Turkish tomato, walnut, parsley salad or gavurdagi is a healthy and refreshing side dish for any of your favorite summer grilled meats. I think I've mentioned before that Turkish food is to die for because it has so many culinary influences. The walnuts add such an interesting touch and texture to this dish. This salad...
Recipes List
Dragonfruit Lemongrass Cocktail
My adventurous daughter sent me a text message picture from a bar in Bali, yes Bali! The picture showed a purplish half-consumed beverage with the caption: "Dragonfruit-lemongrass cocktail". Naturally, I was intrigued. Of course I asked her "Are there other ingredients? " Lime and ginger" she said. My wheels began to turn right away. I realized immediately that I...
Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken
Another Jamaican recipe! This time it's Jamaican brown stew chicken, rich and hearty, perfect for cool Spring or Fall weather. And, guess what? This recipe is also from Cariel, my Jamaican co-worker, remember her? She gave me the recipe for Jamaican Toto, the super delicious coconut dessert I published a while back. Brown Stew Chicken...
Moroccan Country Bread - Khobz
Nothing is more comforting than the smell and taste of warm bread. This Moroccan country bread is plain, rustic, and simply delicious. The best thing is that you can have fresh, rustic bread in about 2 hours. Bread in 2 hours?! Yup. that's right!! No long rising time or excessive kneading. On the contrary, this...
Spanish Patatas Bravas
Spanish patatas bravas are probably one of Spain's most popular tapas dishes. So what are they? Basically potatoes served with a spicy tomato sauce made with onions, garlic, and accented with paprika. Just about every bar in Spain serves patatas bravas, each with their own twist. When I was in my teens I spent three weeks...
Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce
A steaming bowl of pasta tossed with a quick and easy homemade marinara sauce hits the spot every time in our house. These days you can get some really high quality canned tomatoes that will turn out a superb marinara in less that one hour. All you need is a few basic ingredients. I guarantee...
Akara - West African Black Eyed Pea Fritters
Fly to Brazil and they’re known as acaraje. For Ghanians, it's “akla” or “koose”. In Cameroon and Nigeria, they’re known as Akara or black eyed pea fritters. For consistency’s sake, we’ll be referring to this dish as Nigerian akara. Today, I’m teaching you how to make Akara with black eyed peas. In English, we refer...
Lebanese Cheese Fatayer
Lebanese cheese fatayers are savory pastries found throughout the Middle East. Fatayers can also be filled with meat (lamb fatayer is traditional.) Fatayers are a Lebanese food found throughout the Arab world in pastry shops and market stalls. They can be triangular in shape or cigar-shaped (like the recipe below.) These are similar to the...
Creamy Walnut Tartlets
Creamy walnut tartlets for the win Here I am with another walnut recipe for personal food, my FAVE! Creamy walnut tartlets are sweet, crunchy, creamy. They are toasted walnut perfection in a nutshell, excuse the pun! These beauties are a take on a recipe I found in a French cookbook that belonged to my late...
Spicy Turkish Meat Pastries
I love anything wrapped in a pastry; well, almost anything. Who doesn't love a flaky, fluffy, buttery, melt in your mouth pastry enveloping a delicious sweet or savory filling? I don't know anyone, do you? A school lesson Years ago when I was homeschooling my son, an experience I would like to bury deep in...