The IT Bag of the Season

Hand-Sewn and Printed Sankofa bag from JesPlayin.etsy.com
Hand-Sewn and Printed Sankofa bag from JesPlayin.etsy.com

Let’s hope the food, such as the vegetables and fruit, from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and the farmer’s market doesn’t dirty this pretty new grocery bag. Of course, someone else might have cleaner alternative motives for this hand-sewn and a printed bag. Maybe, YayToonDay Designs might have some more available or be sold out. Go ask her! Read more

Coleslaw Needs Another Chance

Zucchini Fennel Coleslaw
Zucchini Fennel Coleslaw

While my mother is visiting relatives in California, I tried calling her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. The second attempt was successful by calling my grandmother’s house directly. It was my aunt who picked up the phone. She’s made for hilarious conversations. She brought dinner from a Chinese restaurant, in which my mother claimed she wasn’t going to eat. I know that type of response, because I’m her daughter. We both don’t crave Chinese take-out meals. However, eventual hunger wins as we scoop whatever fried, high-fructose corn derivative and artificial flavoring concoction that is only served outside of Asia, onto our plates.

Mom asked what I was making for dinner, in which I told her coleslaw and seared scallops. Like most mothers who know their daughters, curiously she questioned my dislike for coleslaw. It’s true, I don’t like it. Neither does the boyfriend. When I served it for dinner, he hesitated for a millimeter of a second. That quick moment of hesitation is a rare occurrence, because instant memories of eating coleslaw from a popular fast-food, fried chicken business serving their gooey, bland version flashed in his head. My coleslaw memory was of my father’s traditional mayonnaise-based version. It’s tasty, but I didn’t crave it. Our memories of coleslaw are of bad taste. Read more

Asian-Inspired Cabbage and Carrot Salad with Peanuts

Asian Carrot Cabbage Salad with Peanuts
Asian Carrot Cabbage Salad with Peanuts

When a chicken was roasted on a hot day earlier this week, the planned side dish of sauté greens would’ve been overwhelming. Thanks to a weekly menu plan, Napa cabbage and carrots were shredded a few days prior. A quick vinaigrette of ginger, savory soy sauce, sweet lime juice and fresh lemon balm was tossed with the shredded vegetables. Like most large heads of cabbage, there was plenty of salad left over. It became another side dish that completed a fast and effortless weekday meal of saute fish. Read more

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

Turkey Empanadas
Turkey Empanadas

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….

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Banana Pudding with Sugar Cookies

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

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.

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