Pride and Joy

A couple months back, I came across a Boston Globe article chronicling the first inaugural Queer Food Conference held just this April at Boston University. Organized by professors Megan J. Elias and Alex D. Ketchum, this conference centered the same question you probably have right now: WHAT is queer food? Well, the conference organizers looked at the term “queer” in terms of action. The art of queering food is, as Elias says, “looking at food in ways that go beyond expected binaries.”

I was floored. As I’ve explored my own queer identity, food has been right there with me. You probably could have guessed that. I’m reading this article and thinking, well, gosh, what a gorgeous way to push boundaries. The conference itself took on Queer Food from numerous perspectives: from gender identity to social justice to science and botany. Did YOU know that reproductive biology in plants is modeled off of specifically Western gender binaries that don’t do botanical biology justice? WHO WOULD!

The idea of this conference was always to go beyond: beyond gender and sexuality binaries, beyond social and cultural expectation. Simply to seek out what it looks like when we let go. Most certainly, in my life, that same quest has been a driving force.

I’m linking the Queer Food Conference website here, as well as the write ups on the conference in the Boston Globe and the NYT. I urge you to read more. But for now, a moment on what this all brings up for me.

Queerness. I’ve been working hard to embody queerness as a defining term but also as action – to exist as a queer woman fully and unapologetically, even in ways I am still very much discovering. Queerness to me has included the process of seeing myself through kinder, wider eyes. It has involved seeking stories in the world around me, asking questions, being gentle and open. It has required grappling with how the two meet: Sarah, in her queer identity, at Pride with her straight partner. I’ve answered a lot of questions from others and from myself. I’ve done a lot of dancing.

And food aligns how? Well, last year I went to my first queer event, brought along by my dearest friend, and we danced for 14 miles (thank you Health app for quantifying the exact distance of 6 hours of boppin’. VERY athletic of me). We reveled in a space made for us. Got down to Beyonce. Scream-sang unit our throats hurt and we were drunk on happy. We took the train home and sat down at the table for a dinner we’d prepared for our post-dancing selves earlier that day. Boxed macaroni and cheese, sautés summer squash, rotisserie chicken. We ate in near silenced nourished our tired bodies. It was a perfect moment, nourishing my body and mind and replenishing our energy, joy, and conviction. I felt so safe and so me, truly feeding this wonderful part of myself.

The one place I’ve always felt close to my true self is cooking and sharing food, so this didn’t shock me too much. I thrive in a space where I can drop boundaries. A place where I can let go. Cooking, eating, sharing… it’s simple, no matter how intricate the attempted product. It feels so easy. Just like my queerness.

When I’m alone and existing in my whole self, my queerness is the simplest thing about me. It feels natural and possible. It’s freeing and expansive. Oh… and it is joyful. And I find that joy with others in a similar way – over cold mac and cheese, sharing a drink at Pride brunch, cooking with friends, serving my latest bake. “Pride and joy” is a thing for a reason.

If queerness is a recipe, I want something simple, easy, and joyful. Boundary-less. Whole. And maybe a bit of a rainbow motif for the hell of it? May I present the meal of all meals:

The Whole Shebang (w/ Sun Sauce)

It’s summer rolls except I ran out of rice paper and had lettuce in the fridge. Think summer roll tacos animal style. And dang, they are GOOD.

• Baby Butterhead Lettuce (Gotham Greens grows a real beaut. Go for any big lettuce leaves if you can’t find the exact thing!)
• Julienned (ish) veg/fruit
  • Red onion
  • Bell pepper
  • Cucumber
  • Carrot
  • Pineapple
  • Purple cabbage
• Protein
  • I like extra firm tofu cut into strips and pan fried until crispy
• Herbs (very important! Pick two!)
  • Basil
  • Cilantro
  • Mint
  • Scallions
• Sun Sauce (whisk it up, baby now!… until smooth.)
  • 1/3 cup of sunflower butter
  • 1/4 cup of coconut aminos
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • Red pepper flakes to your hearts desire
  • Cold water to thin to your taste

Plating suggestion: get rainbow with your presentation and assemble your wraps at the table, over the cutting board, while watching TV. Enjoy.