Gluten-Free
Garlicky Lebanese Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard and Lemon; dressed up Rushta
Lebanese lentil soup, or rushta, is a Lebanese staple. I love to ramp my Lebanese lentil soup up with plenty of garlic, a healthy and delicious addition of swiss chard, and lemon. Warming, good for you, and always a hit. I used to volunteer a lot. I hate to say ‘used to,’ but I’m trying…
Read MoreSoft-scrambled eggs with asparagus; let the Lenten fast begin
One of the more memorable Ash Wednesdays of my career was when I was just out of college. I was hyper-involved in social justice causes at St. John’s, the Catholic student parish at Michigan State. Hours I didn’t have to give when I was supposed to be studying for my master’s classes were spent in…
Read MoreChicken Rice Pilaf, Hushweh, and from the kitchen, a family farewell for my father
This essay Lebanese Chicken Rice Pilaf, Hushweh, about was my first food-related publication, which happened to include a recipe for hushweh. It appeared in the Washington Post in 2004. The Association of Food Journalists awarded the essay first place in one of its competitions that year, and the essay won me the Greenbrier Scholarship to…
Read MoreHummus bi Tahini, with a secret ingredient
A few years ago, I went to a luncheon of the Chicago Culinary Historians at Big Bowl Asian restaurant. The inspiration for the restaurant, along with the very popular Wow Bao restaurants in Chicago, is Bruce Cost, who was the speaker for the luncheon that day. Bruce has been a major force in bringing the…
Read MoreLeeks in Olive Oil, and scenes from the farm market
When I’m at the farm market here in the north country, focus can be a difficult thing. I go in with a plan, I really do, but then the radishes I wanted so badly are not there, and Bill tells me they just didn’t do well for him this year. Besides, he says looking around…
Read MoreOrange Blossom Rice Pudding; it’s going to calm you down, too
Get the recipe for Lebanese rice pudding on my site here! Continue below for my story. The Abood Law firm, in the early days, was located in the heart of downtown Lansing, Michigan on Allegan Street. In the summers as a teenager, I worked there doing all sorts of odd jobs, running documents around and…
Read MoreIngredient: Rice
The Lebanese dishes are countless that include rice as a component. If rice isn’t there in a stuffing of some sort, it’s underneath as a beautiful, and delicious, bed that soaks up juices and contributes to the overall nutritive value of the plate. When we make rice as an accompaniment to dishes like baked eggplant…
Read MoreLebanese Olive Salad, and Our Town
I’ve noticed, as I’m sure you have, that olive bars in the supermarket are as typical now as the salad bar once was. The IGA here in Harbor Springs has a great little olive bar that I perused closely the other night. It was a Friday evening, not many people out getting groceries up here…
Read MoreFried Cauliflower, and this time last year
I’m thinking a lot about culinary school this week, because it was exactly one year ago that I entered the professional program at Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco. I had just left my job of many years in Chicago and felt the exhilaration of starting something new, and hard won. The house I…
Read MoreFried Eggs with Za’atar, and lessons from a restaurant kitchen
One of the benefits of going to culinary school is that you have an opportunity to work as an apprentice when you complete your program. Doing back-breaking work for free may not seem like much of an ‘opportunity’—as I was often reminded by my brothers—but having the chance to put all that I had just…
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