Last year, I took my son to see the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington DC for the first time. To be honest, I’m not crazy about it. I get what they were trying to convey about him, but I think I would have made a different choice. Still, I believe it is … More Let’s Celebrate Dr. King With Hope Today
I’ve never been one to restrict celebrations to a single day, so I’m continuing my 4th of July series beyond the literal day. Especially after reading the news today, including another mass killing at a 4th of July event and rising unrest after another police shooting of an unarmed Black man, I would like the … More Final Fourth Thoughts
As I read the news this morning about yesterday’s events at the US Capitol, the literature teacher in me could not help but recall the famous opening passage to Charles Dicken’s classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of … More July 23, 2022: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
If you read my Celebrating Summer post, you know this is one of a series of posts about recent celebrations. But I’m starting with this one because it was actually on a Meatless Monday. I’m not an African American, so Juneteenth has only recently become one of my regular holidays. So I don’t have a … More Meatless Monday, Juneteenth Edition…Or, Lessons from African American Cooking
I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted. I’ve just been working a lot and had a bunch of stuff to take care of at home and just other general life stuff. But the school year is coming to an end and so my workload is diminishing. Plus, I LOVE celebrations, and this week has … More Celebrating Summer
In my blog post yesterday about the invasion of Ukraine, I confessed my sorrow about the start of a new war and my lack of knowledge about how I as a private citizen can do much to alleviate the situtation. Later that day, I happened upon this video by Hank Green, one of the much-beloved … More What To Do When You Feel Helpless
As I write this post this morning, my heart is heavy, knowing the beautiful city show above, Kyiv (often also Westernized as Kiev), is under attack by Russian troops seeking to take over the country. There have been explosions and fighting and already hundreds of deaths and casualities, many if not most of them among … More Heroes
That is the name of the book I’ve just finished reading, the latest publication by Alice Waters, the chef and founder/owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California (a pioneer in the farm to table restauarant concept). It’s full title is actually We Are What We Eat: A Slow Food Manifesto. It is her latest attempt … More We Are What We Eat
It may not surprise you that George W. Bush is not my favorite of the living US ex-Presidents. Except for yesterday. Yesterday, he was ex-President #1 in my opinion. Yesterday, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon building outside Washington DC, all the living Presidents/ex-Presidents attended memorial services … More What We Really Need to Remember from 9/11
NOTE: Today’s blog post comes courtesy of the UNC-Duke Area Studies Centers, which sponsored a series of WONDERFUL live webinars showcasing recipes and food traditions from other countries in a Cultural Kitchen Series. More on that later. First, I apologize for the break in posts. I was taking advantage of summer opportunities and the relatively … More Meatless Monday: Pupusas (with a Side of Social Justice)
BlissFullU 