Food Justice and Food Sovereignty with Our Kitchen Table

Thought About Food Podcast

This episode we talk with Lisa Oliver King and Estelle Slootmaker from Our Kitchen Table about food justice, food sovereignty, and the great projects OKT does to implement those concepts in the world.

Show Notes

• Follow us on Twitter at @FoodThoughtPod, and you can drop us a line at ThoughtAboutFood on Gmail. Consider leaving us a review wherever you found us!
• Lisa Oliver King and Estelle Slootmaker work for Our Kitchen Table, a grass-roots, nonprofit organization serving greater Grand Rapids.
• Our Kitchen Table does amazing work, and they have resources for replicating those programs in your own organization or community. Check them out!
• Our Kitchen Table was featured in the book Food Justice in US and Global Contexts: Bringing Theory and Practice Together, which I edited with Zachary Piso.
• The intro and outro music is "Whiskey Before Breakfast" which is both a great traditional song and an increasingly common practice for parents helping their children with remote schooling. It was performed and shared by The Dan River Ramblers under a Creative Commons license.
• Since we had two guests, we were lucky enough to get two recipes! Lisa Oliver King's heartily endorses Bryant Terry's recipe for greens in our episode. She also writes, "Bryant joined us for an event a few years back and has remained dear to our hearts. I always share his cookbook when we table at events. https://www.sunset.com/recipe/garlicky-mustard-greens"
• And here's Stelle’s recipe:

  "I love making this soup for my hubby and me. This big pot of soup lasts us two or three meals. I make and
  freeze vegetable broth from stalks, stems and leaves of vegetables we get from our CSA share all
  summer. If I don’t have sweet potatoes, it works just as well with winter squash, which we also freeze a
  lot of. This soup recipe launched my passion for making hearty soups, which have become a mealtime
  staple for us. I got this recipe when my daughter, Caitlin, worked at the People’s Food Co-op. I have
  lots of good memories of meeting her and her brother, Rob, there for lunch of coffee when I visit Ann
  Arbor."
  People’s Food Coop of Ann Arbor West African Peanut Soup
  • 1⁄2 T olive oil This big pot of soup lasts us two or three meals
  • 1 1⁄2 C Spanish onion peeled and chopped
  • 1⁄4 T minced fresh ginger
  • 1⁄2 t sea salt
  • 1⁄4 t cayenne to taste
  • 1 1⁄2 C sweet potatoes, chopped
  • 2 1⁄2 C veggie broth (may need more)
  • 3⁄4 C creamy peanut butter
  • 3⁄4 C tomato juice

  1. Sautee onions in oil until transparent. Add carrots and spices. Continue sautéing about 5
  minutes more.
  2. Add sweet potatoes and broth. Simmer until veggies are cooked through.
  3. Remove from heat. Add tomato juice and peanut butter. Process until smooth. Adjust
  consistency with more broth or tomato juice.
  4. Soup will thicken as it cools.