Page 6 Portland Observer April 10. 1980 New Epglapd: Freedorp Fipdip’& Food Fixip’ By P. Elizabeth Wilson f o r K ra ft, Inc. Black people helped settle New England, and p articip a ted in the American Revolution. Blacks also in­ fluenced the cooking heritage o f New England. Among the people contracted for Ins recipes was Thomas Allen. Mr. Allen has been a chef, baker and caterer o f international cuisine. For some 20 years he has been cooking and baking. More recently he has been instructing young adults, ages 16 to 22, in the art o f cooking. One o f the delectable dishes he prepared for our visit was filet o f sole. When asked how he kept it so hot he imparted this philosophy, "m ake the people wait on the food, not the food on the people.” And it was certainly worth the wait! Casseroles are a style o f cuisine for which New England is famous. And to complete his buffet in the "proper Bostonian” way, M r. Allen included a yam, corn and custard casserole. C oconut, a popular ingredient o f Caribbean influence, sweetens this delicious dish and adds both a texture and fla v o r com plem ent to the vegetables. This casserole is a prime example o f how to m ix cu lin a ry traditions for a successful result. M any cuisines, however, are m agnificent just as they are. Miss Candida Baptista, a Boston resident originally from New Bedford, retains much o f her Cape Verdean heritage in her kitchen. She prepared her cultural Cape Verdean “ Jagaceda,” com ­ monly referred to as “ ja g ." It is a co m b in a tion o f rice and beans prepared with paprika (for coloring) and is a kin to o u r ham-seasoned black-eyed peas and rice and the West Indian goat-seasoned rice and peas. To transform this simple recipe into a maindish she suggests adding linguica (a Portuguese sausage), chicken or any other meat you have. C ape Verde Island is o ff the coast o f Northwest A fric a near Senegal. The people o f Cape Verde gained their independence just a few years ago. Until that time, they were under Portuguese rule. Now, Candy tells us, each July 7-12 the New England Cape Verdeans celebrate their independence with festivities, parades and pageants. N a tu ra lly , everyone partakes o f several variations o f “ jag,” which can be prepared with any variety o f bean as well as meat. Candy told us that “ jag” and chicken are to Cape Ver- Candida Baptista remembers her Cape Verdean heritage each time she prepares ’jagaceda." While it's a common meal accompaniment at home in New Bedford, Candy’s friends in Boston make special requests for the dish at parties, too. deans as hamburgers and french fries are to A m ericans. One o f the specialties her father prepares is “ gofongo.” It is made with Hour and oatmeal or possibly cornmeal, shaped into donut-like breadsticks about six inches in length. We also learned that "ca n g a ,” a kind o f chicken soup, "g o fo n g o ” and “ ja g ” were three dishes enjoyed by New Bedford Cape Verdeans often. his day to market and theirs for the movies. During our visit with Dwen, she recalled many happy experiences and many delightful productions o f her mother’s from their country kit­ chen - gingerbread, and Saturday specials ot baked beans and brown bread. The brown bread was made using the basic recipe with the ad­ dition ot raisins, molasses and onions. The mixture was placed in shortening cans and le ft to steam fo r ap­ proximately 2 hours. On some Sun­ days chicken, too o ld to fry , was fricasseed and served with yeast rolls. Dwen also remembered a lot o f walking, touch football with her three older brothers, sw im m ing in the murky water hole, country fairs and pot luck suppers. A t the pot luck sup­ pers there was always plenty o f good food. Baked apples cored and stuffed w ith butter, sugar and nutmeg. A smidgen or two o f nutmeg was also used in rice pudding, apple cobbler and other New England puddings and casseroles. Another highlight was an occasional straw berry shortcake festival. A t such times, the thought o f anything less than pure, unadulterated cream would have been scandalous. Today, Dad is busy with the Black Studies Program at the University o f Hartford and with his responsibilities as an historian and organizer. Dwen is busy w ith her husband and tw o daughters, her responsibilities as a leader and board member o f 4-H Clubs and as a community liaison to the Board o f Education. She shared with us a new direction in the 4-H Clubs. On her agenda, in addition to the husbandry division, is home economics. The children are now participating in sewing classes, arts and crafts expositions and preparing fo r competitions in Con­ necticut's home shows. Super snacks known as Big Grinders are pan o f the nurtition program. Big Grinders place emphasis on the value o f eating snacks like prunes stuffed with peanut butter or peanut butter in celery sticks instead o f candy. G ood snacking habits contribute in no small way to weight maintenance and nutrition. Newcomers to the northeast have another perspective on cooking traditions o f the area. "T h e unusual thing about New E n g la n d ,’ ’ said Frances Johnson, manager o f the Unity Plaza branch o f the Hartford Through our warm and gracious C onnecticut hostess, M rs. Ruth Frazier, we had the pleasure o f meeting some modern-day leaders o f New England’ s Black com m unity. Dr. John Rogers, already mentioned lor his work "Inner City Bicentennial Booklet 1776-1976, ” lived in Connec­ ticu t countryside w ith his fa m ily before joining the staff o f the Univer­ sity o f H a rtfo rd . M rs. Dwen A n ­ drews, his daughter, remembers on Saturdays being a ll starched and polished and waiting for Dad. It was N atio na l Bank, “ was they served spaghetti sauce separate from the noodles.” A native o f St. Louis, she now resides in Hartford with husband Verne and daughter Tish thriving on the discovery o f culinary adaptations o f all kinds. A t the end o f each day she deposits the change in her pockets in a recycled cheese bucket. At the end o f the year this accumulated stash is exchanged for food for Christmas entertaining. In the past, her feasts have included shish-kebahs served with mushrooms caps, m araschino cherries and pineapple chunks, all prepared in wine sauce and cream o f onion soup. She offers fresh shrimp in a cabbage shell with cocktail sauce and creole pig’ s feet. The Johnsons also enjoy fried porgies, a tasty sunfish-shaped fish, very popular in this area. Fran is presently experim enting w ith ground cloves and nutmeg as seasonings in meats and vegetables. Her experiments show nothing con­ clusive at this time, but if any o f her discoveries equal the fla vor o f the stulled bell peppers she prepared for us, history is still in the making. The K ra ft Kitchens have illu m in a te d the h ig hligh ts o f our culinary collection on this heritage trip by providing a number o f con­ venient recipes based on those we found in New England. From New B edford’ s Cape Ver­ dean Kitchens we suggest Parmesan Oatm eal Sticks, a v a ria tio n o f "gogongo,” and Cape Verdean Rice, a one-step version o f "ja ga ced a.” with African-Portuguese overtones, these recipes o ffe r fla v o rfu l com ­ panions to most any dinner entree. Add sausage or chicken to the rice dish to make it the main course itself. While casseroles have gained a par­ ticular popularity in the northeast, cooks throughout the country know th e ir m erits. Inspired by Thom as A lle n ’ s sumptuous fo od idea, the Kraft Kitchens present this simplified recipe for Yam and Corn Casserole. It retains the call fo r coconut, com ­ plementing the sweet potato and corn flavors, for an interesting wintertime dish. This casserole is ideal to take along to a pot luck supper, too. uncooked Kraft grated parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon baking powder Parkay margarine V4 cup milk Combine flour, oats, Vi cup cheese and baking powder. Cut in Vi cup margarine u n til m ixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add m ilk, mixing just until moistened. Shape into ball. On floured surface, knead dough ten times; roll out to Winch square. Brush with melted margarine; sprinkle with cheese. Cut dough into 24 sticks; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 425° 10 minutes or u ntil lightly browned. Serve warm. 2 dozen. CAPE VERDEAN STYLE RICE 2 cups water 1 16-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed, drained 1 cup rice Vt cup french dressing Vi cup chopped onion 1 teaspoon paprika V4 teaspoon salt ’/« teaspoon pepper Combine ingredients; bring to boil. Cover; simmer 20 to 25 minutes or u n til rice is tender, s tirrin g oc­ casionally. 6 to 8 servings. V a ria tion : Substitute 16-oz. can lima beans for kidney beans. Add Vi lb. sliced cooked smoked sausage or l - '/ i cups chopped cooked chicken before simmering. YAMS AND CORN CASSEROLE 1 17-oz. can yams, drained, sliced Vi cup flour 1 8-%-oz. can cream style corn 3 eggs, beaten 1-V4 cups milk Vi cup flaked coconut '/« cup Parkay margarine, melted Vi teaspoon nutmeg Toss yams w ith flo u r. Place in greased 10 X 6-inch baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over yams. Bake at 325“ , 40 to 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. 6 servings. YOUR VOTE DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE. PARMESAN OATMEAL STICKS 1-% cups of flour 1 cup old fashioned or quick oats. Oregon Primary Tuesday, May 20 A m e r ic a n S ta te B a n k "T h e Bank that integration b u ilt" 2737 N.E. Union 282-2216 ROUND STEAKS Fr«th Country Stylo Pork Spare Ribs bS118 Fr«»h Pork i f 48 Loin Chops U S D A Choice Arm Cut s178 «,s2'* Beef Chuck Roasts» USDA Choteo Boneless Beef Cross Rib Roasts • * . « '* * ‘ FREEZER BEEF SALE ★ U.S.D.A. Choice ★ ______ FULL CUT POUND Free Cuffing & W rapping Jagaceda is a traditional dish in New Bedford, Massachusetts, brought from Cape Verde Island off the coast of Northwest Africa. The Kraft Kitchens offer a convenience recipe for Cape Verdean style rice with rice, beans and sausage for a tasty dinner entree. 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