We all need a break from our hurried lives to do a bit more of what we love to do. In my case, I love food writing and developing recipes in my spare time, when I’m not doing design work for a nine to five job. Sure, there are more demanding tasks, but this time, I took a break from more important work to contribute a recipe to Black History Month’s Potluck, a group of African-American food bloggers sharing recipes during February. My recipe: Southern Style Caesar Salad with Cornbread Croutons.

Don’t be alarmed at the simplicity of this recipe. It’s curly kale and radicchio (or red cabbage) instead of romaine lettuce that is tossed with black eye peas. And, the classic Caesar dressing isn’t a time-consuming process thanks to the use of anchovy paste. And, let’s face it, you can buy cornbread or make it from scratch (the recipe is here), cut it into one-inch pieces and follow the directions below for making croutons.

Black History Month is an important time of the year to celebrate. Perhaps, it also serves as a reminder for me to pause from my hurried life to learn more about how my ancestors dealt with problematic environments and stress. After all, because of them, I live today.

Southern Style Caesar Salad

Ingredients

Ingredients for Cornbread Croutons

• 1/2 the recipe for baked cornbread (recipe here)

Ingredients for Caesar Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• The juice of one lemon
• 1 tbsp. anchovy paste
• 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened yogurt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard (love the whole-grain version)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, more or less to personal taste
• 1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper, more or less to personal taste

Ingredients for the Southern-Style Caesar Salad

• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted and lightly steam
• 1 tsp. sea salt, more or less to taste
• 1/2 tsp. fresh black pepper, more or less to taste
• 1-14 oz. canned black-eye peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch of fresh, curly kale greens, stems discarded and gently torn
• 1 small head of radicchio or half a small head of red cabbage, core removed and discarded, and thinly shredded by slicing it
• 1 medium-size red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

Directions for Cornbread Croutons

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
2. With a sharp knife (dull knives causes more crumbs), cut cornbread into 1-inch pieces.
3. Place cornbread over a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the cornbread croutons are dark brown on one side.
5. Turn the croutons over. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the cornbread croutons are brown on another side.
6. Remove from the oven to let cool. Place croutons aside until ready to toss into the salad.

Directions for Yogurt Caesar Dressing

1. Place all ingredients in a blender. 
2. If the ingredients is too thick to process, add about 1 tbsp. of water to thin it out.
3. Blend until all ingredients are incorporated to make the Yogurt Caesar Dressing.
4. Set the dressing aside. 

Directions for the Southern-Style Caesar Salad

1. Add the rest of the salad ingredients to a super large bowl, but don’t toss.
2. Add the Caesar dressing to the salad bowl, and lightly toss the salad. If necessary, adjust seasoning by adding more sea salt and fresh black pepper. 
3. Let the salad sit overnight or for at least two hours in a sealed container to soften the kale.

Directions for Finishing the Dish

1. Let the salad get to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving. 
2. If serving the salad in one bowl: Gently toss the cornbread croutons in the salad.
3. If serving the salad in individual servings: Add the cornbread croutons on top of the salad.
4. If packing the salad for a workday lunch: Pack the cornbread croutons separately from the salad. Add the croutons to the salad before eating. 
5. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, check out other food bloggers, who are also participating in this year’s Black History Month’s Potluck.

• Beautiful Eats & Things: Okra, Corn, & Tomato Chicken Stew
• Beyond The Bayou Blog: “Mackerel Balls” With Biscuits & Cane Syrup
• Bsugar Mama: Red Beans and Rice
• Butter Be Ready: Caribbean — Curry Goat with Rice and Peas
• Cooks with Soul: Boudin Balls
• D.M.R. Fine Foods: Spice Roasted Chicken
• Dash of Jazz: Soul Food Power Bowl
• Dish it with Tisha: Jamaican Curry Chicken
• Domestic Dee: Chicken Sliders
• Eat.Drink.Frolic.: Bourbon + Sweet Potato Pie
• First and Full: Homemade Peach Pie
• Food Fidelity: Nashville Hot Shrimp Sandwich
• Food is Love Made Edible: Smothered Okra with Chicken and Smoked Sausage
• Foodie In New York: Chess Pie
• Immaculate Bites: Pimento Cheese
• Kaluhi’s Kitchen: Pilipili & Rosemary Marinated Mbuzi Choma with Kachumbari
• Kenneth Temple: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
• Marisa Moore Nutrition: Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cabbage
• Meiko And The Dish: Hot Buttered Rum and Biscuits
• Rosalynn Daniels: Osso Bucco
• Savory Thoughts: Haitian Patty
• Simply LaKita: Fried Okra
• Sweet Tea & Thyme: Spiced Peach Shortcakes
• That Girl Cooks Healthy: Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
• The Hungry Hutch: Cornbread Dressing
• The Seasoning Bottle: Guava Short Ribs
• Whisk It Real Gud: Banana Bread

Dear My Life Runs On Food’s loyal audience, this message short and sweet: Over the next few weeks, we’re moving into a new apartment, and there are other factors in my life demanding more attention over the next several months. My heart is heavy at life’s setbacks demanding I pause this project. However, I’m frequently on social media, especially on Instagram @SanuraJamila.

Meanwhile, I will leave with one of my favorite simple recipes: An open-face sandwich of honey ricotta cheese, sliced figs, and shaved chocolate. The flavor profile is similar to a less sweet cheesecake. It’s not a cheesecake. But, when life demands to refocus our energies on another area of our lives, simple food is all that we need right now. Stress causes poor eating habits. Any happy, sweet and healthy recipes that I quickly develop, are added to my arsenal of fighting tools against stress.

Listen (or, carefully read), we need your prayers. It’s a difficult time right now. We’re in the midst of transitioning into a new phase in our lives. I hope this pause is short, and I will sweetly return to food writing.

Dad always had a knack for influencing my senses. Once a babysitter’s sister smoked cigarettes while we were in a car. I loved the smell. Until I told Dad. Back then, no one knew about the dangers of second-hand smoke, but Dad (a former smoker, in which Mom beat the habit out from him) knew the smell was terrible, which led to his speech about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. It was the ultimate ‘do not smoke’ conversation. The following day, we rode in the back seat of the babysitter’s car. The sitter’s sister pulls out a cigarette to start puffing away. And, all of the sudden, my nose didn’t enjoy her smoke anymore. I rolled down the window. The sitter yelled at me to roll the window up, “…because the air conditioner is on!” In an attempt to filter the smoke from my nose, I used my hand to cover my nose, my head away from her and I buried my face into the car seat. The babysitter’s sister made jokes about my dislike for the smell of cigarettes as she continued to casually puff away. Thankfully, she didn’t light another one.

Except for early childhood second-hand smoking environments, I never smoked a cigarette, nor did I envy people who hid their habits from their parents. High school friends quickly flashed drugs, and I nonchalantly said no thank you. Yes, I was the kid who followed my parent’s advice about health. And, why not? They did have my best interest in mind.

Recently, Dad confessed he eats one whole watermelon a week — by himself. And, now my appetite craves watermelons. Except, I’m lazy at buying and cutting a whole watermelon. And, I don’t have the southern luxury of picking up a melon from the back of a farmer’s truck at a roadside stand. Instead, I purchase pre-cut chunks from a health food store. These aren’t proper replacements for a whole watermelon. But in a New York minute, I’ll splurge on a bottle of Wtrmln Wtr. In a few minutes, I can blitz a Minty Wtrmln Wtr and Blueberry Smoothie. In five minutes, I call Dad to thank him for gifting me with a great sense of smell and taste.

#SmoothieNumbers are quick postings, without a lengthy story, listing the ingredients for making refreshing, healthy drinks in a blender.

Disclaimer: Wtrmln Wtr provided me with free products. All thoughts and opinions are expressed herein are my own, and they’re not influenced by #WtrmlnWtr and/or its affiliates in any way.

The changes in my life are unapologetically wary. It subtly started when learning about my favorite hair products being discontinued. Next, I noticed my hair is abnormally super dry. Before continuing this story, let’s pause for a disclaimer: Talking about hair care isn’t a sound reason for reading this food blog. But, I can assure you, my hair isn’t the main topic of this story. But, please follow where this story leads. Because, writing this story is a therapeutic effort dedicated to me, but the featured Date, Walnut, Sesame Seed Scone recipe is for you.

Let’s continue: The changes started with hair products. A few weeks ago, our landlord announced the rent is increasing to about 85 percent by the end of the year. Of course, we have to move. The average rent in my rapidly gentrifying Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn neighborhood is $2,500 per month. But, the average income in the Bed-Stuy area is estimated at $32,000 a year.¹ And, as we’re looking for new apartments within our budget, the affordable rates are in neighborhoods that don’t traditionally rent to African-Americans. The morning after hearing the news about our rent increase, I woke up with a somber feeling that my community only sees “green,” for my neighborhood of mostly African-American landlords don’t care about preserving its cultural identity. These are neighborhoods that didn’t integrate during mid-20th-century desegregation laws because Whites didn’t (and some still don’t) want to live next to African-Americans. Clearly, developers and politicians are succeeding at displacing, instead of integrating, communities of color with help from African-American homeowners.

Meanwhile, my job hired new management that directly impacts my work experience. Jacinto, my boyfriend, is finally following his dream of directing a film based on his screenplay (which is a good direction for him, because he should’ve been following his filmmaking dreams years ago). And, amid the daily chaos, the first and last thoughts of each day is: “…I’m going to be okay. Let’s hope I’m going to be okay. Will I be okay?”

The stress is real. And, instead of cooking these days, we’re searching for new apartments. I’m on ‘my toes’ at work. I’m surprised there was time to test these Date, Walnut, and Sesame Seed Scones several times before publishing this recipe. Dates are my favorite midnight snack when I can’t go to sleep because of the stress. But, when I make scones, it’s full of happy flavors. They’re slightly healthier with a little amount of wheat flour and ground flax seeds. If ground flax seeds are difficult to find, increase the wheat flour to one cup. Chopped dates add a tiny taste of a  molasses flavor, and the scones have a nutty taste because of the walnuts and sesame seeds. The finishing touch is the coconut sugar glaze topped with a sprinkling of sea salt. And, each bite has a slight kick of ground cardamom.

A kick of bravery is what I need in life, and that is what change means to most of us. Sometimes, after waking up from a sleepless night of worrisome thoughts, Chloe x Halle’s song, “Warrior,” faintly plays in my head. Other times, Destiny’s Child, “I’m a Survivor,” pops up in my head in times of stress. Clearly, the universe is sending a message of encouragement via my favorite tunes.

Remember when I mentioned being forced to look for new hair products? Here’s the positive part of the experience: When I first started locking my hair years ago, my only choice of hairstyle products was aloe gel. In addition, hair products sans chemicals were exclusively sold in health or specialty stores, and the products were mostly created for straight hair. Today, as I experiment with different products, it occurred to me, most stores have a vast, intimidating display of various hair care product lines catering to diverse hair textures. I can’t make a final decision, because there are too many options. And, having too many options is a great step towards progress.

These events are inspiring me to evaluate, experiment, and make a few decisions about progressing to the next stage in my life. While manifesting our next dream apartment, I’m hoping for a sunny, modern kitchen with better light for taking food photos. My new management at work is inspiring me to work smarter, and previous work experiences serve as a guide to reframing problems that lead to effective solutions. Jacinto completed the filming of his screenplay. The next step is raising funds to edit the film. Because I’m working during the day, he’s aggressively looking for our next apartment, in between his auditions and personal fitness training appointments with clients.

Meanwhile, I found a new hair care line with more moisture than the previous products. The other day, I changed my final, worrisome evening thoughts into breathing exercises learned from yoga classes, and I started a prayer of gratitude focusing on positive events and people in my life.

Who knows how the next few months will look from now.  But, the options are plentiful (my opinion of apartments is on pause for the moment²). Repeat after me: “We’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.” Pray for us, please.

¹ Source: “These are the Least Affordable Neighborhoods in New York City,” Bed-Stuy Patch: https://patch.com/new-york/bed-stuy/s/ggt3j/these-are-the-least-affordable-neighborhoods-in-nyc, July 11, 2018

² The other day we reviewed an apartment requesting slightly more money than our current rent, but the place was smaller, needed major renovations and new appliances. And, there was a real estate broker, in which we would have to pay a fee equal to one month’s rent, in addition to security and first-month rent to the landlord. Here’s an idea for local politicians: Either abolish the rental brokers’ fee or regulate into an affordable percentage of the rent. It’s cruel to anyone, regardless of income, especially in a housing market, in which most people are having difficulty finding housing, even households making working/middle-class incomes.

My office laughed at me, because I admitted there isn’t a bottle of ketchup in my refrigerator. It’s a condiment that isn’t hated or loved. Just a sweet bottle in every American kitchen, except for mine. The office conversation started, because I told them how ketchup packets were found ‘hidden’ in a kitchen drawer from a past delivery. My other half placed them there, and I knew to leave them alone. Packets of soy sauce, duck sauce, mustard, salt and pepper from previous delivery services are immediately thrown away, because we have better quality bottles in the pantry cabinet. It’s a better compromise, because a large bottle of unused ketchup sitting in the refrigerator is what I don’t want. Since, that office conversation, I’ve thought of buying ketchup, but mind changes when approaching the cash register.

Because I didn’t want to use ketchup, it was a struggle to create this Turkey Meatloaf recipe. Ground turkey isn’t the world’s best meat. Here’s my honest opinion: Thanksgiving roast turkeys are overrated (unless they’re smoked). Hence, my belief of why ketchup is the perfect cover-up to most tasteless loaves of ground meat recipes.

I wanted a savory meatloaf without the aid of ketchup. After repeated recipe fails, I learned the secret to meatloaf is in the right sweet sauce. And, it doesn’t always have to be ketchup. This turkey meatloaf recipe is topped with roast whole tomatoes with a dash of fennel seeds. Also, the ground meatloaf is cooked in a tart and sweet mix of pomegranate molasses and honey at the bottom of the pan. The sweet and tart flavors compliment a flavorful ground turkey meatloaf made with a fifty-fifty mix of ground white breast and dark, thigh turkey meat. Mix in large chunks of caramelize onions and mushrooms, minced fresh herbs, a touch of fennel seeds and this turkey meatloaf has more flavor and a better texture.

My co-workers owe me an apology for their light teasing. My kitchen still lacks a bottle of ketchup. But, roast tomatoes spooned over Turkey Mushroom Meatloaf prolongs the inevitable purchase of ketchup.