Suzy Eats

I have blogged a fava bean dip recipe in the past…but I have recently discovered Egyptian Fava Bean Dip (courtesy of my husband) and LOVE it.  It is similar to the original recipe…only better 🙂 Fava beans are a staple food in Egypt and are eaten by all Egyptians. In fact, fava bean dip is considered the national dish of Egypt. If you are interested in reading more about the health benefits, please refer to a previous post: http://suzyeats.com/fava-beans-what-can-a-fava-bean-do-for-me-mediterranean-healthy/.

Ingredients

• 32 ounces of fava beans
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Place the fava beans in a large bowl. Add water and soak the fava beans in water overnight.  Keep them covered to maintain freshness.

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I love hummus, and I love pomegranate.  So I wanted to try a new dish….pomegranate hummus. It is a traditional hummus recipe with all the more flavor and healthy benefits. The pomegranate makes for a sweeter hummus taste 🙂 For all of the health benefits of hummus click here: http://suzyeats.com/all-about-hummus/. For the recipe see below 🙂

Ingredients

•  1 pomegranate
• 32 ounces of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 4 tablespoons of tahini paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup cold water
• sumac for garnish (optional)
• olive oil for garnish

Directions

1. Soak chickpeas in water over night.

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As you know, I am still out of town in DC. I wanted to share some of my older, first posts. This is one of my favorites…..YELLOW RICE

When I make a stew, I ALWAYS make “yellow” basmati rice as the side. My husband does not understand why I always make this “yellow” rice. He eats it, but with comments and smirks …. In other words, “why don’t you make “white” rice?”. Finally, yesterday, I realized that my husband thought yellow and white rice were two completely different types of rice. I realized that he must not be the only one who had that thought. So I would like to clarify that when rice is “yellow” it is because TUMERIC is added to “white” rice. The rice is actually not “yellow” by nature.

So what is TUMERIC???

Tumeric belongs to the ginger family. It is has been used for thousands of years.

I am also going to tell you why I ALWAYS make “yellow” rice:

1.  Its easy! I sprinkle 1 teaspoon of tumeric for 1 cup of rice.
2. It has antiseptic and antibacterial properties…(you can even use it directly on a scrape or burn)
3. It helps treat people who have psoriasis and can help with various benign tumors
4. It can help prevent prostate and breast cancer (there are numerous studies on this!!!)
5. Chinese medicine has been using it for 100′s of years for depression

There are more reasons why tumeric is one of my favorite spices but these are the main ones. I say sprinkle tumeric on everything. It can only help, and my husband is going to have to eat white rice when we are not eating at home

Looking for a healthy alternative to the traditional Western salad??? This is one of my all time favorite salads and YES I had it in Jerusalem 🙂 Unlike many western salads, traditional Mediterranean salad does not have lettuce. But, if you absolutely love lettuce, you can definitely add it to this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloved, minced
• 2 radishes, diced
• 1 lemon freshly squeezed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup tahini paste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

How to:

1. Chop all of the vegetables and add them to the bowl.

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Pita bread is one of the most common breads eaten across the Mediterranean region.  It is a round, pocket bread that is created by steam, which puffs up the dough. Once the bread cools, a pocket is created. Pita bread is a type of flatbread that has been around since ancient times. It is used to help scoop up various dips such as hummus or baba ghannoush. It is also used in sandwiches such as falafel or shawirma. I decided to bake whole wheat pitas today as I wanted a healthier alternative to the usual pita bread. Whole wheat pitas have a nuttier flavor and offer more vitamins  🙂 Below is the recipe.

Makes: 9-12 pitas

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons of dry yeast or 1 package of dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water and 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• olive oil

How to: Read the rest of this entry »