There’s really no better way to get to know someone than by sitting down and sharing a meal. Sarah Melamed, plant biologist and naturalist, aims to make those connections happen by recreating recipes from all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean on her eclectic blog, Foodbridge. In multicultural Israel, where Melamed lives, every kitchen offers […]
Fresh za’atar at Ramla Open-Air Market Chef Moshe Basson created this pungent, chunky pesto in just a few minutes, right under our eyes. Za’atar (Arabic: زعتر, also romanized as zaatar, za’tar, zatar, zatr, zahatar or satar) is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera oregano, calamintha, thyme, and […]
A culinary heritage centuries old is preserved in this cookbook. This is a Jewish collector’s cookbook. It contains 100 old-fashioned recipes that evolved out of the centennial Jewish presence in Iraq, plus a synopsis of Jewish history there. Through the book run parallel threads, the main one being the recipes. Around the recipes are comments […]
I’d always admired people who eat wild vegetables. No water gets pumped and no gas is drilled to get those plants to the market. But as an immigrant without a horticultural bent, I needed guidance. Fortunately I had expert teachers: Green Prophet’s own Miriam Kresh, and Sarah Melamed, who writes Foodbridge. Miriam has taught me […]
Taste of Beirut blog features authentic Lebanese cuisine and a great give-away. I love this blog. I love Lebanese food, and author Joumana, a Lebanese ex-pat living in the States, presents recipe after delicious-looking recipe, Slow Food style. Just a small example – the Toom garlic paste, a staple flavoring in Lebanese kitchens. Whirl garlic, […]
It’s easy to cultivate chickweed (a vitamin powerhouse) on your windowsill for a quick springtime salad. One of the most prevalent edible weeds thriving now in the Mediterranean is chickweed, Stellaria media if you want to get botanical about it. Its flavor is delicately salty and fresh, not at all like spinach. (Every edible weed’s […]
Christina Pirello combines healthy and organic food recipes with delicious and gourmet. Acclaimed American macrobiotic cook, food writer and TV personality Christina Pirello will be in Israel this week, teaching how to cook for health, from the 3rd to the 12th of the month. She has authored five cookbooks and is an activist for better nutrition […]
Karin tries urban foraging and eating weeds from her garden. What are the chances she will live after this experiment? Taking cues from the Arab women foraging for mallows in the kindergarten in front of my house, and Miriam’s latest winter salad recipe, I decided to do a little urban foraging myself. (That’s me above […]
Winter salads are as colorful and appetizing as warm-weather ones. Miriam shares two recipes here. The word “salad” evokes a warm afternoon, sunshine streaming in through the kitchen window and a big ceramic bowl filled with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. At least, it does to me. But it’s the wrong season for that picture right […]
Here at Green Prophet we are concerned about the current water shortage. Today we’re sharing 12 water conservation tips for the kitchen that can impact the Middle East. 1. If you use a dishwasher, always fill it completely and choose the fastest setting. 2. When washing by hand, soak to soften the residue, then scrub […]
Got a yen for the food of strong men? Miriam shows how to make the Middle-Eastern working man’s lunch. It’s so easy to just bop down to the corner falafel stand and pick up a pita full of the Middle Easts’ favorite fast food. But get to know – and make, another meal, the kind […]
Latkehs! What is it with latkehs? They're brown, they're fried, they're potatoey and oniony and when you fry them, you have to open all the windows.
Lots of lemons in stock? Why not preserve them for the winter? Miriam offers 2 creative ways. Now is when lemons are plentiful and cheap, so take advantage and put some up. That was Hamutal’s advice earlier this year when she gave us a recipe for fresh lemon curd. A jarful of preserved lemon quarters […]
In every Middle Eastern country, people eat Majadra, the working man’s dish of lentils and rice topped with fried onions. The basic recipe is the same in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Israel, with variations evolving from the local tradition or the taste of the cook. Some might cook the grains in stock instead of water. […]
Happy Earth Day! (Though technically yesterday, most of Israel is celebrating today.) Celebrations require desserts, we’re quite convinced, and since the citrus season is winding down we thought we’d talk about our absolute favourite thing to do with a lemon. Not lemonade (though we’re fans of that too) but lemon curd: smooth, custardy, tangy, riding […]
Are you an organic food addict? Or do you insist on eating food that grown locally, but pesticide-ridden, to spare food miles (or to serve an ideology?) As food production is a major source of greenhouse gas pollution (Read: Global Warming), eating locally, and consuming less meat is one way we can do our part. Following […]
While in Israel, I often read about the hip food scene in Brooklyn, New York. From home picklers to small-scale cheese artisans and onto creative butchers, the borough seems to be bursting with local and environmentally friendly food innovators. So on a visit home in mid-March, I sampled the scene by paying $40 for a […]
This is about the time of year where we are all just about fed up. The weather is by turns glum, stormy, angry, and generally ill-tempered, there’s little of the new season‘s growth to enjoy yet, and reserves of patience are at their annual low. A freshly baked batch of muffins may not dispel all […]
Kibbeh is one of the stalwarts of Levantine cooking, and comes in as many versions as there are towns or people who make it.
Last week with our recipe for the Syrian dip muhamarra, we embarked on a perilous culinary adventure: trying to recreate authentic versions of classic Middle Eastern dishes. Why perilous? Well, my grandmother and grandfather couldn’t, between the two of them, agree on the best way to make charoset. Trying to come up with a recipe […]
Winter cooking is often pantry cooking. When the rain is coming down at a 45° angle, the last thing most of us want to do is brave the elements to make a grocery run. It’s handy to have a stash of recipes that rely on what you already have in the cupboard – and conversely, […]
With winter upon us, now is the perfect time to get cozy with a pile of books. The latest in our eco-reads book review series is a great food and cooking reference – the Whole Foods Companion. Whole Foods Companion is a dip-your-toe-in book rather than a cover-to-cover book: it’s great for delving into when […]
After your kettle has boiled and you’ve emptied it, before it cools down, add some water for next time. While the kettle is still hot. This takes advantage of energy you have already used and paid for, and will help the cold tap water warm up and so save energy next time you brew.
Tomatoes are still, mercifully, quite readily available. Though we hate to think about it, this won’t always be the case. In just a few short weeks, tomatoes—at least the good, locally grown varieties—will be gone on winter hiatus. It always seems to come too soon, and it always somehow seems to take us by surprise. […]
Have you ever found that your carrots get limp and rot after a day or four, no matter what you do? If you peel/or wash them and keep them in a container of water at the bottom of your fridge they will stay for several weeks, even up to a month! This also works great […]