Did You Know Jan 6th is National Dried Bean Day!…
Tired of hearing about what the date January 6th will now 'forever' stand for in recorded history? Well here’s this blogpost to the rescue! featuring a Jan 6th food holiday you probably never even knew existed 😆! + the birthdates of two very important contemporary American chefs…
The most famous bean for the month of January (especially from a Black perspective ;) is the bounteous black-eyed pea:
An ancient indigenous staple of the Senegambian diet, this bean was popularized by Black cooks in American cuisine. Representing resilience and blessings, black-eyed peas are a long standing symbol of good luck traditionally eaten at the start of the New Year! ~The Food Griot
ABOVE: Me picking black-eyed peas in my gurl “Groovy’s” Chicago backyard garden. Peas are so tender when they’re first picked, i simmered them up in a pan with some of the other bounty harvested that day (e.g., squash, corn, peppers, garlic, alliums ….) ooh now i gotta find and share that pic b/c that dish was soooo delish!…
***************************************************
Happy Heavenly 101st Birthday Chef Leah Chase!
January 6th marks the the 101st (heavenly!) birthday of Legendary Chef Leah Chase of the acclaimed and iconic Dooky Chase Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana "one of the 40 most important restaurants of the past 40 years" - Food & Wine Mag. I had the honor and pleasure of not only meeting but also having quality time with Chef Chase, with treasured memories of connecting with her both professionally and personally at culinary events and varied occasions in the South and up North. Each convo, even our very first, was as if we were each reconnecting with a close relative we simply hadn't seen in a long time. I tear up recalling her declaration that she’d ‘adopted’ me as another daughter — one of a small club of others I learned with whom she felt strong bonds with but hadn’t gone through labor with lol. She's warmly remembered this month and always. Oh and yes for Louisiana native Queen Leah the featured bean would have to be RED BEANS (& rice) … which is why i included them in the anchor image as the lead pic in today’s calendar page ….
**************************************
Happy January Birthdays to three other notable Black Chefs': BJ Dennis (also on JAN 6TH!) … Bryant Terry (1/24) and Marcus Samuelsson (1/25)...🥳 🎂🥂🍾🎈
************************************************