Clafoutis—Baked Cherry Custard. In this recipe I used blueberries in place of cherries.

I use a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to make my ice cream. A recipe booklet came with the purchase of my machine but the recipe can also be found free online at cooking[dot]com.

A couple years ago I befriended a Mexican lady from church. While visiting her she asked if I wanted some hot chocolate—I said absolutely! While we chatted she pulled things from out of her fridge. Naturally I was very curious because I had never seen many of the products she had. I asked her about the Abuelita box and she explained how it was a Mexican food product she uses for making hot chocolate. Then she apologised that it wasn’t the Chocolate Quik brand I might have been expecting, but I told her not to, that I would LOVE to drink her hot chocolate. Here’s how she made it:

When I first read Homer I was struck by how many times food was mentioned and consumed in his stories. It made me more aware of the importance of food in one’s daily life and the attention given to food preparation. Food was especially important in war time too—for warriors must be feed before going out to battle because it provided strength; and on returning, because it healed wounds. I was also struck by the way in which certain leading characters gave thanks or asked for guiding protection from their gods. I may not share the same religious beliefs as they, but the very image of sipping ambrosia from a two-handled goblet is not only beautiful, but sounds far too delicious to ignore.