Before you slice into a fresh Ontario tomato or cucumber, meet one of the people who helps bring that food to your table.
Donna Lee Ashley is from Clarendon, Jamaica. She’s been coming to Ontario for 15 years to work on local fruit and vegetable farms through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. It wasn’t an easy decision but one she made to support her family after her brother passed away, leaving six children.
“Working here has helped me provide their basic needs and send them to school,” she says. “I tell them, it’s not easy for me here. I have to work very hard—so don’t waste my money!”
She’s proud of her job packing tomatoes at a greenhouse in Leamington, Ontario and it’s a special moment for her when she sees them on local store shelves.
“I’d like to tell Canadians that I feel privileged to work here. I’ve seen the tomatoes in the grocery store and they’re looking lovely. I’m proud to have them there,” she says.
Here’s her favourite recipe. It’s a traditional home-style dish that’s been verbally passed down through generations.
Donna Lee’s Rice and Peas and Chicken
(In Jamaica, “peas” usually means red kidney beans.)
Ingredients:
- Chicken thighs (skin removed)
- Diced carrot, onion, bell pepper, potatoes
- Maggi all-purpose seasoning (and chicken seasoning, if desired)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) cooking oil
- 1 can red kidney beans
- Thyme, to taste
- Chopped green onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Coconut milk powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Ketchup and Diana sauce to taste
Directions
For the chicken:
1. Season chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown chicken on both sides. Remove and set aside.
3. Sauté vegetables in the same pan until soft and fragrant. Add about ¼ cup (60 ml) water, ketchup and Diana sauce. Bring to a boil, return chicken to the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
For the rice and peas:
1. Soak and cook beans with garlic until tender.
2. Add coconut powder, thyme, green onion, salt and pepper.
3. Simmer 5 minutes, then add rice and enough water to just cover. Reduce heat and cook until rice is done. Add an extra sachet of coconut powder at the end.
4. Serve hot.
Tip: This dish pairs deliciously with a glass of lemonade.
Read more stories like Donna Lee’s at morethanamigrantworker.ca.
