Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Cookbook as Cultural Milestone
I own a fair number of cookbooks. I've always thought of them as helpful tools and some, like the Time-Life "Foods of the World" series that my mother subscribed to when I was a child, even gave me an early glimpse into a foreign culture.
But it's rare that a cookbook by itself would represent a significant milestone in the life of a culture. So when I heard that a friend was working on the first cookbook of Hmong cuisine ever written, I had to know more. You can discover its importance for yourself in my article in today's edition of The Oregonians FoodDay section titled "A Hmong Journey."
Labels:
A Hmong Journey,
cookbooks,
FoodDay,
hmong,
oregonian,
Sami Scripter,
Sheng Yang
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8 comments:
Wonderful article. I spent a day cooking with Sheng here in Sacramento. Their cookbook is a work of love, with authentic recipes, poetry, and stories. Wonderful food.
I know they worked hard to make it represent the breadth of Hmong cuisine in this country. A great read, even if you never intend to cook a single dish.
Though if you do, the food is incredible!
that was a fun read, thanks! Liked the photos, too...
It was a great story to do. Both Sheng and Sami are terrific. And Motoya Nakamura, the photog, was fun to work with and did an awesome job. Kudos all 'round!
I will be hunting with Sheng's husband Leo this winter. He'll take me squirrel hunting, I'll take him duck hunting. Should be a blast! Um... so to speak.
Lucky you! If he's as nice as Sheng you'll have a great time…maybe she'll pack you both a lunch!
Great article Kathleen! In the photos accompanying it, I think I spotted one of my favorite dishes: stir fried morning glory. Not sure what the Hmong call it, but you can find the ingredients in and around Portland. Here's a recipe: http://alancordle.com/blog/?p=3572
Loved this article! I was totally unaware of the Hmong people much less their cuisine! Very interesting ans wonderful alliance to make this book a reality. Thanks again Kathleen for being the ultimate foodie informate!
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