Farming While Black

by Leah Penniman

  Traditional African diets are inherently healthy and sustainable, based in leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, tubers, and legumes. Communities that maintain our traditional diets have much lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, asthma, glaucoma, kidney disease, low-birthweight babies, obesity, and depression. When our ancestors, survivors of the Middle Passage, first reached plantation America, they attempted to continue their traditional diets, growing and preparing boiled yams, eddoes (or taros), okra, callaloo, and plantain, which they seasoned generously with cayenne pepper and salt. Under enslavement and colonization, their diets began to shift and their health began to deteriorate. On meager rations of corn and the offcuts of pork, and with little time to grow vegetables, our enslaved ancestors suffered from deficiencies in protein, thiamine, niacin, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. As a result of poor diet and living conditions, half of the infant children of enslaved mothers died before their first birthday, twice the mortality rate of white children. Children who survived often suffered from night blindness, abdominal swellings, swollen muscles, bowed legs, skin lesions, and convulsions from chronic undernourishment.

  A litany of recent scientific studies has verified the value of traditional African diets for long-term health. One recent study involving 4,543 participants showed that rural Ghanaians ate more roots, tubers, plantains, and fermented corn products as compared with Ghanaians living in Europe, who ate more rice, pasta, meat, sweets, dairy, and oils. The rural Ghanaians had a lower body mass index (BMI) than their European counterparts.3 Similarly, studies show that colon cancer impacts a greater proportion of African Americans than rural Africans. Researchers put 20 middle-aged African Americans on a traditional African heritage diet (averaging 55 grams of fiber daily and 16 percent calories from fat, with foods like mangoes, bean soup, and fish) and 20 middle-aged rural South Africans on a typical American diet (averaging 12 grams of fiber daily and 52 percent calories from fat, with foods like pancakes, burgers, fries, and meat loaf). After two weeks on the African heritage diet, African Americans increased the diversity of their healthy gut bacteria, increased levels of butyrate, an anticancer chemical, and reduced inflammation of their colons. On the other hand, the Africans on the American diet produced more bile acid and decreased the diversity of healthy gut bacteria.4

  It is imperative that we decolonize our diets and reclaim African traditional foodways. Disease and early death are not part of our ancestral heritage. From the Black American South to the Caribbean, from South America to West Africa, there are commonalities in the traditional diet. We base our meals on leafy greens, vegetables, and tubers enlivened with ample herbs, spices, and sauces. We consume fresh fruits often and only make decadent desserts for special occasions. We use fish and meat in small quantities, usually to flavor a stew, and only eat meat in quantity on celebration days. Dairy is rare in our cuisine, and when we do consume it, we first ferment the milk into yogurt or buttermilk. Most important, we cook and eat together. In Kroboland, Ghana, whenever a person is eating and someone passes by, the person says, “Ba eh no” (come and eat). Our tables are healing tables, fellowship tables, and living history tables. We offer our gratitude to the Oldways Preservation Trust for creating the African Heritage Diet Pyramid to uplift our healthy, traditional ways of eating (see table 12.1).

  UPLIFT

  Traditional African Diet

  According to a 1730s enslaver, the diets of the Dahomey people made them strong and able to resist: “Those from the Gold Coast, who are accustomed to Freedom and inhabit a dry Champain Country and feed on nutritious and solid aliments, such as Flesh, Fish, Bread of Indian Corn, are healthy and robust; little subject to Mortality; very hardy and turbulent, as well as much disposed to rise on the White People …”5 May the reclamation of our traditional diet fortify us for resistance against tyranny in present time.

  Recipes

  The teens are often reluctant to touch one another when we ask them to join hands around the center island in the kitchen to set intentions before we cook lunch together. We let them know that it is fine to touch elbows instead, so long as they focus their attention on putting love into the food we are about to bring forth. Each young chef shares an intention in the presence of the modest kitchen altar: “I want the food to taste good … I want to use the big knife …” The learners relax a little bit when they see Goya Adobo and hot sauce on the shelf, feeling more assured that we will not be creating some bland white folks food. We break into teams for chopping, grating, and mixing, and soon the kitchen is filled with the rich smells of hot chili and corn bread and the crisp sounds of salad-in-the-making. Every single person loves the food they created together. In fact, all 1,768 young people who have cooked a meal at Soul Fire Farm have enjoyed it without exception. One participant explained, “I thought lettuce was nasty, but this lettuce is actually good.”

  Table 12.1. Common Foods of African Heritage by Oldways Preservation Trust

  Young people prepare a meal together at Soul Fire Farm. Photo by Capers Rumph.

  Soul Fire Farm participants enjoy a 100 percent African heritage diet during the program, based on leafy greens, vegetables, and tubers enlivened with ample herbs, spices, and sauces.

  In this section, we share the most popular heritage recipes that we prepare at Soul Fire Farm during our youth programs and Black Latinx Farmers Immersion. All of our recipes are based on locally available, whole, healthy, plant ingredients. All of the recipes have a sacred connection to our ancestry as Black people.

  UPLIFT

  Chef Kabui and Other Radical Black Chefs of Today

  Chef Njathi Kabui has dedicated his life to decolonizing food by preparing and teaching others how to prepare what he calls “Afrofuturistic diasporic cuisine.” He was born in rural Kenya to an agricultural family that never traveled outside of the region. To those who believe that cuisine and ideas should be static, he challenges, “How unfair would it be for the first person in the family to leave the continent, the first to get an undergraduate degree, the first to get a graduate degree, the first to be published, the first to be a chef—for that person to then cook the same as his grandmother who never left home?” At the same time, he believes that farming must carry on ancestral legacy, advising, “Every one of us has a family history in growing and preparing food. So, find it. Connect with it, with that ancestor. Carry it on.”

  Kabui now lives in an intentional community in North Carolina where he hosts decolonization dinners, manages a busy touring schedule, and grows African vegetables like moringa, spider plant, ngai ngai (Hibiscus sabdariffa), amaranth, and black nightshade. An example of a dish that honors both legacy and innovation is Chef Kabui’s “kuriama.” Its base is millet, the first ever domesticated grain and an African native. The boiled millet is topped with a sauce of celery, beets, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms, rosemary, basil, and “Kenya delight” spice mix containing cloves, fennel seeds, coriander, cumin, and cayenne. In Kenya beets are only fed to the cows, and people generally dislike fennel and celery. Chef Kabui has found ways to adapt the traditional millet dish to incorporate locally available spices and vegetables in his new home.

  Chef Kabui is one of the innumerable radical Black chefs paving the way for our people to decolonize and re-indigenize our diets. We also want to shout out Tennessee-born Afro-vegan chef Bryant Terry, who remixes our beloved recipes from the Caribbean, West Africa, and the American South with nutrient-dense plant ingredients, each accompanied by a sweet musical track to play while you cook. We also honor Chef Michael Twitty, the spokesperson for the movement for “culinary justice,” whose research and culinary creations honor the vast number of Black cooks who created the Creole cuisines of the Atlantic world, and whose names are often forgotten. We also want to shout out some up-and-coming Afro-Latinx chefs, Gabriela Alvarez of Liberation Cuisine and Merelis Catalina Ortiz and Ysanet Batista of Woke Foods. Both women-led collectives are using Caribbean ancestral foods as tools for community
healing.

  Soup Joumou

  Soup Joumou is the soup of Independence, the soup of remembrance, and the soup that celebrates the New Year. The soul-warming dish commemorates January 1, 1804, the date of Haiti’s liberation from France. The soup was once a delicacy reserved for white enslavers but forbidden to the enslaved people who cooked it. After Independence, Haitians took to eating it to celebrate the world’s first and only successful revolution of enslaved people resulting in an independent nation.

  Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes | Yield: 6–8 servings

  1 pound (0.5 kg) Kabocha squash or Caribbean pumpkin, peeled and chopped

  Oil (canola, safflower, or sunflower)

  4 cloves garlic, crushed

  1 celery stalk, chopped

  1 large onion, chopped

  2 potatoes, chopped

  ½ pound (0.25 kg) cabbage, chopped

  1 turnip, diced

  2 carrots, chopped

  2 leeks or scallions, chopped

  1 can (12 ounces/360 ml) whole coconut milk

  8 cups (2 L) water

  1 cup sweet corn, fresh or canned

  1 tablespoon chopped parsley

  1 whole Scotch bonnet pepper or other spicy pepper

  1 tablespoon lime juice

  2 whole cloves

  Salt

  Pepper

  Thyme

  Splash of sweetener (optional)

  8 ounces (226 g) pasta (optional)

  Coat the squash/pumpkin in oil and roast until golden brown and tender. Simultaneously, in a separate pan, roast the remaining vegetables (except the corn, parsley, and hot pepper) in oil and a bit of salt until golden and tender. Blend the cooked squash with the coconut milk in a blender or food processor, then add this to the water in a medium stockpot and bring to a low boil. Stir in the roasted vegetables and the corn, parsley, and hot pepper. Add spices to taste. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes to blend the flavors. If you are using pasta, add it when there are 10 remaining minutes of cook time.

  Soup Joumou cooks over coals during the New Year festivities in Leogane, Haiti.

  Note: The squash and hot peppers are essential ingredients. All other ingredients can be replaced with similar vegetables that are locally available.

  Groundnut Stew

  Mafe, or groundnut stew, is common throughout West and Central Africa. This traditional stew can include meat, vegetables, or seafood, and it is always based on a savory sauce made from peanut butter and tomatoes.

  Active time: 20 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes | Yield: 6–8 servings

  1 medium onion, chopped

  6 cloves garlic, diced

  1 tablespoon minced ginger

  1 teaspoon cumin

  1½ teaspoons coriander

  ½ teaspoon black pepper

  Salt

  3 tablespoons coconut or safflower oil

  3 cups (720 ml) vegetable stock

  2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed

  3 cups (1.25 kg) chopped fresh tomatoes (or 1½ cups/360 ml tomato sauce)

  1 cup (250 g) peanut butter, preferably unsweetened

  Optional: carrot, celery, coconut milk, and white beans

  Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, and spices in the oil until slightly softened. Add the broth, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Whisk in the peanut butter until smooth. Then transfer the soup to a blender in batches and purée. Return to the pot and warm over medium heat. Serve with rice. Possible toppings include toasted coconut, boiled eggs, chopped cilantro, or fresh diced onion and tomato.

  Akara Pwa Ak Sos

  Akara is a Nigerian black-eyed pea fritter that made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to become akara pwa in Haiti and acaraje in Brazil. In addition to being a popular breakfast and snack food, akara is used as an offering for the orisa and ancestors. It is one of the most anticipated dishes at Soul Fire Farm’s Black Latinx Farmers Immersion.

  Active time: 35 minutes | Total time: 8 hours, 35 minutes | Yield: 8 servings

  3 cups (480 g) black eyed peas, soaked overnight

  1 large onion

  1 hot pepper

  Salt and pepper

  Safflower, sunflower, or canola oil for frying (using palm oil is traditional)

  Soak the black-eyed peas in 10 cups (2.5 L) of water overnight. Drain the peas and remove the outer skins by rubbing them together in the palms of your hands. Alternatively, remove the skins by pulsing briefly in a food processor, transferring to a bowl of water, then rubbing the skins off the peas and pouring out the floating skins. Put the peas back into the food processor or blender with the chopped onion and pepper, and purée into a fine paste. Usually the water from the onion is enough to achieve the desired consistency, but add a little water if needed. Add salt and pepper to the batter to taste. Heat the oil in a skillet on high. You may add a large slice of onion to flavor the oil while you fry. Once the onion turns brown, replace it with a fresh piece. Spoon the batter into golf-ball-sized balls and cook in the oil, flipping to achieve a golden-brown color on both sides. Serve with Haitian Sos, or any sauce made of tomato, onions, and peppers.

  Akara is a black-eyed pea fritter found in many variations across the African Diaspora.

  Epis

  Similar to Puerto Rican sofrito, epis is a Haitian seasoning base that can be used in any soup, stew, or sauce. We keep it in the refrigerator at all times. Epis can even make a fried egg exciting.

  Active time: 10 minutes | Total time: 10 minutes | Yield: 2½ cups (600 ml)

  1 medium onion

  2 sweet peppers (green, yellow, or red)

  6 scallions

  6 garlic cloves

  1 cup (25 g) parsley leaves

  6 basil leaves

  Juice of 1 lime

  ½ cup (120 ml) olive oil

  Optional: cilantro, thyme, clove, hot pepper

  Coarsely chop the vegetables, then blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Epis keeps fresh in the refrigerator for 5 days and can be frozen up to 1 month.

  Epis is a Haitian seasoning base that can be used in any soup, stew, or sauce.

  Hoppin’ John

  Hoppin’ John is a traditional Black southern dish eaten on the New Year for good luck. Place a penny under your plate of Hoppin’ John to amplify good fortunes. It is served with collard greens, representing paper money, and corn bread, representing gold.

  Active time: 30 minutes | Total time: 8 hours, 30 minutes | Yield: 6–8 servings

  ¾ cup (120 g) black-eyed peas

  2 cups (400 g) brown rice

  1 medium onion, diced

  ½ teaspoon paprika

  ½ teaspoon chili powder

  ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

  ½ teaspoon dried oregano

  Cayenne, to taste

  Optional: garlic, bay leaf, thyme, parsley

  2 tablespoons olive oil

  4 cups (960 ml) vegetable broth

  Salt

  1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (455 g)

  Soak the black-eyed peas overnight and drain. Sauté the dry brown rice, onion, and spices in the oil until aromatic. Add the broth, salt, and black-eyed peas to the sauté. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for an additional 10 minutes or until the rice is tender. Note that cooked red beans can substitute for the soaked black-eyed peas for a more Caribbean flavor.

  Slice your collards super thin for a tender result.

  Collard Greens and Cabbage

  Dark green vegetables are the foundation of the African Heritage Diet Pyramid. While collard greens and cabbage are popular in the Black American South, this recipe can use amaranth, sweet potato greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, or any other leafy green vegetable. The quick cooking method in this recipe retains the vitamins in the vegetables while offering a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

  Active t
ime: 25 minutes | Total time: 25 minutes | Yield: 8 servings

  1 pound (0.5 kg) green or savoy cabbage, thinly sliced

  1 pound (0.5 kg) collard greens, destemmed and thinly sliced

  8 cloves garlic, minced

  3 tablespoons olive oil

  1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock

  Salt

  Put a large pot of water on to boil. In batches, blanch the thinly sliced cabbage and collard greens by dropping them in the water for 30 to 45 seconds. The greens should turn a deeper color but retain their firmness. Remove immediately and run under cold water. Sauté the garlic in the oil for 1 minute. Add the blanched greens and the vegetable stock and cook for another few minutes. Keep the batches small to ensure that the overall cook time is under 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

  Variation: To attain a tender result without blanching, slice the collard greens “Brazilian-style”—super angelhair thin—and sauté in a pan with a small amount of water.

  Gluten Free Skillet Corn Bread

  Corn bread is a classic Southern dish that originated as hoe cakes cooked on hoe blades or griddles outdoors. Other variants include baked corn pones, skillet-baked Johnny cakes, ash cakes, and corn bread kush. Corn bread is traditionally served with molasses.

  Active time: 15 minutes | Total time: 55 minutes | Yield: 12 servings

  3 cups (720 ml) coconut milk

  4 eggs

  ¾ cup (180 ml) safflower, sunflower, or canola oil

  3½ cups (450 g) cornmeal

  1¼ cups (160 g) brown rice flour

  1¼ cups (160 g) arrowroot starch (or whole wheat flour)

  4 teaspoons baking powder

  2 teaspoons baking soda

  2 teaspoons salt