Christmas cookies
I wanted to make cookies with a different shape, something that would be more Christmas-like. I had these wooden molds that I used to make the German springerle cookies with. I used the angel one. I ordered them from www.houseonthehill.net INGREDIENTS: 3/4 cup softened butter, preferably unsalted 2 cups...
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Wines in Lebanon
This post is not to encourage nor extol the virtues of wine consumption.It is simply to mention that Lebanon is a wine–producing country and has been for 6000 years. In Ashkelon (Israel), a group of archeologists found in 1999 the remains of two Phoenician vessels: In their cellars hundreds...
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Cherimoya (Ashta)
The next thing that a Lebanese foodie would do upon arrival in Beirut is check out the neighborhood fruit stalls. Found some cherimoya (ashta in Arabic or anone in French) and had to taste the fruit Mark Twain called ” the most delicious fruit known to man”. Here again, I...
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Flatbread with thyme leaves and olive oil(man’ooshe bel-zaatar)
First morning in Beirut and what does a Lebanese expat want more than anything? A freshman’ooshe withzaatar (flatbread with thyme), that’s what! Zalfa, my (darling) sister-in-law, had raved about a new man’ooshe item on the menu at Zaatarwzeit, the one-stop in town for yummy, fresh and speedy man’ooshe. Made with...
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Notice of travel
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/11/travel/20090111_DESTINATIONS.html?src=tp … the New York Times has listedBeirut as the number one best destination in 2009, I am in Istanbul right now and leaving for Beirut, to be back three weeks later in the US. www.yalibnan.com/2009/11/30/beirut-is-back…-and-its-beautiful/ The author of this article, a British journalist, tries to explain the fascination that...
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Hot milk beverage (Sahlab)
When the weather changes and you feel the need for a warm and soothing beverage, sahlab is the answer! It is named after the salep, a powder extracted from orchids and harvested mainly in Turkey. I have not been able to find it in middle-eastern stores or even online...
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Spiced Biscotti
A few days ago, I stopped by Wholefoods to fetch something and a smiling lady came up to me with a tray and offered me a very thin biscotti with a smidgeon of blue cheese on top. The biscotti was thin and hard, sweet, studded with almonds and...
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Orange and Milk pudding with Candied orange slices (Balouza)
Desserts can be divided in two categories in the Lebanese repertoire. The ones that everybody buys at the famous pastry-makers who have been doing it for one hundred years or more and the ones that people make at home, usually enlisting the services of a grandmother or kind relative....
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Dried Fruit and nuts salad (Khoshaf)
Living in Lebanon people are used to eating fresh fruits that are locally grown and whenever they are in season. In the winter season, people eat a lot of dried fruits and this salad is a reflection of this. Made of dried fruits that are poached or marinated overnight...
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