‘Two Dogs’ will delight readers of all ages – Washington Blade
Posted By admin on July 10, 2022
As a college student, I hungered for Arab and Muslim representation. Prejudice against our communities was mainstream and demoralizing. Things, however,can sometimes change sooner than we expect.
Although Muslims and Arabs are still maligned, it is no longer as widespread and is often counterbalanced by allyship and, crucially, Muslim and Arab representation. From Hulus Remy, Netflixs Master of None, HBO Maxs Sort Of, to the upcoming premiere of Disney+s Ms. Marvel to Muslim characters on Love Victor, Never Have I Ever, and Genera+ion, Muslim characters and creators are now common. And these creators are diverse, proud, and often queer.
Mahersalah Ali is a two-time Oscar winner (one for the Black queer Best Picture winner Moonlight) and Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor; he won an Oscar this year for a short film taking on British xenophobia, and spearheading an initiative to boost Muslim representation in Hollywood from screenwriters to actors.
From starving to satisfied, it has been quite a transformation in American culture. And its not only TV and film. Political representation isnt novel anymore. I still remember when former Rep. Keith Ellison was asked on CNN to prove his loyalty by the conservative host Glenn Beck. Today, Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are progressive trailblazers. Irvine, Calif., has a Muslim mayor in Farrah Khan. Joe Biden has nominated the first Muslims to the federal judiciary, one has been confirmed and the other, civil rights lawyer Nusrat Choudhury, awaits Senate confirmation. And Biden, lest we forget, said inshallah (God willing) on the presidential debate stage. Weve made it, I want to shout. But I know were still fighting for full normalization in American life.
Hence my excitement over three new books (two cookbooks and one art text) that feature Arab and Muslim heritage, art, and gastronomy.
To these new rulers [the Moors], cuisine was an art, and food a gift from God that should be consumed in moderation and shared with those in need, writes Leandro Carreira, the author of Portugal: The Cookbook. Its not surprising to learn that Arabs and Berbers shaped the evolution of Portuguese cuisine, but whats striking is the nature of its legacy. In this cookbook of 700 recipes, half draw from the Moors.
When Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) they brought with them not only warriors and administrators but architects, astronomers, poets, and, inter alia, cooks along with cookbooks, such as the Medieval Kitab al Tabikh.
The Moors introduced hydraulics that irrigated the farmland (along with orchards and leafy gardens) and beautified the land by planting citrus trees both for the fruit and scent. The list of crops introduced by Moors includes eggplant, artichoke, carrot, lentils, cucumber, and lettuce. The latter would later christen the residents of Lisbon, who are colloquially known as Alfachinhas (little lettuces). Moors popularized sour oranges, apricots, dates, melons, and watermelons; spices such as pepper and ginger; pickling of olives and nuts; sour marinade to preserve fish; rose water and orange blossom. The Moors vinegary salads were the precursor to gazpacho. The introduction of sugarcane later severed Portuguese colonization and fueled the slave trade, and transformed sugar from luxury to staple.
Naturally, the North African rulers brought couscous, the main consumed wheat until the late 16th century. To this day, northwestern Portuguese villagers prepare couscous using the methods and utensils introduced by Berbers 900 years ago.
The Moors cultivated hospitality and conviviality at the table along with the order in which food is served: soups followed by fish or meat and concluding with sweets. The Arabs cousins, the Jews played their part in shaping Portuguese cooking, too. Jews prepared their post-Sabbath meal by laying aside a slow-burning stew of meat, chickpeas, collard greens, hard-boiled eggs, and vegetables; today, the Portuguese call it Adafina. Jews introduced deep-fried vegetables and Portuguese missionaries later brought them to Japan and (voil!) tempura.
In its history, Portugal evokes our interwoven humanity.
The past few years have seen cookbooks with narratives of culture and personal journeys foregrounding recipes many focused on Arab culture. The Gaza Kitchen by Laila el-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt and The Palestinian Table and The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis, for example. To this list, we can add Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora by the James Beard finalist Reem Assil.
For connoisseurs of Arab food in America, Reem is no stranger. Reems California, a bakery in Oakland and San Francisco, has acquired temple status for its use of Californias ingredients in the service of Arab dishes. A few years ago, the New York Times praised Reems as an Arab Bakery in Oakland Full of California Love. (The bakery was, sadly, the target of vulgar anti-Palestinian prejudice for its mural of Palestinian activist Rasmeah Odeh.)
Food was Reems saving grace. Facing a debilitating digestive disorder, and the wreck of familial stress, Reem left college and headed to the Bay Area live with her Arab uncle and Jewish aunt. Soothed by Californias climate, nature, and ingredients, she found mental and physical healing and roots and purpose.
Arabiyya is a guide to California-based, Arab-rooted recipes alongside tales of Reems journey and her familys. Her grandparents fled the Nakba the 1948 catastrophe of the forced exile of roughly 750,000 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops and the Naksa, the 1967 War that forced her family to decamp once more for Lebanon. The Lebanese Civil War led to one more flight to Greece, and finally, California.
Growing up American, Reem knew little of her grandmothers resilience. After her sittys (colloquial Arabic for grandmother) passing, she pasted together tales from relatives of her grandmothers determination to uphold Arab hospitality no matter where she landed. Her identity as a Palestinian was threatening both in Lebanon and America but she walked with dignity. Arab hospitality meant that home was a safe comfort no matter the headwinds outside, and, at times, her grandmother went lengths to survive. A tale of sneaking out during a pause in fighting in Beirut became family lore: sitty couldnt forget her lemons (who would serve fish without lemons?!) even after a rocket attack knocked her down.
Foods healing and grounding became the thread uniting Reem with sitty. Ive come to realize that my grandmother, who loaded the table to its edges with tasty morsels of my favorite foods, lives through me, Reem relates.
Reems journey to cook and bake as love and spontaneity opened a window to heritage a familys history and Arab pride. Her recipes (like the California Fattoush Salad where traditional tomatoes are swapped for oranges and citrus and fried sunchokes) overflow with love. Arabiyya is destined to be a classic among Arab-Americans.
Artists from the Arab world exhibiting in the West face a challenge: Our culture is ubiquitous in Western depictions but poorly understood; a dilemma for the artist who must inevitably interrogate the stereotypes that spectators bring to the practice of looking at mythologized places, in the words of critic Omar Kholeif in his review of the Abu Dhabi-born and NYC and Dubai-based Farah Al Qasimi.
Al Qasimi is one of five Arab artists featured in the new collection on arts next generation entitled Prime. In After Dinner 2 (2018), Al Qasimi captures the pressures of domestic life in her native UAE and the misconceptions westerners have about Arab domesticity. A mother stands behind her daughter kneeling on the couch while looking out at the window. The mothers stance is recognizable to any child raised by an Arab mother: head tilted up and her arms stretched out a plea for Gods mercy in the face of a stubborn child. The pink and white staging of the drapes and couch suggest the mother-daughter dispute is about marriage, the daughter having sights on another admirer. Neither the daughters nor the mothers face is visible. The mothers face overflows out of frame while the daughters rests behind the drapes. Al Qasimis photograph turns on its head the Western conception that Arab women are hidden behind the veil; their life is plain to see if one discards their preconceived notions and recognizes that mothers and daughters differ universally.
Gulf Arab states, soaked in oil and gas money, however, pander to Western standards. Alia Farid scrutinizes the imitation. Urbanization has upended life in the Gulf, including in the official representation of culture. Seeking to parade heritage, Gulf states are crafting historical narratives that embody less the realization of culture and more a contrived display that weaves together disparate artifacts, as Farid displays in a mock-museum exhibition titled Vault (2019). These exhibitions stand as staid advertisements a defensive declaration: We, too, have culture! placing together all manners of ancient and modern objects without telling a coherent story or inspiring new creativity.
In a juxtaposition, At the Time of the Ebb (2019) is a video installation documenting the celebration of Nowruz Sayadeen (Fishermans New Year) on the island of Qeshm, Iran. We are brought close to culture at its grassroots level the suggestion being that cultural life is built in communities as opposed to something to represent within the entanglements of a global museum industry, one that willfully neglects the culture it seeks to validate, observe critics Hana Noorali and Lynton Talbot.
The Middle Easts wars and rivalries inform the work of Lebanese artist Rayyane Tabet, who works in Beirut and San Francisco. Steel Rings (2013) is a recreation of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline that was abandoned due to political upheaval but not before hundreds of miles of pipes were laid (and remain) underground. In Tabets exhibition, steel rings laid on the floor stand in for the pipelines route with engravings on the rings marking the locations passed underneath. The uncompleted pipeline is the only material project to exist between five regional nations. It is a sad statement on the regions divisions that the only thing crossing that many borders is abandoned and buried steel. Humanization of the regions troubles comes into relief in Cyprus (2015). The installation consists of a 1,800-pound wooden boat suspended from the ceiling. The boat was deployed by the artists father to flee Lebanons civil war but was unable to complete the journey to the neighboring island. Years later, the family found it on the coastline. Suspended in midair, solitary, the boat speaks to the anguish burdening people in the face of conflict a hardship that is often insurmountable, like the boat drawback by the current. Cyprus centers our thoughts beyond the headlines obscuring the human toil and toward people struggling in their wake.
It is refreshing to see Arab artists creating thought-provoking art on their own terms.And so, the wheels of American life roll on as we crave our hearts on its road.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Read the original post:
'Two Dogs' will delight readers of all ages - Washington Blade
- Indo-Jewish Cuisine History And 4 Dishes That Make It Special - Slurrp - September 10th, 2023
- Bring Roman-Jewish Cuisine to The Table With This New Cookbook - Epicurious - September 1st, 2023
- Southern kvells: New cookbook highlights South Carolinas Jewish history and cuisine - The Times of Israel - September 1st, 2023
- The Heart Of French Cuisine - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 18th, 2023
- Indulge in the Bold Fusion of Jewish-American Cuisine In ... - Aish - June 29th, 2023
- Potato pancake - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022
- Bukharan Jews - Wikipedia - December 11th, 2022
- Mountain Jews - Wikipedia - October 12th, 2022
- Syrian Jews - Wikipedia - October 12th, 2022
- Colorado Springs area cooking classes and events starting Oct. 12 - Colorado Springs Gazette - October 12th, 2022
- A treasure hunt that turns violent, Stanley Tucci's foodie memoir and an espionage tale of Jewish refugees in Louth - Independent.ie - October 12th, 2022
- The difference between race and ethnicityand why it matters - Fast Company - October 12th, 2022
- 14 of the best hotels in Krakow - Times Travel - The Times - October 12th, 2022
- Where to Eat in Northern Liberties - Philadelphia magazine - October 10th, 2022
- Trader Joes drops the Israeli for its pearl couscous, citing change in supply chain - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - October 10th, 2022
- 11 Times Great British Baking Show Proved Its Not That Good Anymore - Eater - October 10th, 2022
- Rogers Park ranks No. 5 best place to live in the U.S. - Chicago Agent magazine - October 10th, 2022
- We Just Spent A Weekend In The Most Liberal City Of The Middle East - Travel Off Path - October 10th, 2022
- Fly Out Of New York To Witness Italy's Most Marvelous Gems - TheTravel - October 10th, 2022
- I Never Felt Connected to My Jewish HeritageUntil I Rediscovered It Through Food Halfway Across the World - Well+Good - September 29th, 2022
- One Man's Search for the First Hebrew-Lettered Cookbook - Atlas Obscura - September 29th, 2022
- Fall in St. Louis means it's time to embrace the Jewishness of the pumpkin - - St. Louis Jewish Light - September 29th, 2022
- Uman Celebrates the Jewish New Year - Kyiv Post - September 29th, 2022
- From Vineyard to Your Holiday Table, Here's a Global Selection of Wines to Celebrate the Holidays from Royal Wine Corp - PRUnderground - September 29th, 2022
- Kosher and spice: A culinary adventure of India's Jewish food - Stuff - August 18th, 2022
- You'll Never Have to Ask "What's For Dinner?" Again With These Fun DIY Cooking Kits - Futurism - August 18th, 2022
- Seven summer spots for great hot weather eating and drinking in Israel - Ynetnews - August 18th, 2022
- Saul's Deli, a 36-year-old Berkeley institution, has been sold - Berkeleyside - August 4th, 2022
- Brisket wasn't always on the table ... - JNS.org - August 4th, 2022
- Food historian and 'Koshersoul' author Michael Twitty coming to JCCSF J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - August 4th, 2022
- Cultural Calendar: Where to Go and What to Read in August - Saveur - August 4th, 2022
- Ayo Edebiri Does Not Think 'The Bear' Is Sexy - The Cut - August 4th, 2022
- An American Jew's 2022 visit to Saudi Arabia | Jeffrey Kass | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - July 23rd, 2022
- New Hampshire Is Tiny And Pretty Weird. That Could Help Maggie Hassan. - FiveThirtyEight - July 23rd, 2022
- The Yotam Ottolenghi effect: The superstar chef on how the pandemic, and parenthood, have simplified his recipes - Stuff - July 23rd, 2022
- The food legacy of a Holocaust survivor - BBC - July 21st, 2022
- A Traveling Jewish Deli Exhibit Tells an American Tale in Pickles and Pastrami - The New York Times - July 21st, 2022
- The Fascinating Connection Between New York Citys Jewish and Chinese Immigrants - Saveur - July 21st, 2022
- Daily Kickoff: Tom Nides and CIA Director Burns on Biden's Mideast visit + IDF @ Aspen - Jewish Insider - July 21st, 2022
- The best of both East and West Coast cuisine: New gourmet sandwich eatery opens - Long Island Advance - July 21st, 2022
- Where To Eat in Paris: A Personal List - Jewish Journal - July 21st, 2022
- The Unique History Of Steak Tartare, Once A Snack Of Warriors - Tasting Table - July 21st, 2022
- Weaponizing Food: How Cond Nast Transformed an Israeli City Into a Palestinian Town - Algemeiner - July 21st, 2022
- How TikTok Resurrected the Worlds Oldest Sandwich - The Takeout - July 21st, 2022
- Fri, July 15 at 8pm - The Great American Recipe - WSIU - July 21st, 2022
- Israeli Food is so Jewish, Here's Why - aish.com Jewlish, Food 4 Thought, Featured - Aish.com - July 14th, 2022
- Old Bay on Everything: How the Crab Seasoning is Taking Over - Washingtonian - July 14th, 2022
- Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe (Jewish Penicillin) - July 10th, 2022
- 'I never expected to find Asian cuisine in the Netherlands' - DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl - July 10th, 2022
- Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: East Boston | BU Today - Boston University - July 10th, 2022
- Yatir Winery Launches DAROM-A New Independent Brand That Comes Straight from The Israeli Desert Wine Region - Broadway World - July 10th, 2022
- Two restaurants from Malaga among best in Europe - The Olive Press - June 26th, 2022
- Column: Theyve been making the worlds best pastrami sandwiches for 75 years. Can they keep it up? - Los Angeles Times - June 26th, 2022
- Yatir Winery Launches a New Independent Brand That Comes Straight from the Israeli Desert Wine Region - wineindustryadvisor.com - June 26th, 2022
- The surprising landscape of Indian Jewish food - BBC Travel - June 4th, 2022
- Cheesecake, dairy, coffee and the evolution of a holiday - JNS.org - June 4th, 2022
- Food Network Star Molly Yeh's New Restaurant Is Coming to East Grand Forks, Minnesota - Eater Twin Cities - June 4th, 2022
- 5 Reasons You Need To Experience This Amazing Food Tour In Rome - TravelAwaits - June 4th, 2022
- Cheesecake, dairy, coffee and the evolution of a holiday - Cleveland Jewish News - June 2nd, 2022
- Fourteen books to read this summer - Jewish Insider - June 2nd, 2022
- Award-winning Culinary Writer Anya von Bremzen Visits Thessaloniki | GTP Headlines - GTP Headlines - June 2nd, 2022
- 23 of the Best Restaurants in Rome Including Pizza, Street Food, Cafes and Markets (2022) - 2foodtrippers - June 2nd, 2022
- Skirball Exhibit Showcases Jewish Deli and Immigration History - Jewish Journal - May 27th, 2022
- In the Kitchen With Ricky: Become a pitmaster with this smoked brisket - The Spokesman Review - May 27th, 2022
- Where to Eat, Drink, and Stay on the Lower East Side in NYC - Thrillist - May 27th, 2022
- Out & About: Area entertainment and cultural events starting Wednesday, May 25 - Martinsville Bulletin - May 27th, 2022
- Everything you need to know about Boston Calling 2022 - Boston.com - May 27th, 2022
- Crepe escapes: You can travel the world just by eating pancakes - The Boston Globe - May 27th, 2022
- The Week that Was: News and features around Harrisburg - The Burg News - May 27th, 2022
- Column: Orange Garden, Chicago's oldest Chinese restaurant, has a long history, with a gangster legend, an iconic neon sign and a family hoping to... - May 27th, 2022
- Around the World in 7 NYC Dishes - AFAR Media - May 22nd, 2022
- Going On in Greek-American Community - The National Herald - May 22nd, 2022
- Always Eat The Health Salad - Defector - May 22nd, 2022
- Out & About: Area entertainment and cultural events starting Wednesday, May 18 - Martinsville Bulletin - May 22nd, 2022
- UN PLAZA GRILL Launches 'Cuisines from Around the World' with Guest Chefs Through 2022 - Broadway World - May 18th, 2022
- Eitan Bernath Is on Top of the 'World' - Tablet Magazine - May 18th, 2022
- Best Things To Do This Week In Los Angeles And SoCal: May 16 - 19 - LAist - May 18th, 2022
- Don't Miss the Beauty In Your Own Backyard! - Jewish Journal - May 18th, 2022
- How the Peninsula's pastrami experts at The Refuge were inspired by French fine dining - The Almanac Online - May 18th, 2022
- Things to do in Cincinnati this week: Events and concerts planned for May 16-22 - The Cincinnati Enquirer - May 18th, 2022
Comments