Tri-color Pasta Salad With Summer Vegetables Vegan RECIPE
With the hot days, the desire to spend time cooking in the kitchen dwindles, although the desire to eat remains. This past salad recipe works for hot summer days.
Stuffed Mulberry Leaves RECIPE
Karin plucks mulberry leaves from her backyard and serves them to her family. Long ago, mulberry trees were planted all over the Middle East to feed silkworms. The cottage silk industries have died out, but many ancient mulberry trees remain. Strolling with Karin in her garden this week, I remarked that the big mulberry tree [...]
Early Summer Tomato Jam RECIPE
Summer’s arrival brings out all kinds of fruit to simmer up into jam – including tomatoes. Tomatoes as jam? Yes, indeed, and delicious it is, too. I love to make up small batches of tomato jam when lots of different tomato varieties appear in the markets. In the full swing of summer’s harvest, when prices [...]
Clock Book – Recipes From a Modern Moroccan Kitchen, by Tara Stevens
We’ve posted about the Cafe Clock blog here, including the recipe for its famous camel burger. In this delightful cookbook, Stevens includes recipes from the Cafe Clock as well as some traditional Moroccan dishes that she discovered herself. Her warm, frank tone and the stories that introduce many of the recipes almost bring the reader [...]
Turkey Bans 26 Genetically Modified Organisms
While the United States is completely in bed with companies that manufacture genetically modified organisms (GMOs), countries in other parts of the world are resisting their relentless push to populate the planet with their patented seeds. Turkey is the latest country to ban 26 GMOs following an incident involving the unauthorized entry of genetically modified [...]
Seeking The Ecological Market At Machane Yehuda in Jerusalem
Miriam sees Israel’s most famous open-air market through new eyes. When I lived in Jerusalem, the Machane Yehuda shuk (market) was my grocery store. Vegetables, grains, fruit, chicken for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. There were nuts and sweets…everything we ate came from the shuk. (Read about 5 Israeli shuks here.) My kids grew [...]
CupsTelAviv: All You Can Drink Coffee for Under $50 a Month
Where in the world can you drink as much coffee as you like for less than $50 a month? In Tel Aviv, Israel, it turns out. CupsTelAviv has convinced 40 independent businesses in what is arguably the country’s most caffeinated city to allow members of their program to drink as many cups of coffee as [...]
Great Guacamole With Israeli Avocados
Israeli avocado season has arrived. Plump, green avocados are grown from the north of Israel down to Jaffa in the center, all the way to agricultural communities in the southern Negev, such as Neot Semadar. It is both a local favorite and a major national export. In 2010 the pear-shaped green fruit’s sales reached one-third of [...]
Iraqi Watermelon Rind Jam – Recipe
From Iraq with love, a great jam with a surprising ingredient. Nawal Nasrallah, a food historian and author, writes about Iraqui cuisine in a warm, rich style that beautifully highlights each recipe’s historical and cultural background. Her newly revised cookbook, Delights From The Garden Of Eden, is about to be released in a new edition, [...]
Green Deserts – The Saltwater Revolution (An Ode to Innovation)
We are not alone in our awe of the Sahara Forest Project (SFP), which has already built a pilot project in Qatar that produces energy, clean water and food in the middle of the desert – all without a single drop of fossil fuel. Owned by biomimicry architect Michael Pawlyn, structural engineer Bill Watts, and the Norwegian [...]
Is Sugar Toxic?
Increasing evidence shows that sugar is a natural enemy to the body. “Don’t you think I know how hard it is, honey/To get some “sugar” from the phone,” sings country singer Bonnie Raitt, vividly summing up the difficulty of maintaining a long-distance romance. Sugar represents all that’s sweet and desirable, but in the light of [...]
Lupini Beans, Traditional Middle-Eastern Snack Food RECIPE
Known as turmos in the Levant, lupine beans – poor folk’s food - are a tasty Middle-Eastern snack in need of more recognition. Except in some South American countries, the Western world doesn’t give lupines much regard. Chickpeas get much more publicity (like our vegan chickpea and artichoke salad). Maybe it has to do with the long [...]
Make Kombucha Tea At Home
For centuries, kombucha lovers have been drinking the fizzy tea beverage and claiming amazing health benefits from it. The origins of kombucha tea are veiled in ancient history. Some say that man first brewed tea with a “mother” kombucha culture in Korea. Others say it was in China, or Japan. While one website authoritatively states [...]
Ali Barbour Cave Restaurant in Kenya Offers Flintstone Fine Dining
Eating at unique restaurants around the world is just one of the perks of a traveler’s life, but these experiences are always more fun when shared with our readers – especially when it involves subterranean spaces, that brought to mind these 700 year old cave homes in Iran. Thought to be up to 180,000 years [...]
Fresh Green Fava Beans – A Sustainable Persian Recipe
Available for only a short season, green favas are considered a delicacy in the Middle East. Springtime in the shuk, and lots of prime greens have made their once-yearly appearance. Fresh green peas and artichokes, which I love to eat stuffed. Fresh green garlic to hang up and dry for the year. And fresh green [...]
Camel Burgers – A Moroccan Recipe From Clock Book by Tara Stevens
Tasty, high-protein and low-cholesterol, camel meat even has the approval of the Australian Heart Association. Sustainability in the kitchen is our creed, and camel is a far more sustainable meat than beef (which the world was horrified to discover may be contaminated with horse meat). We have posted about camel milk and its health benefits. [...]
Food Waste in Rich Countries – The Most Un-Green Act of All
Even fallen fruit, like these apples, can be eaten if harvested properly Serious and even dire food shortages in Mid East countries like Egypt, combined with projected sharp increases in food prices in Arab Spring countries in 2013 are sharp indicators that millions – perhaps billions of people are now facing even more lack of [...]
Meatless Monday Takes Off In Israel
Major health institutions, restaurants, and company canteens in Israel now opt for a vegetarian Monday. Proud of its environmental initiatives, Israel created an interactive map showing Israeli green influence around the globe. Israelis can legitimately talk about grass-roots projects like turning a huge landfill into an ecology park, too. Now Israel has embraced the Meatless [...]
Egypt’s Locust Swarm May Hit Israel and Jordan Next
Israel has set up a special task force to prepare for the possibility that a locust swarm may migrate from Egypt and destroy precious crops. Already some sources are saying that a small swarm of locusts has been spotted in the southern Gaza strip after millions of locusts descended upon various Cairo neighborhoods over the [...]
8 Delicious Ways To Eat Tahini
If you’ve got a jar of tahini going stale in the fridge, you’re missing out on all kinds of delicious flavor combinations that can make your meals special. As earthy as tahini is (or as we say in the Middle East, techinah) the semi-solid paste brightens up with lemon, garlic, herbs and spices. It’s great as [...]
The Mediterranean Diet is Officially Awesome and Heart Smart
For years empirical evidence has suggested that the Mediterranean diet, which includes a lot of fish, nuts, olive oil, fruits and vegetables, is superior to others, but it has been exceptionally difficult to prove the relationship between food and diet given that so many other factors can influence a person’s health. Plus, let’s face it: [...]
Eat Less Meat and Save The Planet
Cut your meat consumption by half to combat global warming, urges UN Environment Program. All over the US, Europe and even in the Tel Aviv University, people are adopting Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono’s Meat-Free Mondays. But one meatless day a week isn’t enough to undo the environmental damage that industrial farming methods cause. The [...]
Eat Like A Sustainable Israeli: Tajine of Sweet Potatoes and Prunes RECIPE
A vegetarian slow-cooked casserole with a fine Middle Eastern blend of flavors. Sustainable cooking means healthy food from local sources and fair worker’s wages. Sustainable agriculture not only maintains, but also enriches the natural resources that our food supply depends on. Join Green Prophet as we tour the Middle East region offering the quintessential sustainable dishes [...]
A Living Wall of Herbs Within Your Reach
Miriam shows you a practical plan for constructing a living herb wall that fits your space. If growing organic culinary or healing herbs at home grabs you, a wall garden will bring you joy. As gorgeous as the massive system at the Al-Sultan Ibrahim restaurant in Maameltein, Lebanon is, the home owner can plan for [...]
Let’s Get A Horse-Meat Nosh At Burger King. Not.
The British fast-food chain hid up to 30% horse meat in its juicy burgers, then denied it. The British, most of whom regard eating horse as something like eating dogs, were rocked by the news that the burgers they loved were filled out with cheap horse meat. Burger King’s supplier in Ireland, ABP/Silvercrest, supplied the [...]
Download Moroccan Recipes Based on Argan Oil
33 exotic Moroccan recipes from the women who make and cook with argan oil. The argan tree is a Berber identity icon, and production of its oil is traditionally a woman’s job. But as with many folkways, interest in argan began to dwindle. It’s a finicky process with low yield. Unless marketed wisely, it’s hardly [...]
New Israeli Strains of Chickpeas Promise Higher Yields And Even Better Nutrition
The Hebrew University in Jerusalem improves one of the world’s most important food staples. In a world where rainfall is no longer predictable and droughts hold sway, even affecting politics in the Middle East, we are less and less complacent about food security. Developments like wine produced under desert conditions and pest-resistant wheat brighten the [...]
Eat Like A Sustainable Moroccan – Chickpea and Spinach Soup RECIPE
Moroccan flavors blend deliciously in a hearty chickpea soup. Our previous posts on sustainable eating in the Middle East/North Africa region featured rice and chicken kabsa from Saudi Arabia, Jordan’s traditional mansaf, and wheat berry pudding from Iran. All very delicious – but what about North Africa? Regional, seasonal, fresh and harvested under fair conditions. [...]
Eat Like A Sustainable Iranian: Wheat Berry Pudding RECIPE
This traditional Persian pudding makes a great winter breakfast or a satisfying dessert. Eating sustainably connotes regional foods that are available locally and in season. Fair conditions for workers and careful use of natural resources are part of what makes foodways sustainable. To draw attention to what is sustainable in the Middle East, we’ve embarked [...]
Turmeric Helps Conquer Arthritic Inflammation
In the Middle East, now is the time to buy fresh turmeric root for freezing or planting. Fancy a turmeric smoothie? That’s how my husband gets his daily dose of the deep-yellow, pungent root. When his doctor took him off anti-inflammation medications, I cast around for a natural way to help him cope with the [...]
Eat Like a Sustainable Jordanian – Mansaf RECIPE
Our continued investigation into sustainable Middle Eastern food focuses on Mansaf, the Jordanian national dish. Regional cuisines evolve from foods that are available locally and in season. Eating this way implies sustainability from the very source, in addition to fair conditions for workers and mindful stewardship of natural resources. When it comes to the delicious [...]
Top 9 Eco Stories From the Middle East in 2012
Every year we like to round up a list of our most popular stories from the preceding year. Not only does this give us a sense of closure, but it also helps us better understand what our readers want. This year our readers have been following a range of subjects that affect the health of [...]
Vegetarianism Can Save the Middle East
With 6 of the top 10 most obese countries located in the Middle East, maybe it is time to look at reducing our meat intake argues Joseph writing from Egypt There are always arguments for and against going vegan, and they are many, but for many in today’s world, going vegan is all about the [...]
Israel’s Best-Loved Vegetables Carry Heavy Pesticide Loads
Are Israelis eating a mouthful of pesticides for breakfast? If there’s one food group that Israelis love, it’s vegetables. In fact, all over the Middle East, vegetables are treated with love and presented at table in infinite artful ways. And people are picky about their produce, carefully inspecting each tomato and cucumber before consenting to [...]
Zucchini Latkehs Hannukah RECIPE
A healthier spin on the season’s traditional potato pancakes. Hannukah is one of the most fun holidays in the Jewish calendar, maybe because for a full eight days there’s a feeling of celebration in the air. Family folks often quit work early to be home in time for the candle-lighting ceremony, games with the kids [...]
Arab and Jewish Teenagers Grow Algae for a Greener Future
Despite the many wounds that cripple cooperation between the Israeli and Palestinian governments, Arab and Jewish teenagers work side by side to further algae research in Israel. Established in 2008, the Micro Algae Educational Project packs two important imperatives into one succinct program for high school students: ecology and social healing. Conducted in the Eco [...]
Jerusalem Cookbook and Green Prophet’s Review
Author of the hugely popular cookbook Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi teamed up with co-chef Sami Tamimi to produce a cookbook that will dazzle, inspire, and satisfy your senses. Both men were born the same year in Jerusalem; Ottolenghi in the western Jewish side and Tamimi in Arab east Jerusalem. They never met until they were in [...]
Israel Strengthens Environmental Ties to Africa: Part 2
Investing in African Agriculture This past April, MASHAV, Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The memorandum is aimed at addressing food security through partnerships with farmers in Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Israel will contribute expertise in irrigation, water technologies, agricultural [...]
Israel Strengthens Environmental Ties to 44 African Nations
Israel now has relations with 44 African nations, more than at any time in the country’s history. “This is the dawning of a new era in relations between Israel and African states,” according to Lynn Schler, director of the Africa Centre at Ben-Gurion University. During summer 2012, a vast array of high-profile African leaders visited Israel, [...]
Iraqi Stuffed Grape Leaves RECIPE
In the Middle East, recipes for stuffed vegetables and leaves evolved from a simple, thrifty way with meat to a culinary passion. Careful housewives have long known that a little ground meat goes a long way when artfully seasoned and combined with rice. But it took imagination and care to develop the recipes of stuffed [...]