Showing posts with label mouneh book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mouneh book. Show all posts

Monday, September 11, 2017

Lebanese Spices



Stocking up on spices is imperative when you want to cook Lebanese food. I have gathered a list of spices which can be used in the recipes that will follow. Copy the list on your phone and go out there to find the freshest spices available in the market. I usually do this exercise once a year at a local mill in the Bekaa Valley or another one in the Kesserouan. If that's too difficult for you, most supermarkets carry a wide range of spices, carefully wrapped to keep them fresh. I bring them home and put them into clean jars. I label every jar to have them on hand when the pressure is on with my cooking. They have to be easy to find and accessible to you. When using, don't forget to close the lids as soon as possible, very tightly. Use only dry spoons, a slightly wet spoon will infect the spices, also steam. Be careful! 

Keep all spices away from direct sunlight, moisture, and heat. The best place to store your spices in the kitchen is on the right or left of your cooking station. When using, put them on the counter and measure. 

If you have a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee grinder, you can buy most spices whole and grind them  yourself. This will ensure maximum flavors. Old spices should be discarded. I hate throwing spices, especially those I buy on trips around the world BUT there is an expiration date that should be respected. Some spices, which I have never used, I keep for memory sake. So I don't consider them spices anymore but scented souvenirs.

Buying spices at the local mill


The list:

  • Aleppo red pepper ground
  • red pepper mild ground
  • red pepper hot ground 
  • hot chili peppers whole dried
  • cinnamon ground
  • cinnamon sticks
  • bay leaves
  • oregano ground (substitute with zaatar)
  • sweet pepper whole
  • sweet pepper ground / also called in the US Jamaica or allspice
  • white pepper ground
  • black pepper whole (get a pepper mill that you love!)
  • black pepper ground
  • cardamon whole
  • cardamon ground
  • nutmeg whole
  • nutmeg ground
  • cloves whole
  • cloves ground
  • cumin seeds
  • cumin ground
  • ginger ground
  • mint ground dried
  • sumac ground
  • 7-spices ground (or make your own)
  • mahlab whole
  • mahlab ground
  • anis seeds
  • anis seeds ground
  • turmeric
  • mastic
I'm sure I forgot some names of spices, I will add them as I remember them. But, this is certainly a great start! Let me know if you have questions. Next post, I will list the pantry essentials. A favorite topic of mine, as you know. I dedicated a whole book on the subject. Book was published in 2010. Very excited about the new fall release coming out in the USA with Interlink publishers. You can pre-order, if you like. The book was completely out of stock. Not one copy left!


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Book Mouneh is Coming Alive

After a few trials and what not... the book is coming alive... I'm so pleased to see it all coming together... Years of work, research, and worries will now all go forgotten when the book will be printed. This weekend Mirna Hamady, the graphic designer working on the layouts, and I met to discuss the changes and alterations needed to make the book SHINE! Last night, she sent me the result... I was so happy! It's starting to look like an actual book. What is so exciting is seeing the words and photos come together in an artistic way. We are presently conquering the winter months (December-January-February). I can't wait until we work on Spring, my absolute favorite season. This is how the book starts because this is when life starts... Trees start blooming with spectacular ranges of colors. I will ask Mirna to give me a spread so you can get a glimpse. If you know of anyone who would be interested to buy a quantity before I start printing, please let me know, as this would help me to decrease printing costs.... How unromantic to talk about that!!! I am thinking of doing an Arabic version too. I want all the producers and farmers to read every single word of my book for it is their book too. I could not have done it without them. I appreciate all their advice, their hospitality, their generosity, and more importantly their friendship.

I must stop writing now, for I have to write about Hadi Sayegh, the pine nuts (snoo'bar) producer. He has left a job in construction to work in nature in the midst of pine trees and forests... I envy him... His story is quite interesting... I shall develop it for you in the Mouneh book :)

A relative of Hadi who owns a production plant which produces mass quantities of pine nuts.


Hadi and the Sheick... when I met the Sheick at first, he was very cold with me... thinking I was a foreigner, who knows... at the end of our meeting, he invited me to come with my family to spend a summer day with his family in this hut to have a picnic. He insisted that I visit him again. Meeting him was definately memorable and I learned so much from him.

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