BLACK-EYED PEAS AND HOGHEAD CHEESE

A child learns about her Creole heritage through food in her grandma’s kitchen.

While Frances, a dark-skinned Black girl, helps Grandma prepare black-eyed peas, hoghead cheese, and turnip greens for New Year’s celebrations, she learns about how her enslaved ancestors created dishes from foods that were familiar to them, from foods that were given to them as scraps, from fresh harvests from their gardens, and from fishing. While helping in the kitchen and in the garden, Frances learns how these foods, which are an important part of her family’s tradition, connect them to their ancestors and their history. A second layer of text in boxes on some spreads gives readers a deeper look into the historical significance of events and foods mentioned in the story. Depictions of present-day events are richly saturated, while images of historical scenes have a sepia tint. Armand and Walthall provide a refreshingly loving portrayal of family life during the era of chattel slavery, and the juxtaposition with a modern Black American family offers a healing connection and insight. While the premise feels somewhat didactic, with a thin pretext for all the information that follows, the resulting package is worth the read. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A solid overview of the history of soul food.