CHOPPING BLOCK: Baking By Feel by The Sweet Feminist
A Could-Be-Banned Cookbook Q&A with Becca Rea-Tucker
Earlier this spring I debuted a new series about Could-Be-Banned cookbooks called CHOPPING BLOCK. In the first post in this series, we covered the recent history of book bans and how cookbooks might fit into that equation. In general, cookbooks aren’t on the banned book radar because nobody ever expects food to be a site of resistance, subversion, or anything remotely radical. You and I, dear reader, know better. This series is an exercise in the troubling possibilities of censorship and a reminder of the ways food is never just about food.
For this second issue, CHOPPING BLOCK is proud to present Baking by Feel: Recipes to Sort Out Your Emotions (Whatever They Are Today!) by Becca Rea-Tucker, better known as The Sweet Feminist. In addition to our normal bannability evaluation, we also have a treat in the form of CHOPPING BLOCK’s first ever cookbook author interview! Keep reading to learn more about Baking by Feel and how The Sweet Feminist feels about cookbook bans.
Baking by Feel: Recipes to Sort Out Your Emotions (Whatever They Are Today!)
Baking by Feel offers readers a unique guide to identifying and processing their emotions—in the kitchen. The book is organized into five emotions—happy, sad, mad, anxious, and hopeful—relying on the therapeutic benefits of baking.
Becca has been “saying it with sugar” on her Instagram since 2018, where she posts pictures of cakes and a bevy of other baked goods decorated with messages about abortion care, abolition, immigration, LGBTQ issues, and more. I connected with Becca during grad school, when I was studying fellow bakers who were using digital platforms for social justice. She became a central figure in my doctoral research and oral history work, and then a fast friend, too!
What inspired you to write this cookbook?
I’ve always loved books and I’ve always loved dessert, so it's no surprise that it was a lifelong dream of mine to write a cookbook. But initially it was more in a fairy tale kind of way - like how everyone considers leaving it all behind to open up a flower shop at some point. I hadn’t really considered trying to do it professionally. After college I had a tiny little food blog called Flours In Your Hair, and through that I figured out that not only did I like to bake, I also liked to help other people learn how. So even after I launched @thesweetfeminist, I was still writing recipes.
I owe Baking By Feel to my wonderful therapist, Emily. With her support, I figured out that sometimes it was easier for me to process what I was feeling if my hands were busy. The need to over-intellectualize wasn’t quite so loud if I could smell freshly grated lemon zest. So I decided to try to merge these two interests I had at the time - baking and emotional regulation - and it kind of felt like a light bulb went off.
Have you or your work ever been banned (or threatened to be banned) before?
Not quite banned, but my work has definitely been censored! I’m a reproductive rights activist as well as a baker, so I often share affirming content and resources for people who have abortions. But platforms like Instagram are increasingly censoring reproductive rights and health content. Most recently, organizations that share information about mifepristone and misoprostol (abortion pills) in particular have been heavily censored.
What's your favorite recipe in the book?
I usually say the Chewy Maple Cookies, but I’ve been on a Mini Limey Olive Oil Cake kick lately! I’ve been planning a variation involving almond extract and cherries.
Who is your ideal reader?
Someone who is mildly to very interested in both baking and exploring their feelings. I see Baking By Feel as a long-term project type of book - a hobby/tool you can come back to at will. It’s there when you’re happy, it’s there when you’re heartbroken. It’s written for both experienced and new bakers. You definitely don’t have to be an expert, you just have to be willing to give it a shot! And also willing to get a kitchen scale - if there’s one thing you take away from reading this, I hope it’s that baking by weight is that girl.
A ban for a ban: if your book is actually banned and you could ban someone else's book in return, what would you pick?
Feminist Fantasies by Phyllis Schlafly (my mortal enemy).
If you could make your greatest enemy a recipe from your book what would it be and why?
It’s got to be my Spiced Chocolate French Silk Pie for Phyllis. She was known for a couple of different pie related things: 1, using them to sway politicians to vote against the ERA, and 2, for having one thrown in her face in 1977. But it actually wasn’t some kind of cream pie like you’re picturing - it was an apple pie! The apple pie specifically was meant to signify the way she weaponized womanhood or motherhood or something, but honestly I just don’t think the result is as satisfying! As hard as Phyllis tried to make things worse for women, I’m committed to trying harder to make things better. And I’m so certain that I make a better pie crust.
In your opinion, what word (culinary or otherwise) should be banned from all cookbooks/food writing?
“Craggy” as a visual descriptor, particularly to describe a certain phase of making bread dough. What does it mean!?
Favorite piece of subversive cooking/food advice:
(Almost) always go with Swiss Buttercream over American. You can use the leftover egg yolks to make my Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookies!
OFFICIAL CHOPPING BLOCK STATISTICS:
Publication date: 2022 (a year full of hope and possibilities)
Possible reason for ban: It asks us to think about our feelings, which some people (not going to name names) find very un-American.
Bannability rating: 12/10 (and I think Becca would be proud of this)
Most bannable recipe and reason: Becca says “The S’mores Rice Krispie Treats! Loneliness is the accompanying emotion. There’s a side bar next to each recipe, sometimes describing the emotion, sometimes offering an exercise to work through it, sometimes telling a story. And this is the side bar where I talk about my abortion story, and the deep loneliness and shame that accompanied my experience. I felt so alone when I had my abortion! I’ve since learned that that is very much not the case, and I want to make sure no one else feels the way I did! One of the ways I try to do that is by working to break down abortion stigma, which causes isolation and shame. By talking about my abortion story in Baking By Feel, I hope to help normalize talking about abortion elsewhere. PS: I paired Rice Krispie Treats with loneliness because they are the definition of a shareable dessert - I want to encourage you to share them with a loved one.”
Other concerning recipes (based purely on their titles and the pearl-clutching they might inspire): “Plain Old White Cake” (Inadequate, Ch. 3), “Rainbow Cookie Cake” (Selfish, Ch. 4), “Black Pepper Snowballs” (Vengeful, Ch. 4). (I know it’s funny to list these things out, but this kind of full sweep word-specific censure is how book bans actually work).
Forbidden words: therapeutic, feminist, satisfied (when used in the context of women), hopeless, feelings.
Where to buy/read: Your favorite local bookstore!
BONUS: The All-Options Community Cookbook: A Yummy Fundraiser
Today’s issue of CHOPPING BLOCK comes with not one, but two could-be-banned cookbooks! The All-Options Community Cookbook is also the brainchild of Becca aka The Sweet Feminist and includes recipes by Internet bakers and other food folks from across the nation, including yours truly! You can download a digital copy with a donation of $30 or more to All-Options which will help them to continue providing judgment-free support for people through their experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption.
All-Options now faces the possibility of closing. After the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, they received an unprecedented influx of individual donations and institutional grants that has since waned. Under the new leadership of Interim Executive Director, Taja Lindley, All-Options is working hard to raise enough funds to stabilize as a nimble and financially resilient organization. And they need our help and support to raise funds to effectively and successfully maintain their programs and operations as long as they can. Learn more about All-Options at www.all-options.org.
Be a part of the next CHOPPING BLOCK post:
Submit a could-be-banned cookbook title!
Suggest other metadata for the bannability rubric!
Write your elected federal officials and remind them about the importance of vaccine access and robust Food Safety Inspection oversight, tell me you did, then I’ll say something special about you in the next post.
I'm not much of a baker, but I'm definitely going to have to put this one on my to-read list anyway. (Only tangentially related, but I love the title "Flours in Your Hair" and went looking for it, and have to say that I appreciate that your blog is still out there to be found, what a delightful little archive.)
yesssss i’ve been waiting for one of these!