Lebanese Vegetarian Recipes
Arugula with Sugared Cranberries & Pancetta. And let’s talk cookbooks.
As I mentioned recently, I am a cookbookaholic. I love to hear about good cookbooks from anyone who is into them. I sort of assume the same of anyone else who likes to collect, cook from, and gift-give cookbooks. So in honor of the cookbook-buying and giving season ahead—in honor of all of the…
Read MorePre-Peeled Chickpeas. A homemade hummus game-changer.
The first time I went to the Symposium for Professional Food Writers at the Greenbrier, I walked into the grand dining room (think of the biggest chandelier you’ve ever seen, in green and black crystal) on the first night for dinner. The hostess took us, each one as we arrived, to the round tables of…
Read MoreLebanese Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Mint
One of the best things about cucumber and tomato salad with mint is the juice that waits in the bottom of the bowl, ready to be sopped up with thin pita or flatbread. Make the salad an hour or so in advance to let the flavors meld. There are many great Lebanese recipes for salads,…
Read MoreGrilled Pizza with Za’atar, Tomatoes & Fresh Mozzarella
This is za’atar flatbread taken to another level! Grilled pizza with za’atar, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella is a great summer appetizer, or make it in the oven anytime on a hot stone. There are many great things about living Up North; the natural beauty, the tranquility. Among those great things, something important is missing. Something…
Read MoreSummer veggie pita wraps, and a Lebanese feast in Harbor Springs
This week is a busy one for me Up North. I stepped back into a restaurant kitchen making Lebanese recipes for a Lebanese food and wine dinner at Harbor Springs’ New York restaurant, and what a warm and wonderful experience it was. Diners told me about their various love affairs with Lebanese cuisine, or their…
Read MorePia’s Eggplant Parmigiana
This absolutely delicious eggplant parmesan comes to us from Italy by way of Harbor Springs! A luscious way to cook with globe eggplant. Also try Lebanese eggplant, layered in sheik al mesheh, as a dip in baba gannouj, and in traditional “boats.” One of the pleasures of living in a small town is that people…
Read MoreA sundae with hot fudge sauce, marshmallow sauce, and Spanish peanuts. A salty-sweet tradition.
For a hot fudge sundae with marshmallow, in a tall glass sundae dish, layer fudge sauce with scoops of good vanilla ice cream. When I’m making the sauces, usually I’m not making the ice cream too and I bet you aren’t, either. I like Hagaan Dazs vanilla. Top the sundae with Spanish peanuts and a…
Read MoreZa’atar Kale Chips, and a family story
Za’atar kale chips are baked kale, crisped with olive oil and seasoned with a good dusting of za’atar, the Lebanese spice of wild thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. Absolutely addictive (and healthy to boot). A family is really a collection of stories. That’s what Dave O’Leary said when he and Janet were over recently for…
Read MoreHomemade Apricot-Lime Fruit Leather
If it still to this day surprises me, it’s got to be surprising to you too: Fruit leather is so Lebanese. I was eating fruit leather long before I’d ever heard that term, and even before we were buying fruit roll-ups at Schmidt’s on Lansing’s west side way back when. The original Lebanese version of…
Read MoreBarley Picnic Salad, and 4th of July in Harbor Springs
The 4th of July picnic menu here on Main Street is always a great topic of discussion in my family, one that entertains us not just in the days leading up to the 4th, but throughout the year. We kick around whether we need a tent, how many hot dogs to buy, which soda is…
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