Explore the Flavors of the Islamic World

Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou (Ecco, 2018)   Anissa Helou has lived and traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, and she has written several cookbooks on cuisine from the area. Her latest effort, more than 500 pages, is perhaps the most extensive yet. It features breads, rice…

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Are You Zooming Your Spring Holiday Gathering?

When you can’t hop to the store for last-minute provisions, a seder plate can get a bit inventive! Here we have chips as matzo, kimchi as horseradish (maror), and a deconstructed charoset. All considered, not bad! So much of life is happening these days on Zoom, and you might be among those who are holding…

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Dates for Ramadan

  In her book Feast: Food of the Islamic World, author Anissa Helou writes extensively about the date “. . . the most important fruit in Islam.” She call it “the first food people [Gulf Arabs] eat when they break the long day’s fast during the month of Ramadan . . . “… the tradition…

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