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16 (Fri) October 2020

Filthy McNasty’s Orange Creamy Dip with Brown Specks in It

2.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Newbery 100 Medals, 100 Meals (9) (see 100 NEWBERY M&Ms)

While reading the 99 books that have been awarded the annual Newbery Medal since 1922 – leading up to the 100th winner to be announced next year – I will also attempt to create one dish for every book, a dish that is directly referenced in or indirectly inspired by the events of the book.  Food plays a strong role in many of the stories; not surprising as the characters in most of the books are faced with adversity of some sort, including poverty, so they’re often very hungry and thus grateful whenever they get a bite to eat – as we all should be at every meal, give us this day our daily bread.  The dishes will be featured as posts on Give Me This Day.

The Crossover (2015) by Kwame Alexander.  The book tells the coming-of-age story of Josh Bell, aka Filthy McNasty (after the song by Horace Silver), and his struggles with school, basketball, sibling rivalry, and family illness.

I loved this book, never read anything like it, so dynamic, so alive, so compelling, so fun.  It’s written in verse, each chapter a poem, uniquely structured to reflect an action or an issue or an emotion.  I also appreciated the author’s masterful skill in conveying a clear African-American perspective without relying on obvious, stereotypical black tropes – aside from basketball, which is a critical element of the story.

To make the hummus orange, as per the description in the book, I added sun-dried tomato.

[paraphrased in part]

Mom calls me into the kitchen

after we get home from beating

St Francis.  Normally she wants

me to sample the macaroni and cheese

to make sure it’s cheesy enough,

or the oven-baked fried chicken

to make sure it’s not greasy and

stuff, but today on the table

is some gross-looking

orange creamy dip with brown specks in it. 

Maybe Mom is having one of

her book club meetings.

Sit down, she says.  I sit as far

away from the dip as possible.

Our family has a history

of heart problems, she says,

so we’re going to start eating better. 

Especially Dad.  And we’re going to

start tonight with

some hummus,

Understand?”

I understand more than she thinks I do. 

But is hummus really the answer?

The book mentions pita bread, but I served the hummus with cucumber spears and sliced baguette.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)