African American Holiday Traditions

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Weren't my post! I believe this is what the poster was referring to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce)

I'm glad she was talking about the sauce. LOL.

Moles are one of the most miserable animals in the world so it makes sense their meat is supposedly unpleasant. LOL.

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

What is mole? Wait, you mean burrowing-in-the-ground mole?

Yes I was referring to the sauce Mole not the animal... LOL

[ElieM]

The collective noun is a 'labour' of moles - enough said. Although I think they are kind of cute

[amIblue?]

Moles are not cute. They are underground rats.

ETA: I love how this thread has gone from being about African American holiday traditions to moles.

[IrishLake]

Originally Posted by amIblue?

Chocolate chess pie

1 1/3 c. sugar
1 sm. can Pet milk
3 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 stick melted butter

Combine ingredients, pour into pie crust, bake 45 minutes at 350.

What is pet milk? (Imagining milking a cat....) Is it like a can of sweetened condensed milk?

Originally Posted by christiangirl

What is mole? Wait, you mean burrowing-in-the-ground mole?

iDied!

Originally Posted by DrPhil

LOL. You may lose your Black Card but your healthy card will hopefully be alive and well. Sweet potatoes and chitterlings are not the best for our health.

Sweet taters are good for you! You just can't load them up with a pound of butter and brown sugar. I make an awesome sweet potato casserole that is "healthy." I sweeten it with honey (or molasses if I have it) and cinnamon and only use 1/2 stick of butter for the entire casserole. Then instead of topping with mashmallows, I make a meringue instead. Eggs whites with just a little bit of sugar. It's so yummy!

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Moles are one of the most miserable animals in the world so it makes sense their meat is supposedly unpleasant. LOL.

One of my dogs dug up and ate a mole once. She died because the mole ate poison my husband put out for it. No more mole poison for us. Another dog dug up and ate another mole a few years later. He barfed it up in his kennel. I freaked because I thought he was barfing his own blood and tissue... until I found a little ugly mole paw. I knew then what he was puking up. Nastiness.

Originally Posted by amIblue?

Moles are not cute. They are underground rats.

ETA: I love how this thread has gone from being about African American holiday traditions to moles.

Concur, with both!

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

What is pet milk? (Imagining milking a cat....) Is it like a can of sweetened condensed milk?

PET is a brand of milk. LOL. There is canned milk and refrigerated bottle milk.

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Sweet taters are good for you! You just can't load them up with a pound of butter and brown sugar. I make an awesome sweet potato casserole that is "healthy." I sweeten it with honey (or molasses if I have it) and cinnamon and only use 1/2 stick of butter for the entire casserole. Then instead of topping with mashmallows, I make a meringue instead. Eggs whites with just a little bit of sugar. It's so yummy!

Marshmallows do not belong on sweet potatoes, anyway.

I hear ya, I need to better explain my point about sweet potatoes. These dishes can be made healthier but diabetes and high blood pressure are pervasive in the Black community because most people are not making healthier options; and even healthier ways of cooking some of these foods are still not truly healthy in the longrun. Sweet potato is healthiest before people start adding a bunch of stuff to it. It's important for people to remember that because every holiday, someone eats a slice of sweet potato pie and says "sweet potato is good for you." LOL. Your casserole sounds tasty but you are still adding a few things that should be eaten in small portions and in moderation. Some people with diabetes would not be able to eat your casserole.

[tld221]

We don't have any traditions in our house. Collard greens get made with ham hocks but my mom, keeping my sister (vegetarian) and her partner (diabetic/high pressure) in mind, traded the ham for turkey (and sometimes not at all) and way less sugar.

Otherwise, the usual holiday staples, sans chitterlings. My mom grew up on them and said she'd never subject us to that abuse

[IrishLake]

Yes, but if you HAVE to have sweet potato casserole, like my family does, a (much) lower calorie option is ideal. Everyone is always surprised when I say there's no brown sugar and that the meringue is just as good as sticky sweet marshmallows (I pick them off if someone else makes it with them). I'm perfectly happy eating my sweet potatoes with a 1/2 teaspoon of honey when I make them for my own dinner, or even plain if needed. I dont even think I've ever had sweet potato pie, not that I wouldn't try it, but it doesn't scream healthy. Portions are everything!


(Says the pregnant woman who had two large servings of mashed potatoes and noodles on Thanksgiving... lol)

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

Yes, but if you HAVE to have sweet potato casserole, like my family does, a (much) lower calorie option is ideal. Everyone is always surprised when I say there's no brown sugar and that the meringue is just as good as sticky sweet marshmallows (I pick them off if someone else makes it with them). I'm perfectly happy eating my sweet potatoes with a 1/2 teaspoon of honey when I make them for my own dinner, or even plain if needed. I dont even think I've ever had sweet potato pie, not that I wouldn't try it, but it doesn't scream healthy. Portions are everything!

Yeah and the average Black holiday gathering will have sweet potato pie (or even cornbread with sliced and seasoned sweet potatoes--my favorite) and not a sweet potato casserole. However, sweet potato casserole will not be scoffed at as long as it clearly has sweet potatoes and is seasoned like a traditional sweet potato dish.

Originally Posted by IrishLake

(Says the pregnant woman who had two large servings of mashed potatoes and noodles on Thanksgiving... lol)

There's nothing wrong with that.

Oh yeah...I rarely eat mashed potatoes at a holiday gathering. That's a last resort side dish for both my and my significant other's families. If someone cooks it, we will eat it only after the other side dishes are devoured. If you give me deviled eggs and potato salad, you can cancel the mashed potatoes.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Marshmallows do not belong on sweet potatoes, anyway.

Seriously. Sweet potato casserole should have a great crust of brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and the like on top.

Yeah, I know.

I'm not a big sweet potato fan -- it's only the brown sugar, cinnamon and the other bad for you stuff that makes it taste good to me. But I do understand exactly what you're saying.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Seriously. Sweet potato casserole should have a great crust of brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and the like on top.

Yeah, I know.

I'm not a big sweet potato fan -- it's only the brown sugar, cinnamon and the other bad for you stuff that makes it taste good to me. But I do understand exactly what you're saying.

I think that's why a lot of people eat particular sweet potato dishes in the cultures that I am most familiar with. LOL.

Of course, sweet potatoes are eaten different ways across the country and around the world.

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Seriously. Sweet potato casserole should have a great crust of brown sugar, cinnamon, nuts and the like on top.

Yeah, I know.

I'm not a big sweet potato fan -- it's only the brown sugar, cinnamon and the other bad for you stuff that makes it taste good to me. But I do understand exactly what you're saying.

Again, MC has it right! I forget which restaurant serves "praline yams" but they are just so yummy!

I'm not a diabetic, but I play one on tv... Seriously, with the eye problems in my family, I would be foolish not to watch out for diabetes, so I take my sugar a few times a week, more or a baseline or such.

That said, I've noticed that if I eat a yam (which I love) or a sweet potato (not so much), my sugar goes through the roof! This is just plain, baked potatoes. Has anyone else noticed this?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Again, MC has it right! I forget which restaurant serves "praline yams" but they are just so yummy!

LOL. What does MysticCat have right?

I like sweet potatoes more than yams. Most people have never had yams and don't really know the difference between yams and sweet potatoes.

Originally Posted by honeychile

That said, I've noticed that if I eat a yam (which I love) or a sweet potato (not so much), my sugar goes through the roof! This is just plain, baked potatoes. Has anyone else noticed this?

That is why some family doctors, pastors, and "community members" are advising "the Black community" to either stay away from sweet potatoes (and yams) or only eat it in small servings during a holiday.

[IrishLake]

Speaking of noodles.... that was something I'd never experienced until meeting my husband and his southern Ohio family. Chicken n noodles or just plain homemade egg noodles on top of mashed potatoes. Is this a common dish anywhere else?

(Sorry, I shouldn't be straying so far off topic!!!!)

[IrishLake]

Hmmm, I've not had it with nuts on top.

(That's what she said)

OMG, I could eat the hell out of some deviled eggs right now...

Hard boiled eggs, mustard, and mayo and salt n pepper. Guess what I'm having for dinner!!!! The husband is working tonight, so he won't have to suffer the after effects.

I can also eat the hell out of smashed taters. But I'm a little tatered out, precious... too many T-giving meals.