(bright jingle) (deep calm music) - Welcome to Monograph summer broadcast.

I'm your host, Jackie Clay.

I'm in Greensboro, Alabama, visiting an old neighbor, and we're excited to share something a little different to feed your creativity.

Join us for a sampling of Alabama's fine culinary arts.

Hello.

So we're here with Sarah Cole.

Tell us where we are and what we're gonna do today.

- We are in my kitchen space in Greensboro, Alabama, and today we're going to be making one of my menu staples as I call it, which is, it's sfouf, which is a Middle Eastern turmeric cake.

- So what are we working with here?

- One really lovely thing about Arab cuisine is that it's very limited ingredients because we focus a lot on the flavors of things.

And traditionally this cake is not a vegan cake, but I wanna make sure that a lot of people... Like, people that come to the table have something to eat.

This cake, the base of it is a semolina flour, which is a durum wheat.

And then, which is really popular in the Middle East.

I use white spelt flour in mine, instead of all purpose flour.

There's coconut, turmeric.

Some people, some recipes call for like anise and others don't.

- I know what that is.

Mm-hm.

- But yeah, I like to put it in mine.

- How do you serve this to folks and how is it maybe more traditionally served?

- This is a great cake to pair with tea.

- Okay.

- Big, big tea drinkers.

This is like the perfect tea or coffee cake.

- I'm really excited to make the cake.

Before we get started, let's learn more about Abadir's.

(calm music) - I'll be in the kitchen working and you know, and it just feels good and it feels right.

It feels like I shouldn't be doing anything else.

My name is Sarah Cole and I am the owner and chef behind Abadir's, which is a small pop-up eatery in Greensboro, Alabama.

Abadir's is a family name.

When my mom moved to the United States, they changed their last name, which was Abadir to Anton because they were afraid of what people would think about them if they had this very sort of unique name.

I just always thought Abadir was really beautiful.

So it was nice doing what my family didn't feel like they could do, share this name and share that culture with people in the community, so.

When I was younger I spent a lot of time sort of watching my mom and spending a lot of time watching, you know, my aunts and everybody cook in the kitchen.

Like my mom...

So she, you know, moved from Egypt to rural Alabama when she was 28.

And so a lot of the things that she would make were either very somewhat, like I say, Southern traditional Egyptian dishes or very Southern dishes.

You know, I had her, and then we would venture out of rural Alabama and go see my family in Jersey City.

And, you know, it was a very sort of different experience from being like in this small Southern town to like around some very Egyptian women and men who were just, you know, they're always like yelling and talking loud and talking over one another and the-- But everything was always like, every time we got together, it was always centered around foods.

There was so much food on the table.

I don't know, when I was around them, I really got to experience more of like the traditional side to my heritage.

And it was just a, I don't know, it was a nice experience.

With Abadir's I do a mix of traditional North African and sort of my take on more wholesome Southern dishes.

But a lot of the ingredients I use, like the flavors and things are all the sort of like spices and seasonings and stuff from like Egypt and the Middle East.

And then a lot of the flours that I use or I do more whole wheats.

I use a lot of spelt flour.

I also use a lot of rose water and orange blossom water.

And so it's a lot of just flavors that I'm sort of familiar with from like, you know, how my mom used to cook.

Then I just kind of put my own like spin on things that people might be familiar with.

But also do a lot of like traditional dishes as well.

So like maamoul, and add the pita pockets and things like that, but I'll include like different fillings.

A lot of people see me as like the healthy bakery or the really fancy bakery.

And I don't see myself as either of those things.

I'm just trying to feed people real food.

I source as much as I can locally.

And at this time I'm able to source from various farms in and around the area.

And then I also source from my own garden.

I have a big, nice vegetable garden that I do in my backyard.

And I source a lot of my ingredients from that.

When I came to Greensboro and sort of initially started looking for a space here, before I had like actually made the move down, a lot of people found out that what I was trying to do, it is a small town.

And everyone got really excited or they're referring to me as the Egyptian baker lady.

It sort of took off almost immediately, which is not something that I had really expected and I'm already having a hard time keeping up with everything.

So the response has been really nice.

Like people have been supportive of me in Greensboro and every sort of city and town that I go to, like, somehow people know about Abadir's and it feels really strange.

(laughs) You know, I just spend a lot of time alone in this kitchen space and I'm just here baking and cooking.

And so for so many people, like if I go to a pop-up, someone will always come up to the table and say, "I've been following you for so long, "and I'm so happy that I can be here."

And it feels so weird because I'm the one that does that to other people.

(laughs) So for like, for people to do that to me, it's, I don't know, it's strange.

But it's kind of exciting having people get just as excited about food as I do.

It's really encouraging.

It's nice.

- Now that we're back, how do we start?

How do you start your process?

- So it's a pretty straightforward cake recipe.

Mixing the dry, mixing the wet, combining, we'll bake it off.

But this cake actually requires a rest period, which we will get to, so.

- Why do you mix the dry in the wet?

Why can't I just put it all together?

- Science.

- (laughs) Okay, okay.

- It's baking science.

But no, honestly, like one thing about it is that this cake does use a baking powder.

And sometimes when you mix a liquid in a baked good, it activates like the baking soda, the leavening agent.

And so, yeah.

- You wanna save that.

- We just save it.

And it's all about, you know, it really is all about the science of like how things sort of come together and then when it's the final product, so.

- Your assistant will hand you things.

- Sure.

(laughs) Thank you.

I'm actually going to sift this one just because the baking powder can get a little clumpy.

- Mm-hm.

- So I'm just gonna drop that back in there.

And that's just like, you know, the anise.

So we'll just mix that in, combine it with a whisk.

And then we'll set this off to the side.

If you wanna set this.

- It smells really good.

- It's a very strong smell.

- Fragrant.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

(laughs) And then... - And that's the turmeric I'm smelling.

- Yeah.

It's the turmeric and the anise.

- Mm-hm.

It's lovely.

- It's a really powerful combo.

- You're missing out.

- So we're just gonna mix so the sugar gets dissolved in there and then we'll add oil.

And you can pretty much use any oil.

Sunflower, olive, sometimes I use an olive oil, sometimes I use coconut oil.

The-- Usually it uses like a melted butter, but again, we're not using dairy in this.

So we'll just mix it up.

And the thing about this cake is you don't wanna mix it too much because it'll make the cake super dense.

- Hmm.

And why is that?

Baking science.

I'm not gonna ask again.

Yes, yes, baking science.

- (laughs) That is it.

And then we will just pour this right into the dry.

Thank you.

And then we'll just give it a little mix, not too hard.

- Mm-hm.

- And it comes together fairly simple.

- Mm-hm.

- Thank you.

(laughs) So I'm just gonna like clean off the sides a little bit.

And then what we're going to do is add some coconut.

- I am very excited about this cake.

(laughs) I mean the batter looks good.

I'm on board.

- I know, it's a very good cake because it's not too sweet.

It's like the perfect amount of sweetness, and then it has like this really nice earthy quality to it.

- Mm-hm.

- But this batter actually has to sit.

We want the coconut and the flours and everything to absorb the liquids a little bit more.

So it needs to get a little bit, I mean, it's pretty thick now just because I add a lot of coconut, but we're just gonna let it sit for a minute and then we we'll pop it into a pan and bake it off.

- Okay.

- Just set that off to the side, thank you.

(laughs) So we have some tahini here and tahini is a ground sesame seed paste.

A lot of people compare it to peanut butter.

I don't think it tastes anything like peanut butter.

I think it's just like, you know, the fact that it's a ground seed.

But, just gonna grease this pan with tahini.

You can also use any oil, but-- - I love the brush.

- Yeah.

It's nice.

And we'll just pour the batter into the pan.

- What do I do?

- (laughs) So just, I like to sort of like tuck the bowl.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

And then I'll scoop that over to you and just like, you just scrape it down in there and it's gonna be a really thick batter.

So it's just gonna kind of like plop on in there.

You can be a little-- you don't have to be so gentle with it, it's okay.

(laughs) - Well it's been resting, I want it to wake up nice and... (giggles) It looks like I've never baked a thing in my whole entire life, doesn't it?

- No, you're doing great.

(laughs) It looks so natural.

(Jackie giggling) - Okay.

And then I kinda... - So then you just, yep, just kind of smear, you know, make it even, just fill into the corners.

- This feels very good.

- Isn't it nice?

It's a nice one to fill.

And then when we top it, you actually get to like, the batter's so thick that you can actually like touch it and it doesn't stick to your hands.

- Does that look good?

- That looks great.

I mean, you know, you can make it a little bit, a little bit more even.

- Okay.

- It's whatever you want the cake to look like.

There is no... We don't do perfect baking here.

- Okay.

- We just do good baking.

- So I've done this, what's next?

- All right, so.

- How do I top a cake?

- So we, this cake traditionally uses like, they use the blanched almonds and you just sort of like place it in to where you're gonna be cutting each piece.

Sfouf, by the way, actually translates to "lines."

- Huh.

- And that just means it's just... - In a grid.

- Exactly.

- Okay.

- So that's why it's called sfouf.

- I put the almonds on first?

- It's however you wanna do it.

So I will just like throw a little bit of coconut on there.

- Can I do that too?

- Yeah, do it.

This is-- you top the cake.

(Jackie giggling) - Okay.

- And then... - Okay.

- Like some sesame seeds, do the same.

- I love sesame seeds.

- I do too.

- And it's like sesame under and sesame on top.

- Yeah.

Imagine the cake is being cut into 16 pieces and we'll just place the almonds where the little squares will be.

- Okay.

- All right, so now that the cake is done, we're just gonna pop it into the oven and it bakes for about 15 minutes.

And it'll be ready to go.

- While that bakes, we're gonna learn a little bit more about another Alabama creative at Last Call Baking in Birmingham.

(chill hiphop music) - I think you eat with your eyes first.

So when I'm working on my cakes, I want them to look as appetizing as humanly possible.

Trying to bring things that I personally love, like Japanese food, Korean food.

I lived in Japan for just a little bit and got to see a lot of how they create very detail oriented, French inspired food.

And also trying to remember like my Southern heritage, my Jewish heritage, and trying to mush that all into like a big pie is like my goal.

I lost my pastry job at Urban Standard when they closed at the beginning of the pandemic and I made an Instagram, I was just like, "let's see if people like this Japanese bread "that I'm making in my apartment."

And they did.

And it got pretty serious pretty fast.

And now we're opening a bakery.

So, yeah.

Here we are.

I grew up in Chelsea, Alabama, in a space that at the time was not very developed like Chelsea, Alabama is now.

So there wasn't a lot to do.

So we cooked.

I spent, I was making choux pastry when I was like 10, just bored in my kitchen, being like, "this'll be great!"

(laughs) So it was like something that was a pastime for my family to just hang out in the kitchen and put together.

I went to Stanford for fine art.

I was a painter.

I tried painting.

I tried sculpture work.

I tried photography and it just didn't hit.

And then when I started baking, I couldn't stop.

I was just like, "if I could make this the way that I would make a painting, "this would make it ten times better."

And then I just started doing it.

A lot of things that I'm looking for when it's decorating a cake when it comes to that, is just the aesthetics, the textures of the items.

If the fruit looks bumpy and weird, how can I place this here?

If that fungus branches off in this great way, what kind of shadow does it cast when you're slicing it?

If you're ever like, "what's up with these combinations that you're using?"

And it-- There have been so many times, this is gonna sound like a bit and I'm gonna sound crazy on camera, or, yeah.

But I'll like wake up from a nap and be like, "oh, white miso paste could go in that so well."

It's just something in my brain is looking for like very basic components.

And luckily we as humans have developed really intricate ingredients for me to have all of those flavors at once.

And I try to find little pathways that connect to tasting the right thing.

And sometimes that looks like putting mushrooms inside of a cake.

And when that happens, I'm like, "oh, it tastes perfect.

"That's exactly what I wanted."

(hiphop music) For me half the time it's just seasonality.

It's like, just doing basic research.

What I know is going to be at, you know, as delicious as it is peak during the season.

What's most sustainable for the season.

And then the other half is literally me spending half the week at local, like, Mr. Chen's we have here, hometown supermarket is amazing.

Red Pearl is amazing.

I spend most of my time there scoping out what they've brought in, what they think is important and what they think is going to sell best.

And then I try to take at least one trip to Atlanta or to like Memphis a month to visit my family who lives out there and go to as many markets as I can just to see what's going on and then sourcing it and bringing it back.

Doing like a Passover Seder box.

These are foods that I grew up on.

And those flavors like, live in my soul.

So trying to speak that kind of, that kind of deep spiritual feeling into something that I know.

I also love like Japanese food, trying to figure out a way to verbalize that through food has been kind of difficult, but it's my end goal is to get there.

So right now it's a little strange, but it's a part of the practice.

It's a part of getting in there and baking and figuring out how do I tell people this without using words?

Watching people, like... For me, when I post a cake on instagram and I see somebody be like, "oh, that's really pretty."

But then watching them be able to experience the flavors that I've tried to capture and the overall essence of what I'm trying to tell them through my food and watching them eat that is a very intimate experience.

'Cause it's like, you've created 10 hours work of art and it's being destroyed in front of you.

And they're so elated.

(laughs) And it's just, to me, it's like giving somebody a bear hug.

It's like, I've done this for you.

So that's the big language I'm trying to speak to folks when they're eating the food.

It's a big bear hug.

That's really pretty.

'Cause something I would've loved to tell myself is just like, don't care too much about perception.

I think there were a lot of times during the beginning of this process where I kind of pitfalled into like, "oh, I'm headed to this market.

"This is definitely what they would like to see."

Or like, "oh, I'm creating this content to try "and brand myself in this certain way.

"This is what these folks are gonna want to like, "try and see for me."

But at the end of the day, your personality is gonna shine through.

And if you're making something you really love, there's no way that you're gonna be able to conceal that identity.

So you might as well just do it.

You might as well be obnoxious if you wanna be obnoxious, you know?

It's gonna happen either way, so.

Yeah, don't care too much.

Just do it.

- Who wouldn't work up an appetite after watching that?

I'm so glad the cake is ready to pull out of the oven.

- Yeah, the cake is ready.

Okay.

Ooh.

Look at that.

So we got a little toastiness on the sesame seeds, which is what you want.

Okay, so we're gonna let this cake cool for a little bit longer before we cut into it.

And then we can, you know, then we can dive in.

- So we met about a year ago.

Over that time, I've seen you kind of expand your pop-ups.

What is next for Abadir's?

- So, Abadir's is in a really big, unexpected transition right now.

I actually found my own place.

And I'm in the process of doing a little renovation in there.

Why I'm so covered in paint, because I've been painting for several days now.

But this was, I said it was very unexpected, and it is, because I did not-- I wasn't planning on these things moving so quickly, for the business, but, I don't know, things are going really well.

And I'm just sort of riding this wave and seeing what happens, so.

- In that early time of our meeting, we also had a conversation where you were thinking about, like, cooperative models and the food access issues that are present in the Black Belt, and then rural communities in general.

Is this, you know, is the new place, is it gonna allow for that, or, yeah?

- Yeah.

I actually have a nonprofit called Black Belt Food Project.

And so the space will be used for the nonprofit organization and for Abadir's.

It's built for the community, or it is being built for the community, but it's a place where we'll have classes and workshops and just different sort of food-based educational opportunities for people.

Food is, you know, it's something we all experience in one form or another and yeah, every culture has its own food experience.

And being able to just use that as like the connecting force for the community, but also using that as a way to give people an opportunity.

Not just like, you know, an opportunity to eat food, but to just sort of like grow and develop on their own.

- You think it's cool enough now?

- Yeah, I guess we could check and see.

So I'm just gonna cut.

Ooh, we covered up all these little almonds.

So we're just gonna cut it into 16 pieces.

- Oh, I see the 16 now.

- And we're just gonna go for a little corner piece because I also like a corner piece.

So let's see if I can make this so nice and neat.

- Ooh.

- Ooh, look how yellow.

It's so bright I love it.

- That's lovely.

It looks great.

- So we can just, do you wanna break off a piece?

If you wanna get fancy, you're more than welcome to have a fork.

Would you like a fork?

- I want a fork.

- Okay.

(laughs) - Ooh.

That's good.

That's very good.

You're right, it's not too sweet.

- Yeah, it's not too sweet at all.

I think that's, what's like the... there's like a nice balance between what little bit of sugar's in there and that turmeric.

- And you can also taste the tahini that you greased the pan with.

This is great.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you so much for cooking this with me and for being in this space with me, Jackie, it's been really nice.

- I'm gonna enjoy the rest of this cake, but you guys are gonna end this episode on a sweet note.

We're headed to Chocolatá in Birmingham, Alabama.

(gentle calming music) - People walk into the chocolate shop and there's this immediate (sighs) it's like a sigh of love and appreciation for something.

Well, it was my first real job working in a chocolate shop.

I was 15 years old.

I never did go to school for higher education.

I just was a young mother.

And then I found myself a single parent.

I worked two jobs.

I don't know, I just...

I think you get stuck in these mindsets that you're always going to struggle, you know?

It can get really deep-rooted.

I was just really burned out on what I was doing in the design world.

And I thought about the chocolate again.

I think that I really decided this is something I have to do.

I have to at least try.

So I started working on a business plan and I went to the bank and they actually turned me down at first, but it was this force that I-- It was beyond me.

And I just knew that it was gonna work out.

Within a year of getting the business license, I opened the shop.

It was an immediate success.

I was just shocked.

(soothing hiphop music) There's a lot to think about while you're in the process of making the chocolate.

I guess what most people maybe don't understand is just like the chemistry of it.

There's a process of tempering that is very important to get the structure of the chocolate, the crystallization back so that the bar snaps, has a shine, has a good texture.

If you ever buy a bar that is kind of crumbly or if it has lines or dots, fogginess on the top of it, that's the cocoa butter coming to the surface.

So that means that that temper went out at some point or it wasn't properly tempered to begin with.

We pour it into molds for bars or for bonbons.

The bonbons, we hollow out the mold so that we can pipe ganache in it.

Whatever you're gonna fill the shell with, you wanna be careful that that temperature does not melt that shell.

The quality of the air, so when it gets super humid it causes problems.

I do use a thermometer on certain chocolates, but there's some chocolates that I work with so much that I don't even use the temperature gauge anymore because it's... you get to know it so well.

It's what it looks like, it's what it feels like, the fluidity of it.

And you just know that's ready.

That's ready to pour.

And just like any food, it's an experience.

I started the company because I wanted to just be creative, be my own boss and bring something to Birmingham that we didn't have.

I also wanted to be part of the revival of downtown Birmingham.

And that's why I chose that little shop down there.

What surprised me immediately was the joy that people feel when they walk in the shop.

And I think that that fed my soul more than any other part that I had intended.