Presidents’ birthdays in February have a habit of turning into
several days off of school. And while we honor those presidents
with sleep-in mornings for the kids and homework-free nights, I
thought you might like to learn about another February connection:
Black History Month.
Presidents’ birthdays in February have a habit of turning into several days off of school. And while we honor those presidents with sleep-in mornings for the kids and homework-free nights, I thought you might like to learn about another February connection: Black History Month.
This annual celebration started in February 1926 under the leadership of the scholar and prolific writer Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson. He was born in 1875, 10 years after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery. His grandparents, father and mother had been slaves. When freedom came, they were poor like many other newly freed blacks. Woodson worked throughout his early years to help support his parents and siblings and was past his teens by the time he was able to attend school.
Despite these obstacles early in life, Woodson valued education and wanted to learn. He graduated from high school by reading avidly and educating himself in many subjects.
Later, he graduated from Berea College, a progressive Kentucky institution that allowed blacks and whites to study together. Degrees followed from the University of Chicago, and then in 1912, he received his doctoral degree from Harvard.
In the next few years, Woodson became concerned that black children were not aware of their culture, their history or the contributions of blacks to American society.
He founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and began publishing the Journal of Negro History, designed to record the backgrounds, writings and remembrances of African Americans. He also worked to integrate black history into public schools, something that was met with considerable resistance at the time.
Woodson eventually left academia to concentrate full-time on chronicling and saving “Negro History.” In February 1926, he spearheaded a movement to celebrate “Negro History Week” – which, in the 1960s, was expanded to an entire month recognizing the achievements of African Americans to science, literature and the arts.
He believed that the knowledge and dissemination of African history would, “besides building self-esteem among blacks, help eliminate prejudice among whites.”
And why did he choose February? He chose the month that features the birthdays of two famous abolitionists: Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln, both very important men in black history.
• In honor of Black History Month, I want to share a few recipes that honor good, rib-sticking Southern cooking.
Many of you have probably had these dishes in your lifetime, but perhaps haven’t made them in a while. This is the perfect time.
These cold-weather dishes from the Soul Food Cookbook will warm your family and your kitchen.
Chicken with Dumplings
A hen or 5-6 pounds of chicken
1 quart of water
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of shortening
3 cups of flour
Seasoned salt to taste
Put water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cut the chicken into pieces and place into the pot of boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer for about 2 1/2 hours until tender.
While the chicken is cooking, you can make the dumplings. Combine the milk, salt, eggs, shortening and flour in a bowl. Stir ingredients until a ball forms (you may need a little more flour). Use a rolling pin and roll out the dough into a very thin sheet. Cut the dough into 1-inch strips and then into 1/2-inch squares.
Once the chicken is completely cooked, lift it out of the pot and separate the meat from the bone. Drop the large bones back into the pot and lay the meat aside (putting the bones in the pot will keep the dumplings from sticking to the bottom and burning).
Place the dumpling squares into the pot a few at a time until all of them have been added. Cook the dumplings until they float; this indicates they are done.
Add meat back into the pot with dumplings. Add seasoned salt to taste and enjoy.
Cajun Red Beans and Rice
1 pound dry red beans
3 quarts water
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
4 bay leaves
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper
4 tablespoons chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons dried thyme – crushed
1 pound andouille sausage – cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 good ham bone and small chunks of ham
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
Tabasco, if desired
Pick through beans to remove bad beans; rinse thoroughly. In a 10-quart pot, combine beans, water, ham bone with ham, andouille sausage, onion, celery and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.
Cover and cook over low heat, for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir and mash beans against side of pan. Add green pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cook uncovered, over low heat until creamy, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
Serve over hot cooked fluffy rice, adding Tabasco to taste.
Note: The red beans used in this Louisiana recipe are not the same as kidney beans, but if you can’t get anything else the kidney beans will work.
Makes 8 servings.
• Chopped Sunday dinner: This dinner is a good weekend idea – the pork takes a while to cook but doesn’t require much effort. Serve with white rice and maybe some sautéed cabbage. Or you can fill buns with the mixture for some great sandwiches. This recipe comes from Buzz Baxter’s “Gutsy Gourmet” cookbook.
Chopped Barbeque
3 pounds pork shoulder roast, bone in or 2 1/2 lbs pork roast, boned & rolled
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 cups your favorite barbecue sauce
Rinse the pork roast and pat it dry with paper towels. Combine the red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Rub the mixture into all sides of the pork. Cover loosely with wax paper and refrigerate overnight.
Place the seasoned pork in a shallow roasting pan and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Pour the vinegar to taste over the pork (more for a sharper flavor, less for a more mellow flavor). Scatter the chopped onions and green peppers into the pan. Roast the meat until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 180 degrees F.
Spoon the pan juices over the pork a few times during roasting. Remove the roast and let stand 1 hour. Keep the pan juices.
Remove the meat from the bone, if necessary, and chop it into roughly 1/4-inch pieces.
Heat the barbecue sauce in a large saucepan over a low heat until hot. Skim the fat from the pan drippings and add the drippings to the barbecue sauce. Stir the pork, onions and green peppers into the sauce and warm without boiling until heated through. Serve hot. Serves 6.
Tip of the Week:
Don’t forget this easy side dish. Halve small potatoes and toss in a bowl with 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 T. melted butter, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 375 degrees for an hour to 90 minutes, depending on how brown you want them to be. These are easy to throw into the oven while you’re roasting a chicken. They’ll be done at around the same time.
• When buying unshelled nuts in bulk, choose those that are heavy for their size, with solid shells and no cracks or holes.
• A toothbrush is the perfect tool for cleaning nut and nutmeg graters and grinders.
• A tip from Lori King, a reader from Morgan Hill: If you like very crispy crust on your pizza, try putting a thin layer of cheese under the tomato sauce and fillings. It will protect the crust from moisture.
• Not too sinful: Sauté half a strip of bacon (chopped) in a skillet. Remove it when crisp and crumble it. Add two handfuls of spinach leaves and salt and pepper to taste. Stir spinach until just wilted. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.
Notes from Jenny’s Kitchen
• Try this next time you need to peel a tomato: Heat in the microwave on high for 15 seconds. Let stand 1 minute before peeling.
• Limp potatoes and carrots can often be revived by soaking them in ice water for an hour.
• If you accidentally oversweeten a dish, try stirring in 1 teaspoon at a time of vinegar. (Do not try this with a dessert; it only works with salad dressings, caramelized vegetables, etc.)
• For maximum freshness, wrap spinach leaves loosely with paper towels, seal them in a plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator.
• End notes: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~ William Butler Yeats
Happy cooking!
