A sweet, savory, buttery, green and healthy food blog by Sanura Weathers
Guest Interviews
Our lives runs on food, and often there’s a person, business, or an organization of interest with a great food story to tell. These are a collection of interviews featured on MyLifeRunsOnFood.com
There are many food activists in our community who we should know and recognize, for they’re rich sources of information about local food systems and events. Melissa Danielle is one such person located primarily in the Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) section of Brooklyn, New York. We originally met when she sent out a tweet requesting lemon balm in exchange for excess mulberry she had foraged few days ago around Prospect Park. Lucky for her my lemon balm bush was growing out of control, and I responded to her request. She was able to make her Lemon Balm Mulberry Sorbet, and I made a Cold Mulberry Soup with Ginger Yogurt. A few weeks later, I would see her again to pick up my first share of vegetables, fruit, and eggs at the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Read more →
The neighborhood is in need of a bakery. It seems like a half-bake idea. One day, I’m perusing New York Magazine’s ‘Grub Street’ section online. There’s an article, First Look: SCRATCHbread Rises in Bed-Stuy, about someone having the same dream, for they’re actively trying to open a bread shop in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York. Out of excitement, I sent an email to them requesting an interview. In between making the dream of having a bake shop in the neighborhood a reality, Alyssa Alpine and Matthew J. Tilden of ScratchBread agreed to answer a few questions. Read more →
A Perfume Organic: (from left to right) Urban Organic, Green, and Perfumed Wine, Rosé
Between inhaling Green, Urban Organic, Perfumed Wine–Rosé and White Magik, Amanda Walker, owner of A Perfume Organic, gently touched the leaves of her fresh herbal display. She had purple basil, Italian basil and mint in a small pot next to her perfumes. Explaining the various herbs and floral notes that are part of each scent, she also talked about food, the business of being organic and the environment. The discussion inspired an idea of asking her to participate in an email interview to further explain the connection of herbs, food and scents. Her answers are insightful, beautiful and educational. Read more →
The last time a package of cookies was delivered, it was for a dear friend who always listens to everyone’s problems. Perhaps, I was subconsciously thinking of her, when a quick batch of oatmeal cookies were made in a tiny dorm kitchen. When the cookies had cooled, they were packed, postmarked and dropped in the mail to be delivered to Boston. It was a pleasant break from my graduate work, and the deed was forgotten. A few days later, a call was received with my dear friend crying thank you. Apparently, the package arrived around her birthday and she was enduring a stressful period of a broke down car, job woes and roommate issues. The arrival of the cookies was her omen of best wishes that somewhere out in a crazy world, someone cares. It was a coincidence the package arrived in time, because her birthday wasn’t marked on my calendar. Since then, she has requested cookies to be delivered around her birthday every year. If time were available, her wish would be granted.
Laura Siner, the owner of Sweet Muse Brownies, has solved the dilemma. She bakes brownies and cookies to be shipped anywhere in the country or hand delivered in Manhattan, New York. My Sweet Muse package arrived on a Saturday morning. The landlord placed the package at the foot of the stairs leading to the apartment. After enduring a hard week and sleepless nights, it was a timely arrival. The rest of the weekend was spent working on projects. By Sunday evening, an award was deserved. A brown box wrapped in a red ribbon was removed from the post office package. Laura had written a note, “Hope you enjoy these brownies.” Untying the red ribbon, lifting the lid from the brown box and then removing the cellophane from the brownies, a quote at the base of the brownie appeared on a red rectangular paper.
