I am “likkle but tallawah,” as my Caribbean brethren from Jamaica say.
I’m a 4'9, 90 lb storyteller whose stories and experiences are taller, heavier, and more far reaching than I might have ever imagined.
As a teenager growing up in Brooklyn NY, I thought I’d die at twenty-one. I had a dream in which I watched myself die. I lived with reckless abandon. By the time I was twenty-five , I’d accomplished every goal I’d written down from zero to sixteen. I got a degree in painting, opened an arts nonprofit, exhibited internationally, wrote stories, and sold my art.
I spent my late twenties trying to figure out what a life…
This Tandoori cauliflower and eggplant dish will turn your main dish into a side dish.
Ash Wednesday is normally a day of rest and recovery for me after weeks of partying and two days on the road for Trinidad Carnival. This year, carnival was canceled due to the pandemic. Thus, this Ash Wednesday, for me, is a reminder that everyday we choose how we want to celebrate life and show up in the world.
All throughout this carnival season, I have leapt into my cooking as a celebration of my culture and the food traditions that we indulge in most during this jubilant time of year. …
Parenting can be a losing game.
We changed the rules last week because she was becoming mired in — obsessed with — the utter bullshit that permeates kid’s YouTube. Two videos a day and no more is what we’d agreed upon.
This morning, I felt compelled to remind her as I combed her hair for online school.
“You only get two videos, today,” I made sure to use my stern, mom-means-business voice. It’s the one I use when I have to say “no” for the fortieth time. The one that is the warning signal that our communication is on the brink of destruction. One more “but”…
This veganized version of a classic Caribbean saltfish dish is finger licking good.
Stewed saltfish (salted cod) is one of those dishes that is pretty universal across the Caribbean. Boiling out a bit of the intense saltiness of, re-hydrating the dried salted fish and sauteing the soft flaky results with tomatoes, onions, pimentos and other seasonings is a regional staple. It can easily be paired with any number of sides and was at one point a very economical choice. These days, saltfish is — as my granny would say when things were too expensive — “Mr. Saltfish.” Prices have skyrocketed on the popular item in recent decades.
Nevertheless, it is a beloved dish…
This quick or on-the-go lunch will have you wishing you packed extra.
Quick or on-the-go lunches make life much easier, even when you’re working from home. My partner and I both work from home and I’ll often see him whip up a quick sandwich to save time. I’m usually envious because I simply do not eat bread and therefore, sandwiches are usually not on my radar. However, as we’ve decided to focus on healthy whole food options this week AND I have tons of nori sheets sitting around, I figured it might be interesting to use them to make a bread-less sandwich.
You ever notice that when you think about something for…
Sometimes, you’ve got to give some things up to get what where you want to go.
Earlier this week, my six-year-old asked me to make her a peanut butter and guava jam (PB & GJ) sandwich. She’s probably had one of these sandwiches every day for the last four years of her life. Personally, I’ve never been a PB & J person far less for PB & GJ. Her dad and I have spent the entire time trying to entice her to try new foods. On occasion, we’re successful but never been able to sway her away from the frequent PB & GJ sandwiches.
So, as she sat at the kitchen counter — supervising me making…
A guilt-free weekend breakfast treat.
As we ease into the new year, I’m making a deliberate effort to focus on eating whole foods; nuts, seeds, grains, non-GMO veggies, etc. I’m not always 100% successful, the struggle to give up Coca Cola is real, but other than that, I’ve literally been cooking with gas. I’ve been documenting breakfast, lunch, and dinner whole food options for my food newsletter, RECIPE’D and this is my favorite recipe so far.
I love a good sausage, but I had too many Beyond Meat sausages over the holiday and quite frankly, it’s been too long since I took the time to…
A lip-smacking, soul-stirring, hearty dish for a cold day.
New Year’s Day has been synonymous with black eyed peas for as long as I’ve been alive. My mom and granny always made black eyed peas and rice cooked up like a pelau. It’d been a few years since I had intentionally eaten black eyed peas on New Year’s Day because I’m not superstitious. I was simply not in the mood to cook on New Year’s Day this year and my twin sister graciously offered to bring lunch.
She had been itching to make a black eyed pea soup recipe from…
These pecan meat stuffed cabbage rolls make a delightful lunch or dinner.
This recipe was born out of simply trying to integrate more veg into some leftovers. On Monday, I made burrito bowls for dinner with pecan meat, corn, quinoa, sweet potato, sauteed peppers and onions. Today, I wanted more veg packed into the meal because I’m eating whole foods and variety is the spice of life. Usually, I would just stir fry the cabbage into my mince, but I had a Tex-Mex thing going and stir fry just didn’t fit.
Right about now, you might be asking how do stuffed cabbage leaves fit? Or simply saying “make it make sense.” And…
Here’s a good one to help you start 2021 off right.
I — like many of you — am prioritizing peace and rest in all of their many forms. I’ve set measurable goals attached to peace in each area of my life including food and health.
For me, that means eating more whole foods. I don’t eat an overwhelming amount of processed foods, but the holidays tested my limits. Not to mention, in my mind, it’s counterproductive to be vegan/plant-based and eating a lot of junk food.
Thus, during this first month of the year, I’m jump starting my health goals by avoiding processed meat replacements, weaning myself off of sweet…
