Food
Explore the food galleries
Welcome to the food galleries! . . . here you’ll find collections of recipes, videos, music, and profiles that center on a common theme in my food story.
SPRING 2020: Delicious Religious Conditioning
This season’s theme emphasizes religion, specifically remembering some of what I ate during my experiences of growing up in the Pentecostal faith. While I’m no longer a Christian, some parts of this gallery will document how those early religious experiences are entangled with my food and identities (home-schooled, cis-woman, Black, demipanro, etc.) and the cognitive dissonance that often comes with navigating those identities. However, I know Christianity can be a sensitive, if not triggering, topic for both non-religious and religious people, given the history of Christianity/Western Religion on POC communities as well as the myriad experiences one can have while practicing any of the Christian denominations.
So feel free to skip some parts of this gallery if you find this topic upsetting. But also, feel free to send me your thoughts on the Seeds & Receipts Insta.
what happens when you leave fresh thyme on the counter for a month? freshly dried thyme!
Auditory Uplift . . .
My Mom listened to Mahalia A LOT when she cooked. It would play on a cassette tape popped into the radio that moved around the kitchen. And she played this song the most.
I don’t know much about gospel music and it’s not something I play around other people because of the heavy religious messages, but it was one of the few genres of music I was allowed to listen to that featured Black people. Contemporary Black musicians (e.g. hip hop, RnB, raggae, etc.) were out of the question when I was a kid, so I’m more familiar with Black musicians from the 40s-80s than musicians after those time-periods.
So yeah, the first time I listened to the Destiny’s Child discography outside of hearing it at a party or passing car was in 2018, and I’m still catching up on other Black artists. Ask me about White artists from the 90s-00s and I can actually share memories tied to their songs or reasons why I don’t like them. Think Michelle Branch, Play, Avril Lavigne, Hilary Duff, Britney, etc.
Sometimes my lack of Black musical references is something I’m deeply ashamed of, if not a bit resentful about, and that can show up in my nervousness around really opening up to other POC/Black folks who seem to have ALL of the references. Feeling like the culture I most identify with is a tree grafted from many scions that include Blackness, but is not the solid, pure ebony that I want to be for my community.
Luckily, when questioning my Blackness sends me into a depressive spiral, I can always return to Mahalia for a reminder that it’s worth it to keep pushing on even when I don’t feel I am enough. The women in my family taught me early on that music and food are powerful medicine, especially for feelings of inadequacy.
Aside from her music, Mahalia was also incredibly involved with her community, this podcast highlights some of that work.
(Mahalia Jackson live in Chicago)
