General Info: (Pita Bread) This pita bread is from the regions of Lebanese and Syrian. It is also known as a flat bread. Sufficient for: 8 loaves ——————————————————————————– Ingredients: 1/2 ounce active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 2 1/2 cups warm water 8 cups plain flour 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons oil ——————————————————————————– Let’s start: Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water. Stir in the sugar. Set aside in a warm place. Leave it until it begins to rise up and foam. This will take about 15 minutes. Sift the salt and flour together into a large, warm mixing bowl.. Form a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the yeast into the center. Gently mix the yeast into the flour. Mix by hand, adding small amounts of warm water if necessary. Knead until this becomes a soft dough. Transfer the dough from the bowl to a floured pastry board and continue to knead until it is smooth and shiny. This will take about 15 minutes. Knead 2 tablespoons of oil into the dough. Roll into a large ball. Rub the remaining one tablespoon of oil over the surface of the ball. Return to the bowl. Cover with a moist cloth. Set in a warm place to rise. Leave it about 1 1/2 hours until it doubles in size. Pre heat the oven to maximum heat at a minimum of 30 minutes before using. Punch down the dough. Pull the edges up to form another ball. Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead 2 minutes. Divide into 8 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball. On the floured board flatten each ball and roll with a heavy rolling pin into flat round shapes approximately 1/4 inch or 6mm thick. They should be about 12 inches in diameter. Place the flattened bread rounds on a lightly floured cloth. Cover this with another floured cloth set in a warm spot to rise again to double their size. This should take about 30 minutes. Pre heat the baking tray in the oven for 5 minutes. Carefully rub the tray with oil. Place one round at a time on the baking tray. Cook 5 - 9 minutes. The bread should swell in the middle and become a light brown in color. Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean cloth to keep moist. The swelling will disappear when the bread is removed from the oven. Continue this procedure with the remaining rounds.

General Info: This is a great salad from the country of Tunisia Sufficient for:6 Ingredients: 2 large sweet red peppers 2 large onions 4 medium tomatoes 1 small hot pepper 3 T. fresh lemon juice 3 T. olive oil 1 t oregano 1 7 oz. can of tuna 2 oz crumbled feta cheese 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped salt & pepper to taste Let’s start: Grill the peppers, tomatoes and onions in a hot oven approximately 400 degrees. Turn them once during this process. Grill them until they are soft. Remove from oven and cool. Remove the seeds from the peppers. Dice all of the cooked vegetables into small pieces. Place the vegetables on a flat serving platter. Stir in gently the lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and the salt and pepper. Best way to eat:Spread the tuna and hard boiled eggs over top.

General Info: (Meat Pies) These meat pies originate in: Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Sufficient for:30 pies Ingredients: 1/2 quantity of Khoubiz dough recipe* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 # pound of fresh, coarsely ground lamb 1 medium onion, chopped fine 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon white pepper salt to taste 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice extra vegetable oil Let’s start: Prepare the Khoubiz dough. Set aside to rise 1 1/2 hours (this should become double in size) Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground lamb and stir and cook until the meat is crumbly and it is no longer pink. Stir in the chopped onion and cook, stirring until the onion is soft , about 5 minutes. Stir in the pine nuts and all of the spices and seasonings. Stir and cook for one minute. Add the chopped tomatoes. Cover the skillet , reduce the heat to low and cook for 10-15 minutes until the tomato is soft. Remove from heat. Stir in the fresh lemon juice. The mixture should not be watery but it should be moist. Set aside to cool. Punch down the dough and roll on a lightly floured pastry board till it is 1/4 inch thick. Cut 10 4 inch rounds. Continue to roll the trimmings into a ball, roll them out and cut into rounds also. Place the rounds on a cloth and cover with another cloth. Take a round of dough and flute the edges with fingertips. Spread a heaping tablespoon of the meat/nut mixture and into the small pie shell you have formed. Place one inch apart on an oil baking sheet. Lightly brush the pies, including the meat and the crust with more oil. Bake in a pre heated oven at 350 degrees 15 minutes or until the crust is golden. Best way to eat: Serve hot out of the oven or warm with fresh lemon or plain yogurt.

General Info: A variation on the traditional Lentil soup. Healthy, and one of my favorites. Sufficient for: 5 bowls Ingredients: lentils, 1.5 cup, washed water, 7 cups garlic, 2 clove crushed salt, 1.5 teaspoon onions, 3/4 cup chopped olive oil, 0.5 cup spinach , 8 leaves plus a few stalks, finely chopped lemon juice, 1/2 cup, fresh celery, 1 stalk, finely chopped cornstarch, 1 teaspoon, optional Let’s start: Place lentils in a sauce pan with water, bring to boil, cover and simmer until tender. Brown onions in oil, add chopped spinach and garlic crushed with salt and mix well. Saut slowly until spinach becomes soft. Return lentils to a boil, add celery and saut ed mixture. Turn to low and simmer 5 minutes. For a thin soup, mix in the lemon juice and adjust salt to taste. For a thicker soup, mix cornstarch with lemon juice before adding to the cooked soup, then allow soup to simmer a few minutes longer.

General Info: Served as an appetizer or as a cream cheese like spread for flat bread Ingredients: 1 recipe of labneh olive oil Let’s start: Make one quantity of labneh, following the directions for labneh. Take about one Tablespoon at a time and roll them into smooth, round balls and place on a tray. Chill until firm. This will take several hours. After they are firm and slightly dried out, place in a sterile, air tight jar, cover with olive oil. Seal the jar and store at room temperature.