Women’s History Month: Angel Food Wisdom

By Sidonie Maroon, Culinary Educator of the Food Co-op

Life Lessons

My Grandma, Winnie A. Dennis Wilson, born February 29, 1916, gave me cooking lessons every weekend of my ninth year. I cooked beside her throughout my childhood, and as those we hold dear, I keep her always in my thoughts.

The landscape of my kitchen has changed. Gone are the days of frying chicken in Crisco, baking biscuits with white flour, peeling potatoes, or making milk gravy. Yet, I still cherish her Oklahoma hospitality and how she infused meals with grace.

Angel Food Cake

My first cooking lesson was to make an angel food cake from scratch, and she meant from scratch. I whipped twelve egg whites into frothy peaks with a hand whisk until my arms ached. I can still hear her Southern drawl — “If you can make angel food cake from scratch darling, you can do anything.” and I believed her. There was always a magical element to Grandma, she was one smart cookie.

Kitchens Have Changed

Grandma wouldn’t recognize many ingredients in my pantry, spice shelves, or fridge. My Granddad grew a garden, but they didn’t eat the same vegetables I buy. Besides ingredients, the way I cook would be foreign. She cooked the food of her culture, although she delighted in an occasional Chinese dish.

Every day, she made a big farmhouse meal at noon, that was dinner, with a light supper around six. For breakfast, we had scrambled eggs, bacon, white toast, margarine, oatmeal and tea. Life centered around black tea, never coffee, and lots of homemade peanut butter fudge and oatmeal cookies. I cook a broader range of dishes, with more attention to nutrition, and use different techniques and appliances. My kitchen and cooking has evolved, but sometimes I still long for the mingled smell of lemon JOY and bacon.

Legacy Lives

My Grandma used more boxes and cans than I do. She delighted in convenience foods as a break from her toil. “Life gets tegious,” she’d say. She made the same things well and never felt the need for variety. Yet, she cooked from the garden, in season, preserved fruit, made jelly, canned tomatoes, and was known for her wine jelly made with Granddad’s elderberry wine. I learned the soft ball stage of candy making by rolling boiled sugar around a tea saucer filled with water. Despite changes in ingredients and techniques, our underlying values remain the same, and her artistry and legacy live on in my kitchen.

Winnie’s Wisdom 

Connect everything to a family story—The table is for gathering, because it’s where we pass on our culture—Make it a special place, a memorable place, set it with soul and grace, Food carries heritage, remember who your people are, and honor them. Art and beauty are important. Watch birds and deer from the kitchen table.

Dinner is about more than eating. It’s about relationships, the long haul, labor and love. It’s not always fun, but it’s up to you to set the tone—Repeat simple things that work—Make easy meals that look like a big deal; Don’t give away all your secrets—Good food is made using tried-and-true methods—Flavor doesn’t lie; No one can take your skills away, so build them, educate yourself. Hone mastery, resilience, self-reliance, and believe that anything can be done through effort and dedication.

North African Beans and Greens Stew

Makes 2 quarts

Easy

The plan for this stew is to cook the chickpeas, either on the stovetop, or in the Instant Pot. Roast veggies in the oven with the olive oil, garlic and spices mixed in. Strain the beans, and return the bean broth to the pot, or Instant Pot and cook until soft. Finish by combining the chickpeas, broth, kale, roasted veggies, edamame, sweet corn, tomato paste and lemon juice together. Taste and correct for acid and salt. Serve the parsley at the table with fresh bread and a whipped spread made with 1/4 cup sheep feta, 2 T butter and 2 T olive oil. 

Chickpeas

1 ½ cups dry chickpeas, soaked overnight if using the stovetop method

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 cups water

1 bunch kale, finely chopped, including stems

Sheet Pan

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced

1 medium sweet potato, chopped

2 ribs celery, diced

3 large cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Harissa Spice Mix

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

¾ teaspoon caraway seed

1 teaspoon sea salt

¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Finishing

1 cup frozen edamame beans

1 cup frozen sweet corn

¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped

4 tablespoons tomato paste

¼ cup lemon juice, or more

Chickpeas Instant Pot: Add beans to the pot, salt, and water. Set for 45 minutes at high pressure with a natural release. Strain the beans. Pour the bean broth back into the pot. Add the chopped kale and set to high pressure for 3 minutes with an instant release. 

Chickpeas stovetop: Soak the beans overnight. Add them to a large pot with fresh water and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a rolling boil, boil for ten minutes, skimming off any foam, reduce to a medium simmer, cover with an ajar lid and cook until done, about 45 minutes to 90 minutes. Strain the beans and return the broth to the pot. Add the kale and cook at a simmer until soft, about 10 minutes.

Sheet Pan: Preheat the oven to 425 F. Ready a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Prep the veggies. Add the whole spices to a spice grinder and grind into a rough powder. Mix the olive oil and garlic together. Massage the olive oil/garlic and spice blend into the veggies and roast for 35 to 40 minutes. Stir several times.

Finish by adding the chickpeas, kale, broth, roasted veggies, edamame, corn, tomato paste, and lemon juice together. Taste and add more salt or acid if needed. Heat as much stew as you will serve,and refrigerate the rest. 

Sturdy Greens Make Amazing Salads

This hearty salad features blanched sturdy greens like chard, kale and collards tossed with a bright vinaigrette and mix-ins. Blanching the greens briefly softens them while still keeping them crisp-tender. The result is a satisfying salad that can stand alone as a light summer meal or pair well with roasted potatoes and egg salad.

1 large bunch chard, kale or collards chopped

1 large slicing tomato, chopped

½ cup frozen or fresh corn

1/2 cup roasted pistachios

1/2 cup black olives

Olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the chard, kale and collard greens and blanch for 4 minutes until the greens are bright green and slightly softened.

Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the greens to a colander and rinse briefly with cold water. Squeeze out as much excess water from the greens as possible. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add the tomatoes, corn, pistachios, olives, vinegar, olive oil, red pepper flakes and salt. Toss to combine.

Rice and Toasted Toovar Dal Khichari with Mixed Vegetables

1 cup white jasmine rice

1 1/3 cup yellow split peas

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup butter or ghee

3 teaspoons sea salt or to taste

1 tablespoon vinegar

7 1/2 cups filtered water

Spices

For masala paste

1 cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves

6 green cardamom pods

2 inch knob of peeled ginger

5 garlic cloves

Added separately

4 teaspoons toasted cumin

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons turmeric

Vegetables

2 large onions cut into a small dice

2 medium carrots cut into small dice

2 cups chopped green cabbage

1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

1 1/2 cups drained diced tomato

2 tablespoons green chilies

Directions

Dry toast yellow split peas on low heat until golden red

about 10-15 minutes

In a small pot cover toasted yellow split peas with fresh water by

2 inches. Bring to boil then turn to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and let it stand for 4 hours.

 Make the wet masala

Grind cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods together in a spice grinder and then sift to make a powder

Peel ginger, make a paste from chopped ginger and garlic (I use a small food processor or spice grinder )

Mix wet and dry spices together and set it aside

Dry toast whole cumin on low heat until it turns a darker color and smells toasty, set aside.

Wash and rinse rice until clear and set aside

Melt butter in a large sauté pan and sauté onions on medium high heat about 15 minutes,

Add carrots, cook for another 10 minutes, add raisins,  diced tomato, add turmeric, bay leaf and green chilies. Add wet masala and cook for another 3 minutes on medium low heat . Add toasted whole cumin.

 In a large soup pot add rice, yellow split peas, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, onion masala mixture and water.

Bring up to a boil then lower heat to simmer and cook for approximately 20 minutes. With the lid on but not tight, stir every few minutes so the bottom doesn't stick

Add the onion mixture and stir in

Add green cabbage 10 minutes before Khichari is done. Add green peas at the last moment.

Khichari is done when the yellow split peas are soft and the rice has melted somewhat into the background. Take off heat and add the remaining salt  to taste, add 1 tablespoon vinegar, correct to taste.

Sunny Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

Salad

4 cups grated carrots

2 sectioned Cara Navels, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 stalks celery, finely diced

½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

½ cup sliced dates

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

(Maldon flaked salt at the table as needed)    

Dressing

⅔ cup avocado oil

⅓ cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger finely minced

¼ teaspoon powdered turmeric

Directions

For the salad: mix the grated carrots, celery, and dates together in a large low salad bowl. Grind the black pepper and fennel together and mix in. Lay the sectioned fruit on top in a sunburst design.

Serve the dressing at the table alongside the salad.

For the dressing: In a food processor, pulse the ginger and garlic together into a paste. Add and process the lemon juice, zest, mustard, turmeric and salt. While the machine is running, slowly add the oil until emulsified.