Fresh & Fried Hard

25/02/2024

Every Sunday I try to make it a practice to blog. This Sunday is my late uncle's 104th birthday and some of the topics I chose were inspired by him. Like the music and life of Mary Lou Williams. The content is free to read.
The last Sunday in February, Mary Lou Williams's hospitality, a few recipes and 5 Black women culinarians I celebrate
https://freshnfriedhard.substack.com/p/the-last-sunday-in-february-mary

31/12/2023

Jubilee

18/12/2023

Posted • Have you heard of Beene Wafers? Benne (the Bantu-word for sesame) was brought from East Africa (Madagascar) through West Africa, and brought over to the southern United States by the enslaved Africans. These crisps cookies were sold by Gullah women who often refered to sesame as “the goodwill plant” and believed that the cookies brought good luck. The good news is that you don’t have to travel to Charleston to try them. They can be found in our International Cookie Collection, now available in our online store.

01/11/2023

It’s 🐩 💙💛
and I want to set it off with my favorite soror-sister-chef
In the time I’ve known her I’ve never heard her act out of false humility or even care if she’s being seen. She’s allowed her hard work and excellence to speak for itself. She’s one of the wisest, kindest women in the food industry. And she’s quietly helped other women move forward. She’s a gem 💎. Plus, she’s my Midwest soul sister. Love you, Tweet! 🐥 😘

Posted • Grabbed some BEAUTIFUL collards and red yams from in Huntsville Alabama!!

22/10/2023

Looking for in the food industry. Read and subscribe to Thinking Food Jobs.

A weekly list of job opportunities for people who think deeply about food. Click to read Thinking Food Jobs, by Barbara Rotger, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

24/08/2023

Happy Birthday, Barbara Smith!
Repast for B. Smith: A Gathering of Black Women Who Loved Her

Black women will, perhaps, mourn her passing as a beginning and end of an era for us. I know I will. Guess we will have to bring a dish, and sit with one another for comfort and to remember Barbara…

24/08/2023

This is so cool. Thank you and congratulations again

22/08/2023

is a dynamo. She not only founded Heydays, a co-working space in - a space for startups that enables them to move into their own spaces, she is a serious community servant and entrepreneur. It makes perfect sense that in partnership with the Serving Our Communities Foundation selected Keisha Mabry Haymore to serve as Food City's Community Manager. She's brilliant. You can read more on the FreshandFriedHard.com blog. Congratulations, Keisha!

               
                  

16/08/2023

3 Legends of the Black Women’s Club Movement Dining with Purpose

Continuing with my current obsession with the Black women who were important to Black history as club women and activists, I am happy to share this bit of information about three women who probably…

04/08/2023

Big Food News:
For a fifth year, Kellogg's "Rooted in the Midwest" campaign supports, encourages and recognizes farmers in the region through donations and employee volunteering. This year, Remi Harrington of is one of the recipients.

Remi Harrington's small-scale farming initiative helps give members of urban communities a place to grow and expand their opportunities. Zoo City is a local food policy council and industry association. They are a network that aims to connect consumers to cottage food businesses, folk artisans, and local farmers and producers that are too often underrepresented in the agricultural industry.

Congratulations Remi! To learn more, follow

Photo Source: Zoo City Food

04/08/2023

Big Food News:
The Vegans of Los Angeles Food Bank is the first vegan food bank in Los Angeles creating food security and ensuring Southern Californians have greater accessibility to healthier food options.

Gwenna Hunter, a powerful Black woman who created this first-of-its-kind vegan food bank monthly distribution, is a spiritual light worker, who brings the message of food worthiness as a birthright, that excludes animals, to the forefront. 

Congratulations Gwenna! To learn more, follow

04/08/2023

Continuing with my current obsession with the Black women who were important to Black history as club women and activists, I am happy to share this bit of information about three women who probably lunched and dined often, but who also used dining as a way to enact purpose and change....

Continuing with my current obsession with the Black women who were important to Black history as club women and activists, I am happy to share this bit of information about three women who probably…

04/08/2023

She arrived in Anchorage in 1929 fleeing Oregon law for charges involving bootlegging and driving drunk. According to Reamer, “Her path was far from easy. She became a pr******te and left the Lower 48 for Alaska only after her pimp was busted and narrowly

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01/08/2023

Happy birthday

26/07/2023

And there it was...the thing that intrigued the very most. Mother Bethune sold sweet potato pies to raise money for her school. As it turned out, she sold more than pies....

And there it was…the thing that intrigued the very most. Mother Bethune sold sweet potato pies to raise money for her school. As it turned out, she sold more than pies.

25/07/2023

To salt your watermelon or not to salt your watermelon👈that's the question. loves to pour salt into her palm and use the other hand to dust the salt over watermelon. It's a practice she learned from her great grands and grandparents. Some say it enhances the sweetness. Experts say it invigorates the water to make it juicier. As noted yesterday, it's NOT a new trend. It's as old as the hills. What say you? Salt or nah?

29/06/2023

Yesterday, I was able to trace the roots of an enslaved SC family to Ohio after they were emancipated by their enslaver in the early 1800s. I'm working on a project but now and again a detail will jump out at me. The family had to pay a $500 bond to be considered free in their Ohio county (Adams), which wars against most of our common knowledge about freedom, slavery and FPOC.

One of the sons was admitted into a state university after providing more paperwork than required for white students. He couldn't live in university housing or in some cases, sit in the same classrooms, instead taking in his lessons from a hallway. And, he lived in the attic of the university's president as an indentured servant, who in exchange for his tuition and board, had to work for "free." He graduated and every bit of work he did afterwards was for the upliftment of his people. He sunk his teeth into racism and injustice in more than one way, but one way that smacked me was the fight for the Black right to vote and voter education. He did so for decades until his death.

I'm researching for a project and was only fixed on genealogical information about this man and his roots. Little did I know that one day later, the details of this man's life, education and service would render more meaning than it did after today's SCOTUS ruling.

The man: John Newton Templeton. The first Black graduate of my university, a PWI, in Appalachia. I am his spiritual (not biological) legacy and today I am livid and hurt in his stead.

18/06/2023

The Sandwich Table

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05/06/2023

The beginning and the middle of “Quilted Education” are equally as endearing and powerful. In an era, when we look at the bright and shiny thing or the loudest thing to receive information, this documentary is a reminder that everyday heritage keeping and keepers are the root of our pride as a people and our hope for a future. ...

The beginning and the middle of “Quilted Education” are equally as endearing and powerful. In an era, when we look at the bright and shiny thing or the loudest thing to receive information, this do…

02/06/2023

In an interview, chef Melissa Gardner said that she and life/business partner Brandi Gergle envisioned creating a safe space LGBTQIA+ people - the fullest spectrum of diversity of humans- to eat and drink in an elegant venue. A great spot with great food, drinks, music and even greater company. The vision must now be reality because word on the street is that you need to make a reservation a month in advance to eat

Now, I live in a totally different state and 'heard' that word at least 1,000 miles away. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Thank you 😘

Follow them, check out their menu. And if nothing else, support them with a good word of encouragement.
Photo: Co-owners Brandi Gergle (L) and Melissa Gardner (R).

Credit: B. Gergle

01/06/2023

Tina finally had her real home. And any place in between childhood and then were just placeholders, temporary.

The context of Anna Mae’s life until Switzerland was that anywhere she lived was temporary, given to disruption and eviction, whether she freed herself or was put out. Switzerland, the place …

01/06/2023

This is a good month for Black women. It's the month of soul food, Black music, Pride and Juneteenth. While there's always some reason to celebrate, this is the midway mark of the year, and that alone is worth celebrating. We're still here. And we're free.
This month, FFH is going to do the most. It's our resurrection month, we've been in repose, dealing with this thing called life. That's so dramatic, but after almost five years of collecting info for stories, finding our unique footing, we decided (1) forget how folx said it should be done (2) do whatever we do from the heart and (3) have some fun.
So Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️, Soul Food Month 🍗, Black Music Month 🎙, and Juneteenth 🎆! 🤎☮️
Image description: Martha Yates Jones (left) and Pinkie Yates (right), daughters of Rev. Jack Yates, in a decorated carriage parked in front of the Antioch Baptist Church located in Houston's Fourth Ward, 1908 — Houston Public Library, Digital Archives