Pull up a chair, grab a steaming cup of Kahwa and a few dates. We’re going to Oman, a boomerang shaped country on the edge of the Arabian pennisula. Kahwa is omani coffee, made with enough sugar for the biggest smile in your heart, a dusting of dreamy cardamom and brittle, sunset-colored strands of saffron. Sip by sip, let the heat soak into your pores as you dream your day away. If coffee isn’t your preference, perhaps a cold glass of rosewater lemonade [Recipe], or a salty buttermilk drink called laban, or even a creamy yogurt sipper will help you while away the time among the desert dunes. Whatever you choose, just be sure to heed the traffic signs. When it comes time to dine, Oman has an astonishing array of rice dishes (anything from steamed rice to pilafs or even mekboos, a.k.a. machboos). We cooked machboos [recipe] last fall and it was so good it actually inspired me to boil my Thanksgiving turkey. While the house smelled like a far away spice shop mixed with down home …
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THE SCENE: I am five minutes into mashing and squashing an entire head of garlic, when I realize I am not really sure what people mean when they say “I cook with my heart.” My kitchen is littered with garlic peels. The papery petals stick to my fingers when I try to scrape them up. This is my second head of garlic for the day. Earlier, I roasted an entire head of garlic for the baba ghanoush. Two heads of garlic is a lot for one single, solitary meal. For the 2.5 of us. I laugh. How did I get here? I scrape the blob of garlic paste into my mini-prep and buzz it together with a splash of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. It turns from pale cream to butter yellow. The scent explodes into the air. Is this what happens – is this the result of cooking from the heart? Does one really need two entire heads of garlic in a meal? No. Had I let my love of garlic …
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Gnocchi is always associated with Italy. Gondolas. Striped shirts. Butter and sage. But take a trip southeast, across the Mediterranean, to the old mountain villages of Lebanon and you’ll encounter something very similar. It’s called Maakroun – a thick homemade pasta that is either fried and served sweet, or boiled and served with an intense garlicky lemon sauce called toum. While Maakroun is not made with potatoes, the shape is nearly the same – a little longer perhaps. I would have never guessed that the Lebanese have something so similar to gnocchi. Never in a million years. But that’s what this Adventure is all about – discovery and trying something new. So get off your gondola, and put on your hiking shoes. We’re headed to Lebanon. And we’re going to eat pasta. Recipe inspired by this regional tourism flyer from Douma, Lebanon. Serves 2-4 Ingredients: 3 cups flour 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil warm water, as needed (I used 3/4 cup) 1 tsp salt Method: Find yourself a happy mountainside. Or perhaps a beautiful window to cook by. …
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Adding a handful of spices to a pot of sauce can be cause to say “Bam.” Or so I’ve heard. But how about making sauce with an entire head garlic? Raw garlic? Raw garlic with nothing but a heap of lemon juice and olive oil to thin it out? They do it in Lebanon. And it’s fabulous. Just one thing … No one will ever kiss you again. Except your mother. Bam! NOTE: Use sparingly. Especially on hot days, when your pores are likely to sweat out the scent of this intense pasta sauce. Makes 1/2 cup Ingredients: The cloves from 1 head garlic 1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon, juiced) 1 tsp salt Serve over Maakroun, Mountain Gnocchi Method: First, you have to get the garlic started. You can crush it with a garlic crusher, or chop, chop, chop it, or pound it with some salt with a mortar and pestle. In fact, if you’re really good, you can make this entire sauce in a mortar and pestle. I’m …
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I drink a lot of tea, so I would have thought I’d seen it all. Apparently not. Introducing Ainar, the tea brewed especially for baby mama’s and the guests who stop in to dote on their pretty newborns. In case you didn’t know, Mamas need lots of things after having a baby. Rest. Love. Good, warm food. And this tea. The cool thing about Ainar is the treat at the bottom of the cup. Nuts. After cooking a bunch of warming, fragrant spices like cinnamon, caraway, anise, and nutmeg in a large pot of water, the hot tea is splashed over assorted nuts as as much sugar as you can stand. Walnut, almond, and pine nuts are the most common. The super hot tea softens the nut and the total effect is something like spiced nuts… mixed with “good.” Rumor has it that the anise in ainar is supposed to help moms recover after childbirth. And ward off evil spirits. Win-win, if you ask me. P.S. I’m honored that this recipe was featured in Penzy’s Spices’ 2012 …
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When I’m at parties I like to dip, dip, dip. You’ll recognize me immediately – I’m the one in the corner, filling up on dip before the meal ever comes. And if, for some reason, I’m not? Just know that’s where I really want to be. When it comes to dips, baba ganoush is everything I never thought it would be. Roasted eggplant, far from bitter, transforms into a smoky and smooth treat , able to fill my belly in just the right sort of way – without that greasy, pop-out-my-bellybutton feeling some foods leave me with. In fact, baba ganoush strikes me as one of those diet foods that is actually as comforting and every bit as delicious as French fries. But I’m crazy like that. Baba Ghanoush has long been in my top favorite dips. While Baba Ghanoush is traditionally made with raw garlic, something about the chill in the air made me decide to roast a whole head of garlic for the soft, warm richness. You can never go wrong eating a …
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In between brushing Ava’s hair, making her breakfast and playing with scissors, paper and glue, I like to pretend we’re traveling. This week it’s all about Lebanon. I tell her about mountains and snow. We look at pictures of bustling city and sleeping country. We watch clips online. We talk about the pretty trees and the winding roads. She responds to it all by saying, in her sweet broken toddler-tongue “I want go, right now.” “Where,” I ask? I smile, leading her to repeat the very-big-word Lebanon back to me. “Christmas” she says, unblinking. Not exactly what I thought she’d say. Oh, to be a two year-old again. And, yet, here I am, taking her to Lebanon via stovetop travel. Everything about this week’s menu is fantastic. Two heads of garlic. Roasted eggplant. Homemade pasta. Warm, cozy tea. The menu also happens to be entirely vegan. Nothing wrong with that. Not when it tastes this good. What sounds good to you?* Baba Ghanoush with Roasted Garlic [recipe] Smoky eggplant dip seasoned with lemon juice, tahini, parsley and an …
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Let’s climb around the mountains of Lebanon, shall we? Depending on the time of year, we might find a heavy haze of snow. In the hush and slush we can work up an appetite. Lebanon’s very name is inspired by her snow-capped mountains – Lebanon literally means white land. And, even in the humid summers, when the snow has long since melted, the sandy-sandstone still looks white. Let’s pick our way between needly cedars, crumbly rocks, and thin brush, to our first meal. Your host will certainly welcome you with a bowl of nuts and, if a baby was recently born, with a cup of hot tea called Ainar served with nuts at the bottom of the teacup [recipe]. After tea, you might be served a mezze – an assortment of little dishes – including tabbouleh or hummus or or kibbeh (a blend of meat and bulgur, served raw or deep fried), baba ghanoush [recipe] or even kababs. So put on your smile, load up your plate, one item at a time, and get to digging. …
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THE SCENE: Giving up the Leg There comes a time in every mother’s life when she has to hand over the ceremonial wand, so to speak. When she must forgo eating the glorious chicken leg out of love for her daughter – her daughter who has suddenly decided that dark meat is the new bees-knees, at the ripe old age of 2.45. This was just such a week for me. Miss Ava loved the Machboos so much that she not only ate what was once “my” chicken leg, but she also ate her papa’s too. This was serious. Could it be the seasoning? The browned crackly skin? I’m not sure. But I do know that I may never sink my teeth into a chicken drummette again. I know. I was once my mother’s kid. And my brother Damien and I always took the legs. Always. Even on Thanksgiving. THE FOOD: Machboos [Recipe] What I liked most about this dish: There is genius in the Kuwaiti method of simmering, then roasting the chicken. First, it cooks much …
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Have you ever noticed how salty tomato sauce can be? I have nightmares about it (my husband has high blood pressure so I need to moderate his salt as best I can). Making homemade sauce is a great solution. And, let me tell you, even if you don’t have to watch your salt intake (lucky!), you’ll feel extra epic when you learn how easy it is to make your own sauce. And, while I love a good blast of Italy, today we’re not talking about long, slow-cooked, browned up Italian-style sauce. Today is about Kuwait. Today is about duqqus. It’s easier than skydiving. It’s easier than horseback riding. It’s the opposite of rocket science. Do it and take a lil’ trip to Kuwait today via your stovetop. Ingredients: 3 whole tomatoes 2-3 whole garlic 2 Tbsp tomato paste spicy pepper to kick it up (optional) – I used part of a small poblano 1/4- 1/2 cup water, or as needed to get the blender going Salt Pepper Method: If you have any spicy peppers, this …
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Great things happen when I shut my eyes. Dreams. Day dreams. First kisses. Second kisses. Laughter. But sometimes I don’t even want to blink for fear of missing out on the tiniest bit of excitement. In a split second, bolts of lightening can streak across the sky. Fireworks can transforming into a bouquet of roses and then dissolve. Just one look can tell you everything you need to know, as long as you don’t miss it. Well. Today I’m here to tell you not to blink. We’re at the Kuwaiti Global Table and you’re about to experience Kuwaiti’s answer to the almighty PB&J. But it’s all going to happen very quickly. So. Please. Don’t. Blink. First things first, PB&J is an analogy. It’s really a dip and it’s called Dibis wa’ Rashi. Remove the peanut butter and replace it with sesame butter (a.k.a. tahini). Then remove the jelly and replace it with date syrup – a sweet, black bit of heaven full of potassium and more healthy goods than Mr. Jelly knows what to do with (sorry Mr. Jelly). …
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Certain times call for celebration. Babies. Birthdays. Finding the love of your life. Daydreaming about the love of your life. When a light turns green at the exact right moment, before you have to apply the brakes. For those times, I present Machboos. Take a dive off the deep end with this beloved Kuwaiti dish that boasts warm hits of cinnamon, turmeric, saffron mingled with sweet caramelized onions and raisins. We made ours with chicken, but you can also make it with fish or lamb. If you get a big enough chicken it can feed a happy collection of people (about 4-6). For our version the traditional preparation involves simmering the chicken in fragrant water (which is then used to make the rice). Next, we rub the chicken with more seasoning and pop it in the oven to brown. All kinds of flavor goodness. It took me to happy town, and it can take you there, too. Ingredients: To simmer the chicken: 1 whole chicken 2 bay leaves 1 cinnamon stick 3 cloves 3 cardamom pods …
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