Category: Misc.

It’s February, And That Means It’s Black History Month

Did you know February was Black History Month? With all the whirlwind of activity and drama in my life, I forgot for a hot second until Heather over at Gild the Voodoolily asked me to participate in her Black History Month tribute blog. Cynthia has introduced us. Now I have discovered Heather’s great blog. Heather is an outspoken, creative, smart, and talented. She “gives it to you straight, without a chaser”. Her questions were thought provoking and gave me a chance to reminisce and vent a bit. Today we are seeing a handful of prominent Black chefs and food and wine types in the industry. I love it when I see “my own” enrolled in the all the culinary schools in Chicago walking to clad with their knive kits, etc. I hope they make it. My personal favorite is Marcus Samuelson, of course. So check out her post.She even made a special dish just for me! Remember my words are “my experience” and I don’t speak for my race as a whole.

Thinking about Black History month, my personal icons came to mind. When I get ‘In those Scorpio moods’ I listen to my old late friend Nina Simone. Her music and I have gone through some times from early childhood ( when my parents played it) to my adulthood. An “individualist” who weaved important messages in her song. I have had the honor to see her three times in my life at various venues around the world. I choose Four Woman to show the complexity of who we are. This song has so many messages and was very controversial. This clip was Nina at her best, I believe. Glamorous, forceful, and thought provoking. Tomorrow I’ll get back to sweetness and light when I post a birthday cake I’m working on for a friend’s daughters birthday. In the meantime..

Avoiding The Dark Side

Today was one of those days where I craved a pack of cigarettes and a drink or two. Bad for me I know, but I’m under a tremendous amount of stress right now. The past few weeks I have been fighting to retain my job or land a new one in our restructured company. To say we are all on edge is an understatement. I got to thinking about stress and its consequences. I saw all to well what stress did to cut my parents life short. How does this relate to food you ask? Well I have always been a green tea fan. I love to buy the gunpowder green tea pellets in China Town for cheap prices. I have been seeing Matcha pop up in blogs all over. Primarily it’s been used for dessert in the food blog world. Another dessert is not what I need right now, no matter how tempting. I ordered a tiny can from ITO EN in New York City. This stuff is expensive and so precious. I am not familiar with the tea ceremonies and rituals and accoutrement that go with it, but judging by the price no wonder it’s revered! Before I plunge into ways to use it, a little voice said wrap up the crazy day with some stress reducing cup of Matcha.My mother always told me trust my instincts. I feel those stress busting anti oxidants plugging away.

I Have Been Tagged

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I feel weird telling people things about myself on demand. Its like a job interview or date. You can totally weird them out or leave strange impression. I’m a complex character and that’s due to my background. My own people and family find me odd but fascinating, and I tend to grow on them. Certain someone once complained that sometimes ‘I’m just to over the top”. So that being said the lovely Mary over at Shazam in the Kitchen. Has tagged me. I have seen a person being tagged since I started food blogging .It is a fun way to learn about people outside the standard posting of recipes. I love my blog sphere friends, and while we may never meet, they feel so familiar. So here’s the skinny on me:

1) I was born in Washington D.C to an American mother and Nigerian father who met at Howard University. My mother’s families are African Americans rumored to be descended from the Confederate General Robert E. Lee. My father descends from a very prominent family of tribal chiefs and politicians. He had 48 brothers and sisters. Both parents are deceased. I have family throughout the world. Ironically I have both a paternal and maternal uncle in Vienna Austria, one of my favorite cities. How weird is that!

2) I studied Fashion Design at Parsons School of Design at the American University in Paris France. Some of the best years of my life!

3) I meet Certain Someone a year and half ago at a dinner party. I never would have meet him, if I hadn’t had a brief fling with someone who’s best forgotten. The night after we met, he went to Stockholm (his previous home) and I went to Minnesota for work. We communicated via Blackberry constantly and the relationship was sealed. A sign from above was when Certain Someone ran into my Swedish Cousins in Stockholm. A freaky coincidence! We have lived together since last December and are very happy. I have traveled to Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Essen Germany. The friends and family seem to approve. Looking forward to another Swedish visit this spring/summer.

4) Barack Obama lives in our neighborhood a few blocks away!. I worked a catering event last summer in which I waited on another candidate ( former) for President Bill Richardson. Six degrees of seperation. And along those lines,I had a friend from college, whose father was pardoned by Bill Clinton right before he left office which caused a big old stink!

5) I love food, drink, and anything culinary related. But that’s not a surprise is it! Oh and I have another blog that has been defunct for a while.But One day I’ll get back to it. Check out the links I put in point 3. I made several posts on our vacation last summer to Sweden and Germany.

So thats me! I tag :
Oh I forgot! Here are the rules. Post 5 facts about yourself. Link back to the person who tagged you, and tag five additional people at the end of your post, who you also notify in their comment section.Whew!

Miso Soup…Western Style

I’m telling you right off the bat,I’ve never been a fan of Miso soup. Instant or the ones I have had at some sushi places really don’t appeal to me. I want to like Miso,I really do.I hear people wax poetic over it and I never got the hype. I have had some terrific dishes with Miso as a component and have loved it!Just not the soup.There are so many benefits to Miso that I want to explore it more, on my terms.
Saturday I have a big last minute invite to a Gala at the Opera.I had been quite involved with them for some years, but have dropped out of the ‘scene’. My aunt is still a grand dame on the social scene and quite the fashion plate. Pick up a magazine or social page and there she is. So what does this have to do with Miso? Not much, but I can’t fit into any of my many ball gowns and need to eat light for a few days and drink tons of green tea. Not much notice is there? So trying to figure out a low cal healthy dinner with Certain Someone out with his boyz all night, I ventured to the new improved Hyde Park Produce. Since Co Op is no more and Treasure Island is still not ready, the expanded neighborhood produce shop was packed.It has everything. It reminded me of a mini Whole Foods with good prices. In wandering the aisles I found this.

I decided to revisit the Miso and have a light dinner. The instructions were simple enough. It takes no time and its essentialy simmering onion, Wakame Flakes, carrots, etc. in a broth or water(The Miso soups I have had before didn’t have much in it). You add the Miso diluted slightly in water , but NEVER LET IT BOIL(or it loses it good properties). In quick research of Miso and Wakame I find its packed with health benefits( reduced cancer risks,restorative powers,etc). Wakame has been found to burn fatty tissue! I was amazed how this sea vegetable expanded!There’s a lot of it in the world and we need to eat it up. Wakame if anything, was the only thing I ever liked about Miso Soup in the past and now I want to find other ways to use it like a Tofu Salad. My contraversial deviation was that I used chicken broth( I hear the gasps) rather than dashi. I know its not pure Miso Soup, but tough , I liked it!I also added some fried tofu cubes. A light refreshing lunch/dinner that I plan to consume until Saturday. I have changed my mind and homemade Miso soup is pretty good.