Projects

Clay pots are ideal vessels for preparing yogurt. Since clay has relatively low thermal conductivity, it helps keep the milk warm during the fermentation process and keeps the yogurt cool once it’s chilled. Clay also has the added benefit of being porous, which helps absorb some of the residual whey from the fermentation process and produces a naturally thick and creamy yogurt. Before there was electricity or electric yogurt makers, people used clay pots for preparing this delicious, tangy treat.

Molokhia (ملوخة) is an iconic dish prepared with dark leafy greens of the same name. You can find this dish in kitchens and restaurants throughout North Africa, the Levant, and beyond. Its preparations are as varied as they are rich: some like the leaves chopped while others keep them whole. Some serve the dish with wedges of lemon while others prefer the zing of quick-pickled onions. Over the last century, molokhia has been projected onto national identities — the Tunisian preparation, for example, is known for its use of dried, ground molokhia leaves stewed with a meat broth for hours, while in Egypt you typically find finely chopped molokhia leaves cooked as a soup and finished with a sizzling blend of garlic and coriander called tiqlayye (تقلاية). In the Levant, some Syrians swear by whole leaves to keep the molokhia from getting too slimy. But how accurate are these national categories? And do they elide more than they reveal?

Yogurt is at the heart of Palestinian cuisine and culture. For thousands of years, strains of yogurt have been propagated locally and passed down from generation to generation. Palestinian yogurt in particular has a wonderful tang that comes from a long fermentation process. In the midst of Israel’s war on Gaza and its deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid, I hosted a yogurt-making workshop at the Festival for a Free Falasteen to raise money for Gaza relief efforts. Using an heirloom strain of Palestinian yogurt that my friend brought back from Nazareth in 2022, I showed participants how to transform and preserve milk into yogurt. We talked about yogurt as a metaphor for continuity and culture. The fundraiser was a community-led effort. Everyone went home with a jar of heirloom Palestinian yogurt and a recipe card for how to continue propagating that batch of yogurt at home to share with friends and family.

Amid Israel’s war on the Gaza strip, my friend who’s a lawyer and educator organized a book club for his local Quaker chapter based on Rashid Khalidi’s book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. My friend spent hours preparing thoughtfully-researched material to accompany each chapter of Khalidi’s book. His local Quaker community, many of whom were not aware of the history of Israel-Palestine, were appreciative of my friend’s lessons and learning about the history of the occupation, which did not start on October 7. In an effort to broaden the reach of my friend’s research and teaching material, I designed a website for his book club, which we named “Quaker Sumud,” referencing the Arabic word Sumud (صمود), which means steadfastness and perseverance amid intense hardship.

Organized a screening of Soufra at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Soufra follows the unlikely and wildly inspirational story of intrepid social entrepreneur, Mariam Shaar – a generational refugee who has spent her entire life in the Burj El Barajneh refugee camp just south of Beirut, Lebanon.

Before computers, home cooks used to clip, jot down, and share their favorite recipes on paper. Cookbooks were essentially a collection of these recipes. This project recreates that analog approach to cooking by printing beautifully illustrated recipe cards that people can cook from, take notes on, and share with their friends. This project is a collaboration with my friend and artist Saba Hamidi (@madebysaba).

In April 2019, I had the amazing opportunity to speak at TEDxMidAtlantic! In preparing for this talk, I explored the topic of communal food practices in Aleppo. For thousands of years, the act of preparing a meal in Syria (and across many cultures around the world) was often a social experience. Harvesting olives, rolling grape leaves, baking bread— these tasks were as much social as they were practical.

My teta (grandmother) taught me how to transform humble ingredients into a nourishing meal. Many of the dishes she cooked required hours of preparation. I remember sitting on her countertop as she prepared these elaborate meals.

Today, fewer and fewer families are preparing these time-intensive recipes. With faster alternatives, many of these intricate dishes are disappearing from our tables. These meals however, are more than just a collection of dishes. They represent a rich culture and a shared identity that has developed over thousands of years. This approach to cooking cultivates elements of resilience, not only related to food practices but in the ways it enables social connectivity and community.

Habibi Dinners are pop-up style events that showcase Aleppo’s rich food culture. The city of Aleppo, Syria’s culinary capital, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its unique location along the Silk Road positioned it as a hub of cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity — collectively contributing over thousands of years to Aleppo’s shared identity.

This inaugural Habibi Dinner featured a 14-course spread highlighting some of my favorite dishes from my Fulbright in Aleppo. The dinner was hosted in partnership with Mera Kitchen Collective— a community-driven, food-based cooperative focused on empowerment of refugee and immigrant women by tapping into their passion for cooking, self-expression and creating community.

My Light City presentation on Aleppan cuisine is online (link in my profile)! Thank you to my family, friends, and everyone in Aleppo for their hospitality and continued friendship. I also want to thank the @the_fulbright_program for this incredible opportunity. And special thanks to Alan Janbay who translated the entire talk into Arabic.

November 5 • November 12 • November 19, 2007

The Lebanese Club at Cornell (LCC) is having a Red Velvet Cupcake bake sale on Ho Plaza every Monday starting November 5th through November 21st. All proceeds from the sale will go directly to the Lebanese Red Cross in efforts to help restore Lebanon from the destruction caused by the July War in 2006 and Nahr el Bared in 2007. Come show your support and enjoy our delicious cupcakes as well!