On the premise that you can't knock it until you've tried it, I tend to be relatively adventurous when it comes to cuisine (and life in general for that matter). And have, as a result, had food poisoning (aka, severe gastrointestinal distress, of a nature that necessitates a trip to the nearest hospital -- which is why I NEVER go anywhere in this world without knowing where hospitals or medical clinics can be found) a time or two or twenty in my life. And sometimes it's other things causing similar symptoms ;) There's my desire to do what some consider the totally insane and have attempted to ban me from doing (like parachute jump, hang gliding, parasailing, scuba diving, sand ski -- because that's the "last frontier" of substances to ski on that I haven't yet tried... but surprisingly, NOT bungee jumping).
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I'm sure when I finally make it to Libya, I'm going to eat my way up into a few new dress sizes... (or not, considering I have a pretty good metabolism and do enjoy exercise -- anything under 10K as far as a walk/run/hike goes doesn't really phase me much unless it's raining, and then, forget about it, I'll drive or take public transportation).
But in all seriousness, I know I'm going to enjoy the food, the hospitality, and hopefully, the getting to learn how to make the cuisine. Because I plan to nag, cajole, harass, etc., most every cook (male and female) I come into contact with into giving up their recipes to me. And if they won't share the actual recipe (I doubt that'll happen; Libyan hospitality is highly renowned in the Arab world, which is in itself more known for such things than my own culture), I'll use the "but it's to share Libya with the rest of the world!" excuse (Which IS a factual statement and hence, NOT an excuse per se). If nagging, cajoling, harassment, and excuses don't work, I shall learn by observation instead and will be able to replicate a recipe in SOME fashion. It may not be exact, it may be my interpretation (which means twice as spicy as the average person can tolerate; mein Vati raised his four children to eat things at least as hot as habanero without flinching or reaching for water much). C'est la vie. However, this observational style of cooking is how BILLIONS of people have been taught to cook for many millions of generations since the dawn of man and womankind. To slip into Valley Girl vernacular for a moment, "that's like, totally, the best way to learn anything, you know, right?
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The cuisine of Libya, according to Wikipedia (Je sais bien, I'm going to "link Hades" for sending people there, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_cuisine), has been highly influenced by other North African and Mediterranean cuisines, with many Italian influences, especially in Tripoli, and especially there considering the Italian colonization of Libya wayyyyyyyyy back when (nobody likes to remember those dark, dark days of history unless it's to remind the Italians of their failed attempt at colonization and ineptitude at making war -Italians should stick to two particular rooms of a house (think Valentino and pretty much any Italian cook) instead of playing with guns (making war), making friends with Nazis, and blindly following fascists who make friends with Nazis and henceforth, doom themselves to death! <<-- historical sarcasm implied in previous statement, no "racism" meant and if someone takes it as such, quellllllllo, ho avuto qualche parolacce rivolte e per voi, LOL). It sort of has links to recipes on the Wikipedia entry, but I more highly recommend the following sites because of their ease of use.
A fellow Blogger blog, http://libyanfood.blogspot.com/ is definitely my favorite. It TOTALLY has me wanting to go right into the kitchen right now (even as late --or early-- as it is) and cook something (perhaps for lunch today). Very good illustrations and recipes. Brava, ladies!
There's also this site, http://www.worldrecipehouse.com/libyan_recipe/libyan_recipe.html (ditto, yummers). It does tend to be a more general site for Mediterranean/North African cuisine.
Last but not least, http://www.libya-watanona.com/libya/food.htm --(Many of the recipes are listed under their Libyan Arabic name). Good recipes and great variety. What more can you ask for if you're a newbie to this region of the world and its culinary delights? My ONLY gripes are that some ingredients are named in Arabic, which does necessitate a little bit of digging to find out what it is (which my investigatory nature enjoys), as well as no temperatures listed for baking or cooking (which WOULD complicate matters a bit);
There are MANY other wonderful sites out there. I've just given a sampling of them (perform your OWN Google search at the crack of dawn!).
Instead of getting into the kitchen hardcore just yet, I'll settle for some tea (Pacific Chai Serenity Chai Latte -- because I DO NOT need any more caffeine! I nearly always make it with 6 oz. water and 2 oz. milk, a tablespoon of honey, and pinches of cardamom and cinnamon) before bed, and perhaps later today make some North African Cardamom Cookies (see recipe below, slight tweaks from the original recipe on food.com) or Ghurayba (also see below, illustrated with pictures).
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, ONTO THE RECIPES!
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
2 cups fine whole wheat flour (or regular white flour. I don't think it matters much. I've done it both ways and both are quite tasty).
1 teaspoon salt (if using salted butter, as I did, omit salt)
For all you budding cooks out there that may have found this posting after using Google search terms like, "Libyan Cuisine", I HIGHLY recommend the cookbook this recipe is taken from, as well as others by author Habeeb Salloum. There's a particularly tasty looking vegetarian cookbook of his that I will definitely be buying, and I'm very much an omnivore that firmly believes if God didn't want us eating animals, He, in His infinite wisdom, would not have made them so tasty! And yes, his (that is to say, Habeeb Salloum's) other books are also on my "book lust list" :) This particular cookbook, "From the Land of Figs and Olives" can be found on http://www.amazon.com, his other books can be purchased from http://www.powells.com (the bestest bookstore this side of the Mississippi River; I have not seen "FTLOFAO" online there recently), as well as many other sites like eBay (http://www.ebay.com), Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com), et al. A link to the Imbattna recipe in that previously mentioned book can be found by performing a very simple Google search of the search term "Imbattna recipe"... it takes you right to "Google Books" and a photocopied version of that recipe.
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I'm sure when I finally make it to Libya, I'm going to eat my way up into a few new dress sizes... (or not, considering I have a pretty good metabolism and do enjoy exercise -- anything under 10K as far as a walk/run/hike goes doesn't really phase me much unless it's raining, and then, forget about it, I'll drive or take public transportation).
But in all seriousness, I know I'm going to enjoy the food, the hospitality, and hopefully, the getting to learn how to make the cuisine. Because I plan to nag, cajole, harass, etc., most every cook (male and female) I come into contact with into giving up their recipes to me. And if they won't share the actual recipe (I doubt that'll happen; Libyan hospitality is highly renowned in the Arab world, which is in itself more known for such things than my own culture), I'll use the "but it's to share Libya with the rest of the world!" excuse (Which IS a factual statement and hence, NOT an excuse per se). If nagging, cajoling, harassment, and excuses don't work, I shall learn by observation instead and will be able to replicate a recipe in SOME fashion. It may not be exact, it may be my interpretation (which means twice as spicy as the average person can tolerate; mein Vati raised his four children to eat things at least as hot as habanero without flinching or reaching for water much). C'est la vie. However, this observational style of cooking is how BILLIONS of people have been taught to cook for many millions of generations since the dawn of man and womankind. To slip into Valley Girl vernacular for a moment, "that's like, totally, the best way to learn anything, you know, right?
*****************************************************
The cuisine of Libya, according to Wikipedia (Je sais bien, I'm going to "link Hades" for sending people there, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_cuisine), has been highly influenced by other North African and Mediterranean cuisines, with many Italian influences, especially in Tripoli, and especially there considering the Italian colonization of Libya wayyyyyyyyy back when (nobody likes to remember those dark, dark days of history unless it's to remind the Italians of their failed attempt at colonization and ineptitude at making war -Italians should stick to two particular rooms of a house (think Valentino and pretty much any Italian cook) instead of playing with guns (making war), making friends with Nazis, and blindly following fascists who make friends with Nazis and henceforth, doom themselves to death! <<-- historical sarcasm implied in previous statement, no "racism" meant and if someone takes it as such, quellllllllo, ho avuto qualche parolacce rivolte e per voi, LOL). It sort of has links to recipes on the Wikipedia entry, but I more highly recommend the following sites because of their ease of use.
A fellow Blogger blog, http://libyanfood.blogspot.com/ is definitely my favorite. It TOTALLY has me wanting to go right into the kitchen right now (even as late --or early-- as it is) and cook something (perhaps for lunch today). Very good illustrations and recipes. Brava, ladies!
There's also this site, http://www.worldrecipehouse.com/libyan_recipe/libyan_recipe.html (ditto, yummers). It does tend to be a more general site for Mediterranean/North African cuisine.
Last but not least, http://www.libya-watanona.com/libya/food.htm --(Many of the recipes are listed under their Libyan Arabic name). Good recipes and great variety. What more can you ask for if you're a newbie to this region of the world and its culinary delights? My ONLY gripes are that some ingredients are named in Arabic, which does necessitate a little bit of digging to find out what it is (which my investigatory nature enjoys), as well as no temperatures listed for baking or cooking (which WOULD complicate matters a bit);
There are MANY other wonderful sites out there. I've just given a sampling of them (perform your OWN Google search at the crack of dawn!).
Instead of getting into the kitchen hardcore just yet, I'll settle for some tea (Pacific Chai Serenity Chai Latte -- because I DO NOT need any more caffeine! I nearly always make it with 6 oz. water and 2 oz. milk, a tablespoon of honey, and pinches of cardamom and cinnamon) before bed, and perhaps later today make some North African Cardamom Cookies (see recipe below, slight tweaks from the original recipe on food.com) or Ghurayba (also see below, illustrated with pictures).
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, ONTO THE RECIPES!
North African Cardamom Cookies
ESSENTIALLY FROM-- http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=385553 (minor tweaks to recipe as noted)
PREP TIME: 10 mins; COOK TIME: 15 mins; YIELD: 2 1/2 dozen
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup salted or unsalted butter (2 cubes in the US & Canada)(I used salted butter, so I omitted the salt called for in the original recipe). *Let warm to room temperature, about 30-45 minutes* (or microwave for 15 seconds. The first method-- allowing it to warm to room temp-- is best).
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cardamom powder1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
2 cups fine whole wheat flour (or regular white flour. I don't think it matters much. I've done it both ways and both are quite tasty).
1 teaspoon salt (if using salted butter, as I did, omit salt)
DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, beat the butter, sugar, cardamom powder, and cinnamon powder for three minutes. Then add eggs one at a time. When the mixture gets light, take it out in a bowl and add the flour and salt with a light hand. When a soft dough is formed, with the help of a spoon, drop them on a nonstick cookie sheet (it may work best to refrigerate for one hour; I did, and the second batch turned out better). Place them 1/2" apart; these will spread. Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 325˚F for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies have a golden color. Repeat the process for the remaining dough. GREAT with tea or coffee.
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Arabian Shortbread (Ghurayba)
(Illustrated with self-portraits taken from my Facebook page-- again-- repost these, or ANY of my pictures anywhere, and I WILL NOT be very happy. And by that, I mean DO NOT DO IT, ANTUM HAMEER! Sorry to post that like that (my apologies to donkeys everywhere, for they don't deserve to be compared to foul beasts like those who shall not be fully named), but some nasty little trolls who come here from their pathetic (and malicious) site (which lambasts everything and everyone, without thinking of the legal consequences and ramifications of doing so, which are and remain very real to this day) STILL think it's okay to do what they have done, and have not removed the threads that cross the legal line very clearly, but oh yeah, according to one of their brilliant legal minds (elspeth), "MELINDA harassment is legally protected freedom of speech, whereas using a racial epithet is NOT"... um, not so much, brainiac. I'm sure your "Top Tier Ivy League Law School" would just LOVE to know about you engaging in this cyberstalking and cyberharassment and then attempting to justify it like THAT.
(Illustrated with self-portraits taken from my Facebook page-- again-- repost these, or ANY of my pictures anywhere, and I WILL NOT be very happy. And by that, I mean DO NOT DO IT, ANTUM HAMEER! Sorry to post that like that (my apologies to donkeys everywhere, for they don't deserve to be compared to foul beasts like those who shall not be fully named), but some nasty little trolls who come here from their pathetic (and malicious) site (which lambasts everything and everyone, without thinking of the legal consequences and ramifications of doing so, which are and remain very real to this day) STILL think it's okay to do what they have done, and have not removed the threads that cross the legal line very clearly, but oh yeah, according to one of their brilliant legal minds (elspeth), "MELINDA harassment is legally protected freedom of speech, whereas using a racial epithet is NOT"... um, not so much, brainiac. I'm sure your "Top Tier Ivy League Law School" would just LOVE to know about you engaging in this cyberstalking and cyberharassment and then attempting to justify it like THAT.
For all you budding cooks out there that may have found this posting after using Google search terms like, "Libyan Cuisine", I HIGHLY recommend the cookbook this recipe is taken from, as well as others by author Habeeb Salloum. There's a particularly tasty looking vegetarian cookbook of his that I will definitely be buying, and I'm very much an omnivore that firmly believes if God didn't want us eating animals, He, in His infinite wisdom, would not have made them so tasty! And yes, his (that is to say, Habeeb Salloum's) other books are also on my "book lust list" :) This particular cookbook, "From the Land of Figs and Olives" can be found on http://www.amazon.com, his other books can be purchased from http://www.powells.com (the bestest bookstore this side of the Mississippi River; I have not seen "FTLOFAO" online there recently), as well as many other sites like eBay (http://www.ebay.com), Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com), et al. A link to the Imbattna recipe in that previously mentioned book can be found by performing a very simple Google search of the search term "Imbattna recipe"... it takes you right to "Google Books" and a photocopied version of that recipe.
ARABIAN SHORTBREAD (AKA, Ghurayba; supposedly more a Syria/Lebanon style recipe according to the book), although you say Ghurayba to ANY Arab, and they definitely recognize this recipe as such)
This recipe taken from the excellent cookbook, "From the Land of Figs and Olives", by Habeeb Salloum and James Peters, page 209... though EXTREMELY SIMILAR VERSIONS are found all over the Web.
The book says it makes 40 cookies, I yield about two and a half dozen (perhaps because MY idea of a walnut is a Juglans major... for two reasons. One, my Mom being from Arizona. And two, my having lived in Oklahoma and knowing my way around a few nuts because of it -- inside joke implied).
This recipe taken from the excellent cookbook, "From the Land of Figs and Olives", by Habeeb Salloum and James Peters, page 209... though EXTREMELY SIMILAR VERSIONS are found all over the Web.
The book says it makes 40 cookies, I yield about two and a half dozen (perhaps because MY idea of a walnut is a Juglans major... for two reasons. One, my Mom being from Arizona. And two, my having lived in Oklahoma and knowing my way around a few nuts because of it -- inside joke implied).
INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cups butter (3 cubes in the US & Canada)1 ¾ cups confectioner’s sugar (aka, powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon orange blossom water (mazahar) or rosewater (NOTE: I have also had these cookies with this omitted, and they turn out fine).
1 egg yolk
3 cups flour
40 blanched almonds (MMH note: I NEVER blanch almonds. And the cookies DO NOT suffer if the almonds are not soaked in water until their skins brush off easily with or without a pastry brush. A ghurayba purist will probably gasp in horror, while whispering excitedly or nervously, "Ya Allah, she DOESN'T blanch the almonds first, she's soooooo going to Culinary Hell").
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 300˚. Place the butter, 1 ½ cups of the confectioner’s sugar, the orange blossom water (or rosewater), and egg yolk in a blender (note: I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS, at most, I’ve used a wire whisk), then blend for one minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl; then gradually add the flour while mixing with the fingers until a smooth dough is formed. Form the dough into balls a little smaller than a walnut, then place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten to about ½ inch. Press an almond onto each ball, then bake for 20 minutes or until bottoms of cookies turn light brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool, then sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar (NOTE: if you DO NOT cool the cookies before sprinkling with the powdered sugar, it will slightly glaze over, which does up the sweetness factor slightly). Another note—they may feel slightly soft when they’re done baking, but they harden as they cool.
Mixing ghurayba dough by hand. Really, this is the *ONLY* way to do it.
Clowning around for the camera (self portrait, remote in left hand, hunk of dough in right hand). And FTR, it's flour (or perhaps powdered sugar) on my backside. I'm kind of messy in the kitchen sometimes!
TOP IMAGE: Ghurayba cookies, after flattening, after almond placement, about to be baked. And another note-- if not for the wonderful invention known as a "Crock Pot", I would probably have starved to death part of the time in Oklahoma. BOTTOM IMAGE: Because cooking makes me hungry, I'm noshing on a piece of baklava (not homemade, bought from a wonderful bakery in my hometown, Red Rooster Bakery, http://redroosterbakery.com/) while waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven. My tea is out of sight (literally, as well as figuratively, I DO make a great cuppa!), on the table. As a note, my (very near) future culinary adventures will include making baklava from scratch-- even the phyllo dough (may God be with me!) -- with my friends (and partners in culinary crime!) when one of my dearest friends is visiting in a few weeks from the Bay Area. Her brother's more delicate and beautiful half also wants to try her hand, so hey, it'll be fun (and probably kind of sticky). Inshallah, it all turns out as wonderfully as the above cookies did, and I don't wear as much honey on my person as I did that time in Tulsa (at age 19) when I tried to bake baklava from scratch, and there isn't honey being found places at my friend's parents house for MONTHS afterwards (hopefully not attracting ants like it did in my apartment in Tulsa). I gave up 12 years ago, when I was a MUCH younger and MUCH less patient woman, and drove down to one of my favorite haunts, a Middle Eastern grocery/restaurant (I believe it was on S. Peoria Ave, just down from the Albertson's and Safeway which were across the street from one another, and about three blocks, if that, from the KFC All-You-Can-Eat-Buffet, but not quite as far as the Pizza Hut) and BOUGHT some baklava. And because I'm a "self admitted culinary snob" about such things (which foods I get from where, and certain things, I prefer to buy as locally as possible), the honey WILL BE BOUGHT at the local Farmer's Market (even if it costs me an arm, leg, kidney, lobe of liver, firstborn male child, etc. to do so -- some things are important. And supporting local agriculture is IMPORTANT).
FTR/FYI, the pictures were all taken in 2007, just before Easter. So yes, my hair color and style has probably changed since then more than once... I'm a chameleon in some ways and that's one of them.
FTR/FYI, the pictures were all taken in 2007, just before Easter. So yes, my hair color and style has probably changed since then more than once... I'm a chameleon in some ways and that's one of them.
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