This was originally published in The Fresno Bee on August 17, 2023, under the title “Fresno mother went to see ‘Barbie,’ and left musing about meaning of womanhood.” I’m listing it here under my original title, since this is my blog. All quoted text is attributed to...
This piece originally appeared on my Instagram page (@julsarmeniankitchen) in 2022. Before my parents got married, their church required a counseling session with the reverend, or Badveli, as we called him. “There’s more than one way to make pilaf” was the key...
I wrote this piece in memory of my father-in-law Ray Echols at the time of his death in 2017. It includes lyrics from Willie Nelson’s song, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. “Hippocampus, Greek for seahorse…” are the only words I remember from our neurology visit. As we...
This piece originally appeared in The Fresno Bee on December 11, 2020. There’s something about food that is comforting in hard times. I think it has to do with memories. When my father samples Armenian foods from his childhood, his eyes light up, as if he is back in...
I wrote this in 2017 for my now-retired blog, The Stranger in Your Kitchen, about an Armenian porridge called “keshkeg,” where I conflated the phonetics of “keg” in with the English word “gag,” while reflecting on the state of American politics at the time. There’s a...
This piece originally appeared as a post on The Stranger in Your Kitchen, my now-retired blog, in 2016. I’ve been standing here for hours, prepping food for the busy week ahead. Cleaning greens. Cooking grains. Overnight oats. Jenny Rosentrach’s ‘Basic...
I wrote this in July 2019, during my Armenian home cooking apprenticeship with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts as a tribute to my mentor’s late husband, Raffi Bedrossian. Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) Apprenticeship Program It was...
This piece originally appeared in The Fresno Bee on January 31, 2020. Citrus season is here, and I’m gazing at my grapefruit tree with the usual angst. Twice a year it produces an excessive amount of fruit, rendering my yard a microcosm for the Valley – an...
This piece originally ran as a guest column in the Fresno Bee on March 7, 2021. “Practicing medicine isn’t all that hard when everyone pays attention.” We were standing outside my mom’s hospital room when her doctor spoke these words to me. Healthcare workers bustled...
A reflection on childhood meals at The Peach Tree, my Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary Shirejian’s iconic Fresno Armenian restaurant. I arrived at Zee’s home in early January, eager to begin my Alliance for California Traditional Arts apprenticeship and quickly deflated when...
There may come a time When you’ll be tired, As tired as a dream that wants to die. This is how I see my blog: a dream that wants to die. In keeping it alive, I’m fighting against many hooded blessings: motherhood, wifehood, daughterhood, employee-hood, community...