Lots to do, more to come, enjoy!
Thanks to Ben Jankewicz and Queen Quet!
Please keep buying FIRSTHAND copies of THE COOKING GENE from HarperCollins, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Sales of firsthand retail copies fund culinary trips to West Africa for people who can’t afford to go on their own dime. So far sales of the Cooking Gene have sent five people to West Africa in two years!! When you buy firsthand it helps authors build the kind of self sufficiency where we can help others. I appreciate you!
Chicken Bone: In place of the zer’oa or lamb shankbone; represents traditional sacrifices and migration from oppression to opportunity during the Great Migration.
Charoset: traditionally fruit, nuts and wine, this is molasses and pecans representing the sugarcane that fueled the beginnings of slavery and the duality of our culture in exile. Though we were in bondage we found things here to help us cope and overcome.
Sweet Potato: in place of the karpas or spring vegetable, traditionally parsley or a potato. Symbolic of using the American environment to perpetuate West and Central African tradition.
Egg: or beitzah, symbol of overcoming oppression, the Supreme Being, spring and cycles of nature.
Collards: Maror, or bitter herbs, to symbolize both the bitterness of enslavement but also how we survived it.
Hot pepper: In place of horseradish or chazeret, a sharper variety of maror meant to give a sense of the sting of the lash. Also, a spice central to West and Central African foodways, proverbially associated with speaking the truth.
Hoecake or Ashcake: made of corn, the closest analogue to matzah, the flatbread of slavery and yet the first food in freedom. This corn cake simply prepared was the hardtack of enslavement in colonial and Antebellum America. (kitniyot is forbidden for strict Ashkenazi Jews, Matzah may be substituted.)
Orange: modern symbol for including those who are often excluded from the forefront of religious communities or spiritual practice, from women in leadership to sexual minorities to the poor or differently abled. The orange symbolizes the flavor and sweetness inclusion brings us all.
Afroculinaria 
Wow! That seder plate is both beautiful and thought-provoking.
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Hi Michael. Just here to inform you that the comment from fionamanonn is actually an artificial comment for promotional purpose of a catering website. You can see it by the profile picture and name that redirect to the website “mlcaterers dot com” and by the comment’s content which strongly seems computer generated.
PS : By the way now that I’m here I should mention that I really believe you are a great guy and should absolutely continue what you are doing in your life to the fullest. Shalom !
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That looks wonderful and interesting. Unfortunately, even with glasses I can’t read the labels. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please also include them as text for those of us with visual impairment or just senior eyes? Thank you.
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That looks wonderful and interesting. Unfortunately, even with glasses I can’t read the labels. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please also include them as text for those of us with visual impairment or just senior eyes? Thank you.
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Great post . !! Interesting .
I am glad to know about american sedar plate.
It was great to know such an information.
Thanks for posting !!
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Wow! This information and related matls, books are new to me. I got here vis-vis article in the NYT, 4/6/22, “A Seat at The Table” (Seder). I’ve known the parallel histories; now I better appreciate.
The info will help me I give a brief description/explanation of Pesach to students in my college classes. 2 students will talk about meaning of Easter. Last week students talked about Ramadan. All in the spirit of Diversity and Inclusion. Respect and Acceptance. Beautiful. Thanks.
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This is a deeply meaningful addition to our Seder. Thank you. Shalom
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I enjoyed reading this article and sharing it with family and friends. In past Seders that I had attended, I incorporated these traditions. I didn’t expect that some of my Ashkenazi Jewish friends would neither place nor accept hoe cakes, made with corn, on Seder plates. Other friends were more welcoming to new African (American) customs. Showcasing both customs is very meaningful to me in the Passover experience.
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