Category Archives: Ingredients

Orange Blossom Simple Syrup recipe

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Syrup pitcher POST

So many Lebanese pastries rely on orange blossom syrup for flavor, for fragrance. And though the syrup is truly simple in its method and short ingredient list, there are a few different approaches to it: some with more sugar than … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Shredded phyllo pastry (kataifi, knafeh, kanafe, kenafeh, kunafeh…)

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Knafeh dough 3, Maureen Abood

That list of spellings for knafeh (kuh-NAF-ee), shredded phyllo dough, seems to go on and on. Knafeh dough is typically called kataifi dough, which is the Greek iteration of knafeh. Like the sheets of phyllo used for baklawa, the shredded … Continue reading →

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White Asparagus with Pistachio Oil & Lemon

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Maureen Abood
White asparagus plates 2, Maureen Abood

When the weather was frigid this past winter, all I could think of was the thick, dark drinking chocolate I drank when I traveled in Spain years ago. But now that it’s spring, and winter is trying (not hard enough) … Continue reading →

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Ingredient (and a Favorite Thing): La Tourangelle Pistachio Oil

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Tourangelle Pistachio Oil, Maureen Abood

This, my friends, is pistachio oil. My new crush. I have been a fan of another special oil, walnut oil, ever since I was served a beautiful little butter lettuce salad dressed with it in the home of a beloved … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Kumquats

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Mom holds kumquats and flowers, Maureen Abood

The Lebanese, we love citrus. If there is anything less than extra-large bowl of lemons on the kitchen counter at all times, we start to get uneasy. Wouldn’t want to run out. Oranges are our little pets too, especially when … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Kishk Powder

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Kishk powder, Maureen Abood

I can just imagine how kishk came to be, in the chill mountains of Lebanon where there was a need to store up nutrient-rich, delicious foodstuffs for the winter months (this is the Lebanese food preservation tradition known as mouneh). … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Mahleb

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Mahleb, whole and ground, Maureen Abood

Sour cherries are so delicious that I suppose it’s not so shocking that someone, somewhere deep in the past kept eating right past the bright red flesh and crunched away at the pit. There that adventurous eater discovered an almond-like … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Rennet (yes, rennet)

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Junket boxes, Maureen Abood

All I can say to introduce rennet is if you have not cooked with it before, then great!, we are entering new territory together. The easy definition of rennet is this: it’s a little tablet that is used to turn … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Coconut Chips

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Maureen Abood
Coconut chips POST

Its color is pure, white as the driven snow. Its flavor: delicate, fresh, natural…and hinting not of driven snow but of a tropical beach far, far from here. With sunshine, a big blue umbrella. Afternoon piña coladas. The sweets-lover in … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Chocolate, for dipping

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Callebaut milk block POST

If there is such a thing as the family chocolate, then ours has always been Hershey. It’s our version of a coat of arms. Hershey is what my grandfather liked and what he used in a business that has become … Continue reading →

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Homemade yogurt: a few tips about ingredients

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Laban with thermometer POST

Once you get the hang of making your own yogurt (a.k.a.: laban), you will do it without thinking. You’ll do it as a matter of course, the same way you start the week off with all kinds of habits. While … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Pumpkins

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Pumpkins kitchen POST

Until I moved up north, the edible pumpkin was not at all on my radar. In Chicago, the effort to procure, lug home, and carve or just front-stoop a pumpkin happened infrequently. I remember pumpkin-ing in the first year or … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Mirepoix

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Mire poix POST

Ground work must be laid, a foundation, before any house can be built. In the kitchen, the flavor foundation for so many dishes is found in the French mirepoix (meer-pwah), the holy trinity of aromatics: onion, carrot, and celery. Broths, … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Apples

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Apples fall 12 POST

Here’s the thing about apples and me: we aren’t great friends. They try to get together in August and I refuse to return their calls. I once spouted off so vehemently about not eating apples in summer that a funny … Continue reading →

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Ingredient: Red Bell Peppers

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Maureen Abood
Red pepper in the field 2 POST

Back in August, I went to Bill’s Farm Market up here in search of red bell peppers. There weren’t any in Bill’s bins, so I asked after them. Won’t be for a good month, Bill said. You can go out … Continue reading →

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