Mediterranean Diet

come inside! we’ve got so much to show you! over there you’ll find a mosaic-laden platter of figs, dates, & grapes, little green & purple appetizers like bougainvillea petals against a vine-entangled fence. oh, look over there! kringo pancakes, light & fluffy mounds of goodness melted in maple syrup & marmalade alongside a salt-&-cumin-dusted omelet. hark! spiced green beans sauteed in Dijon mustard topped with seared baby bella mushrooms, children compared to the portobellos & truffles dug up by wild hogs in the south of France. now, turn your attention to the golden Spanish rice broiled in an amalgamation of liquids scavenged from dinners past, ancient spices & oils brewing into a seafood-strewn meal fit for a king. speaking of kings, all hail to the mighty Moroccan tagine! a stew of buttery potatoes, see-through zucchinis, caramelized prunes & (if you’re really in need of a pick-me-up) decadent lamb legs, pulled apart from the bone, topped in all manners of olive oil – from virgin to Sous – & flavored with the richest of spices, from herbe de province to ras el hanout! but there’s more! the prince & princesses, if you will – the cherry on top to a long, sugar-deprived day! chebakia: little pretzel-like cookies drowned in honey & sprinkled in pinpricks of sesame seeds, a sweet end to a food-filled day well spent.

Natalie D.C. (she/her) is a 19-year-old artist and writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. Her writing
grapples with her erratic mental health and paradoxical queer half-Moroccan identity. She has
been published in the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Anthology, Rune, The Echo, and Pile Press.
When she isn’t busy working towards her BA in Public & Professional Writing, you can usually
find her re-reading her favorite book over and over, watching K-dramas with her little sister or
filling her walls with anything and everything that makes her smile. Her debut poetry chapbook,
blue pearl, is available for purchase from Bottlecap Press.