Weird Moms
Do you remember those ‘weird moms’? You know. . . You had those friends in high school who were totally cool, but then you visit their homes and the furniture seems to have come from a distant foreign land? Their house was filled with unfamiliar smells – perhaps perfumes or cooking, you couldn’t figure. Maybe before you threw your backpack on the floor, the mom bustles in from the kitchen to greet you into her wide happy arms, speaking to you in a funny accent? She offers you something you’ve never seen before as a snack and you greet it
Christmas Eve
“I want to talk to you about the subject of plans. . . life plans and how we all make them, and how we hope that our kids make good, smart, safe plans of their own. But if we’re really honest with ourselves, most of our plans don’t work out as we’d hoped. So instead of asking out young people, “What are your plans? What do you plan to do with your life?’ maybe we should tell them this: Plan. . . to be surprised.” – Dan Burns (Steve Carell’s character, Dan in Real Life, 2007 movie) Christmas Eve, 2019
Blue Christmas Cheesecake
Blue Christmas Cheese Cheesecake “You’ll be doing all right With your Christmas of white But I’ll have a blue, blue, blue cheese Christmas. . .” My husband loves blue cheese and there are plenty of excellent recipes out there for dressing this versatile cheese up or down. The following is one of the most beautiful presentations I have seen, and it is super-tasty to boot! It is best prepared the day before, to allow ample time to chill before serving. This recipe can be doubled for a crowd. . . maybe next year. Preppin’ 1/2 cup (75 grams) pecan or
Days of Our Lives Cranberry Mold
Cozy Coupe. Swing-set. An oak tree outside our breakfast nook. These are the images of my childhood. My mother, a full-time mom of three, would feed us lunch and catch glances of her favorite daytime soap from a tiny black and white television from the corner of the kitchen. As she served us macaroni and cheese with sliced hotdogs, Days of Our Lives would hum from a tiny T.V. next to the stove. Come Christmas, my Mom would make this magical mix of spiced tea with Tang, red hots, and instant tea. . . but my most favorite dish
How 2020 Stole Christmas!
Update: I’m happy to announce that the following poem was published by The Brussels Times on December 22, 2020. Click here to view: https://www.brusselstimes.com/opinion/145641/how-2020-stole-christmas/ 2020 has been a difficult year, to say the least. As my children and I unearthed the Christmas decorations from the basement and started to re-read all our favorite holiday stories, I found an alarming similarity between a familiar prose. . . and 2020’s “festivities”. With a sarcastic, but yet enlightened heart, I wrote the following poem. Thank you, Dr. Suess, for your beautiful poem, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Who knew your message could be adapted
European-Adapted Green Bean Casserole
One of my favorite things to eat for Thanksgiving and Christmas is the classic green bean casserole. My first batch was when I was fresh out of college and with canned green beans. Luckily, my cooking skills have matured since then and I’ve adapted that classic cream-of-mushroom soup recipe to the cream-of-mushroom-soup-less country. I’ve made it with fresh fried onions in the past, but the essence of this dish is simplicity, so you can jazz it up if you’d like – but I think this version gives you the balance of fresh and fast. I like using haricot verts, the
Lockdown Part II
October 30th, 5:23 p.m. Antwerp, Belgium My daughter and I are on our way to the grocery store in our car. The Belgian radio is on and as usual, I’m catching pieces of the news report. Cosette is in the backseat, listening as well. She interprets most of what she hears, which is more than my quarter. “What are they saying, Cosette?” I ask and she confirms what I had expected. “Belgium is going into lock-down again. Well, kinda . . .” A tram passes, I maneuver my car behind it to head to Deurne’s new Jumbo. I had
Celebratory Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
It’s been a wild week! Before last Monday, our television wasn’t even hooked up basic cable. On the eve of the election, my husband snaked chords across our living room floor to connect us to CNN and other news channels – the BBC, Antwerp ATV, and others. Unlike U.S. sports, which we often miss in the wee hours of the morning, the U.S. news stations were covering the election 24-hours a day. “Vinny,” I said on Thursday morning as I sipped my coffee and checked the clock, “They look great. . . how is that even possible?” My eyes darted
An American Abroad. . . Election Day 2020
UPDATE: I’m happy to announce that a version of this post was published by the Plano Star Courier in Plano, Texas (site available in the U.S.) https://starlocalmedia.com/planocourier/news/guest-column-an-american-abroad/article_d692d50c-29e9-11eb-84ba-f382882acc21.html And on The Brussels Times https://www.brusselstimes.com/opinion/141900/an-american-perspective-from-within-and-without/ An American Abroad. . . Election Day 2020 Years ago, during the plane’s descent onto a runway surrounded by South African grasslands my friend turned to me and said, “Quick. What is your opinion of Bush?” We’d been traversing the globe for 24-hours. We were jet-lagged and dirty and all I could think about what how I wanted to get off the plane to sleep, shower, and
Pumpkin Patch
“Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one.” – Linus Van Pelt, The Great Pumpkin 1966 Saturday evening, October 24, 2020. Our family had spent the afternoon underneath the flittering golden leaves of the Draakplaats. The restaurants and bars ringing the neighborhood square were shuttered, but the basketball court, playgound, and spaces-in-between were speckled with children. Vinny and I watched our children bike and rollerskate on the asphalt, their wheels slipping on the
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