Category: Appetizers

Equality for Eaters? — Thai Butternut Squash Soup

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“For a start, most animals who kill for food would not be able to survive if they did not, whereas we have no need to eat animal flesh. Next, it is odd that humans, who normally think of the behavior of animals as ‘beastly’ should, when it suits them, use an argument that implies that we ought to look to animals for moral guidance.” – Peter Singer, “Equality for Animals?”

Singer’s arrogance in his article “Equality for Animals?” is among the multitude of reasons why many omnivorous people despise vegans. Often, their vigilance against all animal products, including eggs, dairy, and honey, comes across as preachy or self-righteous. Many vegans are just as offended at someone delighting in a crispy fried chicken thigh as I am when I see someone wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat or tee. Politics aside, vegans can be a finicky bunch. Continue reading →

Herb Your Appetite

 

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“Let it be said that, on balance, I would like the world to look, someday, much like Alice probably wants it to look. A city on a hill—or many cities on hills—surrounded by unbroken vistas of beautiful countryside; small, thriving, family-run farms growing organic, seasonal, and sustainable fruits and vegetables specific to the region.”

In Anthony Bourdain’s book, “Medium Raw,” he spends most of his chapter entitled, “Go Ask Alice,” grilling Alice Waters for her fantastical, and unrealistic, outlook on life and the people that make it up. However, toward the end of the chapter, Bourdain seems to hit some sort of a different chord with Waters, as he explains his underlying respect for her dream. One of those moments is when he illustrates what the perfect world of Alice Waters’ mind would look like. In this world, everything is organic, home-grown, and local; people do not know what an unbalanced meal is and they are eager to dash home from work each day to “cook wild-nettle risotto for their kids.” While in some areas of the world, this lifestyle may exist in glimmers, Bourdain suggests that even places like Italy (or Italy as foreigners think of it) are not exactly their picture on a wine bottle. However, Bourdain explains that Waters continues on, doing what she can to impact people to drop their obsession of fast food on a dime and pick up a healthy habit of eating and shopping local. Unfortunately for Waters, life just doesn’t work that way. Continue reading →

Vegetarian peanut stew

Groundnut Stew: An Adaptation

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This recipe comes from the 1982 cookbook West African Cooking for Black American Families by Adele B. McQueen and Alan L. McQueen. This cookbook was published at a time when African-American cookbooks were on the rise, presumably as an effort to define the meaning of blackness in the era following the emergence of what has come to be known as “soul food” (Bower 117). Before writing this book, McQueen collaborated with the International Women’s Club of Liberia and ran a test kitchen at Howard University to blend traditional African and American cooking (Tipton-Martin 166). The original recipe in Adele B. McQueen’s cookbook is a simple one consisting of groundpeas (groundnuts), chicken, onion, mushrooms, egg, salt, and pepper, which are combined in a stew and served over rice. Modern influence is clear here, as McQueen suggests substituting peanut butter if groundnuts cannot be found. Continue reading →

Microgreens in the garden

Awareness with a Side of Homegrown Sunshine

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“Until we step together out of the shadow of denial and into the brutal light of honesty, we will only be repeating those patterns, and standing in the way of a truly just and healthy food revolution.” -Natasha Bowens, “Brightening Up the Dark Farming History of the Sunshine State”

In “Brightening Up the Dark Farming History of the Sunshine State,” Natasha Bowens describes the restorative effect farming has had on Miami’s Little Haiti. The “dark side” of farming in Florida refers to the disturbing presence of modern slavery. Bowens is outraged by the racial injustice that has been perpetuated for centuries while people continue to eat produce sourced from these operations, blissfully unaware of its origin. The essay presents a stark contrast between locally grown and unethically grown food. Continue reading →