Maya Angelou on Eating from Your Garden
Petitioners Julian Mayfield, Alphaeus Hunton, Alice Windom, W.A. Jeanpierre and Maya Angelou Make, outside the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana, Courtesy of the New York Public Library, Circa 1963
Poet Maya Angelou was born in 1928 in St. Louis but she spent the majority of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas where her grandmother and uncle raised her and her brother in and around the family business, the Wm. Johnson General Merchandise Store. “Throughout the year” says Angelou, “we took our meals from . . . the little garden that lay cousin-close to the Store. . . . ” Her family raised green beans, collards, cabbage, tomatoes, beets, berries, “and every fruit grown in Arkansas.” Here is a recipe for those who have mushrooms in season.
Red Wine Mushroom Risotto Recipe
Ingredients
1 package Arborio rice, about 1 1/4 cups
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced finely
1 cup dry red wine
About 12 leaves fresh basil
1 small package local mushrooms in season
1/2 cup grated vegan or regular Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 lb fresh spinach
2 tablespoons vegan butter
Olive oil
Kosher salt
About 6 cups vegetable stock, simmering
Peeled shrimp (optional)
Method
Bring stock to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Preheat a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil. Add onions and a little kosher salt. Add Arborio rice, and more olive oil. You will need to add quite a bit of oil, enough so that every bit of the rice is wet with oil. Sauté the rice until the edges are clear. Add garlic. Add the red wine, and stir until the rice absorbs it. Then add enough stock to cover the rice. Turn the heat to low. Stir the rice frequently, to prevent sticking and develop creaminess. Add the mushrooms and stock. Continue to add a little stock at a time, as the rice absorbs it, and until the rice is tender. When the rice is tender, and has absorbed the liquid, add shrimp. When the shrimp turn pink, add fresh spinach. Stir until floppy. Add butter and cheese. Stir to combine and melt cheese. Finish the dish by stirring in the fresh basil at the very end.
