"It's not surprising that we're witnessing a cheesemaking resurgence of sorts in that part of the world." Photograph from dearanxiety on Flickr Last week, there was an interesting story from the McClatchy newspapers about a group of Italian agronomists helping some Palestinian farmers set up an Italian sheep cheese operation in the West Bank. The dairy goes by the name of Golden Sheep, and produces a small variety of Italian cheeses like pecorino (a generic term for an aged sheep cheese), smoked ricotta, and scamorza (a close relative of mozzarella). The economy in the West Bank is, for obvious reasons, relatively stagnant, and the agronomists at Italy's Ucodep have launched this development project to help get some money flowing. The...
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Chickpea interior, photograph from dumin on Flickr If mom or grandma was really in the kitchen at every "mom and pop"-style ethnic spot, I feel sorry for a lot of this world's children. Which is to say, either the mom shackled to the back of that steamy Vulcan stove can’t cook or, more likely, most proprietors are lying and carrying on the celebrated tradition of mining customers yen for family-related nostalgia for their own personal gain. At Chickpea, a West Town Middle Eastern spot that opened last November, no one's lying, except maybe your stomach when it's full and tells you that you really shouldn't eat anymore. Co-owner Amni Suqi, mother of co-owner Jerry Suqi, sporting fresh cooking injuries like...
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As I tend to like fresh cheese in spherical form, I was instantly drawn to Marianna's homemade labneh, a creamy, fresh, Middle Eastern cheese made from strained yogurt and preserved in olive oil. Follow Marianna's directions to make it at home; it's part of a typical Middle Eastern breakfast! Previously Photo of the Day: Mshalalé Cheese Hard Labor: A Look At Cheesemaking...
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Samir Nassar is Eastern Orthodox and his wife Georgette is Catholic, so they and their two sons usually celebrate Easter twice a year. This year both Easters fall on April 8, and so they invited Karola Saekel of the San Francisco Chronicle into their home to see "what a typical Palestinian Christian Easter meal looks and tastes like." The Nassars were both raised in large families and have relatives in the Bay Area, so they expect about 50 people to come and eat with them on Easter Sunday—all of whom will be getting leftovers. "'Hospitality and generosity are Palestinian hallmarks,' says Sam Nassar. 'If we have to feed three, we cook for 20.'"...
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