I had some leftover cooked wide egg noodles and some roasted vegetables from a previous meatloaf meal. The meatloaf was eaten up right away, and neither leftover side dish would have been enough on its own, so I decided to make them both into a sort of crust-less quiche. (There was about 1 cup of chopped noodles and 1 cup of chopped vegetables, … [Read more…]
Zucchini/Summer Squash Fritters – ijja
I made some fritters for dinner Friday evening to go along with some leftover soup. I had 1 zucchini, and 2 yellow crookneck squashes. I considered several different ideas before I stopped at Ijja (the Arabic name for these fritters – and also the word for omelet). I didn’t need to consider anything else after that, because, YUM, fritters! This … [Read more…]
Throwback Thursday : Fall Lentil Vegetable Stew
It appears that this time last year was the same kind of chilly, rainy Fall weather that we are having today. I made a lentil stew then that had carrots and spinach, and nicely spiced with curry, cumin, and allspice. This is a wonderfully homey, satisfying stew that can be made with things that most people have on hand. Thus, I have tagged it … [Read more…]
(End of ) Summer Mint Macaroni Salad
If you have a little backyard garden going this summer, this macaroni salad could be a good way to use some of your home-grown produce. We have a ton of mint that I wanted to make use of, as well as pepper and tomatoes growing outside. This salad makes use of fresh mint and lemon juice, extra virgin olive, apple cider vinegar, horseradish sauce, … [Read more…]
The Levantess’s Famous Falafel
Our Sunday brunch centered around falafel. I’ve seen many falafel recipes on the interwebs. Some use canned chickpeas, some add flour, and some add fava beans. My preferred falafel contains ONLY chickpeas, no fava beans. I also like mine to have lots of parsley, onion, and garlic. You can see the greenish cast when you break it in half. Also, … [Read more…]
Italian Flat Beans with Fresh Tomatoes
We went to the local farmer’s market, a favorite activity for the kids, because they love the fresh peaches and the grape tomatoes. I spied some broad bean pods and thought they were fava beans for a second, but on closer inspection, found them to be Italian flat beans. If you haven’t tried them yet, you should. They have a delicate sweetness … [Read more…]
Lentil Soup with Vermicelli Noodles
1 T extra virgin olive oil 1-2 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon madras curry powder (optional) 1 cup lentils 4-5 cups stock or water ½ onion chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped ½ cup angel hair noodles lemon wedges (optional) Heat oil in small pot. Add garlic and onions, and saute for 2 minutes. Add spices and saute another minute. Add lentils and stock. … [Read more…]
Ramadan – Vegetarian Iftar Menu
If you are a vegetarian, there are plenty of good quality protein sources for the end of a long day of fast. Some good non-meat sources of protein include: Quinoa Greek yogurt Legumes, including lentils, chickpeas, and Nuts and seeds (and their butters and milks) – sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts Chia seeds Tofu Eggs Avocados A sample … [Read more…]
Lemony Dandelion Greens
It is common in the Levant region to forage for wild greens like Chicory, Dandelion, Watercress, and Purslane. So, when I saw that I had a couple of pretty lush dandelions outside, I thought to myself….”hmmm, I should pick those and cook them”. Then, cooler heads prevailed (my husband’s cooler head, to be exact) and reminded me that we don’t know … [Read more…]
Tender Young Green Chickpeas
This post is not a recipe. I just wanted to spotlight one of the reasons I love Spring – tender young unripe chickpeas. When I found these at our local Korean supermarket a couple weeks ago, I got so excited. We took them home and roasted them in the oven, with nothing added to them. We then spent an evening, popping them out of the pods and … [Read more…]