It's hard to define Abu Kassem in a few words but genuine, humble and generous would be a good start. He is known for the za'atar he grows in the fields surrounding his home in the south of Lebanon and considered to be one of the few enterprising farmers who started domesticating the wild za'atar plant (thyme), which was previously only collected from the wild. He's since developed the brand Za'atar Zawtar which combines the fruits of his...
Please note below 2 minor corrections to the 2013 edition of the book which have been incorporated in the second print (February 2014) Chicken and Spinach Upside Down Cake (P. 81) Instruction 6- Serve the rice and tahcheen following the instructions in steps 5-7 of steamed rice on page 214, Remove the warm plate from the oven and place the plate upside down over the dish and then invert the rice cake onto it. Serve some extra yogurt...
I am so thrilled to see DKS get featured as Blog of the Month in BBC's Olive Magazine recent October issue. A warm welcome to all new visitors and I hope you enjoy the Lebanese recipes. If you've got questions regarding the ingredients or certain recipes, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours. In other news, I will be the guest chef at Tawlet, the widely successful coop kitchen here in Lebanon, on the 6th of...
After a day of rest and recuperation, a myriad of emails, pictures and reviews of FBC 2010 to ingest and a quick bit of film editing to create the trailer for FBC 2010 (music by the musical genius Chris) I feel like things are somewhat back to normal. I am so overwhelmed with all the positive comments, emails and the very comprehensive feedback many of the attendees have already shared via the FBC10 conference survey. Over the last six months I...
It's Food Blogger Connect time again and this year it's going to be a really phenomenal weekend! Two and half days jam-packed with food, fun, roundtables and hands-on workshops, networking, awards and some really cool prizes. Food Blogger Connect 2010 will take place on June 4th, 5th & 6th in London. You don't want to miss it! Click here and you'll discover who will be speaking, the gorgeous venues, the itinerary and other relevant...
A young boy receives treatment at a makeshift medical clinic at the UN logistics base in Port-au-Prince. Photograph: Logan Abassi/AFP/Getty Images It's very easy to take for granted one's blessings. I do more than I'd like to admit... "Life is not always fair" my parents would say to me when I was younger usually when a sibling got away with something I didn't! The harshness of this truth shines truer as my eyes grow wider with age. There is...
Photo courtesy of Mowie-Meeta, Hilda, Mowie, Me, Jamie, Alessio, Sarka, Chris (Hubby) & Pam Surreal. It's about the only word I can come up with to describe all the feelings that came over me from Friday evening till now. In fact, come Monday after we had all said our goodbyes, I wandered around my house like a zombie- overwhelmed by the feeling of void as I was missing everyone and not really knowing what to do with myself. That weekend...
FOOD BLOGGER CONNECT 2009: MAKING IT THE FOOD BLOGGING EVENT OF THE YEAR… … is up to you! You’ve heard it being twitted about and seen it posted on Facebook. Wonder what all the buzz is about? Food Blogger Connect 2009! And you can be a part of it! So far, the response has been electric and we’ve reached further than we ever dreamed; food bloggers are not only training in from all parts of London, not only driving in from all over Great...
We’ve shared recipes, great meals eaten and glimpsed into each others' lives through our food blogs, we’ve shared photos and revealed personalities on Facebook, we’ve given cooking tips and encouragement on Twitter. Now isn’t it about time that we met? In this day and age of the internet, we have lost our connectedness. Friendships are made and lost, love affairs carried on across oceans, bonds created though on different continents,...
