Vegetables
Classic Homemade Hummus Recipe
The Best Homemade Hummus Recipe This is Your Guide to the Best Homemade Hummus Recipe You Can Make or Eat. Because there are so few ingredients in homemade smooth hummus, each one has to be the best. Here are the tricks to getting your homemade hummus to come out smooth and luscious. I’ve been talking,…
Read MoreKoosa Fatayer (a.k.a.: savory zucchini pies)
Koosa Fatayar are one of many Lebanese fatayar recipes, little triangular pies with savory fillings. Practice makes perfect in getting the dough pinched very hard along the seams to keep the pies from opening up. Find recipes for spinach fatayar here and meat fatayar here. When one makes a study of literature, as I did…
Read MoreChickpea and Feta Picnic Salad
Chickpea and Feta Salad is the perfect salad for a picnic: stays crunchy and fresh, plus all of the flavor and healthy ingredients we love. I’m not entirely sure why, but when Dan asked me in the most complimentary way to “master” the chickpea salad he’d eaten at Woody’s, our local favorite for Lebanese, I…
Read MoreBrussels Sprouts with Dates and Walnuts. And a full report.
Brussels sprouts with dates and walnuts are so savory and a perfect balance of flavors. We eat this when we want to dress up dinner and share something special at the table. I want a full report. That was one of my dad’s favorite lines. He said it whenever one of his family was off…
Read MoreIrish Mashed Potatoes. In the Lebanese Way.
Healthy mashed potatoes! Use garlic, lemon, and olive oil to ramp up the flavor of these potatoes. A great change from the usual high-fat mashers. I consider myself an honorary Irishman for a bunch of reasons. First, my name (Maureen). Second, my sister’s name (Peggy). Dan likes to call me Irish, but he doesn’t know…
Read MoreLebanese Vegetable Soup with Chickpeas and Kale
This vegetable soup with chickpeas and kale is hearty with sweet butternut squash, tomatoes, and a hit of cayenne. So warming, healthy, and simple to make–which we do, weekly! Vegan and gluten-free. One frigid, snowy day last winter when Dan was down and out with a cold, his sister Trisha brought over a big tunjura…
Read MoreSumac Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sumac roasted sweet potatoes are a natural! The bright, citrusy flavor of the sumac balances the sweetness of the potatoes perfectly. When I think about what makes the Thanksgiving plate so mouthwatering-good, it doesn’t take much for me to realize that it’s driven by sweet. Oh, and fat. Yes, there is the salty tenderness (brine…
Read MoreFresh Herb Falafel Pita Wrap
Mother never made that. That’s what mom’s sister, Aunt Pat, said when I talked about the falafel I’d be making with the abundance of fresh herbs we have, along with the peeled fava beans we recently started offering over at Maureen Abood Market. The sisters have been engaged in a dialogue, one that has extended…
Read MoreLebanese Panzanella Salad
Pita chips replace the traditional Italian-style croutons in this Lebanese Panzanella salad. They soak up the precious juice we wouldn’t even consider leaving behind. The mix of lemon with rice vinegar gives the sweet tomatoes the perfect pop of tartness we love so much. Sometimes I think that the whole purpose I am here, back…
Read MoreToasted Bulgur Pilaf with Zucchini. Never too much.
Think of bulgur pilaf the same way you do rice pilaf–except so much healthier with all of the protein and fiber in bulgur. Use coarse bulgur, known as “#3,” for pilafs like this Toasted Bulgur Pilaf with Zucchini. It’s never too much! Find the perfect bulgur in my shop here. It’s true that I grew…
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