Me:
What is your essential food/item that made it on top of your quarantine list?
Yuko:
I thought about a few things. One is a jar of sun dried tomatoes. I got addicted after my trip to Malta last summer. Another, maybe more fun is a small Turkish Coffee maker. I learned how to make the coffee in Egypt recently. I didn’t drink coffee for a long time, but I restarted it as a mini morning ritual. I can’t drink a lot of coffee, so I only make one cup in the morning.
Me:
Turkish coffee! This coffee pot is really beautiful. I like the design on the handle and shiny copper body.
I actually don’t know how to make Turkish coffee. How different from the regular coffee?
Yuko:
Well, I didn’t really drink coffee till I got hooked to what Egyptians call “French Coffee” in Cairo, right before COVID19 quarantine started. I was there in early March.
I am not a specialist, but Turkish coffee is made of almost powder like ultra ground coffee (and sugar) prepared directly in the one person size pot like this one. Coffee powder is in the cup you drink out of. “French Coffee” is Turkish coffee prepared with milk. It taste like coffee milk you had as a kid, but, like the better kind.
You can find multiple ways of preparing and serving Turkish coffee on YouTube. Very simple, but you need to learn it because it is very different from how we prepare coffee in this part of the world.
For those of us who are not used to drinking Turkish coffee, the key is to wait a bit till the powder sinks down to the bottom. It’s a common sense for those who are used to drinking Turkish coffee, but we don’t know!
Me:
Wow that sounds delicious.
How did you learn how to make this?
Yuko:
I asked my Egyptian friends, then watched a few different YouTube videos. I went with the one where Egyptian grandma explain it to us. It looks like Egyptian way of preparing is a bit different from Turkish way. But there may be multiple different ways. (Turkish coffee videos I saw all put coffee in cold water from the start, the one I watched from Egypt put the coffee powder into the already boiling water. I am not used to taking too much coffee, so the Turkish version seems too strong for me.)
Me:
I do want to try Egyptian grandma way of making coffee! Can we find those special pot and Turkish coffee in NY?
Yuko:
I brought one from Egypt, but it was too small, and dangerous to use in my big American stovetop. It was actually not hard to find at all. There is an Arabic deli Samad's Gourmet on the block where I live. They had like 10 different ones. This was the prettiest.
Turkish coffee is ground to the max, it has the texture of flour. I guess we can ground the coffee ourselves. But many coffee sellers have Turkish ground, or specialty stores must be able to ground it for us. And there is always internet.
Samad’s Gourmet is closed right now, but I will go ask them when they are open again.
Me:
That will be one of the place I will go once the quarantine is over!
Egypt is one of the place I dream to go as a child. I was so into “Ookeno-monsyo” (Japanese syojo comic about Egypt). Would you give me a one spot you recommend for us to go in Egypt?
Yuko:
Local artist friends took me on an overnight trip from Cairo to a small pottery artisan village called Tunis. It is gorgeous there with flowers and lush greens everywhere. From there, we took a full day trip to the Sahara. There is an area in the middle of the desert where they find fossilized ancient whales. You can only get there with experienced 4 wheel driver. They are so old and they have legs! They preserved some in the place where they found them, and you can walk around and see the fossil legged whales in the middle of nowhere surrounded by sand. it’s very poetic.
It’s a pottery village, so it’s perfect for you. You should go. Or we go there together when all this madness is over!
Me:
It is perfect for me!!! Yes let’s go together.
Sounds like a painting how you are describing this place!
How is bear doing with the quarantine?
Yuko:
He got use to staying home. He misses neighbors at the studio, but he won’t complain because momma is always home!
Me:
:) Bear and his momma :) Cute Bear photos attached on the bottom!
Thank you so much Yuko for the interview!!!
I wanted to share Yuko’s illustration she did last week for NYTimes. 17 illustrators quarantined in New York and were asked by NYTimes to draw outside the window. I think it’s a super interesting project. We get to see all the artists windows and their views.
Here is Yuko’s:
I am facing Columbia University office. So for the last one month, I am just staring at an empty building. It’s so quiet here in my apartment, I can’t believe I live in Manhattan. (By Yuko Shimizu)
Bear :)
———————
Project Note:
The idea of “ My friend’s quarantine shopping list” started when I was peeking at people’s shopping baskets during the COVID-19. What are their essentials? Is there a one thing they can’t live without? I was curious about my friend’s. Everyone’s list was unique and I enjoy making the items and talking about them with my friends. I hope this brighten your day and maybe those items will make it to your next shopping list :) Have a nice staying home day!