Day: October 24, 2020

Respect for self, respect for others should be adhered to at all times. Life is not a pyramid scheme, there is enough for us all.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2020

Respect for self, respect for others should be adhered to at all times. Life is not a pyramid scheme, there is enough for us all.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2020

The mere fact that we are alive in this moment is cause for celebration and thanksgiving. Our existence is miraculous. Let’s make this world a better place by becoming a force for good instead of evil.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2020

There is no limit to what you can accomplish, age is not an hindrance. There is only one obstacle between you and your vision and that obstacle is you.

© Norma Bobb-Semple 2020

I am still in a Cajun/Creole state of mind. It’s funny how I go through phases and I do a lot of cooking in a specific type or cultural style and then, move on to the next one. I guess Larry has been hungry for jambalaya for awhile, though he never mentioned it until just now. He is actually the one that suggested this dish for my latest video. So jambalaya it is. You know when I bring out the big pot that there is going to be a lot of it, no matter what “it” is. And true to form, we do have a lot of jambalaya. Any takers?

Southern cooking, especially when cooking the “poor man’s food” is about cooking with whatever ingredients you have on hand at the time. This also allows for a lot of variations and subtle differences from each time you prepare a dish…

It was a good fried chicken kind of night. Fried chicken is good Southern comfort food, at least it is for me. I did not make the fried chicken. I certainly can, but why when Safeway already does such a good job of it and they make it very affordable too. I needed some good Southern side dishes to go along with our fried chicken. So I made some Creole zucchini and tomatoes and some Creole sweet potatoes with bacon and onions.

Creole and Cajon foods are native foods from Louisiana, and were born in the Spanish colonial period. They are cooking styles that are influenced from many different cultures from around the world, such as African, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Caribbean and Native American, just to name a few. These started out as the poor man’s food, and were a combination of whatever was around at the time of…

Artichoke dip and its cousin, spinach and artichoke dip, get their roots from the ancient times of the Mediterranean, with some fairly modern German influences as well. The artichoke has been around since the days of the Ancient Romans, and it was the Roman naturalist Pliny, back in 77 A.D., who thought “the artichoke was one of earth’s monstrosities” yet he continued to eat them anyway. Spinach is also a Mediterranean delight that has been around for the millennia as well. The German influence comes Knorr, the popular spice and seasoning mixes you can find in every grocery store today that so many people have used as their seasonings for this dip as well as many other great dips for many years. But spinach and/or artichoke dips really became popular in America during the 1950’s and 1960’s, when TVs became a staple in every household. People started eating more…