![Knowing How to Cook is Empowering]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Jul 12, 2019 | Thoughts on Food
This little dish of Pasta with Bechamel Sauce represents the exact reason why cooking for oneself is not only an act of self-care, but also an experience of empowerment. Why? Because it embodies the art of knowing how to survive and thrive on less- less money, less stuff (i.e. ingredients), fewer cooking tools & gadgets, and more time for the things you actually want to do.
Since I’ve been in Turkey, I’ve had to learn to manage high prices for things that are relatively cheap back in the US (in this case, Parmesan). I’ve also had to substitute for ingredients I simply can’t find very easily (also, Parmesan). I have to stretch fresh seasonal vegetables from one market day to the next or until they come up in my garden because they are way pricier and not nearly as good quality in the larger grocery stores. This is simply not the case in the U.S., as you can still find great looking and tasting organic food products in many reputable grocers nowadays- but that sometimes makes it more tempting to overstuff your fridge with fresh things that will quickly go to waste before you can use them up. Instead, knowing how to cook has saved me from spending money on eating out, eating food I don’t enjoy, or even snacking instead of having a proper meal; and instead using my self-taught cooking skills to be creative and a master of stretching the food budget while never sacrificing on taste. Now that is empowering.
So what happened here and why the big deal over Béchamel? Typically, any type of French sauce is considered difficult, but they’re really not once you’ve practiced them. Béchamel is the first types of French sauces one anyone would learn in culinary school because it uses basic ingredients we always have on hand (flour + butter) and the sauce is used as a base in soufflés and added to dishes to either stretch them and/or give them more flavor. In fact, once you master it you can basically get even more creative with the dishes you serve it on, too. It requires a little bit of juggling ingredients in that you have to get the roux (flour + butter) mixture just right and you have to whisk the butter in vigorously and quickly so that the flour doesn’t clump your sauce, but you get the hang of it once you practice- just like any other skill.
I was very limited on ingredients at home and was actually craving pasta Alfredo, but without the Parmesan that I didn’t have, I was able to make Béchamel, so that’s what I did- without a recipe, because it’s already in my head.
I’m not an Executive Chef at a fancy restaurant; I’m a home cook just like you, which means you can do this, too. Wouldn’t you feel like your very own Master Chef at home if you made something like this for yourself, without fuss? It’s doable, I promise you.
Both recipes and easy instructions for making Alfredo and Béchamel can be found in the My Halal Kitchen cookbook and only require a few essential base ingredients: flour, butter, milk, salt, black pepper. Red pepper flakes on top make it more Turkish, but you can leave those out and add some fresh herbs or nothing at all. It’s your dish, so you do you.
You can get the My Halal Kitchen cookbook here.
![Ramadan is an Opportunity in Culinary Diplomacy]()
by Yvonne Maffei | May 26, 2019 | Published Writing, Thoughts on Food, TRAVEL
My First Fast Was Just an Experiment
The first time I fasted in Ramadan I wasn’t a Muslim; I was a curious young woman who had recently experienced a very short but very impactful trip to Morocco during the blessed month several years earlier.
I learned that the Islamic way of fasting was quite different — detailed and comprehensive — in comparison to my Catholic upbringing, where my experience with fasting was to diligently refrain from one particularly favored item during Lent (for me it was always chocolate) and no meat on Fridays. The rules of Ramadan fasting, however, seemed set and clear, and everyone around me — my graduate school friends from various parts of the Muslim world — all seemed to follow these rules quite religiously.
I found the refrain from food and drink was a phenomen I could never picture myself participating in wholly, particularly because I loved food too much and partly because I didn’t think I had the willpower to deny myself the earthly pleasures I so treasured. I was impressed by their dedication, but not enough to consider it something to adopt for the rest of my life.
I ended up doing an experimental fasting solely out of curiosity for how it felt and to see how far I could push my inner strength. At the time, Ramadan occurred in winter, so sunset was around 4:30 p.m. I quietly pulled out a bag of Medjool dates during class and drank a few sips of water, then went home to eat. Easy peasy. That was, until my Muslim friends responded to my innocent attempt with a chuckle and told me that in several years Ramadan would occur in the summer months, and then it would be way longer.
And they loved doing it anyway.
Amazing.
Revelatory.
Really?
Yes, because it was their favorite time of year. It was special, blessed, and there was nothing like that feeling of breaking the fast with their families and friends.
This concept of enjoying the fast was completely fascinating and mind-boggling at the same time to me. How could anyone enjoy not eating for such a long time? Why would they embrace the denial of such a pleasure especially when they had some of the best food I’d ever tasted in their Egyptian, Emirati, Malay, Indonesia, Palestinian, Saudi and Turkish food traditions?
And then it occurred to me. Like a lightning bolt.
My three-day trip to Tangier, Morocco prompted all of this interest and curiosity to explore Ramadan further.
Travel Opened up My Soul to a New Way of Thinking
During my junior year of college I studied abroad in Segovia, Spain. I had a phenomenal history teacher who peaked my interest in the comprehensive history of Moorish Spain, which provided way more profound details in the Spanish language than I had ever learned back home in my Latin American history courses. I wanted to experience the North African connection to Spain myself so I convinced my classmates to travel to Morocco during our spring break.
We took trains and boats to arrive at the port of Tangier, on what I now know was a Jummah (Friday), at the time of the jammat (congregational prayer), where I first heard the adhan (call to prayer) during the holy month of Ramadan.
During this trip, I met the warmest, most hospitable people I have ever met in my travels abroad. They spoke several languages to try and see which one would unlock the key to communicating with us, which still impresses me to this day. Our tour guide, Ali, had a constant smile that hid any annoyances he may have had with us.
Ali showed us around Old Tangier and kindly explained that the reason it was quiet and the stores were closed was that there was a holiday of some sort. I’m sure he mentioned it was Ramadan but it went over my head. All of it went over my head — the Islam part, the Muslim part, the Ramadan part. Every bit of it. All I could see were kind, generous and humble people who willingly shared their food — even when they were not eating — and their culture with us.
I was clearly disappointed that the restaurants were closed, but Ali happily found us a place to have lunch while he sat without eating but chatted us up the whole time. When I probed a little more about what time they would be eating, he invited all of us to dinner at his family home that evening. Much to my dismay, no one else wanted to go.
This was not my way of traveling, as I would never turn down a home-cooked meal with locals. Imagine the once-in-a-lifetime experience that would be! It’s still one of the biggest culinary travel regrets I have to this day.
Coming Home with Fresh Eyes
Upon returning to the States, I knew that I needed to know more about Muslims and the various cultures they represented. I got closer to my Muslim classmates by asking more questions about their lives and engaging in dialogue that would eventually change my perspective on the world — and my life — forever. Those classmates became my friends who invited me to many, many meals to experience breaking the fast in their humble college digs.
They may not know it even today, but they became cultural and culinary diplomats for their respective countries as well as for Muslims, Islam and for the deeper meaning of Ramadan. It may have taken years for the impact to take hold in my mind, but in my heart the change was quite instant. I began to see them as people I could relate to — young men and women with dreams, ambitions, challenges and fears just like myself. Simply being human outweighed the concept of “the other,” and that was something I sorely needed to learn.
Taking Time to Digest The Experiences of Traveling Abroad
Years later, I embraced Islam, and I believe it had more to do with the conversations I had over the meals I ate and the hospitality of those Muslims than anything else I experienced.
Yvonne’s Moroccan Harira | MyHalalKitchen.com
You see, one never knows what can happen over food, and that’s a fantastic thing. We can come to the table emotionally charged, with our own assumptions about a particular race, religion or political leaning, but as we share from the same plate or at least eat something together, an important bonding begins to occur. I always feel that a meal is the greatest neutralizer of emotions but it’s also a great equalizer.
We all have to eat, so why not experience it together instead of alone? Why not use the opportunity to bond and to get to know the person next to you or across from you in a more meaningful way by allowing the free flow of conversation that slowly begins to soften as we take pleasure in the great taste and texture and cultural exchange that is in every single type of food around the world.
It’s a song and dance, a storytelling opportunity about who we are. When someone cooks for you or decides to share their cuisine with you by taking you to a restaurant representing their cultural cuisine, they are trying to tell you a story of who they are and of what is important to them.
The Ramadan Community Iftar is an At-Home Travel Experience
That said, we as Muslims have this fantastic opportunity in Ramadan at every single iftar (breaking of the fast meal) — and if you’re brave enough to let anyone in on your suhoor (meal before the fasting day begins) — to close the gap between us and our neighbors, our family members, our friends, and yes, dare I say, complete strangers. It’s more important than we realize. It’s more impactful than we can comprehend today, because its implications are long-lasting.
For non-Muslims, the imperative of this opportunity is the same: when you seek out how you can participate in this experience, you are extending an olive branch, too, in that quiet inquisition brings a message of tolerance for diversity and a willingness to learn about a deeply sacred event performed by your Muslim neighbor, co-worker, friend or even a relative.
Culinary Diplomacy is for Everyone, Any Time
What prompted me to remember how incredibly important my culinary travels has been to my own life is the sad news of Anthony Bourdain’s passing last year. He gave a spotlight to places like Gaza that wouldn’t normally be seen in such a way — through the lens of the food of its people — while affording them a platform to talk about their plight. That is culinary diplomacy at its most clever, and most effective.
We can do the same, in our own ways and in our own format. I think we should all take advantage of that opportunity during the precious days of Ramadan and extend this practice well beyond the blessed month and well beyond the borders of the country in which we reside. Peace starts with us, wherever home is.
![How Ramadan Brings Us Closer to Those We Love]()
by Yvonne Maffei | May 27, 2017 | Thoughts on Food
This post is sponsored by Evite® as part of the Evite® Influencer Program. 
Everyone I know absolutely loves the month of Ramadan. For those who don’t observe it, you might be wondering how we can actually enjoy fasting from food and water all.day.long. Well, the reality is that that is definitely not the easiest thing to do, but what compensates in big ways is the fact that we love being on the same schedule with each other. Everyone in the house typically eats at the same time, for example- what an opportunity to bond in a fantastic way. For me personally, I absolutely love the fact that the entire world is observing the fast and somewhere around the world we know one of a few things is happening: people are fasting, people are breaking their fasts (iftar), people are praying the night prayers (taraweeh), or eating the early morning meal (suhoor). Globally, Muslims eat different things, of course, based on culture, location, taste preferences. Although food is not the main focus of Ramadan, it still has so much importance in that we are looking forward to good food once sunset comes and we can eat throughout the night, should we desire. We also love to entertain during Ramadan. Having people over for Iftar, whether it’s family, friends, neighbors, or colleagues, is such a beautiful thing. It’s one of the greatest joys of Ramadan, in fact. The belief is that there is a reward from God when one feeds fasting people, so there is a huge desire within us to do just that. That said, most people have a booked up schedule during Ramadan so it’s important to get out the invitations as quickly as possible. 
Evite® is a great way to do that when you use their Ramadan designs for Iftar invitations and more.
Pretty lantern designs make this particularly design unique and beautiful. Click on the design to create and send your own.
How does Ramadan bring YOU closer to the people you love?
Please share these designs and more with your family, friends and loved ones and use hashtags #Evite #BeThere. To find more Ramadan and Eid invitations, go to the Evite website and search here.
by Yvonne Maffei | Mar 25, 2017 | Thoughts on Food
I absolutely loved doing the Facebook Live talks about What’s Really in Our Food, although it was a while ago it’s been heavily on my mind as a topic of utmost importance and in line with things that interest me like food policy, food advocacy and our right to know what is going on in our food and water and whether or not there is any connection to illness as it relates to product ingredients and the processing of food.
Well, that was a mouthful, wasn’t it?
To listen again or if you missed it the first time, here is the FB Live video I conducted on the topic. You can visit the My Halal Kitchen Facebook page to read the comments, too, if you’re interested.
And, please tell me- what should be next? What would you like to know or discuss over on another video chat?
by Yvonne Maffei | Sep 21, 2014 | Thoughts on Food
I found a pretty remarkable video online that I think really articulates a lot of what I’ve been wanting to share for a very long time, all compiled into a 45-minute piece of staggering information about the connection between sugar with consumer wellness and how industry associations and food manufacturers place it in food products in quantities that are pretty surprising to most consumers.
The Secrets of Sugar is a powerful documentary that discusses the sugar industry, research based on sugar consumption and what consumers are up against when eating the typical diet of processed foods where additional sugar is pretty hidden. They discuss a possible connection between high sugar consumption to fatty liver, diabetes, cancer and even possibly Alzheimer’s.
I’d love to read your comments about this documentary at the end of this post.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended as medical advice. Consult your doctor for further information on this and other wellness topics.
