Friday, February 4, 2011

My 50 kg Bag of Flour

Bread-making is an act of love
A week ago, I went to Crown Flour, one of the biggest distributor of flour in Lebanon. I have been toying with this idea for a long time and finally I have made up my mind. I am going to make bread at home! Bread is an essential part of my family's diet. I think for most of us, it is the quintessential food for school lunches of our children. A thought ran through my head for quite a while, "what is exactly going into this bread that we buy in the supermarket?" God knows. I've decided that I want to know exactly what goes into our bread. I love making bread. It makes me feel great. It's a maternal act—right from the heart. "Good bread needs more than just flour, water and milk. It requires nurture and care." wrote Edward Espe Brown in his famous book The Tassajara Bread Book. He also wrote, " I do not bake to be great. I bake because it is wholesome. I feel renewed, and I am renewing the world, my friends and neighbors. Most of us bake in this way." That is exactly how I feel about baking bread.

When I bought the 50 kg bag of flour, my children declared that their mom is crazy. They joked for half an hour about my excessive way of being. I was a bit sad that they could not understand that this was for their own benefit, as they were demanding fresh bread every day. Kids don't calculate the work or preparations it takes to accomplish such a task. Later, each one went in their rooms to study. My eldest daughter came to me an hour later stating that she liked the fact that I have bought this huge bag. She said it gave her a sense of comfort,  a safety net. She emphasized that it made me even "crazier" because the bag was stored next to me in my tiny office next to the kitchen.

Making bread is an art, but it is very much a passion too. It is not a true science where you mix ingredients and have precise results. It is of putting of one's heart and soul into this dough to make bread—the symbol of life. It is experimenting with yeast, flours, testing one's patience and many other factors.In winter especially, I love baking bread because it warms my kitchen with the temperature of the oven and the smell of homemade bread takes my breath away. It's comforting to know that you can create this type of ambiance in your own home to finally eat the fruit of your labor. Experimenting with different flavors and textures gives you the power to make your own piece of art, like painting. You can do this by adding different herbs to your bread. I add flavored olive oil to the dough to give it the right flavor according to my mood. The bread feels and knows if you are happy or sad... If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. 

I will stop writing now, for I'm going to work on my  olive bread. My father-in-law gave me olives in brine that he picked from his garden. I will take out the core and mix the olives in my dough. I will mix two types of flours to give a robust feel to my bread. I might add a tablespoon of olive oil to accentuate the taste of the olives. I will leave the dough to rest, tucked in carefully in my oven, away from drafts. Hours later, because it's so cold, I will place the dough on a tray to rise again according to the shape that I desire. I'm into a great big ball of bread these days. Once risen, I will cook the bread and enjoy it with my family. I think I will make pumpkin soup tonight too. I'm getting hungry!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

No Reservations - Special - Anthony Bourdain in Beirut (2/3)

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This is the continuation ...

No Reservations - Special - Anthony Bourdain in Beirut (1/3)



Anthony Bourdain came to Beirut for the first time in 2006, I need not say what happened then! Take a look.

Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations - Back to Beirut (2/3)



OK, so I'm a big fan of Anthony Bourdain (celebrity chef, world traveler, bestselling author, and host of The Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations ). I have read all his books, definitely a good read for those who have worked in a kitchen restaurant and who are nostalgic of the excess adrenaline that one gets in that environment. He depicts it like it is, crudely sometimes! My favorite remains Kitchen Confidential .My only disappointment is that I did not get to meet him while he was here. I can relate to what he is living and going through. I guess it was not part of our destiny YET! I think it's wonderful that he has a chance to make a living out of traveling around the world and telling his food stories on TV. I am presently doing it on LBC on a different level, guess it makes me lucky too... Hope to meet up with you one day, should our path cross through the channels of food.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Meet 2011 TED Prize Winner: JR



This is truly inspiring! + I love the photographer's voice, Frenchy! I wanted to post this video because I wanted to keep it forever in my archives. What one man can achieve in his passion can make a difference to a whole community, country, continent, to the whole world ...

Friday, January 28, 2011

Lebanese Wine Made with Passion

This is an article  which really touched me. Two families who followed their passion and convictions to move forward and follow a dream.

Also watch, the blessing of Le Chateau Belle Vue winery cellars Bhamdoun / Lebanon 2004 with Raven, Father Kevin, Naji and Jill Boutros [owners of Chateau Belle Vue] and friends and family. .

The love birds...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Just a Thought

GOOD EARTH
ALL GOOD FOOD STARTS WITH GOOD EARTH, I heard this phrase back when I was in Mexico during the Slow Food Congress held in Puebla in 2007... What this phrase entails is very much what the Slow Food philosophy is about. I believe that it's all about respecting the earth, the way we grow our food, and how we make it a consumable commodity. I want you to reflect on these words and think about what you ate for lunch. Basically this phrase teaches us that when the base (of anything) is solid, the outcome is secured. While our politicians are slowly tearing our country apart, I am cooking compulsively... bread (lots of it), red pepper paste, and many other foods. I'll spare you all the details. It's hard to live on daily basis knowing that tomorrow your life could change and never be the same, and you have absolutely no control over the matter. Personally, I am disgusted with everything. We have a magnificent country which is being slowly but surely torn apart, piece by piece, by hungry individualistic jerks (pardon my French). What are we leaving behind for our children, a history filled with hatred, blood and destruction?

Today, on a lighter note, I have finally figured out the subject of my next book - Not telling just yet! It will deal with a focused study dealing with traditional foods in Lebanon with romantic promenades in the best parts of the country..in the company of exceptional human beings who need to be heard... I shall do it! Please God spare our country from the ravages of war ...Food not War, I'm sure this would put a smile on any politicians face... let me at 'em!!!!!!

Looking through my files, I found the speech I made to the world deleguates in Mexico, I'd like to share it with you, I think it made an impression on everyone... I was very proud to represent my country, the Lebanon.


Good morning, my name is Barbara Massaad. I come from Beirut, Lebanon.What started as a dream has become a reality beyond expectations. Lebanon holds a great opportunity for a rich culinary journey, and thus I set out to learn about the food traditions and the people of my country, Lebanon.

Luckily, unlike the threats in developed countries, Lebanon still enjoys a very rich food tradition. There are distinct seasons and people cook according to each season. Lebanese people are still; in general, sitting down to a home cooked meal prepared with love and care, coming from a vast and rich ancestral recipe. An important characteristic trait of a Lebanese person is hospitality. The best way to show hospitality is through food. All social encounters deal with food. Complete strangers offer food to each other to create a bond to one another. In the Middle East they say, “We have shared bread and salt” meaning that we shared a meal therefore we are close friends.

Lebanese cuisine is an intricate art.  You can see women sorting parsley patiently to make our famous tabbouleh, others stuffing a variety of vegetables with meat and rice, some going to the nearest street corner bakery with a jar of mixed thyme, sesame seeds, and sumac, mixed with olive oil; that has been pressed from olives growing in their groves, to make man’oushé – the traditional Lebanese breakfast. You can see mothers pounding garlic in their wooden mortar to make humus – a chickpea dip with tahini – a rich sesame paste. The list is endless and very rich, full of flavors, colors, and textures worthy of the most finicky eaters.

Lebanese people still prepare diligently or buy from a reliable source their winter’s preserves such as:  jams, pickles, meat confits, dried fruits and herbs, dried yogurt with cracked wheat made into a fine powder which is considered by archeologists as the oldest cheese, grains, and cereals, arak – an alcoholic beverage made with anise seeds, and many other kinds of preserves. This is not done because of scarcity of ingredients, but because it is very much a part of our culture.

YET, Lebanese cuisine demands labor and time. And thus, here lies the issues: will the common threats of globalization, economic situations, mothers joining the work force, and overall culinary negligence threaten our Lebanese culinary traditions?

We, in Lebanon, are living through very difficult times, times of turmoil. We live in a conflict zone where regional and big powers dictate our livelihood.  We are struggling with no hope on the horizon; we need to focus and to put our energy on positive goals. Using the wise words of Carlo Petrini, we need to focus on the good, on the fair, and on the clean.

Our aim at Slow Food Beirut is to work on preserving, cherishing, educating, and transmitting the global Slow Food message to save our rich culinary heritage.

We will work on setting up farmer’s markets in the largest cities in Lebanon.  This will be done to incite people to meet farmers and producers, to buy from them directly, to insure quality fruits and vegetables to consumers, to raise awareness of the importance of  these farmers and producers, and last but not least to provide a continuum in our local food traditions.

We will work on defining our food traditions in order to educate and ensure future generations of the riches found in our culinary heritage. This will be done by activities targeted to schools and universities to include in their programs. We will also educate by research, by visuals including photography and filming to create publicity and talk-about.

What started as a dream has indeed become a reality. With the help of Slow Food, we can make a difference, and I am very proud to be part of this team. Thank you!



Monday, January 3, 2011

Annia's book - Day of Honey


Annia's book!


Annia Ciezadlo, a good friend of mine, is launching her book soon (to be exact, February 1 in the USA)... I will keep you posted on developments on when it reaches Lebanese soil. I have copied the link to her website to share with you this exciting news. I am also very proud to add that the photograph of the cover of the book was taken by me. We are two friends with minds who really think alike... I hope you get the chance to read this poignant memoir. Good luck to you my dear!

Annia writes:

"Day of Honey, my memoir about life (and food) during wartime, goes on sale February 1. "

 

Read the article: Day of Honey: The Unifying Sweetness of Food.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Biodiversity in Words, Pictures and Music

 

I kept a written text from Slow Food on my bulletin board for many years pertaining to the subject:

Today, thirty plants feed 95% of the world's population.

In the past century, two hundred and fifty hundred thousand plant varieties have gone extinct, and one plant variety disappears every six hours.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Europe has lost more than 75% of its agricultural biodiversity, whereas the US have lost 93% of their crop species diversity.

One third of native cow, sheep, and pig breeds has gone extinct or is on the road to extinction.

Three quarters of the world's fishery reserves are at risk of extension.

In winter, lettuce travels from California to London and carrots are flown from South Afric to Sweden. In the US, a product on a supermarket shelf has traveled on average 1288 kilometers.

These figures show what is wrong with the hyper-productive agricultural model that is common today. This approach has not succeeded in ridding the world of hunger, actually, it is responsible for widespread pollution, and it has made the variety of food available around the world sadly limited. This model has also facilitated the destruction of the cultural and gastronomic identity of entire populations, and has dramatically reduced the diversity of available food.

This is why Slow Food is fighting for a new model of sustainable agriculture: one that focuses on quality products. This is why Slow Food defines itself as a movement of "eco-gastronomes", individuals that believe in that the ecological defense of our planet and the defense of traditional agriculture are links and that to enjoy the pleasure of fine food one must be cognizant of the environmental impact of its production.

These are very serious words not to be taken lightly....



Biodiversity exists in Lebanon too. We have a duty to safeguard every aspect of it. Here are but a few, in photos of course...


The plains of the Bekaa Valley
Street merchants from Tripoli
Traditional bread-making

The cedars of Lebanon

Harvest of olives
Grapes for wine in Bhamdoun

Fishermen teaching the young

A woman from the south of Lebanon

Farming the old-fashion way
Traditional lifestyle

Youth, our only hope
Apricot season

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