Sanura – Page 72 – My Life Runs on Food

Cream. Chicken. Corn. It Makes a Delicious Chowder.

May 10, 2010January 3, 2022Sanura

This is a delicious, quick meal that could be made within an hour on a weekday, including prepping time*. In place of chicken use any seafood to make shrimp, fish or crab chowder**. Unlike chicken, add the seafood to the pot after the potatoes are cooked to keep the meat tender. Using fresh corn will enhance the sweetness of the cream and the meat. During the off-season months, use organic frozen corn, for it has a better texture and taste than the non-organic and canned versions. If using fingerling potatoes, slice them. Baby potatoes should be quartered or cut in half, depending on their size. Some people like to peel their potatoes, but this is a weekday meal. Such details can be overlooked in place of saving time. Besides, the visual appearance of red-skinned potatoes provides a nice contrast in a creamy soup. A simple, green salad and a Chardonnay will complete a well-meaning meal.

*Clean and cut chicken on a weekend. Place it in a freezer and defrost before using.
** Buy shrimp raw, clean and devein. Fish should be cut into chucks. Use precooked crabmeat sold in the seafood section.

Love by Mail: Sweet Muse Brownies

May 4, 2010January 3, 2022Sanura

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.

Turkey Empanadas Served with Mango Tomato Salsa over Brown Rice and Black Beans

May 2, 2010January 3, 2022Sanura

Black, rounded, sans-serif characters spell out the title, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. A medium image of a single, red splattered drip in the shape of a bird’s wing protruding out of a young boy’s profile is easy to recognize because of the book’s popularity. A few years ago, every reader on the subway train was engulfed in this Pulitzer Prize book by Junot Diaz. The novel is about a Dominican family’s immigration experience via generations. An intriguing story, it has the adult cartoons, bad boyfriends, childhood memories, teenage love stories, lecherous dictators, college drama, the Dominican Republic’s 20th century history and a nerd boy descended from a curse many times evil because of the sincere actions of his grandfather. A friend, Danny Rodriguez, wrote a serious book review on his blog, The Cultural Critic Who Carries a Kampilan….

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

May 1, 2010January 3, 2022Sanura

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.

Taking a Stroll Down Southern Lane: Buttermilk Biscuits

April 26, 2010January 3, 2022Sanura

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 →