SOUL FOOD SUNDAYS FROM GRANDMA’S KITCHEN (Peer Review Shauntea)

  1. Specific Detail
  • From the beginning in paragraph 1, The setting set up was well done. I could definitely imagine a young girl being in the company of 4 generational elders.
  • Paragraph 2: Gives slight details into the speaker’s own life at the time as the speech transitions into her life as a part of a family. (Maybe add what you were doing right before you came in, that way the audience can distinguish what you were into as a child personally before engaging with the family version of yourself” 
  • Paragraph 3: This shines light on the importance that Great Grandma had in mind when sharing “how to-do” information with you. On its own you can tell that this was done from a place of care and love.
  • Paragraph 4: Is EXTREMELY DETAILED! From the smell of pork fat, the need to “get under the skin” for cleaning & the garlic & vinegar tickling the nose. EXCELLENT sensory description, I feel like I was there!
  • Paragraph 5: Is a neat addition that shows the family dynamics & the order of reverence shown to one another within the group.
  • Paragraph 6: Another great paragraph, giving details of the actual food prep where one can visualize the actions taking place.
  • Paragraphs 7 & 8: are great scenery placement paragraphs! (possibly switch the order of the 2 for greater sequence?)
  • Paragraph 9: Proves to be a nice close, that can leave the audience with a wholesome feeling, possibly invoking memories of their own
  1. Scene & Summary
  • Paragraphs that seem to be mostly scene: 3,4,6,7,9
  • Paragraphs that seem to be mostly summary: 1,2,5,8,10
  1. Main Message
  • To me, the main message seems to be: The actual breakdown of Great Grandmother’s talent in the kitchen & the subtle yet important sharing of technique. [ Makes me want to cook 🙂 ]
  • The description of the scenes & summary leads me to believe at your adult age that you are also capable of creating awesome renditions of Great grandmothers recipes & hold the teachings dear to you!
  • The parts that seem to really emphasize this are: “Grandma, can I clean the chicken?” I would ask. Revealing the whole chicken, she would bake it with the neck and gizzards separated. “Yeah, make sure you get up under the skin,” she would say. “Yes ma’am,” I’d reply. (paragraph 4)  as well as After the chicken and greens were done, she would employ me with the job of chopping the greens. Chopping the greens was a workout, chopping and twisting with every pound. “Don’t chop it too fine, baby,” she would say, “we don’t want to make it mushy.” (paragraph 7)
  • The lines that grabbed my attention, or really stuck with me were:

Paragraph 4 : Grandma would season the chicken before it went in the oven. Adding the collard greens to the “pot liquor,” as she called the concoction, they would boil for hours on low until they were tender to her liking.” [I Feel like I see this chicken man lol]

4. Structure & Order

  • The structure/order of the essay is super solid, well thought out & placed properly, (I feel the swap of paragraphs 7 & 8 would be a great asset)
  • I like the personal relationship shared between an elder & child is a sweet remembrance. So often children are expected to stay in a child’s place, but in this memoir great grandma is giving the floor for the child to level up in an adult manner. Almost as if she can physically see the growth in your readiness. BEAUTIFUL visual! 
  • Pieces in the middle seem to be very hunky in details, not leaving a wonder to the audience. *one may be able to use the details in this memoir to create their very own GG Chicken & Greens  (GG= Great Grandma) 

5. Overall Review

This memoir is a well thought out crafted read! You can definitely feel the natural nature of the scenes set up for the audience. This memoir shines light on what the author grew up around & the standards (from food to behavior & hierarchy) that were considered the staple for their family. Beautiful job!

The “Curried” Goat (Draft)

Evening blue skies and deep vibration reggae music. 6 year old me in the backseat of my fathers decked out Chrysler, with skinny melanated legs that couldn’t quite reach the floor bottom yet. “BOOM BOOM!!” THIS IS BUJU BANTON!! GIRLS JUMP UP TO DIS! NAH STOP TURN & TWIST!! LAWD OF HIS MERCY!!” (Patios based lingo) Would blast through the imported speakers he had installed that could be heard a few blocks away, before actually spotting him. A deep side eye I would give the takeout plate, Usually sitting to my right. “ What is that green colored sauce that has stained the corners of the plate?” The plate that found itself slightly leaking (from car travel movement) onto the neatly folded towel placed directly underneath. “I’ll never let that towel touch me.” I’d say silently in a smug mental way, with wide eyes, while dramatically squeezing my body into the car door, to prevent it from “getting to me”.

  The smell however, always grabbed my interest as we’d reach our apartment floor and into our kitchen dwelling. My nose could now suddenly remember the goodness hidden within the white styrofoam plate with the greenish gravy; Curried goat. A slow cooked, Tender meat accompanied with vegetables and rice and peas. Always finely chopped with an assortment of herbs like onion, scallions and spicy scotch bonnet peppers. A smell that one could not miss, pungent & positively consuming designed for noses to enjoy. Begging for a bite now, again with wide eyes, I’d open my mouth in a giant “O” shape and wait for one of my parents to airplane a scoop into my mouth. Of course a scoop, that would send my hips and skinny shoulders into a mini dance segment while chewing because I had been told “Just a little taste, I’m going to put you some on a plate.” 

  From the deepest parts of Jamaica, one will find the strongest culture built on music of the dancehall, lavishly made party attire, cultural carnivals & people derived from strong morals, behaviors & beliefs. Citizens or “Yardies” (as often referred to) took to making the best out of a land that originated from slave pirates that was intended to be a wasteland for the enslaved they were “done using”. Within that history & those attributes, you will also find the dutchie pots steaming up for cooking, street food corner stands and delicious smells that could raise the dead for a good meal. Rich culture in every nook & cranny, produced some of the finest food such as curried goat, a country staple dish that followed my father into America. A dish that would have close friends & family shout “OH! Newton is making curried goat?! SAVE ME SOME! ” My Militant, take no crap, serious in the facial expressions father; the kitchen guru.

   In my adulthood I’ve become a kitchen guru in my own way. My curried goat dish preparation now gives an echo of an announcement of its own. An all day event, as I always make it. A slow shop in the grocery store to retrieve ingredients from the meat, to the herbs. My kitchen set up where my dance hall is played & my windows and back door I leave a jar. A method used to make my neighbors slightly jealous and experience what I did as a child in our apartment hallway, a sudden craving for tastebud enticement & sudden flavor induced dance sequences. To forever the taste of Jamaica.

Food Memoir Brainstorm

I plan to put in context the explanation of the importance of a dish from my Jamaican or Southern background. Both sides have a great weight in my life. These dishes are that I have perfected/created into my own & are dishes are apart of my identity to this day.

1st option: Goat meat (curried)

experience (description of childhood life, being in the midst of the dish )

smell, taste texture & emotion

rooted from (land, cultural aspect)

traits of x parent (behaviors, personality +/-)

personal relationship (my first time making it, making it my own)

_______________________________________

2nd option: Mac & cheese

Explanation of how this dish is a cultural staple & the funny stigma(s) associated with. (age, experience & trust requirements, telling why)

Highlighting the holidays (joy & our style of celebration)

the seasons included (Thanksgiving Christmas)

the people (family/friends)

the behaviors (laughter, jokes, conversations)

smells, excitement & process ( “nanny’s house”- The place & her background)

Comparison from old times to new

Honorary Systems; Corn Tastes Better in truth

Truth, history that of & honesty, are a recipe for solidifying cultural identity & the keeping in tact of generations. Corn tastes better on the honor system by Robin Wall Kimmer, is an essay that hones in on the safe keeping of lifestyle, behavior & purpose in its’ purest state. In this piece we are able to relive the relationship humans had with the earth’s soil, pertaining to producing & the methods associated with, via the eyes of Potawatomi people. “These kernels are a tangible link to history and identity and cultural continuity in the face of all the forces that sought to erase them. I sing to them before putting them into the soil and offer a prayer. The women who gave me these seeds make it a practice that every single seed in their care is touched by human hands.” (R.Wall Kimmer) This essay speaks to personal experience & molds the set up for pro active choice.

The rhetorical language used in this essay, allows the reader to visually experience the then & now aspect of tech based food engineering vs. naturalistic farming . From the description of the colored seeds the author had in his possession (rich in history), to the purchased non-reusable GMO seeds set to be worked into ammonia based soil; the speech was perfectly set forth to be something the reader could actually feel apart of. This sets tone to having a persuasive voice, in altering the thought process of an individual within their own surroundings.

This essay made it well known, the allegiance Kimmer has towards his original way of living, highlighting the behavioral methodology to mirror that of spiritual life. “.. I’m getting ready too, preparing the ground with a whiff of a smudge, asking permission of Mother Earth to receive these seeds, and celebrating the life inside each kernel with a song.” It becomes easy for a reader to identify the love of the kernels in their original state, to something (or someone) they hold near & dear to themselves.

The realities of big tech food engineering were brought to light when Kimmer told of the preparation of his neighbor. “I can hear the growl of my neighbor’s tractor and catch a whiff of the ammonia fertilizer that he is spraying on the fields…so much rests on preparation and timing. He’s oiled every gear and loaded the seed.” This was a great way to shine light with issues that we face collectively. This piece takes art & story telling to a level where just engaging with it not only places your feet in the past, but also in the face of brainstorming & possible solution. There is a stamp left after reading, that forces one to acknowledge that story telling also puts one in position to add something to the chapter.

Rob Wall Kimmer’s use of corn & his personal recollection of events to not only entertain his audience, but to bring awareness was unique at best. “This variety [of seeds] is so old that it accompanied our Potawatomi people on the great migration from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.” “In harvesting, shelling, sorting [corn seeds] each one feels the tender regard of its partner, the human.” “If you could carry only a single pouch of seeds, this would be the one to choose, with nutrition for physical health and teachings for spiritual health.” (R.Wall Kimmer) are just a few examples of his work used to soul-captivate his readers. Creating an environment for both enjoyment & a spark for change.

Alcoholism: “Full Cup, No Ice!”

“Good times!” They don’t care about the facts. The damning facts of the consumption of alcohol that are usually waiting for one at the end of damage & realization. Personal experiences with others, including that of my own, speak to the countless lessons learned & consequences that followed in tow. “Full cup! NO ICE!” My uncle would shout when having his drinks made, meaning all alcohol without ice or a chaser. Choices mirroring this one lead to many circumstances where end results didn’t turn out to be their best. The best referencing where one is aware of all pros & cons & the collective weighing of all outcomes.

The decomposed visual(s) within The TED Talk of what transpires in the system when exposed to the compound; is something I feel should be 1st nature to the human mind before consumption. Definitely an easier than said motto to intertwine yourself with when key words/phrases such as ethanol, digestive tract, enzymes & carbon atoms are just that of a biology course. When the week was long, bills are due & there is a “time to be had!” The last thing I believe we are focused on are the ramifications of later bodily dysfunctions & life altering choices. A tangled web where we weave ourselves into our very own personalized detriment.

In this life I feel we as humans tend to prioritize the normalization for seeking pleasure without first understanding the long term repercussions to actions. It is our lack for pursuing the truth in what we engage in, that leaves a door open to hinderences that determine our ultimate health & survival. My hope for us as a species is to be more conscious of how today’s choices impact the quality of our lives tomorrow; as there may not be a tomorrow depending on what you decided on TODAY.

Consume, Digest, Repeat

It’s been said that “you are what you consume” which I believe highlights who I am as a reader/writer at this time in my life. Normally I’m digesting articles/think pieces that contain some form of urgency, change, awareness or opinion. Constantly comparing my belief to point of views to those who share the same world with me, assuring that I’m aware of why their perspective on things matter to the topic(s) at hand.

Focusing on when I was a child, I remember often being submerged into non-fiction chapter books raging from classroom superheroes with powers, to people being in lands that would “WOW” any preteen & leave them wondering for more. The same “more” that would produce notebooks full of random drawings of how I perceived the characters may have looked to, the scenes I had read & mini- ‘alternative” outcomes made up from a dancing mind stuck on what I’d consumed. Different to the writer & reader I’ve become today.

As an adult, my daydreamer “full of possibilities” reader mind has become a spouse to comments, quick digest, & informative reports. Sometimes producing an excerpt (opinion or fact based) that may draw a rise out of one or a create an ear/shoulder for those near & far. In between deadlines, schedules & world/life crises, immediate social interaction often captures my thoughts in both positive & negative lights. These thoughts are then condensed into responses that are normally only enough to open a window to things I view as important, when in all reality the platform it may deserve is in fact grandiose.

When priority rings a bell & I’m in need of truly voicing my thoughts or focusing on a much need read, I usually accompany it with isolated time blocks & a total world shut out. It’s where I can really be myself & check into real time emotions, feelings or opinion. Without this intentional strategy it’s easy for me to often dance in the lands of mindless babble or trusty dusty “to-do’s” rather than focus on the task at hand. As I navigate through this course I aspire to rebirth the person I once was as a child, but with a polish that captures the truest art forms of writing & reading.