Catching up with Nicole A. Taylor

Last year, we connected with Nicole A. Taylor, a James Beard Nominated food writer and master home chef to talk about Juneteenth and her new cookbook, Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.

Sometimes called Jubilee Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is a federal holiday commemorating the official end of slavery in the United States. If your ancestors descended from the African diaspora, Juneteenth gatherings might’ve already been on your calendar long before it became an official holiday.

If you’re new to the celebration, Watermelon & Red Birds is an invitation to experience the spirit of Juneteenth in thirst-quenching red drinks, reimagined barbecues, fresh summer salads, and sweet festival fare. No matter your heritage, take the time off to practice joy, delve deeper into Black history, or buy from Black chefs, creators, and makers where you can in an effort to support ongoing liberation.

This year, we checked back in to catch up with what Nicole has been up to in and out of the kitchen, while also revisiting the importance of Juneteenth and opportunities to slow down, rest, and recharge. Nicole also shared a recipe for Watermelon Ginger Beer, cool down with this one right away!

Top photo credit: Kaylin James

Jasmin: Could you talk a little bit about the continued need for Juneteenth in our lives?

Nicole A. Taylor: So much has changed since the summer of 2020 and that Juneteenth, there was this excitement in the midst of a lot of tragedy. People got really excited about Juneteenth when it became a holiday in 2020, but there was this kind of wave of wondering: is it okay for people that aren't Black to celebrate Juneteenth? Is Juneteenth being commercialized? I think it's gonna be a holiday and a conversation where there will always be a mix of both joy and sorrow, particularly when you look at what's going on around the world.

Right now in 2024 being joyful is still a must, but again we also have this cloud of sorrow and suffering. I still see Juneteenth and the cookbook [Watermelon & Red Birds] as a way to kind of pause, take a moment for yourself and for the community–both immediate and larger.

And just take a deep breath. I feel like that's kind of like the core of Juneteenth.

photo credit: Kaylin James

Jasmin: I think back to A Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis and how the whole cookbook just sings with moments of communal pause in Freetown, Virginia [where she lived in a farming community founded by her grandfather and other formerly enslaved folk after the Civil War].

What does community and cooking mean to you?

Nicole A. Taylor: I feel like the word community is everywhere nowadays. It’s a word that has many definitions. But for me, and I think a lot of Black women from the American South of my generation, we know that community doesn’t mean anything without the Auntie or the play cousin next door, because the Auntie had to keep your child during the summer months. We all ate the same watermelon bought from “the watermelon man” that came to the neighborhood and the entire house and all your neighbors shared that watermelon.

Previous generations literally have visual memories of community and community was about survival.

Jasmin: How do you approach eating with the seasons?

Nicole A. Taylor: During the spring and summer I'm thinking, “it’s time for me to go strawberry picking.” That’s one of my favorite things to do together...I love berry picking, and so much a part that is being with family and friends.

I get asked a lot about people wondering if collard greens belong on the Juneteenth menu. I tell them, you can eat what you want, but I did not grow up like that. Nobody turned on the stove until nighttime on June 19th, it’s too hot!

So, this eating with the seasons thing, I grew up with it, but it wasn't called that. It was just about asking, “what’s outside in the backyard garden?” or, “what's at the very local family-owned grocery store?” If we saw peas, corn, and tomatoes, that’s what we bought. And that’s what we ate in the summer months.

Eating with the seasons connects me back to memory all the time, especially when I get my CSA and I’m trying to figure out, “what am I gonna do with the zucchini or this yellow squash?” Being innovative in the kitchen just triggers memories of growing up in Georgia in the summertime and making biscuits with squash bits, cheddar and onions. Yeah, so I know no other way.

Jasmin: Are there any recipes from Watermelon & Red Birds that you find yourself returning to?

Nicole A. Taylor: It’s so funny because I make the Pecan Waffles as waffles or pancakes once a week. It's crazy. So, I returned back to that one a lot. That's in the final chapter of the book. I made the Pretzel Fried Chicken a lot. It's basically like a chicken you can make into a bolognese, and I return to that over and over again. The watermelon ginger beer with the fennel fraud garnish. I return to that all the time–that's in the red drink chapter.

Jasmin: What’s coming up next for you? Do you have any news you want to share or projects that you're working on?

Nicole A. Taylor: I'm working on another book project. It’s a cookbook, fingers-crossed. I’m very close. So I'm excited about that. I just refreshed my website, so that's really exciting and I’m just really thinking about how to expand and give myself to other people in a way that supports me financially and also feels reciprocal.

I’m doing micro-consulting sessions with fellow food media professionals. If I'm doing a Juneteenth event with an organization, I’m asking myself, is it an organization that I really really care about? But yeah, I’m  just being more intentional about my professional and community work. But yeah, I'm excited about the possibility of doing another book and thinking about how to be creative and make money in this changing landscape of media.

Watermelon Ginger Beer

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces fresh watermelon juice
• Ginger beer, to top, preferably Barritt’s or homemade (see Editor’s Note)
• 1 to 2 ounces vodka, or spirit of your choice (optional)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh fennel fronds (optional)

Garnish: fennel fronds or dill, optional

Directions:

Divide the fennel fronds, if using, between two ice cube trays. Fill with water and freeze until solid, 4 to 8 hours.

In a highball or rocks glass, combine the vodka and watermelon juice, add the fennel ice or regular ice, and top with ginger beer.

Garnish with fennel fronds or dill, if using.

Editor’s Note:

Homemade Ginger Beer Ingredients

For the ginger starter:

• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated, plus more as needed for daily feedings (7 to 10 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more as needed for daily feedings (7 to 10 teaspoons)
• 1 cup filtered water

For the ginger beer:

• 1 gallon filtered water, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more as needed to taste (8 to 10 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
• 1/3 cups finely grated fresh ginger

For the ginger starter: In a sanitized quart-size glass jar, combine the ginger, sugar and water. Cover with cheesecloth or a clean dish towel and secure with a rubber band. Place the jar in a warm, dark place out of direct sunlight for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the starter may have small bubbles or look the same. Feed the starter by stirring with 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar once a day for 7 to 10 days. When the mixture is bubbling undisturbed, it’s ready to use.

For the ginger beer: In a sanitized glass jug or other nonreactive container, combine 1 cup of the ginger starter, the water, sugar, lemon juice and ginger. Cover with a cheesecloth or a clean dish towel and secure with a rubber band. Place the jug in a warm, dark place out of direct sunlight for 8 to 10 days, stirring the ginger beer twice a day and tasting for sweetness; add 1 tablespoon sugar maximum per day if needed. When white natural yeast appears at the bottom of the jug, and the ginger beer bubbles when you stir, it’s done with its first fermentation. Transfer the ginger beer to clean bottles with tight-sealing lids. Seal the bottles and store in a dark room at room temperature to ferment for 2 days. If it’s too warm, the ginger beer will need less time to ferment and might explode if left unattended for too long. Move the bottles to the refrigerator and consume within 3 days.

Be sure to get a copy of Nicole’s book, Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.

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