Appetizing Thoughts: Short and Sweet

Dear My Life Runs On Food’s loyal audience, this message short and sweet: Over the next few weeks, we’re moving into a new apartment, and there are other factors in my life demanding more attention over the next several months. My heart is heavy at life’s setbacks demanding I pause this project. However, I’m frequently on social media, especially on Instagram @SanuraJamila.

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Well Wishes Needed

Cardamon Cake with Cashew Butter Frosting

August is our birthday month. This year, it started great. Jacinto remembered to wake me up early on the first Sunday of the month for us to attend church. He looks forward to standing up together when the announcer asks for everyone born in August. We dined at our favorite restaurant, The Cecil in Harlem, on his birthday. We danced to Lauren Hill and Lenny Kravtiz at AfroPunk Festival in the VIP section one weekend. Unfortunately, by the time my birthday week occurred, the good times had ceased.

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The Neighbor with the Fig Tree

Honey Fig Cornmeal Muffins

We once had a kind neighbor who planted a fig tree on the side of their house. They were great cooks. They would share homemade pita bread, and they gave Dad a large cooler of lobsters when they returned from a trip to Maine. When we first moved into our house, they shared tips on landscaping our front yard. After-school, my sister and I would accidentally leave our house keys at home, and we would stay at their house until our parents came home. The smell of their evening dinner was enticing.

They were generous. And, they broke our hearts when they moved away without telling anyone where they were going. No one in the neighborhood had any problems or disagreements with them. We woke up one morning to discover they had disappeared. All that was left was their fig tree and a beautiful yard.

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