IMC at Biofach 2013

I wish I was going...

IMC at Biofach 2013

The annual appointment at Biofach gets renewed, the international exposition of organic products that is going to be held from 13th February to 16th February in Nuremberg, Germany.
IMC will participate in the fair with an info stand in which IMC will present its certification services for agriculture, aquaculture, agro food and restaurants.
 

At the IMC stand it will be also possible to meet certified companies and find the best products of the Italian and Mediterranean culinary tradition.

IMC will also present to the press and visitors Conosci il tuo pasto Restaurants & Food 2013, the first circuit of certified restaurants in Italy and Lebanon that promotes organic, bio-dynamic, and local products, fair trade commerce and quality Mediterranean agriculture. The Guide is available online in an English and Italian version on the blog www.conosciiltuopasto.it. On the guide are also indicated the certified organic shops and the ice cream parlors where to find an organic ice cream.
 

Visit us at the Hall 4 Stand 316!!


The illustrated catalogue of the companies that participate at the Biofach 2013 (here)


read all at ww.imcert.it 

Veronica and I (she's going!)

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Vintage Gas Station

Thanks Cherine! Love this place, my blog... my world.

Mike Massy - مايك ماسي "Ghayyer Lawn Ouyounak" - غير لون عيونك

I love Mike Massy's voice and his songs are really lovely. I listen to them all the time. Once I saw him at Virgin Megastore, I practically jumped on him to kiss him. I think I scared the heck out of him. Of course, he didn't know who I was, I simply took it for granted that he knew I was listening to him. Crazy! Anyway, listen to his songs - they will bring you back to a time, somewhere nice. Keep going Mike!

Mamnoon's Heavenly Hospitality

Mamnoon's sweeping, clean-lined room minimally furnished with track lighting, black tables, black chairs and a freestanding black wall between the dining area and kitchen has a jangly disco energy. But if you're going out with a group or craving more vivid flavors, Mamnoon's the better restaurant. Hannah Raskin.

 
Read the review of Mamnoon in the Seattle Weekly by Hannah Raskin. You can watch the slide show of the food and location too. It's amazing really how a dream became a reality. So proud to have been part of the building block. The Harouns and Chef Garrett really worked hard to make the food taste great and look authentic. The design of the place is modern with a sense of Middle Eastern roots. Very classy! Now there is a whole team working hard to make the food scene happen every night. If only Seattle was not so far away! I'm dying to go and see it live. Yalla soon...

Ma'noushe isn't as familiar to American eaters as hummus or falafel, so Mamnoon's trying to stoke the preparation's local reputation by serving it at dinnertime, neatly rolled and quartered. (Other concessions to western expectations include ma'amoul, customarily a filled blimp of a cookie, remade as a tart.) Ma'noushe is very much a street snack, so the tactic is tantamount to putting croque monsieurs on a menu dominated by duck a l'orange and sole meuniere. But the restaurant is hereby permitted to do whatever it takes to sell more of its wonderfully satisfying man'oushe at its glassed-in takeout counter, which occupies the front half of the restaurant. Hannah Raskin

Exectuive chef Garrett Melkonian platting up the Kebab. Hannah Raskin

Radio Open Source with Christopher Lydon

Listen to this radio interview with Christopher Lydon on Radio Open Source with Mark Rendeiro.

Here is an introduction he wrote .... "So, what if man’oushé, lentil soup and good music are the basic program?" I love that Christopher... You read my mind.


BEIRUT — Barbara Massaad, writer and chef, in her kitchen, is telling us a terrific story about the all-conquering cult of food in Lebanon. And I am asking her: no kidding, what if we demanded that cooks and musicians run this ugly world, starting here in Beirut and, by all means, next door in Syria.

When you talk about food to a Lebanese, you bring them back to their childhood with a big smile. Once I was in Nabatiyeh, deep in the south of Lebanon, and I was taking pictures of a sign that said “Garlic” or something. And this guy from Hezbollah comes up to me and starts screaming! Like, ‘Yaaaah! You’re not allowed to photograph that! What do you think you’re doing?’ And I said: Look, food! This is what I am doing. And I started showing him my book on Man’oushé — about local varieties of ‘thyme pie’ in Lebanon. And suddenly this ferocious guy became like a little boy. ‘Aaah,’ he said, ‘you’ve got to come and visit my mom. She makes the best food in the world.’ And then it was like: ‘I promise I will come back and visit your mom.’ And he said: ‘take as many pictures as you want. I’m really sorry.’ This is the effect that food has on Lebanese people. It’s a maternal thing. It’s childhood. It’s the root of everything.

Barbara Abdeni Massaad in conversation with Chris Lydon and Mark Rendeiro in Beirut, December 2012.

At the ragged edge of the Arab upheaval, Beirut is enjoying yet another construction boom. Gracious old Ottoman-era houses are disappearing fast near the ever-bustling Hamra Street. New luxury apartments are sprouting up next to shot-up shells of 1960s hotels, described as too big to tear down, too damaged to repair…

Talking about food is, of course, a way of not talking about everything else on Lebanon’s mind. Thousands of refugees are turning up from Syria. There’s a palpable dread that Syria’s civil war could run as long as Lebanon’s (1975 to 1990). And there’s a real danger that Lebanon’s politics — aligned for and against the Assad regime in Damascus — could go haywire again. Then again, food talk reflects and connects with everything else — village cheeses match local and tribal loyalties in this dense mosaic of minorities.

Barbara Massaad has published two handsome books of slow-food lore, both rich with social implications. Mouneh is the old Lebanese folk science of preserving food — drying and pickling, for example — to survive war and other disasters. Man’oushé used to be every Lebanese person’s daily bread, in infinite local varieties, dressed with onions, olives, tomatoes, spiced with zaatar, or not. Man’oushé is her dream remedy for almost everything that ails the Arab world. “It’s a poor man’s food, but you see the richest people eating it,” she is telling us. Man’oushé is the work of magnetic, gossipy local bakeries where, as in England’s “local” pubs, “you find out who’s going out with whom, what the president said, and what Hassan Nasrallah spoke about last night.” If she could summon the energy, Barbara Massaad says, she’d open a place with food for everyone. “It wouldn’t be that expensive — food for all walks of life. Something with lentils — but this divine lentil soup!”

TV Again...

Oum Ali mixes different flavors as the cheese is finished cooking

 I'm starting my culinary journey segments again on Helweh el Hayat on LBC again (3rd round) ... Yesterday, we visited Mona El Dorr (Oum Ali). We learned how to make cheese at home, simply using yogurt as a starter or lemon juice. She makes different variations flavored with red pepper paste, rosemary, freshly ground pepper, basil, and nigella seeds. We finished our shooting with a session of bread-baking on the saj while devouring hot cheese wraps. Awesome!

Oum Ali is a food producer who showcases her art at Souk el Tayeb and at the Slow Food Earth Market every week (rain or shine). She works a lot to make ends meet, raising 4 children with dignity, love and values. I admire her and love her food. One of my favorite place to be in life is next to her while she bakes bread. She has a way of handling the dough and making the bread which relaxes you completely. We have shared many food adventures together, along with her partner Nelly Chemaly both in Lebanon and abroad. They are the founder of a small-scale company called Earth & Co.

Here is a glimpse:

Coffee is so much better when you share it with a friend

Cooking bread the old fashion way

Fresh cheese at Oum Ali's

A Happy Customer

Every once in a while, I get a message through my website of a happy customer who writes about reading my books. Sometimes they come from far away lands, sometimes they are local readers. These messages touch me profoundly and make my work all worth while. I was especially touched last week by this particular message and asked the reader / customer if I could post it on my blog. She agreed and added more to her comment. Thanks Rudaina for taking the time to share your thoughts. I think she comes from the USA. Her words are very precious.

This is what she had to say:

"I have just ordered your 2 books and I cannot thank you enough. For many years , I have been interested in how to make our man'oushe and mouneh; but there were no resources and finally your book was a dream come true. I can see the tremendous effort and time it has taken to publish both of your books but it is worth every minute. In our region you rarely find books and resources that talk about the old fashion way of making things. Now and because of you , we have a remarkable book that has helped in preserving this nearly lost art. Your book not only shows Lebanese mouneh but the mouneh of neighboring countries like Syria,Jordan and Palestine since they are very similar in many things. It is also a friendly book that any housewife can understand and apply. You have taken great care for details and the pictures are so beautiful. To be honest,I only find Lebanese people to take the lead in many things and I hope you continue. Since both of your books are a gem I shall order another copy of each book . I only order 2 copies of a book when I see the book rare and hard to find. I look forward to other books you are going to publish. Do you have in mind publishing more books or a continuation of mouneh?"

I wrote her back and this is what she had to add:

"Oh yes you can use my message in any way you please but it won't be enough. Both of your books are fabulous. The Manoushe book I also had been looking for , for so many years. I always wondered how they made some foods that are sold on streets. Although the ingredients are all available in any house but when we –housewives- tried to make them , they had a different taste.You have written books about subjects that are rare and valuable. Not only have you shown us that but you also included beautiful pictures in your books that really capture the essence of the atmosphere and environment of the Lebanese and Middle Eastern culture. Every photo is so vivid and untouched. They are so powerful that they are capable of reflecting the actual lifestyle of the local people and by that it helps the reader feel what it is like to be in Lebanon and the Middle east without actually being there ( I say Lebanon and the Middle east meaning Jordan ,Syria and Palestine and even turkey especially the east part ) because they have lots of similarities in food and lifestyle). I have a friend who lives in Ohio and I am going to send her both of your books as a gift. She is close friend of mine who is interested in cooking and in the cultures of the world. Your books will be like 2 in 1 because they not only have recipes of a nearly lost art which thank to you, is revived again but she will also have a clear picture of our society and way of life in the rural parts of the land. When I do I shall write to you to tell you what she thinks about them. I am sure that I am going to love your next book, no doubt about that. I checked your blog and I saw that you have showed variations of hummus which I found very interesting and refreshing. You not only show the traditional way but other ways too and what is even more important is that they are delicious. I mean why have a variation of something if it is not going to yummy . It clear to everyone who reads your books that you have done lots of investigation, experimentation and documentation therefore it should be in the library of every culinary school and any organization that is interested in Heritage.Happy Cooking!"