Activism + Palestinian Food

We're already prepping for Miracle Plum's June book club potluck! We snagged a copy of Zaitoun: Recipes and Stories from the Palestinian Kitchen at the SF Public Library and have been immediately charmed by the heartfelt stories and travel journal quality of this cookbook...

Here's an excerpt from a Healthy-ish interview that gets to the root of her motivation for penning this book:

"Yasmin Khan hopes Zaitoun—the Arabic word for olive, notable as both a cornerstone ingredient and a symbol of peace—can be one such space. In many ways, the timing feels right: Most of us want to widen our lens. Our favorite books and shows—whether it’s Samin Nosrat’s deep-dive travels in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat or the renewed emphasis on global narratives on shows like Chef’s Table—grapple with issues of representation and identity. Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s runaway hit Jerusalem now shares a shelf with Reem Kassis’s The Palestinian Table, and, of course, Zaitoun.

“I wanted it to feel hopeful,” she says. “We live in a polarized and divisive time when people's communication—online, offline, in the political realm, in any realm—is hostile. I understand that. There's a lot of toxicity, but I wanted to create a book that would make people feel optimistic and connected, because I really believe that they're the feelings we need to foster if we want to progress forward.”"

We encourage you to check this book out and support Yasmin!

Photo credit: Zaitoun