Valentine’s Day Stories About How They Met
A few days ago, my best friend mentioned that her parents met on a blind date on Valentine’s Day. There were married for forty years until death separated them. I remember thinking what a sweet love story then immediately it occurred to me how easily we forget that our parents were once young. I thought I had filed the story away. But as I started outlining the post I originally wanted to write, a new idea popped into my head.…
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The Italian American Museum in Manhattan’s Little Italy
Anchoring the corner of Mulberry and Grand Streets in New York City’s Little Italy is an attractive 19-century brick building that is the home of the Italian American Museum. [caption id="attachment_13853" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Exterior of the museum[/caption] The idea for a museum to document the history of the Italian community in New York came about after the highly acclaimed exhibition, The Italians of New York: Five Centuries of Struggle and Achievement, which opened at the New York Historical Society in…
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Food and History in New York City’s Chinatown
One of the perks of living in a city the size of New York is the diversity it offers, not only in things to do but also in culinary offerings. Food from almost every nation is represented here. Last weekend, my friend Joan and I joined Ahoy New York for their Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour of Chinatown and Little Italy. We started in Little Italy and ended the tour in Chinatown. New York City’s Chinatown is a bustling…
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Chinese New Year Parade in New York’s Chinatown
If the temperature here in New York had remained as cold as it was during the week, I would not have gone to the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown on Sunday. As it turned out, it was a welcome 53 degrees around the 1:00 p.m. start time for the parade, and a still balmy 43 degrees - warmer that it was in Denver (21) and Seattle (41) - when Super Bowl 48 kicked off in the evening. (Snow started…
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Food and History in New York’s Little Italy
I’ve been to Little Italy and Chinatown many times to eat and to shop but never thought of doing a food tour. That is, until this past Saturday when I joined six other women for Ahoy New York’s Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour. It was the perfect day to be outside. The temperature that had stayed stuck in the 20s during the early part of the week had moved a full 20 degrees more –…
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Super Bowl Boulevard is Open
If you know New York City, you know it's got energy and excitement all its own but with the first Super Bowl in 42 years just four days away, the buzz is even more palpable. Broadway between 34th and 47th Streets has been transformed into a pedestrian-only thoroughfare, called Super Bowl Boulevard, where football fans who have registered, can join in the revelry which started on Wednesday. [gallery type="rectangular" ids="13712,13713,13719,13711,13723"] Even though I love the parties and the commercials, I…
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Super Snacks for this Sunday’s Super Bowl
If you're in Manhattan this week, it's difficult to ignore the increased activity in the city as New York and New Jersey get ready to host this year's Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Super Bowl was not on my mind as I walked through midtown yesterday but as I got to Bryant Park, I noticed trailers and work crews. At first, I thought they were preparing…
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Ugli, the Fruit
With its lumpy peel and lopsided shape, the UGLI® is the ugly duckling of the citrus family. But don’t let appearances sway you. The ugli proves the adage: beauty is skin deep, ugly goes to the bone, or in this case, the core. Peel back its yellow-green skin, which is soft and surprisingly easy to remove, and the ugli reveals several light pink pegs bursting with an unusual amount of sweet and slightly tangy juice and few, sometimes no seeds.…
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Gingerbread Houses, Jamaica
With so many Jamaican homeowners embracing modern design, I'm always pleasantly surprised when I see gingerbread houses, especially ones that seem relatively new. Gingerbread houses probably came to Jamaica around the turn of the century. My friend and I spotted this gingerbread house in Trelawny. We had spotted some lovely green bananas and stopped to buy a bunch. The house was directly across the street from the farmer and the minute I saw it - it was such a delight…
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Tamarind Season
Tamarind season runs from roughly January to March in Jamaica. The sour tasting fruit grows four or five in a pod, each with a small, flat black seed. When ripe, the pod becomes a light brown brittle shell that breaks easily to expose the sticky fruit. Tamarind is indigenous to Africa and likely came to the Jamaica and the Caribbean with enslaved Africans. It is high in tartaric acid, B vitamins and calcium. Tamarind grows easily and can be found…
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