The Coconut Telegraph

February of 2011 will stand out in my mind as a real highlight of my years at Lost Beach. Primarilly this was based on having a large number of returning guests who all knew each other, along with the Welch’s being in residence. Highlighting this was the fact that we had a neighborhood man “Dilla” working in our kitchen, training staff (and me) and turning out meal after meal of fabulous food. Dilla spend much of every year in a Chef’s program working in the US, but was able to give us 2 months of his time. Mr. Welch was in there making a solid contribution of our desserts each evening. He took pot au creme to a new level, my favorite being a jamaican blue mountain coffee melded with fabulous chocolate. Dilla taught me to make fried rice which I think rivals any I’ve ever had, and a mushroom quesadilla that was also superb.

Following the departure of our guests in February and March, we had some down time which we used very effectively doing some refurbishing. Work on the pool, plumbing upgrades, a lot of woodworking, and a really great new ceiling in the conference room and library suite.

The end of May brought us enough rain but also helped to bring all the flowers back in bloom. With Beanie working on the beach things look quite lovely. We were eagerly anticipating June and the arrival of a group of 38 students from the New york area. A 10 day trip, arranged by Eric Wills, Director of the Jamaica Field Service Project and accredited by the State University of New York has an emphasis on Jamaican tradition. Students spend the mornings volunteering in School and Health Care Facilities and evenings working on their drumming. Students are mostly in the fields of music ed., music therapy or literacy education. We applaud their efforts and appreciate their choosing Lost Beach for their venue.

We have several more smaller groups coming in this summere and are already looking forward to a great Season again this Winter. Hope to see all our friends and family again this year.

Just had to make this post and comment on the community spirit I experienced yesterday. We’re coming into the season for Jumbo Shrimp, so the local fishermen are getting their nets out in the water. Rowan and friends paddled out the canoe and “set” the net, and locals slowly began gathering up and partipating. From young to old, people were circling the net both in and out of the water and slowly began to drag it in. Divers out in the water keeping the net on the seafloor, youngsters on the side slowly pulling it in, oldsters on the shore shouting encouragement and giving a hand where needed. When the net came in I saw the biggest catch I’ve ever seen. Now Rowan took over, sorting out the fish. Large ones went into a cooler, all shrimp in a 2nd cooler, and all the small “fine” fish left in the nets to be shared with all who helped. Sebert brought home about 20# of the fine fish to feed his Rottweiler, Bell. When he got home he cooked a large pot of fish, salt and rice. When it cooled Bell and our cats all feasted. The downside was getting up this morning and opening the fridge to the smell of FISH. Looks to me like he’s got about 3 more batches of dog feeding before I can reclaim my fridge. I reluctantly took my avocado and sauerkraut out, not wanting them permeated with FISH. I think all of Broughton ate well last night, including the dogs. This is the community side that I have always loved in Jamaica. Bless up Rowan!

It occurred to us that our Lost Beach friends might be interested in our current plan to truly embrace our ‘golden years’. We are almost really finally retired now and we have decided to free ourselves from all unnecessary responsibilities as much as possible. So we’ve decided to pursue our original dream from decades ago to build ourselves a little home with a garden at the bottom of the Lost Beach property (down by the old barge) - time to fish and grow things like old people do ;>) Since our kids are grown and busy making their own dreams come true now, we’ve also decided to sell the hotel (500 ft. of our beachfront, approximately 2 acres of land all together, from the front gate to the last gate just past Sarge’s but not including the beach cabins or beyond). We have already listed the property for sale with a Jamaican Realtor for US$1,450,000 and will soon list it in the States as well. We thought that maybe some of you might want to escape your daily grind and flee to our little piece of Jamaican paradise to take on the job of hotelier – challenging yes, often fun, always interesting! Rest assured that Lost Beach Resort is open and will remain so … as long as Jennifer is willing to run tings that is ;>) We are now offering a great all-inclusive deal, The Real Deal, at Lost Beach - $79 per person per night for beachfront accommodations and three (great) meals a day plus local beverages (like Ting, Red Stripe, Rum, etc.) All of the Lost Beach crew is looking forward to the new season and we all hope to see many of you again this year at Lost Beach.

Take care, and stay warm!

Steve and Beth Welch

http://jamaicanresortforsale.com/

Remember the old saying “If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all”?  That’s how I felt this month.

3 weeks ago on a rainy Sunday I was in my kitchen, making dinner.  I heard someone shouting me and knew immediately it was bad news or they wouldn’t be out in the rain.  I went to the front veranda and it was Rowan Kinglock, informing me that the Sea had washed away the Lost Beach Boat.  He assurred me that with 8 men they could re-cover it and bring it back to shore.  I left Sebert home watching the dinner and trudged off to Lost Beach.  Phoning Mr. Welch as I went, we agreed that we had to save the boat at whatever cost.  Reaching the hotel, the rain was torrential.  I started down the beach, stumbled - dropped my cell phone in the water and broke my glasses.  Now I’m blind trying to navigate the beach and water.

Reaching the old barge, sure enough, there was our boat, rocking up against the rocks while the 8 men tried to manhandle it back to shore.  They did!  We pulled it way back into the bush, and “fishroe”, the man who first raised the alarm agreed to keep an eye on it.  I broke out a bottle of rum to warm up the fellows who had rescued us, and went home.  Thankfully to a hot dinner.

Went to bed early, as it was really raining hard and dark.  Woke up at 6am as usual to let the dogs out and had the surprise of my life.  My front yard was knee deep in Sea water, and my back yard had water up to my mid thigh, hovering at the very edge of the veranda.  We were totally surrounded in a Sea of water.  Ducky and Tipper were horrified….where they going to pee???

Mid morning we decided to walk out and found our entire neighborhood under water.  Miraculously, Lost Beach was not under water, although it was blowing in and pooling in some areas.  Security was there and no other real damage, just tree limbs down, so we struggled back home.  Sebert had on water boots up to his knees, but I was wearing flip flops which tended to get stuck in the muck underneath the water.  It was sslow going.  We decided to stop at the shop, as we hadn’t prepared for this storm, hadn’t even heard of it.  It didn’t even have a name yet!  Later, we knew it as Nicole.  Well, the shops were sold out…. no-one could drive through the water, so we were stranded.  We bought a tin of mackerell and a tin of sardine but I knew I wouldn’t eat that.  Lucky I had tinned tomato products and pasta, so it was spaghetti.  We had lots of company, everyone wanting to see what the weather had done to us.    It turned out to be a time of real camaradery, neighbor helping neighbor.  Our nearest neighbor, John Wayne had a new river bed cut through his property, about 6 feet deep and 3 feet wide.  That was amazing.  Just yesterday he had 10 loads of marl trucked in to fill it back in again.

I won’t bore you with the clean up details, suffice to say that it’s being done and as usual in Jamaica nature is already repairing the damage.  The cottonwood tree in front of the hotel lost all it’s leaves and this morning we marvelled that it is fully recovered, having budded and turned out all new leaves already.  In my yard all the flowering plants are still in bloom, the hibiscus didn’t miss a beat, flowering throughout the storm episode.  Only my night blooming jasmine lots its flowers and blossoms.

Amazing isn’t it that a storm could hit us with such force, and not have been visible enough to even be named!

I’ve been contacted by many friends,  recent guests and other interested people regarding the recent violence in Kingston.  First, let me say that Kingston is far from Lost Beach.  It’s roughly 110 miles from us, and a 5 hour drive to get there.  Events going on in the capital city rarely impact on us, and certainly not on our guests.

It is true that the last month has been one of violence, gunfire, killings and much publicity as police attempt to locate  and capture “Dudas” alleged drug-pin, gun runner and international fugitive.  Over the month there have been roughly 50 deaths attributed to this sordid episode in Jamaica’s history.  It all came to an end when Dudas was captured in a road block as he was returning to Kingston, allegedly to turn himself in to the US Embassy.  Dudas faces extradition to the US on multiple charges related to drugs and guns.  The Minister accompanying him stated that Dudas preferred to turn himself in directly to the US Embassy as he felt he would be safer then in a Jamaican jail.  However, in the US he faces almost certain life in prison for his alleged crimes.

Unfortunate as all of this has been, it is not a situation that affects the daily lives of most jamaicans and currently not the tourists.

Lost Beach continues to provide the same level of service as usual to our guests.  We currently have a honeymoon couple here from the states and a returning guest for a month in one of the Beach Cabins.  If guests are uncertain of travelling plans based on this situation please be assurred that you will be safe at Lost Beach!

Our Season is winding down, evidenced by the Welch’s departure earlly next week. Last Monday Steve, Beth and my friend Del went to the Black River flower show. As always it was HOT (I came home with a sunburn) but the flowers were fantastic. I bought a new ceramic planter and a large crown of thorns plant for my front veranda. Steve and Beth bought lots of hybrid hibiscus, lime trees and a variety of other flowering plants. Beanie was busy for several days getting things planted. We’ve now decided to concentrate on a citrus grove, so Sebert and Choppy are clearing a space beyond the pool. We have plans for lime trees, lemon, orange and or course lots of banana. Del and I agonized over the glorious antherium, but in the end didn’t buy any. Over the years we’ve both had many but they just don’t thrive for either of us.

We’ve had all inclusive guests here for the last month, so we’ve been working hard on our menus. We’ve finally finished a 2 week rotating menu that will allow us to advertise some of our specials and put out flyers in Negril. Last night was French onion soup, a filet of beef appetizer on toast points, either Lobster or Escoveitch Fish and Key Lime Pie or Brownies with Ice Cream.

Fishing has been fantastic. The freezer is full of Tuna, Mackerall and King Fish, but lobster Season is over now, giving them time to procreate.

We’re approaching hurricane season, but haven’t heard any dire predictions for this year.

Hope to hear from or see some of our old friends!

Jennifer

I absolutelly have no excuse for such a long time between posts. Busy? yes,we are - it’s been one of the most exciting Season’s in a long time. The economy has certainly affected us, but we’ve had both old and new guests here and alot of new ideas implemented. The kitchen has never been so spectacular! Our evening menu board now frequently has beef…. thanks to Steve’s constant request. Last night was Fillet Mignon, and it was spectacular. The beef was butchered in the morning, and 6pm we had 8 happy guests enjoying it. Beth and I conspired on the aappetizer. She made Rumaki, with dates stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and I contributed a new Morracan dish, preserved lemons with red onion, jalopena, capers and peeled, FRESH tomato. I’m baking alot, and desserts range from Key Lime Pie, to Jamaican rum cake, and a huge favorite, cornmeal pudding. A take-off on our much loved Ackee Lasagna is a new roasted vegetable lasagna. Really good. Steve has initiated in a new bread baking method that is turning out some of the crustiest, heavy bodied breads that we are serving nightly. I like to think it was the JamaicanEats magazine that encouraged us to step things up a notch, but all in all, Food is at it’s best at our Restaurant.

News from former guests include: sadly that Marcie and Peter’s son DJ died of cancer this past year. They were here in Febuary and we planted a tree in his memory. It was a great visit, but sad moments remembering DJ’s visit’s here.

My Mom is here right now for 2 weeks. Can’t tell you how wonderful that is.This is her 2nd visit to Lost Beach and I know she’s enjoying every minute. Walks on the beach, lots of family memories, and of course the good food. She’s 80 now, but beautiful, energetic and such fun to visit with. The staff and neighbors love her. I’m hoping next year will be a month.

Graham and Barbara have finished building their house, so are no longer guests, but neighbors.

The Wissel’s are well established now also as neighbors and have been here 3 times this last year.

Sadly, Kevin has left Jamaica, so no more nature walks to visit his snake sanctuary. We wish him well in his decision to return to the States to care for his Father.

We will not close this summer as we’ve done for the pst 2 years, but will take reservations for groups of 8 or more. With the $69 per person special that we ran this Season for an All Inclusi e plan we’ve generated new business and friends and hope that will contine over the Summer months.

I’d love to hear from some of you who haven’t visited in awhile. My e-mail is listed on the website, but is www.broughtonbeach@yahoo.com.

Blessings, and Jah Guide.

Jennifer

What a lazy summer it’s been.  August was a successful month with our new Church group.  We also had a great family group in from Kingston.  I’m hoping to see many more Kingston folks during this season.  We were lucky this year that no storms threatened us at all.  I spent my time at home, babysitting a friends Parrot “Pickle” while she was visiting family in Canada for 2 months.  Pickle learned to talk while at our house and gave us many interesting hours of entertainment.  He said “Hello Pickle!  Come here, come here.  Alright Pickle!”   Even the dogs loved to look in his cage and listen to him chat.  i believe that Ducky was alittle jealous that the bird mastered the English language…..

We’re hard at work now getting ready for an opening date of November 1st.  Lots of painting, staining, carpentry work and CLEANING.  If you’ e never lived in the tropics you just don’t realize the issues with salt air, sand and breeze on equipment and buildings.  Good news though is that we are ready and eager for old and new friends to start visiting.

An exciting program for me is upcoming.  We are planning to host a dog show at Lost Beach in late november.  It will be televised and the competition will include security, dog obedience and show dogs.  I’m planning on Tipper (the chihuahua)  to be in costume.  Surely he’ll win the prize for smallest dog.  Should be alot of fun!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Jennifer

Feels great to say we’re cleaning up and getting ready for a GREAT August; Ception, Beanie and I have been working for 2 weeks now getting rooms and grounds cleaned up. A big stage show in Broughton on August 5th and we will house some of the artists. Then, Independence Holiday over the weekend of the 7th and we’ll have plenty of Kingston folks here who plan to take in the many exciting shows in Negril. Capped off with a new Church group who will be here from the 8th - 15th.

Sad news from one of our regular guests, Marcie and Peter, who lost their beloved son DJ to cancer last week. Marcie told us that in his last days they were looking at the pictures from their visits to Lost BEach, and DJ was sharing with the staff his fond memories of Lost Beach. Love and prayers to this family from everyone here at LB.

Summer has been unreasonably hot for the last month. Some of us feel this is an indicator of a bad hurricane season. Hope we’re wrong….

Hoping to hear from some of you regarding reservations.

Ducky reports that he has a new frind in our yard…. “Teddy bear” a little Shi tzu…. Gotta get some pictures on-line!

Irie vibes from Jennifer and all the crew here.

As many of you know, May month is one of the months we are closed. Traditionally a very slow time all over Jamaica, we use this time to re-group and do some maintenence. I’ve been walking the grounds with Wiser (security) this morning and we picked a huge ripe soursop. I’m taking it home to juice for dinner. Also picked breadfruit, and checked out all the lime coming on the trees, mango, and bunches of banana and plantain. I had to shake my head and wonder about the “Gardening God”. Without fail, everything grows, ripens and bears fruit when we are very slow. How we would have appreciated all these things in February!

Mothers Day today, and I’m sending wishes to my Mom and to Aunt Joyce up there in Minnesota. Specials wishes to all the Mother’s reading this! In honor of the day, Rowain has the shop running and a sound system setting up for a party. Lots of the fishermen are out so we look forward to some good food later in the day.

Old Mas Ferdie was buried yesterday. He was the recipient of help from the Michigan church group who have done community service here. They built an indoor bathroom onto his little house. Makes me feel good to know that his last 2 years were lived in some comfort he hadn’t had before. Christmas past he was on our list for christmas carols and cookies and cakes given away by my Lost Beach youth group. He’ll be missed - and we wish him a safe journey on….

Sebert is fishing in ernest now. Yesterday I fried 6 fish he caught and he thought they were the best he’d tasted in ages. lol

Hope to hear from some of you - booking in for the summer months!

Jennifer

Hi everyone, lots going on at Lost Beach so it’s time for an update. Easter Holiday has passed us and it was really festive at Hope Wharf. Rowain, one of our neighborhood young men has moved a shop down to the beach, directly across from us. It’s a welcome addition with daily music and the fishermen cooking some type of fish pot. Ken and Musty are usually there “running the pot” and yesterday it was Conch soup. It’s a nice way for our guests to mingle with neighborhood folks and see the real culture. I was also struck by the number of children in the Sea yesterday. They stretched from one end of our beach to the other and at one point I’m sure there were 50 of them enjoying the day. Matt and Mandy Furlong, from Michigan are here this week and they were out in the Kayake. Mandy told me they had to come in for fear of running over the kids. They’ll try again today she says.

The magazine came! How exciting! Lost Beach is prominently displayed with a gorgeous ad, a picture of Heidi and her famous coco bread, and I’m there with my Brown Stew Chicken recipe. Unfortunatelly, The recipe is missing a couple of sentences, telling how to roast the vegetables. I hope people will realize it’s easy…. Mix the ingredients listed, put on a cookie sheet and put in the oven at 400 degrees, stirring occassionelly.

Another publication! Lynette Lynch, former employee here at Lost Beach was prominently displayed in the Jamaican Observer on the Society page. She was at a wine tasting with her Rotary group. We both laughed and said “only in Jamaica”

Seberts boat has finally been completed. A long renovation resulting in a “Rasta Machine” sporting the colors….Red, Green and Gold. Maiden voyage scheduled for this week. We’re just waiting for a power pack for the engine. Bora intends to travel with Sebert for awhile helping him to learn the “pathways” out to Sea. I’ve already put in my order for all the octopus they can catch. Called Sea-puss in Jamaica - I can’t get enough of it. Pickled in a vinegarette for Octopus salad. What a way to live!

Thanks to my Uncle Jim in Staples, Minnesota I’ve just recently completed my raised bed garden. Nicky Pringle blocked it up for me, so the garden is about 3 feet by 10 feet and maybe 2 feet high. We filled it with topsoil and started to plant. I lost most of my beginning seeds as my hose had such high water pressure I think I washed all the seeds. But Sebert saved the day again. Unbeknowst to me, he buried a rotten tomato in a flowers pot, a green pepper in another and within 2 weeks I had many many seedlings ready to transplant The garden is now looking great with potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, dill and green beans. This is my “kitchen garden” and I plan to have lots of salads, salsa, pickles etc.

So, it’s a good time in Jamaica! Hope to see some of you soon!

Bless up! Jennifer

Last Sunday we did our 2nd brunch and things went much smoother. Kitchen really had it down, and food as usual was excellent. The servers benefitted from some training this week and it showed in their performence. We were visited by Eric Wills, Director of the Jamaica Field Service project with 9 of his youth workers. They are here this week doing community service at the Broughton school. Also here over the week end was Dalton Browne, a musician/producers from Kingston. He gave me a CD that blew me away….. great voice, sultry sound…. one of the covers was “girl from Ipanema” I’ve already loaned it out, but will give up all the info here. It’s fantastic!

Back to the food though…. we featured the Brown Stew Chicken with overn roasted veg, the recipe that will be in JamaicanEats. It was a winner! Also did the Rum & Raisin Cheesecake from the last issue. People raved - I loved it too.

I’ll be working on my cookbook as it’s alittle slow right now, so expect some e-mails with recipes to try!

Blessings!

This morning I’m remembering March in Minnesota. What did they say? March comes in like a Lion and goes out like a lamb? Well, here in Jamaica it’s just another lovely month - clear skies, warm breezes and the gorgeous sun every day.

I went to the Orchid show in Montego Bay on Saturday. Your never really prepared for the beauty of all those orchids on display. A woman was sellilng watercolor earrings that exactly replicated those fabulous colors. They had her booth right at the entrance to the judging area so you were really aware of the color. I was frugal in my spending - no orchids this year, but I did find a great pink “crown of thorns”. With my front veranda finished now I’m going to plant if right in the front of the house.

Big plans underway to begin a Sunday Brunch at Lost Beach. We worked on menu’s all day yesterday. Grace from JamaicanEats was here so we had lots of good input! I’m sure looking forward to the issue coming up.

Yesterday was one of those days I wish all my favorite friends and family had been here to share in the fun. We had a staffing issue with only one brand new person in the kitchen. 16 guests including 4 all inclusive. The solution was for me to go in the kitchen and work along with her and try out some new menu items as well as some old favorites. Here’s what was on the menu board:

Fresh Catch: Tuna

Soup: Curried 5-grain soup

Fruit: Papaya

Chef’s Choice:
Roti & Dhal
Pasta Puttanesca
Fried Chicken

Pizza: Veg

Desserts:

Individual Molten Chocolate Cake
Cornmeal Pudding
Devon House Coconut Ice Cream

OMG - it was fantastic. People sampled everything and there wasn’t a bite left over. everything finished! Rave reviews.

The Mortons are here this week as are Andy and Shanney. It’s the 4th or 5th year for both of them so it’s like family visiting. It’s nice having that core group of guests who keep coming back.

Tonight is the last night for several new couples and we’re doing a pig roast and bonfire. I don’t eat pork, but it’s fun and the presentation is impressive.

Mr. Welch and Musty have taken another guest out on an all day deep sea fishing trip. It’s raining now so I’m wondering how they will do. I’ll let you know!

Oh I wish all of you could have been here. The day was wonderful and it far surpassed my expectations! Chef Dennis McIntosh was here and he did his photo shoot for the Obama White House menu. It was stunning! All the recipes and photo’s will be in the magazine so I’ll let you discover it there. I was most impressed with the photgraphy. Just unbelievable the detail they paid to each and every dish. I was so pleased, they used my fiesta ware dishes to display sev eral of his dishes - and one in particular was of conch fritters with a dipping sauce. In the background you could see Sebert’s boat, painted Red, Green and Gold for the Rasta colors. He’ll treasure that photo I know!

Several of my friends came….Del from Negril and Mary, Pat and Vel from Salmon Point & Little Bay. Late in the day one of my sisters in law arrived from Duluth, MN. Peggy. Such a great day for her to be here!

Most of all though I appreciated the staff. Lost Beach looked gorgeous from one end to the other. Irayn had the pool looking perfect, Nikki, Beanie and Neal had grounds immaculate. I think each of them were just as excited as I was. I couldn’t have done it without Heidi, Lisa and Vernon. After I prepared my chicken dish, they took over, garnishing and plating it perfectly. We all enjoyed eating all of the dishes that were prepared. Russ is planning to add photo’s he took - and I need to check with him if I should publish the recipe here or in the recipe file. I’ll deal with it directly!

Yes, it’s in the mid 80’s, tropical breeze and lots of activity around the resort. Laddie is here removing sand from veggie stand area and bringing in 3 loads of big boulders to create a sand trap to stop erosion of our beach. I think it will add alot to our landscapeing.

I went to Sav to pick up all the supplies needed for Monday. What was I thinking of? Sav on a Saturday! After an hour of grocery shopping, I had to leave my groceries as their phone line was down so couldn’t process my payment. Next to the Seafood warehouse. NO CONCH! They tried to tell me it was out of season. Do I look like a tourist? Then on to Fontana pharmacy where I purchased a pair of havaianas. Are they really all their cracked up to be? I’ve seen them advertised in Glamour magazine, the quarterly tourist news review and the In-flight magazine for Air Jamaica. Even the Marley family has endorsed them I believe. But, $1315 JA for rubber fllip flops? Thats like $15.00 US. Will I like them better with time? Will they last longer, or is it just the name. Guess I’ll have to check out www.havaianas.com eh?

Monday is right around the corner. I will post on how the photo shoot went and will also publish the recipe. Thanks for the kind comments! Jennifer

Well, it’s official. The photo crew from the magazine will be coming on 16 Feb to do the photo shoot for the next edition. They will feature Heidi’s coco bread and one of the recipe’s from my cookbook, Brown Stew Chicken with roasted vegetables. Brown Stew anything is a very traditional Jamaican dish so I included it in my cookbook with very explicit directions. Recently I had the idea of combining my favorite Chicken Caccciatore recipe with the brown stew by adding the roast vegetables into the traditional brown stew recipe. Grace Cameron, Editor of JamaicanEats was quite fascinated by the idea of a White Woman writing a Jamaican cookbook and decided to feature me with this recipe. I’m incredibly excited!

Yesterday Sebert and I took the day off and visited Pat & Buzz in Salmon Point. They are former hotel guests (and friends) who are building their home here. I took along cornmeal pudding and deep dish pizza, 2 recipes from the cookbook. Both got excellent reviews. In the next several days I’ll post a recipe and hope to hear from some of you!

Weather is 80 degrees, sunny and gorgeous today. Steve and Bora are headed out to Sea for some fishing!

Who has heard of the new JamaicanEats magazine?  It’s fabulous!  Guess who will be featured in the next issue?   Yes!  It’s Lost Beach.  Stay tuned for the latest breaking developments