Suzy Eats

After last week’s post on Muhammara, I received a lot of questions about pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses is made by boiling down pomegranate juice to a tart variety, and it is used in many Mediterranean meals including dips, meats and salads. Pomegranate molasses can be puchased in the ethnic aisle of your local grocery stores and can be found in Mediterranean/Middle Eastern markets.

You can also make it on your own using the recipe below. I prefer to make it on my own because I can determine the sweetness of the molasses.

Ingredients

• 4 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

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“Seven Spice” is a tasty must-have used in Mediterranean cooking. It is great on meats (lamb, beef, steaks, burgers, chicken 🙂 ). It is also tasty on veggies. Seven spice has a very exotic flavor that is sure to excite all of your taste buds. I have listed the ingredients below. Feel free to try and make it or  you can purchase it from a Middle Eastern market. It also makes a great gift 🙂 You can wrap it up and decorate a beautiful spice bottle….

Ingredients

¼ cup black pepper
¼ cup cumin
¼ cup paprika
2 tablespoons coriander
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

How To:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together well.

2. Store in an airtight container or you can freeze it.

Want SUMAC with that food??? I DO….I DO!!! Yesterday I actually flew on an airplane for 750 miles with some SUMAC in my purse 🙂 Why would I do such a thing??? Well because it is SUMAC!!!

Sumac is one of my favorite spices because of its versatility. The tasty sumac Read the rest of this entry »

Thyme and Olive Oil was a VERY common breakfast food in my home growing up. At the time I never realized how healthy I was eating. My mom would prepare sandwiches of thyme & olive oil on fresh pita bread or flatbread. We called it “zait and zaatar”. It could also be used as a dip as well. You would dip a pita chip or piece of pita bread into the olive oil and then into the thyme. The thyme was dried and mashed so it easily stuck to the olive oil for dipping. It makes for a very filling and healthy meal. We know many of the benefits of the olive oil, but what are the benefits of thyme? What makes it so healthy to eat?

For all of the gardeners, thyme is a perrenial and can easily be planted at home. Also, insects do not like it so you are guaranteed it will stay fresh. In ancient times, thyme was used to give off an excellent Read the rest of this entry »

The silvery-green sage plant is native to Mediterranean regions and is now cultivated throughout the USA. There are almost 1000 different varieties of sage but they all contain similar health benefits which are outlined below. I grow sage in my garden and like to add it to my tea and if you are a guest at my house, you will probably be served a cup of tea with sage 🙂 It is most commonly used in the USA as a Turkey stuffing on Thanksgiving. I would caution against Read the rest of this entry »