"I'm late, I'm late for
A very important date.
No time to say hello, good-bye,
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late" - The White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland"

August 2023 was a weird one grieving projects, the anniversary of my Grandmother and Father's deaths, it was summer and I hate summer and then it ended with me having my first bout of COVID-19. Which then spread to one of my roommates all on the weekend of our third roommates 40th birthday party. This meant she had to cancel because she cares about people and had been exposed (although praise God she didn't get sick).  I mean, I really could have lit that month on fire and sent its behind down the river because of how poorly it ended. I still don't understand what was going on with that month, but it's over now and I hope not to repeat it at any point...ever.

Because Miss Rona ruined our roommate's event, I concocted a plan to celebrate her birthday, albeit belatedly at the next weekend she had available. Due to her schedule that meant October. 

I told her to invite four of her closest friends and I would throw her a tea party at our apartment. I shared several photos from that event and a bunch of folks said they'd love to have the recipes, so here they are with my anecdotal notes and the usual storytelling.

My roommates favorite color is purple, so you'll see a lot of that throughout the pictures. 

One thing I want you to imagine as you read through this is, my roommates (including the birthday girl) decorating during my second night of cooking and assembling. The later it got the more punch drunk we got and laughing for no reason is our go to. It is a miracle everything went as great as it did. 

First up were the scones. I made them first, two days before the event in case they didn't come out and I had to buy some instead. When they came out of the oven, I was extremely proud of them. If you don't like them, keep it to yourself. LOL!! 

Yes, these are mine! No, this photo does not do them justice! 

Here's the recipe for Soft Scones 

Adjustments to my version: 

Girl, the way I HATE buying that quart of buttermilk that ALWAYS goes to waste because I bake with it once or twice a year. So, instead I make it with a cup of milk (usually non-dairy but it doesn't have to be) and a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Then I let that mixture sit for 5-10 minutes while I fix my other ingredients. You can adjust the ratios based on how much buttermilk you need in your other recipes that call for it. This little hack I found on these interwebs has not failed me yet. 

I also did not put any crunchy sugar on top because why? They are literally called soft scones, but then I'm going to ruin it by making them crunchy with sugar no one asked for on top?  Y'all know what I'm saying? Senseless. 

Next up is Mock Clotted Cream. Why mock clotted cream you may ask? Listen, go google a real clotted cream recipe and see how long it takes. I do not have eight to twelve hours to sit over a stove or crock pot scraping skim off the top of milk and what have you, girl I have job, friends, I'm on a board of directors. Ain't nobody got time for that. Also, this recipe tastes very good! 

The picture on the left has: Masker Orchards Pumpkin Butter (bought at the apple orchard I go to every fall), Lemon Curd (store-bought), Apple Butter (homemade) & Mock Clotted Cream (homemade). 

Mock Clotted Cream Recipe

The first time I made this "clotted cream" was many moons ago, but I remembered the mascarpone cheese. Ooooo girl! It's good. 

Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe 

    Yes, I picked the apples with my own two hands from trees in an orchard. You don't have to be that extra but I am. That was my Ina Garten moment. 

   And just let me be frank with you, this recipe is here for your sake. Because I do not agree with the lack of spices in her recipe. I put all of the fall spices in mine; nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves. And yes, I know essentially that allspice is called that because it has all of the spices but folks out here seem to be afraid of adding flavor to their food and you all really need to be released from that oppression. Get free and add some flavor to y'alls food. 

I have also switched up my sugar to include coconut sugar instead of brown sugar, but I did use demerara with the coconut sugar this year. 

And since I am my Grandmother Florence's Granddaughter and my Aunt Ethel's niece, I have no measurements for my version, I just eyeball it. So here's a recipe for you to follow if that's what you need to feel safe but I beg you to add more spices than what this woman is doing. Please for the love of all that is good and yummy! 

My favorite sandwich to have at a proper tea is a cucumber sandwich. Now, the sandwiches are where things went a bit off the rails because I definitely did not choose the right bread. Choosing sourdough was a poor life decision because if you're doing it right, you are cutting your sandwiches into traditional tea sandwich shapes and sourdough is just not about that life so cutting them was a struggle. I've learned my lesson for next time. Thanks be to God mine held together and no one knew of my trials and tribulations. They looked cute, which is really all that matters in the end. 

For the cucumber sandwich filling I used three ingredients:

1. Seedless Cucumbers thinly sliced

2. 3oz Herbed goat cheese

3. 4oz Cream cheese 

I mixed the goat cheese and cream cheese together adding more spices and then spread it on the bread. Then I placed the thinly sliced cucumbers on top to make a sandwich. These I then took off the crust and cut into stick shapes. 

And what is a tea party without chicken salad sandwiches?  See now, I'm not really for regular chicken salad (unless my family in NC makes it). I love to have pecans (or almonds), craisins (or grapes), curry and celery in mine. Also, I do not love mayo so I use plain yogurt in it. For this tea party that was my version of Coronation Chicken Salad because my roommate also does not love mayo. But like I said, for mine there are no measurements, I eye-balled it. If you desperately need a recipe, then go on Chatgbt.

Who wants to come to a party with no dessert? Maybe you know somebody, but I'm not friends with them and neither are my roommates so we had dessert. 

And since the Birthday girl loves chocolate I made an easy and quick chocolate mousse. Another recipe I have made before and was a hit. Again, many many moons ago. 

Easy Chocolate Mousse

This recipe has two ingredients y'all! If you mess this up, you need to just quick cooking because I really don't know what to tell you. Order out, hire help, something. It's only two ingredients. 

A staple that was taught to me over fifteen years ago are chocolate chip cream cheese cookies. One of my friends was kind enough to share it with me all those years ago and we baked my first batch together. I find them to be more addictive then regular chocolate chip cookies. I believe these are a family recipe of hers so I always title them with her name, except that she doesn't know y'all and I'm not giving her full name on these interwebs. 

Laura L's Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

8 oz. softened cream cheese

2 eggs

2 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Salt

1-12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions: 

Mix together shortening, sugar, vanila cream cheese and eggs.  Then add Flour and salt and mix.  Then add chocolate chips.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Since we had some gluten free folks I went to one of my favorite bakeries in the city called By The Way Bakery. They are gluten free and dairy free which comes in handy because I have friends with dietary restrictions and had two of my birthday cakes from here so those friends could partake. 

For this event I wanted a decent bread and I was just not going to do Udi's. I know some of y'all like it but this is a special occasion and I just wasn't doing it. 

I also purchased their scones and desserts from By The Way because we are not a GF household and cross contamination when baking scares me. I'm not having folks come to my house to get sick. It's also just about community care. A phrase one of my friends came up with that I wish we focused on more in this country, but alas that conversation is for my other blogs. 

And since it is a tea party and this roommate and I LOVE Anne of Green Gables, I had to make raspberry cordial. You cannot have a tea party without at least one reference if you love Anne. We watched Anne with an E together and loved it. We also love the ones with Megan Follow
s, but there is room in our hearts for both. And I'm going to tell some of y'all right now, I will not tolerate any slander for either of these iterations anywhere near me. Anne of Green Gables Raspberry Cordial

The last recipe I'll share I actually promised folks in 2022. It's for the apple butter spice cake I made a week later for my roommate to take to her Mother in Connecticut. I had also made it in the fall of 2022 for the first time to share with my film co-creators. Both times I made it with the homemade apple butter.

November 2022 Dear Brutus Pre-Production Meeting

Apple Butter Spice Cake

You might be wondering, wasn't this a birthday party? Where is the birthday cake? Do you think, I made everything I just told you about, purchased all the decorations, ran all the errands needed to make this day happen and still baked a birthday cake? Like I said, I have a full life with boards, podcasts, etc. Your girl just entered her 40s and is getting smarter about knowing her limits. Old me would've also tried to do this. New me is like girl, let people help you and stop doing too much. So, I purchased cupcakes from By The Way Bakery which also meant our gluten free folks could enjoy them without worrying. 

In conclusion, there are a few takeaways I hope everyone who chooses to read this leaves with besides just the recipes. Firstly, you don't need to do everything to make a great event. Know your limits so you're not in the kitchen still cooking or cleaning up when people arrive. It's the worst when you can't actually relax and be with the people you invited to your home to be with.  Secondly, to avoid said scenario, LET PEOPLE HELP YOU! If you need to order a few things, DO IT! No one is going to judge you and if they do, I would seriously rethink that friendship. And finally, if things don't go perfectly, it's okay. Life is messy and crap happens. You're not a failure, you're just human and so is everyone you're with. 

Well, that's it from me. Doing this event was super fun and I had been struggling with cooking and baking for a while because it brought up a lot of grief from me losing my Mom and Grandmother who taught me how to cook and bake. So to those of you struggling with grief, just know that it takes the time it takes. It's not a linear process it is cyclical, so make sure you are with folks who can support you through all the moments. 

More photos from the event for your enjoyment! 

Not Everyone can be Ned the Pie-Maker 

Tuesday, November 24 - Yes, I loved the show Pushing Daisies, but I'm not a big pie baker. I am a cake baker more than anything. Most people are the best at one baked good and then make everything else okay, but are most successful at one thing they bake. For some people it's cookies, others it's pies, for me it's cakes. But my roommate and I decided we'd make mini pies for this Thanksgiving since there will only be three of us eating at our apartment. Anything more than that is overkill and will have us with way too many leftovers. I mean, our turkey is already eight pounds which means I need to figure out some good recipes that aren't just sandwiches for the leftovers. 

For the pies, my roommate made the pie crust and I made the pecan pie filling, she made the pumpkin pie filling. 

I decided on a vegan pecan pie filling. The ingredients looked delicious and I'm really excited about it. I made half of the recipe so that I wouldn't be wasting any of it due to the fact that we were only making four mini pecan pies. 

If you're interested in trying it, here's the recipe I made - https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/the-best-vegan-pecan-pie/

If you want to do it halfsies, here are the measurements:

1 tbsp vegan butter

1/4 c coconut sugar

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

3/4 c pecans

6 tbsp coconut milk

2 tbsp maple syrup

A major flaw you'll find in the recipe I linked to is that the recipe doesn't explain to you when you what to do with the cornstarch. You are to whisk the cornstarch into the milk before hand so that it will act as a thickener and won't be lumpy in your pie filling. 

Megan, my roommate made the gluten-free pie crust and pumpkin pie filling. If you're interested in the crust, here's the baker she got the recipe from: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com

Now, the truth is the first batch were in the oven a little too long so we had to do a take two on Wednesday. The recipe included the pumpkin pie filling and it is A LOT OF FILLING so it takes longer than we needed. And although they weren't in as long the pecan pies were burned. But even with halfing the pecan pie filling, I had enough to make four more mini-pies. 

I also jushed up some apple cider for us to drink on Thanksgiving Day on Monday night to go with our pies. 

Lemon Meringue is a Memory

When Pamela and I were recording the Thanksgiving episode of our podcast I asked her what some of her favorite dishes were with her family. She said that lemon meringue pie was her favorite pie even though it isn't technically seasonal and how she'd learned how to make it over the years so that when she can't go home for Thanksgiving, she can still make her favorite pie on that day. She's gotten the hang of it so much that now she experiments with it. 

It reminded me how my late paternal Grandmother would always make a special lemon meringue pie for me to take home after Thanksgiving dinner in North Carolina. She'd watch me take so many slices she recognized I really liked it and would make my own. The last one she made me, I had a feeling it might be her last and I couldn't eat it. I could feel that something was on the horizon and couldn't bring myself to eat the pie. That next spring, she passed away and during the conversation with Pamela I realized I haven't had a lemon meringue pie since. I can't bring myself to eat it. How sad. A pie that once brought me so much joy and gave my Grandmother joy to make an extra one just for me I haven't eaten since she died almost 18 years ago. 

Food holds so many memories. I don't know if I haven't eaten it because I only want to remember the ones she made me or if I'm afraid no one else's will ever be as good? But making pies this year for Thanksgiving I am hoping will be a therapeutic act for me. Thinking about how much baking and cooking are an inheritance in my family and how sad my Grandma Taylor would be (Yes, her name was Ella Mae Taylor which is super southern) if she knew I never ate another lemon meringue after she died. Life keeps going, you can't freeze it even as much as you sometimes want to. We have to move ahead, grow and learn to live in the new normal. I know this year is not easy, but I believe in us, I believe in you. With everything going on in the world, there are always things to be thankful for even when you're still grieving. We can be thankful that we had the people in our lives we did for the time that we did and that we get to have memories of them and the kindness and love they showed us. This Thanksgiving I'll be remembering Ella Mae making pies in her kitchen and smiling as she'd see her children and grandchildren eat them. And then I'll thank God that I get to have memories of her smiling and handing me my own pie to take home to show how much she loved me. 

Happy Pie-making Friends!

 I wanted soul food and all I got was this darn pandemic

Every year since my Mom passed away I usually go down to North Carolina to see my paternal family to have Thanksgiving dinner with them. I LOVE it! I don't love Tarboro, North Carolina but I sure do love my family. They are funny, have minimal filtration and are wonderful cooks. They have been a sanctuary especially these last four years. So when the coronavirus pandemic threatened to end my soul food streak, I was pretty sad.  I've been avoiding doing a lot of cooking for the past few years. You may have noticed that this blog has a post from 2014 and nothing after that because a few months later, my Mom died and through the years cooking has been more difficult for me. It reminds me of my grief and loss and has slowly begun to no longer bring me the joy it use to. So being forced to celebrate Thanksgiving in New York without family this year is a little triggering as you can imagine. That is why I'm going to try to make it as fun as I can. Thankfully, I won't be doing the cooking alone which will help tremendously and if anything goes horribly wrong whoever is reading this blog will get a great chuckle out of it. 

How Is It Going?

Monday, November 23 - So far today, I've recorded a special Thanksgiving episode of my podcast, Theatre Geeks Anonymous which you will be able to hear on Thanksgiving Day. It's our present to ourselves and all the geeks who listen to our pod. If you've never listened and your interested, here you go! 
I've taken the turkey out of the freezer to thaw and am really struggling with whether to brine or not to brine. You can brine your turkey as it thaws so I may brine it on Wednesday morning for the last 6-8 hours of it's thaw time before smothering it with herbs and vegan butter before it goes in the crockpot before I head to bed. My podcast co-host Pamela is a good cook as well and she talked me into seriously thinking about brining. Neither of us have done a turkey before this year so we're figuring it out. We'll see if I brine.  I'll keep you posted. 
Tonight I have a fun Friendsgiving social hour planned with the think tank I started with some friends in the spring called the Think Tank for Theatrical Innovation. This group is filled with some of the most majestic human beings and I am so excited to talk to them about nothing and everything while we eat and drink tonight! 
Lastly I'm thinking about re-watching my church's service from yesterday. It reminded me about perspective and gratefulness during a plague and how to give God glory for the good He has done. I still have a job, friends, a home and so do my siblings and extended family. We are a blessed group and there's a lot to be thankful for this year even if 2020 had some plot twists nobody wanted. 
Tomorrow I'll share some photos of the sides we're cooking, but for now, enjoy the photos of past Thanksgivings with my family in North Carolina. 

Just recently, I moved.  I'm in the same borough but my wonderful roommate has left the state.  I miss her.  In this urban jungle it's tough to find a great roommate and God knows I had one.  When you get one this good, you're over the moon and grateful you've been so blessed.  So, this post is for my former roommate who wanted this recipe weeks ago but, can now have it on her new adventure.  There won't be any artsy stuff on this post because this is just for Vanessa.  :-)

For a little backstory, when I first moved back a major natural disaster happened and I went to help out.  While I was helping with the relief effort, I stayed with some lovely friends and one Sunday evening we had a curry chicken pot-pie for dinner.  Now, I was told the recipe was from Trader Joe's cookbook?  I never knew there was such a thing.
For beginners, I had never made a chicken pot-pie before.  This is by far the easiest and most delicious chicken pot-pie you will ever encounter! 

Now here is the original recipe:
Trader Joe's Curry Chicken Pot Pie

But here is what I make,
Anna's version of TJ's Curry Chicken Pot Pie:
2 bags of TJ's Organic Foursome Vegetables
1 bottle TJ's Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
1 bag of TJ's Just Chicken
2 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
2 rolls of pre-made pie crust

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2.Defrost the chicken but don't let it cook.  The chicken is pre-cooked and you don't want it to get tough.
3. In a large bowl mix the veggies, chicken, curry sauce and flour together
4. Prepare a dutch oven by spraying non-stick cooking spray to the bottom and sides of the dish.  Then line the bottom with one roll of the pie crust.
5. Pour the veggie mixture into the prepared dish on top of the pie crust.
6. Top the pie with the remaining roll of pie crust and puncture vent holes in the top
7. Bake the pot pie for 35-40 minutes, then let stand for 10 minutes, if you can wait that long.

If I'm honest, I have burned my mouth on this pot pie a few times.  It smells great and I was hungry and impatient.
You'll notice the differences, like there are no onions in my recipe.  Again, I'm not a big fan.  I might add a bit of chopped garlic to it next time.  Garlic I am a fan of!  You can play around with the measurements to make it as big or as small as you like.  When I make this it's usually for no less than four people so, my recipe makes a lot and my dutch oven is a good size.  People like seconds so don't skimp!  It's a bad idea, dude!  I promise you'll regret it if you skimp.
Don't be daunted!  This is a great recipe and everyone will think your a freaking genius and it's the easiest thing ever!

Enjoy!
Ebony

So, at the last minute my friend and I nixed our plans to form some type of labor day girls adventure.  She was going to Coney Island while I was going to a friend of a friend's picnic in Central Park.  As if I had all the time in the world I waited until the night before the picnic to choose a dish to make to share.  Of course I went to my trusty Pinterest boards to look for inspiration.  While I was there I found a picture of a delicious bruschetta type dish.  Crusty bread, thinly sliced lengthwise with a creamy herb spread.  For the toppings there were heirloom cherry tomatoes, avocados and red onions.  I clicked on the link and much to my chagrin I got the deadly error message.  "The page you have requested no longer exists".  So after screaming, "Noooooooo!" and shaking my fist into the air in pain and a vow for retribution, I scoured the boards to find the source of the link.  I found the source, but it was a dead end.
I decided that I wasn't going to back down but win! I said to myself, " I'll do what I've done before....figure it out."  Well, thankfully I did and I'm giving you my recipe for this vine-ripened tomato and avocado tart.  I'm not a huge fan of onions.  I never use them as toppings unless caramelized.  So, you'll see those missing from my recipe.
This tart is super pretty and delish.  I can't wait to make it again when the heirloom tomatoes start appearing.  Fall will be here any minute and I can't wait to share my thoughts on the arts in Fall 2013 and plenty of fall inspired recipes!  Whoohoo!
In the meantime enjoy our last bits of summer.  This dish worked because it was fast and easy and since everyone at the picnic had decided to bring desserts, everyone was grateful for the savory dish and devoured it quickly.  Happy eaters make me a happy cook! :-)  Sorry for the lack of "Arts" on this post but I figured that the pretty tart could suffice this one time as our artistic piece.  If the tart doesn't suffice for you, would it help if I said that some of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers were there?  They were, but they didn't sing for us.  They were friends of the friend and just hung out.  Enjoy!

Procrastinator's Veggie Tart
Ingredients:
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet
3-4 vine tomatoes
2 avocados
1 pkg herb goat cheese
1 8oz container of low-fat cream cheese
Italian Herb Seasoning
Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Juice from half of a lemon

Directions:
1.Spray baking sheet with non-stick olive oil cooking spray.  Then roll out the entire sheet of Pillsbury® dough onto the baking sheet.  Put the 2 tbsps of olive oil on the dough and spread it all over the dough, whilst shifting the dough so that it covers the entire surface of the baking sheet.  Make sure you have no holes in your dough when you do this. There may be thin spots like in mine. Just try to be gentle or use edges of the crust to fill in holes.

2. Next bake your crust at 350 degrees for 10-12minutes.

3. While your crust is baking whip together the goat cheese and cream cheese into a smooth consistency.  Sprinkle more Italian Herb Seasoning into this mix.  Also, slice your tomatoes and avocados into thin layers.

4. After your cheese mixture is whipped into a smooth and manageable consistency spread it onto your warm, but not hot, crust.  The warm crust makes the cheese that much easier to spread evenly.

5. Lay your avocados on top of the crust, then lay your tomatoes on top of the avocados. Sprinkle tart with Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to taste.  Then squeeze the juice from half a lemon all over the tart focusing on the bits of avocado that still peek through.

*Tip - I had squeezed some lemon juice on my avocados to stop them from browning before I laid them on my crust.  This is an important step to keep your tart pretty and tasty.

When all is said and done, Voila!

Now, you have a beautiful, delicious and healthy Procrastinator's Veggie Tart to share with friends at a picnic or dinner party.  Break a leg!

Ebony