casabe

A falta de pan, casabe.

Literary translation: “In the absence of bread, cassava bread”. “Casabe” is bread made of grated cassava root (yucca). Yucca root is abundant in Hispaniola island and was a staple of the native Taino inhabitants. Cassava bread is part of the Taino heritage and the recipe, as well as the look of it hasn’t changed much over the years. Here’s a video in Spanish of how Casabe is made in the Dominican Republic. Meaning: Settle for what you can get. Enjoy what you have if you can’t get what you want. (This is used to refer to food, circumstances, and people).…

La Marchanta

Every week, she shows up at my mother's kitchen door with a big bag of Casabe and a wide smile. A flat, mildly tasty and rare bread, Cassava bread is one of the few truly authentic meals Dominicans inherited from our long extinguished native ancestors, the Taino Indians. Dulce, who is as sweet as her name, travels over 20 km on foot every day, selling Casabe around my hometown. She is happy and plump like an Italian mama, except she's not Italian and her life is far from happy. But who can really tell when you look at her picture?…