Resilient kitchens : American immigrant cooking in a time of crisis : essays and recipes

Immigrants have left their mark on the great melting pot of American cuisine, and they have continued working hard to keep America’s kitchens running, even during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. For some immigrant cooks, the pandemic brought home the lack of protection for essential workers in the American food system. For others, cooking was a way of reconnecting with homelands they could not visit during periods of lockdown. __Resilient Kitchens: American Immigrant Cooking in a Time of Crisis__ is a stimulating collection of essays about the lives of immigrants in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, told through the lens of food. It includes a vibrant mix of perspectives from professional food writers, restaurateurs, scholars, and activists, whose stories range from emotional reflections on hardship, loss, and resilience to journalistic investigations of racism in the American food system. Each contribution is accompanied by a recipe of special importance to the author, giving readers a taste of cuisines from around the world. Every essay is accompanied by gorgeous food photography, the authors’ snapshots of pandemic life, and hand-drawn illustrations by Filipino American artist Angelo Dolojan. Contents Preface 1 The Lost Year 2 Quarantine Cooking in an Improvised Household 3 Duck Tales 4 Cooking with the Lights Off 5 The Meaning of Martin Yan 6 Pound Cake and Puri 7 Teta Thursdays: Conversations on Food, Culture, and Identity during a Global Pandemic 8 The Map to Myself 9 There Will Always Be a Sea 10 Food and Caring during the Times of COVID-19 on the U.S.–Mexico Border 11 Intimate Tables: Food and Migration in a Time of Crisis Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors Art Credits Index