Queer Kitchen Connection #6

Welcome Taste Buds!

I am struggling with the devastation happening around the world, the division, and the incredible weight of so much death. It’s hard to be present when reading and writing. It’s hard to show up to nourish myself. And I know I’m not alone as we all bear witness to harm and experience collective trauma. I can’t work without acknowledging that we are all connected—that global happenings affect our struggles in many ways—because connection is so fundamental to everything I do when we talk about food relationships.

While I have very low capacity for social media, I have a voracious capacity for connecting directly with others in real time. I want to find more people who want to work with me! I want more community and conversation with colleagues, friends, and conspirators (or “collaborators” if that’s your preference)! I want to talk about pain and joy and everything else, and I want to hold spaces for these dialogues that limit retraumatization. Hopefully you see lots of opportunities for connection throughout this newsletter!

It’s been a year with a lot less business for Food Focused Nutrition, so I hope if you’ve been considering working together that we can meet up and have a conversation to see if it’s the right fit at the right time. If you know someone who might like to work with me or find a way to collaborate, we could all gather for an introductory chat!

I’m so glad you’re here, and I look forward to talking with you soon.

Be well,

Jex

Send Foodz

Food pictures, stories, and connection from my kitchen (and yours)!

A double-crusted pie in a purple ceramic pie plate, viewed from the top. Vents have been cut into the top crust that resemble a jack-o-lantern face, triangles for eyes and nose, and a big smile with square teeth.

Pie season has arrived, and whether you’re an apple pie fan, a pumpkin pie fan, or something else (as with this jack-o-lantern face on an apple pie), I hope you enjoy a slice (or more) of your favorite pie in the coming months. What’s your favorite pie? Right now my favorite to make is Derby Pie, but I’d also love a Lemon Meringue Pie…if I didn’t have to make it.

Are you bready for this? Sharing bread is one of my favorite parts of sharing a meal with friends. I made these tear-apart rolls for a recent friend gathering, and we devoured them. I’m still working on finding the most accessible ways to make bread since my hands aren’t always up for kneading, but in the meantime at least I’ve got a kneady partner, and a bread machine that can sometimes take on the work (if I work the machine correctly).

Fifteen golden-brown rolls that were baked so they’re just touching in a 9x13” metal pan.

A round plate half-full of spiral pasta in an orange-colored vodka sauce. A big pile of cooked spinach takes up the other half, with both pasta and spinach overlapping a round, breaded chicken patty in the top-right part of the plate.

The first time making a familiar recipe in a new place is always different, often a challenge, and luckily (at least this time) immensely satisfying. This vodka sauce is so creamy and instantly makes pasta even more comforting and cozy than usual. As we enter the holidays where sometimes we need to cook in different kitchens (or transport our food to gatherings), I wish you ease in adjusting to different environments, and many delicious foods after cooking!

Want to send foodz? Reply with a photo/story and we'll try to include it in the next Queer Kitchen Connection!

What’s Cooking?

Upcoming special events—Food Focused Nutrition-related or otherwise!

Let’s Make Lunch!

starting Thursday, 11/16, 3-4pm EST

A photo of two yellow sticky notes pinned to a corkboard. The larger, bright yellow note reads: “LUNCH BREAK!” in black marker. The smaller, light yellow note reads: “Alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting November 16!”

A weekly, virtual meetup for folx to show up and make nourishment together in community, while also having low requirements for interaction/participation.

A chance to make your own food and do your own thing over the course of an hour, while others do the same. Come and go as you need.

I and the community will be available to answer questions if someone is stuck on what to make or offer suggestions for how to adjust something that happened while cooking, but I won’t be leading any cooking adventures during this time.

Some days I might make something more elaborate, other days I might microwave some ravioli with a sauce. This series is about showing up to nourish yourself, not judging yourself for what capabilities you have in the kitchen on a given day or comparing to what others are doing.

There will be community agreements where all participants agree to avoid discussion of intentional weight loss, dieting, and other “health”-based judgements about foods.

There is no fee to join Let’s Make Lunch, but I will request donations to support creating and maintaining this space. You are welcome with or without a donation.

The event will be hosted on Google Meet on alternating Tuesdays at 12pm EST and Thursdays at 3pm EST, starting Thursday, 11/16.

Dates for the rest of the year:

Thurs, 11/16, 3pm EST
Tues, 11/21, 12pm EST
Thurs, 11/30, 3pm EST
Tues, 12/5, 12pm EST
Thurs, 12/14, 3pm EST
Tues, 12/19, 12pm EST
Thurs, 12/28, 3pm EST

Email me to be added to the event list!

Graham Cracker House Food-Play Adventure!

Sunday, 12/17, 3-5pm EST

Text on a white background reads: "A fun food event for all ages". Below is an illustrated gingerbread house. Next to it is an illustrated gingerbread person and a thought bubble with text that reads: "It'll be delicious, no matter how you ICE it!"

As the holidays approach, I hope you’ll save the date for a fun adventure playing with food in your own kitchen!

We’ll make a vegan royal icing and use it to construct and decorate a structure made from graham crackers (or gingerbread, or another edible structural element you enjoy).

Fun to do alone, with family and/or friends, and also kiddo-friendly! Regardless of who’s involved, it can get messy at times.

For each device joining the meeting room, the fee is $25. You may also spend a bit on ingredients for your decorated masterpieces.

The event will be hosted on Google Meet on Sunday, 12/17, 3-5pm EST.

Registration is open now, and I hope to see you there!

Find More Details and Sign Up Here!

The Intersection

I'm always working on making Food Focused Nutrition more accessible with baked-in, intentional inclusion. What's the latest step in my journey?

I’m a trans person, and I’m also a healthcare provider. I attended a local conference on “trans wellness” early in November where the intersection of these identities made me question how I should interact with the people and the content. Were they expecting me to be “only” a trans person seeking things that support my wellness? Perhaps.

While providers and allies were listed as welcome at the conference, there were no defined spaces for connecting with other professionals and providers, and none of the folx that I attempted to connect with had business cards or easy ways to share contact info. (Major shout out to Ashley for designing me an awesome digital business card so my name and new email address could be easily updated! Side note: Feel free to share the card below with others to refer me.)

Jex's digital business card with Food Focused Nutrition branding at the top. Text on a white background below reads: "Jex Calvert, RDN (they/them) Buffalo, NY". Below that is a QR code linked to Jex's digital business card webpage.

So this conference wasn’t easy to attend from the intersection of my identities as a trans person working in healthcare, and I think the reason is related to power dynamics.

There’s a power dynamic between healthcare providers and patients, especially patients who are marginalized or have been harmed by healthcare systems. When you schedule a Session 0 with me to see if we’re a good fit, I spend that first hour of us getting to know each other dismantling the power dynamic as much as I can because if I don’t, it creates an environment that disrupts awareness and learning.

I am not here to pass judgment on someone’s food choices or tell a person how to eat. These things bring up shame which causes harm. Instead, I focus on validating that food is hard, and even more than that we all have weird, quirky things that affect how we behave when it comes to food. The important thing isn’t why those weird things exist or ignoring it until it goes away (spoiler: it probably won’t just go away), it’s about how we move in the direction you want knowing those things to be true. I love supporting people in figuring out how to better access nourishment, and find some food joy along the way when we can. Food is such a human thing, and it pairs great with connection sometimes—but not when that connection is steeped in shame.

So what about this conference? There is much to be celebrated about their efforts and attempts to be an inclusive and supportive space, but when intersections of identity aren’t accounted for, often the result is harm. For example, when it’s a conference celebrating trans and gender expansive identities, an emcee returning to a “standard” greeting like “Ladies and Gentlemen” makes no sense. And instead of leaving it as a footnote at the end of the weekend, organizers could reassure attendees from the start that the on-site security professionals in tactical vests received special training so they would treat the community with the utmost respect.

To create an inclusive, supportive, and enabling (as opposed to disabling) environment, you have to acknowledge that you can cause harm, and when you do you need to repair it. People don’t always feel able to take on that responsibility, or haven’t seen enough examples of someone holding that level of accountability, so it’s daunting. But we must do the work to recognize harm and repair, always. Otherwise the spaces we create aren’t supportive.

On a green background is a red starburst "bang" shape, as in a comic book, with lines and stars emitting from it. Within the shape is text that reads, "Support the Pay It Forward fund!"

All contributions to the Pay It Forward Fund support folx in accessing low- or no-cost services with Food Focused Nutrition. Learn more or share my post about the fund on Instagram or Facebook!

Suggest-ipe

Because the way I see it, all recipes are merely suggestions!

Roasted and seasoned tofu and potatoes with sliced bell peppers and red onion, served over lettuce and tomato, with a scoop of hummus on top.

Sheet Pan Protein and Veggies

This started as this Sheet Pan Shawarma recipe.

Whatever meat or vegetable protein you use will be fully cooked in 25 min at 425*F. You can also add diced potatoes which will fully cook in 25 min too. Season with the shawarma seasoning from the original recipe, or use taco seasoning, or another seasoning blend you have on hand.
After 15 min, add softer veggies like bell pepper and onion on top (if you prefer your onion more cooked, put the onion on top of the protein at the beginning) and roast for another 10 min.
Double check that your protein is fully cooked (165*F for chicken, 145*F for beef or pork)
Enjoy on top of a salad, in a wrap, or served with rice or another grain; additional toppings or sides include fresh tomatoes, salad dressing of choice, tzatziki or hummus (especially if using shawarma seasonings), and anything else you love!

As with all the Suggest-ipes, I’d love to hear if you try it, and how you made it work for you!

That’s all for now!

Queer Kitchen Connection is a quarterly newsletter from Food Focused Nutrition.

I want this newsletter to be an invitation for us all to foster more connection around food.

My dream is that Queer Kitchen Connection will be the start of a conversation, and I welcome you to taste, savor, and share in the creation of community with direct replies to the newsletter.

Author Jex Calvert, RDN, Food Focused Nutrition
“Edible-in-Chef” Ashley Bovin, Ease Up Consulting