Laila El-Haddad & Mosab Abu Toha both win the JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD 2025 for their essays on Gaza ... "We Palestinians win, with or without recipes..."

JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD.

Laila El-Haddad  

@gazamom

 

It was a true honor. I only wish it did not take a genocide to win an award or for people’s eyes to be opened. Still, we will continue to resist by narrating our own stories

 

https://www.lailahaddad.com/books

 

Mosab Abu Toha

@MosabAbuToha

 

Congratulations to me and my dear sister Laila El-Haddad on each winning a prestigious JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD 2025. 

 

I won in Personal Essay Laila won in Personal Essay with Recipes. 

 

We Palestinians win, with or without recipes. 

 

Laila read her remarks, which represent me and her and all of us who have families in Gaza. 

 

I could not share mine there because I was not there in person. But I will post my remarks here soon.

 

Award Winning Work

 

THE WINNING ESSAYS

 

Laila El-Haddad PICTURED WITH HER AUNT UM HANI (PHOTO: MAGGIE SCHMITT)

A Cuisine Under Siege

I couldn’t rescue my aunt in Gaza, but I can keep her recipes alive.

By Laila El-Haddad

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Published on March 5, 2024 in SAVEUR

Though I’ve lived abroad most of my life, Gaza is where I call home. It's where my parents were born and raised and where I spent summers as a child. Whenever we’d return, we’d be welcomed back by our large extended family. First among them was my aunt An’am Dalloul, whom we called Khalto Um Hani: “mother of Hani,” her eldest child and my cousin. She’d always arrive bearing a bowl of sumagiyya, Gaza City’s signature meat stew with chard, sumac, and chickpeas—and my father's favorite meal.   

Um Hani, along with my cousins Hoda, Wafaa, and Hani, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in their residential Gaza City neighborhood in November 2023. 

In an instant, the household perished, my cousin Nael later told me. Only a skeleton of the building was left. He recounted the horrific scene over WhatsApp—how he gathered their remains in his arms and buried them in a mass grave under heavy Israeli bombardment, how he failed to retrieve the corpse of one of his sisters, and how his brother bled to death before paramedics could reach him. Nael, like 90 percent of Gazans at the time of writing, is displaced, fleeing with his children from one city to the next in search of shelter, food, and some semblance of safety. He has been surviving on canned beans for more than three months.

Nael’s news shook me to my core. I couldn’t sleep.... READ MORE https://www.saveur.com/culture/palestinian-cuisine-under-siege/

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

 

The New Yorker Illustration by Matt Rota

Essay

My Family’s Daily Struggle to Find Food in Gaza

In my homeland, where we used to cook and celebrate together, my relatives are eating animal feed to keep from starving.

By Mosab Abu Toha

February 24, 2024

Recently, my wife’s distant aunt, Leila, invited me, my wife, and our three children to her home in the Faisal neighborhood of Cairo. She promised to cook us maftoul, a Palestinian dish that we had not eaten since we fled Gaza in December. Back home, making maftoul was often a family affair. One person cooks a rich stew from pumpkin, onions, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Someone else mixes wheat flour into a dough. A third person rubs the dough through the holes of a sieve, creating tiny balls that are similar to pearl couscous. Finally, the balls are steamed and served with a hot ladleful of the stew. We looked forward to tasting it again.

Leila speaks with the same warmth as my mother, and she cooks the same familiar foods. When we arrived at her sixth-floor apartment, I felt the comfort that comes from shared history. Only months ago, my family survived Israel’s bombardment of northern Gaza, and I was detained by Israeli forces. Leila’s husband, who was deaf, was killed during Israel’s 2014 offensive in Gaza. The moment I sat down, their eleven-year-old son, who lost his father as a toddler, took out a box of dominoes and taught me to play. I thought about how none of us meant to live in Egypt. Leila and her brother came here for her son’s medical treatment, and they can no longer go home.

While the maftoul was cooking, sending a delicious smell through the apartment, I got a video call from my brother Hamza, a father of three with a fourth on the way. He was in northern Gaza, picking through the rubble of the house that we once shared. In the background was the recognizable sound of military drones, and I urged him to get to safety. Instead, Hamza passed the phone to my mother, who was there, too. She looked pale and tired, and she told me that they were running out of food, but she still thanked God for what they had. She was scouring the area for edible plants such as cheeseweed... READ MORE  https://www.newyorker.com/news/essay/my-familys-daily-struggle-to-find-food-in-gaza

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

In the vibrant tapestry of Palestine, Christians and Muslims intertwine as friends –each Christian cherishing a Muslim companion, and every Muslim embracing a Christian confidant. (NABLUS TAMREYAH recipe) in This Week in Palesitne

 

https://thisweekinpalestine.com/nablus-tamreyeh/

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Nablus Tamreyeh

By Rawan Asaad

In the tapestry of spiritual observances, Christians worldwide, alongside their brethren in Palestine, embark on the solemn journey of Great Lent, a forty-day odyssey of abstinence from all animal products. Coincidentally, Muslims also engage in fasting during the sacred month of Ramadan. Amidst these hallowed moments, we unveil the recipe for Nablus Tamreyeh – a delectable confection void of animal derivatives, bearing the mantle of veganism, exuding lightness, vitality, and an unmistakable Palestinian essence.

In the vibrant tapestry of Palestine, Christians and Muslims intertwine as friends –each Christian cherishing a Muslim companion, and every Muslim embracing a Christian confidant. Amidst the shared bonds of neighbors, colleagues, and acquaintances, let the aroma of this delectable dessert unite hearts. Whether gifted to your Christian companion or your Muslim confidant, delve into its sweetness and watch prayers bloom during these sanctified moments.

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Ingredients

For the dough:

– ¾ c flour

– ¼ c water (more or less as needed)

– a pinch of salt

For the filling:

– ½ c coarse semolina

– ½ c sugar

– 2 c water

– powdered sugar as needed (for decoration)

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Preparation

For the dough:

– Place the flour and salt in an electric mixer bowl, gradually pour in the water while continuously kneading to obtain a soft, nonsticky dough. You can use your hands in the absence of an electric mixer.

– Continue kneading for five minutes using the mixer or ten minutes by hand.

– Divide the dough into eight equal portions.

– Place the dough portions in a lightly oiled bowl.

– Cover the bowl and set it aside to rest for one hour.

For the filling:

– In a pot over medium heat, stir together the sugar, water, and semolina until boiling.

– Continue gently stirring the mixture until it thickens.

– Pour the mixture into a rectangular tray, let it cool, then cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate briefly (not more than half an hour), until it becomes firm.

– Remove the filling from the refrigerator, and cut it into eight equal pieces.

– On a flat surface lightly greased with oil, roll out each dough portion separately into the thinnest  possible square.

– Place a piece of filling in the center of each dough portion.

– Take a corner of the dough and place it over the filling.

– Repeat folding the dough with the remaining corners until all edges of the dough are closed over the filling, forming a square. (Do not stretch the dough too much over the filling.)

– Press lightly and roll the square with the palm of your hand to make it slightly thinner.

– Repeat with the remaining dough portions.

– In a pot, heat enough oil.

– Place the dough pieces in the hot oil and fry them until they are golden and crispy.

– Remove the pastries from the oil and drain them on paper towels.

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Sprinkle the pastries with powdered sugar and serve immediately, while hot.

Sahtein!

Laila El-Haddad: A Cuisine Under Siege- I couldn’t rescue my aunt in Gaza, but I can keep her recipes alive.

THE AUTHOR, Laila El-Haddad, PICTURED WITH HER AUNT UM HANI (PHOTO: MAGGIE SCHMITT)

Culture

A Cuisine Under Siege

I couldn’t rescue my aunt in Gaza, but I can keep her recipes alive. By Laila El-Haddad

https://www.saveur.com/culture/palestinian-cuisine-under-siege/

   [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

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"... Teaching the next generation of Palestinians how to make a celebratory stew may seem trivial,  inappropriate even, in light of the deliberate starvation and plausible genocide facing Gazans right now. But food is as integral to our identity and rootedness to the land as our centers of cultural knowledge, such as archives, libraries, theaters, and schools, which are also under attack. Israel’s assault is eliminating entire bloodlines, and with them, all of the memories and knowledge they possessed. 

I live in the United States now, and I’ve cooked sumagiyya more times than I can count—even if it never tastes quite like Um Hani’s. One occasion stands out. It was May 2021, and Gaza City was being pummeled in what was the fourth major assault by Israel on Gaza in 14 years. The attack coincided with Eid, and as I watched on my screen in Clarksville, Maryland horrific images of air raids and grief-stricken mothers, I suddenly felt the urge to make a pot of sumagiyya. Serving it to my family and friends that night, despite the unfolding tragedy, was unexpectedly liberating and affirming.  

Last month, I again found myself in tears chopping onions and chard for sumagiyya, but this time I was making it to honor Um Hani’s memory. Like in 2021, I couldn’t look away from the news: The park where I used to take my son for evening strolls, the beach promenade where I drank sage tea with my mother, the university where I gave guest lectures—they were all unrecognizable piles of overturned dirt and warped wire..."   READ MORE https://www.saveur.com/culture/palestinian-cuisine-under-siege/

In Gaza, sumagiyya is synonymous with weddings, family gatherings, and Eid Al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and its 30-day fast. Photo by Laila El-Haddad

What does Palestine mean to you?

What does Palestine mean to you?

Laila El-Haddad

Now cooking the cuisine of Gaza. First shot is dagga, or سلطة غزوية, a spicy tomato and dill salad. Can’t wait to explore further from Laila El-Haddad’s Gaza kitchen cookbook.

 

Celebrate Palestinian flavors!

 

The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey: El-Haddad, Laila ...

The Gaza Kitchen is a richly illustrated cookbook that explores the distinctive cuisine of the area known prior to 1948 as the Gaza District and that of the many refugees who came to Gaza in 1948 and have been forced to stay there ever since.

 

"... this is not just a cookbook. In its pages, women and men from Gaza tell their stories as they relate to cooking, farming, and the food economy: personal stories, family stories, and descriptions of the broader social and economic system in which they live."