Portland Observer, February 11, 1982 Page 11
Earllno Wilson prepares a dinner featuring her special Spicy Oven-
Barbecued Chicken and Souped-Up Macaroni And Cheese followed
by her own Deep-Dish Peach Cobbler. She likes meals that are easy
to prepare, yet take advantage of a variety of foods, spices and
sty lee of cooking.
(Continued fro m page I I )
roni and cheese, and a delicious
peach cobbler.
C harles, who has developed a
hobby o f bread making, contributed
his own cornbread.
The meal and its preparation re
flected a wide range o f tastes and
ideas applied to tra d itio n a l foods
from different parts o f the work}. It
was typically eclectic. That is, typi
cally New York.
New Y o rkers who do not live
there are fond o f pointing out that
M anhattan and New York City are
not all there is to New York. There
is, for example, Long Island.
At the north end o f Long Island,
about ninety minutes or so from
M anhattan, are the Hamptons, the
*20s and *30s playground o f the
fabled, idle rich. The Hamptons arc
a long way from H arlem in every
sense o f the word.
This area o f afflu en ce and old
money is not one in which you
would expect to find a Black heri
tage, but it is there, and it reaches
back belbrethc birth o f the country.
The northern end o f Long Island,
particulary M ontauk and Sag H a r
bor, was one o f the centers o f the
early American fishing and whaling
industries.
Black
freem en,
bondsmen and runaway slaves were
part o f those industries even before
the Revolution. By the 1820s, Black
sailors were a com mon sight on
ships w orking in and out o f the
ports and bays around the island.
Some ships were captained by
Blacks and a few had a ll-B lack
crews.
Some o f these men settled their
families in the port towns and vil
lages. By 1 8 4 0 ,there were enough
Black residents in Sag H arbor and
the surrounding country to form
their own congregation o f the A M E
Zion Church. W ith the help o f local
In d ian s, they bu ilt a clapboard
house o f worship that stands to this
very day. Right across the road is
the church graveyard. A visitor
there can almost read the history o f
Sag Harbor's Black community on
the ancient grave stones.
To d ay St. D avid A M E Z io n
church has seven full-tim e parish
ioners, who are served by a travel
ling minister. They and their fellow
residents o f Sag Harbor arc working
to have the church building declared
a national historic landmark.
In the late '40s and '30s, Sag H ar
bor became a favorite summer play
ground and residence for well-to-do
Black professionals and business
people, most o f them from New
York City and the Washington-Bal
tim ore area. M any o f these people
bought or built summer homes in
the village and the surrounding
countryside. Some later retired to
Sag H a rb o r, creating an a fflu e n t
new community o f Black residents.
kets does not usually meet her stan
dards.
" Y o u can get some fine things
here, but to get the really good sea
food, you have to go down to the
piers and get it fresh o ff the boat. I
just don’t have the time for that, so
1 don't serve it too often.”
It is a very rewarding hobby for
Dorothy Barcliff. It seems somehow
to nourish a great Black and Indian
tradition, at the same lime it points
to what may well be the wave o f the
future.
H eading home from New Y ork
there was tim e to ask just what it
was that made Black cooking in the
Big A pple d iffe re n t from what he
had found elsewhere in the country.
In the final analysis, it seems New
York cooking is distinguished by a
range o f in d iv id u al styles rather
than any regional characteristic.
Black cooking in New York is more
a reflection o f the interests and per
sonality o f the cook than o f the re
gion in which he or she happens to
live.
A m ong these, D o ro th y B a rc liff
developed a special interest in the
food and the cooking o f the area. A
retired educator from Washington,
D .C ., Mrs. B arcliff finds Sag H a r
bor a place o f constant discovery.
In recent years, many form s o f
plant and anim al life have disap
peared from the area as a result o f
population growth and residential
and recreational development. But
Mrs. Barcliff has discovered a place
where the wild beach plum is m ak
ing a comeback.
She picks the plums for wine and
jelly, but she steadfastly refuses to
tell anyone where she finds them.
" I f I did that, there'd be a flock
o f people in there next season, and
that might be the end o f them,” she
said.
M rs. B a rc liff has researched the
eating and cooking habits o f the
local Indian tribes, some o f whom
still live in the area.
The original settlers o f Sag H a r
bor were much influenced by the In
dians, who lived o ff what the land
and the abundant waters could pro
vide. This was no less true o f the
Black fam ilies who m ade th e ir
homes in the area. As a result, they
developed a cooking tradition that
was almost untouched by the exper
ience o f slavery. It coincided with
what is generally though o f as the
soul food tradition only to the ex
tent that it made use o f the same ba
sic foods.
M rs. B a rc liff demonstrated this
for guests at a luncheon in her Sag
Harbor cottage. She served cod fish
caught early that morning o ff M on
tauk P o in t, and two versions o f
hom iny, the tra d itio n a l soul food
grits and an In d ia n version called
samp.
Samp is the whole hominy grain,
and it looks like popcorn. It is dried,
cracked, soaked over night and
slow-cooked until soft. M rs. B ar
c liff adds zest to the dish with some
sharp cheddar cheese to create her
samp au g rat in.
For com parison, she served the
more traditional grits flavored with
Cheez W h iz pasteurized process
cheese spread.
The differences in the taste and
texture o f the two dishes were a re
freshing surprise.
M rs. B a rc liff prepared the cod
fish with her own special seasoning
o f m ayonnaise, capers, a little
grated onion and "sage and thyme
fresh from the garden.”
She grows many o f her own herbs
and vegetables. She picks others
w ild in the woods and dunes that
surround Sag H a rb o r. She makes
her own wines and relishes with fruit
and berries from her own garden.
Cooks in New York have a world
o f foods, herbs, spices and condi
ments from which to choose. They
are limifed only by their spirit o f ad
venture and experiment.
There was one final afterthought
on the journey home. In the course
o f our research, we had tasted
peaches, plantains, avocados, toma
toes, hominy, spaghetti and maca
roni, bu, not once— in the city that
calls itself The Big A pple— had we
encountered an apple o f any kind,
not even a little green one.
(Please turn to page 12)
_
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Saia starts Fab. 10th Fab. 17th. IS
7-Up —Root Beer
Wild Irish Rose Wine
6 pack cans 12-pz.
750 ml *1.99
*1.99 + Dep.
is coupon
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Sale starts Fab. 10th Fab. 17th. 11
Pepsi & Mountain
Mission Macaroni & Cheese
Dinner
1 Liter 2 fo r 990
pSà + Dep.
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Boones Ferry Wine 750 ml.
Celia
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Dove Dishwashing Liquid
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Top Ramen Oriental
22-f|. oz.
N o o d le Soup
990
3 -o i peck
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Sale starts Fab. 10th Feb. 17th. 19*2
North
Stokely Fruit Cocktail
Earline Wilson grew up in Balti
more, where there is a great seafood
tradition. She has fond memories o f
fish and crab dinners at home, but
(he seafood available in local mar-
C olum bia Btvd.
16 oz-cana
School Menu
Kool-Aid...On A Stick
BHANO SOFT UHINK MIX
Frozen Sucker«
1 envelope KOOLAID"
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2 /3 cup sugar
1 quart watar
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Sale starts Feb 10th Feb 17th. 1982
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Dorothey Barcliff aarvas a lunch for guests that includes her ov
Sag Harbor Cod Fillets and Golden Grits.
With this coupon
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Makes about 20
February IS: Happy Birthday.
February 16: Sausage pizza, cel
ery chunks, m ixed vegetables,
strawberry birthday cake, milk.
February 17: Country style steak,
whipped potatoes, carro t coins,
bran m uffin, applesauce, milk.
February 18: Oven fried chicken,
french fries, carrot rounds, bulgur
roll, orange half, milk.
F eb ru ary 19: M exican taco,
shredded lettuce A to m ato , whole
kernel corn, apple wedges, brownie,
milk.
2 fo r 990
With this coupon
Saia starts Fab 10th Fab. 17th. 1982
Cat Litter
10 lbs.
2 for 990
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Portland Btvd.
A in sw o rth
Kllllngaworth St.
A lbartagt
With this coupon
Sals starts Fab 10th Fab 17th. 19*2
1
South
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