Soul food is like soul music: You know it when you experience it, because you can feel it down in your very core. If you've ever wondered how soul food got its celebratory name, you're not alone - and it's actually fairly recent, in the grand scheme of things. The term only came into popular use in the 1960s, when it was used to describe dishes - and the love that was poured into them - that defined Black culture and history.
The aromas from her mother's traditional Tigrayan stews would waft through the kitchen as a young Weyanti Ahmed learnrd her craft, experimenting with the spare tips of onions, bell peppers and jalepenos to create my own little meals. Ahmed's mother, Hiwot, lived long enough to see her daughter, now 46, become a professional chef in downtown Oakland, with a much longer list of ingredients in her arsenal.