The Art of Cooking According to Mrs. Flava Fingas

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In my experience, the art of cooking comes like muscle memory—knowing how much of this and that to add into each dish is a given for me. I mean, I've worked through the process of this task time and time again. Cooking with a variety of ingredients and making tasty meals has become my normal.

Dish after dish, entrée after entrée, admiration continues to blossom within for my cultural and Southern roots. With each meal crafted, a downpour of culinary wisdom flows from the heavens to the tips of my fingers.

Here in my kitchen, my family has deemed me, “Mrs. Flava Fingas.” The rich velvety tone of my husband’s voice consistently rings in my ears... “She’s at it, again! Flava Fingas is at it, again!”

See, some may call me a true Southern Black woman, and that’s been proven with each year that passes. Being from the south, what we call, “Southern Hospitality,” is the standard way of welcoming people into one’s home with big open arms and the intention to be of service to them. Ideally, this is practiced through the preparation of a fine home cooked meal.

Usually, a Southerner would cook sustaining dinners throughout the week, but the ultimate fulfilling and comforting meal is surely guaranteed on Sundays, following church service. Most major holidays, such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day, are occasions dedicated to cooking up, serving, and indulging in a full-blown feast. “Soul Food” staples, like smothered pork chops, chicken and rice, a variation of beans, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, cornbread dressing, collard greens, and either corn bread, biscuits, or dinner rolls are included in this spread.

Honestly, any ol’ day can be turned into one filled with love and celebration, especially for Black families.

Whether hosting a summer cookout or a family reunion, food is always at the center of the joy in the air. It allows a family to destress from life’s daily troubles and hardships, gifting them the opportunity to laugh, smile, and communicate with loved ones.

Not only has being in tune with these traditions kept me connected to my heritage, but it has monumentally shaped my cooking style.

Southern cuisine is widely known across the entire United States and is heavily imitated by other cultures and natives from different geographical locations.

Known as “Soul food,” a term coined by Blacks in the mid-1960s, this is an array, or some might say, "a buffet of dishes," most commonly cooked in the homes of Black families. This type of cuisine dates back to the beginning of the African peoples' enslavement.

Kelley Deetz, author of “Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine,” is a historian and historical archaeologist, holding a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies. Through the research and study of enslaved cooks’ living quarters, the cooking tools they utilized, and historical documents and data, she thoroughly gathered concrete evidence that solidifies these chefs as “central players in the birth of our nation’s cultural heritage (Deetz).”

She eloquently ties together the origins of and similarities Southern dishes share with traditional African cuisine. For instance, she mentions how West African stews were modified to create gumbo, a Louisiana staple, and Jolof rice, a dish made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables, and meat, has transformed into what we know in America as Jambalaya (Deetz).

Before fully delving into this history, one could easily imagine these African recipes were initially altered, simply due to the grains, vegetables, livestock, and other meats enslaved peoples were given to prepare meals.

Well, while reading Jessica B. Harris’ narrative, “High on the Hog,” her research confirmed this thinking was indeed correct. She mentioned how black-eyed peas, watermelon, and okra were some of the few plants that survived over the course of the Africans’ transformation to African Americans and have remained key ingredients in Blacks’ kitchens (Harris, 16).

It’s clear the heart of these dishes painfully entered into American families’ homes with the African natives, who were stripped from their lands and separated from their loved ones. Unfortunately, this nothing less than real history has frequently been tarnished and tainted.

Since living on the west coast, there have been several times I craved Soul Food but was not completely in the mood to stand over a hot stove all day. Instead, I popped out my phone and googled “Soul Food restaurants near me.” Yes, a few spots specializing in authentic Soul Food pulled up. However, the majority of my findings were pure examples of other cultures biting off of the “Soul Food” term.

If it were not for my ancestors and the women in my life carrying and passing down the tradition of perfecting the art of cooking, this analysis would be completely non-existent.

My passion for cooking starts with my grandmother, Miriam, the daughter of a Black man from Georgia and a Cuban immigrant mother.

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, she worked to make ends meet for her 3 children and made certain a fresh, hot dinner graced the table each night. A full breakfast, usually consisting of grits, toast, eggs, bacon, and sausage, filled their stomachs each morning.

Other hearty meals were presented for dinner, such as oxtails served with rice, cabbage, and cornbread. Sometimes, they'd have chicken and rice perlo made with chicken wings. Picadillo, a Cuban dish made with ground beef, green olives, and raisins served over rice, was another class meal from her kitchen. On special occasions, Crab Chilau was carefully prepared—a tomato sauce with blue crabs plated over spaghetti.

Positioned as the true matriarch of my family, she will forever be the queen of Southern Hospitality, in my book.

Mixing in another layer of cultural influence into my life comes my mother, Nina. She is a half Black half Korean woman who has been living in the south for the majority of her life.

Her mother was a Korean immigrant and cooked traditional Korean dishes on the daily, like Bulgogi, beef marinated in a soy, sesame, and ginger sauce, Kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage and/or radish, and Tteokbokki, sweet and spicy rice cakes served hot with fish cakes. But, because her father was born and raised in Florida, he knew and taught her how to make American cuisine.

Since she is familiar with different cultures’ foods and their dining philosophies, she is not afraid to explore and try new recipes. In her free time, she frequently watches competitions that showcase chefs demonstrating their heightened level of culinary mastery. She then absorbs this knowledge and takes the new tips, tricks, and styles of cooking into her own kitchen. Some of her favorite things to cook are chicken and dumplings, beef stew, and meatloaf with mashed potatoes, which are all Southern classics.

Now that my grandmother has passed on, my go to person to get recipes straight from my grandma’s heart is my Aunt Kit. As a mother and wife of almost 40 years to two very kind but very picky men, she has learned to tailor her cooking style to suit her family’s preferences.

For instance, her husband and son both prefer their meat off the bone, and in contrast to her, they’re not big seafood eaters, either. Instead of cooking her chicken and rice perlo with chicken wings, she may cook hers with boneless chicken breasts or thighs. They also request beef quite often, so she tends to make London Broil or other beef dishes, paired with black beans, yellow rice, and broccoli or peas.

Another one of her standout talents is her ability to bake anything you could think of off the top of her head, from cookies, to cakes, to brownies. Oh, and anyone who knows her could never fail to mention she makes the best pound cake around. Her latest twist on this treat is a “Pina Colada Pound Cake.”

On to me, “Mrs. FF” herself. My way of cooking honors a lot of the old blended with the new.

My cornbread dressing might have a combination of cream of chicken and chicken broth in it, contrary to my grandmother’s which only contained the broth. In my opinion, mine is still moist, flavorful, and out of this world.

A big advantage of mine has been the opportunity to be exposed to a multitude of flavor profiles. Naturally, I experiment with different spices and ingredients, from cumin and turmeric to ginger and sesame oil. The tongue of a guest at my table will be pleased without fail.

In my pantry and fridge, flour, sugar, butter or shortening, milk, cornmeal, rice, oatmeal, and a variety of meats, veggies, and seasonings are always on hand. Most dishes created in my kitchen will likely always include salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. In my family, these are essential seasonings that seem to make everything taste better.

A huge factor that influences what is served on my dinnerware each night is the important task of budgeting and meal planning. Similar to my ancestors, life has taught me to make do with what's readily available in my pantry. My number one philosophy is that it's invariably possible to stretch many ingredients by strategically turning one meal’s leftovers into the next day’s meal.

As an example, Sunday night’s chili may turn into Monday night’s tamale pie, which is seasoned ground beef, beans, bell pepper, onions, and corn, underneath a layer of soft, gritty, and sweet cornbread. A roasted chicken could be made into an easy and delicious curry chicken salad for lunch.

In order to accomplish this, an aspiring cook should start with browsing through the items in their kitchen. Then, brainstorm recipes that would utilize items that have a shorter shelf life and can be transformed into several different dishes. Typically, these recipes for the repurposed dinner and the new meal will either have similar ingredients and flavor profiles or feature more simplistic flavors that can be easily altered or enhanced. Nothing should be wasted, whether it be chicken stock from a pan of cooked chicken or the bone of a ham hock.

In today’s day, food can be quite pricey, especially here in California. For this reason, it’s valuable to obtain a sense of culinary savviness and thoroughly know your way around the kitchen. It all starts with the basics of any successful venture–research and practice. Luckily, there are so many easily attainable and explorable resources, such as YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and internet blogs.

To establish one’s cooking style, they could begin with these simple parameters: find ways to pay homage to their cultural influences, start with their childhood favorite meals, determine which ingredients are most accessible in their region, and pay attention to the flavors that make their tastebuds dance the most.

While trying new recipes and appreciating food from a plethora of countries rings true to my nature, Southern down-home meals make my soul the happiest.

As a new home cook keeps in mind my experiences and these simple tips, they too can develop a cooking style that resonates deeply with their familial and geographical roots.

What is your favorite meal you or your loved ones whip up to celebrate your culture? Give us all the yummy details in the comments!

Works Cited:

Deetz, Kelley F. “The Enslaved Chefs Who Invented Southern Hospitality.” What It Means to Be American, edited by Eryn Brown and Lisa Margonelli, Zocalo Public Square, 2018. zocalopublicsquare.org/2018/07/19/enslaved-chefs-invented-southern- hospitality/ideas/essay/?xid=PS_smithsonian. Accessed 19 March 2021.

Harris, Jessica. High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2011.