"Far More Love Than Money"

In the 1960s when the term 'soul food' was coined, the reference was as broad as the culture that it was used to describe. The term described the food of any black person who cooked during the era of slavery. The exact definition of soul food is hard to track down, but it was best described by Chef Rick McDaniel as "the cuisine born when you have far more love than money."
 The term is very fitting. The food that came from a time of violent, horrible oppression was food of pure emotion. When you were given scraps of food, leftovers and small allotments by your owner, making due and pure survival was all you had.
I am definitely not an expert of the times of slavery. We all went to school and learned the basics. But I don't think anyone alive in the US today truly understands the brutality, necessity and pure resilience of the black culture of that era. But we can show appreciation to that strength and resiliency through a look at the soul food of today.
The rest of the month of February will be dedicated to appreciating the culture, the family and the food of the black community. A series of soul food recipes will be featured and even a few testimonies from some very amazing people will be shared. It is a time to remember the fight and struggle of so many years ago. But it is also a time to reflect on how much further we still have to go.
Join me in celebrating Black History Month.