The CulinaryWoman Newsletter, 6/20/21

Keeping up with our CulinaryWomen

Happy Father’s Day to the dads, uncles, brothers, grandfathers and honorary fathers among our readers!

A big day is approaching for us, too. At the end of the month, the CulinaryWoman Newsletter celebrates its first anniversary — a year of bringing you stories about interesting people in the culinary world and taking a look at industry trends.

Apparently, many newsletters don’t last for a year, because Substack invited me to a seminar that celebrated fellow creators who have been publishing that long. It was interesting to chat with other writers and learn about their approaches.

During the past 12 months, I’ve introduced you to a number of fascinating people from many backgrounds, so I naturally wondered: what have they been doing since I spoke with them?

Over the next few weeks, you’ll hear from some of the people featured in CulinaryWoman. I hope you’ll follow their work and patronize their businesses, either by mail order or if you’re in their areas.

Madhu Makes Strides With Indian Cuisine

Madhu Gadia, as you learned last year, isn’t only a chef, but a a registered dietician and nutrition counselor in Ames, Iowa.

She’s also an expert source on Indian cuisine, who’s published several books and appeared in Vegetarian Times, O The Oprah Magazine, and many other places.

She says her goal is to make all types of cooks feel comfortable understanding and using, the techniques and especially the spices that Indian cuisine incorporates.

“People think that Indian cooking is complicated. It’s not complicated,” she says. “My goal is to unravel that.”

Before the pandemic began, Madhu’s goal was to shift into producing more cooking videos. The past year has seen that push accelerate.

“I've had a very good year,” Madhu tells me. “I have learned to do a few things I thought I would never do,” like teach live Zoom cooking classes, self-record videos, do live interviews on YouTube, be guest on a podcast, etc.

“The pandemic made us all more versatile and international, for that matter,” she says.

Jolie Cooks With Madhu

Earlier this month, Madhu also started another project: Jolie Cooks With Madhu. Jolie Zimmer, a retired teacher in Milwaukee, was so inspired by Madhu’s book The Indian Vegan Kitchen that she reached out to her.

Jolie and her husband spent three weeks in India about five years ago, which got them hooked on Indian cuisine. She wanted to master the art of Indian cooking, and decided to learn 20 of Madhu’s recipes — with help from her.

If that sounds a little familiar, her effort is based on the movie Julie and Julia (only, as you know from the movie, Julia Child didn’t think much of Julie Powell’s dedication to her cookbook).

In this case, however, Madhu is helping Jolie learn the ins and outs of Indian cuisine. You can follow them on social media at #JolieCooksWithMadhu to see how the lessons turn out.

Meanwhile, you can see Madhu in the videos she has done for Oldways, a Food and Nutrition Nonprofit organization. One of them was a complete Indian Heritage Meal, followed by a Q&A. Madhu is now on Oldways’ Asian advisory board, and she will be doing four more classes with them. 

Finally, Madhu has been inducted in the Des Moines chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier, the culinary group of which many of us are members. “That was so exciting. I’m so honored!” Madhu says.

Big Changes In Memphis

Kat Gordon, the owner of Muddy’s Bake Shop in Memphis, has had a turbulent year. But it sounds like the changes foisted by Covid-19 have put Kat on a faster path to embracing her two greatest professional interests: baking and teaching.

Opening the original Muddy’s on Feb. 29, 2008, she amassed a pile of admiring press clippings, and sterling online reviews for her luscious cupcakes, yummy chocolate chip cookies and homey, fun decor.

Muddy’s eventually expanded into three locations (customers could shop at two, while the other was a prep kitchen). By 2019, she had 59 staff members and ended the year with revenues of $2.5 million.

Then, as the narrator would say, the pandemic hit. She had to shut down her locations for weeks, and then opened only for carryout business. But, that led to the new form that her business took: Muddy’s Bake Sale.

Rather than try operate all week, in all her places, she consolidated her operations into her original bakery, and adjusted her menu to fit a carry out operation.

She’s open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Customers can reserve baked goods and other treats in advance, starting the previous Sunday, or select from what’s available when they arrive. There’s also a treat truck that makes its way around Memphis.

The new Muddy’s emerges

If you follow Muddy’s on Instagram, you might have spotted a photo of a construction zone. That’s because it has taken over the business next door to its headquarters so that Kat can expand her back office operations, such as office space, a break room and storage.

Kat plans to double the amount of space available for Bake Sale customers. And, she’s building a baking classroom for events and seminars.

Her schedule has included classes in coffee cake, heart shaped cookies and cheesecake bars. But she’s also teaching courses in hospitality and visioning, a look at the future which can be applied to work and personal life.

In those, she’s inspired by her experience with ZingTrain, the Zingerman’s training arm (you’ll be able to read more about Kat and ZingTrain in my upcoming book).

On her blog, Kat posts the vision that she wrote for Muddy’s, which is aimed at 2022, rather than look farther out as her previous vision did.

“It describes what we aspire to be in the coming two years and beyond. It describes who we are... and clearly outlines what we’re not,” Kat writes.

Celebrating The Foods Of Juneteenth

Yesterday, June 19th, was Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday, as signed into law last week by President Joe Biden.

Juneteenth commemorates the arrival of union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, bringing the news that Black slaves were emancipated. Needless to say, the news was late: the Emancipation Proclamation was declared in 1863, and the Confederate Army had surrendered two months before.

Alternatively called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth celebrations have taken place since then in Black communities across the country. One of the highlights of the day has always been wonderful cuisine.

Lore has it that Juneteenth, first of all, should be celebrated with red-tinged food and drink, such as Red Velvet Cake and strawberry soda. This represents the blood shed by Black ancestors, and the resilience of those who followed.

Beyond that come dishes that traditionally have been found on the tables of Black families in all parts of the country, but especially in the South, like fried chicken, barbecue, mac and cheese, collard greens and biscuits.

Toni Tipton-Martin, the much-admired author, shared her Juneteenth menu with the Today Show this week.

“To embrace the reminders of slavery and poverty — including the gastronomic vestiges like red soda water, catfish and the sweet treats of childhood — can be hard, but to do so is to honor the suffering and affirm the contributions made by generations of freed African Americans,” Toni wrote.

Food 52 rounded up 44 recipes that can be served at Juneteeth celebrations. And, you can learn more about Juneteenth in the fourth episode of High On The Hog, the Netflix series created by Stephen Satterfield.

I hope you got to celebrate this year, but if the holiday came as a surprise, plan ahead for a Juneteenth celebration in 2022.

My Secret Method For Sweet Corn

One of the joys of summer is the arrival of sweet corn at farmer’s markets and grocery stores.

When I was growing up in Michigan, cooking sweet corn was always a production. My mother would haul out a tall aluminum pot, fill it with water, and place it on the stove. While it was boiling, we’d cover the kitchen table with newspapers and shuck ears of corn, which we bought by the bagful from our favorite local farmer.

But perhaps a decade ago, I went to visit my mother and found that she’d discovered a new corn-cooking method: she used her microwave. Microwaving eliminated all the fuss and danger, and sped up the cooking time.

I believe that microwave corn is actually better than the vintage method. And it offers the opportunity for sweet corn out of season. In my article for The Takeout, you’ll find the steps to cooking corn in the microwave.

I also offer instructions on how best to freeze it — yes, you can freeze whole ears of sweet corn and prepare it when there’s snow on the ground. So, don’t hold back — buy lots from your local farmer or grocer, and try out my secrets.

My Washington Post News Is Official

If you read last week’s issue, you know that I’m now a contributing columnist at the Washington Post, focusing on business and culture. Here’s the press release.

My latest essay is on Detroit’s lagging vaccination¹ rate. Sign up for the Post’s Week In Ideas newsletter, which mentions Voices Across America and includes my column.

Keeping In Touch With CulinaryWoman

I’m so pleased to welcome our new subscribers! Consider joining the CulinaryWoman Community, which includes our paid subscribers and Founding Members. Your support is crucial to continuing our journalism.

Follow CulinaryWoman on Tik Tok @culinarywoman, which is also our Twitter handle. You can find me on Instagram @michelinemaynard.

Email me at culinarywoman at gmail dot com. Feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues.

I hope you’ve gotten your vaccine. Travel safely, if you’re going somewhere soon, and see you next week.

1.