A sweet, savory, buttery, green and healthy food blog by Sanura Weathers
Wishing everyone a Happy July 4th weekend, this post is for Casey Angelova of the food blog, Eating, Gardening & Living in Bulgaria. For the past few months, she has invited food bloggers to submit their recipes under a cultural theme. July’s theme honors the American Independence Day. Apparently, there is a belief that America doesn’t have a culture, nor does it have a cuisine. Such opinions are far away from the truth. Read more
When Portia Walker, the Editor-in-Chief of She’s So New York, asked for a guest post about aphrodisiac foods, I knew peanuts would be the impromptu ingredient on an already planned menu that includes making strawberry ice cream.
» Visit her website to read the story!
Get the recipe » 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.
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
Recently, the taste of raw almonds has become pleasurable. The crunchiness of nuts has always been enjoyed when mixed into a dish. A bag of raw mix nuts isn’t a nice treat. It was a return flight from Europe to New York that started the appreciation of almonds, although it was unknown at the time. My seat was next to a window. A lady seated next to me kindly asked if I could switch seats with her new husband, for he was sitting in the middle aisle, next to an Italian family with a young boy. That’s a big favor to ask when looking forward to seeing the welcoming skyline that defines home. Read more