“Deep Routes”
Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread and Vegan Chili
Teresa: Tell us about your meal and why you chose it.
Maya: I’m thinking of doing cornbread and chili. It’s not very Baltimore, but it’s a huge comfort food for me and one of my go-tos for weekly meal prep. I grew up with two very different chili recipes, but this one comes from my paternal grandma via my dad since she was not about that recipe sharing life, but my dad says that this is how she made it. Any recipe I have that’s attributed to my grandma, my parents got from watching her or guessing by eating. Earlier this year when I was interviewing my dad about my grandma, he’d said this recipe represents her cooking the best since it’s comforting, simple, and really flavorful. I like making foods that my grandma made because I really miss her and as an adult I’m always looking for ways to be close to her, usually through food or humming little songs to myself.
Teresa: Where were you born?
Maya: I was born in Baltimore City, Mercy Hospital.
Teresa: Favorite artists/bands?
Maya: Split between Queen and Nao, both of whom I can listen to up and down and on repeat.
Teresa: What are your hobbies?
Maya: I’ve always been interested in play and experimentation and working with my hands, all of which tend to be expressed through growing, cooking, and eating food. Outside of farming and cooking, I also really enjoy writing and photography, and last year I started to invest more time in practicing both those skills. I like taking pictures of food, places, plants, and I want to practice taking portraits of people too at some point. Same topics for writing, especially within a historical context and to document Black and Brown foodways. As for hobbies, I really love taking dance classes and now I’m trying to figure out how to get back into it outside of going to a studio. I also love crocheting and talking to my house plants.
