Juneteenth Recipes for All Summer long: 24 Delicious Nutritious (& Naturally Red;) Recipes i Foraged for Food.com
JUBILATORY JUNETEENTH rED fOODs”: a Recipe roundup…
By Tonya Hopkins, aka @TheFoodGriot…
As Summer begins so does the start of more social gatherings — so communal dishes and outdoor cookery are perfect for Juneteenth, which takes place each year a mere two days before the summer solstice. Red-hued foods and drinks feature prominently, which distinguishes this early-summer holiday at picnics, park parties, cookouts and backyard barbecues. [Check out this short video where I talk a little more on the symbolic importance of the color red + share recipe & drink ideas for Juneteenth celebrations].
Anybody who knows me knows I don’t make (or eat!) ‘fake food’ which also means I don’t cook or concoct with artificial colors — especially not RED DYE #3 — a known carcinogen that shows up in thousands of American food products (and in people’s recipes!) this time of year. Well, not mine — nor the OPR (“other people’s recipes” i painstakingly selected and carefully curated from the FOOD.Com site as i fastidiously looked for: quality ingredients, great taste and flavor, freshness, natural goodness, healthful properties wherever possible— the list of all good things goes on & on — you’re welcome! Oh, plus I knew there needed to be some kinda historical and/or cultural relevance for each dish or drink — regardless of the race, cultural, religious or ethnic background of the recipe contributor (which of course was all but impossible to know) — and ultimately quite appropriately kumbaya considering that this newest of national holidays is for all Americans.
I should mention: Food.com is an online community of home cooks (+ some known chefs) that features over 500,000 user-generated recipe pages plus reviews, modifications, questions and photos in addition to the actual recipes. When i was asked to curate these recipes I was worried at first … but then i dove in — after a motivational convo & some substantive recipe mining assistance — Thanks Mom! And while I did trip into a few cavernous dips and slid on some slippery spills along the way, eventually I re-emerged with a lot more recipes than they originally asked of me (surprised?). So i’m serving them up for you here along with EXTRA TFG tips, intel, and commentary that was either not included in (or got edited out!) of the version published on food.com FYI.
Like i said, a vast majority of these dishes, desserts and drinks I picked are intentionally (and naturally) RED — in myriad ways shapes and forms (I.e., hot, cold, cooked, raw, savory, sweet, smoked, sipped, slurped or chewed…), so get ready to get your Juneteenth grub on! Without further ado, here they are (available via links below as fast as I am able to batch ‘em up for ya — which takes a ‘minute’ — as in way longer than the time I budgeted to do so LOL. But doing so I am, you’re welcome!… ):
• Batch #1 of TFG’s Juneteenth Recipe Picks: Red Velvet “Boost”, Simple Spinach + Strawberry & Feta Salad, Roasted Garlic Rosemary Goat, Simply Sautéed Red Cabbage, Rustic Rhubarb Crisp…
• Batch #2 of TFG’S Juneteenth Recipe Picks : Baked Red Beans, Brisket, Crisp Red Radish Ensalada, Slammin’ Savory Potato Salad (+ bacon!) and a Carmine-Colored Gin Drink…
• Batch #3 of TFG’S Juneteenth Recipe Picks : Wonderful Watermelon Soda, Texas Caviar Salsa, Texas Redfish Courtbouillon, Crunchy Cucumber Tomato Salad, Fresh Strawberry Pie …
• Batch #4 of TFG’S Juneteenth Recipe Picks : Red Pickled Eggs, Should-Be-Illegal Oven BBQ Ribs, Classic Corn Pone, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Hibiscus Cocktail…
• Batch #5 of TFG’S Juneteenth Recipe Picks : Hot Link Skillet , Spicy BBQ Chicken , Smoky Vegan Burgers, Cherries Jubilee!…
For more historical context on the holiday, read the upfront article part I contributed a top of the 24 Food.com Jubilatory Juneteenth recipes — which is part of their SUMMER GRILLING collection. With all this seasonal food fodder to work with, Luckily there’s a whole Summer ahead to stretch these out and sample them over the weeks and months ahead.
Enjoy!
~ Tonya Hopkins, aka The Food Griot
