Author: Ben Starr
-
How to make “calaveras” or Mexican sugar skulls without meringue powder
The net is an incredible place, because 10 years ago, if I wanted to make “calaveras,” which are those sugar skulls that kids and lovers give each other for the Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), how on earth would I have figured out how to do that without…
-
Sicily, part 1
Bon giorno from beautiful Sicily! (Actually, we’re back in Dallas now, but I didn’t have Internet access while we were there, so I’m sending this belatedly.) Christian and I came to Sicily to visit his sister, Angela, who has lived here for the past five years. She recently moved into a gorgeous 3 bedroom apartment…
-
Sicily, part 2
It has been way too long since I sent this, the second installment of our recent trip to Sicily, but the Fall dinner party and a potential business venture sucked away all my time and brainpower. So apologies all around for the delay. And away we go… As promised, this installment won’t be entirely about…
-
From Cairo, part 1
Greetings from Heliopolis, Egypt! J-P and I arrived a few hours ago. It is 130am here…and in Dallas it’s 530pm (behind). We are staying with Debbie Taylor, Justin’s mom, who has lived here for almost five years as an English teacher. Heliopolis is now a northern suburb of Cairo, but in ancient times, it was…
-
From Cairo, part 2
You know you’re in the Middle East when, at 6am just as the sun is rising, prayer call startles you awake. From the minaret of the nearby mosque each morning at sunrise (and again four times throughout the day) a chanting voice blares over a loudpseaker, calling the devout to prayer. And in Cairo, you…
-
From Cairo, part 3
We are back at Deb’s after an exhausting day in Cairo. Heck, Cairo is so chaotic and impossibly inefficient that just spending the day doing NOTHING is an exhausting day. We are back at Deb’s after an exhausting day in Cairo. Heck, Cairo is so chaotic and impossibly inefficient that just spending the day doing…