Keeping culture, traditions alive for family through food
How good is your geography? Could you find Albania on a globe? Albania is a small country nestled on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, tucked between Greece and Macedonia. Our cook of the month, Shemka Muaremi, of Schaumburg, has an early memory from when she was 4 years old. She was saying good-bye to her Albanian grandparents before her family immigrated to the United States.
“We lived with my uncle at first, all of us in the same place,” she smiles fondly. Now, grown-up, with a family of her own, Muaremi enjoys retaining the traditions of her Albanian culture by raising her two sons to be bilingual and of course, by introducing many of the Albanian dishes she grew up eating. But she had to learn how to cook first.
“I lived with my parents until I got married, and my mom cooked every meal, every night (the family didn't sit down to eat until everyone was home.) I didn't know how to do anything. Once I got married, I had to step up to the plate.”
Muaremi turned to Pinterest for recipe ideas, and when still confused, she would watch YouTube videos about how to make specific dishes.
Although she's is an elementary teacher and has a second job as well, Muaremi continues the tradition of home-cooked meals, every night.
“We try not to eat out that much. I try to cook healthy - it's more about knowing what I put in it.” Muaremi also likes knowing that her kids will try anything.
“I like that [they're] exposed to different flavors and foods. [They're] not afraid to try new things!”
To accomplish home-cooked meals, Muaremi starts with a plan.
“I organize myself when I go grocery shopping. On those days when I won't get home until seven, I'll make something the night before - like lasagna - and have my husband put it in to bake. Or we'll have something quick and easy like shish-kabobs on the grill.” The dishes that require more time she makes on nights she's home early. Then she might prepare one of her favorite Albanian dishes.
“We eat lots of stews with potatoes and beans. Some of the dishes are very doughy - like filo dough and spinach and cheese. It was all about getting the most bang for the buck, dishes that used a little bit of meat, and the rest was fresh vegetables from their farms. My family were farmers - they had everything they needed.”
It isn't surprising to learn that the Muaremi's have a summer garden bursting with produce.
“My father and father-in-law planted everything, but we keep up with it. We have cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash, and everything is overflowing. It's time to harvest.” She loves that her son and his friends like going into the garden to snack on cherry tomatoes. The two dad's check-in weekly to watch the garden's progress.
In the summer, Muaremi makes great use of the grill and the fresh produce from the garden. In the winters, She loves to make chili and stews. She shares her bean “fasule” recipe with us, a rich, nourishing stew.
Oddly enough, one of the dishes Muaremi is known for, the one she is asked to bring to events over and over again, isn't an Albanian dish at all. It's flan.
“My mother-in-law [also Albanian] got this amazing flan recipe from a co-worker and showed me how to make it. If you follow the recipe, it turns out perfectly every time.” Happily, Muaremi also shares this recipe with us today. If you asked Muaremi what her favorite tool in the kitchen is you might be surprised. “I saute a lot of chopped onions and garlic, and for that, I love a wooden spoon. I guess I'm just old school. Eastern European old school!” she laughs.
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