Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea, not too far from Puerto Rico in the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands. The small chains of islands is home to many tropical plant life, animal species, and home to my family. As far as I know, my ancestors lived on the island of St. Croix for generations. My grandmother grew up there along with her siblings, until she turned 18. Then they all moved to New York City where she worked as a nurse, in Montefiore hospital. Along with her tales from the emergency room, I heard many stories of her childhood in St. Croix. Amongst these stories are a few of her learning to cook fungi with a wooden stirrer. My great grandfather was a carpenter and he crafted it out of trees found in the yard of her childhood home. He made it for my great grandmother to use and she passed it down to my grandma when her mother was teaching her to cook. These days it just sits on the wall of our kitchen for aesthetics, grandma finds it easier to use a regular spoon.

– Mitchell Dennis

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