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In Assignments, Resources on
January 4, 2021

Year-end Reading Round-up

A collection of books read this year

When I look back at all the disappointments, annoyances, and struggles of 2020, I have to recognize it worked wonders for my bookshelf. All the chaos and social distance made for an outstanding reading year. I decided to do a 2020 Year-end Reading Round-Up to inspire your reading in the new year.

This year, I read about 16 books. That’s a little low for bookstagramers and book bloggers but blows my previous years out of the water. I picked up my first book right around St. Patrick’s day when I realized how few Irish authors I’ve read. Then the country shut down. Then racial, civil turmoil hit a boiling point and chased me to write into the literary embrace of James Baldwin.  My favorite writers of the year are Brit Bennet, Elizabeth Acevedo, and James Baldwin, who wrote their tails off and gave us something phenomenal to stick with us.

With no further ado, here’s my GloBelle Affairs recommended reading List for 2020. 

A collection of books I read this year to inspire . I decided to do a 2020 Year-end Reading Round-Up to inspire your reading in the new year.
I decided to do a 2020 Year-end Reading Round-Up to inspire your reading in the new year.
Dubliners

This is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my roommate was reading the same book in Spanish. All the stories take place around Dublin and have a kind of melancholy, hopelessness to them. Joyce wrote the book leading up to the 1919 War of Independence. Two years after Joyce wrote the collection of stories, the Irish launched an uprising against British Rule. The stories reflect the Irish nationalism and limitations Irish people felt their lives had at the time.   

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This1988 novel provided the burst of optimism I needed after reading the Dubliners. It’s not particularly a work of literature with a magical use of words and literary devices. It is, however, more encouraging and light-hearted. Santiago wants more for his life than watching sheep and starts having dreams telling him to go to Egypt. 

Everything starts pointing him toward Egypt, so he just does it. He sells his flock (aka all his wealth and security) and leaves Spain for Egypt. Like an alchemist, the journey, like all travel, is transformative. The book encourages everyone to just do it. Seek your calling. I needed to hear this story in 2020—a world’s bestseller.

The Fire Next Time 

The thoughts that flow through James Baldwin’s mind are incredible to witness. This book gives us so many discussion-provoking gems that you can sit at a coffee shop with your most intellectual friends to debate or discuss. Most notable is the opening essay, a letter to his nephew, in which he discusses survival in America. In the letter, he summarizes the bottom-line of survival in America, “You can only be destroyed by believing that you really are what the white world calls a nigger.”  

So long as you don’t adopt the white perspective, you can survive. Maintain the “Double-Consciousness” that W.E.B. Du Bois coins. He also urges survival, “And now you must survive because we love you, and for the sake of your children and your children’s children.”

Baldwin also describes what it is like to be a black military service member in America on page 53, which still remains relevant in 2020. He discusses religion – both Islam and Christianity – which replicates some of the same conversations that Frederick Douglas in the 19th century and what Americans are still talking about in the 2020s. 

Some books are best read in pairs.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 

I started reading this to find quotes to challenge this new P.R. attempt to cast or re-brand the character, Uncle Tom, as a hero and the term “Uncle Tom” as a compliment. He wasn’t, and it isn’t. When I read this book, what ended up happening was being reminded how little things had changed in America since Beecher Stowe published the epic in 1852. I found myself nodding and thinking, “I’ve experienced this. Oh, this is just like the passage from James Baldwin’s Fire Next Time written a century and a decade later. I’ve seen this happen, and I’ve heard Kentuckians have this exact, ironic conversation concerning their faith in God and the lives of black people in 2020.” It’s still relevant. Get the audiobook if reading 500 pages is too overwhelming. 

The Fire This Time 

In 1963, James Baldwin wrote, “God gave Noah the Rainbow sign, no more water – fire next time.” Baldwin hinted at a sign of promise for America in 1963, but he warned about the fire that would come to America if the nation did not take heed. In 2020, America is in the fire this time. Inspired by James Baldwin, The Fire This Time was released in 2017 as a collection of essays and poems from multiple black perspectives.  

In one essay, Garnette Cadogan discusses the differences between walking while black in Kingston, New Orleans, and New York City and the double consciousness black people must employ while living in America. In his native Kingston, walking as a form of therapy to clear his mind, get exercise, and sunshine. But when he moves to America, walking…with his skin color… walking becomes fraught with dangers. “I recognized that the way I would treat dangerous people when I was growing up in Jamaica was the way people began treating me,” he says. It is a reminder of how simple, everyday actions like walking are shaped by a white person’s perception of one’s blackness. Exercise should not be a death risk, but, as we all know, in 2020, it is. And it’s relatable. All the essays are relatable.

All About Love

One of my favorite media gurus is a YouTube channel called For Harriett, and the creator, Kim, had a “Read More Bell Hooks” campaign. So, amid the chaos that was the Summer of 2020, I picked up her “All about Love Book.” Bell Hooks is an African-American Stanford Alum who hails from Western Kentucky and is a leading voice in Black feminist thought. Since we share some of the same identities, I was already interested in what she has to say. 

Hooks starts by discussing how everyone thinks they know love. Based on the teachings of love in our American society, most of us have no idea. We have a lot of unlearning to do. The book’s motivation was that America moved so far from love that it may never find it again. American society just doesn’t model the best definition of love. America’s foundation is characterized by violence, hate, and lack of respect. Each generation continued to hand down those teachings. Love is an action, never a feeling. It is not centered on romance and sexual attraction. Love starts on a strong foundation of respect. Key quotes that I found best captures the author’s thesis: 

“An overwhelming majority of us come from dysfunctional families in which we were taught we were not okay, where we were shamed, verbally and/or physically abused, and emotionally neglected even as (we) were taught to believe that we were loved.”

“When we love children, we acknowledge by our every action that they are not property, that they have rights – that we respect and uphold their rights.”

“As one man bragged about the aggressive beatings he had received from his mother, sharing that ‘they had been good for him,’ I interrupted and suggested that he might not be the misogynist woman-hater he is today had he not been so brutally beaten by a woman as a child.” 

ABUSE is NOT LOVE!!

I think this is a must-read for people who want to learn to love their children, partners, friends, and humankind, in general, better. The book is also beneficial in helping audiences recognize the often blurry difference between love or abuse. That way audiences can put up healthy boundaries.

Clap When You Land  

This was my favorite book of 2020. Elizabeth Acevedo knocked Louisa May Alcott off her throne and became my favorite author after this book. By page 12, I was ugly crying. I continued crying until the very end when I was still crying but cheering on women’s strength when they unit. 

In November of 2001, there was a plane crash that most Americans vaguely remember. Some 200 people from the sky and five on the ground, headed to the Dominican Republic died. Once investigators confirmed that it wasn’t another terrorist attack like the one in September, it faded out of memory. But American Airlines flight 587 rocked the New York Dominican community. Everyone within the New York DR community knew someone personally affected by this tragedy. The author, a poet by trade and part of that community, imagined this story and wrote this prose- in-verse fiction about what could have been. Oh, and there are mentions of LGBTQ experiences. People like knowing that ahead of time for whatever reason. It’s not a big part of the book. 

This book had beautiful depictions of Caribbean culture, New York Dominican culture, African- Diaspora culture, delicious food, class strife, themes of secrets, forgiveness, family, belonging, and using chess as the symbolism of life and family. I look forward to this story being picked up and turned into a movie. It was so good!

I heard Acevedo perform her poem, “Hair” years ago. I didn’t realize she was the same author I’d fallen in love with until I did some post-novel author exploration.  Based on our shared relationship to hair politics and her uncanny way to express it, I already loved Elizabeth Azevedo’s expression before I picked up her novel. To learn more about why Ms. Acevedo appears twice on this Year-End Reading Round-up, check out her talk at Summit on Inequality and Opportunity.

The surface of the novel-in-verse, clap when you land sits on an brightly curated shelf with plants and other books. The other books have their spins facing away from teh view as to not overshadow the featured book.
Clap When You Land is hands-down, the best thing I read all year.
Lead from The Outside Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

Stacy Abrams distinguished herself as the Belle the 2020 election. She turned Georgia Blue and predicted that Georgia was a swing state several years ago. After the election, I realized that I had never read a single leadership book by a black woman. This is astounding considering all of the formal military leadership education I’ve had. All the leaderships by white men were informative but never took racism or sexism into consideration as obstacles to navigate. Even white women’s leadership books (i.e., Lean In) were tone-deaf to the idea that not all people would get the same results doing the prescribed methods based on how they look. Ms. Abrams addresses those obstacles and how to use them as pathways rather than stumbling blocks. This is a book I’ll continue to reference. I read this for Non-fiction November and think

The leadership book, "Lead From The Outside: by stace Adems sits atop pages ripped out from other books. arraged with a coffee cup filled half with cream and half with coffee and reading glasses
Leaning leadership lessons from leaders with the same leadership challenges as you is a win!
The Vanishing Half

My Junior League’s book club featured this book to read and discuss in Decemeber. After slavery, this mullato guy built a society for beige-colored mullatos on his daddy’s plantation. For generations, no one married or procreated with dark-skinned people. The story tells the divergent lives of twin sisters. They vanish from town. One passes into white society and lives a privileged life. The other twin returns to the hometown with a very dark child. This child is so dark no one in the beige village has ever seen such a person, and her presence creates a spectacle.

With all else being the same, the proximity to whiteness that the twins chose during Jim crow is used to represent privilege, inter-generational trauma, and intersectional identities. The dynamics of the LGBTQ community layered with bi-racial identities come into play as well as, yet again, the double consciousness between how a person identifies oneself and how that person is identified by society.

The author knows how to weave magic out of words. I found myself captivated all the way through. . Her use of literary devices to set scenes is phenomenal. This is one of the best reads of the year and sets a gold bar for writing. This was a fascinating read that will make a great movie. 

The Vanishing Half novel sits on a pashmina scarf marks this years reading rbook eview.
This novel will make a great film. A highly discussed novel for any 2020 end of year reading round up.
To Build a Better World

After the election and discussions of American Democracy being threatened by the media spin doctor and fear-mongers, I decided to buy this book. That’s when I realized how non-diverse the leadership and International Affairs section of my personal library was. I also wanted more academic substance to determine if American democracy was at peril. I didn’t get that out of this book by leading scholar-diplomats, Condeleeza Rice and Philip Zelikow. The pair focuses their framework centering Germany and the Soviet Union during the Cold War with a lot of historical analysis but minimal modern reflection (the book was initially published in Sept 2019). It speaks of our divided world in the late 1980s but not much on how divided international politics are now. Overall, it’s a good read, just not what I was hunting for at the moment. It’s graduate-level, international affairs required reading worthy. 

Two of Condoleezza Rice's academic texts sit on a well curated book shelf next to sweaters. These books round out the end of year reading round up.
I wondered why this wasn’t part of my International Studies Cannon, but it wasn’t written while I was in grad school. It’s a worthy read for all future IR/GA/Policy students.
Democracy

 by Condoleezza Rice- Optimistic stance that authoritarian regimes are not more potent than the natural human desire for freedom. She touches on historical examples of fights for democratic principles across the globe. Using her experience as a diplomat and the 66th Sec State, she references the democratic struggles of Russia, Columbia, Kenya, Ukraine, and countries in South West Asia, as well as her experiences growing up in Birmingham during Jim Crow. She even discusses potential outcomes of competing interests and ideas of freedom clash. One can argue that the structures of democracy and the “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” that cause democracies to crumble have been shaken since Rice published this text. I wonder if she maintains her position that considering democracy threatened is alarmist and premature. This text should be part of the Global Affairs/ National Security Studies cannon.  

Three Books on Democracy rest face up on a hounds tooth fabric hight light the end of year reading round up.
Multiple perspective on democracy need make their way on graduate school reading lists. These books were not planned, but due to current events made their way on the end of year reading round up.
The Poet X

After reading Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When You Land, I became obsessed and had to read everything I could by the author. This book comes off as auto-biographical and coming of age. It’s about an Afro-Latino spoken-word poet from Harlem. Some of the themes are sexuality, religion, adjusting to developing bodies. The stories through poems discuss the challenges little girls transforming into womanhood have while navigating this gross society we’ve built for them and the well-intended, poorly executed ways parents call themselves protecting these children. As I said, I stan for Elizabeth Acevedo, so I loved this work. 

Key Quotes: “I am the baby fat that settled into D-cups and swinging hips so that the boys who called me a whale in middle school now ask me to send them pictures of myself in a thong.”

“Just because your father’s present, doesn’t mean he isn’t absent.”

“When your body takes up more room than your voice, you are always the target of well-aimed rumors.”

Check Elizabeth’s phenomenal spoken word poem, “Rat Ode” that she dedicated to a professor who told her rats were not noble enough for a poem.

The Black Kids 

This Young Adult fiction by Christina Hammonds Reed captures the 1992 Rodney King Riots in L.A. through the eyes of a wealthy black girl named Ashley. As in so many of the books I’ve read this year, this book explores themes of identity and double consciousness. Ashley realizes her community no longer sees her as “one of the girls,” but as “one of the black kids.” That comes with a whole host of implications. No matter the best attempts made by black parents to protect their children from the inescapable trauma that stems from systemic racism, eventually, some event is bound to happen to knock the rose-colored glasses off. There’s a lot I can relate to in this book. It even has a character with my sister’s name – something I’ve never seen in literature considered classics in academia.

“We have to walk around being perfect all the time just to be seen as human. Don’t you ever get tired of being a symbol? Don’t you ever just want to be human?” 

The moment a black person in America gets categorized or documented as flawed is the moment abuse and even death becomes justified. And that expectation of perfection is the level of pressure and anxiety black Americans live with daily.  That’s what the young protagonist realizes in this book.

Three Books Stacked on top of cowboy boots
My to-Be Red Next Boot Bookstack. Some didn’t make the End of Year Reading round up for 2020 but will definitely be there for 2021.
A Promised Land 

The most anticipated release of the year (and pretty pricy) President Obama’s memoir takes 600 pages to cover his presidency up to Bin Laden’s Execution. I have not completed this work. But it needs to be on your bookshelf. I must brag, I got mine for $23 at T.J. Max. I think there was a fold in the book jacket that made it unfit to sell full price. I have to brag on that deal because it’s selling for $30+ at other major retailers. 

A mono-chromatic picture of Barrack Obama's memoire on a hound's-tooth background
The most awaited memoire of the past 4 year should be on everyone’s end of year reading round up for 2020.
Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul

 Written by Princeton professor, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., is the harsh critique of American Democracy I was somewhat hoping for, but knowing otherwise, when I read the perspectives of Condoleezza Rice. The main idea of the book centers around the “value gap” that is so interwoven in our ‘democratic’ system, as well as the ‘racial habits’ that America does to sustain this gap. It discusses the state-sanctioned terror on Black Americans while providing systemic, unearned value to white Americans. It suggests Black Americans aren’t actually experiencing democracy – at least not in the same way white Americans are. The value gap informs all decisions and actions, including academic major, schools, career-fields, the concept of justice, housing, and policy. The author pinpoints the black political classes as “accomplices in the demise of black America. To the author, it’s the same ol’ democracy, just in black. 

I think the professor’s intended primary audience is the politically educated, black academic class. The average reader would need some pre-requisites on history taught from the black perspective, which doesn’t gloss over or whitewash historical events before grasping some concepts or buying off on them. The book takes for granted readers have a baseline understanding. 

Three Books on Democracy rest face up on a hounds tooth fabric for the end of year reading round up.
Multiple perspective on democracy need make their way on graduate school reading lists.
Mexican Gothic 

Not my typical genre. It’s mystery, horror, and suspense set in 1950s Mexico. I can’t say I connected or identified with it in the same way I did other books. I have a lot of questions about most of the creative choices the author made. Mostly, during a time of pandemic and thwarted travel, I just didn’t get enough of a sense of place and setting that I was craving. But the cover is stunning, and I get to fit in with all the book nerdy cool kids ’cause this was the most anticipated book drops of the year and on all the influencer’s nightstands. Perhaps it will make a better movie. I just wasn’t moved. Maybe I’ll try to reread it. Idk.

The novel, Mexican Gothic, displayed on stone tiles in 4 cool hues
If we’re judging books by the cover, the cover was all this book had going for it.

I think what made me love this reading list was that I found so much of me reflected in the pages. My 2020 reading experience spoke to my experiences in a way that Dickens and Hemmingway never could. That’s why I found them all so engrossing.  I haven’t really found the words to describe the novelty of seeing myself written in novels for the first time. Perhaps that word doesn’t exist in English yet.

Alright! That’s all I have. That’s my Year-End Reading Round-up. What books would you recommend? Let me know in the comments or on my Insta (@globelleaffairs) so I can start my 2021 based on your recommendations.

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In GloBelle Kitchen, Uncategorized on
April 21, 2020

20 Easy Global Recipes You Can Make Yourself

Maultaschen, a delish, traditional german swabbian dish

With travel off-limits for now, global nomads might be feeling the walls close in on them. Even if you can’t jet set to a far away café at the moment, you can still add a little global fare to your meals. I’ve curated my top 20 easy, travel-inspired recipes travelers like you can make yourself. With a little creativity & imagination, you can bump your dining experience up a notch by transforming your living room into a chic window-side Parisian café or an Arabian souq.

Even if you’re not hopping on a plane anytime soon, you can still let your taste buds jet set around the world without leaving the house (or at least not further than the grocery store).

1. Putin Schnitzel mit pommes or better yet, rahmschnitzel. 

When I live in a new country, I always live in the south. From my experience, the south always has tastiest recipes. The Schwabish region of Germany is no different. Schnitzel is standard fare from the region I consider my German home. Wiener Schnitzel is traditional but Putin Schnitzel uses turkey rather than pork. Rahmschnitzel uses a mushroom cream sauce. However you like to eat your schnitzel, pair it with fries. When I eat Schnitzel, I feel like I’m back home in Baden-Württemberg. 

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes German schnitzel with french fries
recipe by The Spruce
photo source: weight watchers Deutschland

2. Maultaschen

I love the history of this Germany-style ravioli. Maultaschen was created during lent when Catholics traditionally fast from eating meat. But those crafty Schwabians hid their meat in the pasta. If God can’t see the meat, no harm, no foul, right? Plus this little secret tastes so good!

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes Swabian recipes maultashen
Cooking The Globe
Try this one too

3. Apfelstrudel

See just what Julie Andrews was singing about with these Austrian-style Apple Strudels (Apfelstrudelen). In a cafe down a cobblestone street from the bright yellow Basilika St. Michael where the movie Fraulein Maria and Captain von Trapp got married, I first sampled this strudel for the first time. I tried it later in Vienna and it did not disappoint. It’s very different from the American version of apple strudels. Until you can get to Austria yourself, makes these decadent treats while watching The Sound of Music. This easy travel-inspired recipe became a repeat favorite for me, and is sure to become one of your favorite things.

4. Paella

While serving in Germany, members of the Spanish Army kicked all of the women out of the kitchen. You don’t have to tell me twice not to slave over a stove. The Spanish army cooked paella for me. This is my claim to royal treatment in Europe. Valencianos are very particular about making sure you know paella isn’t Spanish food, it’s very specifically from Valencian food. From Valencia, Spain. Serve this dish family style from the pan in the middle of the table, and eat it alfresco. 

Travel Recipe: seafood Paella in cast iron skillet. photographed by charneice mckenzie.
Check out this recipe while I work on editing my recipe for this picture.

5. Aoli

Aoli is a dip common around the Mediterranean coasts of Spain. I was chowing down on it in Mallorca when the British group I linked up with informed me that it’s basically just jazzed up mayonnaise.   Dip your French fries in it. Eat with French bread & olives before your meal. Dine alfresco and imagine you’re overlooking the Med. Make sure you have a carafe of sangria.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes spanish aoli
Photo Credit: Taste.com
Tried and True Recipe: Epicurious
Seven recommended variations: Betty Crocker

6. Ramen

Ramen is a Japanese soup made from Chinese noodles, that has sustained a generation of latch-key kids and college students. Now it’s a chic trend that allows foodies to be snobs about the most unpretentious food.

Easy Travel-Inspired recipes two bowls of ramen photographed and styled by Charneice McKenzie.
Ramen is so versatile. Get some ideas on how to spruce up your basic pack of noodles.

7. Spanish Tortilla (Spanish Omelet)

A French traveler in my hostel in Quito introduced me to this filling Spanish dish. With Eggs and Potatoes as its main ingredients, it’s cheap, tasty, and keeps your belly full all day. It makes a great breakfast or lunch. Plus, I think thises are easier to make than American omelets.

Breakfast Recipes: wedge slices of spanish omelet spanish tortilla
Photo credit & recipe by: Give me some oven

8. Pasteis De Nata

I visited Portugal when I was three weeks out from my first bikini fitness competition. Needless to say, there were several cheat moments with these pastries.  Did you know Massachusettes is the closest state to Portugal? Every year Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod, hosts a Portuguese Festival and a Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. All the ships, many from Portugal, line up in a parade fashion to get blessed for a prosperous fishing season. It’s a huge celebration of the town’s Portuguese heritage and these little lovelies are right in the center of them all.

Portugese pastries on a platter
Get the Recipe Here

9. Crêpes 

Voulez-vous get on my plate sil–vous-plait? Savory or sweet, I love them both for a meal or treat! Lol, I amuse myself. I like my crepes savory with chicken and basil pesto. They also remind me of that funny scene in Talladega Nights. That would be a good movie to watch while eating these.

Oui love crepes
Oui love crepes!

10. Quiche Lorraine

I spent a glorious spring weekend staying in a renovated, gorgeous World War I hospital turned into a refined hotel in Vittel, France. The breakfast spread there every day was everything you’d expect of this region of France. 

The Lorraine region of France has changed its name and borders more than once since I visited Vital a few years ago. Alsace, Lorraine, and now “Grand Est” is a strategically valuable defense region to both Germany and France and culturally rich. It is the birthplace to not only the quiche, but also macarons, Mirabelle plums, and madeleines. 

A very french Inspired travel Recipe. French quiche in a pan with a kitchen towl and spatula.
Delish

11. Coq Au Vin 

Quarantined or not, this French classic is my favorite French country recipe (super hint, save time and order the jar from Williams Sonoma’s website ). Just south of Grand Est (the Former Champagne Ardenne, Lorraine, and Alsace) is Bourgogne (or Burgundy in English). The Kingdom of Burgundy was settled by Germanic people. The architecture is very apparently German. It’s the deep red wine from the region that makes this chicken dish memorable. 

Travel-Inspired French Recipes coq au vin in a williams sonoma cast iron pot by Staub.
grab the recipe here

12. Ballymaloe Irish Stew

This authentic Irish comfort food is worth the wait while cooking for hours. I can’t really tell the parsnips from the potatoes but they’re both there. 

Travel-Inspired Recipes a pot of ballymaloe irish beef stew with parsnips, carrots, and potatoes photographed by charneice mckenzie
Ballymlaloe

13. Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) 

This is street food found at stands all over Europe. It’s perfect for lunch or a snack on the go. In the U.S., I love it for brunch! Belle tip: I love using puff pastry over phyllo dough.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes spanakopita, greek spinich pie
SPANAKOPITA RECIPE & HISTORY – Traditional Greek spinach pie

14. Jollof

Every West African country has its own variation on this classic. Since all the Jollof festivals from DC to Oakland are likely going to be canceled this year, you’ll have to make your own.

a hearty bowls of Jollof photographed by sweet babycakes
Jollof Rice Recipe (Authentic and Delicious)

15. Carpaccio

I am a carpaccio coinsurer. If it is on the menu, I’m ordering it. Unfortunately, the only way I can get it in America is usually to prepare it myself. Carpaccio is an Italian hors d’oeuvre consisting of thin slices of raw beef.

In 1950, Giuseppe Cipriani from Harry’s Bar in Venice created the dish inspired by the Contessa Amalia Nani Mocenigo, a steady customer whose doctor had forbidden her to eat cooked meat. It was named after the renowned Venetian painter Vittorio Carpaccio, known for his reds and white art. 

You can’t get an easier travel-inspired recipe than this. It requires no cooking! Thinly shaved beef is easy to find in the meat section of the grocery or have your butcher slice it for you. I like drizzling mine with balsamic glaze.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes shaved beef carpaccio
Learn more about carpaccio here.

16. Jerk Chicken

This recipe is on repeat year-round, but summertime is my favorite time to grilled jerk chicken. This recipe is a fusion of native Arawak meat preservation techniques using local spices (pimento, that the Brits later renamed “allspice”) and native West African meat curing techniques utilizing roasting. IT tastes like the warm sun kissing your bare shoulders and a beachy breeze.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes Jamacian jerk chicken
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe

17. Middle Eastern Dips

I’m floored by the way this region makes veggies taste! From Jerusalem to Kurdistan, these dips have a strong presence across most ethnic groups in Southwest Asia. Without a stove involved, these dips are definitely easy travel-inspired recipes. Make a meal out of them all by serving with yeast-free breads and vegetables.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes Middle eatsern beat dip, carrot humus, labneh on a platter with different breads photographed by charneice mckenzie
Labneh: Middle Eastern Yogurt Spread
Beat dip
Carrot humus
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Recipe

18. Plantains

From Africa to the Caribbean, there’s a lot you can do with plantains. The link provides 10 easy travel-inspired recipes featuring plantains!

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes carribean plantains. 10 plantain recipes.
TEN PLANTAIN RECIPES YOU SHOULD TRY THIS YEAR

19. Dumplings

Crispy fried pork dumplings are the hero of the Lunar New Year. Although I lived in and am more familiar with the spicy cuisine of southern China, these little purses of meat originate from northern China. They symbolize prosperity for the new year but great to eat all year round. They’re easy & fun to make, especially in a group setting.

Easy Travel-Inspired Recipes Chinese new year dumplings. Pork dumplings. Lunar new year celebration photographed by charneice mckenzie
check this out.

20. Crème Brûlée

This is my absolute favorite dessert in the world. If it’s on the menu, it’s on my plate then in my belly! When I eat crème brûlée, I’m instantly on a Parisian sidewalk café with my cappuccino & sunglasses, half people watching, half engaged in my reading material.

two ramikin bowls of tastey crème brûlée with rapsberries photographed by the brown eyed baker.
brown eyed baker

I hope you’re able to enjoy these easy travel-inspired recipes as much as I’m going to during this momentary travel pause! Which ones pique your interests most? Which travel-inspired recipes will be on your menu for the next couple of weeks? Lemme know in the comments!

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In Uncategorized on
March 31, 2020

Introduction to Bikini Fitness

Two fit friends shown in athletic gear from the back

My main motivation for documenting these workout examples are self-serving. It’s to save myself time. Ever so often I’ll have a buddy or family member ask my fitness & nutrition advice. I’ll end up taking the time to write out a plan and then, they end up not doing a thing I recommend. It’s a bit time exhausting to keep down this cycle. So, I figure, why not write it once, direct folx to the link, then see where their commitment, consistency and motivation take them.

I’ve totally been on the other end of this scenario. While preparing for my first bodybuilding competition back in 2013, I reached out to a fellow Air Force officer who had won multiple international titles in bikini bodybuilding championships. I requested her direction and then essentially wasted her time through my lack of commitment to my own goal.

During a daily check-in, I remember her saying, “That wasn’t on the list I gave you so why are you eating it? You know what, you’re just not doing what I’m told you so I can’t help you.”

At the time, my feelings were hurt that she would give up on me. Now, I understand her need to protect her time. She likely went through this all the time. I can imagine that once people recognized her expertise, she’d have a lot of people asking for her time then letting her down. With her experience and credentials, she would have been justified in charging a hefty fee. But she gave me the details for free.

I completely understand and appreciate both perspectives. I get the need for trainers and coaches to protect their time and focus on those who are serious and committed to reaching their goals.  And I know that commitment and consistency are habits that take time and experience to build and develop.

So this post kind of meets in the middle. I can share my experience without it being taxing and beginners can take and utilize the information as they wish until they’re ready to dig deep and make a commitment. The links below serve as a sort of curriculum to guide your way. I believe it can guide you in reaching your goals, regardless if you end up on a stage or not. Happy lifting!

Fitness Self-Assessment

Targeted Muscle Group Training Workout

Bikini fitness Full Body Circuit Training Workout

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In Fitness, Globelle Home on
March 31, 2020

Pre-Workout Plan Self- Assessment

Fitness model stretches on yoga mat

Before you jump into the gym, take a moment to evaluate where you’re headed on this journey. There’s a lot that goes into embarking on a new work out plan. It’s physical, nutritional, emotional, mental, and even spiritual. It’s important to set the road map before going through all of the changes and sacrifices you’ll make. I cannot stress enough how invaluable working with a personal trainer will be in helping you meet your fitness goals.  I recommend investing in a trainer at least for a few weeks to learn proper form and technique.  It’s better to learn good habits from the start rather than need to break bad habits and correct poor form later.

But if you’re not ready to invest or commit to a trainer just yet, here is how you can have an initial consultation with yourself. I’ve broken the consultation down into three parts, Looking within, measurements, then assessing your gym capabilities.

a collage of fitness

LOOKING WITHIN

Do you have medical conditions or injuries? Has a doctor cleared you for workouts? The workout approach is different with people who have heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, muscle or joint injuries.  Do you have medications that may interfere with performance? It’s important to recognize and acknowledge the differences as to not create more problems. You’ll need a trainer who is specialized in addressing these issues.

What’s the endpoint? Are you starting down this fitness journey to achieve a certain look for an event (yacht week, carnival, upcoming wedding)? Is it to compete in a competition? To lose a specific amount of weight? Is it to be able to perform a certain action? How will you know you have accomplished your goal? Having a specific, measurable goal in mind will impact how you approach your goal.

Start with “Why”. What is your motivation for going on this journey?  Why do you want to workout? What’s the benefit? What do you get out of it? Being able to articulate your “why” for the long haul and short-run will be your driving force to make it happen each day. So, write it down. Keep a list. Cut out pictures, save it to Pinterest. But understand why you want to do this and have the answer accessible for the times you start to forget why.

Sleeping Habits – Sleep is the body’s natural recovery mechanism. Poor sleeping habits affect everything! Sleeping abnormalities can usually be directly linked to stress and improper diet. All of that can reduce recovery effectiveness, lower growth hormone release, and can cause mental fatigue and inability to concentrate. Be conscious of how much quality sleep you’re getting every day. Keep a record of it.

Water Intake Habits – Not drinking enough water leaves the client susceptible to dehydration during exercise. Also, prolonged low water intake can lead to survival water retention in the body (which makes you look bloated).

Eating Habits – Folx often underestimate the number of sugary sweets they consume throughout the day. That handful of jellybeans from the secretaries jar starts adding up when you par it to the extra-large soda every morning and the sugary coffee drink. Make sure you are documenting everything + the portions you eat. I used to keep a food journal but I find snapping a picture with my phone of everything I consume helps keep accurate track of portions.

Occupation – Being conscious of the type of activity level you perform daily will affect caloric intake, meal timing, exercise schedule, and possible lifestyle change recommendations. Occupational stress may also be a consideration.  A construction worker, who is always on her feet lifting heavy equipment will have different food fuel needs than I programmer who sits in front of a computer screen all day.

Anthropometric Measurements

Determine your body type. Researcher and psychologist William Sheldon, continuing the research of Plato and Nietzsche, introduced the concept of somatotypes body types in the 1940s. Body types can be categorized in three ways Ectomorph, Mesomorph, and Endomorph.

  1. Ectomorph: Small frame, lean and long, with difficulty gaining weight and building muscle no matter how hard they try.
  2. Mesomorph: Medium frame, develop muscles easily, with a high metabolism and responsive muscle cells
  3. Endomorph: Big frame, high body fat, low muscle density, often pear-shaped, easier time gaining weight than other body types.

Take this quiz if you are still unsure. It’s completely common to fall between two body types.  Since body types are based on your bone structure and natural propensity to build muscular or store fat, there’s nothing you can do to change your body type. You can, however, tweak your eating and fitness habits to work with your body type instead of against it.

Height, Weight & Body composition (skin-fold caliper)

These are just a data point to help you track tangible progress. Document them.

Circumference measurements – Measure the smallest point of waist, hips, bicep, thighs (and for the gentlemen, measure neck, chest, forearms as well).  Make sure you pick the exact same spot on your body to measure, being an inch away from the spot you measured will affect the readings. I have a birthmark on my bicep, it’s my marker on where to measure.  I measure my waist at the top of my hip bone. These measurements are just data points to track progress later.

two fit friends shown from their backside

GYM FAMILIARITY

Can you name the weight machines by name? If I were to say go to the smith machine or cable row, would you know where to go? Are you familiar with muscle groups? You know where your lats, delts? You’ll need to do a walk through the gym or some on-line googling to learn the names of machines and what muscle groups they work.

How heavy do you need to lift? Choosing the correct weights affects your ability to maintain proper form, and significantly decreases your risk of injury.

  1. You’ll start off performing each of the exercises on the bikini weight training workout example. Choose a weight that allows you to do the first 10 reps with moderate difficulty. Your heart rate has picked up. You’re breathing a little harder, but you don’t struggle or need a break to complete the set. By the end of the tenth rep, you should find it somewhat difficult to lift but not so difficult as to strain, hold your breath, or shake excessively. If you do, drop down a little. If completing the lift was a piece a cake, increase the weight a little.
  2. Rest for 1 minute between sets and repeat. Evaluate the strain it takes in completing your second set. Rest for one minute.
  3. By the tenth rep of the third set, you should struggle to complete the rep but able to do so without grunting or breaking form. This is the exact level of intensity you want to sustain.
  4. Be sure to take notes and record how heavy you need to lift for each exercise. This will be your starting point.
  5. When you start consistently working out, you will gradually get stronger. Once you notice the last lift takes little effort, it’s time to increase the weight. You’ve got to continually challenge your body by increasing your weights.  

Alright, you’ve completed the initial self-assessment. You’re well on your way on this exciting fitness journey. Check out the bikini circuit workout to get started.

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In GloBelle Kitchen on
October 19, 2019

Spicy Pumpkin & Lobster Bisque

Two tasty bowls of warm pumpkin lobster bique sit upon a rustic background

Y’all,

Before I get into the Spicy Pumpkin Lobster Bisque talk, let me say this. I know it’s late Oktober, but I am still in denial that summer is over. I kept seeing Facebook stories about folks in Kentucky talkin’ bout how it’s still 90 degrees. So I go down from Boston to visit my family. Let me tell you, It wasn’t that warm during the entire week +1/2 I spent there. Everyone kept saying how it just all of a sudden got a cold spell as soon as I came home. Serious bummer. And now that I’m back up north, New England won’t even let me pretend it’s still summer. I’m cold, y’all!!!!

A warm bowl of spicy, pumpkin lobster bisque on a wood table along with toasted French bread.

Anyway, I made some spicy Pumpkin & Lobster 🦞 Bisque to help me come to terms with the weather. I first got fell in love with this creamy soup at a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant off Maybachstraße in Stuttgart about eight years ago. I’ve been tinkering with my own imitation of it ever since. I think I got it right!  The soup gets its spicy kick from Harissa. You can try to find it in stores on your own or make your own. It’s so delish. 

Spicy Pumpkin & Lobster Bisque

(makes 4 bowls)*

Ingredients

  •  4 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 (15-oz) can of pure pumpkin OR 15 oz of fresh sweet pumpkin
  • 1 tsp Harissa (can be substituted for cayenne pepper)
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  •  Coconut milk
  • 5 pounds of lobster meat

Directions

  1.  If using fresh pumpkin, be sure to use sugar pumpkins. These cannot be substituted for jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut the pumpkins in half and drizzle with coconut, butter or olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake until tender (about an hour). Once cooled, scoop the pumpkin flesh out of the shell and puree in a food processor. Skip this step if you’re using canned pumpkin (and be sure you’re using pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie in a can).
  2. Boil your lobster if using fresh lobster. Maintain the shells.
  3. Next, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
  4. Then, add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, about 12 minutes.
  5. Stir in veggie broth. Boil broth with the lobster tails. Be careful not to allow the broth to boil, as you will cause it to evaporate and reduce your serving size. Remove lobster shells after about 5 minutes. 
  6. Add pumpkin to vegetable broth. Stir as you bring to a simmer. 
  7. Add coconut milk.
  8. Then Add your lobster meat.
  9. Finally, Sprinkle in harissa, salt, and pepper to taste.
Two tasty bowls of creamy, spicy pumpkin and lobster bisque.

**Disclaimer**

All of these measurements are estimates (please note my cultural cooking practices). I actually used a hand-full of frozen chopped white onions and about a little less than a whole abnormally large garlic glove. My original recipe used a can of creamy coconut milk, a big can of pumpkin, and a whole box of veggie broth (of which, I boiled a good amount out on accident — learn from my mistake). I’m not really sure how many pounds I used but, I spent about $18 on lobster meat from Wegmans. That was enough to taste in every spoonful. Try out my recipe and give me feedback on how it worked for you. 

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In GloBelle Kitchen on
June 14, 2019

Savory Kongo-Inspired Watermelon Slices

two tasty slices of watermelon drizzled in a cilantro lime peanut sauce with red onion awaits to be eaten on a teal, stone plate.

Although in America, watermelon is most often served as a dessert, there are so many ways to make watermelon savory.  This Kongo-inspired watermelon with cilantro-lime peanut sauce recipe is just in time to make it on your Juneteenth celebration menu!

If you haven’t already haven’t learned the historical significance of watermelon and emancipation, you’ll want to check that out before adding this recipe to your Juneteenth menu.

More Background on Watermelon

Watermelon is native to Africa. It grows naturally from sea to sea across central and southern Africa.  Watermelon is 96 percent water. It serves as a water source in arid environments.  So it makes sense that they’d be most commonly associated with Arabs — at least until America’s Reconstruction.

As far as fruits go, watermelon offers few calories — only 46 calories per cup.  Although it’s low in sugar and sodium, watermelon is high in minerals (magnesium, potassium vita A, C, B6, and B1). Watermelon was essentially the 19th century Gatorade—an electrolyte replenisher.  

Certainly, for people performing manual labor all day in the Southern summer sun, there’d be few things better than breaking under a shade tree and snacking on watermelon.  

A savory water melon recipe served in a bowl with onions, peanuts, cilantro and lime
Check out the recipe for this savory, Nigerian-Inspired watermelon dish.

Cultural Background on Peanuts

Now, folks from the Kongo may or may not serve a dish like this. I don’t know. I doubt it. But I attach this dish to the Kongo because of their influence in introducing American and Europeans to the peanut. Peanuts, like watermelon, okra, rice, and others are native to Africa. After Europeans kidnapped and enslaved by Europeans, Africans from all over West Africa smuggled these foods and seeds to America. Europeans didn’t have a name for peanuts yet, so they adopted the Kingdom of Kongo’s Bantu language word for it. “Nuguba” devolved into gooba, then goober. Southerners still use “goober” as a nickname for peanuts and often an insult.

Consequently, based on the prevalence of peanuts in certain regions of the south (Georgia), and the common use of the Bantu word for them as opposed to another African language’s name for peanuts, one could use this as a clue to trace Kongolese ancestry.

Lastly, a popular Civil War song celebrates (or mocks eating goober peas depending on which side you’re on) goober peas. My Kentucky fourth grade class sang the Goober Peas song daily for half a semester. Did everyone else do that? You’ll still find folks selling boiled peanuts on the side of the road across the south but mostly in Georgia.

Savory Kongolese-Inspired Watermelon Slices

Savory Congo-Inspired watermelon slices with a peanut lime sauce await to be eaten on a teal stone plate.
Still working on getting the colors right post-production. These savory Kongo-inspired watermelon slices are glowing!

Ingredients

Half a seedless watermelon, sliced into wedges

Juice from one lime (2 tablespoons)

¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped (I used sriracha seasoned peanuts)

1 minced garlic clove (Approx 2 TBS)

Fresh cilantro

Crunchy peanut butter, melted

half a red onion, thinly sliced (others prefer it diced)

brown sugar

Honey

Pinch of black pepper to taste

Optional: red pepper flakes or sliced jalapenos or sliced red peppers of your choice (I skipped this option).

Instructions

1. First, in a bowl, whisk lime juice, cilantro, brown sugar, honey, and garlic until sugar dissolves. Stir in melted peanut butter and onion. Set aside.

2. Next, arrange wedges on a platter and drizzle with dressing. Garnish with additional crushed peanuts. Serve and enjoy.

Notes: If you’re made uneasy by my lack of specific measurements, please see my comments regarding that on this recipe (hint: it’s a cultural practice). The exact measurements depend on your preference and fondness for the ingredients.

A vintage blue and white china platter showcasing savory-kongo inspired watermelon wedges drizzled with a peanut, lime, cilantro, garlic, and onion sauce.
Admittedly, I could have sliced these onions a little finer. These savory slices are succulent & juicy!

If you’re wondering what to do with that unused watermelon half, check out these recipes:

Boozy Rum-soaked Watermelon (To post soon!)

Thai Watermelon Salad (to post soon!)

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In Destinations, Florida, Local Guides, North America on
May 1, 2019

Weekend Getaway in Miami Budget Breakdown

Charneice McKenzie relaxes on the beac in a Miami beach chair

Like many Bostonians, I took advantage of the February break to defrost in warm, sunny Miami, Florida. I decided to go last minute and booked my first time in Miami a week in advance. When last-minute trips happen, I’m so grateful for the city guides of other travelers. It saves so much time. I started planning using Lee Tumbe’s 24 Hours in Miami as a guide, then tweaked to personalize. This extended weekend getaway in Miami on a budget guide accompanies Lee’s. I usually budget about $1K for a trip. I went a bit over due to last-minute planning this time. You can take my plans and tweak to your liking. Here’s my Miami weekend getaway budget breakdown.

Transportation (Flight + On-ground) = $673.91

Flight booked 5 days in advance $388.60 + optional Mileage booster ($40.31) + In-flight Wi-fi both ways ($20) + In-flight Dinner + Starbucks ($16) = $ 464.91.

I could have saved almost $80 by skipping the extras and packing my own meal to eat on the flight. I probably could have saved on the flight by booking well in advance. Roundtrips to Miami from Boston are often for under $200. Of course, these tickets are usually in the summer and summer isn’t exactly a preferred time to travel to Miami. I used Lyft from home pick up to airport, around Miami, and back home $212 (with change rounded up as a charity donation to the USO). It could have been made cheaper by not traveling back and forth from Miami Beach to Miami on several occasions (would have kept $45). If I had a friend to drop off and pick up at the airport, I could have reallocated $72. Or if I had traveled with a friend to split the costs. Oh well, so much for social currency. However, using Lyft as opposed to driving and parking at Logan International Airport ($95), renting a vehicle from Enterprise Rent-a-Car ($123 + fuel) and paying for hotel parking ($45 a night x 3 nights +tip & tax = $140) saved at least $146. I did, however, end up getting chauffeured around for free (my social currency has a better exchange rate in Miami than it does in Boston).

Check out fellow Kentucky native, Laura Coppelman’s creative work.

Hotels $638.66

For the purpose of travel blogging, I stayed at three different types of hotels at various price points. I also booked my hotels 17 hours before I got on the plane, on a major event (PRIDE) weekend, so I limited my options. None of the locations I chose had availability for the whole weekend, so la carte lodging was required. Had I stayed at the Generator Hostel the entire weekend I would have only spent $207. If I stayed at the Trade Winds Apartments the whole time, I could have tucked away $132.20. Had I booked The Confidante in advance, I could have stayed all weekend for the price that I paid moving from hotel to hotel. I also reserved my room through booking.com because the third-party site offered better rates than the hotel site. However, in hindsight, I might have been able to snag a better deal using my Hyatt membership, military discount, and collected the points I forfeited by using the third-party booking site. It’s also important to note, that all hotels and hostels have a resort tax that isn’t included in the advertised online price.

Generator $69 (includes $10 resort fee) trendy place for solo travelers to mix and mingle. My number one pick for a weekend getaway in Miami on a budget
Trade Winds Apartment Hotel $172 (includes $22.80 resort fee) Great for families who’d rather cook than eat out or people who want more space to feel more at home.
The Confidante $397.66 (includes $34 resort fee) Perfect for a beacation, group trip, or party weekend location. It’s a splurge if you’re staying alone but worth it if you’re splitting the cost.

Arial view of the bean-shaped pool at the Generator Miami, a budget-friendly Luxury hostel in Miami Beach
A Luxury Hostel seems like an oxymoron, but at the Generator Miami, they make it work.

Food $219.37

Friday
Arrived in time for a late dinner. Dinner was at no cost to me (using the social currency here).

Saturday
Generator breakfast $23.05
I Could have gotten a 20% discount using a special offer code from the Generator Ap but I got distracted by tattooed biceps and a sweet smile.

Voodoo Lounge Lunch (ceviche & margarita) $37.41
Sangria at Cubacho Art and Performing Arts Center $13
Paul Bakery Miami (two bottles of water) $6.50
Dinner at Giordano in South Beach Strip $50.19
Azucar Icecream $4.82

Sunday
Confidante Brunch $50 I was so tired I fell asleep through dinner and ate snacks when I woke up middle of the night.

Monday
Brunch at Dreamer Matcha Café $34.40 before catching a flight back home.
*In-flight dinner included in flight transportation expenses. **

I could have skipped Dreamer Café. Not only was it out of the way, costing me a lyft fee just to travel to it, but the food was also overpriced café food. And I knew it was going to be expensive before I went and I did it anyway for the Instagramable flamingo picture. Was $34.40 plus my lyft ride worth it? Nah.

I also didn’t take advantage of my hotel’s happy hour with free drinks when I stayed at Trade Winds. I did have meals, snacks, shots, and drinks paid for by gracious vacationers (male & female) that I met on the way. Restaurants in Miami Beach automatically collect a built-in gratuity. Of course, eating on the main strip of SoBe (South Beach as the locals call it) is going to have jacked-up prices, and that’s where I consumed three meals. There’s a couple of approaches that I think I could have cut this price down by 25%. Utilizing Restaurant.com, miamionthecheap.com, travelzoo.com, groupon.com, livingsocial.com and researching Miami’s best happy hours, food trucks, grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and cheapest restaurants, I think I could have eaten on $40 a day instead of $40 a meal.

Entertainment $10

Pictures with parrots in Little Havana $10
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (Free for military members)*
Frost Science Museum (Free for military members)*
Pérez Art Museum Miami (Free for military members)*
Domino Park (Free for all)
Clubbing at Voodoo Lounge (Free for all, free drinks for me)**
Wynwood Walls (Free for all)
Miami Botanical Garden (Free for all)
The Beach (Free for all)
Hookah (Free for me)**
*Military ID cards come in handy
**Military camaraderie even when you don’t know each other comes in handy

The entertainment for a weekend getaway in Miami on a budget could be as simple as beach lounging and people-watching. Pride weekend also brought tons of entertainment to the beach. I just opted to go to museums and explore. And frankly, I probably would have been disappointed had I paid normal price for some of these locations.

Black girl with long ombre hair in a low pony tail takes a picture using a white, Pentax DSLR camera. She stands with her legs are crossed in short shorts and a summer, translucent top revealing a black and white striped bandeau. She's photographing Miami's famous Vixcaya Gardens.
You definitely want to visit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens early for the best light for photographs and before too many visitors photo bomb your shots. Plus, it’s super hot mid-day and the outdoor gardens are the main event.

Extraneous travel-related Expenses $240.39

These expenses included: Dog Lodging for my pup back at home $189, Mani/Pedi in little Havana $30, I lost my beach hat, got a new one $21.39, Snacks & water from Walgreen’s $20

So, in total, a 4-day weekend to Miami ended up costing me $1,781.94 which could be a little steep for a long weekend. However, with more advanced planning, I could have reduced at least $100 in flight costs. Staying at The Generator all three nights would have saved me $451.66. Plotting a more efficient ground transportation root (including avoiding inadvertently going to a museum after it closed) would have reduced my transportation expenses $25 bringing that total down to $1082.56 which is more manageable. I’m sure I could have found other ways to shave even more dollars off. Finding cheaper restaurants off the tourist path and using the kindness of friends could have reduced costs. In all, for me, a grand for a weekend in Miami was well worth the change of scenery.

Be sure to check back for the next post that tells the stories of my adventures of culture, history, friends, and flirting in Miami Beach.

Let me know if you’ve found other ways to save on trips to Miami!

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In Resources, Uncategorized, United States on
February 16, 2019

A Seat In The Cockpit: Revealing A Hidden Legacy

A middle school aged boy in cargo shorts and button up shirt walks with an experienced pilot discussing aviation and acedemic excellence on a flight line, as a crew memher gives a peace sign outside the parked airplane behind them.

One of the most magnetic people I know established my new favorite non-profit aimed at exposing a wider range of children to the thrills of aviation.  Legacy Flight Academy accomplishes this goal at one-day, Eyes Above the Horizon events that take place in various cities around the county.  Students interact with diverse pilots who instill the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and share tales of their flying adventures.  The highlight of the day is an introductory flight in the cockpit of a single-engine plane.  All of this is provided free of charge to anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity.  I’d heard so much about this award-winning organization that I had to get involved. So I boarded a plane to fly to Houston to volunteer.

Legacy Flight Academy: Eyes Above The Horizon

Early on a Saturday morning children start filtering through the Lone Star Flight Museum. I’m charged with leading a group of 20 or so 5th and 6th graders to their stations. The day is divided into four parts: introductory flight, Tuskegee Airmen legacy lesson, museum scavenger hunt, and hands-on simulation. Inquisitive, little minds absorb all the information and start making connections with context they’ve been provided.   When they ascend into the sky, a transformation takes place.  Packed full of new experiences, their little bodies come back down to Earth, but their perspective never does. I have the privilege of watching it all take place from a front row view.

All smiles while 5th grade children take turns checking out a fighter jet as they wait for their introductory flight.
All smiles while 5th-grade children take turns checking out a fighter jet as they wait for their introductory flight.

While shepherding the children through the galleries on a scavenger hunt, something becomes apparent for the first time. Of all the exhibits on aviation, Bessie Colman was the only black female aviator featured…in the entire, huge museum! Granted it’s a Texas-heritage aviation museum and Ms. Colman was a native Texan, surrounded by all the aviation history gives the appearance that Bessie Coleman was one of a kind. She wasn’t.  The stories of Mildred Hammons Carter, Willa Brown, and Janet Bragg are equally fascinating, especially for their time.  They taught countless other black men and women to fly.  Even with my background in history, spending my life in the Air Force, and teaching Air Force History, I had not been fully cognizant of the dearth of aviators that look like me until this moment.

Precocious children stay engaged with a Legacy Lesson of the Tuskegee Airman from a volunteer who was personally friends with a recently passed original Airman. They asked so many thoughtful questions and offered their own insights.
Precocious children stay engaged with a Legacy Lesson of the Tuskegee Airman from a volunteer who was personally friends with a recently passed original Airman. They asked so many thoughtful questions and offered their own insights.

We laud the Tuskegee Airmen as the nation’s first military unit for African-American pilots. However, it wasn’t for all African-American pilots; just the male ones. Words matter, and so do the omission of words. When we leave out the word “male,” although perhaps implied, it glosses over the lack of opportunity for black women. Not explicitly stating the U.S. Army’s Tuskegee Flight School Experiment solely selected black men alters the context from a sense of inclusion for all black people to the reality of the exclusion of over half the black population.

While it is also essential to recognize that the U.S. military barred women in general from combat, and thus fighter pilot slots, during World War II, it’s also crucial to make abundantly clear, that black, female pilots, although qualified for non-combat flights, faced both gender and racial discrimination.  Even today, unless you specifically hunt for the contributions of black, female aviators, you won’t find them mentioned in movies or websites including Tuskegee University’s own. Even the supporting contributions women provided, to include training the Tuskegee Airmen to fly, are omitted.  

A vintage photo of Mildred pinning wings on her beau, Herb. Herb and Mildred Carter's 70-year, epic romance in the sky is one for the history books. They weren't allowed to date while training at Tuskegee so they'd meet up in the sky above Lake Martin and blow kisses at each other from their planes. Mildred was the first black woman in Alabama to fly and first civilian hired by the Army Air Corp. She was retroactively designated a WASP 70 years after applying. As far as my research takes me, she is the only person who is designated as both a WASP and Tuskegee Airman.
Herb and Mildred Carter’s 70-year, epic romance in the sky is one for the history books. They weren’t allowed to date while training at Tuskegee so they’d meet up in the sky above Lake Martin and blow kisses at each other from their planes. Mildred was the first black woman in Alabama to fly and first civilian hired by the Army Air Corp. She was retroactively designated a WASP 70 years after applying. As far as my research takes me, she is the only person who is designated as both a WASP and Tuskegee Airman.

The same is true for the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). It wasn’t an inclusive program for all women. It specifically disqualified black women. So it wasn’t a Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps. It more accurately should be called the “White Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps” with a few waivers for non-black Women of Color.

I’d always identified with both groups of ground-breaking pioneers, only to realize that I wouldn’t have been welcomed in either.  We are still witnessing the early years of black female aviation. The first black woman to fly in combat was in 2001! That’s 60 years after the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP! Recognizing neither group would have had a place for me to fly was depleting as well as telling. 

After 8 hours of flight immersion, Legacy Flight Academy participants and staff gather for a group picture
After 8 hours of flight immersion, Legacy Flight Academy participants gather for a group picture.

After the all-day event wrapped up, a pilot for United Airlines invited the Legacy Flight Academy volunteers to crash at her sprawling secondary home. Fewer than 150 African-American women hold a pilot’s license (airline, commercial, military or instructor); she’s one of them. She’s also a founding member of Sisters of the Skies, a non-profit organization founded in 2015.   This organization doesn’t just accept black women as members, Sisters of the Skies is dedicated to increasing the number of black female aviators.  The friend who invited me to volunteer, a military flight instructor, took the lead in conducting a debrief and After Action Report to gain consensus on what went right and what could be done better next time.

Sisters of the Sky, an organization dedicated to increasing black female aviators to the ranks, muster at the Lone Star Flight Museum.
Sisters of the Sky muster at the Lone Star Flight Museum.

Legacy Flight Wrap Up

Someone once told me, “It’s either first class or no class.” Eyes Above the Horizon is first class all the way.  I’m still impressed that people that I call friends could dream this experience and turn it into an extraordinary reality. From the expansive museum and its knowledgeable staff, the pilots who volunteered their aircraft, fuel, and time, to the leaders who organized the event, everything was fantastic.  This community undertaking drew in over 100 Houston-area kids. Since this was my first experience with the Legacy Flight I only had praise to offer.

A Tuskegee Airmen and elementary age child, both dressed in red pose for a picture. Five generations apart these two share a joy of aviation.
One of the perks of the academy is the opportunity to interact with living legends. Five generations apart these two share a joy of aviation.

It’s About Belonging

With all the children gone, the volunteers and staff gathered at a local pilot’s home. Chillin’ around a kitchen, eating pizza and wings, laughing, joking, and contributing to the lighthearted revelry, we conducted a business meeting. I was in awe of the moment.  There I was, surrounded by black excellence. It’s a situation that rarely happens for me, yet everything about it was familiar. Surrounded by people that I just met earlier that day, I felt at home.  I knew it would be a long while before this happened again, so I intentionally captured the moment in my mind. 

For instance, I’d estimate there are fewer than 10 black officers on my Air Force base. Without intentional efforts, I can go months without contact with peers from a similar cultural background.  aired with my history of perpetually being “the only one,” camaraderie with black peers has been an infrequent indulgence my whole life.  Even more infrequent as an Air Force officer is the opportunity to observe other black officers lead and the access to socialize with aviators, let alone black aviators. 

a crew of modern day black air force aviators
Black aviators have just as much swag today as they did in 1944 (and slightly more women).

Around 10 flyers or so floated around the house. In addition to my flight instructor buddy, there’s one of his flight students, a bright, young woman who divided her attention between her studies and the lively conversation.  Another aviator present, a fighter pilot who earned his flying license before his driver’s license shared a video of his first flight solo as a child. A Surveillance and Reconnaissance pilot recalled highlights of the day which included the children asking if he can see outer space from his aircraft…he can!  The question and answer session took an awkward turn when the kiddos got very officious about his bathroom habits while wearing a spacesuit. He’d just recently bought his own plane for recreational flying.

A commercial airline pilot, who also flies for the Air Force reserves lamented his economical travel arrangements of riding shotgun to Texas, sitting on the uncomfortable hump (also known as the jump seat) between two the two pilots flying the plane. Navigators, air battle managers, and a few others with careers in aviation talked and joked with the group. And then there was me. As the furthest removed from aviation, I was a guest within the group but very much deeply embraced. We all just exchanged ideas, vibed, and enjoyed one another’s company. It was a pleasure.

A U2, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, pilot dresses a student in his space suit. Legacy Flight Academy class.
A U2, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, pilot dresses a student in his space suit. The U2, also called the Dragon Lady, first flew in 1955 and is a spy aircraft which can loiter in the air taking aerial pictures of an area of operation. Pilots must use liquid oxygen and a spacesuit in high altitudes.

I recalled a former, non-black Naval Aviator who once said Top Gun was what inspired him to fly.  Nothing about Top Gun appealed to me. When I watch Top Gun, I see an environment where I’m likely to get touched without my consent. In that situation, I can predict that I’ll have perspectives and ideas to share, but the group will dismiss them. Talked over and interrupted will be standard behavior.

Additionally, I can expect to be misunderstood and mischaracterized. I will have to tolerate racist micro-aggressions and get accustomed to both casual and overt sexism for the sake of being tolerated at all. I’ll be spoken to condescendingly or harshly if at all. They’ll go play volleyball on the beach, and I won’t even be invited (notice, the volleyball scene did not include the only black guy in the Top Gun flight class; that’s remarkably accurate). If included by the group at all, there will be a sense that I am involved out of obligation.  They’ll find singing “That Loving Feeling” amusing. I won’t. But I’ll have to pretend I do to avoid being the stick-in-the-mud. In other words, I can always expect to be ever so slightly out of place. Much like watching Top Gun from the screen, even if I were present in the group, I’d still most likely be on the outside looking in and kept at arm’s length. 
Legacy Flight Academy is a community event. Local Aviators dedicate their time, resources and skills to the cause.
Inspiring future generations is a whole community effort. About six Houston-Area pilots spent their Saturday volunteering to flying 100 students around. A local chain restaurant catered lunch at no cost. Local teachers rallied promising future aviators to the event.

Stanford University researchers Robin Ely and Debra Meyerson published a study that indicates that the male culture prevents women from excelling in corporate America. Other studies suggest that it is specifically White Male Culture that detours those who are not white and male from participation or struggling when they do.  I’d surmise that’s a major reason minorities and women avoid careers in aviation.  In other words, it’s not necessarily a lack of exposure, interest, or ability; it’s the culture.

Another study states, “Like fish in water, many white men never have to leave their culture from birth to boardroom. Often they are unaware they have a culture that others must negotiate.” Perhaps people outside of this culture are like aquatic frogs. We can swim with the fish from time to time but eventually, need to come up for air. Until hanging out with these guys, I never knew there was air for a temporary reprieve.

Among this group, I don’t stand out. There is no foreign culture to navigate. 
My dual consciousness isn’t employed. I don’t have to walk on eggshells to avoid my entire race being stereotyped by any action that I do that’s perceived as negative. I don’t need to regulate myself into perfection in order to debunk stereotypes. Any positive attributes aren’t seen as exceptional for my race because being exceptionally brilliant and talented is expected. I’m not tone-policed. I’m not a novelty, token, or commodity. Around these folks, my voice is heard and appreciated.  Here, no topics are avoided. For example, we discussed the merits of attending Cornell versus Hampton for undergrad which largely centered on race, inclusion, and acceptance.  One of the volunteers, the only Caucasian aviator in the group, quietly listened. No one felt compelled to code switch to accommodate his comfort.  We were all free to be our authentic selves.

Legacy Flight Academy Students inspect a plane inside a museum to answer questions on a pre-flight checklist. Young black aviators.
Students answer questions on a pre-flight checklist.

After Party Socialization

After stuffing our faces and concluding the meeting, we suited up for esprit de corps in the Houston nightlife. I did not stand out in the bar. It’s a rare occasion that going out with colleagues doesn’t include Journey, Bohemian Rhapsody, Copperhead Road, or Sweet Caroline. Although I’ve certainly had a blast belting out the words to Don’t Stop Believing and doing the Copperhead Road line dance, that music usually doesn’t make the cut to my celebration playlist.  It’s just as foreign to me as shouting, “tickie tockie tickie tockie” under an Octoberfest tent in Munich. Fun. But Foreign.

Lasting Effects of Legacy Flight Academy

After that weekend I did some research.  That research led me to the ground school at my local aero club the following Wednesday.  Not long after that, I took my first flight lesson with me in control of the throttle. I Flew A Daggum Airplane! I finally understood the hype my aviator friends had been talking about. That night my dreams were about flying.  This is the impact of representation. Having access to a flying community whom I could identify and where I belonged with was all it took to convince me to consider aviation after decades of being aviation adjacent.

In short, it’s not enough to sell aviation as a cool thing to do. That doesn’t make flying any different from all the other cool stuff active, ambitious people do every day. People want to belong.  Deep down, everyone wants to be part of something wonderful; that’s the very reason I traveled to Houston in the first place. The camaraderie within an elite network is what makes this profession or hobby unique. Knowing there’s a tight-knit community of people like me and has always been a community like me, is the most significant selling point in encouraging diversity in aviation. Being part of the flying world touches on the top three of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  Who knew, I traveled to Houston to volunteer to plant seeds of aviation excellence in the impressionable minds of children not knowing Legacy Flight Academy would sow those seeds in me as well.

A dimpled, red-headed, black female teenage, licensed pilot and alum of Legacy Flight Academy shows younger children the sky is not the limit when it's her point of view.
A teenage, licensed pilot and alum of Legacy Flight Academy shows younger children the sky is not the limit when it’s her point of view.

***If you’d like to be part of something great by supporting the early exposure to the thrill of aviation to a wide range of children, you can donate here or inquire about volunteer opportunities. To learn how you can bring Eyes Above The Horizon to your hometown check out the Legacyflightacademy.org website. You can also list Legacy Flight Academy as your Amazon Smile non-profit.  Or donate as a birthday gift to me on my Facebook link or LFA’s.

Amazon Smile advertisement for Legacy Flight. Features children sitting in Jump seats in the back of a cargo aircraft.
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In GloBelle Kitchen on
February 12, 2019

Homemade Bath Bomb Recipe

Title Page for Bath bomb recipe with bath salys and oils in the back ground.

Oh, bath bombs. Bath Bombs add a hint of luxury to a warm bath. The fizzies feel like bathing in warm Champaign. The powders soften the water, bubbles caress your skin, and the oils have you leaving the bath moisturized and feeling silky smooth.  It certainly kicks bath time up a notch. You’ll want to add this homemade bath bomb recipe to your self-care routine.

In addition to the luxurious properties, bath bombs have health benefits. When an alkaline substance (like baking soda, the softening ingredient in bath bombs) is mixed with something acidic (such as citric acid, a fizzy ingredient in bath bombs), it neutralizes it. The pH level of your healthy lady parts (I only say that because using the medical term, vagina, offends some people) is typically between 3.5 to 4.5. If the pH level goes up or down, it could be responsible for a host of problems.  Sitting in an alkalizing bath soak helps level pH balance of the vagina.  Anyway…

Let’s get real, part of the luxury stems from the price of a bath bomb which can cost upwards of $9-$12 a piece or more if you go to Lush.  No one is taking a $10 bath every time. You can definitely make a batch of your own homemade bath bombs for the same price. Bath bombs are simple and relatively easy to make. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples in many homes, but make sure you have these on hand:

Elements of a spa day at home.
You can make your own spa day at home with the right elements.

Baking Soda ($2 for 4 pounds at the Commissary)

The backbone of this recipe is alkalizing baking soda. It is a necessary complement to the acidic citric acid and part of the fizzing reaction.

Corn Starch ($1.13 for 1 pound at the Commissary)

Corn starch provides the silky feel that we all love from bath bombs.

Epsom Salt ($7 for 6 pounds at Walgreens)

This is used to draw out toxins from the body and soothe worn muscles. Stick to basic salt or take it up a notch with salt or another favorite salt option.

 Citric Acid ($10 for 2 pounds on Amazon)

I had to go to Amazon to get this ingredient. No one at drug stores even know what I was talking about when I asked for it. This is the ingredient that creates the fizzing property.

Cream of Tarter ($3 for 3.5 oz Hannaford’s Groccery)

This is optional but makes the sudsy properties.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate ($18.75/1 pound on Amazon)

I had to go to Amazon to get this ingredient. It makes bubbles and foams for a rich lather but still gentle on skin.

Oils (Ialready had on hand but approx. $7 for a bottle of Olive, cocoanut, or avocado oil at the grocery store)

Olive oil, avocado oil, almond oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, sea buckthorn seed oil, argon oil or apricot oil…pick one or several. You can even go synthetic with baby oil or other bath oils if you wish. These are all very versatile and you can pick any combination that you have on hand.

Essential oils (already had on hand but approx. $14 for 4 at TJ Maxx)

If you want your bath to explode in fragrance choose an essential oil. Some of my favorite essential oil combinations: Lavender & Vanilla or cotton candy & lemonade… just use your imagination!  Of course, you can always go scent free.

Food coloring (already had on hand but approx. $5 grocery store)

Use leftover Easter egg or Christmas cookie icing dye.  Or you can go powdered dye which works better for this project.

Molds (I already had them on hand but spend $20 max. You can find them in the Target dollar bins, Ikea, amazon, etc.)

Round metal molds exist that are marketed specifically for bath bombs. I’ve tried these and found that silicon modes are my preference. They have more uses than the round metal modes and they’re easier to remove

 

Homemade Bath Bomb Recipe Ingredients

Homemade Bath Bomb Recipe Instructions

  1. Combine dry ingredients (baking soda, Epsom salt, citric acid, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, cream of tartar, and cornstarch) in a large bowl and mix well until combined.
  2. In a small bowl, combine the all the liquids.
  3. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients a few drops at a time. Mixing well at the same time.
  4. Mixture should hold together like slightly wet sand when squeezed without crumbling. I recommend using a spray bottle with additional liquid to evenly add.
  5. Press mixture into greased metal molds or silicon molds.  Let set for 24 hours or so until hardened.
  6. Enjoy your bath time!
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In GloBelle Kitchen, Uncategorized on
February 11, 2019

Make Your Own Dog Food & Save More Cash For Travels

One of my friends brought to my attention that everyone is bougie about something. For one friend, it’s his laundry detergent. For another it’s his car. For me, it’s the food my dog consumes.

I won’t get too deep into the nutrition standards for processed American dog food verses European dog food (the government subsidizes more corn than humans can eat, and all of that surplus ends up as fillers in budget dog food. Corn is not part of a dog’s natural diet).  There’s the controversial “animal by-product” ingredient that incudes animals that were dead on arrival to the slaughter house then sat out in the heat for hours to days that gets packaged and fed to dogs. This is especially seedy when the ingredients won’t even tell you what animal the by-product came from (could be feeding your dog another dog). Animal by-products and filler corn are used because they are cheaper, not because they are nutritious. I like to know what I’m putting into my body which transfers over to knowing what my dog consumes, so I avoid this ingredient.

Char in the kitchen staring liquids from the slow cooker where she made the dog stew.
Straining from making dog stew in a slow cooker.

I spoil my dog with wet dog food as a daily part of his meal. But that gets pricy.  I alleviate costs while keeping nutrients by making my own wet dog food. Since two beings are able to eat the food instead of one, less food goes to waste in my home than it would if it were only me eating it.

By making your own dog food you can personalize and cater to your dog’s needs. A three-year-old working dog that pulls cargo on sleds for 40 miles in the snow is going to have different nutrition needs than a slightly pudgy, senior, medium-sized Boxer-mix who loafs on the sofa for 10 hours a day. Work with a professional to hone in on your pup’s nutritional requirements.

Proteins Fruits & Veggies Starches Oil
Hard boiled eggs with shells Carrots Rice Flax seed oil
Stewing Beef Green beans OatmealHempseed oil
Chicken Spinach BarleyFish oil/
sardines
Lean ground turkey Apple slicesSweet potatoes  
Anchovies PeasWhite potatoes  
Tuna Kelp Lentils  
Chicken/beef liver   Pumpkin  
Lean ground beef      

Important Note!!!   You want to avoid feeding your dog: onions, raisins, grapes, mushrooms, corn, garlic, avocado, nuts, sugars, chocolate, coffee, and citrus fruit. If you’re using sweet potatoes out of the can, be sure to rinse the sweet syrup off. You don’t want to cause diabetes in your pup. Pork is also not advisable because it is super fatty and could cause similar health issues in pets as it does in humans. So if you use it, use it sparingly.

A dish of rice, carrots and green beans
Memphis helps me eat veggies and rice.

Here’s a simple recipe but of course, you can get creative with the combinations.

2 pounds lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken (lamb, veal, duck if you’re fancy)

1 cup carbs like rice, oats, barley, or potatoes

2 Tbs Flaxseed oil

2 Tbs Hemp seed oil (provides omega 6.3)

1 Tbs ginger (manganese)

½ cup Kelp (iodine)

Egg with shell (calcium)

Small jar of anchovies

3 oz beef liver (copper, zinc, iron)

1 cup veggies such as green beans, peas, spinach, carrots

I go usually take one of three dog food cooking options: stew, meat loaf, or Blend

Sweet potato being cut into bite sized pieces. Other cooking utensils in the background.
Use the skin too. That’s where the nutrition is!

Blended Wet Dog Food Instructions

1. Cook the meat first (bake or cook on the stovetop)

2. Cook the carbs/grains until soft

3. Flash boil the veggies until soft

4. Crush the whole egg to the food processor

5. Mix all in a food processor (remember, dogs don’t chew their food 20 times so they don’t choke so the pieces need to be small)

6. Add other ingredients

Dog Food Stew Instructions

1. Brown the meat first.

2. Boil the rice until soft

3. Add all ingredients to a pot of water or broth and simmer for 45 min or so. You can also dump all the ingredients in a slow cooker as well.

Mix it all in: Carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, rice, and chicken.

Dog Meat Loaf

1. Boil grains until edible

2. Use a food processor to chop and mix all the ingredients. Be sure to crunch up that egg shell in a food processor and distribute it to the mix.

3. Use your hands to mix all ingredients into ground meat.

4. Form a loaf and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so, until the center is brown.

*another option is to make meatballs out of this.

Divvy out into individual containers or baggies and freeze until needed. Viola!

homemade dog food divvied out into containers.
A little more than a month’s worth of wet dog food for my 52 pound Boxer Mix.

Also note: I often use Missing Link Dog Supplements to make sure I didn’t leave any nutrition out.

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