sylviawonglewis@gmail.com, Author at Narrative Network

Afro-Vegan cooking

Posted on February 20, 2017February 21, 2017 by sylviawonglewis@gmail.com

For Black History Month this year, I focused on Diaspora Afro-vegan cooking. Since adopting a plant-based diet, I was happy to discover that vegan versions of my favorite West African dishes – Groundnut Stew and Suya— can be delicious and satisfying. These are quick and easy recipes perfect for lunch or dinner. Everything you will need is probably there in your pantry. African staples such as rice, yams, pumpkin, black eye peas, peppers, peanut butter, and ginger are probably in your kitchen too.

Background: Groundnut is a common African word for peanut. Groundnut stew or groundnut chop is one of many chop dishes in West Africa. For instance, there is also palm oil chop, made with palm nuts. While it’s still February and cool outside, this creamy, peppery, nutty veggie stew will surely warm you up!

Suya is a poplar West African shish kebab treat sold by street vendors in many African countries. Traditionally, beef or goat strips are seasoned with spicy, peppery seasonings, threaded on skewers and grilled outdoors. Street vendor chefs in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroons create their own unique Suya spice mix. The specific peppers, oil, and the way peanuts are prepared is based on regional traditions and techniques.

These basic Diaspora Afro-Vegan recipes are packed with flavor, moderate heat, and have lots of soul. Enjoy!

AfroVegan food — ***Vegan Groundnut Stew***

Diaspora Afro-Vegan Groundnut Stew

(Serves 4-6, prep-10 min.; cook-25 min. Total-35 min.)

Ingredients

2 yams (medium), peeled, cubed

1 Kabocha pumpkin/squash-peeled, cubed

3 small carrots-peeled, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 ½ tablespoon, ginger, fresh, peeled, minced

½ cup of grape tomatoes

1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, 28 ounce

1-cup vegetable broth

1 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper, kept whole.

1-cup black eye peas (frozen)

½ cup peanuts, roasted, unsalted

5-tablespoons peanut butter, creamy, unsweetened

1-teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon paprika

Sea salt, pinch

2 tablespoons canola oil

(Note: Almonds and almond butter can be substituted for peanuts and peanut butter.)

Preparation

Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, bell pepper in oil for 7 minutes. Add cumin, cayenne, paprika, mix and cook, 1 minute. Add yam, pumpkin, black eye peas, mix and cook 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes, peanut butter, and peanuts, mix all ingredients together, cover, and bring to boil. Add whole Scotch Bonnet or Habanero pepper, and cover halfway. Reduce to simmer for 25 minutes. You may substitute other vegetables and beans. For instance, I use this same recipe to cook Caribbean vegetables such as calabaza (Jamaican pumpkin), yautia, batata and pinto beans. Some cooks add collards or other greens. Adjust sauce thickness with extra broth and nut butter. Stir to desired creaminess. Serve in a bowl with brown rice-quinoa blend, other vegetable side dishes.

Diaspora Suya Spice Mix

Ingredients (serves 4-6, prep 5-10 min.)

1 cup peanuts, roast, unsalted

1-tablespoon coriander seeds

1-tablespoon cumin seeds

1-teaspoon whole Allspice berries (also called pimenta)

1-teaspoon chili red pepper flakes

1-teaspoon cayenne pepper

1-tablespoon ground ginger

1-teaspoon paprika

Sea salt, pinch

Preparation: Toss whole seed spices into small skillet, heat on medium until you smell fragrance, about 1-min. Remove from heat. Let cool for a minute. Pour spices into a paper towel, fold to contain all items, pound into a powder with a mug. Bam, bam bam, done! A coffee grinder is very effective too. I separate the nuts from spices. Buzz small batches for 10 seconds. Done. A pestle and mortar is the best way to grind these ingredients. This method takes about 10 minutes. After grinding the nuts, add to ground spice powder. Store mix in glass jar. Total time- 5-10 minutes.

Suya Spiced Veggies

Ingredients (Serves 4-6, cook time-approx. 30 min.)

Peel and cut 2 parsnips, 1 yam, 2 large carrots, ½ pumpkin; 10 Brussels sprouts cut in half; 1 bell peppers, 1 onion. Cut all into bite-sized pieces; 3 tablespoons Canola oil.

Preparation: Place bite-sized veggie pieces into large bowl, drizzle oil, hand mix. Add 1-2 tablespoons of Suya spice mix to veggies, mix about 2 minutes. Cover cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place seasoned veggies on baking sheet. Roast in pre-heated 350 degrees oven, 30 minutes. You may use any vegetables you like. For kebabs, parboil chunky, starchy veggies. Soak bamboo skewers in water before using. Grill kebabs 30 minutes on hot grill. Serve with rice or as a main course winter salad.

For more Afro-vegan recipes check chef Bryant Terry recipes, click here.

For a Ghanaian vegan Suya kebab recipe, click here.

For Nigerian vegan recipes, click here.

What Afro-vegan dishes do you make?

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Affirmations for positivity

Posted on December 2, 2016December 6, 2016 by sylviawonglewis@gmail.com

Affirmations for positive vibrations are needed now more than ever. Holiday blues and post-election woes have gotten us down. Rude and racist people are coming out of their closets. I noticed that my snap back timing has been off. When someone was rude to me, I was stunned. I didn’t have a quick comeback. It took me a moment to regroup.

Snap back: Recently, at an event for small business owners and an art exhibit launch, an angry woman with cornrowed bangs stood over me, pointed a finger and snapped. She was rude and racist. “How could you side with those immigrants when your own sisters can barely survive? They are working for minimum wage at Mickey Ds trying to raise a family with four kids. And you want the immigrants to get more?” Where did that come from, I thought.

I was seated with two other black women having wine and cheese. During small talk, the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel closing and layoffs came up. Miss Angry Lady, who was not part of our conversation but standing nearby, chimed in: “I’m glad they got fired! Those immigrant washroom workers were paid $25 an hour. They will get $130,000 severance pay! I’m glad Trump got elected. He helped a lot of black people, especially rappers like P. Diddy become rich and successful!”

So, I said something lame like: “Oh wow, that’s not right!” She shot back at me: “Oh, you must be one of those Spanish-speaking types!” I shot back: “What does that matter?” She snapped: “You know, I’m tired of bitches like you. Kiss my black ass!” She walked away.

I was stunned. I looked to my companions. They consoled me. “Girl, don’t worry about her. We should have warned you. She’s kind of cre-cre.”

As a native New Yorker, my radar for crazy people is finely tuned. But the atmosphere of the elegant Municipal Building art galley and the wine must have put me at ease.

Angry lady was lucky she got me. Had she run into my sister, it would have been a different story. There would have been a rumble. My baby sister, who is twice my size, inherited the family’s drama genes. She has a short fuse and relishes a public street scene. When we were kids, I used to threaten playmates with her: “Don’t let me call my ‘Karate Ca-razy’ sister on you!

Razor’s Edge: When I got home, I didn’t tell my husband. I was too upset. Over dinner the next day I told him. He chuckled and knowingly shook his head. “Everybody’s on razor’s edge since the election,” he said. In his 80-plus years on this earth he said he has seen his own share of angry black women. “It’s not myth! It’s truth. Black women have every right and good reasons to be angry,” he said.

Angry black women: Check out insightful counseling segments about angry black women with TV host Iyanla Vanzant. “A white woman’s emotional reactions, regardless of how outlandish or inappropriate, are perceived differently than those of black women. When white women express their emotional state, it is perceived as a “bad hair day” or perhaps, a hormonal imbalance.” Click here to read more.

Furthermore, some black women proudly own their ‘angry black woman’ journey. “Because I was in 8th grade the first time I was called an Oreo and told that I “wasn’t really black” like it was a compliment.” To read more, click here.

Affirmations can help and heal. Here are a few of my favorites from the Happy Black Woman site:

I choose to radiate love, joy & gratitude today. I know life is too short to dwell on negativity. I walk in the light!
I am calm in the face of conflict. I brush annoyances off quickly & easily. I agree to disagree. I am bigger than that! Click here for more affirmations.

Do you have positive affirmations? Please share.

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Witness, memory, autumn

Posted on October 4, 2016 by sylviawonglewis@gmail.com

Witness and memory captures that sweet time between summer and winter called autumn. ‘Witness’ and ‘memory’ are also theme words used in an essay about the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture #NMAAHC. Poet Elizabeth Alexander’s piece Can I Get a Witness justified nicely why we need a place to recall our collective memory. Click here to read the full essay.

I was honored to attend the recent museum opening events, September 21-25, 2016 in Washington DC. At every entry point, the museum is filled with our ancestor’s precious objects, lost & found American history, and prideful moments.

Witnessing the museum was a sacred experience. It brought back nostalgia for the March on Washington. The museum opening was a giant black family reunion. Streets were blocked as busloads of excited folks arrived from Deep South places like Alabama and Tennessee.

For sure, many white and other ethnic cousins were there too! No other museum in the world can boast this kind of gathering of ‘beloved people,’ as Congressman John Lewis called us in his welcoming remarks. This is by far the best place to experience the meaning of multi-generational and multi-cultural. The displays above and below ground moved from slavery to freedom. Expect to witness people of all ages and backgrounds go from tears to joy during the course of a visit. Then, there was soul food. The cafe alone proves why there would be no America without us black folks!

Autumn was THE perfect time to launch THIS museum. It gave everyone a jolt – that this is a new day, a new season. I invite everyone to go. Wear comfortable shoes. Click here for information.

Besides museum and gallery visits, autumn is a time to re-join swimming class at the YMCA. I’m in the kitchen more these days too. I’m inventing smoothie drinks with my new Vitamix blender. I’m also having fun making noodles out of root veggies with a new kitchen gadget.

Here is an excerpt to some my other autumn reflections, posted last year.

“Do you have Autumn rituals? I do. It’s about accepting change in mind, body and soul. Nature changes with each new season. So must we. I believe that we all follow seasonal rituals whether conscious or unconscious that were passed down or learned along the way. I wonder what could be in an autumn ‘tool kit’? What do we need to do to open our hearts for this new season? What do you do to indulge your senses with sights, sounds, and scents of Autumn?” Click here to read more.

How do you do autumn?

Liberty, Juneteenth

Posted on June 28, 2016 by sylviawonglewis@gmail.com

Liberty was a transcendent theme this year for my combined Fourth of July – Juneteenth post. I celebrated Juneteenth at a rally to save an abolitionist house in New York City. I rarely paired these two current holidays. Yet, they are so connected.

With Friends of the Hopper-Gibbons House, historians, and preservationists, we gathered to honor abolitionism and Juneteenth. The house is New York City’s only Underground Railroad site, where enslaved people were sheltered. This was a place where black and white abolitionists sat at the table together to plot and plan their joint mission. The Emancipation Proclamation was also celebrated there. Most importantly, the house is a monument to the 1863 Draft Riots that tore NYC apart regarding the Civil War. Many free black New Yorkers were lynched and attacked, and white abolitionists feared for their lives. The rooftop of this special building and its neighboring row houses provided an escape route from the angry mob. Hopper-Gibbons House is located at 339 West 29^th street between 8^th and 9^th avenues.

Click here for the Chelsea Now article about our activism to save this building. You can also see a photo of me placing patriotic flag buntings on the illegal scaffolds in front of the building. Click here for more news coverage in The Villager.

Liberty and Juneteenth: The more I learn about Juneteenth, the more I see its relevance to Independence Day, from different perspectives, of course. Colonial America sought liberty from Great Britain’s tyranny; enslaved Black folks sought freedom from racist, genocidal, colonized Americans.

Juneteenth for all: Do you think of Juneteenth as a black holiday? Here is one author’s take on why everyone should celebrate it: “We should care because the very fabric of our society depends on our shared religion of inalienable rights. A celebration of freedom for any American is a celebration of the ideals that make our country what it is today. American identity emerged from shared faith in the transcendental ideal of liberty, not from shared blood. Therefore, any celebration of American freedom is a celebration for us all. Juneteenth is about liberty not about race.” To read more, click here.

As a national holiday: Some people believe that Juneteenth should be a national holiday. “There’s just no way around it: There was an irreconcilable clash between the colonists’ war of independence and the freedom of African Americans. Historian Gerald Horne even casts the colonists’ secession as a counterrevolution against the erratic progress of the British Empire to limit slavery. In Brooklyn, New York’s own piece of the Deep South that was roughly one-third slaves, the British army liberated slaves and stationed them in their former masters’ houses. Which side was the revolutionary one? “ To read more, click here.

Freedom, resistance, empowerment: Isabel Wilkerson’s book The Warmth of Other Suns covered Juneteenth’s relevance to the Great Black Migration, an epic freedom, resistance, and empowerment movement: “Juneteenth has been a state holiday in Texas since 1980, and has long been celebrated in California, where many Texans journeyed during the Great Migration. Now, a total of 42 states and the District of Columbia recognize it as a state holiday or special day of observance. Celebrations now often include parades, storytelling, barbecue and red soda pop, prayer and recognition of the elders. The building from which General Granger read the Proclamation all those years late is now a historic landmark. In honor of the last enslaved Americans to be set free.” To read more about the author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, click here.

First black culture holiday: I wrote about Juneteenth from a race and culture perspective. Here’s an excerpt from my post last year: “Juneteenth is our first African American holiday. But it almost did not happen. The word Juneteenth is colloquial phrasing for an approximate June date when enslaved African Americans in Texas learned that they were free. June 19, 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth, also known in Texas as Emancipation Day. But like many black folks, I knew nothing about it growing up in New York. I learned about Juneteenth as an adult while living in Oakland during the eighties.” To read more click here.

Should Juneteenth become a national holiday?

Finding Sojourner and Elizabeth

Posted on March 16, 2016March 23, 2016 by sylviawonglewis@gmail.com

Finding Sojourner Truth’s former residence at 74 Canal Street in New York City’s Chinatown was a fun find. She was a domestic worker and attended churches on John, Duane, and Church streets. The noted feminist also worked at a women’s shelter on Bowery, according to NY Historical Society records.

In honor of Women’s History month I chose to focus on two of my favorite New York women—Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Jennings. The more I learned about these women the more I asked myself– Where are their biopics? And who would play them? The world needs their stories! As a Lower Manhattan resident, I feel proud that this community was once New York’s original black community. This is holy ground! The African Burial ground is nearby too. As a genealogist, I’m always digging in local archives and strolling through the neighborhood in search of African American and women’s history.

Queen of reinvention

Sojourner would have been the queen of reinvention had she lived today! Born a slave in 1797 in upstate New York, Isabella Baumfree was the twelfth child of her enslaved parents James and Betsey. She went on to become America’s most famous abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Most of her siblings had been sold away by their Dutch enslavers. Like her father, she was over 6 feet tall. ‘Baumfree’ is a Low Dutch word for ‘tall tree.’ Sojourner, known as Belle, actually ‘freed’ herself at 32 years old. Friendly with local Quakers who abhorred slavery, Sojourner used her networking skills to move herself and one of her four babies to New York City in 1829. She lived in NYC fourteen years. But in 1843, at 46 years old, she got a ‘call from God’ to ‘go east.’ She woke up and reinvented herself again. She boarded a ferry to Connecticut, changed her name to Sojourner and became a traveling preacher. She also lived in Northampton, Massachusetts for many years. Sojourner finally moved to Michigan where she joined family members. Over a thousand people attended Sojourner’s funeral when she died at 86 years old.

You can view Sojourner’s famous image on display at the Met- NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The photo that she sold to earn money for her many human rights causes is emblazoned with her words: “I sell the shadow to support the substance.” To see the image, click here.

To learn more about Sojourner’s life in Ulster County, New York, click here

Surprisingly, both Sojourner and Elizabeth Jennings had famous public transit court cases 100 years before Rosa Parks was born!

Sojourner books to read

I picked two Sojourner books to read during Women’s History Month: A children’s book–Who Was Sojourner Truth? By Yona Zeldis McDonough, Penguin Young Readers Series and an adult book– Narratives of Sojourner Truth with ‘Book of Life’ and ‘A Memorial Chapter’ with an Introduction and Notes by Imani Perry; George Stade, Consulting Editorial Director, Barnes & Noble Classics, New York.

Sojourner dictated her ‘Narratives’ to feminist, abolitionist friend Olive Gilbert in 1850, whom she paid a fee for her services. This book was not an easy read as Gilbert inserted a lot of interpretive language. But it is full of amazing details. Sojourner explained why the horrific ‘unnatural’ acts that happened during her life in slavery are left out of her book. She crafted her own story and also kept a scrap book full of letters and news clippings, some of which is included in this “Narrative’ in a section called ‘Book of Life.’

Be surprised by lessor known facts

You will learn some differences between New York and Southern slavery. Mostly, you will be surprised by lesser known facts. For instance, I was shocked to learn that Sojourner was illiterate. Yet, her books, speeches, photo, and autograph were her bread and butter! Colorful details from her successful court cases and her dramatic and comedic testimonies would surely make an exciting film. Another surprising fact was that Dutch was her first language and that she spoke with a Dutch accent. The backstories to Sojourner’s famous quotes — “Ain’t I a Woman” and “What women want” are inspiring too.

Elizabeth Jennings

There are no books on Elizabeth Jennings. I learned about her during a Harlem church sermon. Elizabeth’s background was the opposite of Sojourner. Yet, their missions were the same. Both women were courageous and outrageous in their own way!

Jennings was rich, educated and born free during a time when most black folks were enslaved, illiterate and impoverished. Jennings is fairly known from her public transit court case. Although there is a street named for her in Lower Manhattan, few of my feminist colleagues have heard of Elizabeth Jennings.

*Elizabeth Jennings Place, New York City*

Her wealthy father was apparently the ‘tailor to the stars’ and on the Board of the original Abyssinian Baptist Church. Close friends of Frederick Douglass, her parents were friends of successful white and colored entrepreneurs, politicians, skilled tradesmen and women and abolitionists. We rarely hear about New York’s earliest colored settlers and abolitionists like the Jennings. Mr. Jennings held a patent for renovating clothing and operated a very successful shop on Church Street. Elizabeth was privileged, educated, trained in music and worked as a teacher at a school for colored children.

Here’s an excerpt from my blog post archives about Elizabeth Jennings:

About 100 years before Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Jennings refused to get off a horse-drawn streetcar in New York. Think of Miss Jennings as a ‘Rosa Parks’ with a New York attitude. Not only did the 24 year-old teacher and church organist refuse to get off the horse-drawn streetcar, but she fought the driver, conductor and policeman, reminded them of her rights, sued them and the transit company and won! To reach more, click here.

The most comprehensive source for information on Elizabeth Jennings is John H. Hewitt’s article, “The Search for Elizabeth Jennings, Heroine of a Sunday Afternoon in New York City,” which was published in the journal New York History, vol. 71, no. 4 (October 1990).

John Eastman’s reference book Who Lived Where: A Biographical Guide to Homes and Museums (New York: Facts on File, 1983), gives the following New York City places of residence for Sojourner Truth:

73 Nassau Street (1829-30)
177 Duane Street (1830-31)
Fourth Street, Franklin Street, Third Street (1830s)

Interestingly, he doesn’t mention Canal Street. The 74 Canal Street is included in this sketch of Truth included in MAAP: Mapping the African-American Past, a project of Teacher’s College at Columbia University.

Who are your favorite women who should be honored for Women’s History Month? Whose biopic would you like to see?