Urban beekeepers are legal and back in business here in New York City as of 2010. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration “added honeybees to a list of over one hundred wild animals, including hyenas, pet vipers and dingoes, considered too dangerous for urban life. It’s not clear why the City suddenly outlawed honeybees after a long history in which the insects and their keepers had … Continue reading NYC: The Bee’s Knees
FOOD HISTORY AND KITCHEN STAPLES Ethiopian cuisine has a rich history. Though the country is geographically separated from most of Africa due to its mountain ranges and elevation, trade with the Middle East, Asia and the Mediterranean is what quintessentially helped to develop its cuisine. These “exchanges” gave way to chili peppers, ginger and exotic spices. Ethiopian cuisine is full of flavorful stews and sauces. … Continue reading Ethiopian Cuisine: Vegetarian
BUNNA Arabica coffee originates from Ethiopia. Bunna, coffee in Amharic, is traditionally served with sugar or sometimes salt. Coffee culture is deeply rooted in Ethiopian society. Yirgacheffee coffee comes from the Southern region. There are two processing methods: natural in which the fruit is dried around the coffee bean before being removed and washed where the fruit is stripped within twelve hours after being harvested. As … Continue reading Ethiopian Coffee at Bunna Cafe
Cassata is a Sicilian cake which hails from the city of Palermo. It’s difficult, however, to determine the exact origin of cassata, as noted by Clifford A. Wright. It is a cake that has evolved over time, since the 1600s, through religious roots and ethnic ties to Catholicism, (Baroque era in art which the Catholic Church supported) Judaism, (Sicilian Jews ate a cake that … Continue reading Cassata: Sicilian Cake
Poland is the homeland of my maternal grandparents who were born in Lublin in 1915 and 1916. I traveled to Poland for the very first time in 2009 while I was living in Italy. Fast forward nearly seven years later, once my health began to return, we started to plan our European vacation. Ania, the daughter of my mom’s cousin Elżbieta was going to get married … Continue reading Pamiętniki: Memoirs of Poland
Lublin My maternal grandparents were born and raised in Lublin, Poland. When we spent time together at the dinner table they would share conversations in their native Polish language and sometimes in Yiddish. Grandpa’s Recipe When I was a teenager, my grandfather shared a food memory with me. It consisted of spaghetti with a dark brown sugar sauce. While the pasta was cooking he … Continue reading The Recipe Box
Thorns and Tropical Roses The very first rose garden I visited was during a drive back to Miami, Florida from the University of North Texas, where I earned a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Arranging. My mom always wanted to be a horticulturist but she was unable to finish her college education due to a heart attack that her mom suffered during the course of her … Continue reading A Rose Memoir…
Jazz in Turin Even though we left Turin, Italy almost four years ago, I still have vivid memories of its live jazz concerts. It seemed like the world traveled through this beautiful city situated near the Alps in northern Italy. And so not only was I able to see and hear some amazing musicians but I was also able to approach and speak with them. … Continue reading A Jazz Memoir
Food: Sweet Spot Every time I go to the East Village I always feel like I am stepping back in time a bit, in a good way. There’s Moishe’s Kosher Bake Shop on 2nd Avenue which offers all the sweet treats from my childhood: rugelach, babka, sponge cake, strudel, almond horns, black and white cookies, hamentashen, you name it! Music A street dedicated to Charlie … Continue reading East Village
Gelato L’albero dei gelati in Park Slope, Brooklyn which hails from Lombardy, Italy works with organic farmers from Pennsylvania to ensure freshness and quality in each ingredient that goes into their on-site gelateria. Their flavors are seasonal but for example, one can always find stracciatella (vanilla with chocolate chunks) and gianduia (dark chocolate with hazelnut-infused milk) which is a traditional gelato from Piedmont. They also offer … Continue reading Gelato in Brooklyn
From Turin to Brooklyn 