June is National Soul Food Month which has been around since 2001. Juneteenth is now a national holiday. The celebration of African American foodways should be daily. I would love to see a children’s book on African American foodways. What if it was an ABCs of soul food?! That would be a great way to teach the kids about soul food.
A is for ackee
B is for biscuit.
C is for Carolina gold rice.
Check out this week’s Nichelle Newsletter.
I watched the Netflix docuseries, High on the Hog, last week. It is amazing. The cinematography is great. Stephen Satterfield is a curious host, and it is essential viewing for anyone who wants to learn about American foodways. African American foodways is American foodways just like African American history is American history. This series should be shown in schools. It is like “Eyes on The Prize” for food.
In the docuseries, you see Stephen eating and talking with Dr. Jessica B. Harris who authored the book, High on The Hog. Authors Adrian Miller and Michael Twitty are also featured in the docuseries.
In the latest issue of my food and culture substack, Nichelle Newsletter, I talked about High on the Hog, Black forager Alexis Nikole Nelson, and Black cookout hierarchy. Dr. Regina Bradley wrote a piece for Food and Wine about the hierarchy of the cookout.
Today, I read about some good news. Toni Tipton-Martin is a James Beard Award winning author and she is the editor of Cook’s Country. She has just been awarded the Julia Child Award which is a $50,000 grant, for mentoring and training the next generation of food writers. Ten years ago, I met Toni after a panel discussion at SXSW about Black bloggers and Black people in tech. She told me about The Jemima Code, her blog. The Jemima Code eventually became an award winning book.
It’s high Leo season. This week is my mom’s, my sister’s and my aunt’s birthdays. My birthday isn’t until November, but I have to skip it. This is not a great year for celebrations and gatherings.
Anyway, I cooked some chicken on Saturday. This morning, I cooked some onion and garlic hotdogs that I got from 920 Cattle & Company. They’re a farm based in Statesboro and they come down every week to sell at Forsyth Farmers’ Market.
I published the latest edition of Nichelle Newsletter. It’s a good one. It includes to links to Black people in the food and drink world that you haven’t heard of. Check out my Bookshop list, too.
Banoffee is a British thing. A banoffee pie is an English dessert pie made from bananas, cream and toffee. I have never had banoffee pie but I created a recipe for banoffee spice cookies. These cookies are great for breakfast with a cup of coffee.
Ingredients
Instructions
This recipe was originally posted by me on Cookpad in 2014. I am in the processed of bringing my content to my site.
I practiced self-care by spending the weekend with my family in Decatur last weekend. I went to the Park Ave Thrift Store in Woodstock with my mom and got lots of stuff for only $26. The cool thing is that I got a bag of silk ties that I using as headbands. I am hard pressed to pay retail after that shopping trip.
I advised my sister to not binge-watch ‘Orange is the New Black” but since I set up the Chromecast in her bedroom, she couldn’t help herself.
My Dad made fried chicken and I helped. In addition, he made candied yams, fried okra, collard greens, cornbread, macaroni and cheese and quick-pickled tomatoes. It was the perfect comfort soul food Sunday family dinner.
Anyway, I just put up an episode of “It’s Nichelle With An N“. Listen to it when you get a chance.
A few days ago, I got an email asking me to pass on news of a fruit CSA that will be delivering to soon this summer/fall. As I am sitting here eating lunch at ‘wichcraft, I notice that Red Jacket Orchards’ juices are being sold here. What a crazy coincidence! Anyway, to stave off any colds during the fall and keep away scurvy, you may want to join Red Jacket Orchards CSA. Deadline for entry is August 5th. You can purchase a full share for $264 ($22 per week) or a half share for $156 ($13 per week). Pickup will be at either Jimmy’s No. 43 or Brooklyn Farmacy.
I love candied apples and caramel apples, but candied strawberries is too much. Spotted this at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival in Williamsburg.
A new “Spike Lee Joint” is this red apple and ginger flavored vodka. I wonder what it would taste like in a martini, substituting olives for lychee.
Saturday, May 22. Mama O’s Kimchee will be at Greenpoint Food Market sharing a table with Laena from Anarchy In A Jar. It’s condiment heaven!
Saturday, May 22. HyperGender Burlesque has a show called “Diasporic Dreams” featuring the founders of Brown Girls Burlesque, Aurora Boobrealis and Dame Cuchafrita. $15 WOW Cafe Theater.
Ongoing until June 6. Cirque De Soleil OVO is now playing at Randall’s Island. I am proud to say that I know Michelle Matlock who stars in the show. She plays the Ladybug. Many moons ago, Michelle had a one-woman called The Mammy Project. Also, Michelle is in an article in the New York Times about the Dazzle Dancers who I saw at the Siren Festival ages ago. Good Times.
Chocri, a Belgian organic chocolatier, has an online site where you can design your own chocolate bar. You can pick the kind of chocolate (white, milk or dark) and the toppings you want to go in your chocolate bar. I met Carmen from Chocri at SXSW and she sent me a coupon code to sample the chocolate bars and I got them delivered this week. Yesterday, I ate the one with banana and corn flakes. It was like a breakfast chocolate bar. Yums!
I’m here in Seattle Washington to preview Cinnabon’s new line of cupcakes. I will write a full post when I get back home to Brooklyn, but wanted to post one mouthwatering, drool-worthy picture.