the conspiracy against family. isolation to conquer. shopping is your family

i have a sense that there is a conspiracy against family (all sorts) in the usa. i have been living in san francisco of california for almost 6 years and my observations are based on this as well as all the stereotypes and tv i grew up with from 1975 to this date. growing up in amman there was always an image of usa families as broken, as hostile, as really bad for you: 1) families are broken in the usa, 2) parents kick their children out of the family home on their 18th birthday--the candles still warm, 3) parents never help their children after they are 18, 4) children hate their parents and have an especially dreadful relationship with their mothers. this was only confirmed with further tv and mainstream psychoanalysis as well as the depiction of the adult as independent of their family and is only loyal to the immediate family of spouse and children. Well, that is until a divorce happens and then they have the spouse is included in the hate of the immediate ancestry. There is never any mention of ancestry beyond immediate parents and a kind mention of grandparents (removed and far).  THEN i lived in the usa and met real people who are from the usa, born and grew up in usa and not just on tv, and they have families, very much like the ones i know from amman. they have a variety of childhood stories, a reasonable share of happiness and drama, a reasonable representation of a spectrum of families (divorced, close grandparents, aunties playing central roles, sibling turned parent, etc) and their troubles (alcoholism, divorce, molestation, violence, etc) many have lived with their parents until way beyond 18, some left when they were 18, some went back at some point even in their forties, some take the kids to their parents to baby sit, some get angry, some plan birthdays, whatever, a real support system that is both beautiful and terrific--NORMAL (as much as a 20th century nuclear family can be normal which is not much in my opinion, crisis seriously however, that is a different yet connected thought).

my analysis is that there is a conspiracy against the family structure as well as an appreciation of a community for love and support and well-being in favor of a nuclear family that can easily travel in search of work and can easily be dependent on parents' exploitation by the work-market. the big car and the loans need this isolation. capitalism in the usa model needs isolation. visa card is your best friend, shopping is your best friend, loans are symbols of success, the job is what matters most.

and that makes people lonely. i think this stereotype is true.

born in 1975, i turned forty. ولدت في ١٩٧٥ ودخلت الأربعينات

أصبح عمري ٤١ عاما. تحوّلت إلى شخصيّة بالأربعينات ولا أقصد وجع الركب فقط وإنّما اكتسابي، نعم بين ليلة وضحاها، منظورا جديدا لحياتي.  يذكّرني هذا بحاجة رزان إلى نظّارات جديدة لترى بها العالم، وبالواقع أشعر وكأنّي أرتدي نظّارات جديدة. أصبح العمر جزءا من/أو عاملا في رؤيتي للدنيا

i am 41 years old. i feel forty and this is not just about the pain in my knees, it is about a perspectvie, acquired over night indeed, in seeing my life. this reminds me of Razan's desire to get new eyeglasses, a fresh pair to see the world through. age has become an agent, a factor, a layer of how i feel about things. 

Labaneh'S-cool. Installation. San Francisco 2011.

Labaneh'S-cool, a collaborative piece with Ola El-Khaldi which included an installation and two food performative events as part of the 3 person exhibit Home? at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, September-November 2011. The team created a narrative involving The Rocca Family that has just arrived to San Francisco, in an attempt to make friends, they invite people to try their amazing cheese called labaneh. This soon develops into a business that hopes to invade international markets, the future profits will be invested in creating a sustainable international art scene. 

 Labaneh'S-cool
The Rocca Family moved to San Francisco in August 2010 from a far away land. While missing their home, and in attempt to seduce the people they meet, they started making labaneh balls: the pearl of yogurt. As part of a larger plan to generate funds for the artist community around the globe, the Rocca Family hopes to make this healthy homemade product a standard item in every kitchen. Labaneh is delicious for morning sandwiches and lunch salads, perfect for power snacks and cocktail parties. Today, in celebration of the four-hundredth day in San Francisco the Rocca Family introduces Labaneh'S-Cool.

LBC-Makan Restaurant. New York. October 2011.

LBC-Makan Restaurant is a 2-day pop up restaurant that Makan team ran as part of the Congress of the Collectives organised by Flux Factory, New York City, New York, October 2011. This project is the first of its kind which is part of a long ongoing process to investigate possibilities of alternative means to sustain art spaces and collectives. LBC-Makan Restaurant invited the Congress participants to meet around the table, eat and discuss matters of the arts economy and to propose solutions and share experiences. 

 

The soup was for $5 and the arak drink for $4. 

 lentil soup for four

1 cup orange lentils (wash until water runs relatively clear)

1 medium size golden onion

1 medium size tomato

1 medium size potato

1 medium size carrot

1 dry red chili

olive oil 

salt 

pepper

cumin powder

fresh parsley leaves

in a pot, add 2 table spoons of olive oil, heat a little and add the finely chopped onion and red chili, sprinkle with a bit of salt and stir, when the onion somewhat soft (do not burn) add the rest of the vegetables (including the potato), also chopped into small chunks, into the pot, sprinkle some salt, stir around. after a little bit add the lentils mix around, sprinkle generously with cumin powder then add a lot of water about 6 cups and cook on high heat, when it boils, reduce heat and leave to simmer. 

the thickness of the soup, the salt, the cumin and such flavouring matters are up to taste.  when the soup is ready you may want to sink a hand held food processor into it for a spin or two. Mix in some parsley leaves. serve hot and garnish with a coupe of leaves of parsley. the soup enjoys the company of lemon, onions, pickles and minced meat patties or kubbeh in the oven. bon appetit!

 

Grandmother's Table. Dinner series with a group. May-July 2011.

Every week for 10 weeks the "grannies" met to eat, drink and be merry. We also talked and talked about art, family, history, love, life, and food. 

The Grannies:

Betsy Cordes

Lena Zentgraf

Deirdre Visser

Neha Gupta

Marsha Rose

Amanda Curreri

Diala Khasawnih

my tahini twirls.

Amanda's waffles.

Diala's Menu

Olives including some cured by deirdre. And salmon introduced by lena. Amanda brought triangular nigiris

Thyme mix with olive oil crackers.

Beer and red wine.

Lentil soup

aubergine mtabal

fasoulyeh bilzait

and mhalabyeh

The lentil soup: in a large pot heat a bit of olive oil, then add chilli (I prefer to add one or two dried red ones) and chopped onions (the golden ones). Mix in some cumin seeds, a dash of salt and when the onion is softish add in some chopped carrots and a chopped potato (no need to be smartly chopped since I later go through the whole thing with a hand held blender), add a lot of cumin powder to it and mix. In five minutes or so I add in the lentils (the orange crushed ones) and mix in, add a lot of water. As the soup cooks I add more cumin powder and salt according to taste. Yesterday I used 4 cups of lentils, one large onion, two medium size carrots, one tomato and one chili. The soup could have used more water, depending on what thickness you prefer. When everything is mushy, use the blender, again it is up to you how uniform you like the soup, each their own. Just before serving I added the parsley leaves (could be used for the big bowl as garnish too).

The aubergine (mtabal): I wiped two large aubergines with olive oil and made slits along their lengths and a cross at the bottom since it is a thicker part and can use the slits to cook along. I am not sure how long they stayed in the oven, meanwhile I flipped them to cook on all sides, but I made sure they were really soft before taking them out—Neha you say it takes a long time in the oven so maybe 30 min-45 min? When I took them out it was easy to peel away the skin (no harm if the skin stayed I think). I made a mix of tahini, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt and mixed it into the aubergine after I chopped them in large mushy chunks. I think the mint leaves work well for both garnish and flavour and a swirl of olive oil never hurts.

The green beans (fasoulya): I washed the green beans and then trimmed off the tips on both sides, sometimes the beans have a string along their “seams” so I try to pull that out along with cutting off the tip, very often there is no string to mention. Then I boiled them in water and a little bit of salt just to make sure they are somewhat soft. Separately in a large pan, I heated some olive oil, added whole garlic cloves (I feel that the more the merrier), one chili, and half an onion (the dried golden type) and salt. When the onion was soft, I added 4 chopped tomatoes and stirred around till those were soft too, then added in the beans and stirred and left them to cook at a lower heat. This dish is meant to be served cold and the bites scooped up in pita bread. One can enjoy fresh chili bites along and raw onions.

Note: There are variations in cooking the green beans, if you wish to add a lot more olive oil to the dish then they can be cooked with the rest of the ingredient together for a long time. Again the dish is meant to offer really soft green beans.

Dessert milk pudding (mhalabiyyeh): a whole carton of full fat milk with 2 spoons (I am confused as to how much, the milk needs to thicken like a pudding) of corn starch mix and continue till boils, meanwhile add sugar and a drop of lemon blossom water (could add rose water too). Place in fridge, serve cold. When serve sprinkle crushed pistachios, or add a few petals of something pretty.

Tahini Twirls

With some variation, I used a recipe that I found on line searching for tahini desserts, I think because Lena made a special sound when I added the tahini to last week’s aubergine mtabbal dish. http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2007/01/tahini-bread.php

I replaced the sugar with black honey (which in my mind was meant to be carob or date black honey). To be specific, instead of 2 spoons of sugar for the dough, I put in two spoons of black honey, and instead of one cup of sugar for the filling I put in half a cup of black honey.

more can be seen at:

http://grandmastable.wordpress.com/

and pictures by Lena: check Galleries: Grandmas Table at http://lenaz.photoshelter.com/

Makan making ful in Oakland, California

As part of the Makan team, with Ola Khalidi, I made a Makan version of ful (fava bean mix, sort of the brother of hoummous) at the event April's Ful which was one of the Oakland Standard evenings at the Oakland Museum. The project was curated by the Citizen's Laboratory inspired by the revolutions in the Levant. The event took place on the 1st of April, 2011.

check at:
http://www.museumca.org/theoaklandstandard/april-fuls-night
http://www.makanhouse.net/content/aprils-ful-makan-california

Zizi Hasheeteh. Performance. San Francisco. May-June 2011

Zizi Hasheete is a performance work that was part of:

Curated by artist Allison Smith in collaboration with the space Southern Exposure. Zizi Hasheeteh is a story teller who answers any questions about Jordan--the  country--and has ready-made illustrated stories for those who are generally curious. This work toys with tourism, stereotypes, and the integrity of history. The project took place over several public events in May and June of 2011. For more on the project at large: http://soex.org/criesofsf/?i=home

Zizi gave out a taste of Jordan.