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…]
Hummus
Warning – a bit of a silly rant ahead….. One of my pet peeves is the current fad of calling almost any sort of Mediterranean-looking dip “hummus”. These days, they don’t even need to contain tahini. Pinterest is FULL of pins to recipes for black bean hummus, avocado hummus, zucchini hummus – I am very particular with what I consider hummus. If … [Read more…]
Avocado Garlic Dip – Avocado Muthawama
Do you need another dip for your mezzeh spread? Well, here you go. This dip goes VERY well with grilled meats and fish. We had this with our BBQ’ed chicken over Easter break, and it is a twist on muthawama (garlic potato dip). This is an avocado version which is slightly mellower, yet still has lots of garlic flavor. Avocado Garlic … [Read more…]
Helba – Fenugreek Cake Bars
This is my first dessert/sweet post on this blog. I think Helba is a good introduction to Levantine sweets. Helba is a traditional sweet, dense cake bar made of fenugreek seeds and sweetened with a sugar syrup. This is a completely vegan dessert. You will note that the cake itself only has 1 tablespoon of sugar that is dissolved with the … [Read more…]
Saturday Brunch – Bakdounsiya – Parsley Dip
Bakdounsiya is a common sight in a Levantine mezzeh spread. It is typically eaten with pita bread, just like hummus or any of the other mezzeh dips. It goes very well with grilled meats. If you thin this out a bit more, it would be a good sauce or dressing to drizzle on top of grilled kofta, kabobs, fish, or falafel. Bakdounsiya – Parsley … [Read more…]
Cauliflower Fritters – Emshaat
Cauliflower Fritters – Emshaat I love cauliflower. It is very versatile, and can stand in for chicken to make many recipes vegetarian. In fact, when my son was 3, and I made the following recipe, he thought he was eating chicken. As long as he was eating his vegetables, I really didn’t care what he called it 😉 Several types fritters are … [Read more…]
Hummus with Parsley
16 ounce canned Chickpeas, drained, reserving liquid 1 small clove garlic 2 tablespoons Tahini 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil Juice of half a lemon 1/2 cup parsley salt to taste More extra virgin olive oil for serving Pour chickpeas into blender. Add reserved liquid, to half the level of the chickpeas. Add garlic, tahini, olive … [Read more…]