Mother of The Month

Sakaenh Yaseen Alharz was born in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia in 1961 and was the youngest of 7 sisters and 6 brothers. She went to school until she was 13 years old and married when she was 14. It was an arranged marriage set up between both sets of parents. The families knew each other because Sakaenh’s maternal grandfather married her father’s aunt as a second wife. She quit school at her husband’s request when she became pregnant and had her first child at 15. Her husband was a pharmacist and teacher and was devoted to his family. Not only did his mother and aunt live with the family, but Sakaenh also took care of his blind grandmother for 16 years.

Sakaenh made her own clothes and was a self-taught cosmetologist, cutting hair and doing make-up for friends and family. She had 8 children; 6 boys and 2 girls, 3 of whom are currently in the United States. One son, Ali, lives her e in Portland, is an engineer for TriMet, and is a friend of Chef Lisa.

Sakaenh cooks three meals a day for her family, every day. She learned how to cook from her sisters and aunts, reading cookbooks and watching cooking shows, which inspire her to try something different. She takes in all the information and then puts her own twists on dishes, doing things according to her tastes.

Chef Lisa spent an afternoon cooking with Sakaenh and learned a lot about Saudi traditions and culture. One was that she doesn’t wear her hijab at home, but if a male guest who is not family is in the house, she will put it on. Women don’t sit and eat with the family if there are any male guests at the table. Instead, the women will eat together in a room separate from the men, though many of these traditions have modernized in recent years. No matter where her food is enjoyed, it’s delicious and made with love, bil-hanā’ wa ash-shifā’ (may you have your meal with gladness and health)!