Minty Avocado Dip

AnitaAppetizer, Dairy Free, Favorite things, Gluten Free, Kids Eat Here, Paleo, Snack, Sugar Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, What's Cooking Leave a Comment

Hi guys.  Here’s a quick recipe for a favorite snack of mine.  I add it to sandwiches, as a side with grilled meats and serves as my breakfast at times with some rice crackers. Healthy, filling and fast! Save the avocado pits to be added to any smoothie you like.  It adds a nutty flavor and offers cancer-fighting, digestive and antioxidant …

Greens and Brown Rice with Roasted Almonds

AnitaEntrée, Gluten Free, Greens, Herbs, Kids Eat Here, Nuts, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, What's Cooking Leave a Comment

A trip to the Farmer’s Market is necessary to wet the appetite and juice creativity.  I don’t know if that applies to everyone but certainly true for a foodie.  Shopping for food is the most joyful shopping I do, I could spend hours.  As for the Farmer’s Market, it’s no exception.  However, I avoid it on the weekend because it’s …

Spiced Kale Chips

AnitaFavorite things, Gluten Free, Greens, Kids Eat Here, Paleo, Snack, Sugar Free, Vegetables, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Hi there.  I’m still here and really wanting to share recipes.  A year later, I’m still on my detox diet and working really hard to reach a wholesome state of being. Although quite difficult at times,  it has been an enlightening path this detoxing thing.  I have had the opportunity to creatively explore our food and reinvent our meals.  I …

Brown Rice Pan Bread and a Chysamthemum Pomegranate Salad

AnitaBreakfast, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Greens, Herbs, Salad, Vegetarian 2 Comments

Hello dear friends.   I’ve missed writing here.  I’ve been meaning to share this bread recipe for a long while.  We, Lebanese folks, love our bread and use it a whole lot in many different ways – rolled for sandwiches, as a scoop for stews, as a snack with zaatar.   Early in January, I had to find ways to replace this …

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Greens, Artichokes and Pomegranate

AnitaAppetizer, Dairy Free, Entrée, Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegetables, Vegetarian, What's Cooking 4 Comments

  Hey friends.  Didn’t mean to stay away for so long. Life has been a bit hectic, in a good way.  Things are changing, morphing, and I like change.  It keeps me focused and makes my brain a bit more creative.  In other news, I am two weeks into a 3-months (as I was assured by Dr. S) detox period …

A Rural Lebanese Breakfast, Cityfied – Kishk with Sweet Potato Gnocchi

AnitaBreakfast, Vegetarian, What's Cooking 2 Comments

Kishk n. a Lebanese flour made by grinding a sun-dried mixture of yogurt and bulgur (referred to as green kishk).  It is a rural breakfast staple, made into a hearty soup typically flavored with onions and garlic, and sometimes by adding a homemade lamb confit.  It’s typically served with toasted pita bread   crumbled into it or soft pita to scoop …

Roasted Spaghetti Squash and Chanterelle Confit

AnitaDairy Free, Entrée, Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegetables, Vegetarian, What's Cooking 3 Comments

December.  Absolutely my favorite month of the year (well that and June, my birthday month).  Love everything about it and the cold weather too. Just more reasons to bake and cook, as if I needed anymore.  And that brings me to: confit n. a piece of meat cooked in its own fat.  The Levantine version of confit is made with …

Roasted Cauliflower and Tomato Salad

AnitaDairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, What's Cooking 4 Comments

Cauliflower has to be the most under-appreciated of vegetables.  Its bland flavor doesn’t appeal to many people, although it has a very high nutritional density = a very healthy food.  Aside from cooking the florets in a stew or boiling them (which I am not a fan of), frying them turns them golden brown and delicious.  I’m not afraid of …

From the Lebanese Pantry: Stuffed Garlicky Eggplant Preserved in Olive Oil

AnitaAppetizer, Gluten Free, Vegetables, Vegetarian, What's Cooking 4 Comments

Garlic and yogurt.  Possibly two of my ultimate favorite ingredients, ever. Add to those some wal(nuts) and it’s pure bliss, for me at least.  The Lebanese pantry is incredibly rich and versatile.  You could potentially have a full meal without having to cook, slice or dice anything- just from the pantry.  And that is practically true for most old civilizations, …