Take a walk on virtually any street in Lebanese cities, you will run into a recurring theme, a ubiquitous “delicacy” store that is on almost every corner, but it’s not Starbucks! We’re talking here about Lebanese bakeries, aka “furen,” Arabic for “oven.” Such bakeries are flocked by Lebanese peeps mostly for a nice breakfast of …
It wasn’t really that long ago that as kids we used to spend most of our time outdoors, playing and connecting with nature…it’s difficult for me to grasp how children and young adults today are instead spending most of their time indoors, in front of their computers connecting with artificial and simulated realities…Times have certainly …
Cucumber Yogurt is a smooth, healthy and very refreshing dip perfect for the spring and summer. Its main ingredients are yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, mint and salt. We have this dish as a common appetizer during hot days, and during spring time in Lebanon, when in season, we prepare it using fresh local yogurt made from …
Lebanese cuisine is famous for offering a wide array of Kibbe dishes. For those who are not familiar with the term, Kibbe generally refers to ground meat mixed with burghul (cracked weat), spices and herbs and then baked, fried or grilled into an amazingly savory dish. In this recipe, we’re going to feature a vegetarian …
I’ve been to many “garlic lovers” restaurants including the “Stinking Rose” in San Francisco. I savored many ethnic garlicky dishes at friends’ homes. However, so far I’ve never come across any dish with a richer and more intense garlic flavor than the Lebanese Home-Made Noodles and Potatoes With Garlic, aka, “Macaron bi Toom.” This is …
Tabbouleh is a healthy, rich and super-green salad with pure Lebanese origins that is known for its spicy-tangy kick. In traditional Lebanese cuisine, Tabbouleh (sometimes spelled and pronounced as Tabouli) is usually served along with Mezza which is a host of appetizers and hors-d’oeuvres. If you’ve had Tabbouleh salad in non-Lebanese restaurants, you would be …
During childhood, my brothers and I used to join our uncles and our late grandfather Saleem for harvest in the mountains above their village of Bakarkasha in Lebanon. Our grandpa was an old-school farmer. He had no machinery, no big toys, just traditional farm tools like shovels and forks. Some of his land at altitude …
Vegetarians Rejoice! “Slee’ M’alla” is the Lebanese name for Sauteed Dandelion, an extremely easy to make vegetarian dish (that is also economical). The main ingredients are dandelion leafs, onions and lemon juice. Mom never buys dandelion from grocery stores in Lebanon, instead she picks the leafs from wild dandelion that grows in our garden. According …
Lebanese grilled chicken is a garlicky gourmet dish that tends to be our “Sunday special” at home. The recipe is quite easy to make and the secret is in the marinade, and is rather simple.
Kibbe Background Kibbe refers to a variety of “meat balls” from the Middle East that are prepared with ground meat, cracked wheat and spices and that are either fried, baked, stewed, BBQ’d or, ehemm, eaten raw (Kibbe Nayyeh). There are probably as many different ways of preparing and cooking Kibbe as there are ways to …
