Blackbird Cookbooks News

In this month's newsletter, we're sharing stories of black women in food for Black History Month.  And as a cookbook store owner, my Roman Empire is thinking about how Georgia Gilmore deserves a statue in every town square. Everyone can certainly find something inspirational about a fiery black woman living in the Jim Crow South deftly using comfort food as her primary weapon against oppression.

This past summer I had the honor of participating as an IACP Cookbook Award judge and it was a surprising, enlightening, and rewarding experience.  While I can't tell you what category I judged, I can give you a little insight into the process, what it takes to write an award-winning cookbook, and why the top cookbooks deserve space on your bookshelf.

2022 was a blockbuster year for amazing cookbooks. And while there are a ton of cookbook awards given out each year, some of the most prestigious awards are given by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).  All cookbook category finalists were announced in early August and the final awards will be handed out during the 2023 IACP Summit on September 29th. See if your favorites are on the list!

For Farmers' Market Week 2023 at the Carrboro Farmers' Market, we'll be sampling a salad inspired by Sheri Castle's 'Lady Pea and and Mixed Heirloom Tomato Salad' recipe...but with a twist that features my absolute favorite late-summer ingredient, Pink Eye Peas (also known as Purple Hull Peas).

We will be celebrating local farmers at DFM's 2023 Tomato Day this weekend with our Queen of Summer Pan Con Tomate. This recipe is for those of you who, like myself, firmly believe in the notion that July heat means fresh vegetables with little to no cooking for dinner. I'm giving you my dreamiest version here.

This weekend at the Carrboro Farmers' Market, I'm sharing one of my favorite summer recipes so you too can be prepared for cocktails on the back porch, summer concerts, picnics, pool time, and hungry children on summer break.  The genius part of this creamy, herby, cucumbery spread is that it is fast gratification.  You could be home from the farmers' market and snacking your way through a bowl of it within 10 minutes if you're focused enough.

Juneteenth and The Great Migration have been recurrent themes in so many releases this past year. Not only are these excellent cookbooks, but they also offer so much to learn about culinary and cultural identity in their narratives as well. Since Juneteenth is now upon us, I thought I would highlight a few of the excellent cookbooks from our ‘Amplify Black Voices’ collection that celebrate these journeys and have had a significant impact on contemporary food writing.

This classic Italian vegetable soup recipe takes full advantage of the produce available at the Durham Farmers’ Market in that shoulder season between April and May when spring vegetables start to wane and summer vegetables start to make their presence known.  The Salsa Verde imparts a bright, herbal richness that is perfect for soups, stews, grilled meats, and salads.

Happy May!  We've made it out of the dark times and the sunshine is making us all high on life.  There's no theme this month, just a bunch of fun links that we've been following about food and food history.  Some of these links are just fascinating so we hope this gives you something to ponder while you're out and about.

It's strawberry season in North Carolina and this year is one for the books.  They are plump, they are juicy, they are sweet, and ready for this year's Carrboro Farmers' Market Strawberry Jamboree.  We'll be there.  With cake.

I'm so excited to be sharing this recipe at the Carrboro Farmers' Market this weekend.  It was inspired by Vishweth Bhatt's cookbook I Am From Here and reminds me of how our Southern culinary traditions in the Triangle have been informed and developed by immigration patterns in our region, rendering us more sophisticated and adventurous eaters and enriching our culinary landscape in myriad ways.  Come visit us and have a bite!

This is one of the biggest questions we receive from vintage cookbook collectors.  What is up with the oven temperatures in old cookbooks?  Do you really have to hold your hand in the fire to ensure you won't burn your biscuits?  Is there a more modern (and safer) way to ensure good results with old recipes?  The answer is a little more complicated than you might expect.