{"id":6083,"date":"2016-11-29T23:32:13","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T03:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gastronomyatbu.com\/?p=6083"},"modified":"2018-03-28T17:49:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T21:49:19","slug":"the-gaza-kitchen-a-palestinian-culinary-journey-with-laila-el-haddad-and-maggie-schmitt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/gastronomyblog\/2016\/11\/29\/the-gaza-kitchen-a-palestinian-culinary-journey-with-laila-el-haddad-and-maggie-schmitt\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, with Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Laila El-Haddad, Right: Maggie Schmitt \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Photo: Ashlyn Frassinelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve never seen the authors of a cookbook less interested in talking about recipes, and thank goodness. When I sat down for Laila and Maggie\u2019s lecture, I expected to hear about local cuisine and staple foods of the region, maybe about their own experiences preparing food. But after five minutes, Maggie told us that she initially became interested in Gaza through her humanitarian work. And Laila admitted to having little connection with the kitchen. She explained that her mother, grandmother, and aunts rather shirked traditional female roles because they viewed them as antiquated chores. She explained how confused her family was when she said she decided to write a cookbook, that it was undoing the progress they had worked so hard to achieve. Immediately I realized that this was not a presentation designed to show us how to prepare Gazan cuisine at home. This was an effort to document and preserve the ancient foodways of one of the world\u2019s most volatile regions.<\/p>\n

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Left: Laila El-Haddad, Center: Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Right: Maggie Schmitt \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Photo: Ashlyn Frassinelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I think of Gaza, I think of uncertainty. Those who live there expect the sounds of gunfire and explosions the way we expect to hear car horns. The last thing that comes to mind is the kind of food I might eat if I lived there. But for the people who live in Gaza, food is a comfort the same way it is for us. Laila and Maggie spoke of conflict and impossible living conditions. They said that parts of the area could be without power for hours or even days at a time. Maggie pointed out that it was hard enough for a mother to help her children with their homework and have dinner on the table under \u201cnormal\u201d circumstances. But what about mothers in Gaza? At a time when life there is so tumultuous, Maggie and Laila were able to show how food is in many ways, the great unifier. That despite the uncertainties of daily life, people still take the time and gather to eat.<\/p>\n