Chapatis

We like to use the Bold Believers Series from Voice of the Martyrs. They often have recipes in the studies so you can prepare regional foods for the country you are studying, whihc we always look forward to doing. When we were doing the Pakistan Study, the recipe we liked best was for Chapatis. I always thought of these as an Indian Bread, (they are eaten there too) I just didn;t associate them with the Middle East until we did this study. We tried the other recipes too, but this the one was the one we liked the most and kept it for our family recipe book. My 10 year old son, has mastered the art of making Chapatis and loves to make them. He doesn't even use the recipe - he knows how to do it by heart. They are an easy quick made on a stove top. I am guessing they can be done in the electric tortilla press too, we just never tried. We use wheat or spelt flour in ours. Unlike the original recipe, we add a pinch or two of salt (we usually double it when we make it).

Mix 1 1/4C flour and 1/2C water together until you can form a golf ball size ball. (adjusting water or flour as needed) It should be a workable dough, not too sticky. Roll each ball into a little flour and pat (or roll) into a thin 5-6 inch circle. Put each round onto a hot dry griddle or frying pan, until light brown spots show, turn over and repeat. Keep warm and serve immediately. (Easy Peasy!) They go wonderfully with Baba Ganoush, Hummus, and salads. (They all work well with beans, dips, to hold sandwiches, with soups...how ever you might use any other flat bread.)

Citrus Roasted Lamb

A few Pesach's (Passovers) ago, we had our first self roasted lamb over an open fire. It was in company with some friends camping over Pesach and the week of Matzah. It was the first year, we started keeping our passover similarly in rememberence of the original story in Exodus instead of the typical Rabbinic Sedar. (More on that during the Passover Linky - maybe!) :-) Anyway, my friend (Julianne) whipped this rub up for the lamb and it was one of the most delicious things I have every tasted! It is so tender an scrumptious from the slow roasting. This is actually what started us to thinking (ahead to the possibility of raising sheep on our (then future) farm! Anyway, I wrote down what she did and it had become our family's "traditional" Passover Lamb Recipe. So I thought I might share it with you here.

1. It starts by marinating the lamb in fresh squeezed lemon and lime juice (turning every so often to be sure you are getting the whole lamb in the juices).

2. About an hour or two later after the lamb as been marinating in the juices and soaked some up. Mix together the following herbs and rub the lamb down with them. Leaving a generous amount of seasoning all over the lamb.

2 parts Dr. Mint, Dr. Basil, and *Citrus Seasoning Mix (any brand)

1 part Sea salt

1/2 part pepper

3. Put several 1" slits all over the top of the lamb and insert a clove of garlic into eash slit (about 8 + depending on wether you are doing a roast or whl lamb - the size of your cut)

4. If you can cover and let sit for a couple more hours that's even better, if not you may roast right away.

5. Slow roast over a wood fire or hot coals, turning as needed. You may butterfly it to speed up the cooking time, if you do this, you might need to rearrange your garlic clove slits. ( A grill is very handy for this, if you aren't in a place you can do a "camp fire".)

Scrumdilyicious! No body will want to leave any left overs! (Which is very helpful if you are trying to finish it completly as described in Scripture as a part of your observance.) :-)

* There are citrus rubs out now, which are quite tasty, they usually consist of dried lemon and orange peel with a few other herbs and salt. I have used differnt ones, and improvised with Lemon pepper and omited the pepper. It wasn;t As good but in my opinion but no one else noticed. :-) They still scarfed it down in haste! :-)

From our tent to yours -

Enjoy!

p.s. This photo is not citrus roasted lamb. I needed a photo to share for the linky!

Foods of The Holy Land

If you look into the foods of Israel, you quickly find there are many influences. Israel is right in the middle of so much, it truly is the center of the earth, a cross section of cultures. Studying the region shows us a great shadow picture of YHVH's Desire to be THE CENTER. (But I suppose that is another post.) When in The Land, you will see a wide variety of influences from the surrounding countries, as well of the immigration of the Yah's people coming home (Aliyah). It is a fun home school study/project to explore in your homes and kitchens if you are adventurous and love sensory hands on learning. Hers is a list copied from the Israeli Food Guide (linked below) of some examples of the diversity of food in Israel.

•Middle Eastern dishes from Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Lebanon
•North African foods from Morocco and Libya
•Mediterranean fare from Greece and Turkey
•Balkan dishes from Bulgaria and Romania
•European cooking from Germany, Russia, Poland and Hungary
•Yemenite, Indian, Ethiopian, Druze, Arab Israeli, and Bedouin foods
•Asian and American dishes can also be enjoyed in Israel!

Below are some links to explore if you would like to visit The Home Land through your table. I am planning on doing this in our family for our Shabbat menus in the upcoming season (as much as possible). The warm weather that is coming really make me crave fresh foods that are so typical of the diet in the Israel. On a more long term homestead note, we plan to raise sheep on our farm for meat and cheese. So don't be surprised if start sharing a lot more Israeli style recipes in the future at Home Shalom! :-)

Middle Eastern Recipe Links:

A Mid East Feast
Middle Eastern Recipes
The Gutsy Gourmet
Recipe Gold Mine

Israeli Recipes:
In Momma's Kitchen
Food by Country
Israel Food Guide

I know this may be a bit antiquated with the Internet at our fingertips :-) However, below is a list of links to books that are wonderful Biblically influenced Food Resources with Middle Eastern/Mediterranean Flare. Some of these resources may "bend" in a certain direction of understanding. I suggest you are prayerful as you read them and glean a balanced wisdom from a variety of resources as you develop your family's food plan. It is likely you know many of them, but their might some thing new in there that sparks your interest.

Books from a Historical Perspective:

Food at the Time of the Bible Nice pictures! Good Homeschool resource.

What Did The Ancient Israelites Eat?

Biblical Diet Books:

Maker's Diet

What The Bible Says About Healthy Living Russel

What The Bible Says About Healthy Living Cookbook

The Bible Diet

What Would Jesus Eat? Colbert

Foods That Jesus Ate and How to Grow Them

Biblical Vegetarian, Vegan, Raw, Healing the Body with Food - Books

Back to Eden, Kloss

God's Way, Malkmus

Recipes for Life, Malkmus

Hallelujah Diet, Malkmus

Baba Ganoush

I absolutely love Baba Ganoush! I might just growl if you get my near my bowl...that's how much I love the stuff! It is tasty, as a spread in a falafal sandwish, but may favorite way to eat it is to scoop into it with Pita or Lavash and make a meal our of it. It is light and delicious and healthy and wonderful dairy free dip option. It is easy to make and is especially attractive in the hotter months. This stores well in the fridge and is served cold, it is easy to make ahead and is wonderful for picnic lunches on Shabbat. This is my favorite recipe for Baba Ganoush.

2 medium eggplants*

Bake (whole) at 400F for 1 hour. Let cool and scoop the flesh out of the skin, it will similar in consistancy to cooked squash but lighter. Put that in a food processor.

Add the following ingrediants to the food porcessor or blender with a dry blade and blend to a smooth texture:

1/2C tahini

juice from 2 lemons

2 cloves of garlic

1/4tsp dr basil (or 1tsp fresh)

1/2C red or green onion

sea salt to taste

Chop 1/4C fresh curly parsley (small) and stir in by hand. Or use 2T dried in the step above and blend.

Raw Variation: You may make this as a raw dish. Instead of baking, remove steam and peel of the egplant (potato peeler works great). Slice and sprinkle with salt and let sit for an hour (or a little more). Drain, rinse and proceed with the remaining instructions above. This is also nice in the summer when you dont want to heat up the kitchen!

Enjoy!

*You may also use Japanese Eggplant for this recipe. It just takes about 4-5 of bigger ones to equal the amount of "meat".

Tahini Dressing

This is a version tasty sauce used in the Middle East and Mediterranean use as a dressing on many things. Drizzled over meats, in falafel sandwiches, over veggies, etc. I think of this as an all purpose Middle Eastern dressing. It can also be used on a salad. You can buy tahini in a jar, but you can also MAKE YOUR OWN very easily, as shown here in my friend Phylis' recipe for Hummus.

1/3C tahini

2T apple cider vinegar

3 squirts of Braggs liquid Aminos (or 2tsp Soy Sauce)

2tsp honey

pepper to taste

water

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Than slowly whisk in water to achieve the consistency you desire.

p.s. If you are going to use this as a salad dressing, let me suggest, olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, green (or red) onion and cucumbers.

p.p.s. I LOVE falafal, but not all falafal are created equal! I am still in search of a good falafal recipe. I was hoping to flush one out with this Linky...but if it doesn't happen, or if anyone finds one down the line...please keep me in mind and share it! :-)

For a large selection of delicious salad dressings, visit A Dressing a Day Challenge

Olive Tampenade

Costco sells this in a jar which is how I firt fell in love with. Than my local store stopped carrying it, so I had to learn how to make it myself. I was tickled to learn how eay is was to do! It is often used as a dip, sandwich spread or topping for fish and poultry. Make a batch ahead -it keeps well. My personal favorite way to eat it is by scooping it on to a cracker or flat bread as an appetizer or fast and healthy lunch.

Ingredients:
8 oz kalamata olives, pitted *
3 garlic cloves
2 TBS capers, rinsed and drained
2-3 TBS fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp grated lemon peel
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 minced anchovy or 1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional)

Toss all these ingrediant into a food processor and give a quick chop. Or mince each item with a knife and mix together in a bowl. I have seen it chopped so fine that it is like a paste or a spread, but my preference is what is pictured above.

Makes 1/2 cup

*I like to mix olives if I have them, black green and red, but Kalamata should be in that mix for sure.

p.s. Something I forgot to add in the original posting - Diced Roasted Red Bell Pepper, is also quite nice in Olive Tampenade! :-)

Za'atar Seasoning-

Those of you who know me, know I love to play with making seasoning mixes. Well, Wardeh from GNOWFLGINS has written a post about Za'atar a Middle Eastern Seasoning which is a staple in her kitchen. It is very unlike me to post recipes I have not tried, but this one is "on my list" of things to play with. So I thought I would post it here as a reminder. She has family heritage in the Middle East and also offers many classic recipes for Middle Eastern food, so I wanted to feature her here as a resource on this Linky. She is a wealth of information and had wonderful traditional food course, sourdough courses, cultured dairy courses and also has E-cookbooks for sale. We have taken 2 of her courses (and highly recommend them!) So if you haven't had a chance to check out what she is doing, I hope you take an opportunity to check it out and maybe tell a friend. I know, I am going to be playing with these recipes a lot more in this next season too! GNOWFLGINS is a valuable resource for anyone who is interested in cooking traditional foods from scratch. (I STILL have to look at the website to spell it though!) :-)