Connections Through Cooking

Every so often, the Broad Street Farmers Market has an African cooking demonstration. Today, Martha (first image) brings out her portable stovetop to make a traditional Ethiopian breakfast, which she gives to customers in generous portions for free. Jair (third image, left), a vendor who is learning an ancient language called Ge’ez originating from Ethiopia and Eritrea, overhears that she is Ethiopian and joins in.

Martha: I’m making Ethiopian-style scrambled egg. We season with different types of spices, then onion I just sautéed with clarified butter and then I put tomato for flavor. And then I put the egg on top, then I put a little bit of salt and the different types of herbs. Then we'll eat this together with bread called injera. This is our traditional breakfast. Also, we have oat cut. It’s like, type of oatmeal called kinche.

I do farmers markets at Farm Fresh, and now it's our last Farm Fresh today. I canceled Hope Street [market]. I usually sell at Saturday's Hope Street. Lentil stew, seasoned beets, the flatbread, of course.

Since I was a child, I love to cook for my family, and I run a back country family restaurant. So it has been around me, cooking. When I moved here, there's no Ethiopian [cooking] representation. My boys, they pushed me, ‘go mama, you love cook, and represent Ethiopia.’ I moved in 2010. We moved here 2015 from Virginia. We were born in Ethiopia. My kids are from here. I have two boys. 

(Jair overhears and joins the conversation)

Jair: Do you speak Tigrinya? 

Martha: I’m not speak Tigrinya. I only speak Amharic. Do you speak? 

Jair: No, I'm learning Ge’ez. I know someone, he's teaching me, because I like old religious stuff. 

Martha: Oh my God. I'm so amazed. 

Jair: I just met him. He said he's a professor of literature. And he said he's going to teach me. We're going to start in two weeks or something. His family lives here. He comes to visit. But he's a professor in Ethiopia. 

Martha: How do you know about Ge’ez? 

Jair: I'm strange, haha. I'm Muslim. The old books, they all teach a lot of good stuff. I love to learn. I don't go to school. I learn from people. 

Martha: Oh, my God. You're so amazing. 

(Jair walks away)

Martha: Ge’ez is a first language, I don't know, in the world. I don't know what it says. I was like, ‘how could you know?’ No one knows. Even I didn't know Ge'ez. Because most of Ge'ez speakers are from church. Old testimony or whatever. That's why I was like, ‘what?’ 

[At this market, I meet] so many people, I'm so happy. To produce the culture, communicate with people. It was amazing. Not only business, but it was amazing for me. It's a connection.