Lebanese Food (kibbee and lebanee)
[This is a post from July 1st that I had trouble posting due to its length]
Kibbee has been my favorite Lebanese dish for a long time. It's a sure choice for kids and meat-lovers. More info here. It was part of a great sampling today from a Lebanese restaraunt that's easy to find (see below). Luckily Tali was there to figure out the local pronounciation of what I was trying to order.
I did find a great quote online, "One of the great things about Middle Eastern cooking is that both carnivores and herbivores believe it was created for them." [Detroit Metro News]. So true.
A few days ago I found some lebanee. This is an easy to make yogurt cheese. It's so easy and healthy and comes with an interesting taste, I really should make it myself sometime. All you do is drain some plain yogurt in cheese cloth to get a spreadable/dippable tarty cheese. We used to make it when I was younger. This week, I ate a whole container over the course of one day, just dipping pita bread as I worked.
Since spellings for Arabic and Hebrew words vary about as much as there are English pronunciations for them, I've decided to write as I know them and end with comments on how to find them...
Kibbee was "kubeh" on the menu at the Moses Art Lebanese Restaraunt, about a block inside the Jaffa Gate (Old City), East Jerusalem.
Lebanee can be found as "labane" in the grocery store. Try the plain first. I may soon start comparing goat and sheep varieties, as that's probably the original ancient source.
"The food of Lebanon evolved over the centuries: a little meat and lots of fresh vegetables, grains, herbs and seasonings aromatically combined. Many Lebanese dishes provide complementary proteins, that is, complete proteins formed by the combination of two non-meat foods, such as legumes with grains, or seeds or nuts with grains. Lentils with rice in the one-pot dish mujaddrah are one example; hummus bi tahinah —puréed garbanzo beans with a sauce made from ground sesame seeds, eaten with wheat bread, is another. Complementary proteins are essential where economic circumstances and the scarcity of meat create a need for meatless protein sources." [Saudi Aramco World]
Kibbee has been my favorite Lebanese dish for a long time. It's a sure choice for kids and meat-lovers. More info here. It was part of a great sampling today from a Lebanese restaraunt that's easy to find (see below). Luckily Tali was there to figure out the local pronounciation of what I was trying to order.
I did find a great quote online, "One of the great things about Middle Eastern cooking is that both carnivores and herbivores believe it was created for them." [Detroit Metro News]. So true.
A few days ago I found some lebanee. This is an easy to make yogurt cheese. It's so easy and healthy and comes with an interesting taste, I really should make it myself sometime. All you do is drain some plain yogurt in cheese cloth to get a spreadable/dippable tarty cheese. We used to make it when I was younger. This week, I ate a whole container over the course of one day, just dipping pita bread as I worked.
Since spellings for Arabic and Hebrew words vary about as much as there are English pronunciations for them, I've decided to write as I know them and end with comments on how to find them...
Kibbee was "kubeh" on the menu at the Moses Art Lebanese Restaraunt, about a block inside the Jaffa Gate (Old City), East Jerusalem.
Lebanee can be found as "labane" in the grocery store. Try the plain first. I may soon start comparing goat and sheep varieties, as that's probably the original ancient source.
"The food of Lebanon evolved over the centuries: a little meat and lots of fresh vegetables, grains, herbs and seasonings aromatically combined. Many Lebanese dishes provide complementary proteins, that is, complete proteins formed by the combination of two non-meat foods, such as legumes with grains, or seeds or nuts with grains. Lentils with rice in the one-pot dish mujaddrah are one example; hummus bi tahinah —puréed garbanzo beans with a sauce made from ground sesame seeds, eaten with wheat bread, is another. Complementary proteins are essential where economic circumstances and the scarcity of meat create a need for meatless protein sources." [Saudi Aramco World]
posted by Paul O. at 11:00
1 Comments:
Paul,
This is so great that you are enjoying the food so much, Nanny will be happy to hear this! I copied a lot of the blog journals and am mailing them to her today.
I'm glad you remember me making leban and lebanee - even though I couldn't get you to eat it! Why what you're enjoying now is extra good is because it's probably made from whole milk and heavy cream! I would bring leban home from Detroit from the Arabic store and Lisa and I would dig in with the thin Syrian bread. I wondered why it was so much better than mine, then we read the label! :o)
Glad to hear that classes are moving right along and into the next phase already. I'm glad all is going well.
Thank you for the updates on the fighting there. Please keep us posted as you are able. Nanny and Sitti both called yesterday to ask about you. They send their love and have you in their prayers.
You and the whole team and students are in mine, too.
Love you!
Mom
Post a Comment
<< Home