Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
And Hoecakes with Honey Butter
History has always been wary of powerful women and they are often written into a story as a magical mysterious side plot or as a villain. It was refreshing to see magic and power and women at the center of this novel – and view intimately into their inner conscious which housed their doubts, insecurities, and how they mustered up their strength. This was the type of book that sucked you so completely into its world – especially since it so seamlessly floated in and out of different generations and time periods and perspectives. At the heart of the story was the mother-daughter relationship between Miss May Belle, a healer, and her daughter Rue. We see the struggle that daughters of powerful independent mothers can sympathize with – how to live up to their incredible mother? How to carry on her legacy? How to need her and not need her?
The setting is also important here: the Civil War era in the South on a current and then former slave plantation. Atakora explores the former slaves’ tenuous and suspicious relationship with the word “freedom” and the lengths in which they must go to maintain it. The villains of the story are the same but morph only in title: from slave master to KKK mob. On the flip side you get the unlikely relationship between Rue and the master’s daughter Varina (albeit a friendship that comes along with its inevitable power structures attached). The masterful part of Atakora’s telling of this story was her ability to create such full characters. We see them at their best and most powerful and most good but we also see them making questionable decisions and making mistakes and doing harm. Overall it was a fantastic, well-written telling of the black experience during Civil War and it gobbled you up and transported you into a world of mysticism, haints, the healing power of the earth, “freedom,” and survival.
Final Recommendation:
Skip it! / Put it on your list! / ((Go read it now!))
I started this blog to connect deeper into my books. I am obsessed with tasting a piece of their world and knowing fully, as much as I can, what the characters are experiencing. Its why I love to travel and it’s why I love food. Ashcakes were mentioned throughout this book. They are essentially a corncake, often wrapped in leaves, that are placed on the ashes of a fire to cook. Similar to this are hoecakes, which used to be placed on the back of a garden hoe and placed over a fire to cook. What I made was the closest I could get to this without started a fire in my Bronx neighborhood – and it was essentially fried corn cakes. I asked my friend Julia, who is living in Tennessee, and my closest connection to anything South to ask her boss who owns a bakery for a recipe for these. Mignon ended up asking her pastor, who then got the recipe from his wife and stated: “This is how my grandmother made them.” Can’t think of a better endorsement than that!
In the book, Rue describes Ma Doe’s ashcakes as the best around, and that her secret was a little taste of honey. I didn’t want to mess with the recipe but wanted to incorporate honey, so I mixed together a honey butter to put on top. It was unreal. I also wanted to incorporate some wild edible flowers to make a nod to Rue and Mary Bell’s work as healers.
Quotes that inspired the recipe (and also show how this book travels through generations):
“Rue knew that her mama, thin as she was, did have a love for Sylvia’s ashcakes,” (16).
Afia Atakora
“Li’l Sylvia sold ashcakes, honey sweet, a secret recipe passed down from her mama. […] They had all grown prosperous, as Bruh Abel always said they would,” (295).
Afia Atakora
Hoecakes: (makes about 8)
- 1 ½ cups of self-rising cornmeal (can be yellow or white)
- ⅔ cups of buttermilk (if you use regular milk it is ok – but will come out thinner)
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ cup – ⅔ of oil to fry (should come up to about your first knuckle 1 inch or so in the pan) Any neutral-tasting oil will work: Canola is great or vegetable.
How-To:
- Measure out your oil into a pan with high enough edges. Heat on medium. It’s helpful to have a thermometer here to make sure your oil isn’t too hot – a deep-frying thermometer or candy thermometer will work. Your oil should be heated to about 365-375 degrees.
- Mix all your ingredients into a bowl and mix well. It should hold together but be slightly liquidy – almost like the consistency of oatmeal. If your buttermilk is very thick, feel free to add a few tablespoons more to the mixture.
- Drop using a big serving spoon (I used a large ice cream scoop) into your heated up oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides, flipping halfway through. Remove and let cool on a wire cooling rack lined with paper towels.
- Serve with honey butter and maple syrup OR eat as a side to a savory meal!
Honey Butter:
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
*you can adjust the honey to your tastes – feel free to add more! 🙂
How-To:
- Mix your butter in a mixer until creamy
- Throw in your honey, pinch of salt, and your powdered sugar and mix for about 1 minute until fluffy.
- Spread on everything.
The Knead to Read 