In Memory of Marlene Berg

 

Marlene Berg & Khalil, at his 3rd birthday December 2011

My good friend Marlene has now moved into the spirit realm. I know she did so peacefully. During her lifetime, Marlene made an indelible mark on many, many people, including my son, my husband, and me! I've known Marlene for over 15 years and during that time we shared many happy moments and some difficult ones too. She was overjoyed at the birth of each of her grand children, she went to my dissertation defense, and celebrated  with me afterward, she was ecstatic when her son completed his Ph.D. too  She placed a high value on excellence and was a tireless advocate of social justice, spoke passionately against racism, worked to ameliorate poverty, gave youth (of color) an opportunity to learn they too are valuable, talented, amazing and courageous! I will miss Marlene so dearly! I cannot count the ways in which Marlene changed my life forever. Thank you Marlene! Thank you my friend! Your lessons I will carry forever. And your example I will work very hard to carry on. I will pay it forward. That I promise. 

Oh heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains.  ~Kahlil Gibran

Tembleque (with butter toasted coconut flakes)

I LOVE tembleque! Always have. And of course, I turned to this cool and delicious dessert to honor the glorious blue and sunny days we've been having. Tembleque is a classic dessert from my childhood (in the Caribbean). My mother's version is much more complicated because she begins with a whole coconut, from which she makes fresh pressed coconut milk. As you can imagine, the wholesome, fresh version of this tasty classic is INCREDIBLE! 

The recipe I share here is pretty amazing: both in terms of flavor and also because of its  simplicity. All it takes is about 10 minutes preparation time and then it goes into the fridge for at least 2 hours. It will super impress your guests and certainly will satisfy the taste buds! Tembleque is an instant hit!

Ingredients
1 can coconut milk
1/3 c. cornstach (maizena)
1/4 tspn salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 tspn butter
1 tblspn cinnamon 


What to do?
Put half the can of coconut milk in a small sauce pan, add sugar, salt and vanilla and heat to a boil. In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and the rest of the coconut milk and mix well together with a fork until there are no lumps. Begin adding this mixture into the boiling coconut milk, stir vigorously--don't stop or you will get lumps--stir until the mixture turns smooth (if the mixture is runny, mix 1 more tablespoon of cornstarch with a little water, and add it to the cooking mixture until it turns into custard consistency). Cooking time is about 5 minutes (you must stir while it cooks). Remove from heat and pour in a baking pan or in individual cups. Then in a small pan melt the butter and add the coconut flakes--toast them until they are golden brown. Add the coconut flakes to the top of the coconut custard, then add cinnamon to taste.  Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. It will keep in the fridge for several days, but I doubt it will last very long!





 

Simple & Delicious Coleslaw

Cabbage is such a versatile veggie! I am in a cabbage phase at the moment. I have always loved coleslaw and specially during the summer. The other day when we grilled veggies, I made this wonderful coleslaw as a side dish--the cabbage head in the photo--was so big that we had coleslaw for 4 days (yum!). 

Ingredients
1 cabbage
2 carrots
1 small onion (I used a red onion)
1/3 to 1/2 c. (depending on size of cabbage) apple cider vinegar
1/3 to 1/3 c. honey 
2 tablespoons vegan mayo
 
What to do?
Remove the upper leafs of the cabbage and discard (I compost it), cut the cabbage and place in a large bowl add the apple cider vinegar put it aside. Peel the carrots with the potato peeler add to the cabbage. Cut onion into small pieces, shock the onion by adding the onion to boiling water for 30 seconds, then run under cold water for about 1 minute. Dry onion to the cabbage combine. Add honey and mayo combine. Put in fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.  

 

Blooming on...

 

The other day as I worked in the garden, my son Khalil (3 1/2 years) decided to surprise me by planting his (solar) "dancing flower" in the garden among my plants! 

Here in Providence we get coastal fog from the Atlantic Ocean. Just the other night, as I walked our doggies Kaki and Amiga, a gentle mist was falling through the thickness of coastal fog. And our neighborhood was really beautiful and serene. So I decided to take a few photos of the garden at night. 

 

Agua de Jamaica

As I have mentioned several times, the warm weather has thankfully arrived! (and I am extremely happy about it!) And so to celebrate it, I have turned to cooling foods and drinks. My mother gave me a bag of dried flor de jamaica leafs that she bought at her local Latino market--needless to say as soon as it got warm I made a pitcher of agua de jamaica (hibiscus tea) to quench our thirst (my son calls this drink "juicy tea"). It is simple to make and best of all, it tastes wonderful!

 Ingredients (simple version)
-Flor de Jamaica leafs
-light brown sugar
-water

 What to do?
In a medium pot (a soup pot will do), boil 10 to 12 cups of water, then add about 1/3 of bag of dried leafs and brown sugar to taste -- let it boil together for 4 minutes. Let it cool off for a few minutes, then using a large colander pour the mixture into another pot (draining leafs from juice). Let it cool completely, then transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate. It tastes best when juice is completely cold--but if you can't wait, pour juice into a glass with ice. 

**For a spicier drink, you can add any one of these: cinnamon sticks, a few small pieces of crushed fresh ginger, lime juice, mint leafs, or allspice berries to the boiling mixture. If you want to turn this wonderful "juicy tea" into a summer cocktail, you can also add vodka and garnish it with orange slices. 

Whichever way you decide to make it, I am certain it will cool you off during the hot days of summer. Salud!

Red Cabbage Slaw

This is an awesomely delicious salad! Seriously. It is colorful, nutritious, and amazingly good. Now that the weather is warming up (finally!), I am turning to cold foods to keep my body and soul in balance. And yes, food has the power not only to balance your health, but also your well-being. 

Ingredients
1 red cabbage
2 carrots
1 small red onion
1/3 c. raisins
1/3 c. walnuts or pecans 
1/3 c. cilantro
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/3 c. honey
1/3 brown sugar
2 tblspns mayonnaise (optional) 

What to do?
First, chop onion and shock it--put onion in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain in cold water, put it aside. In large bowl, add cider, honey, sugar, and mix together--add raisins and soak them for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the outer leafs from cabbage, then chop it into thin strips. Peel carrots with potato peeler--add the cabbage, onion, carrots, mayonnaise and gently combine all together. Lastly, add the nuts and cilantro and gently combine together. Put the salad in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour--chill well before serving. This salad will keep well in the fridge for several days, and specially if you skip the mayo (or if you use vegan mayo).

 



 

Refresh

 Khalil, Narragansett (may 2012) 

Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life. 

-Buddha

When we look deep into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos in it.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Adopt the pace of nature. 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson