a little of this, a little of that....
Hi all!
To kick off today’s grab bag of fun stuff, I wanted to share that I’ll be giving proceeds from today’s newsletter to the BEM Books & More campaign on Kickstarter.
Sisters Danielle and Gabrielle Davenport (I went to college with Danielle!) have been running BEM Books & More, a home for Black food literature, for a three years now and are raising money to establish a brick-and-mortar location in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The space will allow them to keep selling books and also enable them to create a test kitchen, a café, and a reading room/archive space. This type of Black-centered food + literature space is so needed and Danielle and Gabrielle are pouring their energy into it.
They’re working hard to raise $60K by next Tuesday, March 6th. Kickstarter is ‘all or nothing’ so if they don’t reach their goal, they won’t be able to receive any of the pledges they’re already accumulated. They are a third of the way there! Let’s help to get them over their goal!!
Your paid subscription to this newsletter helps me support projects and business like BEM. Also please donate more if you can!!! They have amazing rewards available if you’re able to give — check it all out here. Get a vintage copper pot from Dr. Jessica B. Harris’s own collection!
This Sunday’s class will be a TACO PARTY!!! that happens to be completely vegan and gluten-free!
Join me to make an incredibly fun menu that happens to be totally vegan and gluten-free! Our menu will include lots of recipes, but each is very simple. Tons of tips + tricks shared during class. We will be making:
A Pitcher of Margaritas
Super Savory Crumbled Tofu + Walnuts
Charred Tortillas
Pickled Red Onions
Vegan Crema
Black Bean, Cherry Tomato + Corn Salsa
Coconut Horchata Rice Pudding
Okay, onto the rest of the fun things for this week’s newsletter.
A shoutout….
to this Old Bay-ish seasoning mix from Boonville Barn Collective called ‘Boonville Boil.’ Friends, it’s so good. It’s a mix of their Smoky Piment d'Ville and Comapeño chile powders mixed with garlic, lemon, bay leaf, thyme, mustard, and dill pollen. It’s got a little kick and it’s just so good. I’ve put it in chowder, used it in the topping of the Mustardy Cracker Crumb Fish from Simply Julia, and I used it to season a chicken/rice casserole I made recently for some friends. I imagine it would also be amazing on popcorn. Really enjoying it so wanted to tell you!
And another shoutout….
to
’s post about/recipe for Arroz con Jackfruit which I’ve had on my mind since she wrote about it nearly a year ago.On Monday we made a version of it for Full Fridge Club (the prepared meal program I do with Emmet Moeller + the Common Table Crew every Monday in Kingston, NY — you can read more about our one year anniversary here! If you’re in the area and want us to cook for you every week, spots are available!).
To make it for our clients, I marinated the jackfruit on Friday with so many spices (I basically made my own version of adobo with sweet and smoked paprika, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, and a little salt) and tons of olive oil and also prepared the sofrito base. This made it very easy to make dozens of portions on Monday without too much effort. I roasted the jackfruit in Emmet’s super-powered convection oven until it got super crispy. Meanwhile, I sautéed the sofrito base with lots of tomato paste and then stirred in rice, the roasted jackfruit, and enough water that it came up to my first knuckle. I covered it, let it simmer for 20 minutes, then added frozen peas, put the cover back on and let the pots rest for a bit. I mixed everything together and wow it is SO GOOD. I’m so happy we included this in our Full Fridge Club menu and can’t wait to make it again soon.
A few other things I’ve really enjoyed…
And a final shoutout to….
our pets, who make our home a warm, slightly chaotic, never totally quiet place to live. They also are good sports about letting me take endless photos of them. Here’s Hope being an absolute angel / Papaguy the bird being very curious about my tendency to decant everything into containers (here he is inspecting a container of chickpeas) / Leo our cat being the most secure about his body I’ve ever known a living being to be / and Winky being the most eager to help with any task.
I love your pets! :-) I love when they need to go in and out or hearing from them during your classes! LOL I also do online work and my breaks revolve around taking my 2 corgis outside!