And so after 2 years of burns, cuts and tears, The Jewelled Kitchen cookbook is officially out today and in bookstores across Europe and Australia, and the Middle East in a week's time (US launch is October 1st). My fellow blogging friends and I are celebrating by taking turns and posting a recipe a day on our respective blogs over the next couple of weeks. Some of us are even in for a reunion over the weekend at the Food Blogger Connect...
Tabbouleh Author: Bethany Prep time: 25 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 4 Tabbouleh is a salad I can eat (and have eaten) daily for weeks at a time with no complaint. My Teta (Lebanese for Nana) was renowned for making the most delicious tabbouleh (but then so is every other Lebanese grandmother!). Living abroad over the last 8 years, I have noticed that Western versions of this dish use a larger bulgur-to-parsley...
There's something dreamy about courgette blossoms. They are incredibly delicate and I love their vibrant green and yellow tones. I was first introduced to the idea of eating a courgette flower, in my early teens, nowhere else but in Provence by my, then, French step-mother. She didn't do much to them but drop them in a light batter before frying them. They were simple but so wonderfully fulfilling. Having grown up, for part of my childhood on a...
I have been enjoying this salad plentifully over the last month. After all, how can one resist the combination of crisp green leaves, garlicky butter beans, and a runny egg yolk with a sprinkle of sumac? And if that wasn't enough, this salad can be knocked out in no time! Okay, so you may need to use canned beans but I recommend cooking up a big batch of dried butter beans and then freezing them in individual serving sizes, making it more...
On my recent trip to Lebanon, my brother and I spent quality time together making these moreish stuffed Swiss chard fingers and I think they're just the right treat. I had never made them before and when I asked my aunt for the recipe her response went a little like this:" a handful of this, pinch of that, taste and see..." and well we had to make 3 different batches before we got it just right. Making these heavenly chard fingers was also...
I'm back home, in Brighton, after spending two lovely months in Lebanon. I am always so torn between where home lies for me. I feel I belong here and there and I love each place for entirely different reasons. When I'm here I want to be there and when I'm there I want to be here. Now, if I could just get it right... One of the very wonderful aspects of Lebanon that I cherish so much is the natural bounty that abounds. Lebanon is a very blessed...
I've been in Lebanon for a month and a half now and I am starting to blow fuses because of the ridiculously slow internet connection. Apparently, there are only 3 other countries with worse internet than Lebanon and I was shocked to learn that internet in the Palestinian territories is actually much better. Since my arrival to Lebanon, one of the projects I've been working on is the photography for a Lebanese cookbook that was first written...
It's been a while now that I keep getting requests for a fattoush salad recipe... Well it's finally here! I've guest posted the recipe over at the lovely Michelle, on her blog Greedy Gourmet. Please head over there and do make it soon. It's perfect for the weather we're having now and it makes a wonderful barbecue accompaniment. Bethx
How many of you agree that consuming processed, fat-free foods is probably the most frightful thing you could do to yourself? Take fat-free yogurt as a simple example; the ones that have slender, gorgeous ladies advertised all over the packaging. I can promise you one thing: these ladies are not eating that yogurt to get that figure. Fat Free anything, in this case yogurt, will have copious amounts of added sugar, high-fructose corn...
We all know what it's like when the world is spinning at two hundred miles an hour and you're standing there in a dizzy, desperately trying to remain sane and get on with your ever expanding to-do list while tackling tasteless fireballs. I feel like that all too often. In fact, I feel like that right now. But, a while ago, I promised myself to learn to enjoy the moment no matter what it is! When all goes "Pete Tong" - as the cliche goes in my...
I felt like head butting my computer screen on several occasions last night. The fear of causing severe brain damage to myself was the only reason I practiced laborious restraint. I have a Macbook Air that I bought long before I knew how obsessed I was to become with food blogging; the practice of over-tasting while holding a camera in one hand photographing the smallest of crumbs and rambling on about the importance of dry chickpeas while all...
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...
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...
This salad is a twist on the falafel (pronounced falefeel) sandwich that is enjoyed around the Middle East. In Lebanon, a falafel sandwich comes stuffed with tomatoes, shredded lettuce, kabiss (mixed pickle varieties; chillies, beetroot, parsnip among others) lathered with tarator (tahini, garlic then diluted with lemon), maybe some batata (fries), wrapped in arabic bread and "BAM" as Emerill would say! Did I just describe heaven? I probably...
I’m at Bristol airport having a drink before I board my flight to Rome, Italy. My belly is growling in anticipation of all the pastas, risottos, cold cuts, gelato awaiting us. In the next day or so, I am going to post about Penne ala Vodka which I make using a tomato concasse. However, I thought I'd share the steps for a concasse seperately. What is tomato Concasse? It's when a tomato has been peeled, seeded, and chopped to certain...
This week, I was lucky enough to pin down Arlette, a family friend of Portuguese origin, and get her cooking with me in the kitchen. She shared a delicious Portuguese fish recipe while I tried my best during the whole lovely experience to snap a picture of her, but to no avail. She said she would rather remain mysterious, like the 'dark side of the moon'. I was not prepared to argue with this tough Portuguese cookie. This is one of those...
This is a family recipe that's been around ever since I can remember. It's a chicken casserole recipe with Spanish influence, not Indian, contrary to its name. Nevertheless and for unidentifiable reasons my aunt Janane, coined it "Poulet A L'indien" perhaps because the spices hailed from India. I met up with my other aunt, Amale, in Montreal this week. After a few phone calls to Lebanon, we got the recipe from aunt Janane and got busy in...
Days when you're craving a pizza with all your soul but you're just feeling like the laziest person in the world end up also being a creative. And so it was on a lazy Saturday afternoon, that this 'Arabic bread as a pizza base' idea was put to the test. Of course, I do much prefer to make my own pizza and yes I know this is sacrilege and I accept that you will judge me for the sinning mortal that I am! This method yields a...
I made this dish a few months ago, when we were following a detox diet and decided to follow a vegetarian diet for a month. I have a fetish for veggies, and therefore didn't really mind the detox. Meanwhile my husband, suffered the first couple of days, constantly complaining he was hungry! But following dishes like this he began to embrace going veggie. So, I made this several times because it is very filling and the explosion of...
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