In my rihla (journey) across different food landscapes I have discovered
that people consume food not necessarily to satisfy hunger but for cultural,
religious and social reasons. This is even more pronounced in Canada where
people explore and learn from other cultures by including other people’s food
in their cuisine. Cultural groups differ in their definition of good or
appropriate food. For example, the elite and environmentally conscious believe
in organic and/or local, the Jews...
September 30, 2015
September 25, 2015
Halal: A Preferred cuisine
The nation of Somalia on the eastern horn of Africa has
undergone a terrible humanitarian crisis. As of 2013, 1.1 million Somalis had
been forced to disperse across the world as refugees [1] in response to a
deadly combination of war, drought, corruption, and famine. Many of these people
have sought and found sanctuary in Canada. Here, they must face the new
challenges of adapting to a foreign climate and culture. Not least among these
issues is the question of whether or not...
September 11, 2015
Sesame Oil: A Keystone Ingredient
If you cook your own food,
you’ll know what I’m talking about: that one ingredient. The one that’s always
on your shopping list, always in your pantry. There is no substitute, you can’t
seem to get away from using it, and without it your kitchen might as well be
closed. I call it a keystone ingredient. Think of your keystone ingredient. Is
it a spice blend? A particular cheese? Type of nut? For those preparing Somali
food it is sesame oil. Found in a variety of traditional plates...
September 4, 2015
Understanding Refugee Path Immigrants
In my
quest for knowledge, I became confused about concepts such as the whiteness (in
terms of race, class and education) of spaces such as the farmers’ market,
appropriate definition of a food desert, and the possibility of control over the
food consumed by groups such as refugee
path immigrants. Refugee path immigrants
(RPIs) are people who entered their new country through refugee routes (Adekunle et al. 2015). My confusion may have stemmed
from my epistemological and ontological...
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