Melktert, or milk tart, is a custardy treat you’ll find all over South Africa. I fell in love with this little dessert on my first trip there in 2007, and (obviously) not being able to find it in the States, decided to learn to make it myself. This is a super simple recipe, especially if you cheat (like I do) and use pre-made shortbread crusts. Here’s what you’ll need: 4 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp butter 2…
So I’m way behind on a bunch of things, one being the recap of my cousin Crystal’s trip to Florida in March. I try to lure Crystal to Florida every year, and with the winters being what they are in Kentucky, it’s not really difficult. This year was particularly easy when I tempted her with the prospect of the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida. Like any fair, the Strawberry Festival has its midway, livestock shows, and fair food, but there…
Opening Day, April 6, is just a few days away. Here in Florida, we’re wrapping up a good month of spring training. If you’re a baseball fan, come to Florida in March. You can see a bevy of teams at a variety of ballparks within a short distance of one another. Several weeks ago, during the frenzy of spring training and before the influx of travelers, my friend Emily and I spent the day at the Rays/Phillies game at Charlotte Sports Park,…
After four weeks of visitors, my house is finally quiet…and empty. I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to sit on the couch in my PJs while drinking copious amounts of bourbon and watching our final days of cable (we’re planning on cutting the cord soon). Three weeks of bathroom renovations ended on March 2nd, and the very next day my cousin arrived. We had lovely adventures to Pass-a-Grille Beach, downtown St. Pete, and Plant City for Boyz II Men and…
In my previous post, you may have noticed the incredibly dusty Valentine I left for my husband on our coffee table. I swear our house is not normally this filthy. There’s a perfectly good reason for all the dirt, but unfortunately, that reason is eating into my savings account. I’m not a big spender. I certainly have my moments of weakness (usually around the holidays), but that’s more often than not the result of an irresistible sale. I’d rather hoard my money and…
For Valentine’s Day this year, my husband got me two doughnuts from a gas station, took me on a road trip to Saint Augustine for a memorial service for someone I’d never met, and bought me dinner at a fast food restaurant next to the interstate. It was possibly one of the best Valentine’s we have had. Traditionally, my husband and I celebrate anti-Valentine’s Day on February 15th. Even before we were dating, Valentine’s Day was a blister on our social…
So here’s a little update on my adventure with the magazine subscription salesman. I followed my own advice. I cancelled the check. I contacted my bank and closed my bank account. And I sent in the cancellation notice to the magazine company with a very lawyerly letter. (I should mention that throughout my childhood I worked in my father’s law office, so I have some reasonable experience writing lawyerly letters.) I did not expect to hear from Mr. Magazine again….
If you haven’t gathered by now, I’m married to a South African. And like any good South African, he loves his meats. See Exhibit A, the picture of my husband and his good friend Clinton at a Super Spar in Port Elizabeth. Notice the slogan behind them: “Meat: Say it like you mean it.” If you must know, there was a good deal of alcohol involved beforehand, which is why my husband’s lovely wife was taking pictures inside a grocery…
I just submitted an application to be part of the Institute on Science for Global Policy’s Climate Change Arctic Program, possibly for the second time. Several months ago, there was an article in the Tampa Bay Times about the excursion and how it would include 15 residents from Pinellas County. While the program piqued my interest, I think I only half-heartedly completed the application, I might not have even submitted a complete response, which made today’s email from one of…
Or “The Story of How I Thought I Disappointed My Father” My father did not raise this person. He did not raise a person who isn’t skeptical, who doesn’t have a working bullshit meter, who doesn’t ask questions, who doesn’t trust their own instincts. My father did not raise someone who falls for a scam. But he did. And I totally lost some dignity points this weekend. Sunday morning, I was snuggled up on the couch, browsing the internet in my…