*Ask Jen

Kin wants to know, "Who were the Tontons Macoute?"

The Tontons Macoute are the Haitian paramilitary force which used to support the dictatorial regimes of Francois Duvalier and his son Jean Claude, and their military successors.

Thousands of Macoutes and soldiers fled to the Dominican Republic when American troops invaded Haiti in September 1994 and reinstalled president Jean Bertrand Aristide, who was elected president in 1990 and overthrown in 1991.

Daniel, who--like Kin--enjoys asking questions he knows the answer to, writes, "What is figgy pudding? And why is that lady so demanding about it?"

Some kind of pudding with figs, Daniel. Hello. Here is a recipe you can try. And I assume she was demanding about it because who doesn't enjoy "solid white fat from the loin and kidney regions of meat animals"? (Although I was kind enough to provide a recipe that is suet-free.)

Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.

Posted by Jennifer at December 17, 2003 01:43 PM

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