"I made some fresh collards, black eyed peas, deep fried chicken, candied yams, potato salad and of course, corn bread. I like to clean and marinate my chicken the morning before I fry chicken. The fried chicken was delicious!"
@ThatJerseyGirl , I'd like to eat all of this.
I think I want to get some powders today! Yesterday, I went to the store in town ,that caters to the African community. It is owned by a Southeast Asian and Indian family. The cashier was this beautiful Indian woman with a braid down her back. Along with other stuff, I had a small bag of fenugreek seeds.
She scanned the item and with her fingers still on it, she tapped the bag and asked, "What are you going to use this for?" I said,"For my hair". I continued, "It makes afro-textured hair, my kind of hair beautiful, too. Indian women coat the hair with oil and then rinse it out. Or, Indian women use powders and rinse out. We, women with afro-textured hair use oil
and powders together. We use amla and shikakai and methi and other powders."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Ya'll she busted out in English to get clarification. She changed to English and said, "You know about shikakai, too?" I smiled and said, "Yes!"
She told me that they, Indian women, use soaked fenugreek seeds for stomach trouble. She said they soak them overnight and then drink
just a little in the morning, especially when one is on their period or cycle. I didn't know that. I'll have to go back and get more intel. I'll bring it back to the camp, Shea Ground Zero, once I get the information from her.
She messed up now. She is Indian and knows about the powders and she asks questions and gives suggestions. And she speaks English, too? Uh oh, lookout! I'll be bugging her from today forward.
I think I'll try and make a small batch of shea butter with some Indian powders. As an aside, about 3 years ago I went to the Southern part of France in Marseilles. I think there are far, far more black people their because I stepped into a beauty supply before heading to the train station. That man had
every Indian powder known to humankind. The black population is far less here in Lyon. So, the trends take longer to get here. Hence, there is not a large selection or variety of powders from which to choose.