A JUneteenth Feast

 JUneteenth is a relatively newly celebrated holiday so traditional foods  are yet to be established. The one thing they have to be is red to symbolize the joyous day that Texas slaves heard the announcement of freedom. Foods and taste can vary with the day but they should be delicious and mindful of the past.

Renown chef and new contributor Millie Pear tree wrote about the holiday as well as giving some excellent recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section. JUneteenth foods vary . KIva Willliams has food with pops of red such as barbecued ribs and watermelon.Sometimes food from her past, like fried fish,coleslaw  and even spaghetti are served.The red foods symbolize the resilience and the ingenuity of the enslaved who found out about Emancipation Proclamation two years after it was passed.For others such as second generation Congloese French KarenTshimanaga it means more. The Parish raised American celebrated only after the tragic murder of George Floyd. She and her friends have a West African potluck where they eat dibi -Senegalese grilled lamb and attiekea  -a slightly sour cassava couscous. There is always a good meat strew served over rice too. Ms. Peartree;s recipes could easily be included i n any family cookbook,They are light and bright for the season along with being fresh and joyous.

She offers a roasted shrimp jambalaya, full of not only shrimp but also andouille sausage - you can use kielbasa too along with the holy trinity of Cajun cooking, celery ,peppers and onions There's also hot sauce and Creole seasoning to zing it up along with garlic and Worcester sauce. This would be perfect on its' own but there is also garlicky chicken sandwiches with red coleslaw.Chicken thighs are cooked with a variety of spices along with garlic to give it a rich flavor. Garlic is inserted into the chicken thighs along with more being smashed up into a paste with the chicken juices from the pan. The slaw is a simple one made with red cabbage and an apple cider based vinaigrette. Celery salt is added to it for more taste. The side is crispy okra with a spicy honey sauce.Okra is fried until its' crispy and served with a sauce made up of Scotch Bonnet Chile, garlic, ginger and honey. The okra is dipped in this and then dusted with mustard powder and a squeeze of lemon.Of course there is dessert and it is strawberry pretzel bars. This is a layered bar with pretzels graham crackers and butter being baked in a crust. A filling of cream cheese blended with heavy cream , vanilla and confectioner's sugar make up the Middle the topping is a mix of strawberry jam and fresh strawberries.Ms Peartree also includes a strawberry ginger limeade that is easy to make.

Juneteenth is about tradition. It's also about eating food that symbolizes resilience and ingenuity. It is a time of feasting but also about recollection