zoethewriter

[zoethewriter]

Jacob Anderson on The Graham Norton Show

[zoethewriter]

My oil painting of a Happy Meal

[zoethewriter]

Anne Lauer

[zoethewriter]

🔴New Zealanders put on a powerful display by doing the Haka in solidarity with Palestine

[zoethewriter]

“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings.” – Maya Angelou

@/fridacashflow

[zoethewriter]

Oh, Kafka, we’re really in it now …

[zoethewriter]

Margaret Singana - Hamba Bhekile/We Are Growing.

[zoethewriter]

Cookbook Club: First Lunch

My friend Su started a Cookbook Club this year ~ we read a cookbook we're interested in or about a cuisine we're keen to learn about and have a bring-and-share meal made from recipes from that book.

This quarter, we read Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen by Yasmin Khan.

Amidst the ongoing use of famine as part of the genocidal acts against the Palestinian people (and during Ramadan), I had mixed feelings about sharing a feast and celebration.

I am not religious, and we are a group of shared values but disparate faiths, availability, and beliefs. Conspicuous celebration and plentiful food can be used to mock people in unimaginably cruel circumstances. I wondered about appropriateness and respect for the scale of the unfolding historical moment. I approached it with the thought that there is a gravity and simplicity to acknowledging our lives are being changed by witnessing this injustice through a meal at a lowkey home gathering. The timing was difficult, but so is the situation, and we decided to go ahead.

My contributions to the shared dinner: aubergine and feta kefte, and a molten chocolate dessert (not pictured).

Our group was lively, and subjects were mixed. Neurodiverse women and topic maintenance are not always friends, so gossiping, ideological discussions, and playfulness were what kept us talking and eating into the night together. We were emotional and available to each other. Su read an excerpt from the book before we started eating. It felt significant beyond the mundane, and we all need a ceremony sometimes.

Despite being powerless in some ways, this reminded me that we have transformative ways to resist occupation. I think one is sharing and respecting Palestinian culture. The book itself has many resonant quotes about this idea, and I encourage everyone to read Zaitoun and make the recipes! They're economical, tasty, and can be easily adapted to local produce.

"Palestinian food tasted alive. And in a region that too often feels as though it is dying. I appreciated that more than ever." - Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen.

I think remembering, acknowledging community and humanity, and exchanging cultural memories are absolutely necessary and should be practiced as much as a person is able to, even in grief, even in despair. Oppression denies our humanity. It is nourishing to a human being, to eat and share, and enjoy food. It's part of creating families, communities, and enchanted life moments. Our celebration happened during Ramadan, while some of our members couldn't take part for different reasons, and their absence was felt with bittersweet understanding. Our group will continue to explore, learn, and try to preserve Palestinian cooking as well as cuisine from other people in the world.

[zoethewriter]

villabitterlin9

[zoethewriter]

Giza, Egypt Oct. 2023

[zoethewriter]

Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Mary Lamb THE HOLDOVERS (2023)

[zoethewriter]

Ulwaluko, The male initiation ceremony of the Xhosa people of South Africa. The hut (Bhoma) and the initiates' possessions are burnt, including their clothing. This symbolizes a new outward appearance the initiates must take on.

[zoethewriter]

7th love language is making you tea

[zoethewriter]

Robyn Rihanna Fenty

[zoethewriter]

[zoethewriter]

[zoethewriter]

Palestinian family