Ingredients
What is Bulgur?
Bulgur is a staple of Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine, used in dishes like tabbouleh. This grain one of the healthiest you can eat for its nutrient-rich qualities. Find bulgur, both fine and coarse, here. What is bulgur? Bulgur is a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine, as it has been for thousands of years. This…
Read MoreHow to use Rose Water
Find out more about how to use rose water in cooking and baking! We love this special Lebanese culinary tradition. Find pure imported flower waters in my shop here. We just HAVE to kick off February and spring with an ode to the beautiful Lebanese tradition of baking with flower waters. Their flavor is iconic,…
Read MoreHow to Choose an Eggplant
Follow these few simple tips to selecting beautiful eggplant, for fabulous Lebanese and other favorite dishes. Why we love eggplant. The deep purple hue and voluptuous shape of eggplant put it in the upper echelons of truly gorgeous produce. Of course there’s plenty of competition everywhere you turn at the farmer’s market. But purple is…
Read MoreWhat is Raw Honey?
Raw honey is a delicious and healthy part of every day in my kitchen. What sets it apart from the others? Most of the honey you find in grocery stores is processed and pasteurized. The high heat kills germs, removes crystallization, and extends the shelf life of honey. BUT, many of the beneficial nutrients of…
Read MoreWhat is Freekeh?
What is freekeh? Read why freekeh is such a fabulous grain and a building block of the Mediterranean Diet. Buy excellent roasted organic freekeh here. What is freekeh? Freekeh is an ancient whole grain originating in the Middle East. It’s a grain of roasted young green wheat, chewy and substantial to the bite. It is…
Read More4 Tips to Choose and Use Olive Oil
Here are 4 tips to choose and use olive oil! With so many olive oils to choose from online and at the grocery, how to choose can be a mystery. Scroll down for 4 tips to choose and use olive oil for optimum enjoyment. And head over to my shop for a fabulous selection of…
Read MoreWhy Great Olive Oil Should Always be on the Menu
Someone asked me recently, what are my top three pantry items? The first was easy: great extra virgin olive oil. The second: infused extra virgin olive oil. The third: kosher salt. We cook and drizzle and bake and drizzle some more with olive oil, every single day and even more when we’re cooking for a…
Read MoreWhat is Za’atar, and How to Cook with Za’atar
Za’atar spice is a special blend of wild thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt. Za’atar, a word that itself means “thyme” in Arabic, is pronounced with the emphasis on the first half of the word: ZA-tar. Za’atar, like any spice blend from throughout the Mediterranean, different regions and even different families in the same region…
Read MoreIntroducing Maureen Abood Market, Lebanese Ingredients to love
For my dad growing up, working at Aboods Food Market meant missing plenty of good fun. Saturdays and any day school was out, he and his brothers were expected to show up in one place and one place only: the market. Shelves needed stocking, butchery needed butchering, and customers needed a smile—with quality, quality, quality.…
Read MoreFavorite Things: Coconut Extract (the real deal)
When you love coconut, you want to taste coconut. It took me years to understand that my coconut cream pies were just okay, and tasted more like vanilla custard pie with a little bit of coconutty chew rather than like truly tropical coconut cream. With all of the time I’ve spent in Florida (read: piña…
Read More