I don't know how I've managed to go this long without blogging my potato salad recipe, but I figured Easter is the right time to pull it out. Many of you had it from the old days on Twitter. I'm recycling some older photos for this post, since I never got around to adding this one to an e-book. I have been making this potato salad for years, and it's a hit at every cookout. But here's my disclaimer: There is no relish, no paprika, and not a lot of mustard. I'm warning you because I get the same look at every cookout until someone actually tries it. So relax, and don't call me Karen - there a ..read more

With Easter coming up, I'm sure a lot of people are staring at their pantry wondering how to make the most of things for a holiday meal. Well, you might be surprised to know there are lots of ways you can dress up some of those humble ingredients. Even beans! This vegan black eyed peas salad has become a favorite of my clients for events, and super easy to pull off. It was inspired by Saladu Ñebbe, a Senegalese dish, which I came across in my research after learning more about my genealogy a couple years ago. My version of the salad incorporates smoked paprika, crushed red pepper and olive ..read more

Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite southern breakfast dishes, and it's not hard to make. My dad requests it often, most recently when he visited us in Detroit last year. He still calls biscuits and gravy "SOS" from his days in the Army. (Shit on a shingle, in case you're wondering. Appetizing, huh?) It's sometimes made with ground hamburger instead of pork sausage, but I've only ever been interested in the pork version. Some people refer to it as sawmill gravy. It's basically like making a bechamel sauce with the addition of browned sausage. So, you'll need to brush off those roux maki ..read more

I know what you might be thinking. Another biscuit recipe? It's no secret that buttermilk biscuits have been one of my favorite adventures on the blog. My original tutorial was published in 2014, with a follow-up lesson a couple years later. If you've never made biscuits, those two posts contain lots of detailed information about making biscuits from scratch, so please take some time to read if you're into the how's and why's. I've also made other varieties like sweet potato, pumpkin, blueberry cardamom biscuits, and strawberry scones. All of them follow similar techniques based on the origi ..read more

Is anybody still waking up in time to eat breakfast these days? Two weeks into quarantine, my sleep cycle went to hell. If I'm actually awake in the morning, I end up lazily daydreaming about food for a good couple of hours in bed before realizing that even lunchtime has escaped me. To be honest, I don't know what day it is anymore. I'm just here, wondering why every time I walk in the kitchen there are more dishes to wash. This post is about breakfast though. I am very much attempting to start my day with actual food so that I am not existing solely on grilled cheese sandwiches, late night ..read more

Done right, a bowl of homemade chicken soup is full of the ingredients that go a long way towards soothing the soul and boosting your immune system. Remember the Golden Anti-Inflammatory Drink from a few posts back? We're working with a few of the same ingredients, in a savory application. This is a simple chicken soup recipe  - not reinventing the wheel here - with the added benefits of turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, herbs, and lemon. You can add cooked noodles or rice to it, but I suggest doing so to individual portions and not the whole pot. That way leftovers can be reheated ..read more

Although it feels like gloom and doom out there, the first week of spring is finally upon us. (At least that's what I hear. Michigan weather doesn't play by the same rules.) It's the little things that are worth getting excited about right now. Think fresh-baked scones, finding time to bake with your kids and strawberry season. Few things are better than the first bite of a strawberry that actually tastes like a strawberry! Seasonal eating is something to consider embracing during this pandemic. It typically costs less to buy fruits and veggies that are in season, because supplies are plenti ..read more

Sheesh. I didn't foresee a global pandemic becoming part of my blog content, but here we are. My brain is still trying to catch up to the realities of social distancing, canceled freelance contracts, and homeschooling a Kindergartner who can't sit still. My heart is heavy for every single person faced with the uncertainty of unemployment and closed businesses; for every nurse and doctor risking their own health for ours. This is horrific, and it doesn't help that our country is being gaslit by morally bankrupt, incompetent leaders. What's helping me these days is to focus on small things I c ..read more

After wasting my money on Starbucks' new "Iced Golden Ginger Drink" yesterday, I knew what my next blog post would be. The beverage sounded like a refreshing break from my usual coffee, and something soothing for my poor stomach, which took a beating after a week of stress-eating. Coconut milk, pineapple, turmeric, and ginger are some of my favorite ingredients, so blending them together into a delightful golden drink should have been a slam dunk. Instead, what I got was chalky, poorly blended, and artificial tasting. A quick look at the ingredients also made clear that there were few if any ..read more

I'm so fascinated by the intersection of food from across the diaspora. The recipes I enjoy developing most often take notes from southern Black American, Caribbean and West African food. Thanks to my Cape Verdean background I'm also just as likely to pull in elements of Portuguese cuisine. (The West African islands of Cabo Verde were colonized by the Portuguese.) Today was no exception. I prepared shrimp in a spicy tomato-based sauce which was inspired by Haiti's creole sauce and New Orlean's bbq shrimp. It also reminded me of Shrimp Mozambique, a Portuguese dish named after its former Afr ..read more