Author: The Levantess
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches – Djaj Musahab
This is called ‘pulled chicken’, but I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs for ease. You can serve this chicken in a crusty bread, or wrapped in flatbread. You can also eat it with rice and a salad. I prefer it as a sandwich, to feel like I have just stopped at a food cart in the center of a Levantine city.
Tahini sauce
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 Tablespoon Greek yogurt
juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup water
In a bowl, stir tahini, yogurt, and lemon juice, until it forms a paste. Add water, stirring smooth.
Pulled Chicken for Sandwiches – Djaj Musahab
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoons turmeric
2 cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup yogurt
¼ cup vinegar
Place chicken in large, non-reactive bowl. Add all ingredients, and stir to coat chicken thoroughly.
Let marinate in fridge – half an hour to overnight.
Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken, saute 2-3 minutes over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 more minutes.
Add mushrooms, onions, and peppers.
Return heat to high and saute for a further 3-4 minutes.
Eat drizzled with tahini sauce, and sprinkled with sumac.
May be eaten as a sandwich filling or with rice and salad.
Matcha Green Tea Sahlab (Drinkable Green Tea Pudding)
Sahlab (salep) is a wonderful drink when it is bitterly cold outside. It is warming and thick and comforting. It has a consistency of a thin pudding. In the original sahlab, the thickening and flavoring ingredient was the tuber of orchids. This orchid, likely due to the deliciousness of drinks and desserts that can be made from its tuber, is becoming increasingly rare. You can create a reasonable facsimile with cornstarch as the thickening agent and orange flower and/or rosewater as the flavoring ingredient.
I recently received a sample of Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea Powder, which can be ordered on Amazon.
When I opened the bag, I found lovely bright green powder, with the distinctive scent of green tea. Really, the color is just gorgeous. My husband asked me to make sure to use enough of it in the drink to ensure that the drink is the same color. The powder is very fine, making it easy to mix. A plus is that it comes in resealable bag.
So, I could have made a regular green tea latte to try this out. But, I have already been craving sahlab since it’s been so cold lately, so I decided to experiment. Luckily, the experiment worked! You can taste the green tea flavor, and it blends very well with the sahlab texture. I would most definitely make this again. I am also planning to use this in hot water for regular tea, as well as in my smoothies. The flavor is smooth, and not overly bitter or strong.
Matcha Green Tea Sahlab (Drinkable Green Tea Pudding)
4 cups milk
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons Matcha Green Tea Powder
3-4 Tablespoons sugar (start with the lesser amount, then add more if it needs more sweetening)
2 teaspoons orange flower water
2-3 drops rosewater
Topping
2 tablespoons nuts (walnuts, pistachios, or pecans)
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
ground cinnamon
In a small bowl, stir cornstarch with 4 tablespoons of cold milk until smooth. Set aside.
Pour the rest of the milk into a small, heavy bottomed pot. Add matcha powder. Stir well, preferably with a whisk. It will appear that the matcha powder does not mix with the milk, but as the milk heats, the green tea will completely blend.
Bring to a boil.
Add cornstarch and milk mixture, stirring constantly to make sure that there are no lumps.
Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat, for 10 minutes, until it is the consistency of thin pudding.
Remove from heat. Stir in sugar and orange and rose flower water.
Pour into cups.
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Top with nuts and coconut. Dust with cinnamon. Drink warm
Note – if you prefer, you can use either rosewater or orange flower water, or a teaspoon of each. I greatly prefer the flavor of orange flower water, so I wanted that to be the predominant flavor. If you don’t have either, I think that 1 teaspoon of vanilla would also work.
UK readers can obtain this matcha powder here and Canadian readers can obtain the powder here
I received the matcha powder for free in exchange for a review on Amazon and my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I was not required to give a positive review and am giving a completely honest review of this product I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Added to The Talented Tuesday Link Party
Kofta and Cabbage
I have not been posting lately due to holiday and travel. I have a few blog posts in the wings, so hopefully will post those soon.
Here is something I made to use some leftover kofta and extra cabbage, inspired by this post at Mark’s Daily Apple.
½ recipe kofta (baked, but without adding sauce)
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1 small carrot, grated or finely chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup water (adding more if needed)
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Place all ingredients into heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. You may need to add more water if it starts to dry out.
Merry Christmas to all Eastern and Orthodox Christians who celebrate on this day
Merry Christmas to all Eastern and Orthodox Christians who celebrate on this day. Also, Merry Christmas on January 19 for the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. I hope this is a blessed season for you and your loved ones.
Beef and Green Bean Curry
This is a curry made up of beef and some flat Italian green beans that I froze at the end of summer. I had been feeling too unwell to go to the supermarket, so this had to be a pantry meal day.
You could use regular frozen green beans, or fresh, blanched green beans for this.Peas would also work well.
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 pound beef cubes for stew
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 ½ teaspoon madras curry powder
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
8 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 pound frozen beans
1 cup tomato puree
13½ ounce can coconut milk
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Heat oil over high heat. Add onions, garlic, beef, 1/2 a teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of each: madras curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Saute 3 minutes over high heat.
Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking for a further 5 minutes.
Add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
After 45 mins, frozen beans, 1 cup tomato puree, 2 teaspoons curry, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, coconut milk, and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
This was added to the Homestead Blog Hop
26 DIY gifts
I enjoy gift-giving. I love the idea of matching the perfect little thing to the person. I love doing things with my hands, and always think, “I am sure I could make something so much cooler than I could buy in a store”….but then, when it comes time to actually whip something up….BLANK.
But, thank goodness for the interwebs that give us access to the ideas already created and blogged about.
Here, I am rounding up a smattering of some really good ideas that I found.
Look through the list below if you need ideas for neighbors, cousins, friends, coworkers, teachers, etc, and enjoy going the homemade route. I saw many, many homemade cookie mixes, or hot cocoa mixes, etc, as well as things like homemade bath bombs or bath scrubs. I decided not to go with any of those for my list, because unless you know someone very well, they may either have a food or skin allergy to any number of common ingredients, and they just may get skeeved by the idea of using an unsealed food item. I would absolutely gift my best friend a homemade cookie mix, but certainly not my postal worker.
Some of these are labeled as specific to Christmas, or to a specific person, like teacher or bus driver, but with some creativity, you might find yourself able to customize these ideas to the specific people in YOUR life and to other occasions.
Easy DIY Butterfly Specimen Pendants
Ball Jar Teacher Gift – this just may be my favorite
diy rubber stamped tile coasters
Scrabble Jingle Bells Ornament
Button Headband – My little girl is SO getting some of these!
Realtor Thank You Gift – though not necessarily only for realtos
Bus Driver Gift – or Crossing Guard
Merry Kissmas and Chappy New Year
Homemade Bookmarks – Tie Dye technique with Sharpies
There were honestly SO many good ideas, but I decided to stop here, and possibly do a second post later. Have fun perusing these ideas, and now you know what I’ll be spending my weekend doing 🙂
Meatless Monday: Tomato Cabbage Bulgur Soup
We had stuffed cabbage over the weekend, and I made sure to set aside any hard to wrap leaves (excessively curly, or very torn). I ended up with about 2 cups, once I chopped them small. I remembered a soup I had several years ago, that included bulgur, and decided to recreate it. It is a nicely hearty soup, perfect for a cold day. This is completely vegan if you use vegetable stock, or you can use chicken or turkey stork, if you still have some leftover from Thanksgiving.
Tomato Cabbage Bulgur Soup
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped or shredded cabbage
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
½ – 1 teaspoon paprika
½ – 1 teaspoon ground coriander
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups tomato puree
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup medium bulgur, rinsed well
salt and black pepper, to taste
Place bulgur in deep bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 10 minutes. Drain.
Heat oil in medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, and saute 2-3 minutes. Add cabbage and garlic, spices, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute 2-3 more minutes.
Add stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add tomato puree, and apple cider vinegar. Bring a to boil again. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Add bulgur. Let come to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer a further 10 minutes, until cabbage and bulgur are tender.
Note: You may need to add more stock or water if the bulgur soaks up too much stock and you prefer a thinner soup. You could also add more water when reheating the soup if needed.
Meatless Monday – Holiday Dishes – Cruzan Potato Stuffing
This is a very delicious potato dish that is served on holidays in the Caribbean. This is a reblog of an earlier post (posted exactly one year ago, in fact), simply because I like this picture so much better. This was taken when I cooked this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. It was much sunnier than last year. I love this spicy/sweet West Indian alternative to the traditional sweet yam dishes. It takes the place of both the yams and the mashed potatoes on my usual Thanksgiving menu.
Here is a quote from the last year’s post:
One of the must-haves in my family’s Thanksgiving dinner menu (or any time we make turkey, which is several times a year – we LOVE it and look for any occasion to make it) is potato “stuffing” as made in the USVI.
In the Virgin Islands, this is a traditional side to Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey dinner. Even though it is called stuffing, it is not stuffed into anything, and definitely not the turkey. It looks like it is made from yams, but it is actually made out of white potatoes, brown sugar, and tomato paste or tomato sauce. It is a savory and spicy potato side, rather than the sweet Thanksgiving sweet potato side dishes common in the US. It can also be made as a weekday dinner side dish. I also think it tastes good reheated, but you wouldn’t want to eat this cold.
This is a good addition to any vegetarian holiday meal, as well as the traditional holiday meal, and really, is a great side dish any time of the year.
Cruzan Potato Stuffing
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
2 mini bell peppers (or half one regular sweet bell pepper), chopped – or spicier peppers if you prefer some heat
2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 pounds potatoes, boiled and mashed
3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup raisins
1 egg (optional)
1/2 – 3/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 325.
Boil and mash potatoes, set aside. Do not add any milk or butter to the potatoes.
Heat oil in medium sized pot. Add onions, garlic, parsley, and peppers. Saute 3 or 4 minutes.
Add butter
Stir to melt butter, adding tomato paste, oregano, and brown sugar
Saute 2 -3 minutes more till it looks like this
Remove from heat. Add potatoes to pot, along with raisins, milk, and beaten egg, fold all ingredients to incorporate completely. You want the consistency to be slightly more liquid/thinner than mashed potatoes if you add the egg. If you do not add the egg, let it be the same consistency as mashed potatoes.
Spread in an oiled 9″ pie plate.
Bake for 45 minutes until top is golden.
Optional – You can add a couple of drops of hot sauce if you like it spicier, when you add the milk. I’ve done that before, but my kids don’t eat it like that. I don’t always add the egg, and it is perfectly good, and lower in fat without it.
Semi-homemade variation – you can use instant mashed potatoes instead of boiling and mashing regular potatoes.
My Beautiful Home
For Throwback Thursday, I am throwing back to my days in the USVI. Lovely place, lovely people, great food. If you are looking for a wonderful vacation spot – look no further. Also, make sure to explore this Virgin Islander’s blog that I linked to. Enjoy 🙂
Originally posted on Deconstructed Levantine Cabbage Rolls (Lazy Malfouf)
I felt like eating stuffed cabbage, but didn’t have time to separate and boil the leaves, then stuff them one by one, so I decided to make it lazy-style. It’s not as pretty, but tastes very good on those days you just don’t have the time for rolling them.
To be clear – It isn’t a replacement for the original – and certainly not something you’d make for company – but a quick, easy weeknight option has its place.
We had this with salad, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, and a generous squeeze of lemon.
Deconstructed Levantine Cabbage Rolls (Lazy Malfouf)
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
½ cup onion, finely chopped
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups sliced/chopped cabbage (about half a small head of cabbage)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup ground beef (or lamb)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup crushed tomatoes (or 1 chopped fresh tomato and its juice)
2 cups Jasmine rice, rinsed with cold water till water runs clear
salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
2-3 cups stock (chicken or vegetable stock-or a good place to use the turkey stock you made after Thanksgiving 🙂 )
Lemon wedges, plain yogurt
Heat oil in pot. Add onions and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add cabbage, parsley, spices, and half a teaspoon of salt. Saute 2 more minutes. Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it looks like this.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute ground beef and 2 cloves of garlic, until the meat is cooked through. Drain off fat, and add meat to cabbage.
Add tomatoes, rice, and 2-3 cups stock (start with 2 cups, adding more if needed), and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook 12-15 minutes more, till rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed.
Serve with plain yogurt and lemon wedges to squeeze onto rice.
Optional step : heat 1 tablespoon cooking oil over high heat. Add 1-2 cloves chopped garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is golden brown. Pour oil and garlic onto rice.
