Quotidian: A Dinner Club For Daily Life will host a Traditional Yemen Women Gathering with
Hend A-Raimi of Spice Box
142 Eastern Avenue
St. Johnsbury, VT
Thursday, May 2nd
6:30-8:30
$30
30 People ONLY
TICKETS AVAILABLE DIRECTLY THROUGH CATAMOUNT ARTS IN PERSON FOR NO FEES OR
https://tickets.catamountarts.org/public/categories/142%20eastern
Presented by:
Hend A-Raimi
Val Elliott
Spice Box
The Evening:
Please come and join Hend Al-Raimi for an authentic Yemeni traditional women-only dining experience. Learn a traditional Yemeni dance, take off your shoes, sit on the floor and eat out of communal platters as you would if you were to visit any home in Yemen. Relax on cushions as she tells you of her time in Yemen and her adventure of moving to the United States, as you sip Chai tea and eat sweet Yemeni cake. Come with questions, Hend would love to demystify what it is to be a Muslim. Val Elliott co-owner of Spice Box will help with preparing and serving the food.
Menu:
In accordance with Muslim tradition, all meat will be Halal — that is, animals slaughtered in an Islam-prescribed ritual, and no alcohol will be served with the meal.
Fresh Juice
Fasolya: White Bean Stew
Daggah or Dagah: Beef,Lamb and Potato with sauce
Laban: Yogurt and greens
Yemeni Flat Bread
Chai Tea
Rawani: Sweet Yemeni cake
Hend Al-Raimi and Val Elliott
Al-Raimi and Elliott, both 38, met in the summer of 2017 at the Danville Farmers Market and discovered they had some things in common: Both grew up in households in which yelling was a form of affection. Both lost a parent when they were in their twenties. And both found a love for food and cooking at a young age. That shared passion eventually led them to launch Spice Box, a catering and pop-up restaurant venture. Al-Raimi, a native of Yemen now lives in Danville with her family. Hend moved to the U.S. in November 2016 via Jordan to escape the war in her native country. Al-Raimi's headscarf, or hijab, is a visible marker of her identity as a Muslim in an area that has little cultural diversity. But Al-Raimi's worries were largely unfounded. She said her neighbors have been welcoming and have wanted to learn more about her and her culture. Before Val Elliott attended college in New York City, her familiarity with "ethnic" food was limited to that of her Italian heritage and the Greek cuisine of a family friend. "I was in college before I had nachos," admits the St. Johnsbury resident, who grew up in the Hudson Valley. Elliott's 5-year-old daughter, on the other hand, is already developing a more nuanced palate. For one thing, she likes chicken curry. Elliott learned how to make it from Hend Al-Raimi. - Seven Days By Kymelya Sari, January 30, 2019
Parking: There is on street parking on Eastern Avenue
Arrival: Please arrive promptly at 6:30pm so that we can begin our evening together