Making and eating holiday foods from around the world is like a magic carpet ride, transporting us across space and time. Ferragosto traces its roots back to 18 BC, when the Emperor Augustus-—in typically Roman fashion—consolidated Italy’s summertime harvest festivals under his own name as the “Feriae Augusti.” Today, the holiday honors both its ancient… Continue reading Crostini Neri & Panzanella
We’ll take any opportunity to French-ify our lives and Bastille Day is the perfect occasion to do so. Lucky for us, Brooklyn hosts a massive Bastille Day fête every July where a portion of Smith Street, one of the local thoroughfares, is transformed into a giant sand Pétanque court, where teams compete all day while… Continue reading Mussels Mariniere
Can you believe we’ve only recently learned about a holiday that’s been around for 150 years? In some ways that makes perfect sense: Juneteenth is about as local a holiday as you can imagine, celebrating not the Emancipation Proclamation made by Lincoln in 1863, but the date when news of it reached Texas on June… Continue reading Rhubarb and Strawberry Crisp
From the outside, fasting holidays seem like a hardship to be endured, yet for those who observe, they can be times of great joy. While neither of us observes Ramadan, the month-long daytime fast of Islam, our friends who do emphasize how much they enjoy it, not how much they suffer. While abstaining from not… Continue reading Chicken Tagine & Kofta
We discovered this Sikh holiday when we were fangirling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on YouTube (doesn’t everyone do that?) and stumbled upon his heartfelt Vaisahki message of fairness, respect and equality for all. He had us at respect. Each April 14, this holiday celebrates the founding of the Khalsa community within the Sikh faith.… Continue reading Butter Chicken & Mango Chutney
Have you heard about “slime”? If you have children under 14, we’re pretty sure we know your answer. This goopy concoction of cornstarch, glue and food coloring is all the rage with the preteen set, who seem to be on a campaign to fill every last tupperware in the world with varied shades of slime.… Continue reading Vanilla, Matcha & Chocolate Marshmallows
Like little girls who decide they don’t love pink anymore–even if it was the only color they would wear for years–we went through a stage of not loving heart-shaped things. They seemed too sweet, too silly, too obvious. Luckily, we got over ourselves, and are now big fans of this lovely, light dessert which translates… Continue reading Coeurs à la Crème
