To gain wisdom and knowledge about the world of food it’s important to understand the interconnectedness of eating to history, culture, politics, recipes (or not), new and well-loved cookbooks, community action, thought leaders, and a multitude of stories in this case focusing on the African Diaspora.

Seven bites of wisdom this past week:

One, check on your garden. Pick the last two bunches of cabbage collards from the outside raised bed. Marvel at the growth inside the hoop house.

Two, separate and clean cabbage collard leaves. Steam 8 leaves for Sunday dinner rolls using a recipe you created. Put them aside to cool. Eat breakfast of granola, mandarin oranges, trail mix, and yogurt.

Three, make a lentil, potato, okra stew; another recipe creation. Add some dehydrated tomatoes and a big fat jalapeño pepper from last summer’s garden. Season to your tastes.

Four, set up and prepare cabbage collard rolls with stew inside. Try not to eat the bowl of stew just yet. There'll be plenty of stew to savor later on. Pour left over spaghetti sauce over rolls and bake for about 20 minutes.

Five, dry out the remaining cabbage collard leaves for another time and meal.

Six, when it’s not raining during the week, go outside for short walks along the little lake and the levee. Listen to the cacophony of sounds, wishing you could name the birds contributing to this ecosystem symphony.

Seven, get up early in the morning to witness the sunrise. Start each day thankful that building a house on this piece of land at this moment was wise.