6: Pause

I had a plan for what I was going to talk to you about this week. But it doesn’t seem so important, so instead I want to talk to you about some of my favourite Black food writers.

One of my long-term favourite food writers is Lorraine Pascale. She has a huge ouevre of books and BBC shows, and the one I’ve cooked the most from is Fast, Fresh, and Easy - it contains the standout chocolate birthday cake I’ve made multiple times over the last few years and which I featured in Issue 1 of this newsletter. This photo is from last year, when we could take cakes into offices and it was worth making more than one layer of a layer cake!

Lorraine is also really worth following on Instagram - she talks a lot about anxiety and mental health, and seems to present a really healthy attitude when it comes to exercise and food. Plus it’s great to see behind the scenes of the shows she works on.

lorrainepascale

Anxiety is all about having a friendly relationship with your mind.
.
.
.
♥️It’s about learning to love it and care for and not being afraid of the anxiety. Of finding out what it needs and managing it. Sometimes we want to make it go away, and sometimes we can sit with it and allow it to wash over us so we come out the other side. Feeling it rather than trying to fix it. .
.
.
♥️Anxiety often has a message for us about something within that needs our attention. So while it is good to have tricks and tools when anxiety is high, it’s also good to learn the causes of it.
.
.
.
♥️Sometimes this is obvious. We are waiting for our exam results or receiving other news for example. But other times it’s our past trying to tell us about something that needs addressing. .
.
♥️Trauma, grief, attachment styles, low self-worth, boundaries, inner-child work, complex post traumatic stress disorder, adoption, multiple fostering, . growing up in an alcoholic home and learning about values have all been areas that I have worked through and continue to work on. I have learned and gained so much. I never thought I would feel gratitude for what I have been through. Gratitude as now I can share how I got through it to others who may be on the same path.
.
.
.
♥️Recovering our true selves is a journey that we owe to ourselves. Feeling comfortable in our skin, saying what we want to say, having healthy intimate relationships, managing our triggers and enjoying less anxiety are your right! ♥️We have learned some ways of reacting and thinking which don’t help. And we can unlearn these too. We just have to consistently work on ourselves and get those new neural pathways working so we start thinking and reacting in different ways. We can make ourselves feel better. .
.
♥️So happy to be on this journey with you of healing, authenticity, honesty, safety and love. .
.
♥️I’m working on meditation’s for inner child, anxiety reduction, coaching groups and also creating a community where we can all share, learn and heal with each other. Support is everything. Are you the type of person that wants to evolve and grow? Let me know below xx
.
.
.Sending love! Lorraine xxx

May 24, 2020

A newer favourite is Benjamin Ebuehi of Bake Off fame. Her cookbook, The New Way To Cake, is getting rave reviews. My daily perfume (Lords of Misrule from Lush) combines vanilla and black pepper so I’ve been wondering about using black pepper in sweet bakes for a while - cue her Plum and Black Pepper Cake! (yum!). And if you fancy getting on the banana bread train in a slightly different way… hers includes peanut butter.

cooking_thebooks

Sunday morning peanut butter and banana bread fresh out of the oven @bakedbybenji recipe so good!

May 31, 2020

Benjamina’s Instagram is gorgeously styled and feels like flipping through the pages of a high-end magazine - prepare to get hungry when you see things like these gorgeous lemon, ricotta, and thyme cakes (what a flavour combination!):

bakedbybenji

Lemon, ricotta & thyme loaf cakes from my book 🍋 Haven’t made these in ages but I love how the ricotta makes them so fluffy and light. One for the weekend I think.
.
.
.
#f52community @food52 #feedfeed #homemade #vscofood #thekitchn #epicurious #lemoncake #f52fresh

April 15, 2020

She also makes Hot Cross Buns the proper way with dough rather than icing forming the crosses - so you know she’s a good egg.

Last but not least, I want to mention Selasi Gbormittah, also of Bake Off fame. No cookbook (yet?) but you can check out his Instagram for the most awe-inspiring haute patisserie. These are bakes to watch with my jaw to my chest, not ones I could even think about trying at home.

selasigb

‪The hungry caterpillar 🐛 chewed through my chocolate leaf 🍃 😅🤨.... ‪The Apple Crumble Dessert 😋 ‬
‪•Pressed Cinnamon Crumble‬
‪•Caramel‬
‪•Vanilla IceCream‬
‪•Apple Cider Compote‬
‪•Chocolate stalk/leaves ‬ ‪La Pomme Rouge 🍎 ‬
#Apple #Crumble #Dessert #Chocolate #Seasonal

November 6, 2019

See also: a chocolate leaf, the most gorgeous flower made out of strawberries (and all to go atop a tart), a really really beautiful cake.

I’m going to leave you with a few articles to read:

• Stewed Awakening: Eater

• I’m a Black Food Writer. Here’s Why We Need More Like Me: Chefsfeed

• Where Are All The Black Restaurant Critics: Grub Street

We’ll chat about the usual silly stuff next week - stay safe, everyone, and donate to charities working to end police brutality and systematic racism in the US and elsewhere. I’ve donated to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund so far, and looking for a UK charity to put some cash towards too.

Find me on Instagram: @LilyMCooks

If you liked this email, please share it with a friend:

Read back issues here:

And please feel free to reply to this email to tell me what you thought :)