Culinary Historians of Chicago
FALL 2001
|
NEWSLETTER OF THE Culinary Historians of Chicago |
FALL 2001 |
GRITS AND GREENS II:
Charla Draper, Moderator
"Soul Food and the Media"- Panelists
Illinois Institute of Art Culinary School
Food Festival - Roosevelt University
Sunday, June 24
Conference Committee:
Silver Sponsors: Betty Crocker; Dairy Council of Wisconsin
Mr. Paige said, noting that "by 6,000 B.C., black people in Africa were living in urban, farming communities, had developed the cotton and oil producing plants, and had introduced it to the Egyptians and ultimately to the world." And, he said, "It makes more sense...to revisit a more relevant time in history, which is the 17th-19th century in West Africa, the time and place from which most present day African-American forbears originated."
Mr. Paige described the division of labor among men and women in 17th-century West Africa: The preparation of family meals was the primary chore of the female, whose foods came from her own garden or the collective farming of her community. Her larder was well stocked. Staple crops included yams, millet, rice, cassava, or guinea corn (sorghum), pigeon peas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, peanut (groundnuts), sesame seeds, pumpkin, squash, eggplants (guinea squash), onions, maize (Indian-corn), tomatoes, okra, hot peppers (Malagueta, pimento, and pili-pili), akee, spinach, cabbage, sweet potatoes and more. In addition to vegetables, her ingredients included fruits, nuts, spices, dairy products, fish and game. "To make the tough meat of large animals suitable for chewing, she tenderized it by wrapping it in leaves of the papaya. After the tenderizing process, the meat was roasted over open pits, and served with a non-tomato-based sauce made of lime or lemon juice and hot peppers, the forerunner of barbecue..." Hot peppers were considered a measure of affection: "The more copiously she used hot peppers in her sauces, the more love she was thought to have for her family, especially for her husband. If, indeed, his food was bland, her love for her husband was not so hot!" commented Mr. Paige.
"The West African cook was both imaginative and frugal," he said, describing how she used all the edible parts of the vegetables, including the greens, and cooked those greens in much the same way as they are cooked today -- seasoned well and allowed to simmer slowly "until they were soft and pleasing to the palate."
Mr. Paige described a wide variety of preparation methods used by the West African cook to create sweet and savory dishes, and the utensils she used: iron pots, earthen vessels that resembled double boilers, long-handled spoons, grating stones, mortars and pestles, and more.
A portrait of the West African housewife emerges: a skilled, creative and frugal cook. "Which explains why her forced labor was in such high demand in the kitchen of a degenerative and brutal system: for it was her task in the new world to perform her wonders in its kitchens and to feed the people in the great country that America was to become," concluded Mr. Paige.
Mr. Edge insists that a Chicago restaurateur -- Chef Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo -- played an inspirational role in his career. "About a month into my life in Oxford (I was a corporate swine for ten years in Atlanta before moving to Oxford, Mississippi, in 1995), I came across an article in USA Today about Rick Bayless." The article described Bayless' annual trips to Mexico with his staff, spending weeks eating, studying and talking and reading about regional native cuisine. "A light bulb went on in my head even before I read the article's closing quote from Bayless wherein he described his touring and tasting as a form of culinary anthropology. I began to think about the South in those same terms. I began to explore the idea that I could come to a better understanding of the South by taking a closer look at its food habits, its foodways." He says, "Simply put, I have come to the conclusion that the food culture of the South is worth deep and thoughtful consideration. And I have come to the realization that much of what interests me, and much of what I've found to be most compelling, has to do with food and race.
Mr. Edge's scrutiny of the foodways of the South has lead him down many roads less traveled -- and into some irreverent and inspiring byways, one of which was the Club From Nowhere.
"On a recent week long ramble about Montgomery [Alabama], I came upon an historical market like no other I had seen before. Located just south of the capitol on Dericot Street, in a working class neighborhood of tidy brick and frame bungalows, it stands in honor of one of the unsung heroines of the Civil Rights Movement, one of those people Martin Luther King Jr., called a 'member of the ground crew.' It reads:
But in talking to Georgia Gilmore's family, friends and colleagues, Mr. Edge was to discover that the marker really didn't give a clue to her life or work. Georgia Gilmore was "a mountain of a woman, nearly 250 pounds of girth, grit and sass," who took no junk from anybody, no matter who. Said Reverend Thomas E. Jordan, pastor of Lilly Baptist Church in Montgomery, "Even the white police officers let her be. She wasn't a mean person, but like it was with many black people, there was this perception that she might be dangerous. The word was, 'Don't mess with Georgia Gilmore, she might cut you.' But Lord that woman could cook."
Said Edge, "Reverend Al Dixon, a longtime customer of what would become her home-based catering service, told me that when he came walking in the front door, she would call from the kitchen...'I got a big ole bowl of buttermilk and some cornbread for you to crumble into it, just like you want. Now sit down and eat, you old heifer!' Martin Luther King Jr. got much the same treatment when he came calling...she was an equal opportunity name caller."
Georgia Gilmore's life, as described by Mr. Edge, was hard, but her character was mighty, tenacious and tough. To raise money for the Montgomery boycott's organizing body, headed by a young Martin Luther King, Jr., she organized a group that sold cakes and pies all over town -- "to beauty parlors and laundries, and cab stands and doctors offices. She called it the 'Club From Nowhere,' so those people who were afraid of losing their job could still work for the movement," he said. Georgia did more than cook and sell food, she testified in court as a defense witness for King and other members of the MIA when the city of Montgomery brought suit against them claiming the boycott to be an unlawful conspiracy. When newspapers and magazines -- including Life -- around the country reported her appearance on the witness stand, she was fired from her job (cooking at a local cafeteria). So Gilmore, funded in part by Dr. King, set up her own restaurant and catering company in her home. After the boycott ended successfully, "Georgia Gilmore's home became a kind of unofficial executive dining room for the Civil Rights Movement," where Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson and Robert Kennedy broke bread.
According to Georgia's sister, Betty, Georgia died on Friday on the 25th anniversary of the march. She had been cooking food that day, and at the visitation after her funeral, the fried chicken and potato salad she had already fixed for the marchers was served.
The book, The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro, has a unique place in history as the first fund-raising cookbook produced by the National Council of Negro Women. "Even its title is a reminder of the days in 1936 when the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded by Mary McLeod Bethune," writes Dorothy I. Height in the foreword to the reprint edition. Ms. Height is Chair and President Emeritus of the NCNW. "From her vantage point, as Advisor on Minority Affairs to President Franklin Roosevelt, Mrs. Bethune understood the meaning of collective power. To help build a council of national organizations driven by a sense of unity and purpose, she drew unto herself women of substance from all walks of life."
One of the women in Ms. Bethune's circle was Sue Bailey Thurman, who proposed developing the cookbook in 1958, which she called a "palatable" approach to history "as a means of stimulating awareness and appreciation of our history."
Through the efforts of Anne L. Bower, the book has just been reprinted. Ms. Bower first encountered the book at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library in 1992 and "...it was most evident to me, as soon as I opened up "The Historical Cookbook," that here was something extraordinary. Packed with important social and cultural information, advocating philosophies of civil rights for all and world peace, arranged according to the calendar year, and featuring and intriguing mix of African-American and normative 1950s dishes, this book seemed very special," she writes in her introduction to the reprint edition.
Ms. Bower points out that the amazing amount of history sandwiched between the recipes of the book was in response to a special need in the 1950s to make African-Americans aware of their own history. "A strong oral tradition and viable church communities encouraged a certain level of this transmission," writes Bower, "...but it was clear to African-American educators in the earlier part of the twentieth century that this knowledge was fragmented and incomplete."
Bower describes the history that Thurman and her collaborators put together for "The Historical Cookbook" was a mix of familiar information and historical material that was not widely known. For example, while the cookbook includes information about world-famous figures such as Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver and Sojourner Truth, it also tells about Elijah Lovejoy who died in 1837 defending the Alston, Illinois, Observer, an abolitionist paper, and Susan Elizabeth Frazier, the first African-American to teach in New York City's integrated schools.
As for the recipes, Bower says the book draws on African roots without drawing attention to the national origin of recipes and foods, and it takes a fairly eclectic approach to the culinary arts.
Getting "The Historical Cookbook" reprinted was a major effort. The original plates were lost and the facsimile edition was reprinted using a printed edition with diminished quality in the visual materials. However, she writes, "Despite the difficulties of bringing The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro back into print and the experimentations you'll undergo in perfecting some of the recipes..., this extraordinary cookbook remains a unique compendium of recipes, history and social philosophy.... Clearly Sue Bailey Thurman and the NCNW Cookbook Committee believed that we, the cookbook readers, would be nourished by history as much as by food. Reading this book and trying its recipes, we can celebrate the heroines and heroes of the past, well known or obscure, and we can honor the new sense of history the book's authors helped to create. And, of course, we can then enjoy the communion-like act of sharing food and all it symbolizes."
Ms. Morris said, "It's hard to sell traditional soul food recipes to 18- to 35-year-olds with no time to cook," and she asked why there were not more soul food channel stations and more cookbooks.
Ms. Pierce discussed the evolution of consciousness surrounding soul food, and distributed "A Sampling of Images in Cookbooks and Magazines," showing the stereotypical, often denigrating, images and names (Uncle Remus Mint Julep, Pickininny Cookies, Massas' Cheese Croquettes, Mammy's Chicken patties, Aunt Jemima's Lemon Pie) given soul food in plantation style and Southern cookbooks. Such stereotypes played a major role in African-Americans' lack of pride in their foodways during the first half of the 20th century. And, she asked the question: What is the difference between soul food and Southern food? Soul food shouldn't lose its identity. "Soul food now is very descriptive," she said, "and we should be conscious and careful and enjoy the pride of our African-American foodways."
Ms. Lyons commented that one of the major differences between soul food and Southern food was, "Soul food is spicier, has a high flavor profile, and herbs and seasonings in general are used at a higher level than in Southern cooking."
Ms. Hodge added to the definition of soul food: It's about comfort foods, grits and green and fried chicken. It's also about family and tradition and Sunday suppers and family gatherings. In our fast-paced society it's important to remind people to pass on the information and tradition. It's also important to learn to modify the recipes and dishes nutritionally without sacrificing taste and flavor."
Jeannette Jordan, R.D. and the American Dietetic Association's spokesperson for African-American nutrition issues underscored her comment, saying, "It's important to preserve both taste and nutrition."
Her comments elicited a question from the audience: Why not instant soul food? How about using canned collard greens and other convenience foods and doctoring them in the home kitchen?
The moderator, Charla Draper, suggested there was a need for more good soul food restaurants, which are still in short supply in a city the size of Chicago.
Lunch featured a local culinary icon: Chicago-style hot dogs complete with chopped onions, tiny sport peppers, chopped tomatoes, cucumber, neon-green pickle relish, mustard (never ketchup!) and celery salt.
Show-and-tell feasting continued during the chefs' demonstrations at the Illinois Institute of Art Culinary School. Cooking school proprietor Chef Joe Randall from Savannah, Ga., taught as he cooked and discussed the major influence on American cuisine which "came from African slaves, the people who least intended to be here," he said. Chef Randall demonstrated and served Sea Island Smothered Shrimp on Creamy Stone-Ground Grits and Oyster and Shrimp Purloo.
A quick take on traditional soul food came from Chef Clifford Rome, Jr., proprietor of Rome Development, an upscale catering and food consulting firm. He showed how even today's pressed-for-time cook can coax the long, slow-cooked flavors of traditional dishes in about an hour and a half. Most of his dishes were more healthful, lower-fat renditions of the originals. Examples include Wilted Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey (made with chicken stock and simmered for 1-1/2 hours), and Chef's Oven Baked Sweet Potatoes, a richly flavored but contemporary version of old-fashioned candied yams, using fresh orange juice, lemon zest and spices. Chef Rome's Southern Influenced Red Beans and Rice were made with olive oil, smoked turkey sausage, white or brown oven-baked rice and chicken stock.
Chef Kocoa Scott-Winbush of Kocoa's Kitchen, Inc., took soul food to creative culinary heights with an entree of Chicken and Collard Green Crepes and, for dessert, seductive Peach Bread Pudding made with brioche and flavored with peach Schnapps.
Chef Karen Jackson of Opus 7, Ltd., gave soul food a Caribbean-Asian twist with Mini Sweet Potato Pancakes and a Papaya-Mango Sauce. Her Pulled Chili-Spiced Pork was a combination of the texture and succulence of traditional southern barbecue along with exotic spices from the marinade: orange, chilies, coriander, allspice, achiote and cinnamon.
Recipes for the chefs' demonstrations dishes as well as for many served at the food festival are featured on the Recipes page.
The Culinary Legacy of African-American Women
Saturday, June 23 - Harold Washington College
"The Culinary Legacy of African-American Women"
Speakers:
John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance
Howard Paige, author of "Aspects of African-American Foodways"
Anne L. Bower, Assoc. Prof. of English, Ohio State University
Donna Hodge, food editor of N'Digo magapaper
Charlotte Lyons, food editor of Ebony magazine
Donna Pierce, food editor of Upscale magazine
DeNita Morris, food writer for BET online
Chef Demonstrations:
Joe Randall, Chef Joe Randall's Cooking School, Savannah, Ga.:
"Low Country Cooking"
Kocoa Scott-Winbush, Kocoa's Kitchen, Inc., Chicago: "Fusion Soul Food"
Cliff Rome, Executive Chef, Cannes Film Festival, CEO, Rome Development, Chicago: "Mississippi Delta Cooking"
Karen Jackson, Opus 7, Ltd., Chicago: "Caribbean-Asian Soul"
Food Stations with Chicago's leading soul food restaurants and
culinary schools
Music by Blues great Diamond Jim Greene
Cookbook signings, raffles and door prizes
South Side Tour and Lunch
West Side Tour and Lunch
Co-Chair Charla Draper, president, It's Food Biz! Chicago
Co-Chair Wilbert Jones, president, Healthy Concepts, Inc.
Bruce Kraig, PhD., president, CHC, Professor Emeritus of History, Roosevelt University, Chicago
Conference Treasurer Susan Ridgeway, treasurer, CHC
Conference Publicity Chair Elizabeth Richter, executive producer of PBS series "Hidden Journeys"
Bronze Sponsors: Shell; Illinois Humanities Council
19th-CENTURY WEST AFRICAN KITCHEN
February 5, 1920 - March 3, 1990.