Some Exciting Changes Are Afoot
Plus Tanzanian collard greens, Barbadian dessert, and a classic ratatouille recipe
Ch-ch-ch-changes!
As you are reading this newsletter, I am in Ohio getting ready to document a birthday party cooking extravaganza with four generations celebrating the family matriarch. To me, this session embodies everything that The Family Cookbook is about, and while I love traveling and meeting families all over the country, it’s become pretty apparent that I can’t do it all alone. There are so many families with amazing stories that deserve their own cookbooks, and I know a huge number of photographers whose talent will do their stories justice.
So, the first change here at The Family Cookbook: It’s not just me anymore! We are officially a multi-photographer setup. Families who book their cookbook experiences with us will be paired with a photographer in their area or close by who will document their food traditions with the same heart and dedication I do. I will still travel around documenting families as well, this system just gives us more flexibility and the capacity to create more cookbooks.
The second big change: You can now purchase your cookbook experience directly from The Family Cookbook website! We’ve restructured it a bit where you can read through the information and pricing guide directly, and then purchase the base package online. After you purchase, you’ll have 1 year to schedule your photo session, and we’ll then match you with one of the photographers in our cohort.
There are more details about booking and scheduling on the website, and if you have any questions, just reply to this email!
Banana Stalk Fights, Tanzanian Style
Makunduchi, Tanzania, is the central point of celebrations during late July’s Mwaka Kogwa, a festival to observe the Shirazi New Year. Like many new year festivals, it incorporates themes of cleansing and rebirth, as well as warding off bad luck in the coming year. The most notable ritual during the festival is a “fight” between all the men of the village that is supposed to relieve aggression and air grievances built up over the past year. Banana leaves and stalks are the weapon of choice for this event, but in the past real weapons were used. During the play fight, women dress in their best outfits and sing, usually about love and joy, while walking through the fields. In the final ritual, the local healer sets a ritual hut on fire symbolizing protection from death should fire occur in the next year. The healer reads the direction of the smoke to predict the village’s fortune. After the rituals are complete, everyone heads to the beach to dance and party the night away.
I made sukuma wiki, a Tanzanian collard greens dish from African Bites, while exploring this new year custom. If you aren’t big on spicy, you can skip the cayenne pepper, but don’t leave out the smoked paprika—it’s flavor profile makes this dish.
Check out the video on Mwaka Kogwa and the sukuma wiki recipe on Instagram on Friday.
Barbados’ Month-Long Party
You might be aware that Carnival is renowned for its festivities throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. The Caribbean in particular has a reputation for being a partying kind of place, and Barbados not only goes wild during Carnival but also has another huge celebration six months later. The Crop Over Festival is a 300-year old tradition rooted in the end of sugar cane season, and is considered the must culturally significant festival for locals. Dating back to 1687, the last of the sugar cane crop would be decorated with flowers. Led by a woman in white, a procession of sugar cane workers pulled carts of crop to the mill, with the final cart carrying what was known as Mr. Harding, which represented the hard times of financial scarcity after the sugar crop was harvested. The parade circled the mill yard several times, then the celebration ended in the burning of Mr. Harding to ward off misfortune and hard times in the coming season. WWII heavily damaged Barbados’ sugar industry and the festival ground to a halt until a revival in the ‘70s.
There are a ton of pre-Crop Over parties throughout the summer, but the main season lasts from July to August, with the biggest events taking place the week before Grand Kadooment Day, or a masquerade party that’s the official end of the Crop Over season.
Next week I’ll be making Cassava Pone from Loop Barbados in the video exploring the Crop Over tradition. It looks sweet and dense and I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Recipe: Hearty Ratatouille
If you haven’t noticed, food prices have kind of gone up a lot. With meat especially, many a pocket book is being pinched lately. I don’t eat a ton of meat in general, but now it’s an especially good time to explore vegetarian cooking that satisfies—even better if you can use your surplus of garden veggies. Try out this ratatouille recipe from Irena Chalmers’ 1975 booklet Vegetable Cookery to get you started.
Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant or very small eggplants
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 green pepper, cut into strips
2 zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Directions
Cut the eggplant into half-inch slices and then into cubes. Sprinkle with salt and leave to stand for 15 minutes to drain bitter juices. Pat dry with paper towels.
Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan. Fry the onions, garlic, and green pepper for 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and cook over high heat for 3 minutes until lightly browned. Add all remaining ingredients except the parsley.
Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook over moderately high heat for 10 minutes until most of the liquid from the vegetables has evaporated. Garnish with parsley.