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21

Apr

In Home Lockdown, What Sustains You?

by Joyce McGreevy on April 21, 2020

A couple preparing for Seder in their kitchen to share with friends online keep a cultural tradition during the pandemic lockdown. (Image © Jamison and Wendy Clifford Reeves)

Jamison and Wendy Reeves cook supper (above) to share
Passover Seder online with friends (below).

Friends sharing Seder online while maintaining social distance keep a cultural tradition during a global health crisis. (Image © Jamison and Wendy Clifford Reeves0

Both images ©  Jamison Reeves and Wendy Clifford Reeves

Keeping Cultural Traditions
Despite Social Distance

Recently in Bulgaria, Hristina Bareva’s mother  celebrated an important cultural tradition—her Name Day. “Name days are a big thing in Bulgaria,” says Hristina.  So big that “you don’t need permission to visit [the honoree’s] home. It’s socially accepted that you are welcome.”

Palm Sunday is designated for anyone who’s named for a tree or flower. That includes Hristina’s mother, Margarita, after the daisy. In any other year, Margarita would have spent the day offering visitors homemade cakes.

But 2020 is unlike any other year.

A woman eating cake alone during lockdown in Bulgaria due to a pandemic thinks about the cultural traditions that she usually associates with food. (Image © Hristina Bareva)

Eating cake alone is not festive, says Hristina. “I’m used to associating
food with people and togetherness.”
© Margarita Bareva

Instead, Hristina and her mother paid a socially distant visit to her brother Dimitar, his wife Lily, and their baby. “We left them food in containers and talked through the door,  not going inside,” says Hristina. “This was our family time. They called us and said they loved the cake!”

Oh, I see: Cultural traditions that gather us together can also sustain us in times of separation.

A collage shows a man enjoying cake while social distancing on Name Day, a cultural tradition in Bulgaria. (Image © Hristina Bareva)

Separated by a glass door, Dimitar enjoys a family visit.
© Hristina Bareva

Back to Our Roots

Sheltering solo in California, Michael Nackley stays connected to his  heritage through an online community that shares Lebanese recipes and stories.

Lebanese Okra Stew based on an online group recipe inspires a man to honor his cultural traditions even while sheltering in place during a pandemic. (Image © Michael Nackley)

When his group posted about Lebanese Okra Stew,
Michael cooked up a taste of home.
© Michael Nackley

For Quinnie Lin in Los Angeles,  staying connected to family tradition includes little things, like “beating eggs with chopsticks, because that’s how I learned from my grandma.”

A young woman with a red bowl and chopsticks feels connected to the cultural traditions of her grandmother. (Image © Quinnie Lin)

Quinnie says an Irish friend “left me that big red bowl when he moved.
It makes me very happy.”
© Quinnie Lin

Adapting Traditions to Lockdown

Most cultural activities take us out into the world. From  the timeless tradition of exploring other cultures through travel to such everyday customs as “meetings and greetings” during our daily rounds, we’re wired for sociability.

Baristas and customers in an Italian cafe and bakery evoke memories of life before lockdown impacted Italy's cultural traditions. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

In Italy, sociability is a traditional “ingredient” of everyone’s morning pastry . . .
© Joyce McGreevy

Italian bread pastries, riccioline, show how home baking keeps families under lockdown in Italy connected to cherished cultural traditions. (Image © Silvia Malago)

. . . but for now, Silvia Malago savors  tradition by baking riccioline at home.
© Silvia Malago

By contrast, lockdown requires us to adapt the customary to the necessary. For travelers like John and Trisha Jones, connecting across cultures now means taking a “world tour” from their kitchen in Scotland: “A traditional Glasgow soup of lentils,” one night and Spanish paella the next. Next, Turkish green bean stew.  “The only thing missing is raki.”

A man in Scotland who loves travel stays connected to cultural traditions by exploring the world from home during a global pandemic. (Image © Trisha Jones)

Under lockdown in Scotland, traditional “fun in the sun” travel means
a trip to the front step.
© Trisha Jones

Honoring Ancestors

In Salinas, California, the Roddy family cherish their cultural heritage. “Our ancestors came from all corners of the world. They are Irish, Italian, Spanish Basque, Indigenous Mexican-Aztec, and Sephardic Jewish,” says Michael. “The dishes we prepare reflect them all.”

His wife, Maria, who’s writing books centered on food,  savors rituals that accompany cooking. These include honoring the ancestors with world music ranging from Italian opera to boleros, romantic Mexican ballads beloved by her parents.

Above all, they love cooking with their adult children. But how to do so while maintaining separation? For this family of artists, creativity provided the answer.

‘The other day we all had old tortillas in the fridge,” says Michael, “and that inspired us to make a breakfast dish called chilaquiles, with tortillas, onions, veggies, eggs, salsa, and crumbled cheese.”

With cameras ready, the Roddy family headed to the kitchen . . .

A table set with chilaquiles in Salinas, California evokes one family’s way of connecting to cultural traditions whilei in lockdown during a pandemic. (Image © Maria Elizabeth M. Roddy)

. . .in Salinas . . .
© Maria Elizabeth M. Roddy

Homemade chilaquiles in Los Angeles, California suggests one way a family under lockdown in a pandemic preserves a cultural tradition. (Image © James Roddy)

. . .and Los Angeles . . .
© James Roddy

A breakfast of chilaquiles in Oakland, California symbolizes a family’s way of connecting to cultural traditions, even during lockdown in a pandemic. (Image © Elizabeth A. Roddy)s

. . . and Oakland! 
© Elizabeth A. Roddy

A Tradition of Hunting and Gathering

On New Zealand’s Stewart Island,  maintaining the ecological balance depends in part on hunting. With a population of 400, the island has one market, and currently all cargo transport between the mainland is limited to essentials.

“My husband hunts for whitetail [deer],” says Jess Kany, editor of the Stewart Island News. “I cut the meat into steaks to vacuum pack in marinade. The no-steak bits we turn into stew meat and mince.”

A view of Stewart Island through a window reminds the writer of the cultural tradition of shared sacrifice that sustains a community during lockdown. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Under lockdown, one Stewart Islander posts to his neighbors:
“We are still traveling. Yesterday we visited the kitchen.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Foraging  has deep roots across world cultures, and manifests in similar ways in completely different environments.

In rural Ireland, one can safely gather wild garlic while sheltering in place. Pour hot broth over chopped leaves for a fortifying soup.

Meanwhile, from Ojai, California, Julie Lovejoy’s foraging yields a moment of zen:

“Today I harvested stinging nettle for the very first time. From separating the leaves from the stems (gloved of course) and letting them steam into a soup base of onion, potato, and butter, to ladling out the deep green soup, the slow, meditative process was made deeper by the absence of people or cars. The only sounds were  the constant hammering of rain on my hood as I worked, the slow chop of potatoes, and the scrape of the spoon against the bowl.”

A collage about nettle soup reflects how ancient cultural tradtions are helping us weather the current pandemic under lockdown. (Image © Julie Lovejoy) (Image © Julie Lovejoy)

A tradition of cooking nettles began in ancient Tibet, where it was
the sole food (and soul food) of the monk Milarepa.
© Julie Lovejoy

In urban cultures, “gathering ” takes on new meaning now that restaurants have closed. Diners used to gathering in groups are now gathering donations, ideas, and patience to save lives and preserve culinary traditions.  Chefs and residents are gathering resources to turn restaurants into kitchens for healthcare workers and stadiums into food banks for families.

In Chicago, Jennifer Kleiman and wife Belia Rodriguez hope that people ordering delivery tip generously. “Every bit helps. We do a mix of cooking at home and ordering in from our favorite neighborhood places to make sure we’re supporting as much as our waistlines allow.”

A warm spell revived another culinary tradition: dining al fresco. “We thought it would be nice to eat on our front porch and get some fresh air, so we picked up burgers and beers.”

What beer?

“La Fin du Monde,” Jennifer quips.

A woman eating takeout reminds the writer that urban culture has changed under lockdown but cultural traditions like community spirit have not. (Image © Jenn Kleiman)

On call for her “techspertise,” Belia Rodriguez savors some downtime.
© Jennifer Kleiman

A Culture of Caring

Fortunately, the world isn’t ending, just pausing. But for essential workers, breaks are few.

In New Zealand,  Kiwis value the cultural tradition of “doing your bit” for the community. That’s why Dave Aukuso and fiancée Laura Foote waited  till almost sunset to enjoy Easter breakfast. Dave had just completed another overnight shift at an Auckland supermarket.

A couple in New Zealand value the Kiwi cultural tradition of helping one's community during an emergency. (Image © Laura Foote)

Traditional mealtimes take a hit when Dave works 17 hours straight.
© Laura Foote

“They’ve changed operational procedures in the supermarket, which need close moderating,” says Laura.  “Only one person per shop per family. Limited numbers in store. Keeping distance. And then there’s arguments, accidents, the whole works. He loves it, though.”

A man and woman in protective masks volunteering at a food bank exemplify Texans’ cultural tradition of helping one's community during a crisis. (Image © Kathryn Rogers)

Michael Niebergal and Kathryn Rogers volunteer at the Central Texas Food Bank.
Melanie Haupt’s handmade masks helped raise more donations.
© Kathryn Rogers

Cultural Traditions in Challenging Times

Tradition sometimes seems like the opposite of change. But people worldwide are proving that cultural traditions can help us rise to the challenges of change.  From holidays to daily rituals,  cherished customs to community values, the cultural traditions that we sustain are now sustaining our belief in better times to come.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Worldwide Sites

23

Mar

A Cultural Heritage of Puzzles

by Meredith Mullins on March 23, 2020

Finding solutions to puzzling times
© iStock/Brightstars

Mental Exercise in These Historic Times

As the daily news proclaims, the world is experiencing something completely unique to recent history . . . and deadly serious. There is no doubt that the corona virus is changing our lives.

We are living the meaning of words and phrases such as pandemic, lockdown, social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine, self-sequestering, confinement, and sheltering in place.

We are seeing government regulations in the news, as well as lists of ways to work remotely or pass the time if we have been asked to stay at home for isolation purposes.

Social distancing at the weekend Paris market
© Meredith Mullins

We read about people in isolation drinking “quarantinis,” exploring new songs by which to wash their hands, and stepping to their windows or balconies to sing together as a neighborhood or to applaud the front-line health care workers.

Those in isolation are challenging the capacity of the internet with streaming services and social media posts and cleaning their closets a la Marie Kondo (although, I think perhaps lots of things will “spark joy” when you are in isolation for weeks).

A good way to pass the time in self-isolation
© DMT

Challenging the Brain

Even before this global pandemic, I had been thinking about our cultural heritage of entertainment with puzzles—jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, crossword puzzles, number puzzles, visual puzzles—across countries and across cultures.

And now that we have more time to ourselves, the subject seems even more relevant.

It has long been said that working with puzzles helps to keep our brains functioning better for longer. Mental exercise for the brain is useful (as is physical exercise).

Can you guess from these puzzle pieces what artwork will be portrayed?
(Keep reading for the answer.)
© DMT

Puzzles can be family/friend/community activities or an individual challenge. What better way to pass those cold winter nights; rainy days; or, at this scary moment in history, the long hours of “sheltering in place.”

Let’s take a moment to pay tribute to the more common puzzle options: the jigsaw, the crossword, and Sudoku, as well as new trending puzzles.

The good old days of the family puzzle party
© DMT

The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Things Together

Jigsaw puzzles have been around since the mid-1700s. Most historians give origin credit to a British cartographer/engraver (John Spilsbury), who mounted maps on wood and then cut around the countries. He is said to have called his work “dissected maps,” used most often for teaching geography.

Children still learn geography with jigsaw puzzles.
© DMT

Fast forward a few centuries to game companies mass producing puzzles, which became particularly popular during the Great Depression in America as an inexpensive entertainment option and a way to feel success (during hard times) when a difficult puzzle was completed. You could even rent a puzzle or check one out of the library.

Whether in the past, present, or future, the completion of a jigsaw puzzle
always inspires a moment of pride.
© DMT

Still maintaining popularity in the 21st century, puzzles can now be personalized to reflect your own photo, can incorporate 3-D technology, can be presented on computer, and can offer pictorial content limited only by the imagination.

The best news: jigsaw puzzles are cross-cultural. Visual images have no language barriers, and can be enjoyed in countries throughout the world.

The number and size of pieces range from small puzzles with just a few pieces (especially for children), to the largest (more than 50,000 pieces).

Any guesses now?
© DMT

And, for those passionate jigsaw fanatics, strategies and approaches abound. After turning all the pieces face up (a good start to begin to get the “big picture”), puzzlers might sort by color, pattern, content, or type of piece (from zero-knob and four-holed pieces to four-knob and zero-holed pieces . . . and everything in between).

A good beginning. A three-knob/one-hole piece meets a two-hole/two-knob piece.
© DMT

Some jigsaw addicts even like having a puzzle delivered in an unmarked plastic bag with no picture—the ultimate challenge.

Here is Ellen DeGeneres’ take on jigsaw puzzles, as she passes her “sheltering in place” time.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B90ToZPBL-7/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

If video does not display, watch it here.

Not at a Loss for Words

Crossword puzzles are perhaps the most popular word game in the world. Although word puzzles appeared in the late 18th century in America and Europe, historians credit British journalist Arthur Wynne with a crossword’s first widespread publication in the Sunday edition of the New York World in 1913.

Crosswords forever
© iStock/burakkarademir

The word FUN was already inserted into the “word-cross” puzzle, perhaps a foreshadowing of the popularity to come. Another vague clue in this first appearance (“What this puzzle is”) was also perhaps a signal of things to come. The four-letter answer was: HARD.

The ever-popular crossword puzzle
© Meredith Mullins

The New York Times, now a renowned publication of one of the most challenging contemporary crosswords, denied the attraction of the early puzzles.

It wasn’t until the bombing of Pearl Harbor that the Times Sunday editor thought the nation needed some distraction. On February 15, 1942, the first Sunday crossword appeared in the NY Times; and, by 1950, the paper ran a daily crossword puzzle.

Crossword puzzles are a good mental workout for the brain.
© iStock/Andreas Saldavs

Even though the Times is known worldwide as the pre-eminent crossword puzzle, there are several viable competitors in publications around the world. And, for a double dose of brain activity, try a crossword puzzle in a new language.

Crossword puzzles are a good tool for learning a language.
© Meredith Mullins

Does the Math Add Up?

Sudoku is the ultimate international puzzle. Its origin can be traced from China to Persia to Europe to America to Japan. It bypasses language barriers, as it is number based. It’s accessible to all . . . it just asks for a logical mind.

Although the “magic square” was present in China more than two thousand years ago, a Swiss mathematician (Leonhard Euler) is credited with the first stirrings of what is now Sudoku. At the time (the late 1700s), it was called Latin Squares. It had letters rather than numbers, but the mathematical process was similar.

In 1979, an American (Howard Garnes) created the number puzzle we know today. It was called Number Place and was published by Dell Puzzle Magazines. He made the puzzle interesting by making a grid of nine 3 x 3 magic squares.

The Sudoku format
© Meredith Mullins

Once it became popular in Japan, in part because the Japanese language is not suited to crossword puzzles, the name Number Place was translated to Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru, meaning “numbers must occur only once.”

When a retired British judge (Wayne Gould) developed a computer program for producing Sudoku puzzles quickly and introduced the game to UK newspapers, the puzzle’s popularity exploded.

Now, Sudoku is everywhere—in newspapers, magazines, puzzle books, grand championships, TV shows, mobile apps, and, of course, on the Internet.

Presents of Mind: Contemporary Puzzle Challenges

There are hundreds more types of puzzles to keep us busy. Rubik’s Cube, Spelling Bee, Jumble, Tiles, Find the Difference (aka Sept erreurs in French), and SET®, to name a few. With the availability of puzzles free on the Internet, these challenges are there for the taking.

Can you find the things that are different in these pictures?
© iStock/Alexandra Yurkina

In fact, I might have gotten this story written sooner, had I not paused to try my brain at every new kind of puzzle I encountered in my research.

My latest discovery was SET® (found via the New York Times). I have to admit that, now, I’m an addict. I stare at those shapes, patterns, numbers, and colors for hours.

I knew from IQ tests that spatial reasoning was not one of my strengths, so it was no surprise that my brain hurt from going back and forth between the similarities and differences in the forms, patterns, colors, and numbers.

Just like life, you step back, regroup, learn, and develop new strategies. I have already improved after only a few days; and I know, with practice, I will get better.

Oh, I see. That’s really the heart of our cultural heritage.

The added benefit: my brain gets its mental workout—and will hopefully work better for longer. And the time in self-isolation will fly by, with a hope that our cultural tradition of resilience will rise to the challenge.

 

That moment of pride when you complete a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle.
What’s next? A 2,000 piece puzzle.
© DMT

We know that our OIC readers live around the world. We wish you health and safety during this challenging time.

 For more jeux des sept erreurs, visit Turbulus. 

For online Sudoku, visit this Sudoku site. 

For free crossword puzzles, go to online crosswords or to the New York Times mini crossword.

To play SET®, go to the New York Times site.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/USA/Worldwide Sites

16

Mar

Make Any Meal a Travel Adventure

by Joyce McGreevy on March 16, 2020

A food market in Denmark features in the culinary travel adventure of a writer on the trail of food origin stories. (Image by Joyce McGreevy)

You can order French bread in Denmark (but not a “Danish”).
In France, just order bread—in French.
© Joyce McGreevy

Food Origin Fun with a Dash of Cultural Awareness

So you’ve just canceled that upcoming trip, but you’re still feeling the wanderlust? Don’t be consumed by disappointment—there’s a travel adventure in the food you consume.

Lunch time scenario 1: Lee and his friend Ana meet for lunch.  Lee orders a French dip, French fries and a salad with French dressing.

Intrigued, Ana asks Lee, “What did you have for breakfast?”

“French toast,” says Lee. “Why?”

“Wow,” says Ana with crystal-clear cultural awareness. “You sure love American food!”

Brussels sprouts, known as spruitjes in Belgium, are one of many foods associated with specific places, even when actual food history differs. (Image by Pxhere

In Brussels, nobody eats Brussels sprouts, but many people enjoy spruitjes.
Photo by Pxhere

Lunch time scenario 2: On a culinary travel adventure one summer, I realize it’s been years since I’ve had a Reuben sandwich. Although it’s non-kosher (mixing meat and cheese), it’s a staple of many Jewish delicatessens.

As Meredith Mileti writes in Aftertaste: A Novel in Five Courses:

“I devour the sandwich, a mountain of corned beef between two greasy slabs of marble rye, leaking cheese and Russian dressing all down the front of my sweater. It’s delicious, and I don’t stop eating until I’ve finished the last thick fry, which I use to mop up the remains of the sandwich.”

Ah yes, the front of every sweater, blouse, and pajama top I own might just as well be emblazoned with an image of an airport runway. I order a Reuben anyway, because here I am in the city that invented it. You know, Omaha.

Wait, what?

It’s not “rye” humor—the Reuben sandwich may hail from the Cornhusker State.
© Kimberly Vardman (CC By 2.0)

A Slice of History

Reportedly, the Reuben sandwich was invented during a poker game at Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel circa the 1930s. Hotel proprietor Charles Schimmel then added it to Blackstone’s menu.

Fern Snider, a former employee of the Blackstone, used the recipe to win a national competition in 1956. That’s when the Oxford English Dictionary cites the first published use of the term “Reuben sandwich.”

Several New York-based origin stories also exist, including one from cookbook author and New York Times food journalist Craig Claiborne.

But I’d keep that to yourself if you’re in Nebraska on March 14. That’s when people in Omaha celebrate National Reuben Sandwich Day.  The food fest became official there in 2013.

Oh, I see: Food histories are like mystery novels, except that you can eat the clues, red herrings and all.

In a Pickle

Granted, it doesn’t take gourmet detective Poirot to reveal that a Reuben’s Swiss cheese and Russian dressing are neither Swiss nor Russian—just a case of “Colonel Mustard in the Kitchen with Kraft Foods.”

But even the Reuben’s sauerkraut, well-documented in German culture, has ties to another culture: Mongolia.  One reason Genghis Khan galloped from Asia to Meissen, Germany is that his nomadic horsemen packed the perfect lunch for those 4,000-mile commutes. Fermented food: Don’t leave the yurt without it.

Mongolian horsemen features in the culinary travel adventure of a writer on the trail of food origin stories. (Image by Erdenebayar/Pixabay)

From Mongolia to Germany to a Chicago hot dog, pickled cabbage has come a long way.
Photo by Erdenebayar/Pixabay

A Mystery that Takes the Cake

In 1963, when President Lyndon Johnson hosted a luncheon for German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, the dessert chef served German chocolate cake. One wonders what Erhard thought of this three-layer confection of buttermilk, pecans, and not-exactly Teutonic coconut. No German bakery had ever produced one.

So why “German”?

In 1852, an English American chocolate mill worker named Samuel German developed a baking chocolate sweet enough to eat as a bar. Mr. German sold his recipe to Mr. Walter Baker of Baker’s Chocolate Company in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The resulting product, still on grocery shelves today, was Baker’s German’s Chocolate.

A mere 105 years later, a recipe for German’s Chocolate Cake appeared in The Dallas Morning News.  According to National Public Radio, sales of Baker’s German’s chocolate “shot up 73 percent that year, 1957.” Somewhere along the way, folks forgot  the apostrophe in German’s. Yes, they fudged the spelling and  “German Chocolate” took the cake.

A vintage ad for Baker’s chocolate features in the culinary travel adventure of a writer on the trail of food origin stories. (Public domain image)

I like ads that emphasize the nutritional importance of eating chocolate.
Public domain photo

You Say Croissant, I Say Kipferl

So many foods associated with one place began in another that tracking them down becomes a culinary adventure.

The croissant, that iconic French bread, might never have happened without an Austrian entrepreneur. According to food historian Jim Chevallier, author of August Zang and the French Croissant, the word for croissant did not even exist in 1838. That’s when Zang launched the first Viennese bread bakery in Paris, at 92 Rue Richelieu.

Zang, whose breads included the crescent-shaped kipferl, filled his patented steam oven with moist hay to add “a lustrous sheen.” Customers took notice. So did French bakers. A trend was born.

A Danish features in the culinary travel adventure of a writer on the trail of food origin stories. (Image by Pxhere)

Surely the Danish came from Denmark. No, Austrian bakers invented that, too.
Photo by Pxhere

A Moveable Feast of Food Origins

In the annals of food history, one culture whets the appetite of others:

As for the pommes frites that preceded fries, they really are French, right? Belgian food historians say, “Au contraire!” Others credit Pedro Cieza, “teenage conquistador turned historian” of Spain. “Hold on!” say others, “It all began with the ancient Incas.”

Yes, the food on your plate is a gastronomical map of the world. Once you bring cultural awareness to the table, it’s all a culinary travel adventure.

A rice dish in Athens, Greece, and a bowl decorated with names of world cities featuresin the culinary travel adventure of a writer on the trail of food origin stories. (Image by Joyce McGreevy)

An Asian restaurant in Athens evokes the global migrations of culinary cultures.
© Joyce McGreevy

• Team Omaha or Team New York? To read more about origins of the Reuben, see the Blackstone story here and food critic Craig Claiborne’s nod to its New York origin story here.

• Get the skinny on a puffy bread. Order August Zang and the French Croissant here.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

 

Cultural Encounters/The World's Chefs/Worldwide Sites

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