Mezze: A Labor of Love

The cover of Mezze: A Labor of Love

The new baby is finally out! Delivery was not painful... It has been smooth sailing all along thanks to the team I work with. I'm very grateful for the dedication and hard work. Pascale Hares you did a fine job illustrating my book, you were able to capture what is inside my BRAIN. Scary! Dots, my printing partner makes the dream a reality always... Jill Boutros watches over my writing like a hawk. The list is long, I have written all in the book.

Why a book about Mezze?

Mezze is an obvious choice. It often defines our Lebanese cuisine all over the world and is definitely something to boast about. Julie Andrieu, a French TV host who has traveled all over the world in her famous show "Fourchette et sac a dos" claims that the Lebanese mezze was one of the most interesting food experience she encountered while traveling over 80 countries. It's impressing! But we knew that!

On the 28th of November, at Falamanki in Beirut, we are launching Mezze: A Labor of Love. I want to thank Al Wadi al Akhdar for their support and encouragement to make this project possible. Falamanki has always showed support in my work and my soul lies in their cute "Dekeneh" with all those wonderful village products and artifacts.

There's over +70 recipes with beautiful illustrations. The book will be sold for 35 USD.

I hope that the launching will be success, in spite of the political instability and economical crisis and everything else going on.... God help Lebanon and neighboring countries, spare us from more bloodshed and suffering.

Peace. Let's create beautiful and positive things while we live on this earth.

Here are some exerts:

The Vegetable Basket

Kebbeh Nayeh

Beef Tongue

Chefs of Lebanon, Slow Food Beirut NEEDS YOU!!!

Come join us at the Cooking Festival

I'll let you in on a little secret, I've always wanted to meet all the chefs of Lebanon. Why? because I cherish these men and women who dedicate their lives to feeding others (make sense?)...

I am now heading the Slow Food Beirut Convivia, slowly but surely with the help of a few volunteers. Hopefully this year, if the political situation remains more or less stable (meaning bombs don't fall on our heads), then Slow Food Beirut will host each month an event dealing with food and the people who make it happen...

Our first initiation is at the 2013 Cooking Fair! The good people who also organize Horeca have made this festival a yearly event. It is growing from year to year and people seem to get interested. Last  year I made bread for good folks to show them that it's really not such a big deal. This year because of my new status, I want to focus on spreading the good word of Slow Food.

The talk I am preparing for the festival will introduce chefs and others to the philosophy of Slow Food. That said, we will get memberships and discuss new year strategies. I would like to get each chef involved in an event and try to bring them closer to a farmer, a small scale producer, an artisan. Is it so hard? It might be because knowing the restaurant business (I've had my share), consistency is important. We, as Slow Food Beirut, have to build this trust and create a strong link and relationship.

Tony Ramy, who is quite famous in the Syndicate of Restaurants in Lebanon pointed out to me an example which I will use during my talk. Once he was on an outing in a restaurant with his family in a local village restaurant near St. Charbel... He discovered that all the food he was eating was imported including the potatoes, the meat, even some of the pickles, ... He felt cheated and very frustrated. What has become of our heritage, of our pride goods, of our culinary past???

I suggest we all get our acts together and work on safeguarding our culinary traditions, here and now. (Before IT IS TOO LATE!!!!)...

Hope to see many of you there!

The Fisherman and the Businessman Sense

I met someone recently who told me about this charming story, it seems so obvious and yet most of us are so blind. Personally I believe in the fisherman's philosophy. Society makes us, almost forces us to become slaves of money... soon later, we loose ourselves. I've never been in love with money, it has never made me a freer person. I'm content with rich experiences more than worldly goods.

And as I get a little older and hopefully wiser I think "less is better".

Thank you Donald for sharing your story...

The Fisherman and the Businessman - a classic Brazilian story.
Pritesh Kalantri

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite a few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” The fisherman replied, “Oh, just a short while.”
“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” The businessman was astonished.
“This is enough to feed my whole family,” the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”
The fisherman replied, “Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night.”

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman. “I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.”

The fisherman continues, “And after that?”
The businessman laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.”
The fisherman asks, “And after that?”
The businessman says, “After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!”
The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

Man'oushe in the USA

After so many years of yearning to have Man'oushe in the USA, the dream is finally becoming a reality
(November 2013). To all my US friends, please make sure you get a copy. This could be an awesome holiday gift for your loved ones! Help me and others perpetuate our rich culinary heritage around the world!

Edition 2013 Interlink Publishers

The Messenger

Today I received this message from Kathy Freston's daily quotes / recipes. I want to share this with you my readers because I've had messengers in my life who have showed me the way a few times... because I was receptive to their message too...I want to thank them.

The Messenger (Kathy Freston)

Every once in a while you come upon someone who says that exact thing that changes the course of your life forever. You don’t know why you listen, or shift, at that moment but you do. It’s something about that person that has you in awe; perhaps it’s an inner strength or conviction you feel in their body language, or maybe it’s a light in their eyes that speaks of a courage you want for yourself. That person you happen to meet or hear or see is the messenger you needed to show you your next step. (This is unbeknownst and unplanned on their part). That person may stay for a while or disappear as quickly as they happened on your path, but if you’re wise, you’ll receive what’s offered. You’ll know this is happening when your imagination gets fired up, when the energy moving through you feels clear and good and creative. You’ll know it’s happening when your mind is suddenly expansive and ideas and meaning begin to flow effortlessly through you. There’s no need to attach yourself to this person, but inwardly thank them for bringing you to your next step. You were ready. You called for it.

Do What you Can

photo found in Pinterest

To build or not to build in a country that feels like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt...

I asked my friend and business consultant about this.

He said, "If you are not convinced leave the country forever.  If it's not someone like you who will build in Lebanon— who will?"

That said, I write these words with Israeli planes flying over our heads on a daily basis.

I choose to continue building, until further escalations... day by day...

Trust that little voice that tells you: "It can work, you have to try"

Becoming a Vegetarian... Becoming a Vegan

I woke up early this morning. It's Sunday ... The man who brings me my brown bread for the children's weekly sandwiches can only come on Sunday morning at 8:00!!! It's hard but what can I do? For now, and for years, this has been my only choice. I do bake bread at home but it's not enough to feed the children the whole week. I take bread very seriously and bread coming from the Bekaa Valley made with wholesome ingredients produced for a good cause (to help needy children) is definitely worthwhile.

So folks, I've decided to become a vegetarian. It's been two weeks that I have not eaten meat or chicken. I feel good about this choice. I have more energy and I feel better as a person.

Looking into the matter carefully. I searched the internet to see the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan.

Here is what I found:

The difference between a vegan and a vegetarian is that vegans eliminate all animal products from their diet, including dairy and eggs. (It will come, I'm sure!)

Those following a vegan lifestyle generally do not wear leather and avoid products made from animals such as wool, silk and down. Vegans' tremendous compassion for animals is an abiding, overriding conviction in their lives. (I never wear leather, and have been sensitive to this issue for a long time).

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish or poultry but they tend to consume dairy products and eggs. Lacto-vegetarians consume dairy products but not eggs, ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy products and lacto-ovo-vegetarians eat eggs as well as dairy products. Vegetarians also do not eat products that contain gelatine or other meat-based products.

The vegan point of view is that animals are not here to be exploited by man, and that commercialization of animals necessarily involves a fundamental, inhumane component and lack of respect for basic life.

From a nutrition standpoint, the only difference is that vegans need to take a B12 and amino acid supplement, since they have no dietary source of these nutrients. You can get all the nutrients you need on a lacto-ovo (eggs and milk) vegetarian diet without supplements.

Luckily for me, the Lebanese diet is very vegetarian. In fact, I can eat almost everything without meat, except of course kebbeh made with meat. Vegetarian kebbeh substitutes are as flavorful.

I'm convinced for the animals,  for the planet, for my health, always knew it would made perfect sense...

I read a book which just made everything so right ( Kathy Freston's, Veganist).

It's an important book, everyone should read it.

Lebanese cow in spring....she's a vegetarian and look how strong she looks!

To recap:

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. Vegans do not consume meat, eggs, milk or any food that is derived from animals.

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes meat (including game and slaughter by-products; fish, shellfish and other sea animals; and poultry). There are several variants of the diet, some of which also exclude eggs. Vegetarians do not eat meat or fish. Some do consume dairy and some vegetarians consume eggs. Lacto-vegetarian: eating dairy products. Ovo-vegetarian: eating eggs. Do not eat gelatin or other animal by products.

Wish me luck on my new diet, a diet for life full of empathy for my fellow friends (animal kingdom) for I know that they feel everything and understand all...

It takes one person at a time to make a difference.

Thank you God for showing me the way...

Thank you mom for leading me there with your books and food philosophy.