Global Table Adventure

Recipe: Tabbouleh

July 31, 2011 By Sasha Martin 5 Comments

Serves 4 If you're feeling a bit cloudy, a bit rainy, a bit under the weather - let the bright flavor of lemons and parsley uplift you. Tabbouleh is a quintessential Middle Eastern salad recipe. No mezze is complete without it. While most authentic recipes include more parsley than bulgur, you can play around until you have the quantity you like best. NOTE: All parsley, green onion, and mint quantities came out rather heaping (see photos) Ingredients: 1/2 cup bulgur (I used coarse, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, International Recipes, Iraq, Potluck Friendly, Salads, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: tabouli

Recipe: Muhammara (Char-grilled Red Pepper Dip)

July 30, 2011 By Sasha Martin 6 Comments

Makes 3 cups If you're wilting and melting and generally crying for a reprieve from the heat, try Muhummara. This Middle Eastern roasted pepper dip takes the heat out of summer in the most fingerlicking way. The walnuts add body, but you don't taste them. The pomegranate syrup gives a slightly tart tang and the cumin gives earthy warmth, but the ingredients are so balanced and subtle you'll be seduced before you know it - and you won't exactly know why. Just like falling in love with the most … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Dips, Gluten Free Adaptable, Grilling, International Recipes, Iraq, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Potluck Friendly, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Time travel with Pistachio Date Balls (with Poll)

July 29, 2011 By Sasha Martin 18 Comments

As far as I'm concerned, the best - and quite possibly the only way to time travel is to cook. Reading gets us only partway there - we dream ourselves into other times, other lands. But they remain just that - dreams. Visiting ruins gets us a little closer. But, at the end of the day, ruins are simply ruins - fragments of the splendor that what once was. But, when it comes to cooking food from ancient times? Instant time travel. In my mouth. When I cook I am potentially eating … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Finger Food, Fruit, Fun Friday, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Iraq, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Recipe: Grilled Whole Wheat Pita Bread

July 28, 2011 By Sasha Martin 17 Comments

Makes 8 Pita Light, airy, grilled pita bread spells summer. Flip flops and ice water. Sunglasses and big smiles. Making this recipe just might help you get to know your neighbors. After all, the fresh smell of grilled pita bread is nearly impossible to resist. As long as you're willing to share... So, let's take a cue from the fine people of Iraq and enjoy pita, just like they have in this region (not only the Middle East, but the Mediterranean and also the Balkans) for millennia. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Breads, Finger Food, Grilling, International Recipes, Iraq, Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes, Technique Thursday, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: khubz

Menu: Iraq

July 27, 2011 By Sasha Martin 4 Comments

Let's be real. If you live in my part of the world it's hot in the summer. Really hot. Most days, the thermometer reads 100F before noon. So, instead of making our air conditioners work harder than they have to, let's avoid the stove. Completely. Deal? While it sounds difficult, it's really rather simple. We can just throw together an Iraqi mezze. This is the Middle Eastern equivalent to tapas, in many ways - many small dishes. Mezze can start off a big banquet, or it can provide the main … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Iraq, Menu Wednesday

About the food of Iraq

July 26, 2011 By Sasha Martin 26 Comments

So, here's the humbling truth: there's lots of things I thought I knew about Iraq, thanks to the constant stream of current events infiltrating my subconscious. But, when it came right down to it, I actually knew nothing about Iraq. Nothing. So I began digging. After just a few minutes, I found this lil' tidbit out: from the northern mountains to the windswept deserts, Iraq is known as the cradle of civilization. What? Hold the presses. While you might have known this rather … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Iraq, Travel Tuesday

Monday Meal Review: Iran

July 25, 2011 By Sasha Martin 14 Comments

THE SCENE Beep. Beep. Beep. I was waiting to pay at Whole Foods, watching my food come down the belt with one eye and shooing Ava away from the chap stick display with the other. Other than that, I might as well have been asleep. I've been working hard. Lately, that's all there's been time for. Working to be a good mom. Working to be a good wife. Working to not melt in the 100F temperatures Tulsa has been sustaining for a month now. And, of course, working on work. My brain … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Iran, Monday Meal Review

Recipe: Iranian Cucumber Salad

July 24, 2011 By Sasha Martin 2 Comments

Serves 2-4 Would you like to create a mosiac in a bowl? Capture the beauty of Iran in a bite? This bright, crunchy, sour Iranian side dish is at once cooling and hydrating - perfect for these dog days of summer. Also, it tastes a heck of a lot like a quick pickle. If you add the big bits of coarse ground pepper, you'll be bitten by a teasing taste of heat. Recipe adapted from The Silk Road Gourmet by Laura Kelley. You can find more recipes and fascinating history on her blog Silk Road … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Asia, Gluten Free Adaptable, International Recipes, Iran, Salads, Seasoning Blends & Pickles, Vegan, Vegetarian