In 2015, I stepped off the plane at Port au Prince for the first time. I heard the welcome drumbeats, paid my $10 tourist fee, and was helped to collect my baggage by a crowd of enthusiastic men speaking broken English. As we drove through Port au Prince, I didn't even know where to look. Everywhere was strangeness. The little house with three twin beds, clothes stored in suitcases, and a toilet flushed with buckets of old laundry water (The Rule I Was Given: If it's brown, f

One day, towards the beginning of the Cafe au Lait cookbook project, I came across a super cool podcast! I think I listened to all the episodes - there are well over 100 - while trying recipes and editing our cookbook! I totally connected with the host, Becky Hadeed, because she has adopted children like the family I was raised in, and she is also in love with cooking the Middle Eastern food that is part of her husband's heritage. Her podcast is unique! Each guest shares a re

Hi! Just a note to say I'm alive and back with my husband finally! It was sure a journey! Saturday morning I went to get my Co-vid test to fly and didn't get the result until late afternoon - they called Dad to say it was positive! Of course I knew it was possible especially after that large funeral, but we had a home test so took it just for curiosity sake and it came back negative. Which led me to go into town and try to get another one. At the third urgent care they said t

Life is full of the unexpected. Full of things that are out of our control. Where can we turn in the middle of unexpected tragedies - funerals that last from 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. and we sing and share memories, and we can't quite just all go home and get back to our business. Because we are shell-shocked. We just want it to all be over sometimes - this world where so many are in so much pain. We feel the fear - who will be next? And the future seems dark. Where can we turn