The sporadic spring temperatures here in D.C., 90 degrees one day and 60 degrees the next, put me in such a mood.  While I pride myself on cooking largely from scratch,  as a single mom who works full time, I can appreciate short cuts in the kitchen.  On this particular day, I wanted to make soup in the 22 minutes before my daughters got home.  So I opened the pantry in search of some soup that my neighbor Che Che had given me weeks before.  I found two cans of Trader Joe’s wholesome, vegan, and BLAND split pea soup.  In my house of four hungry people, I needed to doctor and stretch these 28.2 ozs of bland split pea soup.  To doctor them, I broke out the cutting board and grabbed some garlic and small onions, also compliments of Che Che.  I decided to use a dried, smoked jalapeno, aka a chipotle pepper, to give the soup that smokey flavor that would normally come from ham.  In addition to the sweet potato, I thought, what would compliment the heat?  It occured to me, something sweet.  I cut an apple in half, peeled and coarsely chopped it, but I did not discard the peel.  Instead, finely chopped apple peel served as the garnish for this super flavorful soup.  I added a little more salt to taste and a little agave to round out the flavor.  In about 20 minutes flat, the soup had simmered to perfection, just in time for a text from my daughters saying, “We’re here.”

Ingredients

1/2 cup of water

one medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/3 cup onion, coarsely chopped

half of an apple, peeled and coarsely chopped  (Keep the peel.)

half of a dried chipotle pepper, pounded (less if you are not a fan of spicy)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Two 14.1 oz cans of Trader Joe’s Organic Split Pea Soup

another 1/2 cup of water

1 teaspoon agave nectar

Directions  

Add 1/2 cup of water along with a metal steamer basket to a medium pot with a tightly fitting lid.  While the water comes to a boil, peel and cube the medium sweet potato.  Add the potato cubes to the steamer basket, replace the lid, and allow to steam until tender.

In another medium pot, gently heat 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the chopped garlic, onions, and apple.  Pound half of a chipotle pepper and add it to the pot and cook until fragrant.  Add the salt and stir the mixture well.  Add the cubed sweet potato and stir some more.  Add the cans of soup.  Using half a cup of water, rinse the residue from both cans and add this water to the soup.  Lastly, stir in the agave.  Let simmer on medium high heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy in a beautiful bowl with your favorite bread or crackers!

A cookbook author and food editor for The Washington Post once advised me, “When you write a blogpost include a recipe.  Give your followers something to try to keep them coming back.”  Therein began the great challenge turned stumbling block.  I not only had to write what I really wanted to write–posts that told a food story–I now had to document what I was doing in the kitchen and make it understandable and followable for my readers.  “And write at least once a week,” he said.  And with that, he delivered several tall orders that I’ve been trying to fill, to some extent, for the past couple of years only to find myself feeling stifled and sometimes downright blocked in terms of writing.  So I’ve chosen to reconnect with my original intention for this blog, which was to create a space to write freely about food, a sacred space where critics are not allowed, not the Post food critic and, most of all, not the critic I’ve learned to be by way of grad school and a career as a humanities teacher.

I cook all the time, and, I go through periods where I cook lots of dishes that I’ve never tried before.   So much of what I do in the kitchen is improvisational, done without a recipe in front of me, informed by what my taste buds’ prior experiences tell me is in a dish, informed by the mood that I’m in, for something sweet, for something tangy or for something spicy.  When I start with a recipe, especially one that was not mine to begin with, I tend to veer off and make it my own to the point where I can’t remember exactly what I did, and so “inspired by” is the most accurate thing I can say about it.  So, for the time being, I’ll suspend that food editor’s advice and find my way back to my personal food journey and maybe readers will trust themselves enough to improvise some deliciousness of their own.

For spring break I spent time with my dear friend Kevin in Harlem, New York.  I love Kevin because, in addition to being an amazing human being, we vibe about all things creative and cultural, from music to film to food to literature and have been doing so since the early 90′s.  He is a literary scholar, professor and musician, and on the morning that I was to leave New York, he shared lots of music with me, including over 17 hours of Coltrane. 

Ellington and Coltrane are “In a Sentimental Mood” that pulls me out of a slump that has lasted over 93 days. . .

As an artist whose medium happens to be food, I sometimes ponder what I have in common with other artists.  I am no Coltrane connoiseur, but I imagine that he and I need one major thing in common to function, create and thrive–Freedom.  Freedom to contemplate, experiment and create without prescriptions, boundaries, critical voices, worry or concern about what has worked, what might not work, or what hasn’t worked in the past.  Freedom to imagine a dish, try a note, add a spice, rearrange a rhythm, and add a substitution without fear or judgment.  Freedom to create chaos and create again from that.

“Love Thy Neighbor” Coltrane commands. . .

On the night that Yetunde and I arrive by Boltbus at New York’s Madison Square Gardens, there are train delays, and another rider tells us we can take this other train that lands us several blocks away from Kevin’s place.  Kevin walks several blocks to meet us at the McDonald’s where we sit for warmth.  We walk back to his house with roller suitcases realizing we’ve packed way too much and dressed a little bit too cute for the comfort that New York demands.  As we walk and converse, Kevin calls his daughter and tells her to put some rice on.  I realize he’s going to cook dinner for us.  Considering our vacation budget and remembering his culinary skills, this is a welcomed surprise.

Moments after we reach Kevin’s brownstone, we settle in and commence to cooking.  My contribution to the meal is chopping onion, garlic, and squash to which Kevin adds chickpeas, a scotch bonnet pepper, and other spices to create a delicious curry that we enjoy over perfectly cooked rice.  I enjoy seconds that evening and leftovers the next day, which were even better because the curry had more time to meld.  “I will be making this when I get back to D.C.,” I tell him.

After spring break, I meet one of my bestest girlfriends, Lawanda, at Banana Leaves near Dupont Circle.  Though I’ve been to this restaurant several times since I discovered it in December, I suggest we have an appetizer that I’ve never had before.   We choose the traditional Malaysian-Indian pancakes served with a spicy curry potato sauce, in which I detect coconut milk, lime and of course curry.  It was so delicious I wanted to go back the very next day for more, but with this appetizer, Kevin’s dish, and my budget in mind, I go to Safeway and get ingredients for my own curry.

I get home, rest, fall into a semi-coma while watching Lincoln, watch men’s final four action, and then decide I want to create something delicious.

At about 9:43 p.m., I begin by cooking two cups of brown rice in 5 cups of water with a few dashes of salt.  I chop up 8 cloves of garlic, grate about a teaspoon of fresh ginger root, and chop a whole onion.  Aggravated that I can’t find the white potatoes that I could have sworn I bought earlier at the grocery story, I peel and slice a large sweet potato instead.  I have two carrots that I need to use, and today I bought fresh string beans that I’d  planned to make szechuan style, but fresh string beans in curry will be nice too.

I take out a big pot with a tight fitting lid and coat the bottom of it with canola oil.  I heat the oil gently and add the chopped garlic, chopped onion, and grated ginger root.  I chop a stalk of lemongrass and slit a green, skinny hot pepper and add them too.  I add a teaspoon of tumeric, 2 teaspoons of cumin, and a few dashes of cardamom.  I heat this until the onion is softened and add a can of coconut milk.  I fill the can about half way with water, rinse, and pour it into the pot.  I add salt to taste and a tablespoon of agave to round out the flavor.  I add the fresh juice of a lime for a nice tangy twist.  I taste the sauce to make sure it is just the way I like it, and it is.  I add the sweet potato because it will take the longest to get tender and let it cook on medium heat with a tightly fitting lid for about 6 minutes, I add the chickpeas, carrots, and string beans and let cook another 6 minutes or so.  I add two freshly chopped tomatoes and about a 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro and cook on medium high heat for about 5 more minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.

The curry turns out delicious.  Since it’s late I let it sit on the stove overnight.  My neighbor Che Che calls me bright and early the next morning and offers me food that she’s afraid will go bad while she’s out of town for two weeks.  I get dressed and quickly go over.  I leave her home with two bags filled with some of my favorite things, pistachios, red, yellow, and green peppers, garlic, wild rice and more and deliver them to my kitchen.  I go for a long walk around the Anacostia River to clear my mind.  When I get home, I reheat the curry while drinking lemonade and eating a few dates that have gotten stale.  I sampled a spoonful of curry behind the dates and was reminded of just how much I love the taste of hot and spicy with a burst of sweetness. So I chopped up six dates and added them to the curry along with a little more sea salt.

I took my neighbor CheChe some because I knew she was probably so busy preparing to go out of town and so busy cleaning out the fridge that she had not eaten.  She happened to be outside.  She opened the container, smelled it, and thanked me.  Less than 10 minutes later she had posted the ultimate compliment, a picture of the dish along with the status,  “I love my neighbors and living next to a vegan chef. . .”  About 5 minutes after I read this, my doorbell rang, and it was CheChe at my door with an empty container asking for more. 

Coltrane’s Ascension Edition II is cooking without a recipe.  Chaos, passion, intensity.  Memory of the deep cultural kind. Like my great great grandfather knew food and, while I never knew him, I now do through the perfect combination at the bottom of this here pot.  A discovery that could not be made by way of a documented recipe.

On the day of the taping, I arrived at the Fairfax Public Access station around 11 a.m. .  Jorge showed me around the studio and into the production room, where I got a behind- -the-scenes glimpse.  I met volunteers who had everything so under control that I immediately felt calmer.  I had spent the evening before reviewing the benefits of the various ingredients I’d be using, and my biggest fear was that I’d forget them all once the cameras started rolling.  Then, Jorge asked a magical question,  “Do you have any thing else you’d like to appear on the teleprompter?”.  Then, he showed me a computer and how to load information, and just like that, more of my fears were alleviated.

Soon after helping me transfer facts about dates and sweet potatoes to the teleprompter, the host Gina and I found ourselves in a conversation about the politics of food (on which I imagine I could write a whole volume of essays) namely the need to come up with diverse arguments for diverse communities on why (more of) a plant based diet is a lifestyle choice worth making.  She and I shared viewpoints that broadened each others perspectives, views that found their way into the interview but not necessarily into the final, edited version of the show.

Then, Gina showed me the studio kitchen.  It was neat, clean, and, somewhat sterile.  Of course, I would have preferred cooking in my own kitchen where I put itunes on random, burn essential oils, measure directly out of sugar and flour canisters into mixing bowls and pots, act as a musician improvising dishes based on vibrations and intimate knowledge of herbs, spices, and textures. . .where I cook in bare feet or holey socks while talking on the phone or yelling at kids.  But here on the show, I was dressed up, with nice shoes on, and each of the ingredients was measured into nice glass bowls on an otherwise empty kitchen island.

The first part of the show was me demonstrating how to make my vegan sweet potato pie.  I chose to share this recipe because it is a more life-affirming rendition of one of my favorite traditional Thanksgiving desserts.  Preparing it allowed me to present healthful substitutions and cooking techniques that can easily become part of a more plant based lifestyle.  Most of all, this pie is easy to make and simply delicious.

The second part of the taping was the sit-down interview over the prepared sweet potato pie.  Among other things, Gina and I discussed my personal vegan journey, substitutions that make a vegan lifestyle easy to maintain, and compelling arguments for becoming vegan.  By 4 p.m., we’d completed the interview, put the studio kitchen back together, and swapped contact information.

A few weeks later, Jorge emailed the schedule for the airing of the show, which I couldn’t wait to share with family, friends and associates via facebook, twitter, email, texts, phone, etc.  I’ve been too nervous to actually watch the show myself, but I get excited every time I hear, “guess who I saw cooking on T.V. this morning?”. . .”You looked great”. . . “You sounded like you knew what you were talking about.”  Deep down I hope lots of people watch, like my childhood best friend whose head I would talk off while preparing meals before my parents got home, my 5th grade teacher from Woodstock, or some famous food editor, cookbook publisher, or executive from the Food Network. . . my students, sisters, and, most of all, my grandmother down in Memphis.  When she sees the show, she’ll likely call me up and say something like, “Now what did you do to my sweet potato pie?” followed by something like, “Your mother would be so proud of you” and, with that, remind me where my vegan journey actually began.

See the blog post Vegan Sweet Potato Pie Recipe for more.

I was an engineering major set to co-op at Dupont in LaPlace, a city about 30 minutes from Lutcher, a small town of five, maybe ten, stop lights, one grocery store, and one post office.  My lovely, generous hosts were the Clark family, Ronald, Diane, Tiayya and Dexter.  Their home was a new one on a street with other new houses.  Having no sidewalk was the only thing that their street had in common with the surrounding streets, which were lined with homes that were older and, for the most part, smaller, than the Clarkes’.  I remember that families in Lutcher seemed close.  Diane’s older sister Jackie and her family lived less than five houses away, and their baby sister, Cynthia, and her family lived on the other side of the street but a little further down.  Their elderly parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, lived one street over from their three daughters.

That summer was marked by Jesse Jackson’s run for president, a crush I had on a handsome, chocolate boy named Corey, and a soundtrack mostly by Al B. Sure, Keith Sweat, and Bobby Brown, whom the 17 year-old music critic in me considered the best male vocalists of all time.

I gained some weight that summer, too, because of all the good eatin’ I did.  Diane prepared  dinner for us almost everyday, which meant I didn’t exactly learn to prepare the food that I grew to love, delicious fare like shrimp po’ boy sandwiches, crab boils, crawfish etoufee, jambalaya, and gumbo.

**********

In memory of the Clarkes and the summer of 1988, I came up with a vegan gumbo recipe. I recently made a pot, and my family devoured the whole thing in one day.  The ultimate compliment!  I made another pot a few days later and shared it with my colleagues, family friends who just happened to be in the neighborhood, and with the crew of Healthy Food Happy You at the conclusion of a recent taping I was a part of.  Days later, Keri, a member of the crew, requested the recipe so here it is.

Vita’s Vegan Gumbo

• 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large yellow, red, or green bell pepper
• 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1 dried chipotle pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 1-3 teaspoons of agave or raw sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 8 – 12 springs fresh thyme
• 2 carrots, cut in half long ways and then sliced
• 1 15oz can garbanzo beans
• 1 package of Tofurky Sausage (Sweet Italian with Tomato and Basil) sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 ½ to 3 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups okra, sliced ¼ inch thick

Brown Rice

• 16 oz package of brown rice
• Follow directions on the package

Directions

First, get the rice going according to package instructions.

Roux, a mixture of fat, usually butter, and flour, is the foundation of many French, and by extension, Cajun and Creole dishes.  For my vegan version of gumbo, I use olive oil.  While the ratio of fat to flour is usually 1 to 1 in traditional roux, I used a little less fat than flour.

In a large pot that has a tight fitting lid, gently heat the oil; then, add the flour.  Thoroughly stir the flour into the oil.  Heat for 5 minutes.

Add coarsely chopped onion, garlic, paprika, and salt.  While constantly stirring, heat for another 5 minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes, agave nectar, crumbled chipotle pepper, thyme, and bay leaves.  Stir to make sure there are no lumps of flour.  Cover the pot with the lid and cook the mixture for 8 to 10 minutes until mixture thickens.  Add bell pepper, beans, carrots and sliced tofurky sausage.  Heat for another 5 minutes.  Slowly add 2 ½ cups of water and continue stirring to avoid clumping. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, cover with lid, bring to a boil, and simmer for 25 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more water.  If it is too thin, let it cook longer with the lid off.  When mixture is “done,” stir in the sliced okra, replace the lid, turn off the heat, let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.  By adding the okra to the end of a dish, you prevent the okra from becoming slimy.  The okra will also retain more of its color and tenderness.  If desired, add more salt to taste.

Serving Suggestion:  In a large bowl, put a scoop of rice and top it with the desired amount of gumbo.

bowl of Vita’s Vegan Gumbo

By 8:11 all six of the chairs at my dining room table were filled with beautiful, strong, brilliant, hilarious women who also happen to be homeschoolers, educators, holistic practitioners, chefs, wives, ex-wives, wives-for-the-second-time-around, and proud mamas of talented visual artists, musicians, dancers, athletes, and future scientists.

“I really need(ed) some girlfriend time,” a few of us expressed at different points in the evening.  Two women were dealing with the recent loss of their mothers while another learned on the very day of our gathering that one of her favorite aunts had been diagnosed with stage four cancer.  Over the course of a few hours, we shared challenges and talked about everything from menfolk to raising teenagers to racial and educational disparities to Gabby Douglas and Olympic history.

My new neice, a yorkie poo named Diamond, joined us around the table while five children, including my own two daughters, were banished to the basement with pizza, fruit kabobs, lemonade, and video games.  As for the ladies, we sipped on mango lemonade, lavender lemonade, plain lemonade and white wine and dined on falafel brought in a beautiful bowl with lettuce and plum tomatoes at the center, hummus with flaxseed, tortilla chips, fruit kabobs of strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes, and watermelon, and my very own vegan bruschetta.

Though impromptu, our spirit-led happy hour was all it needed to be for the ladies who came out–relaxing, affirming, and delicious.

Vita’s Vegan Bruschetta

Materials

cutting board

knife

large spoon

medium glass bowl

saucer

griddle or skillet

Ingredients

Topping

3 Tablespoons olive oil

3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large garlic clove finely chopped

1 teaspoon agave nectar

3 large tomatoes (For added color, I used two red tomatoes and one orange one.)

¼ of a large red onion, coarsely chopped (That’s a little bigger than finely.)

¾ cup kalamata olives, pitted and cut in half

¼ cup capers

2 Tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

sea salt and black pepper to taste                   

Bread

2 baguettes

more olive oil

Directions

In the glass bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, agave, and chopped garlic.  With the exception of the sea salt and pepper, add the remaining topping ingredients to the bowl and, using a large spoon, gently and thoroughly turn and mix the ingredients.  Add the sea salt and pepper to taste.  Let the mixture sit while you prepare the bread.

Slice the baguettes into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.  Pour a thin layer of olive oil onto a saucer, lightly coat one side of each baguette slice with olive oil, and then place the olive oil side down on a hot griddle or skillet to lightly toast.  Then, turn the slices over to toast a little bit on the other side.

On a large wooden cutting board or platter, place the slices of bread with the toasted side up, and spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice or allow your guests to top their bread themselves.

Enjoy!

My birthday party, Hibiscus, Honey and Jazz, was amazing.  It was all I wanted it to be.  There were some very special guests like my sister Dawn who traveled all the way from Los Angeles to lend a hand and celebrate, my dear friend and godmother of my daughters, Linda, who I’ve known since my undergraduate days at University of Tennessee, and Alise, one of my other dear friends and housemates from grad school at University of Maryland.  Ms. Brooks, my 5^th grade teacher from back home in Memphis, Tennessee was there in spirit through her brother, Willie and nephew, Melvin Stephen.  Then, there was one of my former students who just graduated from high school, a talented trumpeteer who I knew would appreciate the live jazz provided by the Reginald Cyntje Group.  And enjoy is what he, his parents, and the rest of the crowd did.

The gathering reflected how diverse my community has become in the decades since I left Memphis, a southern city made up of mainly black people from Memphis and white people from Memphis.  Africa and the diaspora shaped my birthday festivities in so many expressive ways.  My girl Nancy, who hails from Ghana, West Africa, delivered a beautiful hosta to me at the party.  My Liberian friend, Vera, came with a warm spirit and her sweetheart Steve.  Vera and I met years ago when she was telling a story, and she gave my daughters her CD,  Stories Under the Table, which she’s been sharing with young people all over the D.C. metropolitan area.  My South African friend, Nicole, who is like an Aunt to my daughters, came out with her beau, Joe.  Haiti was in the place by way of my colleague and friend Mary and one of my sister Ashley’s best friends, Yamiche.  My Trinidadian artist-and-neighbor-friend, Earl, graced us with his presence just one week before his annual, all-white Caribbean fete, which attracts over 300 people to his home right here in Historic Anacostia.  My dear friend Gennet, who is Jamaican by way of Toronto, Canada, custom made my hibiscus dress by way of her company Maven and helped me feel amazing in the process.  And let me not forget the night’s lead trombonist, Reginald Cyntje, whose Dominican and Virgin Island roots, with the help of the band, created a musical vibration that welcomed invited guests and lured uninvited ones.

A steady stream of uninvited guests made their way into the gallery thinking that the party was part of the Lumen 8 Finale, a neighborhood wide festival of lights, music, and art.  Some I did know from the neighborhood, others were total strangers, but that didn’t stop them from having one, two and even three plates of food, a little somethin’ to drink, and maybe even some dessert.

Some total strangers made the evening extra special.

Tamika Love Jones, a neo-soul vocalist and frequent performer at the Thursday Vibe Sessions at Tendani Art Place, brought fans of her own to join our celebration and shared the gift of song.   We can’t wait to see more of her at The Carter Barron on July 13th on the same neo-soul program as Yahzarah and Deborah Bond.

At some point in the evening, the five piece band that was hired for my party suddenly became a seven piece band when a random older man dressed in jeans and a polo shirt appeared out-of-no-where with not one, but two tambourines, and stood close enough to the band for people to wonder, Is he part of the band? and  dressed differently enough for people to wonder, Is he part of the band?  He rhythmically fit in, so much so that no one ever asked him to sit down or to leave.  In fact he felt so at home that he took a break when the band took a break, ate when they ate, and resumed playing when they started a new set.

Days after the party, I inquired, “Who was the older man with the tambourines?”

“The Tambourine Man? Dat nigga walk in every event wit tambourines!. . .MLK Superstar.”

“MLK Superstar? That’s the Tambourine Man’s name?  Is he homeless? Mentally ill? Or just exuberant?”

“Naw, he owns a convenient store. . .”

Minus The Tambourine Man, The Reginald Cyntje Group was made up of Reginald Cyntje on lead trombone, Herman Burney, Jr. on upright bass, Nasar Abadey on drums, Pete Muldoon on guitar, and Christie Dashiell on vocals.  With the exception of Reginald, I had not officially met the band members before my party.  I learned more about them while mingling with my guests.

“Is that the girl from Afro Blue?.  That is her,” my friend Jason observed.  “I’m going to my car to get my CD and have her sign it.”

I later learned that Christie was one of the lead vocalists for Afro Blue, an acapella group from Howard University who made it to the finale of the show The Sing Off.  A lot of viewers felt so strongly that Afro Blue should have won that, for them, the show lost credibility when the group didn’t walk away with the grand prize.

Obviously, uninvited and unwelcome are two very different things.  Much of what happened at my party was planned for, but many other things were not planned for.  Together these elements made for a most memorable celebration.

*******

Shout out to my sister and co-event planner/project manager, Carla Sapp.  I came up with the theme and the idea to have a party with a jazz band in a gallery in my neighborhood, and she handled the details.  She measured the space, decided what Tendani had that we could use and what furniture we needed to create a lounge atmosphere.  She cleaned, arranged, and decorated the place with such attention to detail that even the bathroom had a table with candles and a basket of napkins on it.  Did I mention she’s also a stylist?  She and my sister Dawn helped me choose shoes and accessories for my special evening so that mommy and teacher were among the last words that came to mind when guests saw me.

Carla also helped me realize that cooking myself would be too much and turned me on to Pimento Grill, a Jamaican eatery right in southeast D.C. that ultimately catered the party.  Since Jamaica is the Spanish word for Hibiscus, this restaurant fit right into the theme of the party.  The owner Gary listened to me and together we came up with a menu of jerk shrimp skewers, jerk chicken skewers, vegetable stew roti, spinach patties, rasta pasta, virgin and spiked cucumber ginger juice, virgin and spiked sorrel, mango mousse cake, chocolate mousse cake, and rum cake.  Yummy!

Shout out to Ellis, our dear family friend, who cleaned the gallery and assembled our lounge furniture just hours before the party started.  His intoxication, I mean exuberance, made the gallery feel full at the beginning of the party when the crowd was just building.  Thank you to all the guests who, over the course of the evening, kept welcoming Ellis back into the party when, unbeknownst to them, Ellis’ exuberance had gotten him sent out of the party.

Shout out to my artist-extraordinaire-daughter, Yetunde, who seems to be a master of all things visually creative.  She did my make up.  She’s been studying youtube videos on applying makeup and investing in various makeup and tools.  She’s been practicing on herself and only the day before my party did I realize she really knows what she is doing.  While I was looking for shoes in the mall, she was in Sephora making up her face.  She did such a good job that we thought someone in the store had made up her face.  So when she begged to do my make up for the party, I gave in.  (Now if you thought I looked like a clown, ignore this whole paragraph.)

Shout out to Gennet Purcell, the beautiful lady who designed and made my birthday dress.  I admire her so much because she left her day job as an attorney and founded Maven, a designer dress company. At least once in a lifetime, a woman should have a dress made especially for her.  This was my once in a lifetime moment, and I felt incredible.

Shout out to the Reginald Cyntje Group for the jazz and Caribbean music that kept the party all the way live and that drew strangers from the other Lumen 8 Anacostia venues into Tendani Art Place.  The crowd enjoyed and appreciated you all.

Shout out to the band’s vocalist Christie Dashiell.  Hearing her mellow, mature scat brought to mind jazz greats like Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald.  Check Christie out on lead vocals with Afro Blue singing Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come.

Shout out to Tendani for allowing us to use Tendani Art Place for this event.  Because of your openness, we’ve been able to explore what is artistically possible for our vibrant community of Historic Anacostia.

Shout out to my sisters Dawn and Ashley and my daughter Niara, for lending a hand where ever needed and, even more, for unconditional love and support.

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday celebration a very special one.  To those who came out and those who were there in spirit, Bless You!!

Shout out to the Creator for making these and all other blessings possible!

Click here for photos of the festivities!  If you have photos to add to the album, let me know!

a delicious slice of vegan sweet potato pie

Sweet potato pie is one of my all time favorite desserts that I grew up eating in Memphis, Tennessee.  On my vegan journey, though, I’ve rarely made it.

Then, recently I was asked to make five pies for the graduation reception at my school.  Even though I haven’t had much experience making vegan sweet potato pies and even though I am super busy with end of the year activities, the job somehow got done.

I started by reviewing two recipes, one for vegan pumpkin pie and the other for vegan sweet potato pie.  Looking at multiple versions of recipes is part of my cooking process.  I’m looking to see if the ingredients will be simple and easy to find.  I’m also looking to see how much time the recipe will take and if there are simple ways to create short cuts.  Furthermore, I look for recipes that I might be able to modify easily.  I found such a recipe on The Witchy Kitchen Blog.

The listed ingredients seemed simple and easy to find, with the exception of the vegan yogurt, which I don’t typically see at chain grocery stores like the Giant near my home.  For the yogurt, I substituted Mori Nu firm silken tofu, which I almost always see in the produce section of regular supermarkets.

The pie crust from The Witchy Kitchen sounded absolutely delicious but called for pecans and peanut butter.  Because I work in a school environment among kids with severe nut allergies, I omitted the nuts all together and modified the recipe so much so that it became my own.

Because I relied on my food processor, the filling and crust were super fast and easy to make.  The filling was fast because I peeled, sliced and then steamed the potatoes rather than baked them.  The crust was easy because the food processor did the hard work and, rather than roll the dough, I simply pressed it evenly into the pans.  I assembled the pies, baked them, let them cool overnight, had a slice for breakfast, and enjoyed the delicious results.

Try the recipe for yourself and let me know how yours turns out.

Vegan Sweet Potato Pie

Pie Filling

2 Organic Sweet Potatoes (to yield 1 1/2 Cups cooked sweet potato)

3/4 Cup Sugar in the Raw

2 Tbsp. Corn Starch

steamed sweet potato

3/4 Tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

1 Tsp. Vanilla

3/4 Cup Rice, Soy or Almond Milk, such as Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk

12.3 Oz Mori Nu Firm Silkened Tofu

Vita’s Vegan Pie Crust

1 1/2 Cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

vegan, gluten-free crusts made with oats and dates

8 Dates (with the pits removed)

3 Tbsp. Canola Oil

3 Tbsp. Ice Water

Dash of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a steamer basket in the bottom of a large pot.  Add water enough to touch the bottom of the steamer basket.  Cover the pot with a tightly fitting lid.  On high heat, bring the water to a  boil.  As the water comes to a boil, peel the potatoes and cut into thick slices.  Place the slices on the steamer basket and replace the lid.  Be careful not to let the water boil dry and, if necessary, feel free to add more water.

Crust. While the potatoes are steaming, prepare the crust.  Add oats to the food processor and pulse until the oats resemble course corn meal.  Add dates (with pits removed) and pulse until oats and dates are thoroughly mixed.  Add oil, water, and salt and pulse for another 30 seconds.

Coat a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray.  Transfer the mixture from the food processor to the pie plate and, using your very clean hands, evenly press the mixture over the entire pie plate.

Filling. Rinse the food processor and use it to make the pie filling.  Add all of the filling ingredients to the food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth.  Add the mixture to the crust and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 50 – 55 minutes.  Allow to cool for at least 3 hours.

Enjoy!

a Zen landscape from my vision board

What I really want as a gift for my upcoming birthday is a lush, Zen landscape around my home.  For years now, I’ve been admiring and clipping beautifully landscaped yards of all kinds.  Recently, I dedicated three vision boards to just our yard; most of the pictures are of Zen landscapes.  In exploring Buddhism with 6^th graders in our World Religion and Geography class, I’ve had to look more closely at concepts like Zen, which has many fascinating interpretations.  In the article “What is Zen?” by Derek Lin, the author states that in addition to its literal meaning of meditation, Zen also means “being aware of your oneness with the world and everything in it, being free of the distractions and illusory conflicts of the material world; experiencing fully the present and delighting in the basic miracle of life itself, and being in the flow of the universe.”  Zen encompasses a lot of who I am becoming and what I am creating in my physical surroundings.

two beautiful hibiscus flowers

In my soon-to-be-manifested Zen oasis, I see ferns, hostas, bamboo, ornamental grasses, stone, slate, wood and water.  I witness the beauty of white peonies and lilies and inhale their perfumes.  In my Zen landscape as in the herb garden that we planted a few years ago, I nurture culinary, healing bushes like hibiscus, which one of my West Indian friends once described to me as being to Jamaicans what garlic is to the Chinese.  In fact, hibiscus, the Spanish word for Jamaica, is not only a beautiful flower, but is also used medicinally to alleviate everything from respiratory issues to hypertension and even weight loss.  My daughters and I make hibiscus tea to ward off coughs and colds but most often simply to enjoy.  I want hibiscus and other beautiful, healing things that we actually use to be throughout our Zen garden.

As gifts for my upcoming birthday, some guests purchase gift certificates from Meadow Farms, one of my favorite nurseries.  Others pass on abundance from their gardens to mine, including pots, plants, heirloom seeds and more.  As a thank you, my kids and I find rocks in our current yard and paint on them the names of those who co-created our Zen garden.  These rocks become part of the décor of the yard.

We welcome neighbors, friends and family into our new haven, where we enjoy living, playing and just BEING.  By this time next year, we are ready to have our very first  Zen Oasis Party where guests savor delicious life-affirming food, enjoy live music, and authentically connect with one another.

In this way, we express our gratitude for a gift that, as long as we nurture it, keeps on giving to us.

Read more about the celebration itself at Hibiscus Honey and Jazz: Levita’s Very Special Birthday Bash.

*****

When they hear my birthday plans, some people ask, “Is this a big birthday?”  Like every birthday you live to see ain’t a big ass birthday.

Sometimes I share, “Yes.  I’m turning the age that my mother was when she transitioned.”  Preoccupation with my own mortality has subsided.  I’m HERE still standing and much taller at that — healthy despite a breast cancer scare, wide-open to love though I am divorced, and committed to a Divinely-inspired and purposeful path despite what have seemed like detours.  Grateful.  Humbled. And Blessed.

*****

At Hibiscus Honey and Jazz, as in my dream café, I am surrounded by good energy, the kind that transforms.  My sisters Carla and Shawnette help me plan and implement my vision for the gathering.  My daughter Niara lends ideas and helps me prep food.  My daughter Yetunde, a talented photographer and artist, documents the affair. My sisters–Ashley who lives nearby and Dawn, who will travel from California—bring love, support and finishing touches.  Childhood and college friends journey from the places they now call home.  Neighbors, new friends, poet friends, scholar friends and more help bring my dream cafe to life.

Learn more about Levita’s birthday wish at A Zen Landscape, The Perfect Birthday Gift.

So I made a U-turn and made my way back home, where I had all of the ingredients needed to make a delicious meal of barbecue tofu pita pockets and baked fries.

I started with my absolute favorite variety of potato, The Yukon Gold (Sounds like a professional basketball team, don’t it?).  I love this potato for its smooth texture and subtle, buttery flavor, and today I’m loving it even more because I have to cut up just one.  Did I mention the kids are away?

I preheated the oven to 450 degrees, sprayed a thin coating of cooking spray on a baking sheet large enough so that the fries would not touch each other.  I cut the potato into the size fries that I desired and put them in a medium glass bowl.  I generously sprinkled the fries with garlic powder and onion powder, then added a little cayenne pepper, and topped them off with some sea salt.  Next, I took a large spoon and whirled around the seasoned fries.  Lastly, I drizzled some olive oil over the fries and whirled them around again.  The point was to evenly coat the fries with both the seasonings and the oil.

baked, seasoned fries

I then poured the fries onto the cooking sheet and spread them so that the sides were not touching.  I put the cooking sheet in the oven and baked the fries for about 10 minutes, checked them for desired tenderness, and added 5 more minutes of baking time.  They came out golden, crispy and delicious.

As for the barbecue tofu, I used a recipe of mine that appeared in the article “Vegan Soul Grows in Anacostia” from The Washington Post.  The recipe also appears below with links to some key ingredients.

During the last five minutes of the fries baking, I wrapped pita bread in foil and added it to the oven.  Once the pita was hot, I cut it in half, lined each half with red leaf lettuce, added some sauce from the tofu on top of the lettuce, put chunks of barbecue tofu in the pita pocket, and topped it with some fresh, chopped red onion.

barbecue tofu pita pockets with baked fries

I put the fries and barbeque tofu pita pockets on a plate and started eating like the kids were going to walk in at any moment, then slowed down and savored the bites like a mom who realized her darling children would not be back for at least another 24 hours. . .