New Deal goes Lebanese

5-21-2013 Tue. warm, sunny.  


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- ( at new deal c. ) Lebanese spread | beer
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- barely mushroom soup | Chinese taco buns with pork and mustard greens | wine

 

• new deal is a good deal

yogurt two ways, Lebanese bread and salad

03-08-2012 Thu. mild, sunny.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with stir-fried chive flowers and smoked tofu
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- Lebanese bread with yogurt dough and spinach goat cheese topping | cucumber yogurt salad | baked sweet potato fries | wine

• yogurt is in the bread tough and in the cucumber salad
  

new deal and good deal : Lebanese mezza

4-06-2011 Wed. mild, sunny


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with stir-fried cabbage
AFTERNOON-TEATIME ---apple
DINNER ---(at N.D. cafe) Lebanese mezza platter: kibbeh, falafel,fatayer(spinach pie), tabouleh, shakshouky ( roasted eggplant with tomato, scallions, garlic, pomegranate, lemon juice and olive oil) , humus, baba ghannouge, grilled chicken and beef, rice, garlic sauce, yogurt sauce | beer | wine | rice pudding | creme brulee

• N.D. Cafe serves homey Lebanese food, in a neighborhood with a significance in the US history.
  

Food plants

4-03-2011 Sun. mild, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | flat-leaf chive turnover | middle eastern style mint yogurt drink | apple | Persian orange
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- Lebanese spicy eggplant relish | flat bread | sauteed chard and pine nuts | wine-marinated chicken and bean sprouts in spiced garlic sauce and Thai sweet basil | rice | wine

a book from Oxford University Press , d.d.

spicy eggplant relish

• the New Oxford book is full of the most beautiful and exquisite drawings of food plants.
• the spicy eggplant relish is from a rural Lebanese recipe, with 4 kinds of spices and 3 kinds of fresh herbs.
  

Mediterranean Cucina Povera

4-02-2011 Sat. chilly, rain.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | coconut cream bread | scallion pancake | apple | middle-eastern style mint yogurt drink
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- salad: radish, arugula, green olives, pickled lupini beans and walnuts in lemon walnut oil dressing | Lebanese confit vegetables: onion, leek, shallots,spring onion, mushroom, tomato | Lebanese Bedouin-style spinach, lentil and lemon soup | white wine

• reported from NYT: "... Last year, Unesco added the Mediterranean diet to its list of the world’s great intangible cultural treasures in need of safeguarding... In Eastern Mediterranean countries like Lebanon, obesity is growing — especially among the young, an increasing number of whom are happy to trade their eggplants for French fries and milkshakes at Roadster." by Annia Ciezadlo (author of Day of Honey)
  

confit vegetables

3-30-2011 Wed. chilly, cloudy.


BREAKFAST --- coffee
LUNCH --- rice with stir-fried chicken and onions
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- apple
DINNER --- salad of marinated jellyfish, chayote and radish with citrus dressing | Lebanese-style confit vegetables: carrots, spring onions, shallots, mushrooms, tomato, garlic | scrambled eggs with Chinese flat leaf chives | rice | wine

• confit is a great way to bring out flavors from various vegetables, and keep vegetables intact with smooth texture the same time
  

octopus, jellyfish, trout and lentils

3-26-2011 Sat. chilly, sunny.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | cocnut cream bread | scallion pancake | apple
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- salad of jellyfish, chayote and arugula with citrus dressing | Lebanese-style lentils simmered in spiced vegetable broth with tomatoes and red onion | sauteed baby octopus with spring onion and ginger | baked whole trout with thyme and olive oil | white wine

jelly fish, chayote and arugula

lentils

• a happy meal of seafood and vegetables
  

Lebanese-style Mezza at home

3-12-2011 Sat. mild, cloudy.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | coconut cream bread | scrambled eggs with Cantonese style sausage | apple
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea | apple
DINNER --- manila clams with lime juice | baked sweet potato fries | Lebanese style confit vegetables with olive oil enriched pickling liquor ( anise liquor, lemon juice, fresh thyme) : spring onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, baby potatoes, shallots | Chiche barak: Lebanese-style lamb dumplings in yogurt soup with garlic scape | wine

• these small dishes actually take lots of ingredients and spices, more detailed preparation and longer cooking time. the results are delicious food packed with rich flavors.
  

a Lebanese dinner, a celebration of the season

6-05-2010 Sat. hot, muggy.


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | lychee | watermelon | coconut cream bread
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- green tea
DINNER --- pita bread with hummus and eggplant dip | Artichokes cooked in sweet spices with fresh fava beans | egg and green olive salad | Mushroom-stuffed vine leaves with herbs | Syrian mountain bread with chilies, spring onions and black cumin | white wine | dry rose

artichoke and fava beans


mushroom stuffed vine leaves


fresh peas

fresh fava beans

loquat

lychee

• a successful day for just-in-season fruits and vegetables: fresh peas (the farmer's market), fresh fava beans, loquat (枇杷) and vine leaves (the middle eastern market Yekta), fresh lychee ( the Chinese market, artichoke ( Wholefoods)
  

Grapes and grape leaves

5-31-2010 Mon. hot, sunny


WEEKEND BREAKFAST --- coffee | Norwegian lefse | Gouda cheese | honeydew | blackberries
AFTERNOON-TEATIME --- grapes | mojito
DINNER --- mushroom stuffed grape leaves with herbs | Lebanese pita bread | simmered winter melon with shrimp | ceviche with chayote | white wine

• got grape leaves and grapes from a local middle east grocery store.
  

Lebanese red pepper relish

this is a modified version of Lebanese red pepper relish recipe from SaHa. the unique step is "sun-drying" in oven, which intensifies the flavor and color

broiled

processed..........oven-dried

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 10 pieces of walnuts, roasted
  
• 2 red hot chili
  
• 2 cloves of garlic
  
• 1 tbs olive oil
  
• salt and pepper
  

1. broil the whole bell peppers in oven, turn sides every a few minutes, till all sides blackened.
2. turn off the oven, remove bell peppers from oven, peel the skin and discard stem and seeds.
3. process coarsely the bell peppers with rest of the ingredients in a food processor
4. spread the red pepper paste in a layer half an inch thick on a foil-lined baking sheet, put it back to the turned-off-but-still-hot oven, keep it in for a couple of hours to get a " sun-dried" effect.
   
5. scrape the paste and put into a jar, or serve at room temperature with bread.
   

Lebanese green olive and egg salad

(from Saha -- G. and L. Malouf )

• 1 small purple onion ( finely sliced crosswise)
• 4 eggs
• 24 big green olives ( pitted and halved)
  
• 1 tbs pine nuts ( toasted and roughly chopped)
• 2 tbs flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped )
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
  
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbs sesame seeds ( toasted)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic ( crushed with 1/2 tsp salt)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• pepper
• paprika
  

1. soak the onion in cold water for 10 min, to reduce the sharpness
2. boil the eggs for 5 minutes or a little shorter time for soft-boiled yolk, then cool them under cold running water
3. peel the eggs and chop 3 of them roughly. reserve 1 eggs for garnish
4. put the chopped eggs in a mixing bowl with the onion, the olives, pine nuts, parsley, spices and sesame seeds
5. in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic paste and olive oil
6. pour enough of the dressing onto the salad to moisten it, and toss lightly, taste and season with pepper
7. to serve, pile the salad into a small serving bowl, slice the top off the reserved egg and sit on top, sprinkle the egg and salad with a little paprika and serve at room temperature. serve 4.
   

Confit of leeks, tomatoes and mushrooms

"gently stewing vegetables in an oil-enriched pickling liquor that is flavored with aromatic herbs and spices." ------ from Saha by Greg and Lucy Malouf

• 3 leeks, white part only, cut into one inch rounds
• 8 shallots, peeled
• 2 bay leaves
  
• few springs of thyme
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• juice of 5 lemons
  
• 400 ml dry white wine
• 500 ml water
  
• 400 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 medium portobello mushrooms, trimmed
  
• 6 small vine-ripened tomatoes
  
• 80 ml arak or another anise liqueur
  
• freshly ground sea salt to taste
• 2 oz flaked almonds, fried golden brown
  

1. put the leeks, shallots,garlic,herbs and spices into a large, heavy-based saucepan, pour on the lemon juice, wine, water and olive oil and stir in salt
2. cut a circle of baking paper to the size of the saucepan and sit it on top of the vegetables
   
3. bring to boil, then lower the heat and cook at a very gentle simmer for 20 minutes
   
4. lift up the paper and slip the mushrooms and tomatoes in amongst the vegetables
5. replace the paper the simmer gently for a further 10 minutes
6. remove from the neat and stir in the arak. leave the vegetable to cool slightly in the liquid
7. when ready to serve, lift the vegetables out of the stewing liquor into a serving dish, season with a little salt, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaked almonds. served with hot bread.
   

notes:

Spiced eggplant relish, Lebanese style

a recipe from Saha , a chef's journey through Lebanon and Syria, by Greg and Lucy Malouf

• 1 aubergine , thin and long eggplant, peeled and diced
  
• 1 small purple onion , finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 ripe tomato, seeded and diced
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1/2 sweet pimenton
  
• a pinch of cayenne pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
  
• 1/4 cup of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of mint leaves, finely chopped
• salt, sugar
  

1. put the eggplant cubes in a colander and sprinkle with salt. After 20 minutes, rinse under cold water and pat dry
2. heat the oil in a pan and saute the eggplant, turning the cubes from time to time until they are light golden brown. use a slotted spoon to transfer the eggplant to a plate aside
   
3. add the onion, garlic and spices to the pan, and stir-fry in the remaining oil on a gentle heat for 5 minutes.
   
4. return the eggplant to the pan with tomato, salt, sugar, lemon juice and a little water, simmer gently for further 5 minutes.
5. remove from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs, serve at room temperature. good with bread or rice