Meet Samira Mehta

 Samira is a professor, writer, knitter who dabbles with other fiber arts, a teacher, an activist. Her research and teaching focus on the intersections religion, culture, and gender, including the politics of family life and reproduction in the United States. She is the author of Beyond Chrismukkah: The Christian-Jewish Interfaith Family in the United States and The Racism of People Who Love You which Oprah’s “Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2023,” called “the epitome of a book meeting a moment.” She is currently working on two new books: God Bless the Pill: Sexuality and Contraception in Tri-Faith America and A Mixed Multitude: Jews of Color in the United States. She lives with a dog, Daisy, and a cat, Quincy.

Q+A

If we came over for dinner what would you prepare for us?

I would make Jacque Pepin’s Maman’s Souffle. I love that souffle, because it is ALMOST as fancy as a regular cheese souffle, just a little bit more dense, but because you do not separate or whip the eggs, you can make in in advance. I would serve it was a salad—crisp greens with a vinaigrette made with both lemon juice and vinegar (for both depth and brightness) which I could also make ahead, and keep cold in the fridge for last minute dressing. The bread would come from a bakery and the wine would be a lightly fizzy vinho verde, with something festive for those who do not drink—probably passionfruit iced tea, because a red drink is so fun. For dessert, we would have coffee ice cream with almond praline (I am allergic to most other nuts), bittersweet hot fudge, and homemade whipped cream. What I like about this meal is that it feels fancy and festive, but it is not fussy and almost all of the work can be done in advance, so I am not stuck in the kitchen, but rather can sit at the table and have wine, cheese, olives, and marcona almonds with my guests before the meal.

Favorite quote?

“I feel that I have had a blow; but it is not, as I thought as a child, simply a blow from an enemy hidden behind the cotton wool of daily life; it is or will become a revelation of some order; it is a token of some real thing behind appearances; and I make it real by putting it into words. It is only by putting it into words that I make it whole; this wholeness means that it has lost its power to hurt me; it gives me, perhaps because by doing so I take away the pain, a great delight to put the severed parts together.”

― Virginia Woolf, Moments of Being: A Collection of Autobiographical Writing

When do you feel most at peace?

When I am at the beach, particularly slightly off season, when the beach is nearly empty. I love to swim, and do not mind cold water, but I am also happy to sit under blankets on a beach chair in the cold and watch the waves.

What do you geek out about?

Books, yarn, history, religion, houseplants, baking, cooking, university politics and systems

What gets you through a rough day?

Friendship, community, long walks, puppy and cat love, and coffee

Want more?

Learn more about Samira and her work here, here, and here.

Connect with Samira on Twitter and Instagram.

*Shannon here: You absolutely must read The Racism of People Who Love You. Just saying.