Soul Food and then some
It’s not every day that I get to help make a fire and then cook over it. In fact, I can’t think of any time I’ve cook anything more interesting than hot dogs and Marshmallows which went into make S’mores over an open fire. There was the time my husband and I slept on the floor in front of the fireplace because…well that’s another story. Last week, I helped make corn pone (hot water cornbread cooked on a casket iron surface for those of you who, like me, didn’t know what it was before last week. It was served with local cane syrup and molasses)
I want to tell you briefly about another person I admire and think you might be interested in. Her name is Dr Leni Sorensen.
She’s the African American Research Historian for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, VA, the home of President Thomas Jefferson.
Leni’s also the reason I was passing out corn pones, roasted sweet potatoes, sorghum and molasses, along with a mixture of turnip, mustard and kale in a field next to St. Joseph’s High School last Wednesday. She was in Pine Bluff as the guest of one of my book clubs: the Harbor City Book Club, who had obtained a grant from JRMC for promoting good health. She spent the week talking to more than a 100 high school and another 150 college freshmen students about the history of the foods we call like to consume and why some of our favorite American meals — ham, fried chicken, sweet potato pie, French fries and soda — aren’t all that good for us unless we expend 2000 calories in heavy labor per day, as our ancestors did!
(I had suspected that aerobics class couldn’t compensate for 20 oz of soda. To burn off those calories, one needs to walk for more than 1 1/2 hrs!!!! A large fries? Forgetaboutit!)
Leni is also a personal friend and a dedicated foodie! That means she not only cares about what she eats but how it was obtained, where it was grown, how and if it was processed and who did the work. And that’s just the beginning. She wants to know how it was cooked, in what kinds of pots, with what ingredients, and how other recipes, cookery methods and so forth go into the history of the eating of the particular food being presented. If you are beginning to suspect that this means a peanut butter sandwich is enough to fuel a discussion that can go on long after the last bite has been swallowed, then you are right!
What a delight to discuss food, herbs, cooking, even fire with her. After a very short time I guarantee you will begin to think of food, history, our ancestors, and farming very very differently. Best of all, Leni walks the walk as well as talks the talk. Here’s a recent quote from her tweets:
“11 jars of pie apples, 5 jars of apple syrup, 4 loaves of sandwich bread for the freezer.. Good weekend in the kitchen.”
And here: http://www.virginialiving.com/blogs/virginia-living-blog/from-garden-to-pantry
Two other examples:
Leni’s Brusselsprouts harvest from her own garden in the background.
Keeping the new batch of baby chicks warm. She sells the eggs and, yes, eventually eats the hens. Waste not, want not!
For more about Dr Sorensen and what she calls FOODWAYS, check out her blog.
November 8th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
What a neat lady. I have been trying to go in some of the same directions in terms of growing a lot of my own food — had terrible luck this year with my garden though despite lots of work with compost, etc. We had rain at all the wrong times and too much of it.
Haven’t done chickens yet, but I would like to.
November 9th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Yes, do check her out. She’s very smart and can talk professor-y. But she’s also very down to earth and a lot of fun. And she knows so much. She’s lived on farms and done everything from slaughter her own pigs to…well, just about everything to do with raising and preserving food. Very organic but not prissy. We had a burger with fries for lunch on the last day! LOL