Rich mother-daughter bond is centered on Palauan cooking

By Andrea Busche

TheRepublic of Palau is an archipelago of islands found in the South Pacific, whose nearest neighbors include Guam and the Philippines. Its gorgeous scenery includes turquoise water, lush green jungles and year-round tropical weather. Many Americans don’t know much about Palau, but those who do may remember Palau as the picturesque locale for the 10th season of CBS reality show Survivor.

While today, Magaria “Maggie” Marline considers Duluth her home, she is originally from the beautiful country of Palau. Marline moved to the United States after marriage, and her four children were born and raised here in America.

While her children haven’t always appreciated the special customs and traditions of their mom’s home country, today Marline and her adult daughter, Heather Theisen, have forged a special bond over Palauan traditions – namely, cooking Palauan-inspired dishes together. And, while it isn’t always easy to hunt down ingredients for Palauan cuisine, Marline and Theisen consider that part of the fun.

Safe, happy childhood

Maggie recalls that she had a pretty idyllic childhood, where she and her eight siblings were raised in a safe, happy place where the weather was warm all the time.

“We had a happy family with lots of customs,” Maggie said. “The women in the family made the food, and the men earned the money. My mom stayed at home, and my dad was a farmer – he grew lots of vegetables, watermelon and taro, a root vegetable. We lived by the Pacific Ocean and the jungle, and there were no wild animals.”

Maggie’s uncle, Haruo Ignacio Remeliik, was the first president of Palau.

Maggie met her husband, Howard, when he was stationed in Palau during his tenure with the Peace Corps. The two were wed in Palau in 1973, and moved to the United States – specifically, Buhl, Minn. – in 1974.

From Palau to … Buhl Surprisingly, Maggie adapted exceptionally well to Minnesota weather.

“I like snow,” she said. “When I first came here, there was a big blizzard. Howard’s dad woke me up and brought me outside at 5 a.m. to see the snow.”

To this day, Maggie insists she actually enjoys shoveling snow.

The couple lived with Howard’s parents for a time, eventually relocating to Austin,

Minn., when Howard got a job with the Social Security Administration. Another job change for Howard, this time to the IRS, brought the couple to Duluth, where they have lived for the last 30 years. While Howard is now retired, Maggie still works as a seamstress for On the Limit embroidery shop.

Howard and Maggie have four children: Shaun, Erika, Heather and Maria. While raising their children, Maggie would often prepare Palauan-inspired dishes for her family, whenever possible.

“Our kids were raised more American,” Maggie said. “It’s hard to find Palauan food here.”

For instance, it can be tricky to track down fresh coconut milk, a certain type of sweet potato native to Palau, tapioca, taro, and fresh seafood right from the Pacific Ocean, such as crab, squid and octopus.

Thus, some of the meals Maggie cooked for her growing family had Chinese, Filipino, and Hawaiian influences. She is wellknown for her Adobo chicken,

Continued on page 28

Purveyor of Unique Optical Goods

Kat Leek -Optician Extraordinaire

Questions: kat@katseyesoptical.com

Shops at Bluestone

1016 Woodland Avenue •Duluth, MN 55803 218-724-3444 lumpia, egg rolls and sushi wraps, prepared with Spam and egg.

Special bond with adult daughter

Maggie’s daughter, Heather Theisen, is now 32, with a husband, home, and dog of her own. She works as a financial analyst for IBM, and lives in Duluth.

Heather admits to not fully appreciating her mom’s unique heritage as a child. But things have changed.

“When I was in college, I became more interested in my mom’s culture,” Heather said. “And today, I find myself asking guests, ‘What do you need?’ ‘What do you want to eat?’ like my mom does. Today I enjoy it, and I feel grateful to be able to embrace the culture that I took for granted growing up.”

How much is ‘a handful?’

One thing that Heather really wants to learn more about from her mom is the art of Palauan cuisine. After many years of home cooking, however, Maggie doesn’t follow recipes, relying on instinct – and taste – to get the job done.

“Your eyes, your mouth, and the taste – that’s the recipe,” Maggie said with a laugh. “I need to write down the recipes for Heather. I’m kind of surprised that she is interested, and I am very lucky.”

“Now that I’m getting older, I realize the importance of learning my mom’s cooking,” Heather added. For instance, “she has different ways to tenderize meat and marinate foods. And I’m really trying to write her recipes down. I don’t know exactly what a ‘handful’ is.”

With lots of practice under their belts, this mother-daughter duo is well on their way to ensuring that Marline’s Palauan cooking will remain a treasured family tradition. One dish the two have crafted together is called demok soup – made with coconut milk, fresh fish, crab meat, or pork sausage, spinach (or, preferably taro leaves when they can get them), chicken stock, and onion. They serve this with a side dish called ongraol, which is made with tapioca.

Maggie and Heather enjoy making trips to St. Cloud or the Twin Cities, where they can shop at traditional Asian markets to find the ingredients they are looking for.

“They have both squid and octopus!” Maggie exclaimed happily.

Demok Soup

Ingredients:

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach*

One 13.54-oz. can of coconut cream

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced

1 lb. crab meat** pinch of salt & pepper green onions, sliced small for garnish

4 Servings

Maggie tries to return to Palau every five years or so to visit family. But Theisen hasn’t been back in 13 years. This summer, they are making trip back to Palau – just the two of them. And it is something both women are eagerly anticipating.

“I really want to have that bonding experience with my mom, and learn more about her culture,” Heather said. D

Directions: Combine spinach, coconut cream, chicken stock, onion, salt and pepper in a large pot over medium heat.

Prepare the crab meat, sliced into bite sized pieces, and add to the pot. Place the cover on the pot and heat until it boils.

Once boiling, remove from heat and stir.

To serve, sprinkle green onions on individual servings of soup.

*It is typical to use taro leaves but spinach is substituted due to availability in the U.S.

**Any cooked meat can be substituted for crab meat

FA CT :

IN THE NORTHLAND,W ESTILL THROW AWAY4 80 TO NS OF PLAST IC BOTTLES IN THE TRASH EVERYY EAR. THAT’ SE NOUGH TO FILL THE RINK AT AMSOIL ARENA 3F EE TH IGH, 52 TIMES

We ’vem ade great progress in keeping re cyclable products out of our landfills. But the fa cts showt hat we ha ve al ong wa yt og o. Le ar n wh at yo uc an do to re cycle morea tw lssd.com.