Sugar Turned On Me

Like many Americans with ties to the south (or married to someone with ties to the south who cooks), I had black eyed peas, greens and corn bread on New Year’s day. As it goes, this is a pretty good meal for a diabetic: black eyed peas have fiber and protein, greens have vitamins. Corn bread isn’t so bad in the carbs department and even ham can and was done healthily.

Let’s hear it for soul food.

Soul Food is by and large the product of being poor in the American Southeast. It comes primarily out of African-American culture in that region but is pretty much embraced by anyone who’s ever seriously uttered the word “y’all”. Ham hocks, red beans and rice along with okra and fried catfish is as ingrained in the pallette of the region as pastrami on rye is to the denizens of New York city or good seafood to those who live in Maine.

The upside of soul food is that a lot of it was based on how to make a meal with not that much meat. Meat was expensive and you had to work with what you had. As a result, ribs and oxtail and other cuts that were as much bone as muscle found their way into the cuisine. Lots of greens, corn and beans supplimented the meager protiens and as a result, you end up with a diet rich in iron and fiber.

The downside is the fat. Fat equals flavor in a lot of Southern Cooking. As without a bit of attention, many of the items on the soul food menu just don’t taste that good. A little pork fat, a lot of butter and then you’re talking. You’re also promoting heart disease.

Today, meat is less of a luxury in America and more a requirement before we’ll call any collection of food “dinner”. If soul food gets any bad rap these days, I think this is why. The meats are more plentiful and so are the fats and some of the healthier items that once just meant you didn’t walk away hungry now are left to the side in favor of items that are more rich in flavor and sweetness.

Diabetic or not, I recommend trying soul food preferably from a restaurant run by a man or woman who has been doing it since Jesus was a boy and has the same set of cast iron that they got from their grandmother. If you do, try the meat and two vegtable special and make sure one of them is green and not overcooked. While many dishes will come with a side of heart attack if you over do them, there’s a lot to be desired coming from a tradition borne in necessity and celebrated for turning a slim budget into a feast for body and soul.

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