in dedication and memorial of Suzanne Perez, my beloved grandmother, a wise healer, a witty funny being, a storyteller. The person who inspires me to cook, and that keeps on living through my hands, preparing her food to be shared with others.
food from memory is an ongoing archive of recipes, an attempt to safekeep almost forgotten knowledge(s). i think of the hand gestures of my grandmother and my Aunties making Moufletta, the balance of colours in the Harira soup or the spicy smell of the Matboucha filling the kitchen and suffocating my breath–Knowledge can be transmitted through all senses.
food and memory, an interplay, in which one activates the other. With one bite i travel through space and time. With one bite i find comfort after longing for my mothers food. With one bite i commemorate the living and the dead. i always think of how my ancestors are still alive in me and through me, thanks to their recipes and food, that still nourish me and those i care for. Since i encountered the wonderful Ghostly Archive, this question accompanies me: If you had to put one recipe on the gravestone of a beloved or of your own, what would it be?
Every friday we would have Moroccan fish–a white fish fillet in spicy tomato sauce with garlic and cilantro. Occasionally on Tuesday or Friday we will have Couscous with vegetable soup and chicken. On the birthday of my twin and i, I will make a biscuit cake with vanilla cream and melted dark chocolate. In summer i would eat countless amounts of mangos above the sink, freshly picked from my mother’s garden. Once a year we would have Harira soup to break the fasting. i love love how food connects me to time, kind of familial seasonality oscillating between tradition and celebration. What is your ritualistic dish?
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