Shainah M. Andrews - Multi Talented Artist and Educator

HELLO AND WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER BIG YELLOW POT INTERVIEW! This one is a special one and Im so excited to introduce you all to Shainah M. Andrews, before she blows up in any one of her avenues (or all of them) just know, you saw her HERE on the blog :)

How many of us can say our first crystal clear vision for ourselves worked out exactly as we pictured it? Some of us have a love and talent for very different aspects of life and have no idea where we want our lives to go or what we want to do. I thought that my vision was teaching interior design classes in high schools. After that vision didn’t go so well, I thought that the dream was being a research assistant and learning food science with preschoolers. Vision after vision, I never found myself truly completely happy. That wasn’t because I lacked passion or knowledge; I just wanted to do MORE. My life has been consumed with helping and supporting others, so I thought that my career had to follow. I wanted to do AND have it all- multiple career paths and visions. Ambitious? Maybe... However, the only difference between me and someone on the straight and narrow is that I chose for my paths to intertwine and have many beginnings with no clear ending. College was such a great time for my growth in many of my talents, including cooking. It is also where I met our next guest. She is the epitome of what a multi-talented and multifaceted paths can look like successfully.

I emphasize with creatives who possess many talents because we are pulled in every direction and there seems to be no clear option of what to do and when to do it. However, our guest is someone who I feel does multi-talented people justice. She is a linguist, educator, poet, spoken word artist, cookbook author, social ally and world traveler & lastly, my sister in Christ. During college, I met Shainah in a Bible study group led by one of our peers. We didn’t speak much then but her spirit always sat well with me and I knew she was somebody to follow. Throughout the years she has had a lasting impression on my faith as well as my motivation to excel at more than one thing. She has inspired me to delve deeper into ALL my talents and give them my love equally. Not only is she someone with so many talents but she holds one important trait and that's the trait of being supportive and selfless. She has supported my food business and posts so many times. I felt it was necessary to invite her on the blog because I want to support her and learn a little bit more about who she is and how she manages to be great with so many things swimming in her head. I am so excited to invite her here today to share with my blog and the world what she is doing, has done and will do next. I extend the warmest of welcomes to one of the most kind and gentle souls I know, Shainah M. Andrews, on The BIG Yellow Pot!

A small note from Shainah...

Hey, everybody! I’m Shainah M. Andrews (ShaiYaa when I speak my poetry). Since I’ve been blessed with so many gifts from God, I largely call/consider myself an artist and educator. Even before I began traveling around the world, I always tried to approach every person and situation with an open, adaptable, and compassionate mind; traveling to Ghana, England, Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast, and Colombia only heightened my awareness and love for learning and understanding even more! I am a Black woman who (for the most part) looks at the world through the lens of food, languages, and heritage roots. I consider my pen, salt and voice light in the world — both of which earth desperately needs.

I’m so grateful that this space has been carved out for me, and I’m looking forward to reading about other phenomenal creatives!

If you’d like to stay locked in with me and what I do, follow me on Instagram and Twitter (@ShainahMAndrews) and check out my Linktree for my cookbook, spoken word albums, tutoring and writing services, etcetera: https://linktr.ee/ShaiYaa

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Interview ...

What is your relationship with food? How does a plate of your favorite foods make you feel? What might that plate look like?

Here’s a very transparent moment! I’ve noticed, over the last year or so, that I’ve had to divorce myself from really rigid eating standards; like, I’mma eat banana bread or brownies or sweet potato pie or Lay’s Original Kettle Cooked chips whenever I want some, but I’ve had to stop the inner action of beating myself up for it. Food is fuel and it’s OK for not every meal to be green. Anyways, I have always loved food because it’s such an intimate, nostalgic, integral part of culture, life. The connection can also be bittersweet, though; just the taste and smell of certain foods are tied to unfavorable memories with certain people but for the most part, food either makes me feel cozy or energized. But the most important feeling to me is nourished! I’m not sure if I’d put my main favorite foods all on one plate but they’re shrimp, Margherita pizza, most vegetables, mango, macaroni and cheese, basmati and jollof rice, red red (Ghanaian black-eyed peas stewed and sweet fried plantains), and banana pudding.

As a multi-talented individual, do you ever feel your talents compete for your attention? How do you manage all of your projects and talents?

I love this question! My different talents definitely come to the forefront of my life during different seasons (not always literally as in spring, summer, etcetera). For example, 2020 proved to be the year where I sat down and wrote a LOT; I finally wrote and compiled my cookbook as well as fiction and a lot of poems which are tracks on my 2021 spoken word album. This year, the spoken word artist side of me is taking up the most space in the first half of 2021 but I believe I’ll be diving back into my author bag the second half of 2021.

It’s certainly a challenge at times to balance my many crafts, but I always make a sincere effort to let Christ guide me; I never want to plow apart from Him or take on a project that He never even dropped into my spirit! I ask Him what to tackle as the days unfold and write those objectives down on colorful index cards. Or, I just wait for His direction after I wake up. While I currently work from home as an entrepreneur, I like starting my day as if I’m going to a college campus or office space; I’ve disciplined myself to often begin working as early as 8 or 9 AM and setting big—yet realistic—goals for each day. I pray before starting anything, during the process, and even once the assignment is finished/out here in the world to ensure that I’m not just working to say that I’m doing something.

We first met in a small women's Bible Study group in college; can you tell me a little bit about your Faith and how you include that in your work and talents?

My journey to Jesus has been a long time coming. I vividly remember saying, as early as elementary school, that I want to know God and be close to Him. My immediate family has always emphasized the importance of having a relationship with God but we did not regularly go to church; my first consistent church goings weren’t until 2013 when I moved to North Carolina at 16 (I am now 23 years old)! So I feel like I’ve had a lot of “catching up to do” regarding Bible figures and events unlike Black people who grew up in church, had pastoral family members, etcetera. (But I know that my own story allowed me to truly cultivate a relationship with God and not just a routine!)

Prior to getting to truly know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as of November 2013, I identified as a theist for a large part of summer and fall 2013 — up until September 25th. (That wasn't a spelling error lol — a theist, not an atheist). The loss of family members and just navigating high school as a person with more questions about life than answers, I felt like no religion was worth my time. Does God even care about me? was a question that I often internally wondered. On September 25, 2013 in a Connecticut Dunkin’ Donuts line as I paid for an iced coffee after taking a philosophy class at Quinnipiac University for college credit, I declared to my parents that I believed in SOME type of God but not necessarily Christianity, Buddhism, or any other religion. And if God was who I should trust, He'd have to show me some sort of a sign. When I got my change back, this was the dollar that I got back:

Looking back, I am BAFFLED at how entitled I was! But God is so good and loves me SO much that He STILL showed His glory and Hand to me! He spoke to me clearly, in a way that HE knew I wouldn’t be able to ignore. From that day on, I’ve been baptized twice and still miss the mark every day in some way but I continuously walk with Christ and NEVER lose faith; I can’t after that divine encounter!

I would be remiss if I didn’t gently incorporate true love, forgiveness, freedom, peace, etcetera (found in Christ) into my crafts because the power of sharing is MAJOR. Vulnerability is transformative and I want others to experience His fullness! And I cannot leave out the most important person in my life :’)

You’re a beautiful writer and poet; can you talk about the inspiration(s) behind What I Wrote but Barely Spoke, your 2019 spoken word album? What have you learned about your ability to understand language and become an author of multiple beautiful pieces of literature? Has anyone told you if your work has touched them on a deeper level? For me, “Don’t Forget” was PARAMOUNT.

Awh! Thank you so much! What I Wrote but Barely Spoke is largely the result of me pulling poems from a scrapbook journal that I made while in Ghana. Some of the poems were written in 2019 once I was done studying abroad in Ghana but for the most part, I never intended for those poems to leave my journal and be shared with such a wide audience. I’m really happy that you enjoyed “Don’t Forget” because that’s the first vulnerable spoken word piece that I’ve ever publicly released; it addresses elements of me, many of which other people have tried to turn into insecurities I should hide and be ashamed of. But they’re my superpowers! The title of the spoken word album itself reflects people that I met on the African continent, situations that I was in, adventures that I took, thoughts that I had, etcetera — all of which I didn’t always vocalize (until the album!).

Linguistics (which just means “the scientific study of language and its structure”) has always been a love of mine, even before I minored in it at ECU. During car rides in my home state of Connecticut and summer trips to states like Virginia and North Carolina, I’d read signs with places like Naugatuck and Chocowinity. I’d always wonder, “hmm; why are these spelled like this? Is this English?” I later learned that names like those—as well as words such as chipmunk and squash—derive from Indigenous languages!

While I am a native and fluent speaker of English, speak conversational Spanish, can say a few sentences and words in Twi, and know how to say “thank you” in languages like Ewe and French, I want to be fluent in Spanish, Twi, and Swedish. I just absolutely love language as a WHOLE. There are so many different varieties within a SINGLE language and I think everybody should embrace how they talk, no matter what the European standard says.

Studying languages that I didn’t grow up speaking has been a way to strengthen me as a writer and even help me connect with people from various cultures on an intimate level. I truly believe that my attention to detail (down to the words that I use in every piece) is what makes my work so impactful!

Can you share any hints or news about your upcoming spoken word album? I heard you put your foot in it! I want to know something juicy or where the inspiration for this new one came from.

I will say that this album will also exude forgiveness but a lot more than What I Wrote but Barely Spoke! I think that this 2021 album is really a great look into my mind for people who've already heard WIWBBS because I discuss my Blackness as I live OUTSIDE of the African continent; I’ve changed and grown in a lot of ways since leaving Ghana. With that being said, the improvement will certainly be heard in my words, rhythm, pitch, delivery, etcetera. And oh, spoiler alert: this album’s tracks are accompanied by music!!!

I know that you traveled abroad to Ghana; I’ve seen a light in you ever since returning. Can you tell us about your time and what you experienced there? Has returning home influenced your art and writing at all? Has Ghana changed your view of food and nutrition?

I feel like I have to say that I acknowledge Ghana’s flaws, shortcomings, and problems as someone who’s studied abroad there and out of respect for people in-country whose lives aren’t picture perfect or even slightly ideal. Ghana is certainly not Candy Land but I completely stand by my belief that Ghana is the BEST country in the WORLD. As a Black woman who has always yearned for deeper roots/connections and learned that I love a slower pace of living, Ghana is almost like paradise for me. Honestly, I thought that people were exaggerating when they said that the African continent feels like the Motherland until I visited myself; Ghana surpassed ALL of my expectations! Never have I ever experienced such inner peace and joy in my 23 years of living until I studied abroad in Ghana for 4 months from August to December 2018. Fresh, delicious, nourishing, and vibrant food was not only abundant and accessible but affordable (which isn’t very common in the U.S.), every region is immensely stunning in its own way (whether that be beaches, waterfalls and mountains, or villages like the shea butter one in Mole), and the weather is as beautiful as a warm embrace! These are just a few of the MANY reasons why I am in love with that country. If you’d like to SEE even more, check out my Ghana playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLJjroGyzgb3DUrbsXQFmFyjjXqQ5YqLK

Lil’ plug for anybody who wants to travel back to the Motherland affordably — I recommend Buoyant Travels (https://buoyanttravel.com) and Magic & Melanin (https://magicandmelanin.com— they even offer scholarships every year)!

WIWBBS is completely based upon my time in Ghana which awakened ShaiYaa. Had I not had that experience abroad, I—without a shadow of doubt—would not be the artist that I am today!

Our recipe today was taken from your cookbook and I am excited to finally be trying this recipe since purchasing the book. Tell us about your cookbook “Slay in the Kitchen with Shainah” - can you share the best and most challenging parts of that journey?

I cook intuitively, so honestly, the most challenging part of creating my cookbook was making sure that I gave as many (approximate) measurements as possible so that others could replicate the recipes exactly how I envisioned and made them. I listed all of the recipes that I’d be including in my cookbook and then went grocery shopping to buy the ingredients to make each recipe; I pulled out my measuring spoons and cups to perfect everything as much as possible because I do not believe in putting out a project that isn’t up to par or something that I wouldn’t buy myself!

The second most challenging part was the food photography. (I took pictures with my iPhone 7 and edited them in Lightroom which I’m SUPER proud of!) I had to plan my cooking schedule around sunlight and the weather since I took all of my pictures outdoors. While that was challenging, that was still one of the best parts because I love food plating and presentation! I definitely needed practice in that area and loved pushing myself! Another part of the journey that I thoroughly enjoyed was just cooking. It’s a form of self-care, risk taking, and creating for me! My favorite part now is seeing people choose MY recipes for their lunches and dinners, adding in their own delicious-looking twists!

How has your comfort in your blackness, faith and identity as a woman changed over time? I feel a direct connection with your art because I share those same pieces of identity; do you feel like your talents are a part of your identity? If you were to lose your creativity, would you still feel like yourself?

When I look at my Blackness, Christian faith, and womanhood, I’ve finally been able to see God in them all as I’ve gotten to know the Holy Trinity. By this, I mean that God created my Blackness and sees it as His handiwork. He created Eve; what an honor it is to be a woman —— the one who carries not only purpose but the world itself (quite literally when we think of babies). The more that we all acknowledge ourselves as having been formed intentionally and wonderfully by Him, the more that we will love what we see in the mirror and hear when we play back a voice recording, for example.

I am definitely more social and outgoing than I used to be, but I know that God very purposefully anointed me in the area of writing; it perfectly complements my reserved, observant, and quiet personality! The heart that He handpicked for me has made my presence a hopeful, safe space for people to land and find relief from the chaos of the world. I see what I’ve been tasked with as an absolute honor that I do not take lightly!

If I lost my creativity, it would certainly be extremely difficult to move throughout life but since God is the Ultimate supplier, I know that I would not be empty because I have Him and I’d also be put on some other sort of track!

I'm not sure how many people know this about you but you are a pescatarian; when did you make that change in your diet? Do you think that people who cook from Slay in the Kitchen with Shainah may consider going meatless?

I went pescatarian on July 14, 2013 solely because my body was crying out for help! I felt sluggish and in pain after eating most meats; I knew that I needed to eliminate meat from MY life in order to not only feel healthier but BE healthier. Days and weeks into my lifestyle change, though, I also began to read about the treatment and conditions of animals prior to being killed and felt even more confident in my decision; there’s no way it was good for me to be eating hormone-injected chicken and sick cows. Now, I know that fish farms aren’t necessarily clean or healthy and I plan to be vegan one day but I stand by a pescatarian lifestyle for myself because I feel healthy, energized, and simply full of life when I just eat seafood. I’m not here to tell people that they should eat like me, but I do think that we all in the western world need to know that meat (AND seafood!) aren’t our only available sources of protein and never have been, even for our ancestors (ALL humans) who ate more diverse than the average American in the 21st century. Just a few meat-less and seafood-less options include beans, soy, and alternatives for people who may be allergic to tofu, for example. Eating cleaner and less meat is not only good for our bodies but earth as well. I hope that my black beans recipe, for example, will encourage people to maybe eliminate meat (AND seafood) from their meals one or two days every week; I, myself, try to only eat seafood as my source of protein 3 days max every week. And that “little”, conscious decision truly makes a difference!

Considering your many crafts, do you see yourself tying them together into one set career? Is that possible?

My ideal career would encompass traveling around the world largely to write, educate, cook, publicly speak, and eat. I’ll definitely be paving the way for many individuals after me because I’m sure that I’m not the only person without a blueprint and who’d love to compress their many gifts into a career! But I also believe that some years of my life will be dedicated to distinct crafts; some years, I’ll be doing more writing and cooking. Others may demand the poet within me, making room for me to travel, educate, and eat all over the globe. I’m not sure what this’ll all always entail or look like, but I’m down for the ride. I’m just going wherever God wants me—doing what He guides me to!

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RECIPE

Mama Sheila’s Fish Stew

“ My mama is one of my favorite self-proclaimed chefs: her kitchen approach is to walk by taste AND faith :)... Trust, this stew is a showstopper, especially for the winter nights up ahead. I'm very thankful that Mama so generously shared this deliciousness with us all! “ - Shainah M. Andrews

WHAT YOU NEED

• 2 Cans of Drained and Deboned Mackerel

• 6 Russet Potatoes, Quartered

• 1 Yellow Onion, sliced

• 3 oz (½ six ounce can) Basil Garlic Oregano tomato paste

• ½ stick salted butter

• Veggie Broth (enough to cover and soften potatoes)

• At least 4 shakes of Frank's Red Hot Original Hot Sauce

• Salt and Black Pepper to Taste

• Cumin to taste

• Pinch of Sugar or more if needed (to taste)

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Heat up your butter in a heavy bottomed pot on low heat.

• Once butter is melted and slightly browned, turn heat up to medium.

• Add in sliced onions and saute (stirring occasionally) until soft and fragrant.

• Add in tomato paste, salt, pepper and cumin to your onions. Stir until combined.

• After a few minutes, add in your drained and deboned mackerel.

• Add in veggie broth, hot sauce and pinch of sugar. Give it a good stir and then add your quartered and skinned potatoes.

• Bring the stew to a boil. Once you reach a rolling boil, reduce the heat to low and cover with a tight fitting lid.

• Simmer for 30-35 minutes until potatoes are tender but not mushy. Gradually add more veggie broth if need be.

• After stew has simmered for 30-35 minutes, give it a stir and serve with saltine crackers or bread in a bowl.

• Garnish with Fresh Thyme Sprig or Fresh Coriander & ENJOY!

For the step by step video of me making this mouth-watering stew straight from Shainah's recipe, please look on the Instagram Tab right here on the blog OR Follow @thebigyellowpot on IG! Thank you so much, if you tried the stew, like and comment, tell us what you thought <3