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Speaker 1: We're back. Did you miss us?

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Speaker 2: I know I miss talking to you and the rest

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Speaker 2: of our friends last week.

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Speaker 1: Yes, but last week's episode, all about the science of celebration,

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Speaker 1: was the perfect setup for this week's episode. We're talking

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Speaker 1: about celebrating June teenth.

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Speaker 2: That's right. Last week we talked about the temporal aspects

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Speaker 2: and the food and different traditions that are all around celebrations,

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Speaker 2: and so it's so important for us to consider the

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Speaker 2: food around the celebration of Juneteenth.

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Speaker 1: My stomach is growling.

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Speaker 2: Oh wait, I think our legal team is saying we

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Speaker 2: need to insert a disclaimer T T Yes, if you.

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Speaker 1: Are listening to this episode right now and you have

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Speaker 1: not eaten, please go and grab a snack. You will

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Speaker 1: get hungry. Please, this is your warning. Now, please go

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Speaker 1: and grab snack. I'm TT and I'm Zakiyah and from Spotify.

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Speaker 3: This is Dope Labs.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore science,

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Speaker 2: pop culture, and a healthy dosa friendship.

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Speaker 1: June teenth is right around the corner. It's coming up

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Speaker 1: this Sunday.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and this week we're celebrating Juneteenth through food. Specifically,

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Speaker 2: we're asking more about how people continue traditions and tell

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Speaker 2: stories through food, and how people are innovating to create

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Speaker 2: new takes on food and their celebrations and gatherings.

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Speaker 1: And of course we're going to talk about some amazing

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Speaker 1: and delicious recipes that I am looking forward to trying myself.

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Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and get into the recitation.

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Speaker 1: But before we jump into Juneteenth foods, talk about the

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Speaker 1: holiday itself. What do we know about juteenth.

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Speaker 2: We know it's the oldest celebration commemorating the end of

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Speaker 2: slavery in the United States.

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Speaker 1: Yes, on June nineteenth, eighteen sixty five, a Union general

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Speaker 1: arrived at Galveston, Texas to tell enslaved African Americans that

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Speaker 1: they were free and that the Civil War had ended.

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Speaker 1: And this was two and a half years after President

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Speaker 1: Lincoln had already issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and.

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Speaker 2: So Juneteenth, which was June nineteenth, quickly became an annual

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Speaker 2: holiday where black people would gather, especially in Texas, with

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Speaker 2: their families to pray and celebrate.

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Speaker 1: And it took the federal government more than one hundred

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Speaker 1: years to catch up because Juneteenth only became a national

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Speaker 1: holiday in twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 2: Was the government always late to the party.

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Speaker 1: We don't have enough time. In this episode.

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Speaker 2: Nineteen seventy nine, they were late for Black music, months

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Speaker 2: late for Juneteenth. There are multiple dimensions of celebration, and

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Speaker 2: we've talked about this in our Celebration episode, and one

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Speaker 2: of them that we're focusing on today is food.

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Speaker 3: Food.

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Speaker 2: Food can be a way to learn history and to

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Speaker 2: practice traditions and to connect with people. It's also kind

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Speaker 2: of a way to mark the hope and renewal of

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Speaker 2: a holiday.

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Speaker 1: Food is something that is universal all of us are eating,

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Speaker 1: but the types of food you're eating and the way

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Speaker 1: that you're eating the food can be unique to different

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Speaker 1: cultures and communities and even just specific families. Black communities

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Speaker 1: all over the country have different foods that they cook

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Speaker 1: and enjoy during Juneteenth. And part of the reason why

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Speaker 1: this is so special is because the roots and history

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Speaker 1: of some of these foods come from so many cultures

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Speaker 1: all over the world that we have continue to maintain

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Speaker 1: and celebrate during different times of the year. So what

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Speaker 1: do we want to know?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think we want to consider all those things

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Speaker 2: you just said and understand them about Juneteenth, So, like,

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Speaker 2: what foods are important to Juneteenth and why like, what

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Speaker 2: are the traditions behind them or what stories are they telling?

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Speaker 2: I think I want to know how food helps us

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Speaker 2: to celebrate Juneteenth specifically and connect us not only to

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Speaker 2: one another, but to our ancestry. And when we consider

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Speaker 2: the past and tradition, we always have to also look forward.

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Speaker 2: How is the food of Juneteenth changing? What new food innovations?

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Speaker 2: You know, because everybody's going crazy about the air fryer,

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Speaker 2: my cereals still what? And as much as we look

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Speaker 2: back at the tradition and history of food, we also

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Speaker 2: want to look forward and see how food is changing,

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Speaker 2: especially food that is connected to our history in Juneteenth's

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Speaker 2: history too.

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Speaker 1: All right, let's jump into the dissection.

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Speaker 2: Our guest for today's lab is Nicole A. Taylor.

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Speaker 4: I'm a food writer and producer and the author of

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Speaker 4: the first cookbook solely dedicated to Juneteenth foods, Watermelon and Redbirds,

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Speaker 4: a cookbook for Juneteenth and Black celebrations.

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Speaker 2: Nicole is a food right and a master home cook.

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Speaker 2: She brought her years of experience making food for her

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Speaker 2: family and friends to Watermelon and Redbirds.

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Speaker 1: Nicole started writing the cookbook in twenty nineteen. She was

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Speaker 1: living in New York City, and in her spare time,

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Speaker 1: she'd work on the cookbook, typing notes in the subway,

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Speaker 1: writing on the weekends. And in twenty twenty, that work

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Speaker 1: took on additional meaning.

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Speaker 4: I was working on a story about Juneteenth for the

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Speaker 4: New York Times, and that story morphed into so many

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Speaker 4: different things because of the murder of George Floyd. And

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Speaker 4: at that moment, that's when I knew that black people

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Speaker 4: needed this book. They needed this cookbook, They needed joy, they.

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Speaker 5: Needed a guide, a road map.

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Speaker 4: Something tangible that was really a symbol of in sorrow,

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Speaker 4: in sadness, we still celebrate, we still gather, We still

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Speaker 4: want to put a smile on our face. We still

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Speaker 4: want to sit and talk to our piets. And I knew,

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Speaker 4: I knew it one hundred percent. And then now as

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Speaker 4: we are safely returning back to gathering with family and friends, Hey,

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Speaker 4: people want to cook, people want to be outside.

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Speaker 2: So, as Nicole said, one of the reasons she wrote

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Speaker 2: this book was because she wanted to give people a

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Speaker 2: culinary resource for the Juneteenth holiday.

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Speaker 4: I have been celebrating Juneteenth for more than ten years,

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Speaker 4: and my apartment, my house has always been a place

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Speaker 4: that people gather for Memorial Day, fourth of.

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Speaker 5: July, Homecoming weekend, you name it.

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Speaker 4: My place has always been the hub and the gathering

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Speaker 4: spot for everyone, but particularly for black folks. And there's

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Speaker 4: always a whole lot of food and a whole bunch

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Speaker 4: of drinking. So I mean, why not put that in

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Speaker 4: the cookbook and tell the stories behind it.

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Speaker 1: We can't talk about Juneteenth without talking about the cookout

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Speaker 1: and barbecues when people gather together and spend time together

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Speaker 1: to eat, eat.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we talk about this all the time,

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Speaker 2: especially in the South. Cookout is the event. Barbecue is

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Speaker 2: a type of meat at the cookout. But one thing

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Speaker 2: I love about the cookout and for most summer celebrations,

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Speaker 2: especially in my community, is that everybody eats.

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Speaker 1: That is very true, but it feels different when it

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Speaker 1: comes to black people. With Like, when I show up

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Speaker 1: for a black event, I have no worries. I usually

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Speaker 1: know the food is going to be good, but if

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Speaker 1: it's a non black event, I might need to have

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Speaker 1: a snack before I get there.

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Speaker 2: No shade, but we must be a fad because we're

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Speaker 2: celebrating Juneteenth. We're going to talk about the experience of

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Speaker 2: the cookout, whether it's on June Teeth or any other

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Speaker 2: day and consider everything that's happening. Yes, there's the food,

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Speaker 2: but there are a lot of other sensory things you're

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Speaker 2: going to experience that don't necessarily have to do with

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Speaker 2: food but are really specific to black events.

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Speaker 5: For one, you roll up and everybody is dressed to

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Speaker 5: the nines.

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Speaker 4: You can smell the perfume from your auntie where her

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Speaker 4: bright red lipstick on, your aunt has his gatas on,

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Speaker 4: and the music is blasting. You already know what music

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Speaker 4: is going to be played at least one time, Frankie Bevering,

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Speaker 4: Lee and Maze before I let go.

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Speaker 2: I know if you go to t T's cookout, they

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Speaker 2: gonna playing Asap Rocky.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's just like sometimes you just gotta hear

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Speaker 1: I love that, and that's my problem.

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Speaker 2: Oh gosh, y'all know I don't listen to that kind

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Speaker 2: of music.

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Speaker 1: So we all have these experience as a cookout. And

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Speaker 1: then there's the food. So let's start off with the sides.

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Speaker 1: Nicole said. One of the things you can almost always

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Speaker 1: find is potato salad.

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Speaker 4: When you move around to the dining table or to

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Speaker 4: the table where all the food is set up, you

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Speaker 4: see the potato salad and a universal question people ask

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Speaker 4: us who the potato salad?

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Speaker 2: And I just.

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Speaker 4: Feel like those sensory things and those questions you don't

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Speaker 4: oftentimes find them in non black barbecues there or non

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Speaker 4: black baby showers or a block party. There are some

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Speaker 4: cultural nuances that I feel like you can always find them.

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Speaker 5: You can always find them when there's celebration happening.

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Speaker 2: There's always something with the potato salad. But let's dive

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Speaker 2: into what we consider to be special about Juneteenth foods.

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Speaker 1: Nicole walkers through some of her favorites in her book

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Speaker 1: Watermelon and Redbirds. The book has an entire chapter dedicated

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Speaker 1: to the most important drink of juneteen celebrations, the red drink.

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Speaker 4: I dedicated an entire chapter to the official slash unofficial

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Speaker 4: drink of the Juneteenth Party.

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Speaker 5: And that's the red drink that is essential, the red drink.

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Speaker 4: Oh, the global the African diaspora, black people all over

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Speaker 4: the world, we get the red drink.

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Speaker 2: It's important to highlight that red drink has a place

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Speaker 2: beyond Juneteenth. Yes, on June teenth, but it's Juneteenth, and okay.

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Speaker 2: It comes from a tradition of making tea out of

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Speaker 2: hibiscus flowers, and Hibiscus is a plant that grows in

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Speaker 2: tropical and subtropical regions. Nicole said that more and more

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Speaker 2: farmers in the American South are growing it as well.

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Speaker 1: Black cultures all around the world have different versions of

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Speaker 1: the red drink, and Nicole has a cheat sheet in

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Speaker 1: her book about what this drink is called in different places.

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Speaker 4: This hibiscus tea minus the sweetener is known as beesop

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Speaker 4: in Senegal, where it's the national drink, and in Africa

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Speaker 4: it's called cardad, and the Caribbean is called sirel, not

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Speaker 4: to be confused with the green herb. And in Mexico

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Speaker 4: Aqua de Jamaica, and at Black American gatherings, and in

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Speaker 4: pop culture it's called red drink. It's a ritual. It

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Speaker 4: is a thirst quencher. Traditionally, if we go back, you know, decades,

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Speaker 4: it would be hibiscus right in West Africa, you see

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Speaker 4: steep hibiscus pods or tea in the Caribbean.

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Speaker 2: As it slave African people arrived in the Americas, that

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Speaker 2: tradition continued, but it took on other forms like strawberries.

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Speaker 4: Creating strawberry lemonade for celebrations. It became a soda, a

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Speaker 4: red pop. So that tradition of steeped hibiscus flower where

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Speaker 4: you can find.

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Speaker 5: All over the world, where not only.

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Speaker 4: Black people but brown people too through the transatlantic slave trade,

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Speaker 4: that blood, that redness, that fearlessness staying in us.

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Speaker 5: And so even now you see the red drink.

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Speaker 4: It may not be in the traditional form, but it's

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Speaker 4: definitely on the table, and it may be spiked with Hennessy, or.

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Speaker 5: It may be spiked with tequila.

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Speaker 4: But you will see the red drink in some form

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Speaker 4: at most, if not all black.

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Speaker 1: So it's so amazing how some of these traditions can

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Speaker 1: last so long. They change, but their root stays the same.

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Speaker 2: Right, And when you say red drink, everybody knows what

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Speaker 2: you're talking about. That's amazing.

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Speaker 1: And my friend Zakia, if you have not had the

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Speaker 1: pleasure of attending one of her cookouts, she has her

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Speaker 1: own very special red drink that she always has to

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Speaker 1: whip out. If I'm coming, this is what I am

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Speaker 1: looking forward to. And we call it Wattley water.

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Speaker 2: Yes, so for adults it might be a drink but

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Speaker 2: a little alcohol. For kids it can be juice. But

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Speaker 2: as Nicole said, it is still a product of your history.

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Speaker 2: I did not know anything about the red drink.

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Speaker 3: Did you guys?

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Speaker 1: Look into your Spotify app right now, and there should

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Speaker 1: be a pole and we want to know which red

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Speaker 1: drinks have you heard of? Thinking about how traditions can

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Speaker 1: change but can still hold a really deep significant that's

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Speaker 1: kind of liberating because it gives you room to experiment

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Speaker 1: and innovate in the kitchen. And that's something that Cold

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Speaker 1: focused on in her book, taking those classics that people

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Speaker 1: love and then making something new and delicious for me.

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Speaker 4: And this cookbook, I decided I would put some very

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Speaker 4: classic things in the book, but maybe.

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Speaker 5: Do it a little bit different.

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Speaker 4: For example, I have this juicy, glorious chicken burger with

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Speaker 4: white cheddar, and it's not that dry burger is like

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Speaker 4: real nice and moist.

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Speaker 5: And why did I do that?

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Speaker 4: I have so many people who come to my gatherings

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Speaker 4: and they're like, I'm not eating red meat.

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Speaker 5: So I got them. I got them.

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Speaker 2: I feel like Nicole has taking us to a Juneteenth party.

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Speaker 2: We've had all different kinds of red drink. She's described

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Speaker 2: an amazing burger. It's time for dessert, Yes, I am ready.

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Speaker 1: And since it's June, Nicole takes us right into ice cream.

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Speaker 5: What is the summer time without ice cream?

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Speaker 4: Particularly a nectarine roasted nectarine Sunday with caramel sauce and

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Speaker 4: a honey vanilla ice cream.

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Speaker 5: I share that in my book.

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Speaker 4: So if you want to wow people with ice cream

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Speaker 4: or a raspberry popsicle, you can do that.

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Speaker 2: Depending on where you are in the country, there might

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Speaker 2: be a Juneteenth festival or parade. But Nicole said that

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Speaker 2: if you don't want to do that and you would

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Speaker 2: rather stay home, you can bring the party to you

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Speaker 2: to your house.

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Speaker 4: I've included a whole chapter dedicated to what I call

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Speaker 4: Americana festival food, like the funnel cake, the golden crispy

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Speaker 4: fonnel cake. Not trying to toot my own horn, but

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Speaker 4: my fonnel cake batter is totally not super sweet. I

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Speaker 4: got my batter just right, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and

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Speaker 4: in this cookbook, I give readers two options for toppings,

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Speaker 4: mango and of course it's a very classic apple topping.

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Speaker 1: Let me tell you something, funnel cake is important to me.

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Speaker 1: That is something that it is very important. I will

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Speaker 1: stop at a fair that I have no intentions on

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Speaker 1: attending for the funnel cake. Wow. It was a fair

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Speaker 1: down the street and I was like, I'm sure they

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Speaker 1: have fun okake.

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Speaker 2: I smell a funnel cake.

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Speaker 1: O cake in the turkey legs. Shoot, I will get

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Speaker 1: a funnel cake in a turkey leg and it's time

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Speaker 1: well spent.

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Speaker 2: Wow. See for me, it's the ice cream. I remember

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Speaker 2: growing up and my grandma making ice cream in this

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Speaker 2: like brown ice cream maker thing, the one you got

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Speaker 2: the crank on the side. Yeah, it was like a

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Speaker 2: special occasion thing. Put the ice in the salt, the

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Speaker 2: ice in the salt. There you go.

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Speaker 4: Hm.

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Speaker 2: Now queensin art is making my ice cream and sometimes briars.

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Speaker 1: Well, let's take a break and when we get back

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Speaker 1: we'll hear more from Nicole A. Taylor about juneteen foods

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Speaker 1: and the place of food in this celebration.

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Speaker 3: We're back.

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Speaker 1: We've been talking to Nicole A. Taylor, cookbook author and

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Speaker 1: master cook about June teen foods, their history, how they

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Speaker 1: connect people and cultures in their place in the juneteen celebration.

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Speaker 2: We've talked about cookouts, potato, salad, red drink, all of it. Okay,

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Speaker 2: ice cream, funnel cakes. You're gonna have to take an

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Speaker 2: antacic at the end of this episode. But more importantly,

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Speaker 2: we've been thinking about how food connects communities and also

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Speaker 2: ties into our personal memories. We wanted to step back

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Speaker 2: and look at foods in Black culture, food that is

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Speaker 2: central and shared.

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Speaker 1: One is watermelon. This is a fruit from the African

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Speaker 1: continent and it's the cousin of the cucumber and pumpkin,

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Speaker 1: among other vegetables. For Nicole, watermelon brings up deep memories

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Speaker 1: of her childhood.

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Speaker 5: That fruit is so much a part of my summertime.

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Speaker 4: I remember going in the grocery store when I was

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Speaker 4: a young girl, and you would see the big brown

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Speaker 4: tubs with the watermelon stack really really high, and I

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Speaker 4: would be begging to grab the watermelon and put it

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Speaker 4: in a buggy. And then we would check out, and

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Speaker 4: I would get in the car and literally I would

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Speaker 4: listen to the watermelon go back and forth on the

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Speaker 4: floorboard of the car. And then you would get home

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Speaker 4: and all day is like when are you gonna cut

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Speaker 4: the watermelon? And my aunts and my mom they didn't

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Speaker 4: want that watermelon juice like all over the house. So

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Speaker 4: they would give us a piece of newspaper and tell

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Speaker 4: us to go outside, the kids go outside and eat

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Speaker 4: the watermelon.

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Speaker 5: That story, to me is just pure joy.

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Speaker 4: It is the story of so many Black people in

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Speaker 4: the American South, so many Black people who live in Oakland,

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Speaker 4: black people who live in Chicago. It's a pretty much

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Speaker 4: universal story about a fruit that really goes all the

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Speaker 4: way back.

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Speaker 5: To the continent to where we're from.

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Speaker 4: There's so many other fruits and vegetables that connect Black

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Speaker 4: people around the world.

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Speaker 2: I love that and it brings up my own memories too,

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Speaker 2: and it's just really amazing. I think about how food

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Speaker 2: is tethering people and communities, like we don't know each other,

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Speaker 2: we're having a similar experience. It's wild.

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Speaker 1: Another food that black community share is sweet potatoes.

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Speaker 4: And I'm not talking about yams, but for real deal

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Speaker 4: sweet potatoes, as Jessica Harris told us, and how on

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Speaker 4: hogs yam is this hairy, very fibrous vegetables. But sweet

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Speaker 4: potatoes is such a part of the African American really

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Speaker 4: the black table, and that's a vegetable A lot of

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Speaker 4: times we don't think about as being a universal thing

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Speaker 4: no matter where you are, from Brazil to West Africa

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Speaker 4: to South Georgia.

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Speaker 2: And this is why conversation about food is so much

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Speaker 2: more than just food. When I reflect on growing up,

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Speaker 2: I don't know that I really thought about the African diaspora.

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Speaker 2: It wasn't that I didn't know these things to be true.

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Speaker 2: It's just I wasn't exposed to different folks from the

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Speaker 2: diaspora as a kid, right, and so everybody I knew

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Speaker 2: it was just Black American Southern culture, that's it. But

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Speaker 2: then I went to college and I started to hear

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Speaker 2: black folks from totally different places talking about some of

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Speaker 2: the same things, both food experience, tradition, and I started

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Speaker 2: to think about these connected experiences around the food and

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Speaker 2: the rituals around it, like, for example, frying fish on Friday.

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Speaker 4: It's the stories behind it, right, It's the story like

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Speaker 4: the newspaper we just talked about, and frying the fish

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Speaker 4: on Friday and even putting to catch the grease you

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Speaker 4: would put newspaper down. So what I think about it

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Speaker 4: is I listen and I laugh. Sometimes I like sit

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Speaker 4: back and go, oh my gosh, it's someone quote taking

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Speaker 4: our food. But I know that beyond the.

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Speaker 5: Food, there is a bigger story.

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Speaker 4: It is attached to a person, it is attached to oftentimes,

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Speaker 4: you know, unpaid labor. It is attached to migration, It

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Speaker 4: is attached to our grandmothers, our mothers, or even our

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Speaker 4: sisters or ourselves.

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Speaker 5: So I know that you can't.

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Speaker 4: Gentrify a cultural food because that means you're taking our stories,

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Speaker 4: and our stories are in us. And I think, like

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Speaker 4: with my cookbook and so many other black cook books

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Speaker 4: on the market, what we're doing is telling the story,

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Speaker 4: reminding people. You may be in love with collar greens

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Speaker 4: or sweet potatoes, maybe in vogue now, but here's the

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Speaker 4: story behind that dish or that food.

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Speaker 1: Wh Nicole talked about here. The connection between stories and

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Speaker 1: food made me think about how holiday experiences are so

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Speaker 1: tightly interwoven with food.

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Speaker 2: And we've been talking about how Juneteenth and how food

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Speaker 2: and Black culture are so intertwined, But how does all

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Speaker 2: of these things fit together. Nicole has thought about this

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Speaker 2: a lot, and I'm sure it was a heavy load

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Speaker 2: on her as the first person to write a book

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Speaker 2: dedicated to June tenth foods. She said, cookbooks have a

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Speaker 2: permanence to them, and she wanted to create a permanent

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Speaker 2: resource for folks to have in their kitchens.

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Speaker 5: It's forever. You can't erase it. If it's online, it's like,

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Speaker 5: oh wait, that website is down.

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Speaker 4: Or when your grandmother write downs her recipe and you

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Speaker 4: pass it.

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Speaker 5: From person to person, or you keep that spiral bound.

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Speaker 4: Community cookbook or church cookbook, you hold on to the memories.

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Speaker 4: And so for black cookbook authors, particularly for myself, documenting

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Speaker 4: Juneteenth and Black celebrations is more more than just me

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Speaker 4: telling my stories.

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Speaker 5: It's something to pass down to my son.

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Speaker 2: Nicole shared with us some of her own food experiences

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Speaker 2: that she wants to pass on to her son and

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Speaker 2: the future generations in her family.

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Speaker 4: I think it's waffles, waffles. I want him to master

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Speaker 4: making a beautiful walk. I want him to own a

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Speaker 4: very nice waffle maker, and I want him to remember

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Speaker 4: how on Saturdays, even if it was a holiday or

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Speaker 4: it was a regular.

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Speaker 5: Saturdays, that I'm in waffles. That is something that is everlasting.

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Speaker 5: Is simple.

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Speaker 4: He can pass that on to his next door neighbors, kids, uncles, nieces, nephews. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: I want him to know the feeling of his mother

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Speaker 4: making him a waffle.

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Speaker 1: When Nicole wants to do showing her son how to

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Speaker 1: make waffles, making them for him, having him pass that on,

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Speaker 1: that shows how sharing food and traditions is just as

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Speaker 1: important as the actual food.

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Speaker 2: It makes me think about like, yes, you enjoy like

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Speaker 2: your grandma's cooking or your auntie who makes really bomb

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Speaker 2: sweet potato pies, but what you may enjoy even more

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Speaker 2: than that is the experience of being there with that

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Speaker 2: person when it's time to break bread or watching them cook,

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Speaker 2: you know, like seeing how they do things.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I actually just had a conversation about this with my

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Speaker 1: uncle because he was asking me if I knew how

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Speaker 1: to make like Joe Off rice and all these things.

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Speaker 1: I was like, m no, not yet. He was like,

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Speaker 1: all these years and you know know how to make it.

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Speaker 1: I was like, part of the experience for me is

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Speaker 1: sitting in the family room and my mom is cutting

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Speaker 1: up onions, blending it up, the sound of the rice

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Speaker 1: pouring into the pot and everything, and then starting to

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Speaker 1: smell it as just her scooping it out and making

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Speaker 1: the perfect portions for each of us. And that's part

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Speaker 1: of it for me, not to say like, oh, my

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Speaker 1: mom has to be cooking for me, but I like it.

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Speaker 1: It feels like so comforting to smell those smells and

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Speaker 1: to hear those sounds it's kind of like bigger than

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Speaker 1: just eating the food and enjoying the food. It's like

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Speaker 1: these traditions, like that's something that I would want to

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Speaker 1: eventually do and something that you know, I feel like

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Speaker 1: is a labor of love for her, and that labor

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Speaker 1: of love once I do learn how to make some

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Speaker 1: of those foods, I can then use that as a

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Speaker 1: labor of love for my friends and my family, and.

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Speaker 2: I think that's so important. I can think about things

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Speaker 2: that I have learned, and then I put my own

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Speaker 2: spin on them, so even though they were passed down

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Speaker 2: to me, maybe I'm changing them in a way. And

440
00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 2: this is something that Nicole talked about because in her

441
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,480
Speaker 2: cookbook there's a lot of innovation. Some of the foods

442
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:13,359
Speaker 2: are classics, but there are also some creative spins on

443
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:14,760
Speaker 2: the classics, and it feels like there should be some

444
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:15,360
Speaker 2: room for that.

445
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:20,159
Speaker 4: When I was researching this cookbook and more so not

446
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:23,439
Speaker 4: even the recipes. Talking to people about juneteen, the folks

447
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 4: who are from Texas, from Galveston, or from other parts

448
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,000
Speaker 4: of the country who've been celebrating Juneteenth twenty and thirty years,

449
00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:33,400
Speaker 4: I asked them that question, what's an essential Juneteenth food.

450
00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,760
Speaker 4: I got a lot of answers Marguerita Hannah. She lives

451
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,360
Speaker 4: in Atlanta, born and raised in Galveston. After talking to her,

452
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:46,120
Speaker 4: she gave me permission to be as creative as possible

453
00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:48,639
Speaker 4: with Juneting. So what she said to me is like, listen,

454
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:52,080
Speaker 4: we always had brisket. She's like, I know this is crazy,

455
00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,440
Speaker 4: but we had gumbo at Juneteenth. She's like, it would

456
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 4: be hot outside, but we would have gumbo. And I

457
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,119
Speaker 4: just remember her saying, you you can have whatever you

458
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 4: want a Juneting that makes you happy, that brings you joy,

459
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:09,920
Speaker 4: that special food, that special thing that you only have a.

460
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:10,840
Speaker 5: Few times a year.

461
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,919
Speaker 4: I wanted to make sure in this book that you

462
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,560
Speaker 4: get the essentials, but you also get something that's that's different,

463
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:25,680
Speaker 4: that are showstoppers. Juneteen is a celebration, So at the

464
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,240
Speaker 4: same time that there are staples, classics, traditions, it's also

465
00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:32,440
Speaker 4: about what the holiday means to you and how you

466
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,639
Speaker 4: want to feel, and that can be reflected in the

467
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,879
Speaker 4: food you make, share and enjoy.

468
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,280
Speaker 2: So at the same time that we carry on these traditions,

469
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:41,960
Speaker 2: we see foods evolving over time, and some of that

470
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:45,359
Speaker 2: may have to do with being more aware about what's nutritional,

471
00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:47,600
Speaker 2: what's healthy. We can reflect back to Lab forty eight,

472
00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 2: where we learned that your protein is only supposed to

473
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,400
Speaker 2: be about the size of a fist, and basically half

474
00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 2: your plate is supposed to be vegetables, and maybe that

475
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:59,040
Speaker 2: does not include potatoes. That potato salad is out. So

476
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,920
Speaker 2: Nicolea's innovative in the kitchen to bring new takes to

477
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:03,960
Speaker 2: traditional Juneteenth foods.

478
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,159
Speaker 4: I think we understand at the root of everything what

479
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,600
Speaker 4: our traditional foods are. Having a big pot of collar

480
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 4: greens with pork fat to season it is a very

481
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,679
Speaker 4: traditional way of how we do greens.

482
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,120
Speaker 5: But I'm happy to say my mom gets it.

483
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 4: Like when she sees me taking collar greens up and

484
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 4: cutting them into really fine strips and putting olive wool in.

485
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,440
Speaker 5: Garlic, She's like, oh, okay, you're doing it the same

486
00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:29,680
Speaker 5: way and it tasts good. What else you got in there?

487
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 1: You see how she did that? Moving from a more

488
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,640
Speaker 1: traditional collar greens, it's something that is a little lighter

489
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,399
Speaker 1: with olive oil. In the cookbook, the Cole pushes the

490
00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:39,840
Speaker 1: envelope even further.

491
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 4: Make a pesto out of all of these leaf and

492
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 4: greens and put it into grains, maybe even a traditionally

493
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:48,760
Speaker 4: African grain like fonyo.

494
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 5: It's still connected.

495
00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,240
Speaker 4: I think we And when I say we, I think

496
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 4: that Black Americans are very much in tune with what

497
00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,960
Speaker 4: our traditional foods are and we are at the point

498
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,800
Speaker 4: we're cool with playing around with them or you know,

499
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 4: putting our own spin to them.

500
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,040
Speaker 2: Of course, some people might need to try new take

501
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,119
Speaker 2: some more traditional foods before they're on board, and the

502
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,200
Speaker 2: cole says, that's okay. The most important thing is keeping

503
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,200
Speaker 2: the stories alive. As you innovate with those foods, somebody's.

504
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:17,960
Speaker 5: Gonna be like, what you just bring to the cookout?

505
00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:19,919
Speaker 5: What did you just bring the Sunday dinner?

506
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:20,840
Speaker 2: You did not?

507
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 4: Just put this in fill in the blank, and we're

508
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,199
Speaker 4: okay with it. And then we're okay with being the

509
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:26,920
Speaker 4: butt of the joke.

510
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 5: And then they taste it and I was like, oh,

511
00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,280
Speaker 5: this is good. Can you bring this again? So I

512
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 5: think that's how we've evolved.

513
00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,040
Speaker 4: We understand that one food, one dish, one fruit, one

514
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,480
Speaker 4: vegetable can have many legs, and we're fine with it

515
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 4: as long as again back to the stories, that we

516
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,800
Speaker 4: keep the stories intact around the fruit of vegetables. That's

517
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:48,800
Speaker 4: the most important thing.

518
00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,719
Speaker 1: Of course, Juneteenth only happens once a year, but you

519
00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,479
Speaker 1: can make meals special every day. I don't know if

520
00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:56,840
Speaker 1: I have the energy to do it every day, but

521
00:27:58,320 --> 00:27:59,959
Speaker 1: the cole says it doesn't have to be hot.

522
00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,120
Speaker 2: That's right. We asked Nicole what she recommended for people

523
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:05,240
Speaker 2: who might not be that confident in the kitchen.

524
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 4: In Watermelon and Redbirds, I have a chapter titled every

525
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:13,199
Speaker 4: Day June tea, every Day June teeth, And one of

526
00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 4: the dishes in that chapter is pretzel pounded chicken.

527
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:20,359
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's amazing.

528
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,879
Speaker 4: It is a chicken breast or thigh pounded very thin

529
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:31,800
Speaker 4: and breaded with pretzels bread crumbs. Before you bread it,

530
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 4: you dip it in fish sauce. That's the secret. That's

531
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,200
Speaker 4: the secret sauce, that's the secret ingredient.

532
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,400
Speaker 5: And a little egg and it's essentially as nitzel.

533
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,080
Speaker 4: Right, But it's so gorgeous and it looks so fancy

534
00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 4: when you have a beautiful plate and you can put a.

535
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,320
Speaker 5: Bed of a arugula or whatever lettuce you like on

536
00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:50,880
Speaker 5: the bottom.

537
00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:52,880
Speaker 4: And if it's the summertime, or if it's not the

538
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,720
Speaker 4: summertime and you want to get some beautiful little tomatoes

539
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,800
Speaker 4: and put on top. Wow, it looks like something you

540
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,080
Speaker 4: would order in a restaurant. I feel like it's the

541
00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:03,920
Speaker 4: perfect weak night meal that doesn't take that long.

542
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:08,080
Speaker 5: And you can make two of them. If you're really.

543
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,280
Speaker 4: Hunger, you can eat one, but you can just cut

544
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,120
Speaker 4: the other one up the next day and have it

545
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,040
Speaker 4: for lunch, put it in a sandwich or put it

546
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 4: in a salad, and you cook them with gas punattended.

547
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,080
Speaker 2: I love thinking about history through food.

548
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,560
Speaker 1: Right, So exploring foods that bring us together on Junet

549
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,520
Speaker 1: shows that we can form a really strong connection, a

550
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 1: connection people share across different countries, cultures, and different environments,

551
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:34,960
Speaker 1: you know, like the red drink, but also foods that

552
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:36,280
Speaker 1: are really specific to.

553
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 3: Like my state.

554
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,120
Speaker 1: So I grew up in Maryland, So for us, at

555
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:45,719
Speaker 1: every cookout, you have to have bushels of crabs, and

556
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,400
Speaker 1: that is just a part of the experience.

557
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, food carries forward traditions in ways that nurture us

558
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:56,000
Speaker 2: and others, so friends and family, and it's kind of

559
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,240
Speaker 2: a living tradition. Even though it's rooted in the past,

560
00:29:58,320 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 2: it's dynamic and constantly.

561
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:02,720
Speaker 1: I think one thing that we've heard multiple times from

562
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,200
Speaker 1: Nicoll is that it's also important to recognize where foods

563
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:07,920
Speaker 1: and recipes come from.

564
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:08,920
Speaker 3: And to respect that.

565
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,960
Speaker 1: I love this episode because you know, no matter if

566
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 1: you're getting together safely with extended family or you're staying

567
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 1: at home and doing something small and intimate, there are

568
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 1: a lot of really great food traditions that you can

569
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:27,080
Speaker 1: do to celebrate Juneteenth or making some new traditions for

570
00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 1: your family to celebrate not just June teenth, but any Holladay.

571
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 2: Yes, that was so beautifully said t Tee. And it

572
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:36,360
Speaker 2: makes me think about some of our traditions and some

573
00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 2: of the things that we share together, and so I

574
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,040
Speaker 2: think we should put some of that stuff on our website,

575
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:44,840
Speaker 2: some of our own recipes to share some of our

576
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,000
Speaker 2: celebration with other folks.

577
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:46,600
Speaker 3: What do you think.

578
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,640
Speaker 1: I think that's a great idea, and we would love

579
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,600
Speaker 1: to get some recipes from all of you. Send it,

580
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,360
Speaker 1: we will make it. I love getting a recipe. My

581
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,040
Speaker 1: friends of kids always send them to me and I

582
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,480
Speaker 1: absolutely make them. So send us your recipes and send

583
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 1: it to us on Instagram or Twitter, or you can

584
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,240
Speaker 1: call and tell us your recipe and we will let

585
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:15,880
Speaker 1: you know how it goes. Our one thing for this

586
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,640
Speaker 1: week is Watermelon and Redbirds, a cookbook for Juneteenth and

587
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,720
Speaker 1: Black celebrations by Nicole A. Taylor. You have to go

588
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,560
Speaker 1: and grab this book. We will have a link to

589
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,640
Speaker 1: the book in our show notes, and as you're cooking

590
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,479
Speaker 1: those recipes, make sure you tag us and Nicole Taylor.

591
00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,000
Speaker 2: That's it for this lab. If you're feeling hungry like me,

592
00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 2: I want to hear about it. If you have a

593
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:46,920
Speaker 2: recipe idea, email it to us at contact at Dope

594
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 2: labpodcast dot com. Call us at two zero two five

595
00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 2: six seven seven zero two eight and tell us what

596
00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,240
Speaker 2: you thought about this lab, or give us an idea

597
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,840
Speaker 2: for a different lab you think we should do this semester. Remember,

598
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,600
Speaker 2: we'd like hearing from you. That's two zero two by

599
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:01,360
Speaker 2: six seven zero two eight.

600
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:04,000
Speaker 1: And don't forget that there is so much more to

601
00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:06,720
Speaker 1: dig into on our website. There'll be a cheat cheap

602
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:10,160
Speaker 1: for today's lab, additional links and resources in the show notes.

603
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:12,680
Speaker 1: Plus you can sign up for our newsletter check it

604
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:16,280
Speaker 1: out at Dope labspodcast dot com. Special thanks to today's

605
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:17,680
Speaker 1: guest expert, Nicole A.

606
00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 3: Taylor.

607
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,840
Speaker 2: You can find and follow her on Twitter at food

608
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,160
Speaker 2: Culturists and you can find all of her delicious recipes

609
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 2: in her cookbook Watermelon and Redbirds available everywhere, and you

610
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,040
Speaker 2: can find us on Twitter and Instagram at Dope Labs podcast.

611
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 2: TT's on Twitter and Instagram at dr Underscore t Sho.

612
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,880
Speaker 1: And you can find Zakia at z said So. Dope

613
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,400
Speaker 1: Labs is a Spotify original production from Mega Owned Media Group.

614
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,920
Speaker 1: Our producers are Jenny Rattlet, mass Lydia Smith and Izzy

615
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,520
Speaker 1: Ross of Wave Runner Studios. Our associate producer from Mega

616
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 1: Ownmedia is Brianna Garrett. Editing in sound design by Rob Smerciak.

617
00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:55,840
Speaker 2: Mixing by Hannes Brown.

618
00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:00,280
Speaker 1: Original music composed and produced by Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sue.

619
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:05,920
Speaker 1: Viewer from Spotify, Executive producer Corinne Gilliard and creative producer

620
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:07,160
Speaker 1: Miguel Contreras.

621
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:12,760
Speaker 2: Special thanks to Shirley Ramos, Jess Brison, Jasmine Afifi, Camu, Elolia,

622
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,840
Speaker 2: Till crack Key and Brian Marquis. Executive producers from Mega

623
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,360
Speaker 2: Oh Media Group All r us T t Show, Dia

624
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:35,080
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