Suzy Eats

Ma’amoul is another holiday treat! It is a VERY tasty shortbread pastry that is filled with walnuts, dates, almonds, pistachios or other fillings. I used walnuts because that is my favorite 🙂 These cookies are most popular in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and throughout the Levant.  They can be made by hand or in a special wood mould which helps give it different shapes. I made mine by hand, but I love using the mould to provide a more artistic shortbread cookie. 

Ma’amoul is kept in many homes throughout the year, but they are particularly popular during religious times. Arab-Christians eat them at Easter, Arab-Muslims eat them during Ramadan and Arab- Jews eat them during Purim, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah.
Makes: 12

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pistachios, walnuts, or almonds)
• 1/2 cup milk

Read the rest of this entry »

A traditional Mediterranean Date Nut Bread Recipe for Easter.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups dates, chopped
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup boiling water

Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever watched the movie Wedding Crashers??? Numerous times throughout the movie John calls Jeremy “Baba Ghannoush” 🙂 …. There was no rhyme or reason for it, but he did it. Well what is this dish??  It is fresh, smoked, baked eggplant dip 🙂 Yummy!!  Baba ghannoush is a traditional breakfast dish in parts of the Middle East.  It is also used as a starter or appetizer or a side dish or salad. 

There are many variations of this dish. In Arabic it is known as baba ghanoush. In Turkish, it is called pathcan salatasi. There is an Israeli version that is made with mayonnaise and in the Bulgarian culture it is called kyopolou.  Indian culture has a similar dish that is called Baingan Bartha, and in Romania it is called salata de vinete. In Greek, it is called melitzanosalata. 

For a garnish, you can select what you like best. Some options are kalamata olives, cumin, chili powder, sumac, parsley, and/or pomegranate  concentrate. It is also usually topped with drizzled olive oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• Cold Water, 3-5 cups
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Garnish: your choice

 Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s Tuesday Toast is with The Polish Viking or Liv S. Vors. Her blog site is: http://dineandwrite.blogspot.com/ Her profile reads as follows “I dine, I write. I relish the new, treasure the old, and anticipate new opportunities to write about Edmonton’s food scene. I am a regular contributor to “Dish” in Vue Weekly. I also enthusiastically contribute to UrbanSpoon and Yelp. Questions? polishvikingfoodie’at’yahoo.ca”

Suzy Eats really enjoys her blog and creative ideas. We asked her to select a healthy recipe to feature this week on Tuesday Toast and here is her recipe for Lemon Fennel Tuna Salad

I’ve never been particularly good at following recipes to the letter.  Even my best efforts veer off course, but I posit that this is not a bad thing. A good recipe is like a melody, and a good melody allows the musician to riff and improvise. Case in point – I once discovered a recipe for salmon that involved lemon and fennel. I tried to stick to the recipe, but with each subsequent preparation, the ingredients changed. Salmon became tuna. Lettuce appeared. Honey spiked the salad dressing. Only the lemon Read the rest of this entry »

The egg and lemon mixture is a tradition in the Mediterranean culture. There are many differents sauces and soups made with this mixture. I have listed below the pronounciationsof this amazing “egg-lemon” flavor in various Mediterranean cultures . 

• “Avgolemono” in Greek
• “Tarbiya” or “Beida bi-Lemoon” in Arabic
• “Terbiye” in Turkish
• “Agristada” in Sephardic Jewish culture
• “Bagna brusca” in Italian

Here is the Suzy Eats’ version of this yummy dish! I have tried to “healthify” it by including fresh ingredients and using olive oil instead of butter 🙂
Read the rest of this entry »