Lunch by the Litani river
Interested in courage? generosity? resilience in front of adversity? Then you have to meet Abu Kassem and his family. In a region known for decades as a war zone, now housing thousands of UN troops, lives Abu Kassem and his family. The Litani river, mentioned in the news...
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Mint-Lemonade
There is a café in the chic ABC mall in Beirut called Casper and Gambini; this is where I tried this mint-lemonade for the first time on a hot sweltering day. It came in semi-frozen form like a margarita and the combined taste of fresh mint and fresh lemons...
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Spaghetti squash jam (Shoushiyeh)
This is a jam made in the Chouf mountains from spaghetti squash. Unusual but refined and with a delicate taste; not too sweet. I am not including a recipe, since I have not made it myself yet; if you have some leftover spaghetti squash and are dying to make...
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Potato with tahini sauce (Batata bel-tarator)
One of the lesser known advantages of residing in Lebanon is the fact that there is a plethora of world-class entertainment available for a fraction of the cost of similar venues in Paris or New York City. Last night, in the BeitEddine Palace’s courtyard, under a pitch-black starry sky...
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Rice pilaf with sujuk
The Chouf mountains are the one area of Lebanon that I missed the most as an expat; I missed the smell of the parasol pines and the constant creaking noise of the crickets, so relentless that we would stop hearing it. We stopped by the side of the road...
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Mysterious fruit in the garden
One of the aspects of life in Lebanon is the fact that your senses are constantly bombarded with stimuli. Walking in the street a few steps, the stink of a garbage dump will be followed by the heady fragrance of a jasmine bush; you never know what to expect;...
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Pasta with pistachio pesto and lemon
It is pistachio season and the stores are carrying big bins of fresh pistachios; if you have never had fresh pistachios, I urge you to check your local middle-eastern store to see if they are available; the taste of fresh pistachios is so superior to the old roasted and...
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Prickly pear
O wonders of nature! In a country like Lebanon, anything and everything is a source of culinary delight: take these prickly pears, called sobbayre. We used to buy them from street vendors, who would keep them cold by loading a huge block of ice on their wooden cart. The...
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Goat cheese and fresh fig crostini
If you are lucky enough to get some fresh and very sweet figs, what could be better than to savor them as is? This morning I got some goat cheese made locally ambareess and made these crostinis with a zaatar baguette. Toasted them with the cheese and had them...
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