Sunday, September 19, 2010

My Tribe's Gumbo


All human behavior is tribal.  My children have had that axiom drilled into their heads since they were little.  The trick is identifying an individual’s tribe.  In most of the world, nationality and tribe are synonymous.  Here in the US we have this schizophrenia about our tribes, identifying ourselves as African American, Italian American, Mexican American, etc.  The truth is that most Americans spend a good deal of the lives looking for their identity.  A recent foray into my family tree revealed that much of what I had been told by my grandparents was elaborate fantasy designed to cover up family skeletons.  One place in the US that people know who they are and where they come from is Louisiana. 

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Best Bisquick Brownies Ever



My mother (who was no great cook) used to make fun of her younger sister for her reliance on Bisquick for biscuits "from scratch".  While I do use Bisquick for biscuits, it is the plethora of "impossibly easy pie" recipes available on the Betty Crocker web site that brought me back to the yellow box.  However, the following recipe is my own amalgamation of the Betty Crocker and Hershey's sitesMost people have their favorite brownie recipe, I will put this one up against any for its ease and taste.