Tag Archives for food

Sweetened Memories

Each year, on this day, my thoughts turn, with reverence, to memories of my Great Aunt M. Throughout the year I think of her often, but on this day, I spend a few quiet moments recalling her warmth and kindness toward me and all the happiness during time spent with her. As much as it saddens me that she’s gone, I’m more grateful that I knew her.

Today would have been my aunt’s 89th birthday. As I made my first meal of the day, one of the items I chose to make put a huge smile on my face. I remembered how much my Aunt M used to look forward to having family and friends from towns larger than the one in which she lived visit her because it sometimes meant they might bring her some of the foods from the country of her birth. One of those foods that I made this morning was ripe plantains, which are best described as the much larger siblings of bananas.

Aunt M lived in a small town where it was close to impossible to get many of the foods she had eaten while growing up. I on the other hand can get them all without any difficulty. Yet, I take it for granted and only buy them on rare occasions. Still, I’m glad today was one of those occasions and I’m even happier that having it brought to mind someone whom I loved so dearly.

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On another note, for anyone who’s never eaten plantains before, you can usually find them in the produce department of most large grocery stores. I gave mine time to ripen – just like you would bananas – then I peeled the skin, cut it into three equal pieces, then sliced those pieces lengthwise. I then fried the slices in a hot frying pan with organic coconut oil (you can use your preference of cooking oil). I fry the slices of plantain until they are golden brown, and then eat. Be ready for a sweet surprise…

Sweetened Memories – June 2018 – 7
Sweetened Memories – June 2018 – 6
Sweetened Memories – June 2018

InkTober 2017: Day 23 – Juicy

Of course oranges and orange juice to illustrate the prompt ‘juicy’, because there’s nothing better than a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice. Unless it’s a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice without pulp, which would definitely be better because I don’t like pulp in my juice. Pulp makes me feel like I have to chew my juice. I know that sounds ridiculous but it’s one of the many idiosyncrasies I’ve had with respect to food since I was a child. However, when I think of some of the odd habits some of my cousins had with respect to eating food, this is nothing.

One of my younger cousins had a combination of requirements when he ate a meal. First off, when foods were placed on his plate they weren’t supposed to touch each other. Even as he ate, he was mindful of making certain that none of the foods got too close to each other because if they did he wouldn’t eat them. The other thing is that he needed to keep everything near his meal clean, including his hands. Picture a four-year-old eating a juicy piece of chicken with his hands and upon finishing it holding his hands in the air so someone could wipe his hands clean before he continued eating. That happened all the time. I’m not sure how his parents coped with that habit, but it made babysitting him somewhat challenging.

By comparison, my cousin’s quirks make my no-pulp requirement seem like a non-issue. All the same, whether we like to admit it or not, I think we all have some issues when it comes to the foods we eat and how we eat them.

 

InkTober: Day 4 – Hungry

I know how ‘hungry’ feels, but drawing it is another matter. I looked at the InkTober prompt list before going to bed last night so I could give myself a chance to think of something clever or at least interesting to depict the prompt, however, that might have been a mistake. I’ve had plenty of good ideas, only to realize that the level of difficulty to create any of the images I’ve thought of is beyond what I can successfully, or more importantly, recognizably draw.

So I decided to stop thinking and just let my pencil go where it goes. I’ve been making a pencil sketch then filling in the ink after for my drawings, which is one of the InkTober graces I’m very happy to have while working on this month-long challenge.

Here’s what hungry looks like when I don’t think about it too hard…

InkTober - Day 4 - Hungry