You need a moist and fruity cake for your family or guests this summer season? Try this strawberry jelly roll recipe! Enjoy the sweetness of the strawberries and the creaminess of the filling without any added sugar except for the sugar in the cake. Believe me, you will feel less guilty when having more than…
SEASONAL JAM MAKING
Just came back from the fields with enough strawberry for my yearly provision! Although walking the fields up and down was a bit strenuous in this unprecedented heat for this time of the year, I enjoyed every minute outdoors. Seasonal Fruits Strawberries are ripe already and I am a bit behind this year. We have…
SHILBATO (KOHLRABI-MEAT PILAF)
I first discovered kohlrabi, also known as German turnip, in Germany 39 years ago. I couldn’t remember having it in Lebanon when I was young. In Lebanon, today, it is available when in season and it is mostly eaten raw. Discovering kohlrabi Kohlrabi tastes like cabbage but has a pleasant mild and sweet flavour. Its…
GERMAN POTATO SALAD
This potato salad makes a delicious accompaniment to grilled steaks and sausages. It is also my favourite side to schnitzel or Frikadellen (German hamburger) My mother-in-law’s potato salad is incredibly tasty! It is tangy and sweet with a creamy and crunchy texture. The main ingredients are tender potatoes mixed with cooked onions, apple vinegar and…
MINT PESTO
Fresh Spearmint is available in Lebanon all year round. We use it extensively in salads and mix it with meat and vegetarian kibbeh. A handful of mint leaves adds a delicate sweet and minty flavour to any dish, or to any labneh or shawarma sandwich. Like all mint varieties spearmint grows abundantly and spreads aggressively…
TRADITIONAL GERMAN EASTER BREAD
This rich Easter bread has a wonderful buttery eggy flavour and is slightly sweet. It goes great by itself or simply spread with some butter and jam. Our Easter breakfast is never complete without it as a beautiful centrepiece. Easter bread is a tradition in many European countries. Very similar to Brioche, this sweetened-yeasted bread…
COLOURING EASTER EGGS
Celebrating all the festivities around Easter has always been important to me. Traditions and customs are the only constant in an ever-changing world. They are cemented in our minds to be passed on to next generations. Without them we feel lost. One tradition I cherish is dyeing eggs on Good Friday. Besides Easter baking that…
LEBANESE CREAMY FREEKEH PILAF
If you haven’t had freekeh yet, it is about time you did! The star grain among foodies in the western world for quite some time now, freekeh, also known as Farikah or Freek has been in our Middle Eastern pantries for ages, literally! Its firm grain, and its nutty, smoky flavour make it very versatile….
A WINE TOUR IN LEBANON
I have recently watched a beautiful film about Lebanon on YouTube that ends with this phrase “Lebanon is too diverse to visit only once”. How true that is! The magic of Lebanon So many historic sites to visit in a tiny country! So much mystic beauty in mountainous countryside that takes one’s breath away! Ancient…
EASY TO MAKE PIZZA
I still vaguely remember the first time my mother made her first homemade pizza. She didn’t look up a recipe in a book, “nor surfed the Internet”. As always, she relied on her intuition and creativity, and she was brilliant at improvising in her kitchen. The dough shouldn’t have caused any problems in the land…
