Sour green plums the size of large marbles are in the local Middle East markets now, a seasonal favorite of the Iraqis. Eat them out of hand as a snack, sprinkling each bite with a little salt. The classic Iraqi way to cook them is to pair them with meat in a flavorful stew. And if you want to ask for them in Persian just say "Gojeh sabz!"
If you live in the near Middle East or the middle Middle East, or are just visiting - take this handy guide with you to find and taste what's in season for the month of March.
Basil so so much more than pesto. Surprise your friends with these Summery treats.
In this day and age, with the superpower of Google, you can locate any recipe, and find infinite recipe ideas, online. So what’s the point of owning a cookbook? Aren’t cookbooks a little outdated? The answer, in my opinion, is no. An analogy could be made comparing “real books” to “E-books,” such as those purchased […]
So you’ve made a batch of Green Prophet’s homemade organic sunscreen. And you’ve waxed your legs or chest hairs with our Arabian sugar wax. But home remedies are not enough to stave off bigger problems like skin cancer.
Want to get close to Iraqi food traditions and culture? This cook book is for you. Lyrical memoirs of Nawal Nasrallah’s childhood in Iraq, and the place that food had in that culture, drift through the pages, pausing for sidebars that offer tidbits like four paragraphs on ancient wives in ancient kitchens. Or samples from a […]
There are two good reasons for cooking with turmeric. The first one is that the spice’s attractive yellow color and pungent flavor satisfy the sense of having eaten real food. The second, as folk wisdom has always known, is that it’s good for you. Our previous post on turmeric vs. arthritis offers a wide view […]
In Israel and well all over the western east, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Old beers, new drinks. Fired by the taste of heritage beers, Lost Tribes Brew founders have developed beers and wines that resurrect traditional brews, which they claim identify some of Israel’s ten lost tribes. Five childhood friends from New York – Itzkowitz, Allan Farago, Ari Smith, Andrew Septimus and Rabbi Harry Rozenberg – flew to […]
Dates and goat’s cheese, a classic Middle Eastern combination that works as an appetizer, nosh, or dessert. Stately date palms grace many streets in the Middle East, giving the landscape an unforgettable silhouette. In Israel, municipalities prune their date palms and give out the big, rustling leaves gratis to those who like to roof their […]
From vegetarian recipes to cutting out plastic, Arwa puts together a Green Iftar Guide to make your Ramadan a little more eco-friendly Ramadan is a time of reflection, spiritual re-focus and self-improvement. It’s a time to look back on the person you are, the way you live your life and to think about bad habits […]
Making your raw, home-grown eggs safe for mayonnaise is easy. If you raise your own chickens and have plenty of healthy eggs, like chickens our editor Karin raises, there’s little to fear from salmonella. But for those of us bringing eggs home from the supermarket, that fear may creep into the fun of cooking. True, chances […]
Ever wonder what to do with eggplants? Read on for some Middle Eastern eggplant ideas. At the start of the month, markets didn’t have much new. Everything in February’s post still applied. Newcomers like strawberries were still expensive and not sweet yet. Now, seasonal produce is on the upward swing towards summer’s abundance and those […]
Edible wild plants are healthy vegetables that are free for the picking. Here are two of our favorites growing now in the Middle East, with recipes. Our monthly seasonal produce posts always carry forager’s notes for those who follow the Middle Eastern tradition of eating wild greens. See our latest seasonal post with a list […]
Now that you’ve bought some argan oil, what are you going to do with it? Argan oil has an intense, nutty flavor (we’re speaking of the roasted, food-grade variety) and a really high price. Two reasons to use it sparingly in cooking. Think of it as a flavoring, and then let your culinary imagination take […]
In spite of some climate differences, most Middle Eastern countries raise the same crops. Don’t think that it means little choice, though. The huge variety of local fresh fruit and vegetables here, and their bright flavors, astound Westerners who have forgotten how a tomato or a green bean should taste. Real superfoods (see our article […]
Chefs without borders: now anyone can cook for the crowds. What if we told you that there is a way, if you’re as industrious as the Dutch founders of a website called Tweetjemee, to buy meals from your neighbors? Frankly, if such a service existed I’d harass Miriam every day for her spinach and mushroom […]
The 8-day Jewish holiday of Hanukah starts tonight. Is there a connect with climate change?
Once you’ve tasted bread baked with spicy black cumin seeds, you’ll reach for more…and more. Black cumin is often added to breads and crackers in the Middle East, as we noted in our post about black cumin seed. We suggest scattering some of those spicy black seeds over the dough in our recipe for za’atar […]
Have you ever looked at vegetables and thought “I can base a whole meal on all of this?” Seared salmon, braised lamb, sauteed beef: sounds delicious, but what about vegetables? Here in the Middle East we love our kebabs, shawarmas and barbecues, but recently The Food Network aired an episode of Iron Chef America that […]
Sun tea is nature’s equivalent of the crockpot… minus the electricity. We each have our own way of dealing with the Middle East’s harsh sun and humidity during the summer, especially in August. For some it’s sun dresses, for others it’s catching the breeze by the beach, and for some it’s a popsicle. If none […]
Ever thought of doing more with your watermelon than simply slicing and dicing? Are you melting in the sticky Middle Eastern summer? Well here is a juicy fruit that is always a favourite, being nice and refreshing, the perfect thing for a summer’s day. There are many reasons for its popularity and not only because […]