Wiser With Age

Tag: immigrant

  • Grandma Lan’s Vietnamese Thanksgiving Quail

    Grandma Lan’s Vietnamese Thanksgiving Quail


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.

    Last year, in a special Thanksgiving collaboration with I Am An Immigrant, Cooking with Granny traveled to California to tell the refugee immigrant story behind Grandma Lan’s crispy Vietnamese quail. It’s baked, fried, and flambeed — and served with a side of her famous fish sauce. Under Communist rule in Vietnam, Grandma Lan thrived as an underground fish sauce dealer in the black market so much so that she came to be known as “Madam Fish Sauce.â€

    Watch Grandma Lan’s food story here.

    What Thanksgiving traditions does your family savor?

  • In My Mother’s Words: Gratitude

    In My Mother’s Words: Gratitude


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.

    As my mom and I sat in the airport waiting for our ride when we came back from South America this summer, she started telling me how clearly she remembers the day she arrived to this country. She said she remembers the times she got lost. The times she felt such relief when finding someone who spoke Spanish to help, and how tough it was the times she couldn’t find someone.

    I asked her if she had to do it all over again if she would. Without any hesitation she said to me,

    “Uy, claro que sí! Yo a este país le vivo muy agradecida por que me dio a mis dos hijos y oportunidades que yo nunca hubiera podido tener en Honduras.â€

    (Oh, of course! I am very grateful to this country, because it gave me my two children and has granted me opportunities I would’ve never had in Honduras.)

    My mother is one of the most grateful people I know. Frankly, I sometimes think she’s grateful to a fault. She never forgets the favors people did for her during some of our most difficult times. Her life here has not been an easy one, life in general isn’t meant to be easy. But, it takes a certain level of badassery (not a confirmed word in the Oxford dictionary) to pack up your bags and move to a whole new country you’ve never even seen. Not to mention, leaving your country and family not knowing when you’ll return.

    My mom is the ultimate American. She listens to the Star-Spangled banner carefully every time it plays. She likes watching shows like Family Feud bc she says they teach her new words in English. She LOVES Facebook and her iPhone. She’s full of hope. Hope granted to her by living in a place where if you work hard you can come from an impoverished country, not know the language, and raise two professionals. Hope is a gift my mother has never taken for granted. She is forever grateful to this country for granting her that hope.

    This Thanksgiving we spent it apart. We have lots to be thankful for- my mom’s health, my new job, amazing friends along with a roof over our heads and food on our tables. My mom came from very little and is always reminding us to give thanks, no matter the occasion. To her you need to be thankful for everything from the bus driver who gets you home safely to the steady paycheck.

    Maybe that’s why when it comes time for Thanksgiving if we can’t get together none of us feel all that terrible. When your family consists of three people every gathering is a family gathering. We know how lucky we are and even if we’re apart we know we’re not alone. We’re a formidable army of three who eat turkey weekly (lean meats, ya know?!). We look forward to the next time we see each other and figuring out what vacation we’ll take next.

    We’re three people full of hope and for that we are grateful.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Victoria Moll-Ramirez is a broadcast journalist based in New York City. She is originally from Miami, FL and had the great fortune of being raised by the sassiest, spunkiest, wisest, most hysterical Honduran woman in the world. Victoria’s mother, Bélgica, is 60-years-old, resides in Little Havana (Miami) and enjoys a good margarita accompanied by a heartrending ranchera. Victoria blogs about her mom’s funny and wise sayings on, “In My Mother’s Words.â€

  • Cooking With Granny: Mattar Paneer with Indian Grandma Sahni

    Cooking With Granny: Mattar Paneer with Indian Grandma Sahni


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Grandma Surinder Sahni about to cook her famous Mattar Paneer

    This is a New York immigrant story cooked into Grandma Surinder Sahni’s mouthwatering mattar paneer (vegetable curry with homemade Indian cheese). Find out how an Indian Sikh family and an Orthodox Jewish family came together in a surprising intersection of their religions in Kew Gardens, Queens. And learn how to make mattar paneer from scratch straight from a Granny master chef.

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Caroline Shin is a multimedia journalist based in NYC. Recently, she launched “Cooking With Granny†– a Web series in which grandmas teach how to cook traditional dishes from their cultures while simultaneously sharing their funny, sad and surprising experiences with immigration and multiculturalism in a world that’s very different from today’s. Shin was previously a video editor at New York Magazine and holds an M.A. from Columbia Journalism School.

  • Cooking With Granny: Russian stuffed peppers

    Cooking With Granny: Russian stuffed peppers


    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.
    Caroline with Russian granny Nina Iskin.

    As grandma Nina Iskin teaches us how to make stuffed peppers, we also learn her war-torn tale – how she came to survive the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, the deadliest siege in military history, and eventually immigrate to New York City with the help of former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President George Bush. Watch below!

    A woman with short hair wearing red necklace.Caroline Shin is a multimedia journalist based in NYC. Recently, she launched “Cooking With Granny†– a Web series in which grandmas teach how to cook traditional dishes from their cultures while simultaneously sharing their funny, sad and surprising experiences with immigration and multiculturalism in a world that’s very different from today’s. Shin was previously a video editor at New York Magazine and holds an M.A. from Columbia Journalism School.

  • First female Asian elected official on the East Coast continues to give back and speak up

    First female Asian elected official on the East Coast continues to give back and speak up

    Ellen Young in the Chambers being introduced by the Speaker as a freshman member, and the first Asian American woman in the legislature in January 2007. (Courtesy Ellen Young)
    Ellen Young in the Chambers being introduced by the Speaker as a freshman member, and the first Asian American woman in the legislature in January 2007. (Courtesy Ellen Young)

    Ellen Young is not one to stay still, or stay quiet.

    The 62-year-old volunteers as the first, and only, Asian member of the Grievance Committee for the Second, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Judicial Districts. As one of 15 committee members, she reviews complaints against attorneys from Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. She says she spends the rest of her time at the newly founded Golden Age Learning Center, which serves approximately 200 seniors.

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