tapioca carioca

December 11, 2020December 10, 2020 ~ jama ~ 33 Comments

Hello, Cutie.

Put on your best bib, grab a spoon, and dig into some homemade tapioca pudding. 🙂

I LIKE TAPIOCA
by Bill Batcher

I like even the word "tapioca."
It sounds like the name of a Latin dance,
the beat of the Samba underscoring
the ritual movements of some Amazonian tribe.
"Come, let's do the Tapioca."

Or it could be the local indigenous name
of a tributary of the congo
the newsman Stanley hoped would
bring him closer to Dr. Livingstone.
"This is the Tapioca, I presume."

Or even a tropical insect,
whose bite transmits a lethal disease,
while its genes contain the secret
to conquering the riddle of aging.
"Tapioca face cream, $26.59 a jar."

Yet tapioca is more than these:
A confection that puts a spring
in my step, takes my spirit
to worlds unknown, and renews my youth,
when I loved those gelatinous pearls --
even when told they were frog eyes -- the bigger, the better.

Where is it from? There's the mystery,
unlike the rice pudding they try to pawn off
on me instead.

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[zesty review + recipe] Our Little Kitchen by Jillian Tamaki

December 8, 2020August 24, 2025 ~ jama ~ 12 Comments

Tie on your apron!
Roll up your sleeves!
Pans are out, oven is hot.
The kitchen's all ready,
where do we start?

From its very first cheery HELLO! . . . to its final glorious SLURP!, this exuberant, soul-nourishing story demonstrates the good that can come when ordinary people work together to help others.

In Our Little Kitchen (Abrams BFYR, 2020), Caldecott honoree Jillian Tamaki takes us inside a bustling community kitchen, where every Wednesday a crew of hardworking volunteers prepares a meal for their neighbors.

They’re a resourceful, ethnically diverse bunch who get the job done with their no-nonsense brand of high energy, cacophonous teamwork.

Upon arrival, young and old waste no time in assessing available ingredients: “what we’ve grown, what we’ve kept, been given, and bought!”

In the garden they find ripe tomatoes and zucchini, though “the lettuce is holey,” the carrots too small. But in the fridge, a purple-haired teen boy jubilantly discovers carrots, celery and radishes.

They know how to make the best possible use of what’s on hand, cutting the brown bits off apples to make a sweet crumble, tossing day-old bread into the oven (“Soft and warm, good as new!”), and earnestly contemplating what to do with the abundance of food bank beans: “bean salad? bean soup? bean tacos? bean stew?”

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we have two winners!

December 7, 2020December 6, 2020 ~ jama ~ 2 Comments

Hooray, we have two winners!

Joe Biden for President and Kamala Harris for Vice President!!

*thunderous applause*

Oh, you were wondering about the action figure giveaway? 🙂

Well, it just so happens that Monsieur Random Integer Generator picked someone who wanted Joe, and someone who wanted Kamala. Maybe it’s his way of celebrating the most awesome Presidential election victory in America’s history (he’s cool that way).

So, are you ready?

*rubs hands together*

*deep breath*

*a little tap dance*

**trumpet fanfare**

***la la la la la***

The first winner, who requested a Joey action figure (and who just happens to live in Delaware) is:

🐞 BARBARA V.!! 🍓

And the second winner, who wanted a Kamala action figure (and who’s from Barack’s and my home state) is:

🌴 LI ANN!! 🌺

🎉 CONGRATULATIONS, BARB AND LI ANN!! 🎉

🎈WOO HOO!! 🎈

*cartwheels*

*backflips*

*high fives*

I’m sure Joey and Kamala will love living with you (make sure you stock up on ice cream for Joey and Special K cereal for Kamala).

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. It was especially wonderful hearing your enthusiasm for the trail blazing women who continue to inspire us.

Now, on to the Georgia run-offs, and then the inauguration in January.

We are in good hands with Joey and Kamala!!

As I said before, WE HAVE TWO WINNERS! 🙂

David L. James’s “Lessons”

December 4, 2020February 12, 2021 ~ jama ~ 36 Comments

Parents, this one is for you.

LESSONS 
by David L. James

     "Is there anyone among you who,
     if your child asks for a fish, will give
     a snake instead of a fish? Or if the
     the child asks for an egg, will give
     a scorpion?"
          Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11

She asks for pop, I pour cold water.
He asks for Kool-Aid, I pour cold water.
She asks for toys, I buy gum.
He asks for the hammer, I tell him to look for it.
Asks for chocolate, I peel an orange.
Asks for money, I dish out chores.
They ask for help, I give them help.
She asks for ice cream, I fix lunch.
He asks for a sip of beer, I pour cold water.
Asks for understanding, I offer advice.
Asks for more time, I give excuses.
They ask for a later curfew, I say no.
She asks for a swimming pool, I take her 
to the beach.
He asks for it big time, I give it to him big time.
They ask and ask, I give and give.
So when they finally ask for answers,
I give them love.
When they ask for their freedom,
I give them love.
And when they ask for love,
I give them
everything.

~ from Poetry East: Origins (Numbers 98 & 99, 
Spring 2020)

I was quite moved by this poem even though I’m not a parent. Perhaps it’s because I was fortunate enough to have been lovingly parented, and now, with the wisdom of age, I can better appreciate the perplexing challenges my parents must have faced.

They did give me everything they possibly could with what they had, in light of what they knew at any given time.

The poet himself confessed:

As a father of three, I know I have failed my children in many ways. There’s no guidebook to read, no list of rules to follow, no set amount of prayers to say that will guarantee their future success and happiness. Parenthood is a crapshoot; we roll the dice and hope for the best. As parents, we stumble and plod along, trying to find the correct answers, trying to do the least harm, trying to shed some light in this big old world of darkness.

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surprise action figure giveaway!

December 2, 2020December 2, 2020 ~ jama ~ 32 Comments

In the spirit of the season, Mr Cornelius suggested we give away a real life action figure to two lucky Alphabet Soup readers.

No doubt you’ve seen us having fun with Joey, Kamala, Barack, Ruth, Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton in past posts. Yes, we love to play, and we want you to play too!

The action figures are made by the good folks at FCTRY, a Brooklyn-based product design company who “marry pop design with mass production.” They’re run by artists, designers and writers; what is especially nice is that they donate part of their proceeds to great causes (in the past they’ve supported political campaigns, and most recently, they donated to the largest soup kitchen in NYC).

Each of the figures is about 6 inches tall, they’re free-standing, and their arms are jointed at the elbow. We like the quality of these and they stand up well to handling (even by kids).

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment at this post telling us which action figure you’d like (brand new, in box): Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Barack Obama (he’s currently out of stock so you may have to wait a little longer for him).

Deadline for entries: Midnight (EST) Sunday, December 6, 2020. Two winners will be announced Monday, December 7. (We’re making this a short giveaway so you can receive your figures in time for Christmas.)

Good Luck!!