Mission Statement
“The food we prepare and deliver from our kitchen will be of the same quality and freshness as the food we serve our families, children and friends.“
Our History
FOR THE LOVE OF COOKING
By Moncef Jaziri, owner of OASIS NATURALS Inc., San Diego, California.
| Our cuisine in the Mediterranean is rich in exotic herbs and spices like Tabil (a local blend of coriander, garlic, cumin and dried hot peppers),
cumin, cinnamon, rosemary, thyme and Italian parsley. Herbs, like cilantro; mostly used in Moroccan cuisine, or the exotic sun dried rose buds,
known locally in Tunisia as “Shoosh Wahrd“, which are ground and added to Tunisian Tajeens, a quiche like dish. It is also a cuisine vivid with
the sun-drenched colors of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, available throughout the year, thanks to a temperate Mediterranean climate. Mediterranean
cuisine is as old as some of the several hundred-year-old olive trees which are still in production, and as traditional as the donkey driven stone presses which turn fresh olives into Extra
Virgin Olive Oil. Another tradition is the way the culinary knowledge was transferred. Most often handed down orally from mother to daughter and seldom deviated from its traditional recipes. In my case, it was passed down from mother to son. My mother is native to the North African village of Gammarth, a historic seaside resort north of Tunis and a few miles southwest of Sicily, across the Mediterranean. In my youth, this ancient village was always abuzz with agricultural and social celebrations, especially weddings. |
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It is in this festive environment that my mother shared her recipes and her talent as a cook with the rest of the village, establishing herself as Gammarth’s “wedding chef.“ In Gammarth weddings were a community affair and each villager contributed whatever help they could afford. Some villagers brought vegetables from their organic farms, some brought fresh meat, and some brought unbleached sugar for the gallons of green tea, which were served during the several days of celebration. |
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Some villagers just brought wooden vegetable crates, which
supported planks to serve as seats for the evening show of belly dancers
and musical entertainment.
My Mom’s contribution was instructing the wedding cooks on which
types and what amount of spices went where and when.
She, like most women in those days learned how to cook from her mother,
the daughter of a Sicilian immigrant who had done her share of Italian
and Tunisian - fusion cooking.
I especially recall our own version of spaghetti and meatballs or our
Capponata, prepared with fresh eggplant, celery, tomatoes, and even home
cured olives. At OASIS NATURALS, we bring together the best of these worldly recipes, with the hope of creating a most original and delightful culinary experience. At times we feel the difficulties of running a small and growing business, but our customers praises, feed back and referrals, inspire us to keep moving forward. They frequently remind us, either at a catering event or at the open air of a farmers market, that the most important ingredients in any recipe are health, joy, love and friendship. My mother took as much pleasure in preparing her dishes as in watching people savor them. One of her best dishes was a seasonal summer salad called “Salade Mechwiya,” a chopped salad of roasted Anaheim peppers, Roma tomatoes, onions, all roasted on olive wood charcoal, spiced with Tabil, mint, lemon, salt, pepper, and topped with capers, tuna, and of course extra virgin olive oil. |
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Another seasonal dish that she prepared frequently at my request was a very simple soup called Burghol; a tomato based cracked wheat soup with baby Fava beans, northern beans and garbanzo beans; spiced with cumin, garlic, harissa, our own version of a hot chili paste, and olive oil. Burghol soup helped keep us warm during those winter days when the cold winds of Italy, France and beyond, engulfed the southern Mediterranean region. After leaving home in the sixties I started to travel the world and no matter where I went I would always experiment with some of my mother’s recipes. Because my mother is illiterate, like most woman of her generation in the village, none of her recipes were transferred to me in writing so I had to refer to my memory and senses to recreate them. |
| Usually I succeeded, unless my mother was there to judge otherwise. I eventually settled down in Southern California, partly because it had a similar climate to the one I grew up in. I often talked about my mother’s cooking while entertaining or whenever guests in my kitchen asked where I acquired my culinary knowledge, or how I came to create what I call “TunAsian™” cooking. “TunAsian™” cooking is the blending of traditional Tunisian Mediterranean cuisine with Chinese cuisine. I would, for instance, wilt baby bok choy in a small amount of sesame oil, a bigger amount of olive oil (of course I’m partial to olive oil), then I would add shallots, Moroccan preserved lemons, fresh ground pepper, salt, fresh lemon juice, and Voila! |
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A few years ago my friend from San Diego, Kitty Morse, a native of Morocco and an authority on North African cuisine, traveled to Tunisia. In Gammarth she met with my mother to share some of her Tunisian vegetarian recipes for her new book “North Africa: The Vegetarian Table” (CHRONICLE BOOKS, San Francisco). A few of my mother’s recipes were featured in Kitty’s book, including her Couscous dish with fresh fennel and her Chakchouka. Chakchouka is the region’s own version of a Ratatouille and it is made of fresh Roma tomatoes, Anaheim green chilies and onions; all sautéed in olive oil, garlic and spices such as Tabil. My mother is always quick to tell you that the secret to a good Chakchouka is to keep the flavor and nutrients of the vegetables by not overcooking them, “…it must be eaten LIVE!” |
| In recent years, during my brief visits to see my mom I would entertain my family and friends in her kitchen and would use her cherished spices for my TunAsian™ Bok Choy type cooking, needless to say, she was the only one who referred to my “creations” as “a mess.” A frequent comment would be “you’re not serving ‘that’ to your friends are you?” While my mother was a true Mediterranean cook and rarely deviated form the classical family recipes, I built my own recipes based on hers and the best that I have tasted and savored around the world. I recall the tandoori chicken at BOUKHARA’s, in New Delhi, the tastiest Chili crab at NEWTON CIRCLE in Singapore, the fish curry at MUTTU’s also in Singapore, the curry style fried noodles in Hong Kong; and in Hammamet, Tunisia, Khalti Salha (Aunt Salha), made the tastiest Mestiri style fish Couscous, she prepared it from scratch with fresh sardines and vegetables. |
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Being from the Mediterranean I have learned that eating is a social event and that joy comes from sharing your cooking with family and friends and a bigger joy is found in seeing them truly enjoy it. I very much enjoy cooking and at times I believe it to be therapeutic, especially when I find myself preparing dinner at home, after a long day at OASIS NATURALS’ kitchen. But, it is all worth the effort when you prepare a meal, sit down and watch your family enjoy it and hear their praises. |
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