Man'oushe's New Look

The book Man'oushe is going to be published very soon in the US, on the 15th of April to be precise.

About Soup

"It breathes reassurance, it offers consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability...There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup..." The Soup Book, Louis Degory.

Growing up, I would always tell my parents that soup warms my heart. I still believe that. Now I love to make peasant soups with beans and fresh vegetables, sometimes adding pieces of meat to make a rich stock. As you grow older and wiser, your soups reflect your wisdom.

"Soup is good food", a brilliant advertising slogan done for Campbell Soup ages ago. Too bad the content inside the cans don't reflect the slogan.

Pinterest

 When I invite people to my house, I always start with a bowl of soup (rain or shine). I remember once a guest who retorted, "soup in summer!", I bluntly blurted out in Arabic, "if it doesn't please you, just leave!". You can guess my diplomacy level (quite low). Anyway, the guest in question turned out to be very kind and appreciated the soup finally.

I will finish my thought on soup with this: " To invite a person into your house is to take charge of his happiness for as long as he is under your roof". A. Brillat-Savarin

 So true... so true...

Found in Pinterest

Conosci Il Tuo Pasto Guide 2013

Just received my copy, check it out! Lebanese restaurants and producers are included.

My friend Veronica is a passionate person about food who is working on this project, she sent me this piece of information that I wanted to share with you all... We often joke to each other that she is the Italian Barbara and that I am the Lebanese Veronica... One thing for sure we love FOOD!

Restaurants & Food, Conosci il tuo pasto the Guide 2013

Completely free, online and optimised for I-Phone, available both in Italian and English. On the blog www.conosciiltuopasto.it has just been published the third edition of the Guide Conosci il tuo pasto “Restaurants & Food 2013”, a guide to quality Mediterranean, certified and guarantee restaurants and food.

In the Guide is possible to find all those restaurants that reached the Cockerels and the Green Leaves for the year 2013 thanks to the ingredients of their menus: organic and local products, Slow Food presidia, Geographical Indications and products from the Fair Trade Commerce, and also a selection of new restaurants directly nominated by the public and candidate for the certification. More than this: all the addresses of the ice creams parlours certified by IMC – Istituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione and of all the certified shops wherein is possible to buy organic, quality and local products.

“This year we decided to refresh the Guide concept to consent a faster consultation and to make it available for I Phone so that it would be at one’s fingertips all the time, even while travelling. We created a wider map; in fact, besides all the certified restaurants of the circuit Conosci il tuo pasto, ice cream parlours where to taste an organic ice cream and shops for those who like to buy organic and local products will be included – affirmed Veronica Pecorella, Guide and blog editor – Nowadays people are getting more and more careful and conscious: consolidating a circuit connected by a guarantee system, by a manifesto that expresses the idea of a new restaurant industry that should restart from agriculture and from a common willing to promote the territory is the real heart of Conosci il tuo pasto project. A project in which PARTICIPATION is the keyword and consumers, either adults or kids, comments are fundamental. I leave you with my best wishes, hoping that during these coming holidays we all would give to ourselves the possibilities of tasting and sustainable moments in the restaurants with the cockerels!”

Support Local Farmers

The message is simple, eat food that is grown locally. Meet the person who grows your fruit and vegetables. Create a direct link between the one who is in touch with the earth to feed your mouth. Got it? I love this drawing.

Hospitality News Cover Dec 2012

I love this photo and I am really proud to be amongst these great folks. May God always give me the strength to continue to seek out the best of our culinary heritage. May all these chefs continue their paths in a dignified and honorific manner to make us proud to be Lebanese. My message to them, don't try to imitate the rest of the world, but on the contrary impose your traditions and food culture to the rest of  world. We have so much to be proud of... Merry Christmas to all...

Sara Dickerman's on Mouneh

Sara Dickerman @saradickerman

my@WeekdayKUOW cookbook rec: Mouneh by @BarbaraMassaad. gorgeous food traditions from Lebanon, but useful for NW produce too!

Sara Dickerman is a former restaurant cook and an award-winning food writer based in Seattle. Her work can be found in publications like Slate, Saveur, The New York Times, and this site.

Start at minute 48:00 to listen to Sara Dickerman speak of Mamnoon restaurant in Seattle where I worked as a food consultant this summer and my book Mouneh.

Yeah!

Beirut Manifesto

For those who wrote this (Scene) , I want to say "Thank you!"