Earlier this month, I joined my first cousins on my father’s side for an informal family reunion of sorts for our generation – a cousins’ reunion if you will. Our weekend get-together took place at the home of one of my cousins who lives just outside of Atlanta.

In addition to enjoying our time together out and about, we spent a good deal of time in the kitchen and around the dinner table – rolling out pizza dough, peeling peaches, squeezing lemons, talking, laughing, drinking, and eating. As the saying goes, the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Many of us contributed culinary talents to our meals that weekend. Steve made delicious waffles and the dough for making personal pizzas. Of course, I had to get in there and whip up a peach cobbler; after all, we were in Georgia. And Lee wowed all of our taste buds with his ginger mint lemonade.

I can’t recall exactly how many lemons we squeezed to help Lee make his lemonade, but let’s just say I’m sure he was happy to have over four sets of hands available to help him do all that work. My rendition of his lemonade calls for 20 lemons. You can make the task of getting all of the juice out of those lemons a lot easier with the use of a citrus reamer or press. Also, be sure to firmly roll the lemons with the palm of your hand before cutting and squeezing them. This helps them release their juice.

The recipe also calls for fresh ginger and mint, which you use to make an infusion. When peeling the ginger, a great tip to remember is to simply use the tip of a spoon to easily scrape off the peel. To sweeten the lemonade, you can use simple syrup as the recipe states below, or you can add sugar directly since the warmth from the infused water will allow the sugar to dissolve easily.

The weekend I spent with my cousins this month was special and a great example of how food plays such a central role in our lives and adds joy to our time spent with loved ones. Lee’s ginger mint lemonade, along with all of the other drinks and dishes my cousins and I shared together, is a reminder to me of this joy.

Lee’s Ginger Mint Lemonade

20 medium sized lemons
1 large bunch of mint
1 two inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
12 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of simple syrup (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water)
More sugar to taste

If using simple syrup, make that first by bringing 1 cup of water to a simmer over medium high heat. Then add 2 cups of sugar and stir. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pot. Once boiling, turn off heat and add 1 cup of mint leaves, packed, and ginger slices. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let mint and ginger steep. After 10 minutes, strain infused water to remove mint and ginger, and set aside to cool. Discard the used mint and ginger.

Meanwhile, squeeze juice from lemons into a large pitcher. Add ginger mint infusion, six additional cups of water and simple syrup. Stir lemonade and taste for sweetness. If desired, add an additional 1/4 cup of sugar (or more). Add several fresh mint sprigs to the pitcher (about 5), cover and let cool for 30 minutes to an hour. Refrigerate over night for best flavor. Serve chilled in glasses with ice and fresh mint.

 Note: You can use simple syrup or granulated sugar to sweeten the lemonade. Usually simple syrup is used to sweeten cold drinks, but if your ginger mint infusion is still warm when you add it to the lemon juice and remaining water, you can use sugar directly. Add a 1/2 cup of sugar at a time tasting until lemonade reaches desired sweetness.

If you’re a no-meat-no-animal-products-eatin’-gave-up-pork-a-long-time-ago soul you’ll feel right at home in Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen. Bryant Terry, an Eco-chef and food justice activist originally from Memphis, TN, has offered us all in Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy and Creative African-American Cuisine, a different take on soul food that is familiar, yet new and especially tasty.

At this point in the post, I know I already have the vegans and vegetarians hooked, but if you’re still skeptical or scared off by the word “vegan” (as I’ve discovered that many people are), trust me – read on. You eat vegan food all the time without even realizing it (a handful of grapes, spinach sautéed in olive oil, tea, and even french fries).

Vegan simply means food that is free of animal products, including meat, seafood, dairy, eggs and honey. While I’m not vegan or even vegetarian, I eat that way often. And just how many of my recipes can be adapted for the vegan or vegetarian, Bryant encourages folks to make his recipes work for you and add meat or dairy if that’s what you need. In his words, “freestyle and be creative.” 

African-American cuisine has always been creative, often times out of necessity (eg. chitterlings, pig feet, etc.). According to Bryant and contrary to popular belief, our cuisine has also traditionally been full of healthy, fresh foods such as home-grown fruits and vegetables. “This book is about the creative use of nutrient-dense vegetables, fresh fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes that make some bangin’ dishes,” Bryant writes.

As with all of my cookbook reviews, I tried out several of the recipes myself before coming online to sing the praises of Vegan Soul Kitchen (VSK). Cooking from these recipes was fun and educational. The Citrus Collards with Raisins Redux were really delicious and proof that you don’t have to simmer your collards for two to three hours with a ham hock or smoked turkey leg in order for them to taste good. I will definitely be making these on a regular basis.

The Open-Faced BBQ Tempeh Sandwich with Carrot-Cayenne Coleslaw was also pretty tasty. It was my first time cooking tempeh, a fermented soybean patty that can be sliced, diced, marinated, grilled, baked, etc. The tempeh strips marinated in a homemade BBQ sauce and served over focaccia bread was filling and I can see myself using the marinade for chicken as well. I also enjoyed the Green Beans with Roasted Shallots and Walnuts, and the Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper Sauce (aka homemade hot sauce).

Bryant also includes many beverage recipes in VSK, which I really like. I made the Orange-Orange Pekoe Tea sweetened with agave nectar and the Lavender Lemonade. I loved the Lavender Lemonade! Are you familiar with Pink Lemonade? I remember drinking it in the past and never thinking that it was probably colored with some kind of synthetic food dye. Well here’s your answer for an all-natural pink lemonade that’s easy to make. The lavender water made from steeping lavender buds gives the lemonade its color. Of course culinary lavender isn’t easily found just anywhere but since I pick up interesting ingredients when I come across them, I actually had some culinary lavender in my cabinet. You can purchase lavender online or in specialty spice shops.

Pricy and unfamiliar ingredients for the vegan novice are the only real caveats I have about VSK, but with a little time and Bryant’s helpful tips included in the book, you’ll learn your way around a health food or international grocery store in no time. And, if you’re already familiar with one, you’ll learn it even better as I did (Who knew the best place to find raw, shelled peanuts is in an international supermarket?).

There are so many more VSK recipes I’m looking forward to trying including the entire chapter of watermelon recipes, including the Fresh Watermelon-Vodka Martini and Balsamic Syrup-Sweetened Watermelon Sorbet. I also already have the ingredients waiting on me to make the Candied Sweet Potato Discs and Apple Slices, Maple Almond Granola, Quinoa-Quinoa Cornbread, Almond milk, and Creamy Grits. And that’s only naming a few of the 150 recipes that fill this bold cookbook.

Leave a comment below about this post and your favorite soul food dish to be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of Vegan Soul Kitchen. All comments must be left by Friday, March 27th, 11:59pm (U.S. residents only). While you wait to see if you won, try out Bryant’s recipes below and read other coverage of Vegan Soul Kitchen.

VSK Recipes and Reviews
Read more on Vegan Soul Kitchen and check out these sample recipes. ESSENCE.com has a great interview with Bryant. Hear him talk more about soul food and the new book in his own words.

Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper Sauce
Carrot-Cranberry-Walnut Salad with Cream Walnut Vinaigrette
101Cookbooks.com: Bryant Terry’s Jamaican Veggie Patties
ESSENCE: Chef’s Choice: Bryant Terry
TheRoot: Vegan Soul Food, A Tasty Read