One of the best things about humans is that we seem always game to celebrate. Whether it’s National Hot Dog Day (July 20th), International I Hate Coriander Day (February 23rd) or Measure Your Feet Day (January 23rd), every day seems to be an opportunity to find …
Last week we were able to view the Obama Portraits Exhibition at the High Museum of Art. It was such an awesome experience. Each time that I visit the High, I think of how lucky Atlanta is to have a world-class museum. Looking around, there …
Laissez les bons temps rouler or more simply stated, “Let the good times roll!”
We’ve been fortunate to celebrate Mardi Gras and other festivals in several places that we have visited. It’s so exciting to hear the music and see the vibrant colored costumes and floats. There is always joy in the air and a sense of pride by those who have prepared for these moments. It is their shining hour. It is indeed the time to let the good times roll.
The most famous of all celebrations: New Orleans!
St Thomas festivities seemed to involve the entire island. Everyone participated!
San Antonio is a beautiful city in itself and the spring celebration with all of the flowers, music, lanterns, and the riverwalk made it magical.
When kissing, do you pucker up? Lips pinched and squeezed like a tulip, there’s a promise. Like gentle kisses, lemons present joy, pleasure, and a jolt to our systems. There’s no flavor that I love as much as lemon. Whether it is in my favorite, …
What can bring more joy than giving or receiving valentines? Such was the case on this cold and wintry recent Valentine’s Day, when I opened the front door to see red roses and fruit had been delivered. As the day progressed, thoughts of past Valentine’s …
Who tells the stories?
Legend has it that the Greek god of the Underworld, Hades, desired the young Persephone, goddess of Spring. So he asked his brother, Zeus, if he could have her as his ”bride”. Will it surprise you to know that Persephone was also Zeus’s daughter?
Demeter is Persephone’s mother, Zeus’s sister, and the goddess of grain and the harvest— agriculture. This is a web of relations so take heart if it gets confusing.
Having received permission from Zeus, the myth describes Hades abducting her as she picked beautiful flowers in a field. In another version of this myth, Zeus and Hades are co-conspirators! Depending on the myth, Persephone was with an interesting circle of maidens:
There were water nymphs who were depicted as springs in human form,
Along with Pallas who was the granddaughter of the god of the sea, Poseidon,
And finally, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, wild animals, the moon, and chastity.
As she innocently dances and frolics with the nymphs and goddess, a beautiful and incomparable narcissus catches her eye. She caresses and attempts to uproot the flower. Her success is quickly followed by horror as she watches the earth crack open where the flower had been and Hades lurches out to grab her and take her to the Underworld.
Upon her disappearance, her mother, Demeter, searches high and low for her. She is bereft and questions everyone and punishes some before approaching Helios, the god of the sun. Riding his chariot east to west, he knows enough to reveal the terrible tale.
After pleading with Hades, Demeter’s brothers (Zeus and Hades) decide that Persephone would return to her mother. There was trickery involved, though: before leaving the Underworld, Hades offered Persephone four pomegranate seeds (or six depending on the myth). Because of this seemingly innocent act of eating, Persephone’s fate is cursed and she is forced to return to the Underworld for a third of each year. This is one of many old stories explaining the existence of winter: when Persephone is below, her mother mourns her and very little grows. When she returns to her mother, everything buds, blooms, and flourishes.
This is a story of death. A partial one, a series of little deaths perhaps. Of skirting it, dancing with it or falling in and out of it. Of rapturous moments, quakes, intoxication, and numbness. Is it a coincidence that both loss of consciousness and the state of post-climax have been described as ”la petite mort”?
The Persephone cocktail is anchored by absinthe. This green, anise-flavored spirit is extremely alcoholic, sometimes weighing in at 75% alcohol by volume. Historically, it had a reputation of causing madness, hallucinations, and debauchery. More recently, it has been labelled no worse than other potent spirits. Fortunately, a little goes a long way.
The Persephone. My cocktail is a riff on Ernest Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon”.
🌿🌿My cocktail deliberately includes fewer than four seeds of the fruit and a few thyme leaves, a reminder of the warmth and life above. It’s delicious with any bubbly.
Hemingway’s cocktail is described here. “Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”
The Persephone
2 tablespoons of absinthe + a splash of pomegranate juice (optional) + three pomegranate arils + a sprig of thyme or a few of its leaves + top off with cold bubbly.
The game starts at 6:30 in the evening, yet in my excitement, I wake up in the wee hours of the morning. I hurry to the kitchen to start preparing for our game-day festivities. Never mind that it’ll be just the two of us, it’s …
“Ooooh, what’s over there?” That question has been my mom’s mantra for as long as I can remember. She’s the one who peers in alleys, takes the less beaten path, looks around the dining room to see what others are eating, and always invites us …
Australia, the Land Down Under, had been a destination that I desired to visit ever since Oprah took over 300 of her ”ultimate viewers” there years ago. In 2016, our immediate family (seven of us, three generations) was fortunate to explore far-away Australia.
Rising out of the Southern Ocean waters, The Twelve Apostles is located about 4 hours south of Melbourne. The tall protruding natural stack formations are made of limestone and were developed millions of years ago. As I viewed them from a helicopter, what came to mind was the spiritual hymn, ‘ Amazing Grace’. Their wonder, majesty, and uniqueness was breathtaking.
We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the animals native to Australia. As we hiked in the forest or walked along the beach, we encountered all manner of creatures. While we dined or shopped, they would fly into open outdoor spaces. Kangaroos roamed rural areas like the deer who live freely in my neighborhood.
Eating is always fun and Australia did not disappoint. Melbourne is especially known for its coffee houses. Going in, our goal was to go to as many cafes as we could. Having afternoon tea with champagne at the beautiful Park Hyatt in Melbourne was a highlight.
The family! More than the places, sights, hotels, restaurants or anything else, being together was the best! Experiencing this beautiful country with each other was more than one could imagine.
This morning I took a trip down memory lane, landing in my hometown of Atlanta and my son’s hometown of Chicago. If you’re interested, the latest article is here. In the meantime, please share in the comments a food that brings the memories flooding back.
