These days, cookbooks come with a cookbook trailer and so The Jewelled Kitchen (world) aka Pomegranates and Pine Nuts (America) got to star in their own little trailer which was filmed all around Lebanon. Check it out. Bx
When I was planning The Jewelled Kitchen Beirut cookbook launch, I knew it had to be extra special, after all, this book launch was taking place in my home country, in one of my favourite cities and I'd be surrounded by family and friends. A few email exchanges with the wonderful folks at the beautiful Le Gray hotel in downtown Beirut and several meetings later, the JK Beirut launch planning was underway and I couldn't imagine a better venue...
As a wave of heat embraced England, The Jewelled Kitchen cookbook launch kicked off on the evening of Saturday July 6th at the Battersea Arts Center in London. After weeks spent preparing and cooking for the event (remember the days I spent making these babies? and these babies... ), which included flying my two siblings in from Lebanon to help (slave) and be a part of the event, I'm relieved to say the book launch was a feeding success! I know...
Here is a video I would like to share with you all, hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Raspberry & Jam
Loubyeh b’ zeit or green beans in olive oil (although technically it's tomato sauce) is a Middle Eastern one-pot, vegetarian (you may add lamb but that's a whole other post) dish made of green beans, preferably runner beans, that are cooked with tomatoes and olive oil. It’s really incredibly simple to make, requires very few ingredients and one of my favorite ways to have green beans. It will also make a wonderful alternative to the...
My lovely friends Nando from LiveKitchen & Sarka from Cook Your Dream joined me a couple of weeks back to shoot a series of DKS recipe videos. It was a brilliantly fun day and a great learning curve as I'm trying to become more active in v-blogging. Here goes my first shot, I hope you like it! For more info and for the recipe on labneh and some inspired variations visit one of my other posts about it here. Also, here's a recent recipe...
What happens when a Brazilian, a Brit and a Lebanese-American get together? Well, food of course but also some pure comedy moments! If you are not yet acquainted with Nando's delicious Brazilian food blog, Cuca Brazuca, then you need to get over there quickly! Nando shares great recipes, great food photography and always well edited videos. In fact, I had the chance of trying his Mini Acarajes and I had to be polite by warning him I was going...
I always love a really good Lebanese rice pudding. It is so easy to make and a blend of some of my favorite flavors. This one in particular has one I don't get to use so often; mastic gum. Mastic gum reminds me of the Lebanese milk & mastic ice cream we used to have all the time growing up. It was and still is one of my favorites. I love how the ice cream gains a very light stretchy pull, as a result of the mastic gum. You can imagine how...
Family road trips or even day trips can be mind-blowing. I mean that in a good way. I really really do. As we are always up for a good laugh, a good cry or just a good mental breakdown, we decided that we would make a day trip to Baalback, all of us, together, in one car. This day trip would include my father, my step-mother Aliona, her daughter Alina, my brother Eli, and let's not forget me. Baalbeck is home to some of the biggest temples ever...
Back in the good ol' days when there was no twitter, facebook, television, oh and a food processor there were lovely ladies who made kebbeh b jorn; minced lamb pounded for at least an hour in a jorn or mortar. Those days are long gone! I had to state the obvious. As you can imagine making kebbeh this way is lengthy, exhausting, dramatic and I'm not sure makes that much difference in taste or texture. I couldn't tell and nor did anyone else....
I last enjoyed this salad whilst in Lebanon, at a restaurant off the beaten track in a coastal town full of charm and history. The small, family-run restaurant, appropriately named after its owner, "Chez Maggy", is nestled along the coast of Batroun. It hosts some of the most beautiful views of the Mediterranean and the old Phoenician Wall. Batenjan El Raheb translates into English as the monk's aubergine. I'm not exactly sure why it was...
Tripoli is a city with a lingering history; the air stained with the scent of orange flowers, bustling sounds coming from the streets, markets and mosques, with lavish sweets to appease your lusty cravings, and a beautiful seaside for relaxation. "Tripoli, the second largest city in Lebanon, is located in North Lebanon on the East Mediterranean coast and enjoys a strategic position with the added advantage of offshore islands and natural...
I arrived to Lebanon over a week ago, during the "mouneh" months; pickling and preserving summer produce for the winter months. Preparing the mouneh is a practice that goes back for centuries and is an essential part of the Middle Eastern kitchen. We pickle and preserve pretty much everything. Alina, my father's girl friend, and I have been trying out some traditional recipes and some rather non-traditional recipes. We've been in the mountains...
" I'm giving away a $50 Sur La Table gift card. READ ON TO ENTER!" I recently made this salad for my niece Vanessa who loved it so much; she now proclaims it one of her favourite salads. After watching me do a few cooking videos for the blog, she decided that she, too, wanted to be part of the "web show", as she likes to call it. Given that this is her favorite salad now, I showed her how to make it on her own. In the video below, Vanessa...
Hummus translates to the word chickpea in Arabic and here I'm sharing a recipe for chickpeas with tahini, which has become a popular dip the world over. It's very simple to make, all it is, is a handful of ingredients pulverised to a fine, velvety smooth dip. But it does require a little time and love. Lots of recipes call for it to be made from canned chickpeas, but honestly, if you try it from dry chickpeas you'll never go back. Whatever you...