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Jubilee – Food, History, and Family

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Jubilee – Recipes From Two Generations Of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton -Martin

Jubilee – Recipes From Two centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin was the perfect book to celebrate family, food, and history for Thanksgiving.

Toni Tipton-Martin writes cookbooks that have added value. The Jemima Code – Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by Toni Tipton-Martin, is also in the kitchen at The Cottage In The Court. This book had me mesmerized and intrigued. Trying to convince my non-minority peers of this is often an uphill battle. Reflecting on the great pot of greens that someone of color shared with them is a lifelong memory. The importance of these books for those who cook and those in the gardening community is significant. Both of these books serve as an educational tool for everyone. Cookbooks that share how and why we cook the way we do prove #wegrowmorethancollards.

This year, Thanksgiving was at The Cottage. I cooked two dishes from Jubilee as a treat to my family with a twist. Growing up, cooking from scratch was the norm. As I began to experiment with cooking on my own, Mom encouraged the use of different recipes. I chose baking cookies at Christmas as my signature experiment.

Grandpa Herron, my Mom’s father, would visit on Christmas eve to pick up the cookies and deliver to my Mother’s sister’s in Washington, DC. I remember carefully choosing the recipes from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks. My parents subscribed to this cookbook club to encourage my efforts in cooking. I read these cookbooks cover to cover. Memorizing recipes in case the books would stop coming became a hobby. I knew we could not afford them, it was a splurge.

I can’t say Thank You enough to my parents for encouraging each of us to pursue our passions. My youngest grandson has become the brownie expert – which to me shows that he has an interest in cooking …not just eating.

BISCUITS FROM SCRATCH

Jubilee Baking Powder biscuits page 85. Cutting in the chilled shortening bits by hand…the way I am used to.

The first recipe I chose from this wonderful book Jubilee was on page 85, Baking Powder Biscuits. I showed Terreance how to measure the flour, whisk in the salt and baking powder, cut in the chilled shortening and knead the dough. Kneading is an art form. 8 to 10 times like Chef Edna Lewis was my choice per the recipe. To use a recipe from James Beard Award-winners like Toni Tipton-Martin and Chef Edna Lewis was an honor.

8 to 10 times ONLY was the recommended amount of time to knead the dough before cutting into biscuits. To shape the biscuits, I used the rim of a glass, just like my Mom.

I was so emotionally full after making these biscuits for my family. It took me back to my youth watching my Mom cook the only way she knew how…from scratch.

MACARONI AND CHEESE MY WAY

The Baked Macaroni and Cheese, page 177, was my second act. Holidays at the Speight household were special. The excuse to buy all the ingredients for the Macaroni and Cheese. This was a big deal for our family. Mom was a stay at home parent whose job was to raise us right. Dad went to work and Washington Bible College as he pursued his passion to become a Minister. Purchasing large quantities of cheese was a holiday event and quite the splurge. Somehow, they made it happen every single holiday.

To ease my guilt, I used pumpkin-shaped vegetable pasta made with beets, spinach, and tomatoes. There are three layers of cheese, pasta, sour cream…page 177.

Did you know James Hemmings cooked “Nouilles a maccaroni’ for Thomas Jefferson? Found in some of the notes Mr. Hemmings left behind, I think he put his thumb in it. Historical documents show in 1802, this dish was served at a White House dinner. Toni Tipton-Martin has included tidbits like this throughout Jubilee.

Ready for the oven, I heeded the warning of placing it on a pan to catch any juices that would bubble out of the pan. I cannot share with you how delicious this was! I used extra sharp cheese on top…like Mom would.

Sharing family, history, and food at any time of the year is a very important part of my world. Each of us can find familiar dishes from the African America community somewhere in the pages of this book. Memories of the Maque Choux, my South Carolinian grandma cooked to the Country Style Potato salad from my North Carolinian Grandma. I found my roots in this book.

GIFTING HERITAGE AND HISTORY

Need a gift to self to share a bit of knowledge at the next holiday celebration or Sunday dinner? Planning what to grow in next year’s garden? Jubilee – Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin is a great book to have in your kitchen. This book would be a great gift of knowledge for today’s youth.

By the way, we had collards with shallots and garlic from my garden…mmm…good! Afterall…#wegrowmorethancollards!

Making memories,

Teri, Cottage In The Court

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Peace In Anne Spencer’s Garden

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Peace is here and in every season
a quiet beauty.

Excerpt from For Jim – Easter Eve by Anne Spencer

Anne Bethel Spencer February 6, 1882 – July 27, 1975) Not just your everyday gardener but an American poet, teacher, civil rights activist, and librarian.

Peace in the garden is quite special. Peace among a group of people is an amazing thing. Who knew that most gardeners are believers in peace, love and happiness. Every time I attend an event pertaining to gardening, I am carrying the spirit of Anne Spencer on my shoulders. It was Anne Spencer who wrote about and found peace in her Virginia garden.

Anne Spencer, an African American Woman, a recognized poet of the Harlem Renaissance, didn’t start school until she was 11 years old, only to become quite the voice of her time. Anne Spencer also had a bodacious garden in Lynchburg, Virginia that was the place to pause or spend the night for many African Americans of note, who traveled but could not stay at certain establishments. The organizer of the Lynchburg NAACP in 1918, Anne was very much aware of what was going on around her but chose to write of peace, love, and happiness.

Heaven’s Virginia when the year’s at its Spring.Anne Spencer

As an African American woman who gardens, I can’t help but wonder how Anne Spencer started gardening. Was it when she sat to write on those pieces of paper, which have been lost over time? Perhaps gardening was a welcome distraction. Finding the mental seeds to create a literary garden in her mind, ready to plant on paper. Was it to get outside, allowing nature to help her curate a personal place of peace? I will never know the true answer to the question of why Anne Spencer gardened. I do understand why her garden is just a meaningful as her words ad more important than ever.

Peace in the garden is often a sacred thought. When I immerse myself in the garden, I find the words that often escape me when inside. The evening air gently gliding over my shoulders, the stars illuminating my keyboard..the words come as I am surrounded by peace. Imagining Anne Spencer with her slips of paper, pencil in hand, the moon guiding her words as she sits in her garden writing thoughts of peace, love, and happiness.

Edankraal, built by Anne Spencer’s husband, Edward. The name combines both their names as well as the word “kraal”, the Afrikaans word for enclosure or corral.

I must visit Anne Spencer’s Garden. Paying homage to this African American woman who was more than a poet, she was a gardener. Thank you to the Spencer family for finding partners to help preserve such an important structure and garden. Anne Spencer’s garden lives on in her memory.

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Lee May – Gardener Gone Too Soon

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Lee May, Author, Storyteller, Journalist, an African-American Garden Writer to be proud of…and a gardener gone too soon.

Gardener gone too soon can be applied to many of our Elders who taught us the joy of gardening. Whether it was a parent, a grandparent, a neighbor or friend, the gift of gardening continues to bring us joy. A gift given to me by a gardener I never met was from Lee May.

Lee May is missed in my world of garden writers. This “evolved” man of the garden, Lee May wrote in a way that stirred my soul. I consider him to this day, an absentee mentor. You see, the time to meet him was suggested, but unfortunately, not part of our journey.  Lee and is wife were in the middle of moving back to Georgia from Connecticut. I was honored to have the opportunity to speak with him the season before he transitioned to a bigger and better garden.  At the time, I had just begun to find my voice to share my garden experiences. As I began to do research about African-American garden writers, his name kept popping up. Conjuring up the nerve to email him and ask to speak to him about garden writing as an African-American was difficult.

Relating to him via his first book, IN MY FATHERS GARDEN, I understood how he needed to curate a unique relationship with his Dad. Lee’s parents divorced and he had a great relationship with his step father. Not really knowing his birth father, a job transfer gave him the opportunity to reach out. Their connection evolved as they spent time with his father in his father’s garden.

Sharing his life experiences and how gardening helped him center himself was a position that many might find themselves in. Gardening tends to capture a middle age audience after life h as presented its many challenges. His walks and talks, as well as the life lessons his father imparted to him, stuck with him as wisdom from the elders.

Lee shared an experience at a well-known garden center here in the Washington, DC area.  Lee and Lyn discussed how seldom they encountered another African-American the garden centers. Upon noticing another African-American male shopping for plants, there was this unspoken nod as they chatted a conversation about Japanese maples. A common occurrence when African-Americans embrace the presence of each other, in a setting where we are not commonly found.

In 1992, Lee had the opportunity to become the Editor for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. After taking the job, Lee figured out that editing  did not suit his need. As a journalist  who had covered politics, been in foreign countries and used to uncovering the story, he began to write about food and gardening. As his job entailed traveling, Lee carried a vase in his suitcase to always have flowers in his presence. Lee had houseplants galore and was honing his skills as an outdoor garden aficionado.

Developing his skill as a garden writer enhanced his relationship with his Dad. Over time spent with his Dad, Lee realized that gardening made him whole. While his father asked him “What are you growing to eat this year?” Lee was not thinking about growing food. Unlike most African-Americans who grew vegetables as a way of making ends meet and feeding their families, this was not Lee’s mindset. This was truly a moment where the defining factors of generational differences as well as economics were brought to light.

Lee May grew to have the beauty of the garden surrounding him. For an African-American to garden for pleasure was simply not the norm. Eventually adding vegetables to his repertoire, Lee valued the suggestions his Dad shared with him even as he no longer gardened. The lessons from his father stuck with him for the rest of his life.

In his second book, GARDENING LIFE, Lee really helped me realize it was okay to write like I think. In January , 1995, Lee wrote

“ But no matter how big it gets, my garden gets no work from me this time of the year. I will not even rake the leaves. The woods don’t get raked, do they?”

This was his thought process in the midst of winter when most people are not thinking about the garden. Yet he wrote about anticipating the next season. Lee May was not just a journalist and a gardener, but a storyteller. He shared stories of seasonal change, conversations with strangers on gardening as well as people who became friends – all from gardening.

One story that I found meaningful was the chapter on The Amazing Graces. Two aging women, one African-American and the other white, had developed a lifelong friendship via the garden. Their yards mimicked each other with similar plants shared from cuttings and divisions. Neither women could figure out why there was such divisiveness between the races. Their friendship was colorblind in spite of the times in 1995.

One bit of wisdom that Lee kept close to his heart were words shared by his father, Ples…“It’s a risky run any way you go. Always be prepared to go back over it again if you mess up; if you fail, just plant again.” – January 7, 1994

Lee May is a gardener gone too soon. An African-American man who had no hesitation answering my call and saying yes when asked to visit my little garden in District Heights, Maryland. A gardener who shared my love of Coppola Claret in the  garden at dusk. Although he never made it due to his health, this man has certainly played a role in my life as a gardener, a garden writer and a proud African-American woman who writes like I think about the garden.

In the garden,

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Foliage Fun In Winter

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Repurposed foliage can last a considerable amount of time in a cool home or office.

Foliage bouquets on a winter day can be a lifesaver. The traditional bouquet is generally filled with blooming plants that are terrific eye candy. After the blooms have faded, the leftover foliage is no longer appreciated. This is true even in the garden.

Most gardeners tend to plan and plant for color on those hot summer days. The evergreens quietly take a back seat to the colorful parade that beats its drum loudly. When autumn arrives, the garden is put to bed and it is only then, the evergreen foliage stands out. Humbly saying “look at me now”. Snowfall then graces the foliage of these evergreens making them sculptural magnificent.

FORAGING FOR FOLIAGE

One of my favorite things to do in winter, is strolling through my neighborhood during or after snowfall. The mature evergreens that are part of the natural landscape, tend to pop out of nowhere. Taking the time to wander and observe nature in winter, allows one to see what can be foraged.  Foraging outdoors for vines, branches with berries, or branches with winter fruits are all quite interesting. Each of these options might be found in your own backyard. All can be found in the woods or at the edge of a stream. The diverse foliage found in nature are the perfect seasonal accent. Pruned to the perfect size, they are useful in arrangements inside and outside the home.

Using leftover foliage from the garden, I created a unique container arrangement to great me everyday.

PRUNING FOR ARRANGEMENTS

The delight of a container filled with assorted branches in the midst of winter is amazing. Here are a few tips for knowing what to prune:

  • Prune any crossing branches. This will prevent the winter winds from creating a wound that could allow pests and disease to affect the plant. Clean your pruners after every cut.
  • Make sure the cuts are not visible to passersby. This could leave an unsightly gap in an otherwise perfect specimen. If you can prune in different places every year.
  • Cut off enough to use as you lightly prune or shape your plant material. Make certain that you are using the appropriate type of pruners, shears or lopers. The wrong tools can either mess up the tool or severely damage the plant.
  • Make all of your cuts a clean-cut. Stems should not be mashed or shredded. Sharpen and disinfect your pruners as you move from shrub to shrub.
  • Do not leave your shrubs with bare knees. Most evergreen shrubs should be wider at the bottom than at the top. Shrubs are not square in nature – just a friendly reminder. Know your plant material.
  • Select branches that are supple, have interesting foliage and most importantly have no disease.

CREATING ARRANGEMENTS

Here are a few tips to remember when arranging:

Select your container with its placement in mind. No tall, oversized containers for the dinner table. There is nothing worse than trying to have a conversation through a bodacious bouquet.

Try low and broad containers. I try to use something that can be recycled or reused. If you cannot see the container, that simply allows you (the arranger) to play more.

Bigger leaves in the back or at the bottom lays your foundation. . Building out and up is key. Make sure that your arrangement is not top-heavy. If you have to move it, you do not want your work to topple over.

No blooms or berries  NO PROBLEM! There is enough foliage in the winter to create unique arrangements  by using the branches and boughs.

Get outside, forest bathe, gather some cuttings from the winter garden and create!

Dreaming of forest bathing, pruning and snow!

Teri, Cottage In The Court

Snipping foliage here and there, the scent lingering on my hands , winter arranging is a sensual delight!

PS – My newsletter is coming soon. If you would like to receive updates, information and glimpses of what’s going on in my word, subscribe.

I embrace and share the beauty that surrounds me.

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