summer pesto, brooklyn dance parties, and homemade brews
Ten Things #3: September 6, 2024
This post is too long for email and will be more enjoyable in the Substack app.
Hi friends! Happy Friday and hope you had a splendid short week. I know Labour Day (for those of us in the U.S. and Canada) marks the faux adieu of summer but I’m in the camp that summer doesn’t officially end until September 21st. So catch me enjoying as many golden hours, bountiful produce, and al fresco meals as possible before I get into the sweater and soup mindset of fall.
I’m writing this on a ferry from Athens where I spent a solo day before meeting my college pals for a week on Paros (editor’s note: I’m now editing this on Paros hehe). It’s our annual friend trip and I’m excited to eat as much seafood by the sea, play tennis, read books by the poolside, and finally catch up on my NYT Crosswords. Will update you on all the delicious and exciting food-related things.
Thank you to the 46 new subscribers who’ve joined this week! It’s so lovely having you here!
Coming to you with edition number 3 of 10 things. This is my sporadic column where I share ten things that I’ve consumed and events that should be on your radar. I’m always looking for recs so if you’ve consumed something or are hosting an event, please let me know and I’ll share. Okay, let’s dig in.
Koko’s Cabbage and Yassa Poisson from AfriCali
One of the perks of working in the industry is getting tons of cookbooks and it’s even more special when authors ask you to interview them. A few weeks ago, friend of the newsletter and Kenyan-Nigerian-American recipe developer and Kiano Moju released her cookbook, AfriCali. Her debut cookbook is a collection of recipes honouring her deep connection to the African diaspora and her upbringing in Northern California. I’m interviewing Kiano next week for her New York City book tour so I am deep in research mode aka reading headnotes and testing recipes.
Living in Mexico City, I can’t make the most of cookbooks because a lot of necessary American staples are missing from my grocery store so I can’t fully appreciate a recipe’s writing. I’m in the camp of people who believe that you should always make a recipe exactly as it is on the first go and then make substitutions. But Kiano’s book has made cooking fun and there’s a solid range of recipes that are hearty, plant-forward, full of spice and rich with flavour. It makes it the perfect book for a beginner cook who wants to build their canon of recipes or for a more experienced home chef to embrace recipes from a new cuisine.
I’ve made about 6 recipes and a few of the spice mixes but the two I keep coming back to are the Yassa Poisson and Koko’s Cabbage. The salmon dish topped with a briny, mustardy onion medley is a pescatarian on the classic Senegalese dish yassa poulet. It comes together really easily and is served with couscous. Looking to add more veggies to the mix, I paired it with Koko’s cabbage, a pan-seared cabbage and carrot dish, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, which is an homage to Kiano’s Kenyan grandmother.
If you’re in NYC on September 10th, please come hang out with Kiano and me as we chat through her book and hear more about her incredible story. The event is in partnership with BEM Books and More and Marché Rue Dix, two exceptional Black-owned businesses in Brooklyn. To order Africali and check out other stops on Kiano’s tour, click here.
The United States of Burgers (New York Times)
When I was a kid, I would always order burgers on the rare occasions that we went out to dinner. Burgers are truly the perfect meal: there’s always a solid combo of carbs, proteins, and veggies, you can add an endless combo of toppings, condiments, and cheese, plus it’s portable so you can enjoy it almost anywhere. They’re also distinctively American and perhaps as important of a cultural export as blue jeans, Coco-Cola, and cowboys.
As American food culture continues to embrace the importance and influence of cuisine, this curation of burgers by NYT food critics Priya Krishan and Tejal Rao is a testament to how immigrant cuisines and American staples can exist in delicious harmony. In Brooklyn, there’s the Made in Lagos burger from Akara House, a deep-fried well-seasoned mashed bean fritter packed with onions, garlic, and herbs, an homage to the Nigerian fritter. South in the 305, Amelia’s Frita at Amelia’s 1931 in Miami is a Cuban-style chorizo and beef burger marinated in sesame oil, gochujang and sweet chilli oil, topped with fried potato strings, Gruyere cheese, and diced sweet plantains. Alright, I’ll stop before you start salivating all over your screen.* gift link.
Bodega Bakes Giveway by Paola Velez
I’ve been a huge fan of Paola Velez’s work and her consistent pursuit of using her platform for good. The pastry chef and founder of Bakers Against Racism is releasing her debut cookbook, Bodega Bakes, on October 1st. Paola sent me a galley of the book and these are some exceptional desserts that are a beautiful homage to her Afro-Dominican heritage, her Bronx upbringing, and decades of experience whipping up sweet treats at some prestige institutions. Plus the foreword from pastry GOAT Christina Tosi was such a delight to read.
To hype her book up and boost preorder sales, Paola is launching an exceptional giveaway for those who snag her book before release. Every Tuesday from now till October 1st, Paola will be giving away Le Creuset cookware, KitchenAid stand mixers, and Vitamix blenders to those who show proof of pre-order purchase.
If you don’t win you’re still in luck! Paola is giving away 4 additional recipes that are not in the book. This might be one of the best pre-order campaigns I’ve seen so take advantage and also support an incredibly talented pastry chef. More info on the giveaway, tour dates for Bodega Bakes, and pre-orders can all be found on Paola’s IG here.
Homemade Tepache
A couple of weeks ago, I cut up a pineapple and took a look at the skins on the counter thinking I can’t just throw them away. Inspired by friend of the newsletter and sustainable queen Dana Cowin’s
content, I took the Internet asking people what to make with my leftovers. I got a good amount of responses and a lot of responded with tepache which made the most sense to try in my Mexico City kitchen.Tepache is a fermented drink made from pineapple skins, piloncillo (raw form of pure cane sugar), and spices like cloves and cinnamon. With origins dating back to pre-Columbian times, tepache comes from the Nahuatl word tepiatl which means “drink made from corn” and was one of the many drinks symbolizing the ingenuity of indigenous Mexicans using all parts of their food. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, they brought with them new varieties of fruits and plants, including pineapples, which quickly adapted to the local climate despite not being endemic. The abundance of the fruit led to experimentation and soon pineapple-based tepache gained popularity over the original-corn-based bevvie.
I was a little nervous brewing something in my home but the assurance of strangers on subreddits and recipe blogs gave me the confidence to make my first batch. Over three days, I left my pot on top of the washing machine where it got a good amount of warmth to stimulate the fermentation. On the third day, I skimmed the mold (will save you the pictures) off the top, drained it through a colander, and let it chill in the fridge before my first sip. The result? A golden brown colour and the slightly sweet taste similar to freshly made kombucha. It’s slightly tangy, refreshing, and honestly has done wonders for my gut health. Mix it with beer, make a tepache highball, or put it in a glass with Tajin on the rim.
Breakfast at Ciena
A lot of you have asked for a Mexico City guide which I need to compile from my various lists but until then I’ll keep sharing restaurants here and there. If you do have specific CDMX questions, DM me!
A few weeks ago, I got invited to experience lunch at Ciena, a really adorable café in the charming Condesa neighbourhood. Pavina, the chef, is one of the bubbliest and kindest people you’ll meet. The menu is an ode to Mexican produce, French techniques, and the classic café with high-quality dishes that motivate you into becoming a regular. When I left lunch, Pavina was so sweet to gift me a box of pastries for brunch the next day and there was a mango scone that I couldn’t stop thinking about. She also invited my partner and I back for breakfast especially to try the huevos machacha.
I went back last week and wow what a dream! Huevos machacha are a traditional Mexican breakfast made with eggs scrambled in shredded dry beef. They’re hearty, delicious, and aren’t super heavy like other dishes. It came with some avocado, diced heirloom tomatoes covered in oil and vinegar, and fresh flour tortillas. It was exactly as she has hyped it to be and I can’t wait to keep coming back for more :)
The Editor by Sara B Franklin
Memoirs and biographies are my favourite genre of non-fiction and especially in the last five years, food memoirs have become a big part of my reading life. A few years ago, I got to meet writer and professor Sara B. Franklin for help on an essay I was writing about Edna Lewis. She was familiar with Edna Lewis’ editor, the iconic Judith Jones, and told me about the book she was working on chronicling the life and career of this exceptional women.
Cookbook culture as we know today wouldn’t exist without Judith Jones. She was the editor who made Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, gave Edna Lewis the platform to publish her iconic cookbooks celebrating African-American cuisine, and empowered Madhur Jaffrey to pen her Indian cookbooks.
A lot of biographies are about the people who did big things and got a lot of attention but there are so many incredible people who built industries who were locked in and didn’t need attention. Judith Jones was a real g moving in silence and our cookbook libraries can thank her. She had a reverence for cookbooks at a time when publishers couldn’t care less about them, was a working woman in a decade when it was still looked down upon, and gave emerging authors an opportunity to publish book despite cultural hesitations. If you care about food history or are fascinated by the world of literature, this is a must read. Snag a copy here.
Cooking in Real Life’s Summer Corn Pesto Pasta
I think Lidey Heuck might be one of the best recipe developers of our time. She has a really exciting perspective when it comes to food and also I’ve never made a dish of hers that has gone south. Lidey spent years working as Ina Garten’s assistant, for Erin French at the Lost Road Kitchen in Maine, and also as a contributing writer for the New York Times.
Earlier this spring, she released her debut cookbook, Cooking in Real Life. It’s become a favourite in my house and the one cookbook I reach to for weeknight dinners that can be whipped together with pantry essentials. The instructions are super easy to follow, there’s a range of flavour profiles, a solid index of foundational recipes to make, and curated menus for events like date night, casual brunch, or family dinner.
Since we’re in summer, I’ve really been leaning into the corn pesto recipe from the book. I’ve made it maybe 7 times now to the point where I can memorize and tweak things as such. It’s an exciting take on summer produce that involves sauteeing corn with garlic, pulsing it in a blender with some oil and Parmesan, and toasting panko breadcrumbs with red chilli flakes. Then you boil the spaghetti, reserve a smidge of water, and toss the pesto into the pasta with some cherry tomatoes and basil. You can add protein, go without, eat it on its town or pair with a big fat summer salad.
Bonnie Slotnick’s profile (New Yorker)
When I was a college student in New York, my favourite hobby was putting my phone on airplane mode and hiding in the stacks at the city’s bookstores perusing the books until I found something worth breaking my tight student budget for. Bonnie Slotnick’s eponymous cookbook store was one of the places I first discovered and went in a few times looking for first-editions of culinary classics like Alice Water’s Art of Simple Living and The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
New Yorker’s Hannah Goldfield wrote this glowing profile of Slotnick sharing her upbringing, how her dedication to customers has inspired similar hospitality in cookbook stores across the country, aand her longstanding beef with late food critic Mimi Sheraton. Especially after reading The Editor, I’m looking out for more pieces that chronicle the lives of those who are adjacent or instrumental in bringing food culture to life. This piece is a shining example of this and hopefully it inspires you to stop by if you ever find yourself in the West Village hungry for culinary literature.
And now two events for you!
All In Fundraiser
September 15, 2024, Union Square Café, NYC
Next Sunday, Union Square Café is hosting a special fundraiser in support of three important food organizations, Drive Change, Emma’s Torch, and Food Education Fund. These organizations support marginalized communities by empowering them with programs and resources. The second annual bash will have bites from some iconic NYC restaurants, good tunes from DJ Huggy Bear, and a chance to connect with industry folks and passionate foodies who care about giving back . There’s also a digital auction if you can’t make it but would still love to support. Tickets are available here.
African Chop House Event
September 8 2024,3:00PM-9:00 PM, Brooklyn Bridge Park, NYC
Looking for a fun Sunday hang in the sun after a long week? Stop by Liberty Lawn at Brooklyn Bridge Park for an afternoon of music, food, and dancing. DJs Ma Cherie, Jam Central, and Mohogany will be spinning Rockbeats, Ampaino, and Dancehall, bites curated by African Chophouse will be available for purchase, and it’s free to the public. RSVP here for more info. Thanks to friend of the newsletter Stanley Lumax for sharing this with me!
Bonus: Substack Originals
A few months ago, Substack and Cash Studios invited me to their studios to participate in their Substack Originals series. As someone who normally asks questions, it’s nice having the mic turned on me. Julie, one of the amazing producers for this series, asked such thoughtful questions about my newsletter, my relationship with food, thoughts on culture, and some hot takes.
Here’s one of the clips and I’ll share a couple more here and on Insta. Also highly recommend checking out other interviews on Substack’s page and Instagram.
That’s it for this week! Would love to hear what late summer produce you’re looking forward to snagging in the next few weeks. See you soon!
That salmon yassa looks so delicious! Also very excited for Kiano’s book and can’t wait to get my copy of her book. Also you’ve definitely got me
intrigued by your Tepache making adventure, adding to my list of new recipes to try!
Love the video, Abena!