By Humaira "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, have you heard of it? If your answer is "No," then you have either been in a coma or off the grid. Every major publication, media outlet, literary site, bookstore and online vendor has written about Khaled's third and much anticipated novel. I have to agree with them, it is a must read with rich characters and exotic setting -- a multi-generation saga which leaves you wanting wanting more. "So, what is left to say?" I pondered this question when I was listening to the audiobook of my friend and fellow... Continue reading

by Humaira I am hooked on Facebook . I have met some cool people through FB who I would have never met otherwise. Anna Badkhen is one of those people. Anna has authored four books, and writes for the New York Times, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, the Boston Globe, and others. She reports on people in extremis which has landed her in the Middle East, Central Asia, East Africa, her native Russia and the Caucasus. She has been reporting on Afghanistan for over a decade. Last week, Penguin Books released her latest book, The World is a Carpet: Four... Continue reading

by Humaira For many years I hosted an Afghan dinner as an auction item for my daughter’s school fundraiser. I found myself slaving over the meal for many days and at the end there was nothing to show for my hours of labor except for a kitchen full of dirty dishes. After someone mentioned that they wanted to learn how to cook Afghan food, a light bulb went on. Why not do a “Cook Your Own Afghan Feast” auction item? That is exactly what I have done in the past two years and I must say it has been lots... Continue reading

By Humaira On mother’s day I was telling Jeja, my mom, about an Afghan dinner party I hosted. She always wants to know the menu. Followed by a long discussion about whether there were enough dishes served. To change the subject, I told her about the eggplant dip I invented for an appetizer and then described it to her. She frowned and then said, “That is Laghataq, one of your grandfather’s favorite dishes.” It goes to show you that everything has been done before and there are no new inventions. This is the perfect dish to share or take to... Continue reading

Monastery of Christ in the Dessert - Abiquiu, New Mexico By Humaira There are times I feel ill suited for my community. Somehow I always seem to be doing things a little off from the norm. This year when people asked me about our family’s spring break plan, I enthusiastically answered, "The kids going to be with their doting grandmother and that I am off to a Monastery in New Mexico." The reaction, a blank stare and then... “Oh! That is interesting, are you going on a yoga retreat?” “No yoga, no retreat, I am just going to visit the... Continue reading

Recently I read this fictionalized short story of my family's accidental run in with pork and the trials of resettlement in a foreign land. Many people in my writer's workshop shared that they too had similar experiences. I realized that perhaps there are similar stories out there that we can all relate to in some level. I share my story with all of you with the hope that you will tell me about your pork stories. By Humaira It’s our family’s first week as political refugees in Germany. Food stamps safely tucked in her purse, Jeja; my mother scans the... Continue reading

An Evening of Art and Literature Incling Upwards, Afghan Friends Network Join me at the celebraton of Afghan Friends Network, a non-profit I co-founed ten years ago. Our students are 750 girls and boys in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Funds raised will allow 20 girls and six boys attend University. At the Inclining Upwards event we are celebrating our successes, art and culture. Thursday April 4th, 6:30 – 8:30. Incline Gallery, a cutting edge two-story gallery space on trendy Valencia Street in San Francisco. 766 Valencia St, San Francisco, California 94110 Renowned Afghan author and dear friend Tamim Ansary will be there... Continue reading

Happy New Year - Sal e Now Mubarak Just like these lovely Afghan children, as a little girl I dressed up in traditional clothes on Nowroz By Humaira In the United States most people I have encountered are familiar with “Nouroz” or New Year which is considered to be an exclusively Persian holiday only celebrated by Iranians. The truth is, what was originally a Zoroastrian festival is now celebrated in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kurdistan, the Indian Sub Continent and many other countries in the world. Although each country celebrates it a little differently, it always centers around the celebration of spring... Continue reading

By, Humaira Happy International Woman's month, it happens that I am celebratin my 16th year wedding anniversary with the love of my life tomorrow, March 8th, which is the official women's day celebration. We didn't realize the auspiciousness of the date when we picked it as our wedding day but it has set a very balanced harmony in our life together. As for today's recipe, I want to start out by saying that Afghanistan is a land locked country naturally seafood is not a big part of Afghan cuisine. Yeterday, as I pondered what to make for dinner I remembered... Continue reading

Arabic Caligraphy at Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan by Humaira Many event announcements, beautiful photos or fantastic ideas pass through my fabecebook page or my email which I want to share with others but somehow they fall by the waste side. I finally decided to create a platform to share these "tidbits" of information with you on a monthly basis. My hope is to centralize some of the great information about Afghan culture, events or anything interesting in the Afghan Culture Tidbits section of this blog so you too can enjoy them too. If you know of any events,... Continue reading

By Humaira This week I was proud to help my daugther Sofia prepare for her presentation about the Afghan holiday Eid for her Spanish class. Her teacher had asked each student to choose a holiday important to them and create a presentation in Spanish about it. Sofia, to my surprise went all out by putting together a powerpoint presenation with spinning pictures and a menu of Afghan food she and I were to make for her classmates. Having spent the last 10 years of my life educating people about Afghanistan, I was happy that some of what I had shared... Continue reading

Taken in 2011 when I was in Kabul By Humaira Kabul is a city exploding with entrepeneurs. In every corner someone is selling, buying or coming up with new and innovative ways to make a better living. In 2011 when I was in Kabul, it was very impressive to see the explosion of commerce in the city of Kabul by the numerous cell phone companies, restaurants, hotels and even Western style gorcery chain called Finest, that were sprinkled around the city. In this post, I share an edidted article from Kabul A City At Work about a juice and chips... Continue reading

By Humaira I reently came across the most stunning photos of Afghanistan by Matthieu Paley. I must confess this was the first time I had seen photos of the Afghan Kyrgyz tribe who are nomads, live a very remote life untouched by the outside world. You may see all of Matthieu's photos on his website. I am going to order a copy of his photo book called Pamir since it will make a wonderful coffee table book. Here is the introduction to Matthieu's book: High in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan, a remnant group of less than 1000 Kyrgyz dwell... Continue reading

By Humaira In 2011 we asked you to vote for our Aushak recipe which we entered in a dumpling contest. Thanks to you and all of our friends around the world we won the dumpling contest which landed our recipe in the newly published, The FOOD52 Cookbook, Volume 2, a crowdsourced and curated cookbook. This cookbook contains 75 recipes, beautiful photos, scrumptious seasonal recipes and of course our world famous Aushak recipe on page 194, just in case you were wondering. The book is an amalgamation of recipes, ideas, and techniques collected by Amanda Hessler (formerly NY Times food writer)... Continue reading

By Humaira I am a cereal girl when it comes to breakfast food. Eggs are my lunch or dinner go to food for a quick delicious meal. In Afghanistan people have boiled eggs or sunny side up for breakfast, but this is rare since eggs are expensive. Most people in the villages keep a couple of chickens around for their coveted eggs. When I was a little girl we lived in a modern two-story house in Kabul with a big yard. My father, a diplomat, loved gardening, growing his own fruit and keeping chickens so we had a chicken coupe... Continue reading

Najia Karim and her husband Mo Qayoumi, President of San Jose State University By Humaira Ten years ago I left the high-tech world to raise my two daughters. Instead of enjoying my sabbatical I co-founded a non-profit organization, Afghan Friends Network (AFN) focused on education for girls, women and boys in Afghanistan. AFN has not only allowed me to re-connect with my heritage but it has also provided a platform for meeting some amazing people who tirelessly advocate for the Afghan people. Najia Karim is one of these people. She is a poet and short story author. Through her thought... Continue reading

by Humaira My heart aches for the families of all the deceased and injured in the Connecticut shooting. It makes me want to run to my children's schools and hug them really tight. These are times that I find it hard to practice gratitude and positive thinking . Don't you? With senseless violence now in my soil, my land, with my people in the United States I would like to share this poem from Rumi (an Afghan poet) which has lighted a candle of hope during this very dark time. Peace and love with all the angels who are no... Continue reading

Friend, Hon. Carol Ruth Silver, Minister Khalid, and Humaira at a Kabul guest house in 2011 By Humaira Last week in the midst of my very domestic American life -- driving basketball carpools, coordinating cello practice and making runs to Trader Joe’s -- I received news that a suicide bomber had directed an attack on Minister Khalid, the head of intelligence in Afghanistan and a longtime friend of mine. The attacker hid the bomb near his genitals where Afghans would never search a person and passed through the minister’s security details undetected. This was the first time I personally knew... Continue reading

Whirling Afghan Cherry Cocktail fans (Katie & Kate) by Humaira I was hosting an Afghan dinner party a couple of years ago so it was fitting to serve an Afghan- inspired cocktail. Most people might associate pomegranate juice with Afghanistan but it's cherry juice that I remember drinking as a child. Perhaps that was in part because my mom's cousin had a farm with cherry orchards. She would make cherry jam, cherry syrup, and of course we would get buckets of fresh cherries to munch on. We would mix water with the thick and sweet cherry syrup to make cherry... Continue reading

Public Service Announcement The International Museum of Women, will launch an exhibition that will highlight Muslim Women's Arts & Voices. This innovative and timely multimedia exhibition will launch in March 2013. The exhibition will highlight the art, voices and ideas of a new generation of Muslim women, addressing myths and prejudices about Muslim women and fostering understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims in the US and globally. For the first phase of the project they are looking for Muslim women under 40, located in Sharjah and the surrounding Emirates, U.A.E.; Mindanao (ARMM and Non-ARMM), Philippines; Aarhus, Denmark; and the San Francisco/Bay... Continue reading

By Humaira Last week over dinner, my 13 year-old daugther Aria asked me if I had heard about the film on Prophet Muhammad and the resulting riots. Of course I had. I was reading every bit of news about it. Usually I kick-off our dinner discussions about current events, but on this subject I’d been silent mostly because I wasn’t sure where I stood on it. Don’t get me wrong; the film is extremely insulting to Muslims who believe Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of God and the last Prophet sent to humans by God. Muslims live their lives following... Continue reading

By Humaira For most of us in the west, the mention of Afghan women doesn't conjure up visions of Taekwondo champions or olympic boxers. However, in the past few years there has been a rise in the number of female athletes and athletic programs mostly in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. While there is a flurry of bad news about the future of Afghanistan, I want to share some inspiring stories of two remarkable women who are taking great risks to do what they love the most. They follow their bliss despite threats, intimidation and ridicule. They are the change... Continue reading

Helen Saberi has written one of the most popular Afghan cookbooks, Afghan Food and Cookery, which I discoved when I became interested in Afghan cooking. Helen married an Afghan man in 1972 and lived in Afghanistan for eight years until she had to leave due to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Helen, originally English, spent her eight years in Afghanistan learning about Afghan culture; food, people and the Dari language. I was really honoured when I received an email from Helen praising my blog. Naturally, I asked Helen if she would share one of her wonderful recipes with us. Below... Continue reading

The Monastery of Christ In The Dessert By Humaira This was a post from May but I am reposting it since it fits so beautifully as followup to last week's post, "Are Muslims Barbarians?". In Aprils I visited a monastery for a retreat. One generally doesn’t find Afghans frequenting monasteries but the Monastery of Christ In The Desert has had several Afghan visitors recently, well, mostly my family. My brother Farid lived here for the last 20 years among the contemplative Benedictine monks as a civilian caretaker of the monastery. He dedicated his life to serving the brothers and searching... Continue reading

By Humaira Yogurt is one of my obsessions. I eat it with everything. I love the tangy cool taste, which enhances every dish. Once I horrified my husband by dumping two large spoonfuls of plain yogurt into my bowl of ramen noodles. Afghans add yogurt as a topping to many dishes such as kadoo, aushak, and aush. However, my family goes over the top, we add yogurt to everything. Recently I learned I am allergic to yogurt. This was a sad day for me. Apparently I am allergic to the protein in milk not be confused with lactose intolerance. This... Continue reading