In my childhood hometown (Hattiesburg, Mississippi), Juneteenth has been celebrated annually since 1983. However, before this year, I had very little understanding of the holiday's origins, history, and traditions, so I set out to educate myself and others. My research uncovered information that I'd never known—for example, details about the holiday's rich food traditions and the connection to the color red. Red foods are customary for the holiday menu and symbolize the stru

In my family, great recipes become part of our ancestry and DNA. I can't tell you how many times that I've personally benefited from my mom's newspaper recipe clippings and handwritten notes about substitutions or alterations she makes in her many cookbooks. Growing up, I was never interested in learning how to cook, and my desire to learn came much later in adulthood. I would always tell my mom that I planned to marry a rich man that loves to cook so that I wouldn't have to,