Appetizing Lifestyle

Food-Related stories, interviews and random thoughts.

Banana Pudding with Sugar Cookies

Vanilla Wafer Cookies for Megan Gordon’s Banana Pudding from “A Sweet Spoonful”

Sanura
Banana Pudding with Sugar Cookies
Banana Pudding with Sugar Cookies

The original plan was to make Almond Salty Butter cookies for a boxing match. Then this recipe appeared in the twitter feed. It blew the little cookies away. Besides, the boyfriend loves bananas. His younger sister is hosting a fabulous party, and we showed up empty handed at her last event. So, this recipe is a delicious adaption from Megan Gordon’s Banana Pudding from “A Sweet Spoonful.”  The least I could do is make a Simple Sugar Cookie recipe to contribute to this dish. The pudding is incredible, because it’s not from an instant mix, and it’s using real whipped cream. Megan’s blog is full of other beautiful recipes, too. Her recent post, “Throwing in the Towel,” is appropriately named for this weekend’s boxing match. It’s content is unrelated to the sport, but it’s nice to hear about another topic that doesn’t include the words: boxing, Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosely, sports and Las Vegas. Thanks, Megan for sharing a girly recipe amid this testosterone day.

Read more →

Buttermilk Biscuits

Taking a Stroll Down Southern Lane: Buttermilk Biscuits

Sanura

Buttermilk Biscuits

Could it be the magnolia trees that have recently unfurl its beauty? Perhaps its the exciting anticipation of the arrival of a “new” cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, originally published in 1976 by Edna Lewis. This play, Fences, by August Wilson brings nostalgic feelings for those Southern dishes. Remember those big breakfasts made in an instant from scratch? Those giant buttery biscuits. A trip down 95 South is in the plans. For old time sake, can we use a real map instead of MapQuest? Pack a picnic basket. Seal mason jars of pickled vegetables. Please hold the salt on the stinky and sweet cantaloupe. As the imagination runs wild with memories of running barefoot through fresh grass. And, a car whizzes by and a siren wails to wake up into a reality of the pavement to walk on toward hopeful progress. The memory of taste. Oh, the taste, can’t take that dream away. A dish of dreams shall come true strolling down southern lane. Read more →

The Only True Lovers are Chefs or Happy Birthday, Edna Lewis

Sanura
Edna Lewis, Chef and Cookbook Author
Edna Lewis, Chef and Cookbook Author

“…so yes this is a love poem of the highest order because the next best cook in the world, my grandmother being the best, just had a birthday and all the asparagus and wild greens and quail and tomatoes on the vines and little peas in spring and half runners in early summer and all the wonderful musty things that come from the ground said EDNA LEWIS is have a birthday and all of us who love all of you who love food wish her a happy birthday because we who are really smart know that chefs make the best lovers…………….especially when they serve it with oysters on the half shell.”

Read the whole poem: “The Only True Lovers are Chefs or Happy Birthday, Edna Lewis,” Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni

Stir Fry Bok Choy, Shrimp and Peanuts over Coconut Rice

Sanura
Shrimp, Bok Choy and Peanuts over Coconut Rice
Shrimp, Bok Choy and Peanuts over Coconut Rice

Morning Glory, also known as Water Spinach or Swamp Cabbage, is a beautiful green that also blooms bright flowers. Don’t become too excited and start picking leaves from vines, unless horticulture is a profession. Besides, the plant of familiarity that wraps around building and fences is of another family, and it’s poisonous to eat. The Morning Glory for this recipe is different, for it’s a semi-aquatic plant, in which it is also known as a leaf vegetable–such as kale, cabbage, and collards. It easily grows around waterways and in tropical regions, thus it’s known primarily as a Southeast Asian ingredient, especially in Thai dishes. Read more →