Monthly Archives: December 2011

Postcard from Up North

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Harbor clock BW POST

There is no past that we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternally new now that builds and creates itself out of the Best, as the past withdraws. ~Joahann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Happy New Year … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Caramel Corn to help you ring in the New Year

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Caramel corn on waxed paper POST

Every year around the holidays, memories of the times I’ve spent up north at Christmas and New Year’s inevitably surface. I’ve never been much of a New Year’s Eve fan, at least not once I started going out for parties … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Postcard from Up North

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Christmas tree on Main Street

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. ~ Calvin Coolidge (Twinkling lights on Main Street, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Postcard from Up North

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Fudge shop POST

I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. ~Anne Frank (The good-hearted–and huge–Howse family has been satisfying many a sweet tooth here for generations, and fudge is just the … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Lebanese Baklawa. Do you hear what I hear?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Baklawa Bernadaud plate large POST

The role baklawa plays in the repertoire of the Lebanese home cook is formidable. Most every Lebanese woman of my parents’ generation makes her baklawa for special occasions, especially Christmas. We swoon over baklawa to such a degree that it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

Technique: How to clarify butter for Lebanese baklawa

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Butter clarified 3 POST

I have become such close friends with butter over the last year that this post makes me feel right at home in butter’s lovin’ arms. I didn’t used to be so free and easy about butter. In fact, I shunned … Continue reading →

Posted in Techniques | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Ingredient: Phyllo dough

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Phyllo dough layer POST

Perhaps it’s my love of paper that inspires my fascination with phyllo dough. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, phyllo dough is a beautiful, delicate pastry that requires a lot of tender loving care when handled. Made … Continue reading →

Posted in Ingredients | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Postcard from Up North

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Berry tree first snow POST

If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. ~ Mary Pickford (First snow on Main … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Lebanese Hushwe, and from the kitchen, a family farewell for my father

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Hushwi plate POST

The Lebanese cook their grief. Illness and death call the Lebanese to their kitchens, to their lists on the fridge, to their huge pots and pans that they can lean on, sighing, stirring, spicing, clicking their tongues over the need … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Technique: How to roast chicken for Lebanese hushwe

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Hushwi in a bowl POST

We’re cooking something very special this week here on Main Street, and hopefully in your kitchen too. Hushwe is the ultimate Lebanese comfort food. A cinnamon-scented rice pilaf with beef, chicken, and nuts, hushwe packs a punch on the nutrition … Continue reading →

Posted in Techniques | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Postcard from Down South

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Naples lit palms Bay Colony POST

The appearance of things changes according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves. ~Kahlil Gibran (Royal Palm trees, in holiday finery. These were so fun I … Continue reading →

Posted in Picture Postcards | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Candied Orange Peel begins with the letter “C”

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Maureen Abood
Candied peel in jar POST

When my mother moved out of the home she lived in for 40 years, the home where she raised five children, a husband, many vegetable and flower gardens, and 50 pine trees, there was plenty of accumulated stuff to sort … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories and Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments