When Sherry, the co-owner of the We Are Back Women’s blog site, asked me to compete in Oprah’s national search for her next TV host, I leaped at the opportunity. I went on the O’ website to find out more about the contest and immediately set about writing a script.

I had planned to compete as a cooking show host, and aimed to hook her by making a unique version of one of her favorite foods – Mac ‘n cheese. We happen to share a passion for Delilah Winder’s dish, only mine is much healthier than the one Oprah crowned with one of her “best of” awards a few years ago.

Healthy enough to actually have your “Cake and Eat It Too” (the name of the segment I’d like to produce), the hook to my Mac ‘n cheese is that unlike Delilah’s dish - or our grandmother’s versions – mine is only about half the calories.

Not that I’m knocking Delilah. I’ve been loving her soul food for more than two decades, and it reminds me a lot of my grandmother’s, which was always delicious but fattening. And if most of us ate that type of food every day, we’d be worse off than we already are. As it stands now ladies, black women are some of the heftiest gals on the planet and for real, for real?

Who really wants to weigh a ton?

Since so many of us need to become more health-conscious, my show would have the same focus as this blog “Healthy Southern Comforts,” which is about  making soul food healthier.

I love soul food, and Philadelphia features several restaurants that specialize in southern-inspired cuisine. Each spot’s a gem in its own right and each has its own specialties. The Bynum  Brothers, who own Relish in the city’s West Oak Lane section, make seafood Mac ‘n cheese that’ll  knock your socks off, while Ms. Tootsie’s in South Philadelphia really hooks up fish. Down at Delilah’s in the Reading Terminal Market in Center City, just about anything they make is great. I love all of these restaurants, but the key to eating their food is moderation. I’m also equally as committed to finding ways to make healthier versions of soul food at home!

In the end, I wasn’t able to compete for Oprah. After a day of shooting, we decided the lighting still wasn’t quite up to par. But I’m still committed to the idea of creating some type of healthy cooking show.  Next time.

 Healthy Mac ‘N Cheese

Note: This dish tastes nothing like your grandmother’s, but it’s just as satisfying, twice as healthy and has only half the calories.

Ingredients

6 cups boiling water

1 tsp butter

1 box of penne  or bowtie pasta

1 ½ cups of shaved Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup virgin olive oil

2 bags baby spinach, rinsed and washed

1 box grape tomatoes, rinsed and halved

½ cup heirloom tomatoes, rinsed and halved

1 tsp finely grated chili pepper or ½ tsp red pepper flakes (more if you want more fire)

1/8 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed washed and finely chopped (save a few sprigs for garnish)

¼  cup fresh parsley, rinsed and densely chopped (save a few sprigs for garnish)

3 cloves fresh garlic, skinned, rinsed and chopped

Directions

Bring water to a rolling boil and add butter.

Boil pasta until cooked al dente (6-8 minutes or until slightly firm. Do not over cook!).

Add spinach atop the pasta in a colander during the last 15 seconds of cooking (just enough to wilt), thoroughly drain both and rinse with hot water.

Toss pasta with half the olive oil, mix in the spinach and set aside

Take the remaining olive oil and heat on low.

Toss in garlic and when slightly brown, add cilantro and chili pepper, and toss for another minute.

Add parsley and toss, but as soon as it wilts, remove the pan from the heat.

Toss with pasta and add remaining ingredients, plus 2/3 of the cheese, making sure that everything is mixed all the way through.

Garnish with remaining cheese and sprigs of cilantro and parsley.

Serve at any temperature.

Related posts:

1. The magic of pasta
2. Healthy Mac ‘n Cheese

That just goes to show you how  naive my upbringing had left me. I’d never even considered the need to research the history of refrigeration until now, because when I was a child, my mother’s kitchen always had modern appliances.

Although I’d certainly heard about the ice man from all three of grandmothers, I’d never actually seen or needed one because we had never owned an old-fashioned ice box.

So, where was an ice man when I needed one last week? He no longer exists in America, of course.

Will Smith Sr., by the way, stopped delivering ice several decades ago. When I interviewed him on my former radio show called “The Real Deal” ( heard on WHAT 1340-AM in Philadelphia back when it aired talk), we talked about his record company and not his ice truck, which he’d long ago put to final rest. But it was fun hearing his stories and learning about the father who had raised mega-super star Will “the rapper/actor” Smith.

But back to my story from last week.

I had just spent about $300 on food for my daughter’s college graduation party, and a lot of it required refrigeration - chicken wings, salmon, lamb, assorted cheeses, eggs and humus. I’d been planning the menu for months, and wanted to prepare most of the food the night before so that  I could enjoy her guests and not be sequestered in the kitchen during the party. And just as I was about to begin prepping the food, my refrigerator died.

All of a sudden, a pool of water was leaking down from the freezer, and it was 10  o’clock at night. We couldn’t call anyone to fix it, and we certainly couldn’t call any friends that late. So, we dug around the basement and pulled out the summer coolers, and my mate went to the store and bought 50 pounds of ice to protect the food. That carried us through the night and the next day. I had to work around three ice chests plopped on the dining room floor. We had to keep buying  ice all through the party. I spent the entire celebration cooking, after all, but it was well worth the effort.

Our daughter was happy, and thankfully no one got food poisoning. Me? I’m still exhausted but thrilled that we were able to figure our way out of that mess and yes, we called the repairman the next day.

And thank GOD he was able to fix the refrigerator that we own because the cost for a new subzero one starts at around $1,500.

No related posts.

For me, both occasions will be a mixture of joy and sadness because while I love every minute of watching my children grow up, I also miss the days when they were really small, especially since it means they are moving further away from me.

Letting children go is hard, and the occasion is also bittersweet for me: my elder daughter is the first of my five children to graduate from college.

With five kids, three still in the house, this daughter has never had it easy trying to secure her education, and she tells me that getting it was harder than I could have ever imagined. Even though she paid for most of it herself, her education was always a family affair because for four years we all helped her in one way or another. So this week we celebrate not only her, but the fact that we all worked together to help her get through.

And  that sounds like a great reason to have a feast ! Although we’ll have a full-blown celebration for her at a later date, on the day she graduates we’ll have a small reception for her at home with immediate family, her close friends and lots of comfort foods. My daughter wants an eclectic menu with a Southern/Mediterranean flair. My shish kabobs aren’t traditional, since I don’t have a grill and my oven is broken, so I cook the meat,  onions, carrots, mushrooms and peppers  and then spear them onto the sticks and serve with dipping sauces on the side.

Dij’s Delights

Assorted fruit, red grapes and cheese platter

Bread, breadsticks and crackers

Crudités with hummus

Chips with salsa and guacamole

Angel-stuffed eggs

Barbecued lamb or chicken shish kabobs

Grilled salmon

Couscous with yellow raisins, scallions and dates

Pasta salad

Arugula with beets and shaved parmesan in a vinagrette dressing

Strawberry/peppermint lemonade

Cake with fruit compote and chocolate sauce

Teriyaki/ barbecued lamb kabobs

Ingredients

2 dozen wooden shish kabob spears

2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1  ½ -inch cubes, marinated and dredged in flour

¼ cup virgin olive oil

1 clove finely minced garlic

Salt, pepper, onion powder, Sazon to taste

2 lbs medium button mushrooms

1 lb baby carrots

1 lb small heirloom tomatoes

Four yellow and red peppers, quartered X 2

Directions

Brown lamb with 1/2 of the oil on high heat for 7 minutes. Add garlic when nearly done and  turn on all sides, then set aside.

In separate pan, heat olive oil and  sauté  vegetables until they are just past crunchy.

When ingredients are cool enough to handle, put them on the sticks.

Serve near couscous with your favorite dipping sauces.

Related posts:

1. Small plates for holiday parties
2. The Beet goes on