Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tawlet Souk el Tayeb

OK, so I finally found a restaurant that resembles ME. I'm so pleased. It was wonderful! Bravo Kamal, you have done it once again. First, I love the fact that no soft drinks are available. The only drinks (which are natural) include Arak, lemonade, Lebanese beer, and coffee and tea - no poison! The buffet consisted of a meal prepared by our dear Oum Ali (Mona) from Majdal Zoun. Oum Ali makes delicious manankish on Saturday at the Souk in Saifi village on Saturday morning and at the Slow Food Earth Market on Tuesday in Hamra. It consisted of Moghrabieh, Kebbeh Nayeh Jnoubieh, Kebbet Banadoura, Mhamaret Djej, Mjadara Hamra, Hommos, Makanek, Tabbouleh, Mixed Salad, and Yakhnet Batata. It was delicious. The Moghrabieh was made by hand, not formed into small balls, but resembling a dish of burghul with a thick and mushy consistency. Desserts included: Brioche, Arisheh w Assal, Ashtalieh, and a cake from Canelle. I was so taken by our meeting with Cathy and Maria, crying all through our talks, that I forgot to take photos. Something magical happened that day with all of us! I think a great product will come out of this meeting. Regardless, I intend to come back and photograph all. Price wise: the buffet is for $25 or one can have a dish of Moghrabieh w salad for $10. It's very fair, given the amount of food you are eating. Opening hours are 9am to 6pm. To reserve a table call 961 1448129. The address is Naher Street, Chalhoub Bldg. Ground floor, facing Spoiler Center, dead end at the corner of Anthurium flower shop. See you there!

Time Out Magazine, Issue no. 14
The social worker and chef has become known in the community for his continuous efforts towards making 'eating well' attainable for all - Mouzawak has worked hard to foster an appreciation for small producers in villages across the nation.


Today, Mouzawak has at last finished building a stage to help expose the skills of those often seen as mere labourers - he calls it the K Workshop. 'It bothers me to see the general public regard these major contributors to our wellbeing as inferior. I strive against this view,' Mouzawak declares enthusiastically.


I agree with you completly Kamal, they should be put on a pedestal, as they are the bearer of the essentials of life - good food, good friends, and the simplicity to share it all... I shall be making them honor too soon in my Mouneh book... Can't wait!

In Divided Lebanon, Farmers' Market - a Model of Unity
By Jocelyne Zablit
Agence France-Presse

BEIRUT - On a parking lot in the heart of Beirut, Kamal Mouzawak has managed no small feat - uniting Lebanon's ever-divided religious communities around one common passion, food.

From Hussein Abu Mansour, from a Druze village in the southern Bekaa region, to Mona Al Dorr from a Shiite village near the Israeli border, to Sarkis and Lina Geryes from a Christian town in the north, all have joined to battle it out on the culinary rather than the political front.

They and several dozen other small-scale farmers and producers come twice a week with their baked specialties, preserves, vegetables, olive oil, fresh fruit juices and other products to Souk El Tayeb, Beirut's first farmers' market.

"We don't even acknowledge politics at the souk," said Mouzawak, a chef and television personality who launched Souk El Tayeb in 2004.

The 40-year-old entrepreneur who speaks passionately about his project was born into a family of farmers and his aim through the market is to perpetuate Lebanon's rich culinary tradition.

"Tradition, after all, is heritage," he said. "And there is no such thing as religious cuisine in Lebanon.”

"Whether Christian or Muslim, we all eat the same foods. The differences are more regional." The farmers at Souk El Tayeb want nothing to do with the political turmoil that has shaken their country in past years, pitting the different religious communities against each other.

Their interests revolve more around who can bake the best kebbeh, a traditional dish made of minced meat and burghul (crushed wheat), or come up with the tastiest tabbouleh, a parsley-based salad, or grow the most mouth-watering vegetables and fruits.

'Make food not war'

"It's a known fact that you can unite people through dialogue and that is what we have done here through food," said farmer Abu Mansour, 54, sporting the traditional baggy black pants worn by Druze men and a grey handlebar moustache.

For Rima Masood, 42, the market has been a blessing, allowing her to send her seven-year-old daughter to private school and to plan ahead.

"It has changed my life," said the mother of three on a recent Saturday as she baked manoucheh - a flatbread topped with a thyme mix - over a wood-fired spherical metal dome. "My family used to grow peaches and sell them in the summer and we would borrow money to make it through the winter.

"Now I can even think of renovating my house and buy things." Shoppers at Souk El Tayeb find an amazing variety of high-quality products ranging from organic vegetables and fruits to honey, marzipan, cheeses, laurel soap and bread. The stalls are also laden with mouneh - traditionally preserved foods for the winter.

Mouzawak has also endeavoured to revive grandma's recipes, including fassolia hammaniyeh, a bean dish from the northeast village of Hammana, thistle-based dishes from the Shouf region, and mwaraka, a baklava-like pastry, in a bid to preserve the country's culinary heritage.

The market, which caters to well-heeled Beirutis, has met with such success that Mouzawak in the last three years has taken his show on the road, organising themed food festivals around the country.

A restaurant - Tawlet Souk El Tayeb - will also soon open its doors, featuring meals prepared daily by different cooks who will each bring to the table a regional specialty.

"I am most proud when I hear a farmer say that the souk has changed their life," said Mouzawak, who refused to shut down the market during the 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel or through the political turmoil of recent years.

"Our basic message is 'make food not war'." Ahmed Khodr Hussein, a Sunni farmer from the region of Akkar in northern Lebanon, couldn't agree more.

"I earn my living every Saturday and Wednesday at the souk," said the 53-year-old father of 15 who is known as Abu Rabii.

"You have more than 47 families who live off this market, united under one roof," he added. "If only the entire country was like that."


16 August 2009


Friday, November 20, 2009

Receiving my Organic Vegetables

Like a package in the mail, a man rang my doorbell and delivered two large cartons of fruits and vegetables to our house. I was so excited! Everything seemed fine. The fruits and vegetables looked smaller, the shapes were uneven, but the quality is surely much different. I got 3 kilos of eggplants, beautiful! They are not huge, just finely elongated to make a perfect Italian dish derived from Italy's southern regions, Parmigiana di melanzane. This dish is made of baked eggplants with tomato sauce, covered with mozzarella cheese. The question is, can a family of 5 live on organic fruits and vegetables all through the winter? I'm certainly willing to give it a try. Oh, I did get 2 or 3 bad apples, so I'm going to cut them in half, use the best parts and bake a cake tonight! Can't let one single morsel go to waste!

Today I' m going with my dear friend Cathy Sultan, writer of a few wonderful books: A Beirut Heart - One Woman's War, Tragedy in South Lebanon - The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006, and Israeli and Palestinian Voices to eat lunch at Tawlet Souk el Tayeb. Today, perhaps will be a historical day for a new project to take form - and I would have had something to do with it's birth... how exciting!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

2012 - The Movie

For those who have not seen 2012, GO SEE IT! OK it's a Hollywood movie, a la Hollywood. But what a movie, the message is very important. We (humans) have destroyed our planet, the consequences are devastating! It is sort of a remake of Noah's ark, but with amazing side effects. It touched me a lot (I cried many times), yet it made realize how every day how we (humans) are destroying everything that should be left untouched. We are the only species doing such a great job at destroying what Mother Nature has implanted. Do you see animals carrying on this way? And yet we do everything to destroy them too...

In Lebanon, we are building apartment buildings EVERYWHERE. Trees are disappearing. Farmers are working to get the most profit from their land because the government does nothing to help them. We are polluting with our cars (I am too), our electrical generators (every building has one or two) . This is just to name just a few of the many wrongs. I could write a book about it. Where are we heading? Are future generations going to pay the price? Or are we because the consequences are really just around the corner. May God forgive us for what we've done to our planet, and what we have done to our beautiful country!

Go see the movie, it might change your lifestyle just a little ...

Monday, November 16, 2009

Going Organic in Lebanon - Different Ways:




Looking for an organic solution is not always easy in Lebanon, but it is possible! I know a lot of you don't have the time to go and buy your fruits and vegetables. Some of you love to pick each fruit and each vegetable individually, and some of you just prefer to buy everything on-line. It's a choice, it's personal and here is what I found for each and everyone of you:

To buy your fruit and vegetables at a farmer's market where (most) producers are certified organic go to:

1. Souk el Tayeb - Saturday at Saifi Village from 8 am-2 pm ; Weds. at ABC Mall from 3 pm-10 pm. I suggest you go early, as all the vegetables disappear at 11.

2. Souk el Ard - Tuesday at Hamra from 8 am-2 pm at the Bread alleyway.

To buy your fruits and vegetables online from a reliable source go to:

1. Bioboxlb.com - I ordered my list today and waiting for it to come on Thursday, I'll let you know. I will go and visit the owner of the company Mr. Charbel Rizk next week to learn all about his products.

2. Healthy Basket - a project by AUB ; google it!

To go to a shop and pick vegetables, fruits, and other products dealing with the Lebanese "terroir" go to:

1. Al Marej - Ashrafieh - Abdel Wahab El Ingizi - 01-210211 opened 8:30 am - 7:00 pm; for more details check them out on Facebook at Al Marej Organic Food Store.

2. Earth Market - Ashrafieh - Zahret el Ihsan Street - 01-219920 ; very cozy - like taking a culinary trip all over the world in the world of organic foods.


I hope this helps to get you to go organic! I know I am, I love my children too much ... Can't imagine poisons in their bodies ... what have we done, shame on those who are not ethical ...

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Celebrating Eating Locally

"Preparations are underway for the worldwide celebration of Slow Food’s 20th anniversary and ‘Eating Locally’ on Terra Madre Day this December 10. With just over a month until the big day, people from all corners of the world are planning a wide range of actitivites and events which will be as diverse and unique as the communities holding them - from a shared dinner under an elephant at the Tolouse Natural history museum in France, to a community folk festival in Bangladesh, and a fish canning party in the USA.

In Africa, the Slow Food Mukono convivium in Uganda is bringing together their members with school children, producers, consumers, teachers, parents, and local leaders, for a huge Eat-In - a shared meal of dishes made from local ingredients to represent the nation’s different food traditions. In Kenya, the Nyanza convivium is establishing a garden for indigenous crops and seed saving while the Central Rift convivium is linking artisan chefs with artisan farmers. In Cuba, the Las Terrazas food community is running a full-day program: planting of food trees with children from a local pre-school, a lunch for local farmers prepared by students from the “Cocina Ecologica” association, a community tasting of local juices and foods and a film screening. Meanwhile, in Australia Slow Food Sunshine Coast is inviting everyone to follow the 'Snail Trail' through the region, where they will be able to sample local ingredients and meet producers, as well as attend several Eat-Ins in parks." - from the official Slow food website.

Today I have a meeting with Slow Food founding members to decide on the Lebanese Event, I shall keep you posted!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Photo Exhibition at Green Party Lebanon


Now for a lighter subject, 25 of my photos have been chosen to make a photo exhibition at The Green Party Lebanon. If you are interested to see the exhibition, it is situated at Natour Bldg. 3rd Floor, Maaraad Street - Downtown Beirut. I'd like to thank Mr. Pierre Bared, author of Made in Lebanon, for making this possible.

State of Emergency Over Poisoned Produce


I don't know about you, but I'm really worried about this issue. How long have we been eating these poisoned fruits and vegetables. I read that this is causing cancer in the long run. I'm really afraid for us - the Lebanese - our families, our friends... Shame on those who are not doing a thing about this, this is a disaster!


MP Qabbani urges state of emergency over poisoned produce

Daily Star staff
Monday, November 09, 2009


BEIRUT: The Agriculture Ministry should declare a state of food emergency, said Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani Sunday, following growing concern about poisoned fruits and vegetables in the local market.

Qabbani condemned the chaotic situation in Lebanon and accused the government and the country’s authorities of negligence in supervising agricultural products, calling the phenomenon a “mass” crime. Qabbani urged the judiciary and state supervisory bodies to intervene in the matter in order to determine who was responsible for the negligence and to punish them. “Those who collaborated in this affair with full knowledge of its dangers should be accused for being partners in a murder,” he said.

The MP also called on the authorities to immediately pass a food-safety draft law that was authored in 2003 and urged civil society to put pressure on politicians. He urged the organization Consumers Lebanon to step in and oversee the agricultural product sector.

“Stop your indifference and act. The danger not only threatens your neighbors it also threatens your life and the lives of your families,” he added, addressing the public.

But, head of the Association of the Farmers of the South, Hani Safieddine, asked politicians and officials not to exaggerate the matter and to deal with it in “a scientific and objective way.” Safieddine made the remarks at a news conference in Tyre on Sunday. “The random manner in which the case is being handled harms Lebanon’s agricultural reputation,” he said.

Safieddine added that the association was conducting tests to verify whether or not poisonous substances were present in food products and confirmed that no such substances were found so far in the south. He also called on the government to provide experts to handle the case.


Safieddine also said that the association would present a gentlemen’s agreement that would oblige farmers to abide by international agricultural standards.

Several figures had previously cast light on this issue. Zouhair Berro, the head of the Consumers’ Protection Association, said on Friday that the government should declare a state of emergency over the matter, criticizing official negligence in the agricultural sector and demanding that officials publicize information about the proper use of pesticides.

He said that illegal pesticides were being used in spraying fruits and vegetables. “Some of these chemicals are banned internationally but they are being smuggled to Lebanon and used by farmers,” Berro said adding that poisonous chemicals were found not only in Lebanese products but also in imported goods. “Strawberry samples coming from four Arab countries were tested and they contain pesticides residues of around 46 times more than the average approved internationally.”

Beirut MP Atef Majdalani, a physician, has also voiced his concern about poisoned fruits and vegetables, demanding that the food safety draft law be passed. The law was presented in 2003 but its ratification was suspended because of a fight over jurisdiction, Majdalani said last week. – The Daily Star



more....


Politicians' squabbles lead to poisonous produce

Daily Star staff
Friday, November 06, 2009

BEIRUT: Toxic substances could be present in fruit and vegetables and Lebanon should revive the food-safety law of 2003, warned MP Atef Majdalani on Thursday. Majdalani issued a statement in which he voiced his concern that all Lebanese were in danger of poisoning from fruit and vegetables due to the government’s neglect. He called for reopening the file of the food safety draft law presented in 2003 by late Minister Bassil Fleihan. The statement added that the draft law aimed at monitoring food in the country in order to guarantee people’s health. It however said that parliamentary discussions concerning the law were halted after the agriculture minister and the industry minister at the time refused it, claiming it deprived the ministries of their authorities. “The Lebanese are paying the price of fights over authorities … today we are witnessing ministries claiming they are not responsible and transferring responsibility to other ministries,” the statement also said. – The Daily Star


in L'orient le Jour today:


Les pesticides au Liban, un fiasco agricole et économique

Par Dalal MEDAWAR | 10/11/2009

L’accumulation dans le foie et le rein de matières toxiques contenues dans certains pesticides utilisés au Liban peut provoquer un cancer à long terme.
L’accumulation dans le foie et le rein de matières toxiques contenues dans certains pesticides utilisés au Liban peut provoquer un cancer à long terme.
Liban - Agriculture Le secteur de l'agriculture risque de souffrir des retombées économiques du scandale des fruits et légumes dits cancérigènes car contenant des résidus de produits chimiques.

Le ministre sortant de l'Environnement, Antoine Karam, a récemment dénoncé l'usage « arbitraire » des pesticides par les agriculteurs. En effet, les taux de pesticides contenus dans presque la moitié de notre production nationale de fruits et légumes sont anormalement élevés. Ils seraient potentiellement responsables à long terme de maladies cancérigènes.
Au cours d'un entretien avec la publication électronique al-Nashra, M. Karam a déclaré que « 40 % en moyenne des cultures » étaient touchées par ce problème, avec une proportion de produits agricoles souillés variant d'une région à l'autre. Malheureusement, alors que la majorité des ministères concernés se lancent la pierre à tour de bras, un secteur en particulier devrait faire les frais de cette débâcle : l'agriculture libanaise et, à travers elle, l'économie dans son ensemble. Comme d'habitude.

Un phénomène de masse
Le problème est qu'au-delà de celui, très grave, qui nous touche directement en tant que consommateurs, les chiffres cités par Antoine Karam touchent de près le secteur agricole dans son intégralité.
Une étude parue en 2004 et intitulée « Les filières fruits et légumes frais au Liban : structures, fonctionnement et perspectives » a été réalisée par Jean-Claude Montigaud pour l'Union européenne, l'ambassade de France, l'Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture (FAO) ainsi que le gouvernement libanais. Selon cette étude, le Liban a produit plus de deux millions de tonnes de fruits et légumes en 2001, constituant 3,5 % du produit intérieur brut (PIB) ou presque 600 millions de dollars. Si 40 % des cultures sont effectivement touchées par la crise des pesticides, les dégâts risquent de ce fait d'être graves, notamment au niveau des exportations.
Plus en détail, et toujours d'après Antoine Karam, 40 % des fraises, 32 % des oranges, 30 % des tomates, 49 % des concombres, 14 % des citrons, 33 % des prunes et 100 % des courgettes contiendraient des résidus de pesticides, nocifs en théorie et donc impropres à la consommation car « le lavage n'élimine pas les pesticides et les maladies n'apparaissent qu'après des années ».
En se basant sur les statistiques de 2001 citées dans l'étude de J-C Montigaud concernant la production agricole libanaise, cela voudrait dire qu'environ 12 000 tonnes de fraises, 100 000 tonnes de concombres, ou encore 11 000 tonnes de prunes seraient affectées par la présence de pesticides.
En ce qui concerne les exportations, un rapport paru en 2006 du ministère de l'Agriculture indique que 400 019 tonnes de fruits et légumes ont été exportées au cours de l'année, dont 58 804 tonnes d'oranges et plus de 16 000 tonnes de citrons. Les tomates ont quant à elles représenté en 2002 une production de 273 000 tonnes, avec 6 500 tonnes d'exportées. La perte sèche occasionnée par un refoulement potentiel de ces produits aux frontières des pays importateurs, notamment les pays du Golfe, s'évaluerait alors à des millions de dollars.

Pourquoi, comment, solutions ?
Le problème ne date pas d'hier. Cela fait des années que plusieurs autres organisations non gouvernementales dénoncent les pratiques agricoles illégales en vigueur dans l'ensemble du pays. Plusieurs décrets ont pourtant été votés pour réguler l'utilisation des pesticides et fongicides (la liste complète est disponible sur le site du ministère de l'Agriculture), mais le scandale récent lié à leur usage immodéré semble démontrer que ces mesures n'ont apparemment pas été appliquées, ou respectées par les agriculteurs.
M. Élia Choueiri, de l'Institut de recherches agricoles libanais (IRAL), a déclaré à L'Orient-le Jour que les pesticides représentaient un réel danger : « L'accumulation des matières toxiques dans le foie ou les reins peut provoquer un cancer à long terme. De plus, les enfants en bas âge sont beaucoup plus fragiles et donc susceptibles d'être gravement touchés par les effets nocifs des pesticides. Les cultures annuelles, comme la culture maraîchère et les cultures sous serre, notamment les concombres, les fraises et les tomates sont parmi les plus dangereuses à la consommation, si polluées. En effet, la chaleur élevée en serre favorise la multiplication des maladies et des insectes nuisibles, d'où une utilisation abusive de pesticides. Souvent, les agriculteurs ne respectent pas les délais d'attente obligatoires. J'ai moi-même vu certains d'entre eux récolter les fruits 48 heures après les avoir arrosés de matières chimiques toxiques. » Alors, quelles sont les solutions ?
Pour M. Choueiri, les solutions sont évidentes : une meilleure coordination entre les différents ministères et services, une législation claire, appliquée sur l'ensemble du territoire, un contrôle strict des produits agricoles, des ateliers de formation mis en place pour et par les agriculteurs, des séminaires de vulgarisation, de meilleures normes de stockage et d'hygiène au niveau des pesticides qui sont souvent très inflammables et de leur date de péremption... « Le problème réside surtout dans l'anarchie totale en vigueur dans ce pays. Les agriculteurs vont consulter n'importe quel charlatan qui a ouvert boutique au village, lequel en contrepartie leur revend des produits dangereux et surtout interdits à la vente, tel ce fongicide interdit en Europe depuis 2008 et que j'ai vu circuler librement au Liban. »
Il est néanmoins trop facile d'accuser l'agriculteur lambda d'irresponsabilité : le ministre sortant de l'Agriculture Élie Skaff, déclarait pourtant hier que l'agriculteur libanais était « le premier responsable de la violation des normes internationales dans l'utilisation des pesticides ». Certains exploitants ayant connaissance de cause sont effectivement plus que coupables.
Néanmoins, au vu de la crise de l'agriculture au Liban et la difficulté de certains producteurs à écouler leur marchandise en raison de la concurrence des pays voisins, peut-être serait-il plus judicieux de poursuivre une politique de coordination, d'information, de formation et de subventions au lieu de stigmatiser.

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