you cut the fruit, toss it in sugar to coated well then store in a clean jar with a breathable lid and held until the juices of the fruit are coaxed until the fruit is swimming in this fermented slightly sour liquid. It was kept outside so the scent was not a problem. And before I knew it the smell turned into a strong basil aroma. The medicinal tonic is fermenting as we speak.
Tamarind -
This fruit is so versatile, while I love it fresh for the tart yumminess of it or fresh dipped in sugar, a natural sour patch candy, its most common use is as a juice. I’d love to feature all the uses and I will. This fruit needs its own post. But for now I will say the puree as a sauce along with a salty yogurt used as dips for a savory fritter spiced with cumin. My favorite secret weapon and so addictive is adding a bit in cocktail sauce, trust! And a tip from a friend and one of my favorite chefs, Gerardo taught me to add a dot into a broth, it works incredibly in adding dimension and balance. I made a vinegar with them.
Bananas -
so many bananas, all varieties everywhere on the island. Through out my time there I was gifted many racks. Banana skins help speed up fermentations, they contain yeast that boost the process. I used it to start a petal vinegar made with bougainvillea and a hibiscus variety.
Bougainvillea -
a beautiful flower, without fragrance or flavor but releases the most beautiful color in all the flowers I’ve worked with. Its probably because while most petals are thin and delicate the petals of the bougainvillea have more structure, to the touch it resembles paper. Its benefits include assisting in healing respiratory ailments and support gastrointestinal health.
I’m excited about the potential of going back in the winter to put the ferments to use and do some work to help the land trust there. I’ll keep you posted event you’d like to go, it could be the perfect time.
I’m obsessed and consider it my future home, the trip as a whole was very transformative. I came back ready to complete my responsibilities here in NYC and head out to Vieques. I have deep roots in NYC so I can’t actually do that right away. Its important to have next steps or dreams, however you look at it.
Japan, Spring 2025
And in speaking of travel I’m so happy to announce a collaborative trip with Tova Trips to Japan in March of 2026, we have enough time to save. Here are the details for Japan: Culture and Cuisine in the Land of the Rising Sun. We will have a whirlwind week of hitting the best the country has to offer, stopping off in this is a tight group, if you’re ready to commit because like me have always wanted to go and want to travel with like minded people this is it. Purchasing your ticket now allows you to pay little bits each month which makes it doable.
I’m curating a few more adventures to add to our trip, easy stops at trending bakeries and historic cafe, karaoke, as well as a kaiseki and the best place to learn about ikebana. And if its a warm spring potentially view the cherry blossoms.
Sign up today, the first eight travelers to sign up get $100 off and also you have the option to sign up with Affirm, after a deposit paying only $235 / month puts all into a doable perspective.
In order to make this trip happen a certain amount of people will have to sign up within the next two weeks. I really hope w can all take our adventurous selves over to Japan next spring to uncover what is one of the most special preserved food cultures in the world.
Booking, facts and details here.
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