Weekend Cooking: Maya Angelou's Red Rice

In her newest book, Mom and Me and Mom which is due out on April 2nd, Maya Angelou talks of her monthly lunch dates at her mother's house. For their dates her mother would cook one of Maya's favorite dishes. One particular lunch date stands out in Maya's mind, a date she has aptly dubbed Vivian's Red Rice Day, in which her mother served Red Rice, Maya's favorite food in the entire world. There was also an unadorned roasted capon and lettuce salad, but the rice was the star of the show.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is from after that lunch. As they were about to go their separate ways, Maya's Mother stopped her and said,

"Baby, I've been thinking and now I am sure. You are the greatest woman I've ever met." She continued. "You are very kind and very intelligent and those two elements are not always found together."

Maya included the recipe in her fantastic cookbook Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes which was published back in 2004. To call it just a cookbook is a gross misrepresentation, as she includes great personal stories to go with the recipes. The recipes are for simple, Southern comfort foods. Sadly, I don't own a copy, but have read it cover to cover on more than occasion thanks to the library.

I remember when it was first published, Maya was a guest on Oprah (they are dear friends) and Oprah called Maya's Smothered Chicken "suffocated chicken"! It's that good. Oprah has the Smothered Chicken recipe on her site.

Maya Angelou's Red Rice recipe:

½ pound thick sliced bacon
1 cup chopped onions
½ cup chopped red bell peppers
2 cups canned tomatoes
6-ounce can tomato paste
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups cooked white rice
2 cups water

Fry bacon in a large skillet on medium heat until brown, stirring with fork. Add onions and peppers. Cover and cook for two to three minutes. Remove lid and add remaining ingredients; mix well. Bring to boil, about three minutes. Stir vigorously; cover again and cook over very low heat for about 15 minutes until rice and liquid are totally mixed.

Makes eight servings.

One of my favorite foods my mom makes for me is Potato Soup. I've requested it for my birthday many-a-year. I can make my own, sure, but Mom's tastes better :)

I'd love to hear about your favorite foodie memories.

Thanks for stopping, it was lovely to see you.
Talk to you soon,
Angela






Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, beer, wine, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.