The Pantry Is Open Again!!!!!!

 Yes, it's wide open and its' been a frustrating month thanks to a fractured (And Now fixed humerus) I'm still not 100 per cent healed that will take physical  therapy.By the time that happens I'll be needing cooking therapy.

It's funny when you're injured how friends and family come with food. Friends cooked my favorite recipes, ordered from goo restaurants and ordered food baskets. All this helped tremendously especially in those early days when i couldn't even was let alone cook. I miss cooking and food shopping. There's something soothing about cooking a curry rich choley or a flavorful spinach and mushroom sauce for pasta. I was even going to plant a garden which brings me to an interesting article in today's New York Times Food section today. It's an article about old fashioned watermelon breeds, written by regular contributor Nicole Taylor. Ms Taylor interviewed  film maker and fourth generation farmer, Gabrielle E. W. Carter. Ms. Carter grows heirloom watermelon in her family's farm in Apex ,  The delicious fruit was indigenous of Africa and is kind of related to cucumbers, pumpkins and loofah Yes, that loofah that gives us those scrub sponges. Ms. Carter is reviving an original breed. with ebony seeds and sweet candy pink flash.

Why is it important that original strains like  Sugar Baby thrive? One  , because it connects the past to the present. This was emphasized in the Netflix "High On The Hog" series on African cooking. Both Ms. Carter and her uncle Andrew were featured in it. The heirloom varieties were a connection to ancestral lands. The second reason is that the melons are more flavorful than the hybrids we have now. What our stores have is just a pale imitation. Ms. Carter also includes her country panzanella with watermelon dressing. This is  a sweet and savory salad perfect for the upcoming Juneteenth  celebrating the end of slavery in Texas/ It also is good at every summer barbecue or elegant backyard supper. Ms. Clark takes cut watermelon and mixes it with red onion, cucumbers and feta cheese.Toasted and oiled cubed ciabatta bread is the base , absorbing the blend of juices and herbs. The dressing has the watermelon along with garlic and red pepper flakes to give it zing.

The pantry is wide open again There will still be recipes like the watermelon panzanella and soon cooking too. The how tos will be back as well. 

Special thanks to Lou who ordered us food and took me food shopping at WalMart < Lili and Polly for cooking my favorite stuffed tomatoes and rice, and Debbie who sent one of the yummiest food baskets.  You are my salt and pepper , olive oil and vinegar.

Also thanks to Dr V, for giving me the OK to write again, This is the nutrition I need to survive.