Merry Christmas...A Holiday Treat from The Delightful Chef!
Apple Rum Cake...Yummy
As promised, The Delightful Chef is back! Yaaaay! I don't know about you, but I cannot wait to get to the grocery story to get the ingredients for this yummy holiday treat!
Click here to get the recipe for this wonderful Holiday Dessert!
Visit The Delightful Chef at: thedelightfulchef.blogspot.com.
Victoria
December's Feature..The Delightful Chef!
I'm a dreamer at heart - I day dream about everything - well almost everything; everything that excites me, particularly food.
I'm on a mission to love people through my food and that they love me back by enjoying it. It's an orchestrated love story swirling with happiness and delight.
It all started from a young age. My father was a military man and my mother a stay at home caterer. I used to watch her from the table, all night decorating wedding and birthday cakes for her clients. And when my father was away at work, a multitude of people would pour into our house. We’d have food on the table from end to end. It was like water to wine as my mother so gracefully flowed in and out of the kitchen to greet then prepare, greet and prepare. I often gazed at her in loving amazement. I noticed how satisfied and full of happiness our house became, as people came to and fro to feast and fellowship. I longed for that feeling, to make everyone as happy with my own food. When I got older, my sister and I would hold late night sessions. A lot of times we couldn’t sleep, so we would stay up and bake cakes while we did our homework last minute. We’d hold our secret meetings downstairs in the kitchen and feast to our little heart’s content.
My satisfaction doesn't only come from the consumption of such delicately prepared delectables, however, but from sharing the experience of food. See, food is much more than eating to me. It's friends and family gatherings, laying in the grass, picking smooches from your sweetie under a tree.
For me, cooking is truly something you put your entire heart and soul into. Creating and cooking in the kitchen is love in action, manifested from the intangible of the heart into tangible digestible delightfulness; a glorious agape in the form of food!
It brings a remarkably joyful sense of duty yet with an offset anxiousness, an intense eagerness almost out of control. In the kitchen I’m the same way but I get down to business (enter the serious face). It’s amazing to see the finished work of your hands and then bask in the overwhelming sense of pleasure, like a big sigh of love struck satisfaction, except you just never get enough. Duty calls and love wells up. I pour myself into each step. My cup runneth over!
I want people to discover food, to experience that sense of fulfillment, to pique their interest in the literal “Joy of Cooking.”
See, funny thing is, I don't care about becoming a celebrity chef. I just want to cook.
My name is Elle, and I am the Delightful Chef.
Folks stay tuned...The Delightful Chef will coming back soon to share a special holiday treat recipe!
Until then visit The Delightful Chef at: thedelightfulchef.blogspot.com.
Victoria
President Elect...
Your next sworn oath will be as our President!
As I waited an hour and a half to cast my vote I was filled with so much hope. Hope that history would be made, hope that a change would come. As a healthcare provider, hope that all Americans would have the basic right to have health insurance coverage. Since 2002 I've run a free blood pressure clinic in the African American community at a local church. Just last month a parishioner presented to the clinic with a blood pressure reading of 170/100 (normal is 120/80). As I continued to ask her about her medical history I learned that she indeed had been diagnosed with high blood pressure several months ago . As I further probed, I became distressed as she told me, "I can't afford my blood pressure medication."
Despite the fact that this woman goes to work everyday, she can't buy a tiny pill that would prevent a stroke and devastating complications. As I listened to Obama's plans during his campaign to provide healthcare for every American I thought about this woman and many others like her. One of the many reasons I voted for Obama was because I believed him when he promised he would fight so that every American would have affordable health insurance coverage. As a nurse for 17 years I can confidently state that healthy individuals will cultivate healthy families. And healthy families will in turn cultivate healthy communities. If our communities have access to healthcare this will save millions, maybe billions in healthcare dollars. Perhaps these dollar could be utilize to improve our educational system?
What were some of your reasons for helping to elect our 44th president?
Victoria
Big Ones...Little Ones...LOVE YOUR BOOBIES
The best way for us as women to protect ourselves is to be as proactive as possible. It is never too late, or too early to learn how to perform a Self Breast Examination (SBE). In my opinion, it is crucial to teach our young girls the importance of getting to know their breasts at a very young age. A trained medical professional such as a physician or nurse can teach you how to perform SBE.
Please keep in mind that the majority of breast lumps are not cancerous and may change throughout the month due to fluctuating hormones. When doing SBE you should be checking for any new lumps paying close attention to the underarm area, changes in previous lumps, change in breast size, a nipple that has become inverted, and a fluid discharge from the nipple. Also check for the "orange peel" appearance, scaly, red and swollen skin of the entire breast.
Every woman should have a yearly mammogram once she turns 40 years old. However, if there is a close family history of breast cancer a mammogram should be done 5-10 years earlier than the age of the diagnosed family member. For instance, if my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35, I should begin yearly mammograms between the ages of 25-30.
All women must become proactive in combating this disease by getting a yearly mammogram, doing regular SBE, eating a diet low in fat and high in fiber, regular exercise, weight loss, limit alcohol consumption, and quit smoking. African American women must become more vigilant in the fight. We are more likely to die from this disease than women of other races because our tumors are found much later in advanced stages that are more difficult to treat.
For information on possible resources for free or low cost mammograms log onto: www.cancer.org to find your local American Cancer Society office.
Victoria
September Is Sickle Cell Awareness Month
The hallmark of sickle cell disease is pain. Individuals suffer with painful episodes called crises. Crises are unpredictable and may occur at any given time, lasting anywhere from hours and may be prolonged from days to weeks.
Severe anemia, stroke, splenic sequestration, pneumonia, acute chest syndrome, pulmonary hypertension, and blindness are some of the complications that may occur with this illness. Some of these complications presents themselves as early as childhood.
In order to survive, prevent and correct these complications, blood transfusions and blood exchanges may be required as part of the treatment plan. Children as young as five years old depend on these procedures about every 6-8 weeks to prevent the onset or the recurrence of a stroke.
What can you do to help during Sickle Cell Awareness Month? I'm so glad you asked! You can give the gift of life by donating blood. Contact your local American Red Cross and inquire about the sickle cell program. Blood donated to this program is given specifically to patients with sickle cell disease.
To learn more about this disorder click on: Sickle Cell Anemia.
Give someone the gift of life today!
Victoria
Happy Graduation Day...A Tribute To Future Movers and Shakers
On April 17, 2008 I had the pleasure of participating in the Young Women’s Conference Day at Murrell Dobbin
The class I was assigned to was a small group of 12th graders. To break the ice I had each young lady tell me something about themselves and what their plans were for the future. As I listened to each of them share their plans for the future my heart burst with pride. Here was a group of beautiful, young, African American girls living and going to school in the inner city that society had written off. Statistics dictates that these young ladies most likely would have the propensity to be high school dropouts, single mothers, drug addicts or on welfare.
Well, I’m over thrilled to let you all know these young ladies weren’t having it! Each one of them had a road map for their lives that included college in the Fall. One young woman’s aspiration is to be a chef. Wouldn’t it be something if one day she aspired to a Master Chef! Fewer than one hundred chefs in this country hold this special certification. Another has plans on majoring in Business and becoming an entrepreneur. Just imagine ten to fifteen years from now she may be the owner of a Fortune 500 company!
The purpose of my being there was to encourage and inspire these young women by telling them of my journey of becoming a nurse practitioner and an author. I must say that being in their presence renewed my spirit. They encouraged my heart that our youth do have hopes and dreams. And they are willing to strive towards making them come true, ensuring a brighter future for us all.
On graduation day as these beautiful, young Black Queens walk into their destinies I wish them all the success and happiness they deserve. I may never see any of them again; however, I’m expecting wonderful things out of life for each and every one of them.
Peace and Blessings,
Victoria Wells
The count down is on... It won't be long until there's...A Special Summer
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT!
On March 4, 2008 A SPECIAL SUMMER Makes Its Debut!
Kick off your shoes, get comfortable and relax yourself to take a moment to step inside Summer's and Nick's noir amour...
Returning from the kitchen, he sat on the floor behind Summer and pulled her to his chest in a bear hug. He whispered as he nibbled on her lobe, "Whatcha' thinking, Beautiful?"
"Nothing."
With one fluid motion he had her underneath him as he gazed into sparkling brown eyes.
"Now that I have you at a disadvantage, are you going to tell me what's going through that pretty little head of yours?"
The prettiest smile he'd every seen illuminated her face right before she spoke.
"You make me feel special, Nicholas Stiles." She wanted to tell him more. To tell him that he made her feel loved and that she loved him. But she didn't, because she wasn't sure if he was capable of hearing it just yet. For now she would keep her feelings for him to herself. Later, I'll tell him later.
"That's because you are special..." Nick hesitated, "to me." It had been years since he revealed what he felt for a woman. He kept them and his feelings at a distance. However, somehow, some way, Summer had woven her way close to his heart. He would never admit it to himself or anyone else that she had gotten under his skin. Saying she was special would have to be enough. Nick promised himself he would never fall in love with another woman. Not even one as loving and caring as Summer Jackson.
He covered her mouth with his as he lightly traced the inside of her warm, moist mouth with his tongue. The kiss started off tender. As he deepened the kiss and their tongues mated the kiss took on a passion of its own fueling the deepest longing. He trailed kisses from her throat to her cleavage as he slid his hand under her blouse. Summer released a small sigh as Nick rubbed her nibble through her bra with the pad of his thumb.
Fingering the hem of her blouse, "Let me get you out of this." Nick pushed himself up slightly enough to stare down into her face. Her expression revealed she wanted him. A mischievous smirk played at his lips, "You do want me to take this off, don't you?"
To get your copy of A Special Summer click here, Order Here !
What is Noir Amour?
Noir Amour is French for Black Love.
Black Love is a strong love...a solid love...an unmovable love. When I think of black love, I think of freedom. The freedom that allows us to love unconditionally. It's a love that is sensual, passionate, all consuming, never assuming, repentant, and redemptive.
Black Love is the joy you feel when you snuggle a newborn babe for the first time and inhale its sweet innocence. It's the kind of love that transforms a shy, timid woman into a fierce lioness when there is an inkling of a threat to her cub. It's this same love that raises up the warrior in every man to protect and defend his most prized possessions...his woman and children.
Black Love is never being able to get enough of the one you love. It's that tingle, that shiver you get when your love kisses that secret spot that drives you insane. It's the pulsating rhythm in your hidden treasure every time he gives you that lingering seductive gaze letting you know you're his entire universe.
Noir Amour is you... Noir Amour is Me
