Before I get into the Spicy Pumpkin Lobster Bisque talk, let me say this. I know it’s late Oktober, but I am still in denial that summer is over. I kept seeing Facebook stories about folks in Kentucky talkin’ bout how it’s still 90 degrees. So I go down from Boston to visit my family. Let me tell you, It wasn’t that warm during the entire week +1/2 I spent there. Everyone kept saying how it just all of a sudden got a cold spell as soon as I came home. Serious bummer. And now that I’m back up north, New England won’t even let me pretend it’s still summer. I’m cold, y’all!!!!
Anyway, I made some spicy Pumpkin & Lobster 🦞 Bisque to help me come to terms with the weather. I first got fell in love with this creamy soup at a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant off Maybachstraße in Stuttgart about eight years ago. I’ve been tinkering with my own imitation of it ever since. I think I got it right! The soup gets its spicy kick from Harissa. You can try to find it in stores on your own or make your own. It’s so delish.
Spicy Pumpkin & Lobster Bisque
(makes 4 bowls)*
Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 (15-oz) can of pure pumpkin OR 15 oz of fresh sweet pumpkin
1 tsp Harissa (can be substituted for cayenne pepper)
3 cups vegetable broth
Coconut milk
5 pounds of lobster meat
Directions
If using fresh pumpkin, be sure to use sugar pumpkins. These cannot be substituted for jack-o-lantern pumpkins. Preheat oven to 350°. Cut the pumpkins in half and drizzle with coconut, butter or olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with foil. Bake until tender (about an hour). Once cooled, scoop the pumpkin flesh out of the shell and puree in a food processor. Skip this step if you’re using canned pumpkin (and be sure you’re using pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie in a can).
Boil your lobster if using fresh lobster. Maintain the shells.
Next, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Then, add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, about 12 minutes.
Stir in veggie broth. Boil broth with the lobster tails. Be careful not to allow the broth to boil, as you will cause it to evaporate and reduce your serving size. Remove lobster shells after about 5 minutes.
Add pumpkin to vegetable broth. Stir as you bring to a simmer.
Add coconut milk.
Then Add your lobster meat.
Finally, Sprinkle in harissa, salt, and pepper to taste.
**Disclaimer**
All of these measurements are estimates (please note my cultural cooking practices). I actually used a hand-full of frozen chopped white onions and about a little less than a whole abnormally large garlic glove. My original recipe used a can of creamy coconut milk, a big can of pumpkin, and a whole box of veggie broth (of which, I boiled a good amount out on accident — learn from my mistake). I’m not really sure how many pounds I used but, I spent about $18 on lobster meat from Wegmans. That was enough to taste in every spoonful. Try out my recipe and give me feedback on how it worked for you.
Although in America, watermelon is most often served as a dessert, there are so many ways to make watermelon savory. This Kongo-inspired watermelon with cilantro-lime peanut sauce recipe is just in time to make it on your Juneteenth celebration menu!
If you haven’t already haven’t learned the historical significance of watermelon and emancipation, you’ll want to check that out before adding this recipe to your Juneteenth menu.
More Background on Watermelon
Watermelon is native to Africa. It grows naturally from sea to sea across central and southern Africa. Watermelon is 96 percent water. It serves as a water source in arid environments. So it makes sense that they’d be most commonly associated with Arabs — at least until America’s Reconstruction.
As far as fruits go, watermelon offers few calories — only 46 calories per cup. Although it’s low in sugar and sodium, watermelon is high in minerals (magnesium, potassium vita A, C, B6, and B1). Watermelon was essentially the 19th century Gatorade—an electrolyte replenisher.
Certainly, for people performing manual labor all day in the Southern summer sun, there’d be few things better than breaking under a shade tree and snacking on watermelon.
Check out the recipe for this savory, Nigerian-Inspired watermelon dish.
Cultural Background on Peanuts
Now, folks from the Kongo may or may not serve a dish like this. I don’t know. I doubt it. But I attach this dish to the Kongo because of their influence in introducing American and Europeans to the peanut. Peanuts, like watermelon, okra, rice, and others are native to Africa. After Europeans kidnapped and enslaved by Europeans, Africans from all over West Africa smuggled these foods and seeds to America. Europeans didn’t have a name for peanuts yet, so they adopted the Kingdom of Kongo’s Bantu language word for it. “Nuguba” devolved into gooba, then goober. Southerners still use “goober” as a nickname for peanuts and often an insult.
Consequently, based on the prevalence of peanuts in certain regions of the south (Georgia), and the common use of the Bantu word for them as opposed to another African language’s name for peanuts, one could use this as a clue to trace Kongolese ancestry.
Lastly, a popular Civil War song celebrates (or mocks eating goober peas depending on which side you’re on) goober peas. My Kentucky fourth grade class sang the Goober Peas song daily for half a semester. Did everyone else do that? You’ll still find folks selling boiled peanuts on the side of the road across the south but mostly in Georgia.
Savory Kongolese-Inspired Watermelon Slices
Still working on getting the colors right post-production. These savory Kongo-inspired watermelon slices are glowing!
Ingredients
Half a seedless watermelon, sliced into wedges
Juice from one lime (2 tablespoons)
¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped (I used sriracha seasoned peanuts)
1 minced garlic clove (Approx 2 TBS)
Fresh cilantro
Crunchy peanut butter, melted
half a red onion, thinly sliced (others prefer it diced)
brown sugar
Honey
Pinch of black pepper to taste
Optional: red pepper flakes or sliced jalapenos or sliced red peppers of your choice (I skipped this option).
Instructions
1. First, in a bowl, whisk lime juice, cilantro, brown sugar, honey, and garlic until sugar dissolves. Stir in melted peanut butter and onion. Set aside.
2. Next, arrange wedges on a platter and drizzle with dressing. Garnish with additional crushed peanuts. Serve and enjoy.
Notes: If you’re made uneasy by my lack of specific measurements, please see my comments regarding that on this recipe (hint: it’s a cultural practice). The exact measurements depend on your preference and fondness for the ingredients.
Admittedly, I could have sliced these onions a little finer. These savory slices are succulent & juicy!
If you’re wondering what to do with that unused watermelon half, check out these recipes:
The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI promotes a scholarly examination of the collection of anti-black strategic propaganda produced in the United States. One hateful image repeatedly displayed is the racist stereotype of black people with watermelon. Watermelon has historical significance as a symbol of freedom and economic independence for Americans. What I took away was the power of images and the deranged mental state that would allow a people to become so obsessed with creating them.
The stereotype emerged post-Civil War with a specific political purpose. Some newly liberated Africans chose to grow and sell watermelons as an avenue to economic independence. They “picked themselves up by the bootstraps” following emancipation. Watermelons became a symbol of African liberation.
As a result, whites, threatened by this hard-earned freedom, responded by racializing the fruit. They pathologized the new African-Americans as having an insatiable appetite for watermelon. Instead of a mark of independence, watermelon became the pictogram of uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and simple-mindedness.
America witnessed resentful former enslavers upset that their livelihoods crashed. The cause of that crash was picking up the pieces and doing something productive with their lives. Of course, The South structured its entire economic system around the institution of slavery. Even if one wasn’t an enslaver, careers like overseers, auctioneers, deliverers, bounty hunters, steamboat industry, construction industry, banking industry, the fashion industry, and railway industry depended on enslavement. Even doctors and lawyers lost work due to abolition. Misery loves company, and if former enslavers we hurting finically, they wanted to ensure the former enslaved were too. The disgrace associated with the produce intended to shame black people from their business enterprises. As a result, it hurt business sales and prevent financial success.
Check out the recipe for this savory, Nigerian-Inspired watermelon dish. Link at the bottom of this history lesson.
In recognizing the historical context of the racist stereotype, we better understand what the trope says about its intended target and those who created the hateful image. We document that liberated Africans farmed and sold crops as honest work to sustain themselves and provide for their families. They continued their hard-working, industrious, resilient character with an entrepreneurial spirit into freedom.
By mocking honest work, resentful former enslavers mocked financial independence. They scorned the very foundation that America claims—freedom. They ridiculed hard work, initiative, and business enterprises.
We can take a scholarly approach in examining the phycology of the creators of the image. The caricature created illustrates how they view people hard at work. The amount of time focused on going out of one’s way to create such a hateful image indicates something peculiar, irrational, obsessive, and debased about their psychological condition.
While these images began during Reconstruction, they continue to propagate a century and a half later. All during President Obama’s presidency, the fruit was used to harass and undermined his qualification. Most notably were the images made in 2014 by the Boston Harald, Kentucky’s Obama and watermelon statue, and a related image circulated by Dean Grose, the Mayor of Los Alamitos, California. Just a few weeks ago in May, a staff member at the Boston Fine Arts Museum told a group of 7th-grade students from Dorchester (code for mostly black with some Latinos sprinkled in) “No food, no drinks, and no watermelon.”
The Destructive properties of the imagery extend beyond insult. Even today, black people are underrepresented watermelon consumers representing only 11% of watermelon consumers (13% would be right on target). I’ve also made a point not to eat watermelon because of the stereotypical depictions. Can you believe that? Something some hateful people began in the 1800s, who are long dead, has influenced the choices of a millennial in the 2000s. I’m not alone. Both Malcolm X and James Baldwin refused to eat watermelon in a mixed company.
Disassociation from watermelon continues to give power and influence to those, now dead enslavers who sought to dehumanize. There is no shame in any symbol of freedom. Freedom is something worth celebrating. By remembering the history and tradition of the entrepreneurship of liberated black farmers and black business owners during Reconstruction, we celebrate the achievement of resilience and hard work. We also draw a spotlight to how the racist depictions began in the first place—from actual lazy, salty, jealous haters.
Celebrate Juneteenth with watermelon dishes served three ways:
Savory watermelon with Nigerian-Inspired Groundnuts (aka peanuts)
They say, there isn’t a Kentuckian who isn’t headed home or thinking about home. These extra boozy, chocolate bourbon balls will have you doing both.
My great-grandma was buried in Hardin County, Kentucky when I was in first grade. Consequently, I don’t remember her. All I have is a picture of her holding me at eight months old and her legacy, passed down from my mom. That legacy is that her traditional Kentucky bourbon balls were extra boozy and burned going down.
Bourbon and chocolate slow dance together in an authentically Kentucky, Bourbon Ball recipe
Flash forward to my young adulthood:
I was working at my first duty station in Montgomery, Alabama right after college. Feeling a little homesick during the first week of May, I decided to experiment in my kitchen and came up with the perfect mix of chocolate and booze for Kentucky Bourbon Balls.
Since the military brings folks from all over the globe together, it’s standard to share our regional traditions. So I decided to share my Kentucky traditions and brought my concoction to work for my co-workers. It wasn’t a whole five minutes that my bourbon balls were on the free-for-all table that my outlook started blowing up with e-mails:
“OMG, it burns!” “I’m going to be driving home drunk!” “These cookies are like taking a shot.” “Keep em’ coming!”
Oh, maybe bringing balls of bourbon was not the best idea. Didn’t think that one all the way through. Or perhaps it was the best idea ever! Depends on your perspective. It was even mentioned at my going away, the time I set the whole office drunk. Whoops! I’m not sure exactly how Mama Claire made her bourbon balls, but they seemed to yield the same effect. I just chalk any differences in recipe up to generational evolution. Most recipes out on the interwebs today call for ‘Nilla wafers. I nix that. Instead, my balls go for max chocolate flavor dancing with maximum bourbon flavor.
So, if you find yourself hosting a Kentucky Derby party this spring, or just longing for home, make sure this recipe is used to keep it authentically Kentucky.
Mama Claire’s Great Grand Daughter’s Bourbon Balls
Prep: 1 day (Yes Really, a whole day) Yields: 75 balls
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chocolate graham crackers finely crumbled in a food processor 1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (Oreo makes 8-inch pie crusts that measures out to be 1 cup of cookie crumbs, or you can scrape the icing out of the cookies then use a food processor, they cost about the same using Oreo brand) 1 cup Bourbon (Wild Turkey Honey, Knob Creek, Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace Four Roses…I used Makers, just make sure it’s from Kentucky) 1 cup Chopped pecans (or sliced almonds or ground walnuts) 5 0z package of dry chocolate pudding mix 1/2 cup Cocoa powder 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 cup Brown sugar 4 TBS unsalted, softened butter 1 TBS vanilla extract
Notes: You might take people’s nut allergies into consideration and make a nut-free batch. Although most of my recpes follow my cultural tradition of seasoning until the ancestors say enough, I actually tested this recipe for measurment accuracy.
I love these beautiful shades of brown from the different types of chocolate plus, brown sugar.
DIRECTIONS
In a covered bowl, soak one cup of finely chopped pecans in a cup of bourbon for hours. HOURS!!! Try eight. Soak the nuts in the morning, go to work, come back that evening and start mixing. Or soak overnight.
In a mixing bowl, combine your cookie & cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, semisweet chocolate chips, and brown sugar. Mix.
Add pecans & bourbon soak to the dry chocolate ingredients bowl. Then add the rest of the wet mix ingredients and mix together until the mixture is moldable like damp sand. If you overdo it and the mix is too runny (it won’t be) add powdered sugar. If it’s not mixing enough, add hints of more bourbon.
Using a mini cooking scoop, roll the batter into 1-inch balls. Sit them in mini cupcake cups for individual servings or let sit on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for an hour.
To decorate: Roll balls in powdered sugar, ground nuts, chocolate sprinkles, cocoa powder or drizzle with sweetened condensed milk or icing for garnish.
The scent of pecans soaking in bourbon is how I imagine Heaven will smell when I get there…especially if Mama Claire is already there in the kitchen.
Store in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator. These taste best two days later after bourbon has had time to permeate. They also freeze well. You know you made them just right when you get the enthusiastic reaction and have folks telling you it burns going down like a shot of bourbon in cookie form. These extra boozy, chocolate treats will have you back in the bluegrass in no time, if only in your heart.
While you’re in a Kentucky state of mind, head on over to my Hot Brown recipe and make it a Kentucky kind of day.
During winters in New England when the cabin fever sets in, it’s easy to fall into a state of nostalgia for my far away former Kentucky home. Some guides encourage reaching for a host of remedies to cure the homesickness disease. Photo albums, making phone calls, or working out are just a few suggestions. I find, when I’m missing Kentucky, nothing fights homesickness better than good ol’ comfort food seasoned with warm memories. That said, here’s a recipe that is sure to word off any homesickness Kentuckians living away from home may be feeling this winter, the classic Kentucky Hot Brown.
During winters in New England when the cabin fever sets in, it’s easy to fall into a state of nostalgia. Some guides encourage reaching for host of remedies to cure the homesickness affliction. I find, when I’m missing Kentucky, nothing fights homesickness better than good ol’ comfort food seasoned with warm memories. Here in Boston, southerners have to make their own comfort foods because stores around here do not sell southern staples like sweet tea and sweet potato pie pre-made.
CLASSIC HOT BROWN INGREDIENTS Makes Two Hot Browns
• 2 sticks (one cup) Butter • ¼ cup (2 oz.) All-Purpose Flour • 1 cup (8 oz.) Heavy Cream • ½ Cup of Pecorino Romano Cheese • Bourbon (enough or none at all) * • ¼ pound thick sliced roasted turkey breast • French bread/baguette • 4 Slices of crispy smoked pepper bacon • 2 Roma tomatoes • Paprika • Parsley • Salt and Pepper
PREP
Select
a thick, flavorful cut of turkey from your butcher or local deli. I chose pepper-maple
turkey. And since it’s just me, a ¼ pound slice was perfect. Soak the turkey in
enough* bourbon to cover overnight
(or three hours or more).
Select a quality, think chunk of turkey from your local deli.
For the Sauce
While making the sauce, bake the turkey in the bourbon at 300 degrees.
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook the roux, stirring frequently. Then add heavy cream into the roux and whisk until the cream begins to simmer (about 2‑3 minutes). Slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano Cheese until the sauce is smooth. Keep warm and add salt and pepper to taste.
Assembling the Sandwich
Slice
the French bread in half and into
sandwich sized slices. These will make two open-faced sandwiches.
Next, lightly toast the top of the French bread. I broiled it in a cast iron dish for this. You can also use Pyrex or a backing dish in a toaster oven.
After that, layer the toast with your warm bourbon baked turkey.
Then,
pour the cheese sauce completely over the sandwich.
Next,
top with tomatoes (where the
tomatoes go in the equation is debatable. Some like it under the cheese, I like
it on top so it boils).
Almost finished. Just broil this before adding the toppers.
Sprinkle
with additional Pecorino Romano cheese.
Place the entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble.
While
it broils, fry your bacon.
Remove
the dish from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top.
Garnish
with paprika, parsley, or cheese and serve immediately while hot.
Now, sit back in your reading chair with your bubbling Kentucky sandwich, a copper cup of bourbon apple cider, recall the history of the Hot Brown and dial (855) 883-8663 to hear our state song sang by the former governor, Happy Chandler.
Tale in all of this cheesy, turkey, bacon, and tomato goodness while you remember home.
Disclaimers:
Yes, I also recognize dang near all of my recipes call for bourbon which can be habit-forming for some. It’s a non-essential ingredient in most recipes. Just take it out if you need to.
*Take a peep here to understand my views on being precise with measurements in recipes and why I intentionally don’t do it.
I’m also aware of Happy Chandler’s problematic statements and views. Someone with a beautiful singing voice should record the song to give us more listening options.
Oh, bath bombs. Bath Bombs add a hint of luxury to a warm bath. The fizzies feel like bathing in warm Champaign. The powders soften the water, bubbles caress your skin, and the oils have you leaving the bath moisturized and feeling silky smooth. It certainly kicks bath time up a notch. You’ll want to add this homemade bath bomb recipe to your self-care routine.
In addition to the luxurious properties, bath bombs have health benefits. When an alkaline substance (like baking soda, the softening ingredient in bath bombs) is mixed with something acidic (such as citric acid, a fizzy ingredient in bath bombs), it neutralizes it. The pH level of your healthy lady parts (I only say that because using the medical term, vagina, offends some people) is typically between 3.5 to 4.5. If the pH level goes up or down, it could be responsible for a host of problems. Sitting in an alkalizing bath soak helps level pH balance of the vagina. Anyway…
Let’s get real, part of the luxury stems from the price of a bath bomb which can cost upwards of $9-$12 a piece or more if you go to Lush. No one is taking a $10 bath every time. You can definitely make a batch of your own homemade bath bombs for the same price. Bath bombs are simple and relatively easy to make. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples in many homes, but make sure you have these on hand:
You can make your own spa day at home with the right elements.
Baking Soda ($2 for 4 pounds at the Commissary)
The backbone of this recipe is
alkalizing baking soda. It is a necessary complement to the acidic citric acid
and part of the fizzing reaction.
Corn Starch ($1.13 for 1 pound at the Commissary)
Corn starch provides the silky
feel that we all love from bath bombs.
EpsomSalt ($7 for 6 pounds at Walgreens)
This is used to draw out toxins
from the body and soothe worn muscles. Stick to basic salt or take it up a
notch with salt or another favorite salt option.
Citric Acid ($10 for 2 pounds on Amazon)
I had to go to Amazon to get
this ingredient. No one at drug stores even know what I was talking about when
I asked for it. This is the ingredient that creates the fizzing property.
Cream of Tarter ($3 for 3.5 oz Hannaford’s Groccery)
This is optional but makes the sudsy properties.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate ($18.75/1 pound on Amazon)
I had to go to Amazon to get this ingredient. It makes bubbles and foams for a rich lather but still gentle on skin.
Oils (Ialready had on hand but approx. $7 for a bottle of Olive, cocoanut, or avocado oil at the grocery store)
Olive oil, avocado oil, almond
oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, sea buckthorn seed oil, argon oil or apricot oil…pick
one or several. You can even go synthetic with baby oil or other bath oils if
you wish. These are all very versatile and you can pick any combination that
you have on hand.
Essential oils (already had on hand but approx. $14 for 4 at TJ Maxx)
If you want your bath to explode in fragrance choose an essential oil. Some of my favorite essential oil combinations: Lavender & Vanilla or cotton candy & lemonade… just use your imagination! Of course, you can always go scent free.
Food
coloring (already had on hand but approx. $5 grocery store)
Use leftover Easter egg or Christmas cookie icing dye. Or you can go powdered dye which works better
for this project.
Molds (I already had them on hand but spend $20 max. You can find them in the Target dollar bins, Ikea, amazon, etc.)
Round metal molds exist that are marketed specifically for bath
bombs. I’ve tried these and found that silicon modes are my preference. They
have more uses than the round metal modes and they’re easier to remove
2 tsp witch hazel (or water) plus a little
more if needed, but not too much more because it’ll activate the citric acid.
Food coloring
Homemade Bath Bomb Recipe Instructions
Combine dry ingredients (baking soda, Epsom salt, citric acid, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, cream of tartar, and cornstarch) in a large bowl and mix well until combined.
In a small bowl, combine the all the liquids.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients a few drops at a time. Mixing well at the same time.
Mixture should hold together like slightly wet sand when squeezed without crumbling. I recommend using a spray bottle with additional liquid to evenly add.
Press mixture into greased metal molds or silicon molds. Let set for 24 hours or so until hardened.
One of my friends brought to my attention that everyone is
bougie about something. For one friend, it’s his laundry detergent. For another
it’s his car. For me, it’s the food my dog consumes.
I won’t get too deep into the nutrition standards for processed American dog food verses European dog food (the government subsidizes more corn than humans can eat, and all of that surplus ends up as fillers in budget dog food. Corn is not part of a dog’s natural diet). There’s the controversial “animal by-product” ingredient that incudes animals that were dead on arrival to the slaughter house then sat out in the heat for hours to days that gets packaged and fed to dogs. This is especially seedy when the ingredients won’t even tell you what animal the by-product came from (could be feeding your dog another dog). Animal by-products and filler corn are used because they are cheaper, not because they are nutritious. I like to know what I’m putting into my body which transfers over to knowing what my dog consumes, so I avoid this ingredient.
Straining from making dog stew in a slow cooker.
I spoil my dog with wet dog food as a daily part of his
meal. But that gets pricy. I alleviate
costs while keeping nutrients by making my own wet dog food. Since two beings are
able to eat the food instead of one, less food goes to waste in my home than it
would if it were only me eating it.
By making your own dog food you can personalize and cater to
your dog’s needs. A three-year-old working dog that pulls cargo on sleds for 40
miles in the snow is going to have different nutrition needs than a slightly
pudgy, senior, medium-sized Boxer-mix who loafs on the sofa for 10 hours a day.
Work with a professional to hone in on your pup’s nutritional requirements.
Proteins
Fruits & Veggies
Starches
Oil
Hard boiled eggs with shells
Carrots
Rice
Flax seed oil
Stewing Beef
Green beans
Oatmeal
Hempseed oil
Chicken
Spinach
Barley
Fish oil/ sardines
Lean ground turkey
Apple slices
Sweet potatoes
Anchovies
Peas
White potatoes
Tuna
Kelp
Lentils
Chicken/beef liver
Pumpkin
Lean ground beef
Important Note!!! You want to avoid feeding your dog: onions, raisins, grapes, mushrooms, corn, garlic, avocado, nuts, sugars, chocolate, coffee, and citrus fruit. If you’re using sweet potatoes out of the can, be sure to rinse the sweet syrup off. You don’t want to cause diabetes in your pup. Pork is also not advisable because it is super fatty and could cause similar health issues in pets as it does in humans. So if you use it, use it sparingly.
Memphis helps me eat veggies and rice.
Here’s a simple recipe but of course, you can get creative
with the combinations.
2 pounds lean ground beef, turkey, or chicken (lamb, veal,
duck if you’re fancy)
1 cup carbs like rice, oats, barley, or potatoes
2 Tbs Flaxseed oil
2 Tbs Hemp seed oil (provides omega 6.3)
1 Tbs ginger (manganese)
½ cup Kelp (iodine)
Egg with shell (calcium)
Small jar of anchovies
3 oz beef liver (copper, zinc, iron)
1 cup veggies such as green beans, peas, spinach, carrots
I go usually take one of three dog food cooking options: stew, meat loaf, or Blend
Use the skin too. That’s where the nutrition is!
Blended Wet Dog Food
Instructions
1. Cook the meat first (bake or cook on the stovetop)
2. Cook the carbs/grains until soft
3. Flash boil the veggies until soft
4. Crush the whole egg to the food processor
5. Mix all in a food processor (remember, dogs don’t chew
their food 20 times so they don’t choke so the pieces need to be small)
6. Add other ingredients
Dog Food Stew
Instructions
1. Brown the meat first.
2. Boil the rice until soft
3. Add all ingredients to a pot of water or broth and simmer for 45 min or so. You can also dump all the ingredients in a slow cooker as well.
Mix it all in: Carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, rice, and chicken.
Dog Meat Loaf
1. Boil grains until edible
2. Use a food processor to chop and mix all the ingredients.
Be sure to crunch up that egg shell in a food processor and distribute it to
the mix.
3. Use your hands to mix all ingredients into ground meat.
4. Form a loaf and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so, until
the center is brown.
*another option is to make meatballs out of this.
Divvy out into individual containers or baggies and freeze
until needed. Viola!
A little more than a month’s worth of wet dog food for my 52 pound Boxer Mix.
Also note: I often use Missing Link Dog Supplements to make sure I didn’t leave any nutrition out.
A beautiful meme floating around the cyber spear goes like
this:
“Black people don’t measure seasonings… We just sprinkle until we hear the spirits of our ancestors whisper, “That’s enough, my child!”
It became an instant classic that I’m sure will undoubtably be passed down until eventually turned into a wise African (American) proverb.
Indeed, I’ve cooked a few times with a folks from other culinary traditions where this cultural cooking practice clashed with theirs.
I once brought a divine chocolate cake to a work function. Let me tell you, it was equal parts rich and moist and everything you could want from a dark chocolate cake and more. A co-worker asked for the recipe to which I let her know, there was no recipe, I just made it up. I really didn’t know what I did. She asked again a few days later with more urgency as if I was trying to hold out from from her. I just went to the internet for a standard chocolate cake recipe an added the extra ingredients that I could remember (like pudding). She was satisfied.
On another occasion, while making tacos on vacation in Florida, I passed my friend some Bud Light Lime and seasonings for the chicken. My friend started asking what seemed like 50 questions like how much of this and how much of that. I found myself getting annoyed at the applicable questions… “You just do it!” I thought to myself. “Put the spices in!”
At a cooking party once, I followed the instructions being
read out loud. The steak called for a tablespoon of some sort of red berries
for the marinade. I took them by
hand. Ready to toss them in the bowl.
“We should measure them first, right?” A friend interrupted my flow.
I agreed as she used the measuring spoon to scoop out the
exact measurement I had in my hand. She realized how on point my intuitive
measurement was.
“Oh, are you just naturally good at eyeballing it?” my
friend asked.
I have countless other stories about my encounters with cooking with people from different foodways than my own and they often end the same way: with people insisting I use exact measurements to season my food and me being really uncomfortable that my cultural practices are being suppressed.
In that vein, I’m no longer silently biting my tongue when it comes to fully expressing my culture. I did not follow precise measurements when I made these recipes and I’m not going to pretend I did by writing fake arbitrary measurements here. Staying true to myself and my culture, I encourage you to let your ancestors and your taste buds guide you. That’s what makes food taste so good. It has generations of love folded into each layer.
Vegan Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce
Hey, I said the pasta sauces were vegan, nothing else. I’m not vegan (yet) but this sweet, spicy, and creamy sauce is enough to get me there.
Total Time: 45 minutes
Cook: 30 min
Equipment: food processor
Music Playing: Miguel – Come Through and Chill + Miguel YouTube playlist that follows (Yes, the music makes the difference. This is imperative)
Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
Coconut/Almond milk (to make the consistency of the sauce to your preference) I preferred coconut
Olive oil (not the EVOO, the dark kind, for the robust flavor)
Red pepper flakes (use as much spiciness as your taste buds
will allow… I say just a hint)
Garlic (a good amount of cloves…how much? Depends on how
much you like garlic)
Himalayan salt (hypertension is a real killer, season
accordingly)
Black pepper (go to town with this)
Rosemary (few sprigs)
Additional Non-vegan
ingredients:
Substitute olive oil for butter if you wish and cream/sour cream for the almond/coconut milk if vegan isn’t your thing.
Instructions
Slice the potatoes into cubes or chunks. You might have to boil the potatoes to make them easier to slice.
Squish the garlic cloves open, sauté in a generous amount of olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Don’t let the garlic or oil burn but allow the garlic brown a bit to let the kitchen start to smell delish.
Place the potato chunks on a cookie sheet, drizzle with the garlic and olive oil, sprinkle additional salt and pepper.
Top the potatoes with rosemary sprigs and roast the potatoes until mashable (don’t we always heat the oven to 350 degrees?).
Meanwhile, put some olive oil in a Mason jar, and let some red pepper flakes soak and defuse inside (got this hack from my buddy Greg. Thanks Greg!) Keep this jar around as a homemade spicy sauce.
Once the potatoes are soft enough, send them through the food processor.
Add milk until runny enough to be a sauce, keep processing
Add a hint of the spicy olive oil, keep processing
Taste to see if you want to add more spicy olive oil or just regular olive oil
Store in a Mason Jar in the frig for up to a week. This sauce makes a great option for gym rats with strict body building diets, the budget conscious who can save by not buying a pre-made pasta sauce, the vegan crowd, and gastronomy enthusiasts.
Vegan Butternut Pasta Sauce
Vegan Butternut Pasta Sauce
Total Time: 45 minutes
Cook: 30 min
Equipment: food processor
Music Playing: Still cooking to Miguel – Sure Thing
I was actually trying to make butternut Squash pasta sauce when I discovered what I thought was frozen butternut squash was actually frozen sweet potatoes. Both turned out to be pretty good sauces to eat with pasta. I used a single chef’s best friend— frozen vegetables for this recipe, instead of fresh.
Ingredients
Butternut Squash – I used a whole frozen bag
Chopped onions (about a cup or so)
Handful of Garlic cloves (I use about 2 tablespoons of
pre-crushed, chopped)
Italian herbs (rosemary, oregano, sage, etc. I used about 2
tablespoons of the mix total)
Olive oil (a good amount)
Milk (soy, coconut, or almond) enough to liquify. I used coconut.
Instructions
Fill the surface of a small sauté pan with olive
oil, onions, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Don’t let the ingredients burn but
allow them to defuse in the oil and permeate the kitchen with glorious
fragrance.
Slice the squash into cubes or chunks and place
on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with the garlic and oil mixture.
Roast until soft (don’t we always use 350
degrees?).
Once the squash is soft enough, send through the
food processor.
Add milk until runny enough to be a sauce, keep
processing
Taste to see if you want to add more spicy olive
oil or just regular olive oil
Toss with veggies and noodles of your choice.
Toss with veggies and noodles of your choice.
Creamy Vegan Tomato Pasta Sauce
Total Time: 45 minutes
Cook: 30 min
Equipment: food processor
Music Playing: Planes by J
Cole & Jeremiah
Tomato Paste (you can make this on your own, but I’m using
one can)
Medium onion (finely diced)
Dried oregano
Dried sage
Dried parsley
Salt and pepper
Cashew milk (or almond, coconut, soy)
Mix all in a food processor. Add milk until desired consistency. Add seasoning and Taste until reaches desired flavor.
