Can life get any easier?
It is one of those days when you have that urging itchy need, to scratch that agonized painful wound inside your soul, hurt it, bleed it, and then weep your pain out.
How to deal with life, what are the safety measures to tackle life, fight? , ignore?, be satisfied? Continue reading
Petrichor: is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil
I thought while the flipping over the Sleepy Muloukheh Leaves, completely high with that earthy smell of the sizzling leaves
“flip it well in ghee my angle” I can hear the sound of my Grandmma, flip it well so it doesn’t turn sticky, stir it to release those odours, and saturate it in Ghee, be generous, and gentle to the soft leaves.
I can’t really track the main source of this dish in the region, some say it was the Royal dish of the Pharaoh family back in old Egypt, but who cares, it is royal indeed.. With its high ranked ingredients and flavours, that savoury taste, and ahhh the smell of dried coriander with garlic, isn’t it a perfume of kings.
Lots of memories run into my mind along with this dish, that social sacred ritual in drying the mloukheh leaves, mom and grandma picking the leaves from stocks, then spread it on white sheets, where they dry slowly away from direct sun light, the annual ritual that turns the guest room in every Syrian house into Mloukheh drying Temple, children are not allowed of course, I caught myself with a gentle smile, drawn on my adult heavy dim face.
Still stirring those tendered leaves, then crowned it with abundant share of sliced garlic.. Then came the moment of truth, drums are playing in the background while adding the minced garlic to the coriander… a Symphony of colours, and odours.
A glorious dish, cooked with care and love, my grandmother’s voice in my head, could I stay hidden between those leaves, guarded by gently flowing memories, kept away from being an adult?
I finally added the freshly juiced lemon, Mloukheh is ready, i served my royal dish with rice, a smile, lots of love, and tender memories
Mr. “F” drunk with the taste, overwhelmed with ecstasy of odours full of taste bites, “on Sundays he rests” he patted my shoulder and thanked me with a smile that sums up my day
See you next week 😊
Listening to that enchanting, and mesmerizing piece of Music called “Wa Kameh” by Ziad Rahbani, it is named “Grain of wheat” gracefully narrating the story of this cursed land, resurrecting seven thousand years, of civilization and pain. gently waking up the ears of Wheat to dance our history, Writhing in pain in endless circles, weeping, lamenting and dancing off that pain
Continue reading
Winter is Coming , knocking so hard on my window today, .. Windy stormy rain showers, hit me by surprise, and left me in a bad morning mood
There was Me, and there was Beirut
Rice and peas
Can Cooking answer some existential question?
Can it help when you are face to face with the terrifying eternal question? “what the heck am doing here? Or how on my something of years… (don’t think am gonna tell how old am i, no woman would 😂) Continue reading
another Sunday, another Truce of wars
another day to spend lazy at home, enjoying the slow motion clock ticking in the room
“Groats (Burgul) with chickpeas” is a very traditional food in the Syrian Coast Area. It is easy, fast vegetarian food cooked with abundant and available ingredients, almost a boring dish to make for Sundays.
So after preparing the chicken stock, I thought to my self, what a boring way to serve the already boring, dull chicken??!!
and as i was surfing the net for a Salad Dressing, I found this amazing way to cook chicken with whole grain mustard and sage leaves, the result was beyond my expectation, the unbelievable aroma from Siege, the smooth silky texture of the honey, the contrast of flavors came out to be a truly Sunday deserved Dish that brightened the face of my Dear Audience Mr. “F” 🙂
for recipe and more see below
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Yield8 servings
The creamiest honey mustard chicken ever! It’s so good, you’ll want to eat the honey mustard itself with a spoon!
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
The God of War Rests on Sundays ” Mahmoud Darwish”
My name is Lobna
I am a Hard worker, escaping the War in Syria, dreaming to have a simple Restaurant of my own someday. Life is simple , doesn’t come with a Manual, just a punch of simple joys, listen to some music, cook with love, enjoy a smile on the faces of the people you love.. And here is my blog an attempt to escape the ugly face of life with good meal and a smile, wait up every Sunday 😊
Soul Kitchen 