The Congo Square, a warm rum beverage inspired by the collision of Haitian and New Orleans cultures and the people who used to gather in Congo Square to preserve their traditions and be together.
Afro-Vegan by Bryant Terry: Add Bryant Terry to my list of favorite food authors. I recently purchased his cookbook Afro-Vegan, and was treated to a group of plant-based recipes that are rich in flavor and history. He takes the Afro-influenced cuisines of the Caribbean, American South, and South America and gives them a vegan update. His recipes contain the rich, comforting flavors and textures I grew to love while at school at Emory University, without the animal products or grease that have worked their way into Southern cuisine.
His food is beyond anything I ever ate in Atlanta or the Caribbean, filled with warmth, flavor and health. It’s opened my eyes to entirely new types of cuisine, adding a vibrancy to my meal-planning that was only possible by welcoming in a rich, new (to me) type of cuisine. His recipes rely on whole foods, and get their flavor from spices and fresh herbs rather than salt or fat.
More than just a cookbook: Each recipe has a description that shares Bryant Terry’s inspiration and the history of the dish or the people who brought it with them from the African diaspora.
The Black Bean and Seitan stew I made was inspired by feijoada, a Brazilian dish that legend attributes to the nearly four million enslaved Africans brought to Brazil by the Portuguese, people who figured out how to get the most out of their rice and bean rations.
Black bean and seitan stew, with salty lemon cream and parsley. The black bean stew was so good I almost started crying – have you ever tried a recipe like that? Will said “This is amazing! I could eat 100 bowls of this!” which is the highest culinary praise I’ve ever received from my four year old.
The warm rum beverage Greg and I savored one cold afternoon, called a Congo Square, pays homage to the shared history and connection between New Orleans and Haiti, with mention of Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian revolution. Bryant Terry even includes a soundtrack pairing for his recipes, and for some, a book or film in addition. His recipes are not just food, they are a history lesson, a whole cultural experience.
This book is about the flavors, people, and history that originate in the African diaspora. It is packed with history that every American should know, and recipes that would enrich all of our lives and make us healthier. It brings a lot more to the table than just food.
Food Justice: Bryant Terry is a passionate advocate for food justice. In the words of Alice Waters, “Bryant Terry knows that good food should be an everyday right and not a privilege”. Reading the forward to his cookbook, I was struck by his commitment to helping African Americans in particular return to cooking plant-based foods that are not just culturally and historically theirs, but that could save their lives by way of healthy eating.
Bryant Terry said in his forward that “To be clear, Afro-Vegan is for everyone.” I agree. We all have much to gain from the history lessons and food lessons in Afro-Vegan. If you’re looking for another healthy cookbook to add to your shelves, Afro Vegan’s a great one.
Thank you, Bryant Terry, for bringing everyone this beautiful compilation of healthy recipes that are so rich in flavor and history.
In the back of the cookbook, Bryant Terry has recommendations for menus and this is one of the things he suggests you serve with the black bean seitan stew. It’s a citrus arugula salad, it’s fresh and delicious, and it’s on pg 71.Spicy mustard greens, pg. 25. I didn’t put all the chiles in because I’m not great with a lot of heat. The result was that these still had a ton of flavor with some kick, and I could put a lot on my breakfast sandwich, soup, seared tofu, into a mango breakfast burrito, etc. The recipe lasts a week in the fridge and is an incredible way to always have instant flavor to add to your meals. It’s like the perfect condiment, because it’s ridiculously healthy and flavorful at the same time.Stewed tomatoes and black-eyed peas with cornbread croutons, pg. 53. I served collard greens on the side. The cornbread croutons were some work, I had to make cashew cream for an ingredient, make the skillet cornbread from scratch, then slice and bake the croutons. They were worth it – they added texture and a different flavor to break up the main dish, giving this comforting dish a major WOW factor.
Salty lemon cream – it was recommended with the seitan black bean stew (which was so delicious it could also stand on its own). I drizzled it on salads and in wraps the next few days and was pleased I’d put in the effort to make it.Sweet potato and lima bean tagline, served with mustard greens. I had to substitute cannelini for lima beans because I couldn’t find lima beans (even at Whole Foods, weird, I know). The spicy mustard greens are now a staple in our house to serve on seared-tofu breakfast sandwiches for a spicy green kick. They last in the fridge for a week, and you have NO idea how good they are at adding flavor to anything until you’ve made them yourself! (page 25.)Pumpkin peanut fritters, pg. 133. I made them a little too big… and they still tasted amazing. Fried in coconut oil for healthy fats, these are one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten in months.Making the pumpkin peanut fritters. I should have used the amount of oil he recommended, but I’m not used to frying things! Um, I could get used to it for special occasions because these were fantastic.
Curried Corn and Coconut Rice (pg. 107) – I hesitate to even add this photo because you can’t tell whatsoever from looking at it how delicious and simple this recipe is. The curry on the corn complements the sweetness just so, and served over the coconut rice it is a rich and comforting dish that my kids enjoyed and Greg and I couldn’t get enough of. You just don’t know. You really don’t.This breakfast burrito I made with mango, tofu and leftover arugula would have been boring without the addition of the spicy mustard greens. Suddenly, it was over the top delicious. Did you know that a little heat pairs perfectly with a cup of black coffee? You do now.
My sister bought me the Thug Kitchen Cookbook! It’s by the authors of the wildly popular Thug Kitchen blog, and filled with delicious plant-based recipes. Their approach is whole foods oriented, with lots of fresh produce leading to recipes that are as healthy as they are delicious.
A word of caution: as you might expect from a cookbook with the slogan “eat like you give a f*ck”, there’s a [more than healthy] dose of profanity on each page. The casual, no-nonsense vibe complements my mood at the end of a long day when I’d like to be swearing myself, but its appropriation of the word “thug” has been controversial. I worry that repeated exposure to the f-bomb is going to cause me to swear in front of my impressionable young children next time I drop something on my foot. I went through a rather pirate-esque phase in college, and would prefer not to have a relapse.
If you can’t handle having someone tell you to “puree the f*ck” out of the pumpkin or “pour it into a dish pan or some sh*t”, then the Thug Kitchen cookbook isn’t for you. Head on over to Oh She Glows where the sweet and talented Angela Liddon is creating recipes titled “Life-Affirming Warm Nacho Dip”. Her work is so delicious that I can almost say life-affirming with a straight face.
From a recipe standpoint, the Thug Kitchen cookbook is a welcome addition to my shelves because the recipes have a different feel to them than many of my other cookbooks. There’s a lot of diverse food like pad thai, pozole rojo, and roasted sriracha cauliflower bites with peanut dipping sauce. I like having more recipes with a mexican or asian flare to them, and the cookbook contains lots of food choices that would pair better with beer than with wine. If I were serving a bunch of college guys dinner, this cookbook would nail it. Since I like to eat like a college guy, I’m pretty in love with half these recipes already.
I will say that the flavor profiles aren’t as kid-friendly as some of my other cookbooks. Heaven forbid you try to feed your kid something spicy that actually has different textures in it and a complex flavor profile. That’s on them.
If you want healthy food with fantastic flavor and an urban feel to it, Thug Kitchen is a great option. Make yourself some cumin spiked pinto bean dip (pg 108), grab a cold beer, and wait for your pumpkin chili (pg 97) to cook while you pat yourself on the back for caring about what you’re eating.
A colorful plate of pad thai toppings allows everyone at the table to customize their noodle bowl. With an emphasis on fresh produce, these recipes are as good for your body as they are your taste buds.You can put a lot of veggies in these, dip them in homemade thai peanut sauce, and feel down-right decadent.They even convinced me to try my hand at rice wrappers. I felt like a culinary genius.Biscuits made with coconut oil as the fat – delicious and healthier than other oil options! Page 17 of the Thug Kitchen cookbook.
