About Talia Whyte

Posts by Talia Whyte:

What’s Cooking: Jamaican Sorrel

Last year I told you about Jamaican rum cake, a popular food to eat during the holidays.  Today I will tell you about another Jamaican specialty – Sorrel.  This is the most popular drink served during Christmas and New Years on the island and in Jamaican diasporic communities worldwide.  Sorrel is made out of a hibiscus flower grown on many Caribbean islands and was most likely brought to the New World from West Africa, where it is referred to as roselle or Zobo.

I currently use this more simplified version the recipe for making sorrel, like for the dinner party I hosted for friends and colleagues last weekend.  I borrowed the recipe from Jamaicans.com.

INGREDIENTS :

  • 1 pound sorrel
  • 2-4 oz. ginger
  • 2 quarts water
  • sugar
  • wine or Jamaican White Rum (optional)
  • 8-12 pimento grains

METHOD:

  1. Wash sorrel thoroughly, using the fingers to lift it from the water.
  2. Put into a stainless steel container.
  3. Scrape and wash ginger. Grate and Add to the sorrel. Add pimento grains.
  4. Boil water and pour over sorrel.
  5. Allow standing 4-6 hours. Strain.
  6. Sweeten to taste and add rum to taste.
  7. Add optional wine.
  8. Serve with ice cubes.

Making Handmade Holiday Gifts

The holidays can be a very stressful time for many people, namely getting the right gift for that special someone.  Between the high expense of certain gifts and the hassles of both online and brick-and-mortar shopping, gift giving this time of the year is a pain.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that the holiday season is really about giving from the heart.  So this year I made crochet gifts for my loved ones.  I gave my Christmas gifts to my niece and nephew early during Thanksgiving.  I used the leftover yarn to create flowers and bow ties.  I think these are simple but awesome gifts.  I have been wearing one of my flowers on my coats the last week and received many compliments and requests for how they are made.

Crochet Flower

The instructions were given to me many years ago so I can’t take credit for creating the pattern.  Any worsted yarn will work. I used Red Heart Super Saver Burgundy yarn for the one on the coat and Stitch Studio By Nicole (A.C. Moore) Red Grape Mystic Waves and Lion Brand Caribbean in the other flowers.  I also used a 5.5 mm crochet hook, a scissor and a tapestry needle.

  1. Slipknot, ch 25
  2. Work 1 sc in third ch from the hook, work 1 sc in the rest of the chains
  3. Ch 6 and turn
  4. (Row 1) Work sl st in the ch and ch 6, sl st again in the same st, making 2 loops in the st
  5. Work sl st in the next ch ch 6, sl st again in the same st, making 2 loops in the st
  6. Repeat this pattern until the end of the row
  7. Roll flower and sew yarn for it to stay in place.  You can use a large safety pin in the back of the flower to create a brooch or glue onto a hairpin to create a barrette.

Crochet Bow Tie

I got the pattern for the bow tie on Red Heart’s website, which you can see here.

I made this for my nephew.  He liked it a lot. Every man should know how to make a tie or have a premade one!

My Year In Books 2017

I have been reading a lot of books this year, not only to stimulate my mind but to also block out President Dotard in my life whenever possible!

I made a list not only to share my reading habits but also to hold myself accountable to continue reading.  My new year’s resolution every year is to read more books, and I think I have achieved that!  

Some of them are review copies I received from publishers for free, while others are older books that I reread because of their relevance.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The Devil Finds Work by James Baldwin

White Man, Listen by Richard Wright

Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South by Beth Macy

Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay

Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War by Adam Hochschild

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

The Algiers Motel Incident by John Hersey

You Can’t Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

How to Kill a City by Peter Moskowitz

No Is Not Enough by Naomi Klein

The Pigeon Tunnell by John Le Carre

Voices of Liberation: Frantz Fanon by Leo Zeilig

From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero

A Beautiful Ghetto by Devin Allen

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

This Is What A Librarian Looks Like by Kyle Cassidy

Ivory: Power and Poaching in Africa by Keith Somerville

 

Jump Start Your 2018 Content Strategy Today!

Over on my company website, Global Wire Associates, we are running our bi-annual sale, on some of our best-selling e-books. This includes Short Guide to Content Strategy, a very popular briefing on how to best use your content to express your brand.  Now is a great time to think about your strategy for the new year!  This is a great e-book for both new and experienced marketers and business owners.

Short Guide to Content Strategy This is a simple and easy to use ebook that will help you learn the basic principles of developing a content strategy for your organization. In addition, the guide not only breaks down what an editorial calendar could look like, but it also has two mock calendars – one for an NGO and the other for a small business – demonstrating a strategic plan at work. A content strategy provides a purposeful and structured plan for your organizational messaging, and in today’s competitive market, having a solid strategy can make a difference in whether or not your organization sinks or swims.

The sale ends today, 29 November 2017, at 11:59 PM ET!! Buy it here:

Price: US$5.99
PDF

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