Armenian cheese pie (Porag)
Lebanon is made up of many cultures and the Armenian community is particularly interesting, rich in history and traditions; yet known only superficially by most people here who have lived for generations side by side with Armenian-Lebanese. This is one of my first attempts at the wide wide world...
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Kibbeh balls in eggplant sauce
The idea of making tiny balls of kibbe is borrowed from an Armenian vegetarian cookbook I have been reading; several recipes mentions a base of bulgur balls smaller than cherries, mixed with various sauces; I mixed mine with the bounty of the garden: eggplant, onions and tomatoes with a...
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Apple Molasses cookie
My brother has been talking about a book he just read, The Sugar Fix which seems to have made a strong impression on him; written by a physician, the book exposes the toxic effects of high fructose corn syrup on the American diet; it attributes many major diseases to...
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Camel’s thorn (Shawkat al-Jamal)
Every Sunday while we were kids, our parents would take us on ahike and picnic in the mountains; we learned to love our country‘s nature and its diversity; there was one thing only that I hated: the thorns that used to pepper the mountains and valleys; I had been...
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Date coconut bars
If you happen to be visiting someone in Beirut, chances are you will be served this; its rich, sweet and smooth taste belies its utter simplicity. A dear friend Yola Oudaimy (her son is my daughter’s boyfriend) offered me a tray one time; had to have it, over and over...
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A falafel sandwich in Sidon’s souk
My first cousin Michel is visiting from Copenhagen (Denmark) with his adorable (and gorgeous) wife AnneLise and their four children; a day in Sidon was in order. After all,Sidon is considered the most important city in the South; occupied by the Crusaders (and many others), it boasts a sea castle,...
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Lebanese flatbread (Man’ooshe)
Even Lebanese hunks make man’ooshe! No one will deny that the French without their baguette can no longer be considered French; such is the case for the Lebanese and theirman’ooshe. Man’ooshe is a flatbread that is shaped like a round pizza and eaten for breakfast with various toppings; always...
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Zucchini flowers
Tonight we had a visit of relatives, one of those early evening visits as was customary in Lebanon in the olden days, when people paid each other impromptu visits. I knew the visitors were all our cousins, just had no idea how; I asked one of the visitors, Selim, a former judge...
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Spiced popsicles (Meghli popsicles)
My brother Michel who is established in San Fransisco, California, just had a baby, Salim Antonio, his first; Michel requested that a batch of meghli be made at our end here in Lebanon to celebrate the birth. I REALLY wanted to honor the birth of my little nephew, but I...
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