Guest post written by The Gardins of Edin author Rosey Lee
Rosey Lee writes hopeful stories about complicated families and complex friendships. As a native of the West Bank of New Orleans, Louisiana who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Rosey’s writing is inspired by the people, traditions, and food that anchor her to the South. She enjoys cooking, listening to live music, and occasional bursts of fanatical bargain shopping. As a child, Rosey dreamed of a career in writing, fashion design, and acting. She uses the pen name Rosey Lee as she pursues her passion for writing. Her alter ego is a physician who has dedicated her career to individual and community-based approaches to health equity.
About The Gardins of Edin: When the bonds in their family begin to fray, four Black women fight to preserve their legacy, heal their wounds, and move forward together in this heartwarming contemporary debut novel with loose parallels to beloved women from the Bible.
Food is an important part of my family tradition, and it’s a key part of Southern culture. So, I couldn’t resist including food in The Gardins of Edin. My debut novel also features one of my specialties—french toast. My mother taught me to make it when I was a kid. For years, I thought the recipe had been passed down through generations, but it turns out that my mother found it in a magazine. I have adapted the recipe to make it my own, just like my grandmother did with the school lunch recipes. So, when my characters mention “the sweet smell of the caramelized sugar” and tucking “strawberries and fresh mint around the decadent baguette slices to create an illusion of a Christmas wreath”, I feel like I’m walking in my grandmother’s footsteps.
I am the granddaughter of a ‘cafeteria lady’. She always told me what would appear on the school lunch menu before it was published each Sunday in our local newspaper. Since the newspaper often missed last-minute menu changes, I read it just to see if it was accurate. Whenever my favorite foods appeared on the menu, I knew that if there was a surplus that day after my grandmother and her staff fed the students in the junior high school cafeteria she managed, we would have the leftovers for dinner that night.
My grandmother added her own twist to the standard recipes handed out to cafeteria managers across the school system. Once perfected, she used the recipes at home too. So, when my characters in The Gardins of Edin savor tasty treats from Edin’s newest restaurant and marvel at “the softness of nut butter with pops of crispy rice cereal and crunchy peanuts”, they are not referring to a dessert item that I found online. They are enjoying the peanut butter crunch that my grandmother made at work and at home.
But my family cannot take credit for all of the food in the book. My novel also features lemon pound cake. Although I sometimes pretend to use a secret recipe for the dessert that my family members and friends adore, the real “secret” is that I use a recipe that I found online, except I don’t use the glaze. I make mini daisy-shaped cakes just like those in The Gardins of Edin. Something about eating a florally inspired, individually sized confection makes it feel special.
Writing The Gardins of Edin allowed me to reminisce about how food connects me to my family and also share that warmth through the story. I hope you’ll pick up a copy and enjoy how the food in the novel helps you get to know the Gardin family.
