Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead: Recipes and Recollections from a Syrian Pioneer
By Habeeb Salloum
Published by University of Regina Press
Review by Michelle Shaw
$34.95 ISBN 9780889775183
I had no idea that Arab immigrants settled in rural Saskatchewan in the early part of the twentieth century. And, from the dumbfounded looks on the faces of my born and bred Saskatchewan friends, it鈥檚 not a fact that鈥檚 widely known.
One such story can be found in Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead. Habeeb Salloum鈥檚 family immigrated to Canada in the 1920s. Most Syrian immigrants of that period settled in the Eastern Canadian provinces of Quebec or Ontario, but Salloum鈥檚 father ended up settling in rural Saskatchewan.
The 1920s and 30s were a tough time to be a farmer in Saskatchewan. But Salloum鈥檚 parents survived, as he puts it, on the 鈥渋ngenuity and the recipes they had inherited from their forebears.鈥� They found that many of the crops they grew traditionally in the Middle East, such as lentils and chickpeas, were ideally suited to Saskatchewan conditions.
The book is both a biographical recollection of the life of Salloum鈥檚 family in Saskatchewan during the early part of the twentieth century, and a treasury of delicious recipes using basic ingredients that are nutritious and economical. Some of Salloum鈥檚 mother鈥檚 recipes also incorporate local ingredients such as Saskatoon berries and dandelions.
I loved this book. Apart from the fascinating glimpse into Saskatchewan history, I found the recipes easy to use 鈥� and my children loved the results, which is high praise indeed. Each chapter focuses on a particular item (such as chickpeas, yogurt, vegetarian pies, zucchini, potatoes, Arab stews), and, for the more adventurous there is stuffed stomach as well as other interesting options.
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