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Memories
Every now and then, someone will get onto AfroFoodways.com, and send me a recollection of things they used to eat that remind them of the African American food tradition, or Southern foodways in general. Feel free to send in yours, and from month to month I will try to post a new memory or two from readers! I recently received a nice e-mail from European American woman about her father and their family traditions:
Hi Michael,
My father was a boy during the Great Depression and his family ran a boarding house in Durham, NC as a means of survival. One of the things my grandmother served was kush, and it was one of my father’s favorite foods. All I remember him telling me is that it was made from cornmeal and onions. If you have a recipe I would LOVE to have it! Sadly, my father passed away a couple of years ago, so I won’t be able to fix it for him---but I can eat some in his memory!
Thanks for your fascinating work!
Bonnie
And this is the recipe I sent her:
Kush
The word kush comes from the Hausa language of Upper West Africa, through the Arabic term for couscous. Called kush in the Chesapeake and Carolinas, and coush-coush, in Louisiana, there were various versions according to the region one lived in. Kush was a good way to use up any stale or crusty leftovers---pot liquor--the stock left over from cooking greens or other vegetables, hot peppers and cooked onions were combined to make a mush with which to eat other foods. My friend John Martin Taylor, author of Hoppin John's Lowcountry Cooking, said that when he was living in the Carribean they made several dishes similar to kush, like funji (foongee) which comes from an Mbundu word from Central Africa meaning, "mouthful." Besides that, he learned about kush from his Appalachian grandmother. Across cultures--Native American, African, and European we share a world of food!
2 white or yellow onions, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons of lard, shortening or cooking oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes or one crumbled pod of long red cayenne pepper assorted dried herbs--sage, bits of rosemary, thyme...
1/4 cup of bits of country ham (or smoked turkey)--optional
1 medium pan of yellow cornbread cool, slightly dry and crumbled
1/4 cup of chicken, ham, beef or vegetable stock (you may choose to use the pot liquor from greens as your stock)
Heat the lard, shortening or oil in a large skillet, Saute the onions until they are translucent, adding half of the salt and half of the red pepper flakes, and some of the herbs. As the onions begin to turn clear, add the meat if you choose, and add the rest of the oil to the pan. Slowly incorporate the crumbled cornbread into the skilled until all it is completely incorporated. Add the rest of the red pepper, herbs, and salt, and the stock to moisten. Cook over a low heat and stir frequently until the stock has been fully absorbed. Do not allow the kush to burn. Serve immediately with boiled vegetables or fish.