September seasonal fruits and vegetables
Look for the exotic jujube fruit in Middle Eastern markets this month.
food
Make magical baharat, the 7 spice blend of Middle East cuisine
Baharat is an essential blend you can make at home. It's like a Middle Eastern answer to curry. But distinct.
10 Soups For Winter 2020
Here are 10 comforting soups to get you through the winter. One or two may be a pleasant surprise.
Organic Panna Cotta Recipe
Light, creamy panna cotta is a perfect way to finish off a summer meal. Garnish the pudding with berries or sliced fruit.
Khirret, A Vanishing Iraqi Sweet Made from Cattails
Khirret is still made in southern Iraq and other parts of the Middle East, but it's appreciated for its rarity, rather than a sweet that stands in competition with commercial candies.
Basil Bread Recipe
My basil plant now wants to reproduce, flowering almost from one day to the next. To keep it from going leggy, I pinch off the flowering tops and harvest yet more leaves. My answer to the basil overflow problem is to bake green bread.
Mouth-Watering Vegetarian Burgul Balls in Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
This recipe actually brought water to my mouth even as I was reading it through. Then I cooked these spicy bulgur balls and set the platter on the table. The family and guests simply snarfed it up; not a scrap left. This bit of Turkish home cuisine is called Arap Koftesi, and I discovered it […]
Make mead
As promised in our post about the great mead comeback, here is the easiest mead recipe for newbie brewers, Joe Mattioli’s Ancient Orange, Clove, and Cinnamon Mead. It’s a controversial recipe that has enraged and delighted countless home brewers since it first appeared on the the GotMead site and went on to go viral. Many home […]
Mead: The Ancient Wine Is Back
What do you think of when you think of mead? You might imagine Vikings with braided beards quaffing something potent out of cow's horns. Or possibly, jolly Hobbits clinking pewter cups of golden liquid between nibbles of seed-cake and tarts. But mead is no longer the drink of the mythical past.
Recipe: Turkish Red Pepper Paste
If you love Turkish food and crave its flavors at home, you’ll soon find yourself stirring up the Turkish pantry staple, spicy red pepper paste. It’s a basic flavoring ingredient for many dishes in southern Turkish cuisine. There are no tomatoes in the paste; its deep red color comes from slow-cooking red bell peppers and […]
Blame Roundup For Celiac And Gluten Intolerance Symptoms
The gluten intolerance and celiac disease epidemic that’s spreading worldwide is related to herbicide residues on foods we eat, according to a study published published in the Interdisciplinary Toxicology journal in 2013. The researchers are Anthony Samsel,an independent scientist who has worked as a consultant to the EPA on arsenic pollution and to the U.S. […]
An ancient salad recipe from the Rambam
Maimonides, referred to as the Rambam, was a philosopher, codifier of Jewish law, and a renowned doctor in 12th-century Egypt. Israelis follow his startlingly modern-sounding health advice until this day. He wrote that the best breakfast is a big, leafy salad: it clears digestion and the kidneys and purifies the blood. That’s not how I […]
Eat Prebiotic Foods To Keep Your Probiotics Healthy
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Folk wisdom produced this proverb a long time ago. Our canny ancestors didn’t conduct laboratory experiments with rats, but they knew that people who ate an apple every day stayed healthier. The proverb would hold true even if changed to “an onion a day” or “whole grains […]
Missing Aleppo Peppers
The catastrophic war in Syria and the devastation of Aleppo has resulted in a shortage of – Aleppo peppers. Western chefs and gastronomists bewail the absence of the unique spice in their pantries. Yet before rightly considering that millions of displaced and starving people in Syria endure unimaginable horrors every day, consider the loss of […]
Spinach and Cheese Bourekas RECIPE
What’s green and leafy and makes your biceps pop up? Spinach, of course. We have many tasty ways to eat spinach, like our Moroccan Chickpea and Spinach Soup and the elegant Roasted Tomato and Spinach Quiche. And now for another soulful and spinach-full dish: bourekas stuffed with spinach and cheese. Who can resist bourekas, those crisp, […]
Apple Cake With Apricot Jam Glaze
Tonight, Sunday the 9th of September, marks the first day of the Jewish New Year 2018, Rosh HaShanah 5779. The holiday extends until Tuesday September 11th at nightfall. There are four holiday meals to prepare – five, if you include late afternoon of the second day, and that’s not to mention formal or informal breakfasts […]
Caprese Salad, Summer’s Easiest Appetizer
You need to fix a meal, but it’s too hot to spend time in the kitchen. Let fresh tomatoes come to the rescue. Caprese salad, an Italian mix of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, is the appetizer you can put together in minutes – the snack to serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices – the […]
Roasted Tomato and Spinach Quiche Recipe
The summer glut of tomatoes is here. Take advantage and roast some to bake into a summery quiche. This is a deluxe quiche, one that requires time and a mindset that enjoys leisurely cooking. Roasting the tomatoes and peppers brings out their natural tart/sweetness, while spinach and caramelized onions contribute an earthy note. The quiche […]
Cannellini Bean Soup
Hot weather seems to call for cold dinners like our chilled, herbed tomato soup. But don’t wait for cooler weather to fix this savory cannellini (white kidney) bean soup. It’s packed with energizing vegetables and protein; filling, but light enough to need rounding out with salad and good bread for a satisfying dinner. If you […]
How Cooking Is Good For Your Soul
You don’t have to love your boss who came to dinner, nor your kid’s friends who likely will gulp down the food and rush off. You don’t even have to cook for anyone else. The simple act of cooking enriches your soul. Cooking empowers you. Let’s say you want to cook our easy baked […]
Bun-less Chicken Burgers With Swiss Chard
Sometimes, when I’m scouting out the produce at the shuk, I can’t resist bringing home a big, leafy bunch of fresh Swiss chard. I imagine all kinds of wonderful dishes to make with it, but usually I give in to laziness and just sauté the white stalks in olive oil with onions and garlic, adding […]
Almond Butter You Can Make In 20 Minutes
If you love almond butter and hate paying its high price at the store, make your own! It’s easy, and takes less than half an hour. What you need are raw almonds, salt, a clean, dry jar and either a food processor or a heavy-duty blender. Then you can indulge in almond butter smeared on […]
How To Choose The Best Watermelon
How often have you brought a watermelon home and cut it open to find it watery and bland? Disappointing, right? But read on to discover the signs of a sweet, juicy melon. Next time, you’ll spot the best one in the lot. First, pick it up and feel its weight. If it’s heavy for its […]
Grilled Chicken Wings With Harissa and Honey
Nothing is more evocative of summer evenings than the odor of grilled food wafting around the yard. Even if you don’t have a yard, but only an apartment balcony. Chicken is much easier on the environment than other meats, so I recommend these quickly-cooked, spicy/sweet chicken wings for an unfussy barbecued meal. As a young […]
Guarapo De Piña – An Easy, Fizzy Pineapple Homebrew
In Cuba, guarapo is simply freshly-pressed sugar cane juice, and is drunk on the spot, without waiting for it to ferment. But in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Mexico, they homebrew guarapo from pineapples or oranges, and the fragrant fluid sits on the kitchen counter top to ferment until it’s bubbly. I learned to make guarapo de […]