I got the idea of registering all Lebanese pantry items from this blog writer who writes the essential elements to creating the perfect pantry, American style. I've posted on Facebook for my friends to answer, which items would be important to them. I will post the answers later.
Anne Valluyzaatar!!can be used in so many dishes .
Friday at 7:48pm ·
Michelle MoussanThose for baking...whole grain flour (or a variety), yeast, salt, vanilla, baking soda and baking powder. Rose and orange blossom waters.
Friday at 10:25pm ·
Fouad Kassab pomegranate molasses, allspice, salt, grape and carob molasses, tahini, egg noodles, burghul, dried chickpeas and beans, qawarma, ghee, sumac, sesame seeds, pine nuts, raisins, cinnamon quills, Saturday at 11:31am ·
Sylvie De Clerck Hannadebs el remeen ,kechek, haal, habbet el barakeh ... belle journee et bises a tous. Saturday at 12:10pm ·
Text taken from the book Man’oushé : Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery.
Another person with determination and strength whom I met while I visited different bakeries in Lebanon is Mrs. Coharik Ichkhanian. Her face inspires trust and wisdom. I met Mrs. Ichkhanian at her bakery on an early morning and asked her to talk to me about her famous Armenian meat pies. The discussion took another turn, and before I knew it, we were discussing memories of a lifetime.
“I am the youngest of five children. My parents were Armenians living in Syria. I did not finish my schooling because at the time, it was not appropriate for a woman to be educated. My husband and I met through relatives and married in Beirut in 1975, just after the war began.” In the year 1984, Coharik’s husband died at the age 44, leaving her with three young children. She started working at the bakery in 1985. Business was at its best during the war. The bakery was full of clients. People had to eat. “Food was a therapy for all.” In the neighborhood, she has become the food expert, the reference. Coharik personally goes to the market to handpick the ingredients that will make her distinct meat pies. She explains that they have a unique taste; unchanged since the bakery opened.When I asked her why she didn’t make any other kind of pies, she answered: “The other recipes are not Armenian!” Coharik generously shared her life stories and her precious recipes with me. "
Can you taste it?
I hope this sign still exists after the fire, nostalgia!
A lovely photo of Coharik taken by Raymond Yazbeck
Sylva Konialian commented on your link.
Sylva wrote: "This brought me right back home as I was born and lived for the first 24 years of my life in the apartment just above the bakery before leaving to Canada. I knew Cohariks in laws and late husband very well. This was touching."
"I will be very happy to share. I might not remember everything but of course for one we bought all our bread from them and like you showed yesterday we took our prepared meat for the lehmajoun and they cooked it for us. Especially during Easter time, My mom use to take all the cookies and Easter breads and so were many ladies of the area and prepared the doughs into cookies and the bakery would cook it for us. One special moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life and I will pass it on to my kids is the day I obtained my Visa to come to Canada, I was so happy. I came running to my Mom to give her the good news and she was baking the Easter bread that day in the bakery. I was young and adventurous of course wanting to go to a new country and escape from the civil war in Lebanon. when I told my Mom the good news she smiled and i saw almost tears and the pain in her eyes. that meant for her being separated from me. i was her first born. those moments are still vivid in my memory. Of course my Mom is no longer with us she passed away this past December......"
Nada Saber and her husband started making mouneh and selling local traditional foods when their children encouraged them to sell their foods many years ago in a village fair. Instantly, they well received by customers! This paved the future to a small successful family business. You can find them every week at the farmers' market, Souk el Tayeb, now located opposite the Beirut Souks in the open air tent area. I absolutely love the bitter orange product range and stock up every year. I suggest you do the same.
Last summer, when I was "en plein" with the book, I was asked to have lunch with Julie Andrieu, French
TV spokeswoman for a TV show called " Fourchette et sac à dos".
She was on a Gastronomic tour for the show in Lebanon. My eldest children were preparing for their exams, so I took Sarah, the youngest with me. We arrived to Naas, a beautiful village in Bikfaya to a restaurant called Fadel. Apparently, the restaurant is reputed for its extensive mezza. I arrived early to discuss with the chef and owner before we started our meal and the actual shooting. I wanted to be sure that I had the exact list of menu items that were going to be served for our lunch. The team arrived but was a bit disappointed that our table was not full of people, as a mezza lunch should be. Cherine Yazbeck, the organizer, immediately called up friends (Joumana Rayak and her family with Joumana Jamhouri) she had seen on the road up and they accepted to join us for lunch. Very typical! It's the Lebanese way of life... So our table was now filled with hungry people ready for a Sunday mezza with Julie Andrieu. We sat down with Julie and the plates of mezza started to arrive slowly, but surely... I particularly liked the bite-size tabbouleh served in large basil leaves.The menu consisted of the following: a vegetable and pickle platter, hummus (chickpea dip), foul medammas (fava beans), moutabbal (eggplant dip), a rocca salad, a thyme salad, shankleesh (spicy local cheese), artichoke, tabbouleh, labneh - with and without garlic (strained yogurt), local white cheese, fried potatoes with a spicy sauce, balila (whole chickpea with cumin), raw liver, kebbeh nayeh (raw kebbeh), sujuk (dried spiced meat sausages), makanek (meat sausages cooked in lemon), an omelet with wild asparagus, and finally an assortment of grilled meats. We drank glasses of arak which made the ambiance very convivial. I was really impressed by Julie's professionalism and her natural way of animating the show. The staff who worked with her were very professional too and they joined us after the shoot to eat. It was a nice experience and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce to Julie all these interesting dishes from our country.
« Congumelos do campo até à mesa », Maria de Lourdes Modesto & J.L. Baptista-Ferreira, Ed. Verbo Liban « Mouneh », Barbara Abdeni Massaad
« Récits et recettes », Walid Mouzannar, Ed. L'Orient le Jour"
"La cuisine libanaise du terroir" Chérine Yazbeck Royaume Uni"Nutmeg and Custard", Marcus Wareing, Bantam Press Syrie"La grande cuisine arabe du Moyen-Age", Lilia Zaouali, Ed. Officina Libraria
I found this wonderful website called Cooking from the Heart tonight and instantly recognized the lovely woman who insisted on buying my Mouneh dummy at the Salone del Gusto. She wrote a touching opinion about Mouneh, "Mouneh by Barbara Abdeni Massaad. Those who know me also know I’m a sucker for a good food book. So whilst perusing the stalls at Salone del Gusto in October I came across Mouneh on a stall from Lebanon, after instantly falling in love with the book I tried to purchase it only to be told it was to be released in November and this was an advance copy. After writing down the name I searched for it on the internet and came across the website This book has stayed beside my bed now for weeks and I wax lyrically about it to anyone who’ll listen. It is a truly original work from which the author conveys cooking from her culinary roots that is near and dear to her heart. Another reason to buy the book is that each copy sold will contribute to an Arabic version being produced which means the people of Lebanon will have a record of their own food culture, which as with most traditional foods is being diluted or lost. So buy two copies as they make great gifts." Rodney Dunn of The Agrarian Kitchen
This episode is special to me. That day, we were suppose to go in search of pine nuts with a producer, but it was raining heavily. I called LBC and told them to simply come over my house. I needed to bake a batch of bread anyway, so I thought why not on TV? They accepted gladly! I invited my friend Cooka, who had shown interest in baking bread when I first discussed the process with a group of friends. Within the hour, she was at my house. It is very special for me to share my recipes with friends, it's like giving of myself to them. When they bake it at home, it's like a part of me becomes theirs. I am looking forward to eating bread at Cooka's! It is so special also to bake your own bread for your family because it's an essential part of their diet. You feel proud! Many of the viewers asked me for the recipe so I have decided to post it on my blog, Good luck!
For a loaf of bread:
1 cup of wholewheat flour
1/2 cup of cake flour (extra)
1 1/2 cups of regular flour (zero)
1 teaspoon of yeast
1 teaspoon of salt
About 1 1/4 water (tepid, hot will kill the yeast)
1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil (optional)
Mix all the ingredients together. Make sure the yeast never meets the salt while you are adding the ingredients. The dough will not rise! The water comes at the end. Watch the video above ... Leave to rest in a draft-free area for 1 1/2 hours or more, depending on the weather. When it is cold, you need more time. Shape the dough into the loaf you would like to see and eat. Leave to rest for another 1/2 hour or 1 hour. Bake into a very hot oven (200° C) for about 25-30 minutes. You may lower the fire eventually, if you feel it's too hot! Enjoy, enjoy!!!
For those who read Arabic, this text was written yesterday in Al Nahar newspaper:
"حرصا على التراث
بربارة في "حلوة ومرة" على شاشة LBC تقدم أسبوعياً تقريراً مصوراً تجول من خلاله المناطق اللبنانية لإطلاع المشاهد على بعض المأكولات والطبخات اللبنانية المنسية. ومن خلال طريقة التصوير العفوية والغنية بالحياة ينتقل المشاهد إلى بساطة تلك الأيام. تفاجئنا بربارة في "حلوة ومرة" كل أسبوع بزياراتها الجميلة التي تعرّفنا من خلالها الى أطيب المأكولات اللبنانية التي يتم طبخها مباشرة على الهواء... وفي ذلك خدمة كبيرة للمطبخ اللبناني إذ إن بعض الطبخات اللبنانيةالقديمة بدأت تندثر
Earth and co. is Nelly and Oum Ali - two wonderful women who have proved that friendship and business can go a long way. I have learned a lot from both women who, against all odds, have continued to make their small business flourish. They are always among the food producers at Souk el Tayeb and the Slow Food Earth Market in Hamra. Come and join them, you will be amazed!
Amal Harb is a darling woman who has helped me a lot to discover the basis of mouneh-making. I started the mouneh adventure in her workshop where she patiently taught me all the details to pickling and jam production, among many other lessons... life included. It was a real pleasure to visit her again lately and to shoot this document with her. Her food is truly made with tender loving care and lots of creativity. She remains forever in my heart. Thanks my dear Amal...
