What Nourishes You?

WhaT NouRISHES YOU?

An essay, poetry, and recipe collection celebrating the theme of NOURISH!

SPIRIT & PLACE IS HOUSED IN THE IU SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AT IUPUI.

Spirit & Place is part of the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI 425 University Blvd., CA003B Indianapolis, IN 46202 All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2023 No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission from the copyright owner.

FOREWARD A couple of years ago Spirit & Place Program Director Erin Kelley received Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora, a Cookbook by Bryant Terry (2021) as a Christmas present. The book turned out to be a gift that kept giving!

Not only did it introduce Spirit & Place to the writings of Michael Twitty – the 28th annual Public Conversation speaker – but it inspired the creation of this booklet, What Nourishes You? This limited-edition booklet is filled with essays, recipes, and poems from local creatives and Spirit & Place friends who were simply asked, “What nourishes you?”

While not as robust at the 300+ page Black Food, it is filled with heart-felt and beautiful writings on the nature of nourishment. From reflections on faith and family to poetry and shared recipes, we hope you will find inspiration and delight from this collection and offer it as a gift of thanks for being a part of this year’s Spirit & Place Festival.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 3

Because Poetry Can by Maria Hamilton Abegunde....... pg. 8 God by Mary Boggs.......................................................... pg. 10 Creating & Making by Darren Chittick........................... pg. 11 Carlos’ Rice by Jennifer Delgadillo..................................pg. 12 “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” by Rhonda Fox Waltz.............................. pg. 14 Mushroom Gravy Recipe by Clockwork Janz................pg. 16 The Love That Gives by Lasana Kazembe.................... pg. 18 We’re All Students by George Kelley............................. pg. 20 Aloo Sabzi Recipe by Kavita Mahoney.......................... pg. 22 Sheer Khurma Recipe by Rima Shahid......................... pg. 24 Egg Custard Pie Recipe by Shamira Wilson................ pg. 26

4 | SPIRIT & PLACE

table of

CONTENTS

Abegunde is a Memory Keeper. Her writings have been published in FIRE!!!, North Meridian Review, Massachusetts Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Trouble the Waters: Tales of the Deep Blue, Ashe: Ritual Poetics in African Diasporic Expressivity, Black Joy Unbound, and SO WE CAN KNOW: Writers of Color on Pregnancy, Loss, Abortion, and Birth. She is the commissioned poet for Be/Coming, Keeper of My Mothers’ Dreams, the Lynch Quilts Projects, and the Sister Song exhibitions. She is a Cave Canem and Black Earth Institute fellow. She is a faculty member in the Department of African American Studies at Indiana University.

Born in Connersville, Indiana, Mary Boggs moved to Florida when she was six years old and finally made her way back to Indiana 33 years ago by way of Baltimore, Maryland – and a few other states. An active member with Church Women United, League of Women Voters, and her church, St. Albans Episcopal, Mary is a faithful attendee to Powerful Conversations on Race and has taken those lessons back into her community work. A proud grandmother of five, Mary is the embodiment of what lifelong learning put into action looks like.

“Making” makes Darren Chittick happy. The pastor at The Church Within in Fountain Square, Darren also teaches wheel throwing at Fountain Square Clay Center, weaves on and off looms, and, with his husband, is slowly turning his garage into a functioning makerspace.

(Saws and routers and cnc for now.) Admittedly super obsessed with the Standford d.school Guide Series (he has the whole set), Darren is applying his love of “making” community-rich experiences into a retreat experience in Oaxaca, Mexico called “Make, See, Do.”

Jennifer Delgadillo is a Mexican American writer and artist living in the Near Eastside of Indianapolis.

She has a BFA in painting from Herron School of Art + Design and is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Fiction at Butler University.

Her writing has appeared in NUVO, PATTERN Magazine, ASYMMETRY and ABSTRACT

by PRINTtEXT, An Anthology of Women Writers by Heartland Society of Women Writers, and Booth Journal.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 5

Rhonda Fox Waltz received her BA in English from Indiana University in 1977. She is a strong supporter of the Indianapolis art community, both as a patron and through her private art collection and has also been a dedicated supporter of Spirit & Place, The International School of Indiana, and Indiana University for several years. She and her husband, Kevin, are the proud parents of two children and one granddaughter.

6 | SPIRIT & PLACE

Lasana D. Kazembe is an Assistant Professor in IUPUI’s School of Education (Dept. of Urban Teacher Education) and in the Africana Studies Program. He is a scholar of Urban Education, Global Black Arts Movements, and the Black Intellectual Tradition. A poet and spoken word artist, Dr. Kazembe has performed at colleges and universities throughout the U.S., and venues in Canada, and Africa. As a teaching artist, he has developed and facilitated creative writing programs within youth detention centers, prisons, community centers, K12 schools, and other learning spaces. In 2022, Dr. Kazembe served as the first Artist in Residence at The Cabaret.

Clockwork Janz is the Director of Creative Talent + Equitable Practices for Arts for Learning Indiana where they manage a roster of 50 teaching artists and ensembles. Before joining Arts for Learning, Clockwork spent almost 10 years as a teaching artist working at the intersection of music and culinary arts. They have a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from Butler University.

IMAGE CREDIT: Wildstyle Paschall

George Kelley has been the Education Director of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck in Indianapolis since 2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York and a Master of Education from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Throughout his career, George has worked to create innovative approaches to Religious School education, borrowing from other traditions and his background in secular education to blend good pedagogy with Jewish learning.

George’s interests are creating curriculum to help use Jewish values to enhance interpersonal relationships and exploring new ways for young people to make Torah relevant in their own lives.

Kavita Mahoney has more than a decade of experience working with artists, culture workers, community and neighborhood organizations, and citywide initiatives to develop strategic partnerships that elevate arts, culture, and environmental justice. She currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer for Indy Parks and Recreation (City of Indianapolis) where she also co-leads the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for Indy Parks. A lifelong learner, researcher, and equity practitioner, she is committed to social justice, community engagement, and the advancement of an equitable and inclusive cultural economy.

Rima Shahid is a native Hoosier of Pakistani descent who is the current executive director of Indiana Progress.

An active community member, Shahid is also currently serving on the Central Indiana Land Trust Board. She previously served as the executive director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana and, later, as the first executive director of Women4Change.

Shahid attended Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and lives with her husband and three children in Central Indiana.

Shamira Wilson is an interdisciplinary visual artist based in Indianapolis whose work has been featured in exhibitions and installations at Newfields Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indiana State Museum, and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Shamira works primarily with paint, textiles, and wood and is passionate about ethnobotany, herbalism, and geology.

She has spent most of 2023 “off the grid,” in a year-long farming apprenticeship.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 7

Because Poetry Can Maria Hamilton Abegunde You’d think after forty years I’d forget you.

How you jumped out your seat to answer my question: why invite a poet to community leadership day?

Or that the poem that reveals our frailties and fears, our penchants to maim each other, is the poem that teaches us how to be brave, and how to comfort ourselves and strangers.

You wanted everyone to hear, especially me, the one who wanted to know: Because poetry can change the world!

Afterward, the world was not the same.

And the poem that tells stories of love teaches us how much we need to be still, and to laugh when children embrace us, because so much joy should not be wasted.

Right then, standing in front of you, I knew that if you knew this truth, then I could hope one day my words would heal me. And heal the world.

These days, I can’t stop writing.

If I do, nothing will make sense and, if nothing makes sense, then there is no purpose in taking the time to notice hummingbirds.

I am hopeful that the poem that tells the story of a broken heart can mend one that is.

That the poem that tells the story of a lost child will help a wandering one return home.

Or the color purple on brown girls running down the hall of a university, laughing, in a war-torn country where there is no water in the pipes and the living seek refuge in graveyards.

If I stop writing, I cannot tell you about the courage it takes to sit at the roadside begging for food from people you know don’t have any to give.

8 | SPIRIT & PLACE

Or the selflessness it takes to share your water, after a whole day of walking up and down the road, and the only thing you have is what you started out with: nothing and your hunger.

If I stop writing poems, I can’t tell you about how going to Juba changed my soul and how I cry sometimes for days because I want to know what happened to that little girl.

I don’t even know her name. So, I imagine she is a fifth grader who still loves purple, and that no one has told her that girls can’t run in university hallways because girls don’t go to school.

And, I think: If I were a little girl in the fifth grade, I would want someone to write me a poem that one day I would find, a poem that begins: Who says Brown girls can’t laugh in the midst of war zones …

About this Poem Young people nourish me and my life in ways that make me reflect on why and for whom I write poetry, or anything at all.

I listen to the questions they ask and to the answers they offer.

I pay attention to what they do and how. They inspire me to continue writing about the difficult things in the world, the possibilities for transformation that exist – and always with love and hope intertwined.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 9

GOD Mary Boggs What nourishes you?

The first thing that came to my mind is my faith in God. Then I thought, as an octogenarian, maybe there is more to consider: My loving family, many supportive friends, interesting travels, unusual life experiences, diverse places I have lived, or meaningful opportunities for community involvement.

Then, I realized that my faith in God made all these things possible.

Throughout my life, my faith in God is the number one source of my strength. The first 24 years of my life I was a member of the Christian Science Church – a Christian denomination that grounded me in the belief that (1) everyone was created in the image and likeness of God, (2) love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind and (3) love your neighbor as yourself.

Sixty years ago, at the time of my marriage, I joined my husband to become a member of the Episcopal Church. This denomination enhanced my faith by focusing on the “dignity of every human being” and offering the sacrament of communion followed by a prayer of encouragement to go out “into 10 | SPIRIT & PLACE

the world in peace and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart.”

As a leader of Church Women United, I have had opportunities to work with women of faith of different Christian denominations, races, and life experiences.

Social justice is a primary focus of this organization which has provided a platform for public forums on Child Hunger/Poverty and on Gun Violence.

As a member of The Inter-congregational Social Action Network I have been able to work with persons of all faiths to address various social justice issues. My primary focus in on gun violence. As a volunteer in the Indianapolis Public Schools for over 30 years I am very aware that not all young people grow up with hope for the future. As co-chair of Congregations United to Reduce Violence (CURV), I am focused on encouraging the residents of the City of Indianapolis to work together to create more opportunities for all young children to live in a safe environment.

I need consistent nourishment to continue to grow.

A nourishment that will give me a strong foundation of God’s law, governing every aspect of my life.

CREATING & MAKING Darren Chittick Creating nourishes me. I didn’t know what that meant for me in a real way until I found myself starving. When I finally figured it out, I learned that it’s not just creating that nourishes me; it is making with my hands that feeds me body, mind, and soul.

In 2018, I had been in my current position as the Pastor of The Church Within for 4 years. I was 43 years old. I felt myself craving creative outlet, and I was confused by that.

I “create” regularly as part of this job. I write thousands of words, week after week. Some will make the cut and be delivered on Sunday mornings, and others go into the weekly email. The process of crafting that language requires time, reading, contemplation, dialogue, and plenty of drafts. I spend a lot of time in my head, thinking about the words and sources I’ll bring together in hopes of inviting people into fuller living. I didn’t understand why I felt so very hungry for more creativity in my life.

By the end of that year, I knew something had to give, and I remembered that I had connected online with a guy who owns and runs a clay center near where I work. I had always wanted to throw pottery on a wheel, so I talked to my husband about it, and looked into classes with his encouragement.

In early 2019, I took my first pottery class. Within a few months, I knew that what I required to be fed by creating is for a physical manifestation of the work to exist.

No amount of written or spoken words satisfied this

need. Without an object to interact with, I had no idea if all the hours of thought and crafting I was giving to my work actually made an impact. I can hold up a bowl or mug or planter, though. I can see that I actually made something, and the physical process was evidenced there, too. You can see the act of making in the object itself.

I also need the physical process. The creating, the making that nourishes me moves me out of my head and into my body. Ursula K. Le Guin writes in her book Always Coming Home, “Nothing we do is better than the work of handmind.

When mind uses itself without the hands it runs the circle and may go too fast; . . . . The hand that shapes the mind into clay . . . slows thought to the gait of things and lets it be subject to accident and time.”

Making, creating with my hands, puts me there; it puts me in handmind, and it nourishes me in ways I didn’t know I needed until the moment I was fed. Now I attend to my own hunger to make. I get my hands to work often. I throw pots, weave, knit, carve, and garden.

I make. I invite others to make.

I teach making.

I am nourished.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 1 1

CARLOS’ RICE Jennifer Delgadillo These days, during business hours, there are three to four people working at my father’s restaurant, Tlaolli on the near eastside of Indianapolis, wrapping tamales, pickling onions, dicing pico de gallo, massaging the hibiscus flowers every 15 minutes with spices (for an hour) and then throwing them back in the oven.

The last time I worked there, which was about a year ago, I made note of just how involved and complicated the recipe book for the 20+ dishes on the menu has become – on the spice rack, there is an alphabetized recipe binder (one of many attempts to organize my father by one of the many people that has worked there), but it’s still crammed with hand-written notes and addendums, post-it notes and changes. The rice, which used to be added after the seasoned broth was boiling, is changed to now be toasted in olive oil before having the broth poured over (the Philippines method).

I’m not sure which version of rice he’s making these days, but I do know it’s the best rice I’ve ever had.

I’ve worked at the restaurant off and on since it opened ten years ago – since the early days before steak prices shot up, when we were still serving molletes with torched Chihuahua cheese on top, and before my father

12 | SPIRIT & PLACE

introduced vegan versions of birria, mole, chorizo, and cochinita pibil. I’ve worked there when my dad has needed help and when I’ve needed help, too. One time both my dad and his right hand (at the time) Kim threw out their backs, and I had to run the whole restaurant by myself! Another time my grandmother Minerva died, and my sister Carla and I joined forces to keep the doors open while my father went back to Mexico to bury his own mother. Then there was the time I started grad school and my father said, “You always have a job here.” I’ve washed dishes for what seemed like weeks, organized events, and run the register with both good and bad attitudes. With my husband, Joseph, I helped set up an online store when the pandemic hit, and we saw ourselves having to change the way the restaurant did business. I’ve cried and laughed and danced and felt like a brunch celebrity flipping eggs in the air to the sounds of cumbia.

More than 25 years ago, when we were growing up in Mexico, daydreaming with my father was a family activity during the scorching days of summer. We’d lay on the cold tile floor as we listened to him describe the Italian restaurant, he was going to open one day. Back then he was a chemical engineer who ended up working as a sales representative for steel, traveling through South America. Somewhere along his travels he met an Italian man who taught him how to make marinara from scratch, chicken cacciatore, and spaghetti carbonara, which he taught my sisters and I how to make, each one of us taking turns incorporating egg yolks, pancetta, parmesan, and pecorino Romano while he tossed the pasta in a giant bowl. He’d say grazie mille!

And molto bene!

Much like in those afternoons daydreaming with him, we’ve found ways to be part of my father’s dream – Tlaolli’s logo is designed by my older sister, Samantha, and the menu, as ever changing as it might be, is rooted in Carla’s culinary education, as well as in my grandmother Minerva’s cooking. My mother has always said that running a restaurant is not her dream.

Looking back, it was more than clear that he was dreaming something for himself, a life alternative for the rainy day that came years later after we immigrated to Indianapolis. He was working in sales in a different sector, but also finding out that getting older and having a thick accent makes a sales job a little difficult because we can’t control how others perceive us. But the dream was still in his mind, being reshaped by his experiences living as a Mexican outside of Mexico. Much like his Tlaolli recipe binder, my father was making edits. In life, you can always change the way you make rice.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 13

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Matthew 6:21

Rhonda Fox Waltz

Decades of experiences and observations from past festivals cause me to identify the things that I believe are nourished as we participate in Spirit & Place this, and every, year: • our sense of community, • connectedness to our home place and its people and opportunities, • inquiry into ideas and experiences that can open our hearts and minds and provide a sense of fellowship as we attend, • outreach to things familiar and unknown and • informative, purposeful, and artful expression that helps us to understand what we have in common and, • ideals we can aspire to and live by.

14 | SPIRIT & PLACE

As I recognize some of the many things that sustain, fulfill, nurture, and support me I imagine you will recognize yourselves. Being asked my opinion and feeling as if it’s respected does feed a need, hence I said yes to giving it on this topic. Thanks for asking.

From first memory I hear my father saying: Be of use.

Sometimes being useful means I do the laundry, pick weeds, load the dishwasher, delegate what gets harder for me to do myself. Time changes the list but finishing it does satisfy. Connecting with my new granddaughter on Facetime, my sister, my Book Club Sisters, my family, my friends, connecting with ANY person, place or thing fills me with love and attention and opens the flow needed to carry on, even feel joy along with sorrow.

With my people I laugh . . . about ailments, things that we’re sensitive to, people we’re hurt by, things we wish were untrue but know to be true. With their acceptance I meet deadlines, overcome obstacles, solve problems, express myself. My relationship to exercise evolves, yet I do like to feel my body work as I survive my workout to do it all again another day. I still can. To make

other’s burdens lighter I volunteer to do something helpful for someone else. It gives me empathy to pay attention to the reality that “there but for the grace of God go I.” I read books and watch movies and TV to be informed, to feel emotion, to think about other ways to look at the world and my own point of view. I seek out opportunities to organize and list, sort and plan. Order suits me better than by-the-seat-of-my-pants action, but, I’ve learned it doesn’t nourish everyone. Nothing is more nutritious for the soul than meals shared with friends and family—and, especially as I get older, when I don’t have to plan, shop, and cook them all by myself!

I sometimes practice retail therapy. Receiving thanks for choosing the perfect gift is a great compliment. I do want to thoughtfully consider the people I love because love received and given nourishes everyone.

What we treasure, we will nourish. What we nourish sustains us and gives us purpose and hope for our future.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 1 5

Mushroom Breakfast Gravy Clockwork Janz, from the 2022 Garfield Park Cookbook Scan the QR code below to listen to a “symphony you can eat to” while enjoying this recipe. Link in the music’s comments for the Garfield Park Community Cookbook.

I first made this for a pop-up at the Garfield Brewery in June 2022. Mushrooms are wonderful for making gravy, their hardiness plays well with the oat milk for a mildly nut forward base. Sun-dried tomatoes counter that with brightness to balance.

Growing up, my mom made biscuits and gravy on Saturday mornings when her then-boyfriend had stayed over the night before. It meant we were having a good Saturday, that we weren’t trying to do a lot of work. It meant we would lounge, toil less. When Mom made biscuits and gravy, it helped me to believe she was happy.

This recipe is less heavy than my mom’s sausage gravy. Still not an active meal but will not put you in a food coma. A compromise. Try it on toast as well for an elevated vegan S.O.S., or on fried eggplant cutlets for dinner.

16 | SPIRIT & PLACE

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

14 oz of your favorite mushrooms (I like Shitake for this recipe) cut into bite sized pieces 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 small onions, small diced 1 large green pepper, small diced 4 cloves garlic minced 1 tsp ground cardamom 2 tsp paprika 1 Tbsp “Better than Bouillon” Veggie Bouillon 2 Tbsp Margarine 4 Tbsp flour 2-3 cups oat milk 4 oz Sun-Dried Tomatoes, thinly sliced 3 Tbsp Fresh Oregano, minced

In a large saucepan, lightly brown mushrooms in olive oil over a medium high flame. Do not add salt at this time, the mushrooms need to brown to lock in their liquid. Add in the onion and green pepper. Sauté until onions are translucent and peppers are fragrant. Salt lightly, and add in the garlic, cardamom, paprika, and “Better than Bouillon.” Stir for a minute, then reduce heat to medium low.

Active Time: 10 minutes Inactive Time: 30 minutes

Melt margarine into mushroom mixture. Stir in flour until it has incorporated thoroughly. Drizzle in about ½ cup oat milk. Whisk until the flour has mixed together with as few lumps as possible. Bring the mixture up to a low boil. Adding a ¼ cup at a time, pour in oat milk to your desired thickness, making sure to whisk and bring up to a boil every time.

When your gravy is the right texture for you, add in sun-dried tomatoes and fresh oregano. Continue to let simmer until serving. The gravy will get thicker and tastier as it simmers.

Servings: 4 IMAGE CREDIT:

Dee Alderman’s 1-2-3-4 by Josh Haines WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 17

THE LOVE THAT GIVES Lasana D. Kazembe here we reside us we the people set adrift on seas of longing calling nature nurture calling for something even outside our cornered selves greater perhaps maybe or not even there is something overripe and awkward in the story of we who come seeking the truth to know it as we wish (or once did) to know ourselves like the intimacy of sweet rain and the thirst it disappears a blues we stand to speak a chorus of fever dreams conjured inside and out like some numberless experiment involving who we wish we were could be more like 18 | SPIRIT & PLACE

more alive more beautiful more alive than beautiful perhaps if only we’d get out of our own way we could be broadcast like the last heirloom seeds into earth seeded into that loving lovely darkness that will first receive then nourish then expel us like lost children chasing solitary stardreams seeism a blues there is something clumsy and frightful in the solemn notness of illiterate spirits who reject yet know not the truth of everyday things like the love that takes and gives or the beauty in the beauty of a thing that truly lives for the proud transformation of ideas to action or of breath

to life then deliverance then death here we be still us we the people critiquing bent symbols and folklore lies from lips poisoning air water earth pendulum lies from lips speaking anonymous violence the vain luxury of ignorance a blues not there is value in knowing the poem in the music of seeing more fully being we wish we knew ourselves like the flower in a first kiss greater perhaps beautifullest welcoming

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 19

We’re all students George Kelley When I was in college, I worked for Catholic Charities at a neighborhood center in Syracuse, NY with a mission of supporting the families with the goal of the elimination of poverty and injustice. One semester my job was to run an afterschool program that was both a homework club and provided learning activities for elementary aged kids in the neighborhood.

I was young and inexperienced but had ideas of how to make learning fun. One such project was to take alphabet noodles and make sentences on thick cards. They could create a project while practicing vocabulary and spelling. One student was putting the noodles in her pocket and when she saw me looking at her, she said, “This is food.”

In that moment I was no longer the instructor; I was her student. She taught me more in three words than I had learned in any philosophy, religion, or pedagogy class. Here I was using food as a craft supply with children who may go to bed hungry. Those handfuls of noodles could have been a source of nutrition for the day. This was the day I realized that learning can and maybe should be a two-way street. A seven-year-old had more wisdom than I did at that moment, and I am better for allowing her to teach me.

The stereotype of an educator is someone who transmits knowledge to another individual or a group.

However, thanks to that seven-year-old, I have never since thought about education in that narrow way.

In fact, my educational philosophy has been that classrooms should be places of learning more than teaching. Within every group I have taught, I have found students who helped me advance my own learning.

Because a college student in my Human Development

20 | SPIRIT & PLACE

class challenged a statement I made about Piaget’s theory, I discovered it was something that Piaget wrestled with himself. Because a teen who made a flippant comment about there being no difference between Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, I rewrote an entire curriculum. Because a student asked me about the gendered language used in Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, I worked with colleagues to find inclusive language respectful to both nonbinary youth and the sacred text of Judaism. Each of these incidents challenged me to understand my own personal biases that I was not fully aware I had.

I have been able to continue to see exploring my own biases throughout my career as an educator with help of my students. I have also been in a position to teach others to do the same. It isn’t always easy, being challenged by a student, often in front of a class. It can be humbling. But in the end, it truly feeds me and keeps me in touch with the ever-changing world. Good educators will always find ways to be good students as well. Sometimes we don’t have to seek too far.

Students and teachers are in a symbiotic relationship, and both should learn together. This is not something new; in fact, the idea reaches back to antiquity. In the Talmud, a collection of ancient Jewish writings, Rabbi Chanina stated, “I have learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, and most from my students.”

Being an educator has never been an easy job, but what truly nourishes me is when a student has learned enough to challenge me as their teacher; forcing me out of a place of comfort and getting me to learn from them. It is also nourishing that a student feels safe doing so. A seven-year-old child reminded me that food is precious. I am grateful for her challenge to me that helped shape my career. We should all take a moment to realize that we are all students and can be nourished in ways that may be surprising.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 2 1

ALOO SABZI

(Indian Vegan Potato Dish) Kavita Mahoney My mom is my absolute favorite cook. In her midtwenties, she immigrated to America when she married my dad, not knowing anyone else in this country or her way around the kitchen. She taught herself how to cook through trial by error, relying on her knowledge of Indian spices, and recalling techniques from childhood memories of her mom cooking. This was one of the first easy, vegetarian recipes she learned to appease her young and picky children.

Since I was young, this has always been a staple dish in my home – and one of my favorites. Aloo (Hindi for “potato”) Sabzi (Hindi for “vegetable dish”) is the true meaning of comfort food to me.

INGREDIENTS: 2-3 russet potatoes (boiled until just tender, peeled, and cubed)* 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil 1 small onion or ½ large onion finely chopped 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 2 bay leaves 1 medium or large tomato diced 1 small 8 oz. jar tomato sauce** 2 tablespoons of coriander powder 1 teaspoon of red chili powder*** 1 tablespoon of turmeric 1 teaspoons salt + more to taste 1 teaspoon of garam masala Water (3/4 cups and 1 ½ cups – used at two different times) ½ bunch of cilantro (chopped finely, stems and leaves)

INSTRUCTIONS: In a large wok or skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and bay leaves.

As soon as you hear the cumin seeds crackling, add the onions. Sauté until golden brown.

Lower the heat to medium, add in the tomato, and stir.

Add half the can of tomato sauce.

Add the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, and salt. Then, immediately add ¾ cups of water.****

2 2 | SPIRIT & PLACE

Lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 5 mins covered, stirring occasionally.

Gently mix in the potatoes and a pinch (tablespoon or so) of cilantro.

Cook covered for approximately 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garam masala and sauté for a couple minutes.

Add 1 ½ cups of water and turn the heat up to medium-high (adjust heat, as needed, if boiling too rapidly). Cook uncovered for approximately 6-8 minutes. Tip: If your sauce is running thin, you can smash a few smaller chunks of potatoes to thicken it up. Or add additional water, if you like a thinner sauce.

Turn off the heat, and add salt to taste, if needed.

Top with cilantro and serve.

This dish is best served with puri (deep fried wheat bread) or paratha (layered wheat flatbread).

*

Don’t overcook the potatoes; they should be just tender, but not soft enough that they’re falling apart. If you don’t have russet potatoes, you can also use red potatoes, but increase the quantity (approximately 8-10 red potatoes), since they’re smaller.

**

Freeze the other half of the tomato sauce for another recipe (or to make this once again another time)!

*** Indian red chili powder is different than the chili powder you might normally have in your pantry. If you can’t find red chili powder at your local grocery store, check out an Indian or international grocery store. This adds some heat but is not overly spicy.

Feel free to adjust based on your taste and spice level. **** If you’re worried about burning the spices, you can mix them with the ¾ cups of water beforehand and then add in the water-spice mixture all at once.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 23

SHEER KHURMA RECIPE Rima Shahid Every Eid, the aroma of sheer khurma fills our home, enveloping it with a sense of warmth and celebration.

It’s a cherished tradition passed down from my paternal grandmother to my mother, and now it has become an integral part of our Eid festivities.

The recipe might vary from house to house, but the essence of sheer khurma remains the same— an indulgent and creamy vermicelli pudding that symbolizes the joy of Eid. As a child, I would watch my mother meticulously prepare sheer khurma, carefully measuring the ingredients and infusing it with her love and devotion.

She would narrate stories of how my grandmother taught her the art of making this heavenly dessert, adding her own touch to the recipe. The sheer khurma would simmer on the stove, filling the house with its enticing aroma, while anticipation grew within us.

24 | SPIRIT & PLACE

On the day of Eid, we would gather as a family, dressed in our finest attire, eagerly awaiting the moment when the sheer khurma would be served. As the bowls were passed around, we would savor each spoonful, the sweet flavors dancing on our tongues. It was a moment of pure bliss, a connection to our heritage and a celebration of togetherness.

Today, Eid feels incomplete without my mother’s homemade sheer khurma. It brings back memories of love, tradition, and the joy of being surrounded by family. The recipe might be just a blend of milk, vermicelli, and aromatic ingredients, but its significance is far greater. Sheer khurma is not just a dessert; it is a symbol of love, nostalgia, and the cherished moments we share on this special occasion.

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 liter milk 1/2 cup vermicelli (seviyan) 1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter 1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews) 1/4 cup raisins 1/4 cup dates, pitted and chopped 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder Saffron strands (optional)

Heat ghee in a deep pan or pot over medium heat.

Add the vermicelli and sauté until it turns golden brown.

Pour in the milk and bring it to a gentle boil. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Add the chopped nuts, raisins, and dates to the milk. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the vermicelli becomes soft and the flavors meld together.

Stir in the sugar, cardamom powder, and saffron strands (if using). Mix well until the sugar dissolves completely.

Simmer for another 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to blend.

Remove from heat and let it cool slightly before serving. Sheer Khurma can be enjoyed warm or chilled. Garnish with additional nuts and saffron strands, if desired.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 2 5

EGG CUSTARD PIE Shamira Wilson Recreating family recipes has been a joyous way to nourish relationships, bodies, and spirits.

Egg custard pie is a favorite dessert, and one that my great-grandmother and mother would often make on special occasions. Over the seasons I have tested various recipes to recreate the once written down version and have continued to make it for friends and for family gatherings. This summer, I have finally settled on a version that is perfectly flavorful, fluffy, and sweet.

For those with different dietary needs try substituting non-dairy milk and alternative sugar. As I’ve recreated this recipe I’ve also tried a version with non-dairy ingredients and sugar with a lower glycemic index, like coconut sugar. Biodiversity in our diets and food ingredients increases our exposure to diverse food and plant microbes, enhancing our gut wellness while honoring the ways that we nourish ourselves and each other.

INGREDIENTS: 9” pie crust 6 large eggs (2 separated for meringue) ¾ cup sugar ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar A few slivers of butter 2 cups milk 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar Vanilla extract (optional)

1 ½ hours, plus 1 hour for pie filling to cool.

*Substitutions: Gluten free pie crust Coconut sugar (for pie filling) Coconut or other non-dairy milk Plant based butter Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

PIE FILLING: Drop 5 slivers of butter around the bottom of the pie crust. Prebake pie crust for 10 minutes to eliminate any sogginess when baking the pie filling. If the pie crust bottom fluffs, deflate with a fork or knife.

Place 2 ½ cups of milk in a pot on the stove top to scald.

26 | SPIRIT & PLACE

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Prepare eggs for the meringue. Separate 2 eggs and place egg whites into a dry bowl. These will be for the meringue. Set egg whites aside and leave at room temperature. Place egg yolks in a large mixing bowl.

Add cream of tartar.

In the large mixing bowl with the 2 egg yolks, add and whisk 4 whole eggs, ¾ cups of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and the 2 cups of scalded milk.

Pour and spread egg white mixture onto the pie filling.

Place pie crust onto a cookie sheet. Cover the edges with aluminum foil to avoid overcooking. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 55 minutes or until the pie is golden and set around the edges. If you are substituting a gluten free pie crust and sugar and/ or milk substitutions, reduce cooking time to 40-45 minutes. Watch for the pie to set. Coconut sugar may alter pie color to a slight caramel.

Slowly incorporate the confectioners’ sugar, tasting periodically. If it becomes bitter you’ve added too much and can correct with vanilla extract.

Place pie into the oven. Watch for the meringue to turn slightly golden. This can happen quickly on the broil setting.

Remove pie from oven, let cool slightly, and serve!

Enjoy!

Once the pie has baked, let cool for 1-2 hours.

Remove foil edges.

MERINGUE: Add meringue before the pie is to be served. All bowls and tools used to make the meringue should be dry and free of any water.

Turn the oven to broil, if broil is unavailable, heat to 400. Adjust and lower oven racks away from the broiler coils if needed.

Using a mixer, mix egg whites on high until they start to foam and peak.

WHAT NOURISHES YOU? | 27

SPIRIT & PLACE IS HOUSED IN THE IU SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS AT IUPUI.