Jew Wishes mentioned Journey from the Land of No by Roya Hakakian (review now offline, sadly), a book I highly recommend, especially if you want to learn about Iran. Roya is a good storyteller.
I did this almost 6 years ago, when my daughter was one. It’s a combination of graphite, watercolor and crayons on paper. As I haven’t had a chance to do art lately (work, work, work –> keep that web work coming!), I love the opportunity to share this portrait with you.
This particular wet display was taken of a brook streaming under a bridge in Johnson Park, which is on the border of Highland Park and Piscataway, New Jersey.
What could be more delicious than sourdough bread topped with homemade hummus? To learn how to make sourdough starter, visit Mother in Israel’s post. And to find out more about hummus and what makes an authentic chickpea dip (as opposed to some wannabes), visit the Occidental Israeli’s post.
Why sourdough starter?
Taste
Health: More in this article on fermented bread. Easier to digest seems to be a top feature. Also, some people have reactions to commercial yeast (my father may have this) and find they don’t have the same reaction with the sourdough.
I’m thinking of doing this in July, as Mother in Israel says it works better in the hot humidity. See also read Mimi’s Oatmeal Sourdough Bread.
Why hummus?
Why not?
Here’s the Occidental Israeli’s comments on common hummus errors:
Another mistake I saw on TV that day, was the host opening a can of chickpeas and simply pouring them into the food processor. When making hummus, you must, MUST, wash the chickpeas numerous times, to make the “hummus” even edible. Moreover, if you want your hummus to be good, even if you use canned chickpeas, you have to boil them and remove most the skins, from most of the individual beans.
The biggest mistake, however, was the lack of tehina (sometimes called tahini). For hummus to be really good it must include tehina. Apparently there are other authentic versions that replace tehina with ful or with labaneh, but simply mashing chickpeas (with other vegetables, no less) does not result in hummus.
It’s been wet, wet, wet here in New Jersey. My garden is happy.
I am trying to detect which kind of lily this is. See Wikipedia for the varieties of lilies. I have others that seem to be day lilies; they bloom on and off throughout the summer. This one blooms once per bud, then it usually gets knocked over and that’s it for the season. My guess: it is some kind of Asiatic lily, because of the leaves. The stem looks like these Asiatic Lilies.
My Daughter's Pink Strawberry Frosted with Colored Sprinkles Doughnut
If your birthday is in the summer, you get to celebrate your birthday early in school. I brought an assortment of strawberry-frosted and chocolate-frosted doughnuts to my daughter’s first grade class this week to celebrate. The kids thought it hilarious that I was photographing a doughnut (don’t any of them have mommies that blog? I guess not).
So this means only a few weeks until the Fairy Birthday Party. Anyone have ideas for a fairy-themed party? Can you tell me how to make a wand with 20 or so little girls? Fairy games or stories? Fairy prizes (I couldn’t find anything fitting at Oriental Trading).
For more Summer Stock Sunday photos, visit Robin’s Around the Island.
Imabima has hosted 