I am always amazed that anyone in the camps could find it in themselves to make art, or to record their histories and traditions, in the midst of such abject horror. I'm grateful you shared this.
Thank you, Andrea, for your comment. It seems to me that the extraordinary people who pushed themselves to continue to create amidst so much horror achieved more than all the bullets and bombs. Their conquests is an indelible reminded of how its possible to celebrate and preserved what others hated and tried so hard to annihilate.
It doesn't compare to the horror and trauma these women were forced to endure, but reminds me of the cherished cookbooks I made of my mom's collected recipes through the years. The correlation is just in food bringing us together, the shared memories and remembering what was on the table, what we tasted...What would Passover be without mom's marble sponge cake...When these wonderful souls in our life are no longer physically present, it is some small comfort to remember and cherish the meals....
Pat, this is a wonderful piece and so appropriate for Yom Kippur, a day for remembrance, repentance, and forgiveness. (Some things are very hard to forgive, I have to note.) I would like to add to your account the role played by my late dear friend Cara Desilva who published Mina's cookbook as In Memory's Kitchen with a lengthy account of how it came to be and how it survived, as well as a touching rumination on the role food plays in history, culture, and human connection.
I am always amazed that anyone in the camps could find it in themselves to make art, or to record their histories and traditions, in the midst of such abject horror. I'm grateful you shared this.
Thank you, Andrea, for your comment. It seems to me that the extraordinary people who pushed themselves to continue to create amidst so much horror achieved more than all the bullets and bombs. Their conquests is an indelible reminded of how its possible to celebrate and preserved what others hated and tried so hard to annihilate.
Excellent article... but how come my late friend, Cara De Silva, isn't mentioned? She wrote "In Memory's Kitchen."
It doesn't compare to the horror and trauma these women were forced to endure, but reminds me of the cherished cookbooks I made of my mom's collected recipes through the years. The correlation is just in food bringing us together, the shared memories and remembering what was on the table, what we tasted...What would Passover be without mom's marble sponge cake...When these wonderful souls in our life are no longer physically present, it is some small comfort to remember and cherish the meals....
It d
What an amazing story, Pat. How fortunate and unlikely that the cookbook survived and reached the intended recipient.
Pat, this is a wonderful piece and so appropriate for Yom Kippur, a day for remembrance, repentance, and forgiveness. (Some things are very hard to forgive, I have to note.) I would like to add to your account the role played by my late dear friend Cara Desilva who published Mina's cookbook as In Memory's Kitchen with a lengthy account of how it came to be and how it survived, as well as a touching rumination on the role food plays in history, culture, and human connection.