Episode Details

“Before I came here, I dreamt about this land.”  —Jessie Jowers, Slow Life Family Farm

The third course in our series, Secondi, brings us to the tensions of resistance and surrender. In this episode of Fat of The Land, Ayana speaks with Jessie Jowers of Slow Life Family Farm and Deborah Zapparrata of Cooking Sicily. Here, the episode asks us to consider what social and domestic roles do to us. Focusing on women’s stories, histories, and layers of expectations around femininity, the body, and even the earth, that come from this, the conversation considers the complexities of  lived and inherited wisdom; how they might be at odds, and where they may be reconciled. When women are told what we should desire, what we should have, what our expectations of life and family ought to be, are our experiences flattened? 

Asking questions of the land, the trading of spices and recipes, of the myths about women (from making ricotta from their breastmilk to liberate their cities to goddesses worshipped on the Sicilian coastline), Ayana, Jessie and Deborah contemplate how these histories may have been inherited (or, at times, rejected) by contemporary women. This episode grounds us in matrilineal connections that span generations 

Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire. 

This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritū, Terra Elaÿa, and Heyday Books.

The featured music in this episode is “High Hill” by Evelyn Frances and For The Wild Studio.

Thank you to Jessie of Slow Life Family Farm and Deborah of Cooking Sicily for joining us in conversation.

Bios 

With a passion for the traditional uses of plants, Jessie Jowers brings a wealth of knowledge about local crafts, foods, and medicines to her farm’s daily life. 

Deborah Zapparrata, nearly a decade ago, founded Cooking Sicily. It is a project born from a profound love for my island and its ancient roots. Alongside her family, her mother, three children, and her son-in-law, she has worked to preserve and share the true soul of our land. Cooking Siciliy explores Sicilian identity through its authentic flavors, rooted in a millennia-old history. Their cuisine is a unique Mediterranean tapestry, weaving together Greek, Arabic, Spanish, and French influences. Through local ingredients and ancestral heritage, Deborah invites the world to taste the living history of Sicily.

Evelyn Frances is an experimental, avante garde musician and songwriter from Upstate New York, currently based in Seattle. Her work weaves in her foundation as a classical flutist and jazz musician, while moving forward into electronic exploration of sound. Lyrically, she touches on themes of climate change and human’s relationship to nature, political rage, and her own struggles with mental illness.

Partners

Heyday: Compassion in Crisis

Crisis looms large in daily life. From failing public health infrastructure to resource shortages,  endless wars, and melting ice caps the crisis in