Loubieh bi Zeit

I'm back! Much apologies to my readers [if I have any readers?] for my month long hiatus. A nasty virus attacked my computer and I have been without internet access for 4 long weeks. I seem to have resolved the problem all by myself, an accomplishment for which I am very proud.

Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been cooking, though. I have been busy with many other things [hence the 4 weeks it took me to fix my computer], but I've managed to eek out a few gems from my kitchen, even without the motivation of future publication on the internet.

One such recipe was a jazzed up version of loubieh bi zeit, a classic Lebanese dish of tender green beans sauteed in tomatoes and olive oil.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, one thing you may know about me is that I am generally disgusted with bastardized versions of Arabic food. I'm no snob when it comes to coffee or wine, but I seriously turn my nose up to roasted pepper pesto aoli hummus and other abominations.

The beauty of Lebanese food lies in its simplicity. Most dishes are flavored with some combination of garlic, lemon, and salt. There is much skill involved in determining the perfect perportions of each, and there are probably as many recipes for hummus as I have cousins, but the reality is that most Arabic food is quite basic, and quite perfect the way that it is.

There is something to be said for eating food cooked the same way your grandmom's mom made it. But, admittedly, there are days when I want to cook up something really special and I bend the rules a little. The key is keeping the recipe's integrity in tact. I try to preserve the essence of the recipe, using the same spices and ingredients, just adding extras to enhance the flavor.

Loubieh bi zeit is usually very tender and stew-like. My jazzed up Loubieh was heartier, as roasting the green beans gave them a very pronounced flavor and the pumpkin seeds, a popular snack in the middle east, added some crunch. I minced the onions and tomatoes instead of chopping them, inspired by Nigella Lawson's tendency to throw every vegetable possible into the food processor. Mincing produced the desired effect, and I only had to toss the glistening mixture of tomato and onion with the green beans for a few minutes.

Loubieh Mashwey bi bizr
Roasted Loubieh with Pumpkin Seeds

2lbs green beans
2 tomatoes, minced
1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
1 onion, minced
1tbsp cinnamon
1/4 olive oil
sea salt


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and stem green beans, leaving them whole. Spread in a 9 X 13in pan so that they are one layer thin. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then roll them around a little so that they are evenly coated. Roast for 20-25 minutes. They will be spotted with brown and a little shriveled.

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a large wok or pan in the olive oil. Once brown, add in the tomatoes and onions, and sautee until onions are translucent. Add in roasted green beans and sautee for 5 more minutes. Serve with pita bread.

Night of 1000 Apples: Episode 3

I spent many a drunken night in college hitting up the only 24 hour restaurant, the Waffle House in Springfield, Ohio. I'm used to my hash browns smothered, covered, chunked, diced, capped and topped.

But, if you want to really wow your brunch guests, do up your hash browns a couple of apples. The recipe says to microwave the potatoes, which proves to me that Rachel Ray is an incompetent floozy, but it is otherwise delicious!

After our Sunday dinner of the curry apple baked beans, apple hash browns, and collard apple salad, I have to say that I am DONE with the apple recipes. I'm so over it. Khalas, bas, enough already!

2 large Idaho potatoes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
2 small, soft apples, such as McIntosh, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
Salt and pepper

Prick potatoes several times each with a fork and microwave on high for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool potatoes until you can handle them and chop.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with extra-virgin olive oil and butter. Add apples and onions and cook 5 minutes, add potatoes and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Crisp and brown the potatoes with apples and onions 5 minutes more, then serve.

Night of 1000 Apples: Episode 2

They sounded so good. I even had a birthday party to share them with. Everyone was supposed to ooh and ahh and tell me how pretty they were, not to mention unique and delicious.

Such is the story of my apple, goat cheese and caramelized onion pizzettes.

They were not good. They were chewy, rubbery, and burnt. And ugly. Man, we're they ugly.

This is not to say that there is not hope. The combination of ingredients is a no-brainer, especially if you spend a couple of extra bucks on quality goat cheese [I used honey goat...ohhhhh honey goat]. I caramelized the onions like a pro, and the apples were delightfully soft but firm.

The problem was the crust. The problem was also that I didn't peel the apples so that the burnt skins stabbed you in the mouth, but that is an easy fix, as is my lack of a quality baking stone. But the crust...

The recipe I followed was for a white crust. I thought I could just substitute King Aurthur's whole wheat flour, thinking it was basically the same thing, only brown. Duh! Just because I have a food blog does not mean that I am an experienced cook.

So...my quest for the perfect whole wheat pizza crust begins. My friend Ya-Ping recommended the ready-made frozen crust from Trader Joes. Let me tell you, after I stayed up until 3am and spent all of my elbow grease rolling out the rigid, uncompromising dough only to come out with flattened disks that were best suited for trap shooting, this is tempting. She said it was delicious and made without preservatives, but I remain opposed because I hate pre-made food and Trader Joes [for taking over small businesses like my dad's].

My research suggests that the problem is multi-faceted. Whole wheat pizza crust is a tough old dog. It will not soften unless you are patient, kind and deliberate. I am by no means a whole grain purist, nor am I on the South Beach Diet, so for next time I see no reason not to mix it with white flour, which is what almost every recipe I find calls for.

The other answer is so obvious to me, and if I had any baking skills at all I would have known to do this, but it seems that my dough needed a soaker. Oh, water...the universal solvent.

The trick is to mix the white flour and wheat flour with all the water that the recipe calls for, mix it up until it is a thick batter, and then beat the heck out of it for 5 minutes. I also don't believe in kitchen appliances like Kitchen Aids, I will definitely do this by hand. Let the batter sit for several hours in the fridge to "develop the gluten". Then add all the yeast, salt, oil and sugar and let rise as directed.

I can't vouch for any of this as I have not tried it, nor will I for a very long time [I'm still catching up on sleep from my pizzette mishap]. But, it seems likely that adding some white flour and doing a soaker will help immensely. I will be spending the next several weeks daydreaming about pizza toppings, which is fi-ine with me.

Possibly Perfect Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1 package quick-rising yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup water, room temp
2 teaspoons olive oil

Instructions for the Soaker, from Discuss Cooking.com

Measure out the 1-3/4 cup ww flour in a separate container. Put all 6 oz of water in the mixing bowl (it should not be hot; room temperature is fine) and, using the KA paddle, slowly beat in enough of the WW flour to make a very thick batter. Beat with the KA paddle for 5 minutes to develop the gluten. Let rest, covered, at room temperature for one to two hours to allow the WW flour to absorb water and for gluten development to continue. (You can do this several hours ahead if more convenient; just put the soaker in the 'frig if you're going to hold it over 2 hours.) After this resting period, add the salt, quick-rising yeast and oil to the batter and mix it in with the KA paddle. Switch to dough hook. Add the remaining whole wheat flour slowly and then knead, speed 2, for at least 5 minutes. The kneaded dough should be slightly tacky to the touch, not dry feeling. Cover and let rise as usual until doubled in bulk

Eid Mubarak

Today is Eid Al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.

No goat this year, though, as the 1.5 billion adherents of Islam are feeling the squeeze of economic globalization as food prices soar all over the world.

Prices of meat, chicken, vegetables and fruits sharply soared during Ramadan in Lebanon. Although prices of food and vegetables are usually higher in Ramadan than in other months of the year, this year people noticed "an unprecedented rise in prices of almost all consumer goods, including those produced locally," the Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Thursday.

Night of 1000 Apples: Episode 1

I'm back in the groove.

After a few disasters [I was too humiliated to post about my failed romance to hominy], last nights apple adventures went very well.

Not that anything I made was terribly difficult. But cooking is less about skill than it is imagination. Some times you imagine things that taste well together. Sometimes your imagination is wrong.

Sauteed Cabbage with apples was one such phantasm that worked.

The key is to slice the apples in their jackets very very thinly [think garlic with a razor blade]. It was quite the brain game to figure out what was denser: cabbage or apples, which would determine what would get cooked first. The spices were simple: salt, pepper and corriander. OH! and a teensy bit of chunk-ily sliced ginger. Half a tablespoon, max.

This was surprising filling. The butter made it very rich, and I didn't feel like I needed a pork chop to go with it [though my sister Ann would probably disagree.]

Apple Cloud Cake
I generally avoid processed foods, mostly for economical reasons. But I couldn't pass up the $.99 cake mixes on sale at Supreme. Seeing as how apples are literally rolling all over my kitchen [thanks to pushkin and jane], I broke down and got a box of french vanilla cake sans icing, which I wanted to make myself.

To make a very moist boxed cake, add two chopped, peeled apples to the mix, and follow the instructions on the box. It gives it a hint of flavor and a lot of texture.

I iced it with a yogurt icing that I've been wanting to make ever since I saw it on an English cooking show, waaaay back in 2001.

I was living in a coastal town in the northeast of England, where I discovered that the British actually eat a lot of delicious food, despite common misconceptions. That's what happens when your country controlled one quarter of the world's population. You get to steal all their food!

The yogurt icing came from Cyprus, which is why it was made with the tangy, thick leban that you can only buy in arabic grocery stores [a definite staple in my refrigerator]. I mixed about 3 cups of yogurt [enough for a glaze, not a thick, gloppy layer], with a generous squirt of maple syrup and a 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar.

I was so proud of myself for being patient and letting the cake cool before I iced it. Otherwise it would have been a runny mess.

Most of my failed recipes are a result of my laziness. Remember the cornbread bake? It would have been awesome if it wasn't on the verge of rotting. I didn't feel like rearranging the stuff in my fridge to put it away, so I covered it with paper towels and sat it on my countertop overnight. The beans and cheese congealed and even after I put it in the fridge, I couldn't get rid of the alcoholic taste and the stringy coating that covered the beans. Ew.

Of course, I ate it for lunch every day last week. But I didn't enjoy it.

Anyway, back to my cloud cake, I sprinkled the iced cake with some crushed walnuts and it became something delicious for Ann and I to giggle over [as is our custom] before we went to bed.

Savory Apple Recipes

The Lord is Good to Me
And So I thank the Lord
For Giving Me The Things I Need The Sun and The Rain and The Appleseed
The Lord Is Good To Me

-Johnny Appleseed, Girl Scout song. Not to be sung unless you are hoping for rain.

Yeah, Hotober.

Thanks to the gumption of my sister Ann, a group of friends ventured out to suburbia to pick apples at Linvilla Orchards. An activity that is normally supposed to be enjoyed during crisp fall weather, this adventure was a sweaty affair, as temperatures in the northeast are hitting record highs. It was close to 90 and muggy as hell.


We still had an awesome time, despite the unseasonable weather. We filled two huge boxes with apples, picked pumpkins for carving, and I bought some chestnuts from the farmers market. I now have 30 pounds of apples to go through, and, in case you were nervous, I will be blogging my way through the box.

The whole experience was idyllic. It harkend memories of a childhood in Ohio, home of culinary colonizer Johnny Appleseed [side note: if you thought apples were indigenous to this country, you're wrong. They have their origins in Kazakhstan]. Fruit tress always remind me of my grandma. She would see them in someone's yard as we were driving by and insist that we stop. We'd all have to get out of the car and stand amongst the smelly, rotten fruit on the ground, trying not to get stung by bees or arrested. She was undaunted, and we always had a bowl of fruit with leaves still on the stem on our kitchen table.

Apples are sort of generic anyway, so I'd like to avoid the obvious. There will be at least one apple pie that comes of our apple picking adventure, but in my kitchen, apples are the new veg.

shredded collard greens with walnuts and pickled apples

Gourmet | September 2000

Note: this recipe doesn't say to cook the collards, but I am gonna blanch them because raw collards are pretty intense .

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr

Servings: Makes 6 servings.
Ingredients
For pickled apples
2 red apples such as Gala or Idared
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pickling spice

1/2 cup walnut halves (3 oz)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch collard greens (1 lb)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Make pickled apples: Quarter and core apples, then cut each quarter lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Boil vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Add apples and return to a boil. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and cool. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 hour.

Prepare nuts while apples chill: Toast walnuts in oil in a small skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until a shade darker. Cool nuts in oil. Transfer nuts to a cutting board with a slotted spoon, reserving oil. Coarsely chop 1 tablespoon nuts and finely chop remaining nuts.

Prepare collard greens: Halve each collard leaf lengthwise with kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cutting out and discarding center ribs. Stack leaves and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a large bowl.

Just before serving: Transfer all nuts and oil from skillet to collards and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Add apple slices, discarding pickling liquid and spices, and toss again.

Apple Curry Baked Beans

This recipe calls for 1 golden delicious, but I find them to be not so delicious, so I will use two winesap.

1 28 ounce can baked beans
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small Golden Delicious apple, chopped
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

In a skillet sautee carrot, sweet red pepper, and onion in hot oil over medium-high heat until crisp-tender. Combine vegetable mixture, beans and remaining ingredients in a lightly greased 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly.

A few other ideas I have kicking around:

* cheese tortellini with apples and sage butter,
* a whole wheat pizza with brie, apples and caramelized onions,
* sauteed cabbage with apples,
* bread pudding with apples and sweet potatoes.

Cincinnati Cornbread Bake

This one is a shoutout to my hometown. Both because the bean-y part of this cornbread bake is flavored with a spice mix that is distinctly cincinnati, and because of the hopelessly midwestern character the jiffy cornbread gives to this homely casserole.

Normally, I avoid baking. I don't like to be wedded to a recipe and I don't know enough about food chemistry to bake on the fly. Plus, our apartment is a little lopsided, so most things that come out of the oven are cracker-thin on one side and bloated and puffy on the other.

Jiffy cornbread hardly counts as baking, though. I made the mistake of reading the ingredients on the box. Don't do it, especially if you are a vegetarian.


Cincinnati Cornbread Bake

1 large onion, chopped
2 c. or 1 can black beans
1 c. corn kernels
2 cloves garlic
2tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cocoa
1tsp. cumin
1tsp. black pepper
dash Jamaican red pepper
salt
2 chopped tomatoes
queso blanco or other spanish cheese, grated
2 boxes jiffy corn muffin mix, prepared as directed
1/2 c. chopped chives

Pre-heat oven to 350. sautee onions until translucent , add black beans and corn and stir fry for a few minutes. Spread bean mixture in a casserole dish and top with cheese and tomatoes. Spoon the cornbread mix over the top of the dish. Pop in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown.

Lesson Learned

I learned an important lesson today that I think needs to be shared with the world, to ensure that no one ever makes the same mistake that I did.

Do not, under any circumstances, consume 1/2 a pound of sugar free candy in on sitting.

I'm trying to quit both smoking and procrastinating. I thought that munching on sweets during the day would help me focus. Not wanting all the sugar, I thought I was so clever and bought a bag of sorbitol-laden fruit gummies.

The only time I was ever this sick was when I got Giardia from drinking water out of drainage ditch in Lebanon [they told me it was a freshwater spring!]

As I am writing this, I can literally hear my gut gurggling. I've puked 3 times. I'm not going to write about the other stuff-it's inappropriate for a blog devoted to food.