U is for Under the Sea Cookie Cutters

March 16, 2019 Sharon Jacobson

For the last few days I have been looking at these cookie cutters admiring the shapes and the playfulness of the seven cutters: pirate, sailboat, octopus, crab, shark, seashell, and turtle. These 3 ½” diameter cutters make the cutest 3” cookies. Not only are they dishwasher safe but they snap together for easy storage.

What I love about these cookie cutters is that each one is different and each has a different story to tell about the sea. You can use them with children to tell different stories about the sea and the different gifts each brings to the world and the environment. They provide a great way to teach about these sea animals, about life on the sea and explore the myths and facts about being a pirate.

What I also love is that they remind me to value the diversity of those in my community. When we focus on each other’s gifts, we make room at the Welcome Table for all of humanity and by snapping together we also make sure none of us get lost. We stay connected and protective of the bonds we share, despite our differences.

Hope & Sesame & The Zenful Kitchen

September 13, 2018 Sharon Jacobson

This week I was going to reflect on what I learned about freezing from the book I am cooking my way through, The Make Ahead Vegan, but then life happened. Three people of varying importance in my life passed over and I, once again, found myself in this state of grief. I once again found myself wondering if meditations of my heart and my work in this world was making a difference. So I did what I normally do and then the signs began to pop up as they tend to do when I need them the most. Yet despite those signs I did not feel motivated to write about food. I wasn’t really feeling motivated to even cook food this week. It was just one of those weeks where I wondered how I could make eating plant based food feel junky and comforting. I haven’t been successful at that either. The the universe heard and answered my prayers in the form of the following random Facebook message from a woman and an organization I had never heard of.

Hi, Sharon--I found your blog when I was seeking inspirational words about how food is a global language. I am one of two founders of a non-profit in Austin, Texas, that is dedicated to help refugee women use their amazing cooking skills and heritage to earn money and integrate into our community. One of the things we do is host dinners--people buy tickets to come and eat food from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., and meet these women, etc. We're about to do one with Chefugees from Syria and Iraq, and I would love to include the passage below on the inside of our printed menus (there will be one at each guest's place).

Slow Cooking

July 29, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

Deciding how to approach working my way through Deborah Madison’s book has been interesting. I could not quite figure out how best to do this or how to approach it. So I decided to start with the Z’s and work backwards in the alphabet. So after making this ziti recipe, which I liked and Zoë thought was ok, I began on the zucchini recipes, much to Zoë’s chagrin. She is not a zucchini girl. So you can imagine her surprise when after reminding me for a week that she does not like zucchini, she enjoyed this simple dish of slow cooked zucchini with fresh herbs, feta cheese and Dreamfield's pasta. Unlike Zoë, zucchini has been one of those vegetables I have always enjoyed. I have eaten them raw, used them in bread and chili, prepared them breaded and fried, stir fried, and grilled.

Spiritual Pizza

July 25, 2011 Sharon Jacobson

Growing up I have these fond memories of my parents bringing us to Mario’s pizzeria. I could not tell you where it was anymore, I just remember it being one of those foods we all loved. It was not something we had very often. I remember the cheese, which seemed to stretch for miles, the aroma of the pizza parlor and time spent with family. Over the years, my memories of pizza have changed. With the advent of corporate pizza chains who delivered and frozen pizzas, it went from being one of those special treats that I savored to something you ordered when you didn’t feel like cooking or needed a quick comfort food. While I have been intrigued by some of the techniques like putting extra cheese in the crust, pizza has been losing it’s specialness for me. As I have been working to transform our diets and have us eating healthier, it has been one of those foods, which just never seemed to fit the 30 grams of carbs rule.

Nullam id dolor elit

Integer posuere erat

Communicate With Us

Where We are located