Being that we live in landlocked Colorado, we don’t eat much seafood – which is a shame, since I grew up near the sea and ate it frequently. It is expensive and quite difficult to obtain good quality fish here – especially on a budget. Since it was Shavuot, and we were having a rare…
Namoura (or basbousa, as it is known in Egypt) is a traditional dessert made from semolina (the flour one typically thinks of for making pasta). It’s a relatively simple dessert with only a few ingredients, but it’s soaked in syrup fragranced with orange blossom water, and includes a little bit of shredded coconut, which gives…
This easy, one-pan meal is easy to throw together in the morning and put into the oven when you get home from work. The chicken is coated in toum both inside and out, then placed over seasoned potatoes. You can leave uncovered in the fridge to dry out before putting it into the oven –…
Toum is perhaps the most versatile Lebanese condiment; it consists only of fresh garlic, salt, oil, and lemon juice. When made correctly, it is light and fluffy – the consistency of a light mayonnaise – but packed with garlic flavour. It is good on meat, vegetables, in sandwiches – or even to dip French fries…
No holiday is ever complete in our family without a bowl of pickles and olives. While you can certainly buy these pickles at the store, there’s something truly special about opening a jar of your own homemade pickles, not to mention it tends to be far less expensive – and it allows you the fun…
We’ve all had the homemade hummus at parties (or the stuff from the grocery store) that’s flavourless and thick or worse still: gritty. I used to struggle with making hummus that could compete with the stuff I’d eaten in the Middle East, and Colorado (at the time I moved here) had very few good quality…
Last night was sabich night at our house. Sabich is a fried aubergine (eggplant) sandwich which has its origins in Iraqi Jewish cuisine. While I count us very lucky to live a short-ish drive from an Arab supermarket, I didn’t have time to go there to buy bread and so I made my go-to recipe….
Colorado has decided that in May it is still actually winter (it snowed yesterday), and thus instead of summery salads and grilled things I’m making comfort food (that is to say: delicious carbs). Mujadarrah is a basic ‘peasant’ dish of rice and lentils, and is traditionally topped with caramelised or fried onions. During university, this…
My husband and I attended an Easter gathering at a friend’s house, which happened to fall during Passover. I brought these kosher for Passover macaroons (mostly for me, so I’d have something for dessert) but also in case anyone else happened to be sensitive to gluten or dairy (as this recipe contains neither). A few…
Artichokes are in peak season in March through May, and right now my local markets are flooded with gorgeous globe artichokes and even some purple Roman artichokes as well (if you’ve not tried the purple variety they have very little choke surrounding the heart, and are extra tender). They’re high in vitamins C and K,…
