Maya Angelou - Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart

Copyright 2010 by Maya Angelou

Photographs copyright 2010 by Sockeye Studios

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Random House and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Interior photographs: Brian Lanker

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Angelou, Maya.
Great food, all day long: cook splendidly, eat smart / Maya Angelou.
p. cm.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-679-60437-2
1. Cookery, American. I. Title.
TX715.A5696 2010
641.5973dc22 2010017519

www.atrandom.com

v3.1

Autobiography

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Gather Together in My Name

Singin and Swingin and Gettin Merry Like Christmas

The Heart of a Woman

All Gods Children Need Traveling Shoes

A Song Flung Up to Heaven

Essays

Wouldnt Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Even the Stars Look Lonesome

Letter to My Daughter

Poetry

Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water fore I Diiie

Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well

And Still I Rise

Shaker, Why Dont You Sing?

I Shall Not Be Moved

On the Pulse of Morning

Phenomenal Woman

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

A Brave and Startling Truth

Amazing Peace

Mother

Celebrations

Childrens Books

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me

Kofi and His Magic

Mayas World series

Angelina of Italy

Izak of Lapland

Mikale of Hawaii

Rene Marie of France

Picture Books

Now Sheba Sings the Song

Life Doesnt Frighten Me

Cookbook

Hallelujah! The Welcome Table

I dedicate the ambitious intent of this book to those who would love to eat and love to lose weight at the same time.

While I cannot assure that these recipes will reduce the readers sizes, I can say I have tried to offer flavors and savors which will be long remembered and always remembered with a smile of satisfaction.

O Dear O, I hope this will be of use to you.

S ome people buy cookbooks just to read, with no intention of trying the recipes. I hail their discipline, because it is impossible to put on weight just reading about food, even if the accompanying photographs cause the salivary glands to dance wildly in the mouth.

And there are those who want to lose weight, so they choose to read books about dieting, swearing a fierce loyalty to the books recipes and suggestions. There are those who say they would cook if they had the time, or the skills, but since they dont, they delight in reading what serious cooks are able to create. Only a few readers buy cookbooks to really cook the recipes. If this book finds its way into the hands of bold, adventurous people, courageous enough to actually get into the kitchen and rattle the pots and pans, I will be very happy.

I started working on this book over a year ago, and in that time I have eaten from all the recipes described here. I treated myself to delicious dishes, some from my childhood and others I had encountered in travels around the world. I studied cookbooks diligently and was particularly influenced by the writers who loved food, who were gourmets but not gourmands. M. F. K. Fisher, Elizabeth David, Jessica Harris, Margaret Visser, and Jacques Pepin are among the cooks and writers whose work encouraged me.

I read that if a diner ate only a small portion of food, and waited twenty minutes, she would be surprised to find that the small amount she had consumed satisfied her hungerthat is, if the food was really savory, really tasty. Because I live alone, I knew it would be easy for me to follow that advice on portion control. If I chose to roast a chicken, I could plan to eat at least four meals from it. I am sure that if I had to sit at a table with my family, I would find it more challenging to eat only a littlethough not impossible. The cook in the family can prepare a sumptuous meal for the familys enjoyment and still employ portion control, knowing that its okay to return two or three hours later and, without guilt, have a little more.

I found that when I ate a few barbecued ribs and a serving of a few vegetables, I could set the rest aside and return to it later. Likewise, a piece of buttered toast and two soft-boiled eggs would successfully break my fast and fuel me for my mornings labor, or were light enough to be consumed at night without fear of indigestion and nightmares. I only noticed that I was losing weight when my clothes began to appear noticeably too large.

I put the two together and deduced that portion control was the secret to my weight loss.

Some years ago I found my health in danger because I was overweight. My doctors warned me that I was dangerously close to diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure. I tried any number of diets, some silly and some lugubriously serious. Nothing worked for very long. But since I enjoy food, am a good cook, and am well into my upper age group, I decided there must be a way to take the pounds off and keep them off. I made some changes and lost thirty-five pounds. I diminished my portions, and ate more frequently. The title of this book, Great Food, All Day Long, came from that exercise. I eat less, but more often, and the foods I create are wondrously flavorsome.

Most people on our planet live without cereal or even any knowledge that there are foods meant solely to be eaten during mornings and others for lunch and yet others for dinner. People the world over eat in the morning some of the leftovers of what they had at dinner the night before.

As I prepared to write this book, I thought of dishes that would be as good at 8:30 p.m. as they were at 8:30 a.m. I have not suggested cereal or eggs as the only breakfast foods. With my recipes you can have fried rice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. All recipes offered in this book can be prepared and eaten all day long, beginning with a glorious chili. You can have couscous with chicken drumsticks any time of the day or night. The food should taste so good that you will be satisfied with a small portion. If you are diligent about portions, then you can snack with smaller amounts all day long.

I have not tried to cut calories by creating fat- and sugar-free dishes, although I have been careful in not overdoing those foods. I use butter, olive oil, and even lardsparingly, but enough so that the diner can taste the flavors and be satisfied.

I hope that you will find these recipes delicious and fulfilling. I hope that portion control will come easier because of the delight that you will find in these dishes. And finally, I hope you will agree with the philosopher who said less is more.