Your Dreams Coming True In The Kitchen

W ith this heat one cannot eat anything except cold right out of the fridge fresh vegetables with some protein...Feta...or if you prefer low fat Ricotta or cottage cheese.

P asta e fagioli must be one of the most popular dishes in Italy. It is what it says it is...pasta and small white beans. The ultimate family meal. It is cheap, and it is nourishing because of the beans and filling because of the pasta. In the United States of America, Pasta e Fagioli is very much eaten amongst the Italian-American community specially those originating from Sicily and Naples. They call it "Pasta e Fazool". Even Dean Martin in his song " That's Amore " mentions it.  If you would like to hear the song and see the video with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis please follow the link...Jerry Lewis was my favorite commedian when I was little. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtmsIq0-T54&feature=grec_index Pasta E Fagioli With Tomato Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Google. Pasta E Fagioli Without Tomato Courtesy Of Widipedia On Google. As you can see from the above two photos Pasta e Fagioli can be made both ways.  With tomatoes we ha...

Taboulé Courtesy Of Wikipedia On Googl T aboulé is definitely Lebanese and is pronounced  «Tabbóulé» where the accent is on the "o " and the ending is as it is written with an " é ".  My aunt Mary from Roum, near Beirut, showed me how to do it when I was a little boy. It can be a meal by itself specially when eaten with whole leaves of lettuce. To make a proper Tabbouleh, you need a lot of parsley. This is the base. Then you need to cut everything very very small with the Makhrata as is called in Arabic or the Mezzaluna. These are the two secrets of Tabbouleh and of course the Bulgur (cracked wheat). You will need : Serves 8 -  4 bunches of parsley very very thinly cut with the mezzaluna. -  150 gms of cracked wheat soaked in cold water for 2 hours in the fridge. -  5 big tomatoes seeds taken out, and finely chopped with the mezzaluna. -  2 large onions thinly chopped with mezzaluna. -  Juice of 3 lemons. -...

S o today we shall cook together string beans with sun dried tomatoes and garlic, fresh ginger, dry coriander, tomato paste, penne riggate and topped with fresh chopped coriander.  The penne riggate are included to make the dish more filling.  Of course they could be optional.

This Recipe Is For My Friend Sikander Memon From Mohenjo-daro, Sindh, Pakistan, who taught me what I know about his type of food. (he is alive and kicking by the way)   E very curry powder mix is not the same.  As previously mentioned in past blogs about Pakistani/Indian foods, the main ingredient is a mixture of spices which produce a curry, a tandoori, a tikka, a biryani etc. By changing the ratio, addition or the  omission of one or more spice will change the taste of the resulting dish. If you basically like all these ingredients you will like Pakistani or Indian food.

Kokoretsi Courtesy Of Google F ifty days ago was Easter Sunday. Today is  Pentecost .  I propose something completely Greek which is eaten in what the Greeks call P s i s t a r i é s, taverns where everything is cooked on charcoal (lamb, pork, beef, kebabs, chicken etc.). Kokoretsi  can be eaten anytime of the year. However, during the Easter period (Spring) when lambs are young, Kokoretsi is very good and lean. Basically I eat it once or maximum twice a year during Easter. Lots of charcoal needs 1½ hours to properly light, becomes grey...not too hot.  Only then you can either start grilling or barbecuing. Kokoretsi is a typical Greek appetizer. It is not to be eaten as the main course. The following video will show you, in Greek, how to make a Kokoretsi, courtesy of You Tube, on Google. Some of you who do not know Greek will enjoy the pictures and maybe the music. It comes from the north west of Greece, Epiros...typica...