Features By JONA KALLGREN Associated Press | Tuesday, December 25, 2018, 12:05 a.m. Share this story In this Nov. 9, 2018 photo Malakeh Jazmati and her husband Mohammad Al Ghamian pose outside her restaurant in Berlin, Germany. After fleeing her homeland’s civil war, Jazmati reinvented herself in Jordan as a TV chef and became known as the “queen of cooking” to fellow Syrian refugees. Now in Berlin she’s starting over again, opening a restaurant she hopes can serve as “medicine against homesickness” for the thousands of newly-arrived Syrians in the German capital. (AP Photo/Jona Kallgren) In this Nov. 9, 2018 photo Malakeh Jazmati carries food in her restaurant in Berlin, Germany. After fleeing her homeland’s civil war, Jazmati reinvented herself in Jordan as a TV chef and became known as the “queen of cooking” to fellow Syrian refugees. Now in Berlin she’s starting over again, opening a restaurant she … [Read more...] about A taste of home: Syrian TV-chef opens restaurant in Berlin
A taste of home
For many Minnesota families, tamales are a taste of ‘home’ at Christmastime
Forget the fruitcake and eggnog. In Mexican-American cultures, it wouldn’t be Christmas without tamales. While some buy them by the dozen at local Mexican eateries and stores, there are plenty of families and friends who gather for tamalada, a daylong, laborious ritual of making tamales from scratch. Blanca Mendez is one of them. Every December, she gathers her five children into her West St. Paul kitchen to make the masa (corn dough) stuffed with meat and wrapped in corn husks. For Mendez, it’s a way of passing on a tradition.“The smells and tastes remind me of home,” said Mendez, originally from Juarez, Mexico. “That’s why I started making them, so my kids could also smell those flavors.” Tamaladas makes Rosie Campos feel closer to her family, as well. Every year, when she buys chile ancho and bags of masa, she feels as if she’s honoring her mother. Unlike Mendez, Campos has no family in town. So she gathers with a group of teachers … [Read more...] about For many Minnesota families, tamales are a taste of ‘home’ at Christmastime
A taste of home, from Hapi African Gourmet
Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page December 17, 2018 Paulette Ngachoko, a native of the West African nation Cameroon, is on a mission to showcase the foods of her homeland. Last year she launched Hapi African Gourmet and introduced her first product, Creamy Peanut Sauce ($8 for 13.2 ounces). The savory sauce is simmered with peanut butter, vegetable broth, garlic, celery, herbs, and spices. It is unlike Thai peanut sauce, which is usually blended with soy sauce and lime juice or rice wine vinegar. Typically served over rice, it’s used to simmer chicken and fish or swirled into stews and soups and drizzled over bread and plantains. Ngachoko came to the United States two decades ago as a refuge after spending four years in Burkina Faso in West Africa when she was forced to flee the turmoil in her country. With two law degrees, one from Boston University, she worked for nonprofits as an advocate for … [Read more...] about A taste of home, from Hapi African Gourmet
A taste of home in former Plaza Ventana space
Alicia and Aaron Batista (center) cut the ribbon on their new restaurant, Sabores Mexican Cocnia & Tequila Bar, on Wednesday in Fresno. Photos by Edward Smith published on December 12, 2018 - 1:50 PMWritten by Edward Smith A new Mexican restaurant opened today in northwest Fresno, replacing a well-missed classic. Sabores Mexican Cocina & Tequila Bar held its grand opening at 3173 W. Shaw Ave. Wednesday. Members of the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation gathered to watch owners Aaron and Alicia Batista cut the ribbon on their restaurant, which is in the former Plaza Ventana space at the Times Square Shopping Center. The aim is to serve “more traditional Mexican flavors,” Alicia said. Everything is made from scratch, from the salsa to a family recipe for beans passed on from her mother-in-law. “We like having homemade flavors, even the beans are a family recipe,” Alicia said. “It’s like a signature here.” Another dish the Batistas boast is … [Read more...] about A taste of home in former Plaza Ventana space
First Puerto Rican Festival since Hurricane Maria features boxing and a taste of home
Tracy Schuhmacher Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 7:38 p.m. UTC Jul 29, 2018 Under perfectly sunny skies and a gentle cooling breeze, Sunday afternoon's visitors to the Puerto Rican Festival clustered around a large tent in the middle of a parking lot at Frontier Field. The draw for the day was sanctioned boxing matches, held in collaboration with the Rochester Fight Factory. The amateur matches have been a popular part of the festival for the past 10 years, said Orlando Ortiz, president of the festival. Boxing is one of the most popular sports in Puerto Rico, and many of its boxers have achieved prominence on an international level. "It is a part of our culture," Ortiz said. The boxers ranged in age from seven years old to over 50. The competitors came from Buffalo and Syracuse and from as far as Ohio and Detroit. "We're trying to expand our reach," Ortiz said. The weekend's festivities also included a parade, musical entertainment and children's … [Read more...] about First Puerto Rican Festival since Hurricane Maria features boxing and a taste of home