Gumbo

High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris traces the African-American experience and the influence of African foods and African-American cooking on the American cuisine.  I really enjoyed this fascinating look at the history of the African Diaspora and the origins of some very familiar foods.

I was thinking about this today when I was in the garden picking some okra. According to Harris, the word okra is from the Igbo language of Nigeria -- where the mucilaginous pods are called okuru.  It was grown in the US by the early 1700s and was certainly on the menu at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

I made a simple gumbo with my okra, sauteeing the sliced pods  in bacon grease with chopped onion, garlic, and green peppers, then adding chopped tomatoes.  

Served over rice, it's gumbo -- a dish with definite African antecedents.  Again according to Harris, the word gumbo come from the Bantu languages where the pods are called ochingombo or guingombo.

History in a bowl!

'Real' Books

Flower by Christopher Beane and Anthony Janson is a real knock out! Beane's spectacular and innovative macro photography took my breath away and has me eager for peony season (and a super macro lens . . . maybe someday.)

High on the Hog is a thoughtful and charming look at African-American cooking and its various influences. It's more than that, of course -- a whole social history emerges  in these pages.

The title comes from the custom of slave owners and later employers giving their servants the lesser bits of the pig - tail, ears, feet -- in return for hard labor at pig-killing time. When eventually the ex-slaves could raise their own pork, they could eat chops, and hams, and best of all, tenderloins -- located high on the hog!

Life, Money, and Illusion is a book I heard about somewhere  (NPR?) and was convinced I needed to read. I'll report on it later. But what a great cover!