ETHNIC

My Dad's youngest sibling (#13) passed away this week. Obituaries bother me, because they are just a few lines and really don't tell the story...just the facts. Here are my recollections about Uncle Mickey. I remember him from a young...

In Japan, Superman had been popular. Ultraman has his own Ultraman Land theme park not far from where I live. Spiderman? Generally regarded as pretty cool.

But Batman, explained our local friend, was not so big here.

“He cannot shoot beams from his eyes,” she said. “He cannot fly.”

True.

“We say he is shoboi,” she said.

It was a word I didn’t know. She tried to explain.

“It is like when you see a picture of a big hamburger,” she said. “But then they bring you a small hamburger. We say that hamburger is shoboi.”

Ouch. Somewhere, in the depths of the Gotham night, Bruce Wayne winced.

1. Order the avocado ("palta," not "aguacate") whenever you can. 2. Order crab, in any manifestation possible, whenever you can. There is nothing you should prefer over the crab. 3. Scallops are next in the hierarchy. The sea urchin is...

My sister, Candace is the Executive Director of Ubuntu Village and this week she's part of a very exciting project. Six Ghanian students are visiting Washington, DC and the United States for the very first time. Program sponsor, PLAN USA's...

Sometimes by the time Friday afternoon rolls around, I am so spent from the week???s activities, I just want to do SOMETHING creative or crafty just to let my spirit know that there???s more to life than the busyness that...

I found this customer review of my book on the AMAZON website today. Did I tell you that my book is available on Amazon? Yep, it sure is, but it's not autographed...gotta get that from my publishers website, see link...

Since Michael Phelps is a Baltimore native, we can't help having Phelps mania! I am in awe of his dedication and ability to DREAM SO BIG! I've been thinking about what is going on in my life right now where...

Our Portuguese Water Dog, Sierra turned one years old last Tuesday. She spent the whole day at the groomer, Animal Crackers in Laurel getting spiffed up. The cut is too close, but was necessary because she was matted and long...

Hey Fairly Indian Kid! How’d you get that smile?

What’s that? A wholesome whole-wheat breakfast of buttery goodness? Home-made hot-cereal treat of Bollywood stars? [1] Sort of like oatmeal but way better/buttery-er?

Got a recipe? Great, here we go:

—RUB—
There are two major steps to the rubbing process. Preparation of the base (butter, wheat, and almonds) and the final prep of the rub. If you don’t have almonds, no worries, just make it without.

Pre-Prepared Base
1 stick butter
3 cups whole wheat flower
crushed almonds as desired (abt 40)

Cook butter and wheat in sauce pan or skillet over medium heat while constantly folding the mixture over until it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan (abt 10 minutes). Remove mixture from heat and let cool to just above room temp. After cooling, add crushed almonds to finish it off. The finished base should look like a ground powder and can be stored in the fridge or freezer until whenever.

Rub
1/2 cup base
1 cup milk
-sugar as desired

Cook base and milk in pot at medium heat until mixture begins to thicken. Add sugar as desired.

Recipe courtesy of my dad and brother. Photo of said brother courtesy of a toy camera, a Peruvian hat, and a way too small rocking chair.

¹ Um, not sure about the Bollywood star bit.

BONUS:
Here’s how the above peppy kid looks before he gets his breakfast. Note the lack of sunshine-y energy:

By now you've probably heard why the Oly...

Today my husband started a new job with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and he e-mailed me a photo of the view from his office window, which overlooks the Baltimore Inner Harbor. So I thought I'd share...

Yes, that's what my nine year volunteered to do for the last two weeks. She rose at 8 am and volunteered her time working at a summer school with special education students until 2:30 pm, got home at 3:00 and...

Joseph really grieved for his brother Jonathan on Thursday and Friday, while Jonathan was off visiting with his cousin for a few days. It really was a pitiful sight. He had his face painted and the "monster" was really reflective...