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Cooking With My Nanas, Discover Family, Traditions, and Love In The Kitchen

A culinary celebration of four generations of strong women who were the mavericks of motherhood

By Chamein T CantonPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Cooking with My Nanas, Finding Family, Traditions and Love In The Kitchen

The dawn of the second decade of the twenty-first century began with the hope and excitement attributed to the New Year. However, it became clear early on that this decade was different when covid-19 created a pandemic the likes of which, the world hadn’t seen since 1918.

In times like these, people are looking for comfort, and it can be found in the kitchen with the aromas and tastes of childhood. The term comfort food has less to do with carbohydrates and more to do with love. It's why you want your grandmother's chicken soup when a cold is coming on. It's the aroma of pot roast or apple pie that just make you feel like everything is going to be all right.

For one brief moment, I had four-generations of grandmothers in my life. My Grandma Canton, her mother Sarah Donadelle and her mother, , . I also had Grandma Salley, my maternal grandmother. Having all of them in the world at one time was a blessing that would never happen again. Cooking With My Nanas is my way of honoring them for all they meant to our family and for the amazing food and recipes they passed down to subsequent generations like mine.

Now that we are facing uncertainty in the world, it seems fitting that the recipes my grandmothers made to get their children and grandchildren through Jim Crow, The Spanish flu, The Great Depression, and more seems fitting tribute to them. Instead of food alone, there are the many stories behind the recipes. Some are funny, others are poignant, all of them touch your soul.

If my grandmothers were born in another time, they would have been unstoppable. Nana would have owned and run Michelin Star rated restaurants. Grandma Salley could have taken her love of the writing to create poetry, stories, or maybe been an investigative journalist. Nandy seemed like she could have opened a patisserie with southern favorites and her take on France's croissant. Unfortunately, they were products of their time, when women had little to no rights, and as black women that sword was double-edged. In 1919, when the 19th Amendment was passed, it would be another forty-six years before the Voting Rights Act, too late for Nandy who died in 1963.

That's why gathering recipes and telling their stories was so important to me. The recipes have given me a peek into what their lives were like as black women and mothers who wanted more for their race, and so much more for their children. The food they made had to go farther than just physical sustenance, it fed their souls and spirits. While food was necessary to fuel the family to work, it steadied them to endure Jim Crow, racism, segregation, and the violence that was perpetrated on black people without any justification.

I'm sure that if my grandmothers were here now, they would revel in the achievements and progress African Americans have made, including a black man as President of the United States. Conversely, they'd be appalled that while so much has changed, the lives of black men and women are still at risk for violence, even from law enforcement. As the mother of twin African American sons, I know the uneasy feeling I get in my stomach when my children are out late. When my children were babies, I thought I'd never sleep again. Getting up to change diapers or give a bottle seemed never-ending at the time. Now, what I would give to have the assurance my sons are safe in the crib where I put them. Sleep is still elusive, but for far different reasons. looked forward to them getting older so I could sleep. Then once they were adults, sleep still remained elusive, only for far different reasons.

The Covid-19 pandemic, helped me discover why cooking was so important for my grandmothers. The act of cooking and providing meals to loved ones, allowed them the joy of giving. They may not have had much materially, but what they had to give was priceless then and through many generations.

If there is a way to take the focus from the negativity and division that it rampant throughout this country, it's through the kitchen. Cooking ,baking demonstrates that people are more alike than different. There has been a surge in people seeking to find out more about their ancestry, heritage and where they come. We will get through this new normal it's necessary we come together to get to the other side. People are more alike than different, and all it takes is to use the pan in pandemic to unite us.

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About the Creator

Chamein T Canton

I am a native New Yorker by way of Long Island. My family roots are here in New York, South Carolina, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. I love cooking and writing. My latest project allows me to indulge in both passions.

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