A Taste of Yellow in memory of Barbara: the Monthly Mingle roundup

When I got the message on 30 June that Barbara Harris, wife, mother, cook food blogger and human being extraordinaire had passed away the day before, I was struck with a pang of deep sorrow.  Sorrow because death is so very, very final; because I would never get to meet her in person; and because there was so much more she wanted to achieve when her life was rudely interrupted.  But how do you commemorate and pay tribute to somebody you have never met in the flesh?  What better way than to do it online, the ethereal space where my friendship with Barbara grew and blossomed.  As it was my turn to host Meeta’sMonthly Mingle event, we decided to adopt a theme of “A taste of Yellow“, the name of the cancer-awareness event that Barbara initiated and hosted on an annual basis.

For those of you who do not know Barbara, my first piece of advice would be to read her blog, Winos and Foodies, to give you a sense of her joie de vivre; her gentle humour, her love of her family, her love of food, and her grace and courage in the face of cancer. During the course of hosting this event, I have had the privilege of reading so many wonderful memories and trbutes that people have shared about Barbara, including this beautiful tribute by Cath of A Blithe Palate.  You shared memories of Barbara and stories of loved ones you have lost to cancer; you talked repeatedly of what a generous presence Barbara was in the blogosphere, always encouraging new bloggers and taking the time to send personal notes and comments; and most of all you expressed deep regret at never having met her.  I also received this comment from barbara’s husband Bryan:

As a family we have been truly amazed by the outpouring of support and praise of Barbara’s life and work, the blog being her favourite interest. We have all worn the yellow wrist bands from early in her fight, vowing to remove them only if she was to leave us. There is now only one remaining, it is hers, and on my wrist. Winos and Foodies will remain on line with one more post to come: we intend to put up the program from her funeral which includes a recipe, one of her favourites.

My family hugs you all.
Bryan

And a few people also suggested that although we have lost Barbara, we should all try and do something for those who are still living with and fighting this disease: be there for somebody going through a chronic illness or bad experience, offer to do some chores for them without being asked, or even just show up and sit and chat over a cup of coffee.  even something that small can make a difference.  And of course, we can all help the fight against cancer by donating to one of the many cancer charities available – here are a few to which you might want to make a donation in Barara’s memory:

• Livestrong Foundation
• The Austrailan Cancer Research Foundation
• The Cancer Council Australia
• The National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia
• The MacGrath Foundation
• Cancer Research UK
• MacMillan Cancer Support
• The American Institute for Cancer Research
• The Cancer Association of South Africa

And now without further ado, let’s paint the food blogosphere yellow with your recipes!

DISH:  Mango pomelo sago
NAME:  KimKim
LOCATION:  Jakarta
BLOG: KimKim Patisserie

DISH: Lemon Tapioca Pudding with Crush Raspberries and Lemon Shortbreads
NAME: Arfi Binstead
LOCATION:  New Zealand
BLOG: Homemades

DISH: Lemon chicken with garlic creamed corn
NAME: Val Harrison
LOCATION:  British Columbia, Canada
BLOG: More Than Burnt Toast

DISH: Irish potato pancakes with garlic cottage cheese
NAME: Krista Bjorn
LOCATION: Australia
BLOG: Rambling Tart

DISH: Lemon, pear and choc-chip muffins
NAME: Amanda McInerney
LOCATION:  Australia
BLOG: Lambs’ Ears and Honey

DISH:  Saffron pasta
NAME: Tandy Sinclair
LOCATION:  Gordon’s Bay, South Africa
BLOG: Lavender & Lime

DISH: Indian-style pumpkin blossom fritters
NAME: Aparna
LOCATION:  India
BLOG: My Diverse Kitchen

DISH: Apricot & mango jam
NAME: Simone
LOCATION: The Netherlands
BLOG:  Junglefrog Cooking

DISH: Caramelised bananas with toffee sauce
NAME: Siri
LOCATION:  India
BLOG: Cooking with Siri

DISH: Mango lemonade
NAME: Nashira Usef
LOCATION:  Doha, Quatar
BLOG: Plateful

DISH: Lemonade with roasted fennel seeds, honey and mint leaves
NAME: Sandy Neumann
LOCATION: Jena, Germany
BLOG: Confiture de Vivre

DISH:  Pickled golden beets
NAME: Robin Ove
LOCATION:  California, USA
BLOG: What About the Food

DISH: Lauki Chana Dal – Soupy Lentils with Bottle Gourd
NAME: Soma Rathmore
LOCATION:  Texas, USA
BLOG: eCurry

DISH:  Tropical fruit crumble
NAME: Gillian
LOCATION:  Auckland, New Zealand
BLOG:  So So Simple Food

DISH:  Mango cheesecake with mango gelee
NAME: Swathi
LOCATION:  USA
BLOG:  Zesty South Indian Kitchen

DISH: Raw king oyster mushroom “calamari”
NAME: Janet
LOCATION:  Toronto, Canada
BLOG: The Taste Space

DISH:  Cous cous with corn and scallions in brown butter
NAME: Sally Newton
LOCATION:  Kansas, USA
BLOG:  Bewitching Kitchen 

DISH: Creamy squash, carrot and longanisa soup
NAME: Chichajo
LOCATION:  Manila, Philippines
BLOG: 80 Breakfasts

DISH:  Lemon marmalade-filled walnut scones
NAME:  Lisa Johnson
LOCATION:  Quincy, MA (USA)
BLOG:  Anali’s First Amendment

DISH: Apple-cucumber pickles
NAME: Anna
LOCATION:  Sydney, Australia
BLOG: Morsels & Musings

DISH:  Cape gooseberry (physalis) pavlova
NAME:  Kit Heathcock
LOCATION:  Cape Town, South Africa
BLOG: Food and Family

DISH: Pumpkin pops
NAME: Colleen
LOCATION:  Cape Town, South Africa
BLOG: Browniegirl Blog

DISH: Custard-filled madeleines
NAME: Jasmine Ann
LOCATION:  Melbourne, Australia
BLOG:  The Gluten-free Scallywag

DISH: Roasted sprouted chickpeas
NAME:  Richa
LOCATION:  Seattle, Washington (USA)
BLOG: Vegan Richa

DISH: Baby corn paneer jalfrezi
NAME:  Anusha
LOCATION: Gujarat, India
BLOG: Tomato Blues

DISH:  Milan-style asparagus with egg and Parmesan
NAME: Jamie
LOCATION:  Nantes, France
BLOG:  Life’s a Feast

DISH:  Peach prosecco Bellini sorbet
NAME:  Jamie
LOCATION:  Nantes, France
BLOG:  Life’s a Feast

DISH: Bulgur salad with pepper and courgette
NAME: Eva
LOCATION:  Oldenburg, Germany
BLOG:  Food Vegetarisch

DISH: Raw zucchini (courgette) salad
NAME:  Rosa
LOCATION:  Geneva, Switzerland
BLOG: Rosa’s Yummy Yums

DISH: Lemon squash
NAME:  Jacqui
LOCATION:  New Zealand
BLOG:  No blog, so Gillian posted it on her behalf – thanks Gilli!

DISH: Yellow tomato bruschetta
NAME: Paz
LOCATION:  New York City
BLOG: The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz

DISH: Puff pastry rings with mango curd
NAME: Hesti
LOCATION:  Indonesia
BLOG: Hesti’s Kitchen

DISH: Mango chutney
NAME: Barbara
LOCATION:  Basel, Switzerland
BLOG:  Late Bloomers

DISH: Cake with caramelised peppermint apricots
NAME: Ivy
LOCATION:  Athens, Greece
BLOG:  Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality

DISH: Walnut, lemon & cardamom cake
NAME:  Mairi
LOCATION:  New Zealand
BLOG: Toast

DISH: Galaktoboureko
NAME: Peter G
LOCATION:  Sydney, Australia
BLOG: Souvlaki for the Soul

DISH: Panna cotta two ways
NAME: Sally
LOCATION: Dubai
BLOG:  My Custard Pie

DISH:  Lemon sorbet
NAME:  Jen
LOCATION: Colorado USA
BLOG:  Use Real Butter

DISH:  Peach & pistachio cake
NAME: Prerna
LOCATION: Mauritius
BLOG:  Inspired to Bake

DISH: Fresh lemon cake
NAME: Sue
LOCATION: South Africa
BLOG: Sous Chef

DISH: Restaurant style dal tadka
NAME:  Dassana
LOCATION: India
BLOG: Veg Recipes of India

DISH: Eton mess with Saffron, Raspberries and White Currants
NAME: Meeta Khurana-Wolff
LOCATION:  Weimar, Germany
BLOG:  What’s For Lunch, Honey?

DISH:  Lemon and Limoncello granita
NAME:  Jeanne Horak-Druiff
LOCATION:  London, UK
BLOG: CookSister!

DISH:  Mirabelle plum & Cognac clafoutis
NAME: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
LOCATION:  London, UK
BLOG:  CookSister!

And that, as they say, is that – over 40 golden entries (see the full visual effect here on the taste of yellow Pinterest board!). A huge THANK YOU to all who participated for your stories, your emotions and your recipes.  Here’s to you Barbara; we will always remember you and your kind brave, generous nature – I hope you are smiling wherever you are now.  Next month’s Mingle is hosted by Zizi’s Adventures and the theme is street food – see the post for more details.