Watermelon and Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations

"This is the first book that has been devoted to the Juneteenth holiday, which in the United States marks the time, several months after the Civil War , when enslaved people in Texas were informed that they were free following the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued a couple of years before. It was first officially celebrated in 1866. And since then, it’s really become an important holiday for Black Americans. A lot of food is consumed; it’s a time when people do lots of grills and cookouts. This is just a really great book. The author talks about how she wants to celebrate Black joy, and that really comes across. The recipes are as you would expect for a holiday where you’re celebrating and entertaining and sharing with people. They’re festive, they’re colorful, and she also talks about wanting to move beyond soul food and Southern food, which is how a lot of food associated with Black culture is pigeonholed. Obviously it’s so much more than that. People make so many more things than that. She has really creative recipes. One thing that jumped out to me was what she calls an ‘afro egg cream’. In New York delis, an egg cream is a drink made of chocolate syrup, milk, and seltzer water. Her interpretation includes hibiscus tea, which makes it bright red. On Juneteeth, a lot of people will drink what they call ‘red drink.’ It can vary, but it’s often some kind of red beverage. She’s just a really smart recipe developer. You pick up things like adding grilled poblano peppers to your coleslaw. She has this lovely salad I can’t wait to make next summer which is melon—cantaloupe and honeydew—with feta and lime zest. And although she calls it a Juneteenth book, and it absolutely is, I wouldn’t want people to think it’s only for that. It’s just a great book for any kind of entertaining, where you can pick up fresh and interesting recipes. And it’s a really beautifully shot book, in terms of the photographs, too. I really enjoyed this one."