Maktoob - Destiny

olives cracked one by one with a stone

Serendipity "is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated." You may say it is written “maktoob”, it is destiny. This is my story, the one I fell upon, the one I am still writing, the one I am struggling each day to produce, to invent, to fabricate, and most of all create. My life should have a sense. I always felt this from the very beginning. I should leave a trace — One that is significant to me, to my family, to my community, to this place we call "earth". This trace should make some kind of difference. Someone or something must be better because of my doing — of my continuous efforts. It should be like a faraway scent that produces a memory — a memory of the past, a memory of better days, a memory of the senses, a memory of man's fading goodness.

It began in my father's restaurant at the age of fifteen. Those were difficult years, but the base of my culinary education. Times passed since those days — I married, had three children and still in the back of my mind, the recurring dreams of food related journeys and adventures. A woman's role in a family is maternal. What better way to show your innermost maternal instinct than by feeding your children. Isn't it the first instinct that a child initiates when he suckles on his mother's breast? Feeding your children with your knowledge and wisdom of life's experiences is essential, but also feeding them with real wholesome food made with the most important ingredient: LOVE is imperative and sets THE example.
  
It was written that I would leave the USA and go searching for my roots in Lebanon, my country of origin. It was destiny, some call her fate that knocked on my door and showed me the way. It was she that led me to visit all corners of the country in search of food related subjects and matters. It was she that gave me the chance to understand this diversified group of people who have all welcomed me as one of their own. It was she that gave me the perseverance to learn a new trade to capture these moments through the use of my camera. It is she that gives me the strength to carry on to fulfill my assignment — to preserve my country's culinary traditions, to defend its authenticity, to ensure its survival.

The Prophet - The Movie

I don't know if you all have noticed that all my books include a saying of Khalil Gibran somewhere. He has been an inspiration to so many of us Lebanese and non-Lebanese alike all over the world.

His words are sacred and really do make a lot of sense.

Many are asking me what I thought of the film:

The film The Prophet is wonderful. I simply loved it. It's not for everyone though. Everyone should study the book and watch the movie later. It's better like that. It might confuse those who have never read the book. The interpretation of the book is really simple and yet the different artistic styles used in different segments is really creative. Artists, who know what it takes to draw and paint, will really appreciate the work.  The music is AMAZING adding a lot to the different elements portrayed throughout the film. The story is less exciting and in my opinion could have been more elaborately developed  but again it is perfect for an all age audience. The "actors" are well chosen, although I would have preferred that Mustafa especially be of Middle-Eastern origins. The mixing of Mexican, American, Irish accents is weird to me...But I guess nowadays you need big names to get people to come and see the movie.

I will watch it again and again, for it is very inspiring and true.

Beirut Street Food Festival

Barbara (that's me) and Albert Massaad @foodyoulike  (my son) will be participating at the Street Food Festival this year representing Slow Food Beirut. We will be making flat breads with all kind of toppings: call them pizza, call them man'oushe, call them bread cooked with love. This will be a special occasion for mother and son, before Albert goes off to university at Lyon to study at Paul Bocusse to be a chef / restaurateur. Not only that but this will be a special day for Albert as he celebrates his18th birthday! Also on the agenda, the newly formed Slow Food Youth Network Lebanon will be cooking soup with vegetables which would have been dumped otherwise. Keep posted.

  
#beirutstreetfoodfest on Instagram
Beirut Street Food Festival on Facebook

Beirut Graffiti

Beirut Graffiti

Monday May 25 2015... Building is being torn down. Horrible.

The Mother Of Slow Food

I had the privilege to stay at Alice Water's house and live through her Chez Panisse restaurant with some awesome people. I visited the farms she works with and the edible school garden too... It was an experience I will never forget. Finally, people who are meant to meet, do! Why, because they share the same philosophy. It's basic, eat food that is less processed, straight from the earth to your mouth which has been treated without too much fuss, just naturally grown as mother nature intended. We humans complicate things and create chaos. It's so sad what has happened to the world's food system. Can we really call it food? One must respect what goes in one's mouth. Expensive to buy organic foods? I don't think so, considering that you buy designer clothes, etc... Isn't it more important what you put in your body than what you put to cover it? The whole system is messed up. The more we advance in technology, the more we are ruining the basics of our human lifestyle and going into a large gap of nothing. I know I am writing you on a computer through Facebook.... The irony of it all! So cheers Alice Waters to the mother of Slow Food International, I am continuing what you have started. I hope I can get good results as you have.

Diet for A New America - Hosted by John Robbins

Sometimes you read or watch something and say, "HEY this is exactly how I think". Please watch this video if you don't have time to read the book. Diet For A New America - Hosted by John Robbins.

Onno - Sad News, Owner Dies in a Car Crash

Today my friend Helena posted on Facebook the sad news about the owner of ONNO, Karnigue Nicolian, brother of Carmen Nicolian. Many of you may know that this is one of my favorite restaurants in Beirut. I wrote a review in 2012 and they put it on the wall of the restaurant in Bourj Hamoud. I am so proud to be a tiny part of this restaurant. The family who own and operate it are lovely and really cook with love. They have been in operation for 25 years and finally a year ago, they got their big break—They opened in Badaro and were also going to open in Hamra....and now BANG! Life is so unfair. I am very sad.
http://myculinaryjourneythroughlebanon.blogspot.com/…/my-re…

It is with a very heavy heart and enormous sadness that I write these few words. Karnigue Nicolian passed away yesterday in a car accident. His funeral is going to take place at the Sourp Nishan Church at 3:00 P.M. this afternoon. Our condolences go to his wife, Siran and his daughters, and his sister, Carmen and brother, Nazo. We are saddened by this news and pray that he rests in peace. Helena Krikorian Zakharia

Slow Down

I majored in advertising / marketing and worked in the field for many years before turning into a total food activist / researcher, etc... so when I see material which really strikes me as good. I am very much aware of the work...
Sit back, while having your morning coffee and read this text... breath in... breath out!

Because Slow Food is getting to people, even advertising companies are using the the "Slow Down" motto for their campaigns. I picked up a brochure at a food fair somewhere for bison (Canadian Meat). I'll spare you the details on the bison meat, but would like to share what they had to write about slowing down...

"Today, more people are shopping the farmers' markets. Buying fresh, locally grown food. Chopping it, dicing it and marinating it themselves. Then serving it the same night. To good friends. They're sitting down with cloth napkins, perhaps a few candles and yes real cutlery. They're offering appetizers before, dessert after, and maybe a humble opinion in between. What they're doing is slowing down. Taking a deep breath. Recognizing that life isn't a tyrant, and that the kitchen and the table can be centers of pleasures, culture and community. It's a good thing. A revival. One that you can take part in and benefit from. You can start by eating ....(advertising at play here)."

What do you think?

Beth Howard, Author of Making PieceVisits Lebanon in July

Serendipity... Life is always full of surprises! Thank God for that. On a trip to the USA in Seattle years ago, I fell upon a book called Making Piece. Of course, I bought it although it was stained with coffee. You know lots of people come to Barnes and Nobles, drink coffee and browse for hours through cookbooks. Am I one of those people, you bet!

I brought the book home to Lebanon and read it in a few days. I could relate to Beth's passion and finding therapy through food. I often write the author of the book I read to show my appreciation for his / her writing with an effort to make the story last longer. When I finish a book, I often get the blues because I want more and feel that by ending the book I am cutting relations with that story. My attempt to contact the author is to make the story part of my life too. Some authors connect with me and stay friends for life, others don't.

Beth's Pie Book

Beth Howard and I connected two years ago. We have been following each other since then through social networks. She is part of my life, as I am part of hers. I received a letter that she is planning to come and visit me this summer as part of a project entitled, "World Piece". I am delighted! I wrote on her Facebook page, "The queen of American pie comes to meet the queen of Lebanese pie", not that we take ourselves too seriously but we have both been coined as such.

She has created a website for this project. This is what she wrote concerning her trip to Lebanon. "From India, I fly to Beirut, Lebanon, with a five-hour stopover in Cairo. Because the round-the-world ticket only allows so many stopovers I won’t get to explore Egypt, the birthplace of pie, or see the pyramids (unless they are visible from the plane), but at least my feet will get to touch that red, electrified, ancient African soil — the cradle of mankind where all this madness started. In Beirut, I will spend a week with cookbook author, photographer, and social activist, Barbara Massaad. She was one of the original anchors to this trip and while it is tricky to get to Lebanon — and the US suggests avoiding it — this stop underscores everything about my mission as it’s all about using pie to spread goodwill and promote peace."

Beth Howard

 If you would like to follow her adventure, please do. I will post on her adventures in Lebanon when she arrives this summer. It will be great fun to cook together in Ballouneh!

Slow Food Beirut / Kitchenlab / Students Hadchit

Slow Food Beirut will host 24 children from Hadchit tomorrow at Kitchenlab. We will teach the children to bake bread (2 recipes using local flavors), show them what is yeast and why it is important for good bread, make Itch (an Armenian tabbouleh with lots of burghul) and we will have lunch all together. I will discuss my book Mouneh with the children and give them a lesson on the importance of eating local products in season. Volunteers are welcomed if interested. I can't wait to meet them. I'm very excited.