Notes about Recipes in this book

• Basic pickling solution (Al mkhallal)

  • Ganga108 on October 23, 2023

    A basic pickling solution with an option to add bay leaves and/or chillies. (I dehydrated a ton of thyme today after pruning the bush. Now I want to make the Pickled Green Thyme recipe in this book.)

• Pickled green unripe almonds (Kabees loz akhdar)

  • Ganga108 on October 23, 2023

    Honestly, how fortunate am I to find some green almonds at the local Afghan green grocery with the gorgeous staff. He gave me all they had left, so I promptly made this pickle. It looks so gorgeous - the green almonds all lined like little soldiers.

  • Ganga108 on December 31, 2024

    I am really pleased with these. They sat in the fridge for a year before I opened them. I am using primarily sliced in the ubiquitous green gardens salads of the Australian summer.

• Strained goat yogurt cheese balls in oil (Labneh mkaazaleh bil zeit)

  • mjes on July 08, 2018

    Can substitute fresh cow milk for goat milk, and your favorite spices or herbs for dried mint.

• Orange blossom water (Ma zahr)

  • mjes on July 08, 2018

    This recipe includes a hidden recipe for "white coffee" - orange blossom water in boiling water with optional sugar. White coffee is traditionally served after a "copious meal" or before going to bed.

• Drying rosemary (Tijfeef iklil el jabal)

  • Ganga108 on April 07, 2023

    I dry rosemary and other herbs each year to make "dried mixed herbs" to use in cooking for the rest of the year.

• Strawberry jam (Mrabba el farawla)

  • mjes on July 08, 2018

    Can substitute grape molasses for the sugar; half apricots and half strawberries for strawberries.

• Green unripe walnuts in sugar syrup (Joz akhdar bil atr)

  • mjes on July 08, 2018

    Can substitute a cinnamon stick or whole cloves for geranium leaves.

• Blend of dried herbs, roots and flowers (Khaltet el zhoorat)

  • mjes on July 08, 2018

    This blend fascinated me because of its use of cherry stems and corn silk, an obvious ultra-version of waste nothing. On the other hand, the blend frustrated me as I knew I'd be hard pressed to ever get all the ingredients together. My version used purchased hyssop, rose petals (not Damascus but culinary). The cherry stems, corn silk, chamomile, and lemon balm were fresh. Hollyhocks and aleaster were omitted. Kaffir lime leaves substituted for lime-flower. This made a tea that is worth exploring further, adjusting the proportions and ingredients. i.e. this is a great recipe if you are interested in spending weeks (or is it years?) getting the precise blend you'll most enjoy. My purchased versions: Lebanon Valley brand contains only rose buds, chamomile, anise, fennel and iwisa; Hashem's contains rose buds, chamomile, anise, iwisa, ginger, cinnamon, fenugreek, hibiscus, cloves, rock sugar, star anise and mahlab.

• Drying wild thyme (Tijfeef el zaatar)

  • Ganga108 on October 23, 2023

    I pruned my thyme bush yesterday, and dried the leaves in a dehydrator. Although this recipe is for wild thyme or za'atar, I used the same method of removing and sieving out the leaves from the stalks. It makes easy work of the process, and from a dehydrator full of thyme branches, I have a medium jar of leaves to add to my "Mouneh" of dried leaves and powders from the garden, for the kitchen.

• Drying bell peppers (Tijfeef el flayfleh)

  • Ganga108 on January 04, 2025

    I dry excess capsicums each summer, using a dehydrator instead of air-drying. They have intense sweet flavours that are delicious as snacks as well as rehydrating them to use in dishes. Recommended.

• Dried tomatoes (Banadoora mjaffafeh)

  • Ganga108 on April 07, 2023

    I dried a lot of tomatoes from the garden this year, using a dehydrator. I do love the way that this recipe salts the tomatoes on the trays.

• Lima beans in oil (Fasoolia bil zeit)

  • Ganga108 on September 06, 2022

    I made this as a salad, without preserving it, using dried lima beans, a combo of fresh and pickled capsicums, and fresh chillies. Simple and delicious.

• Clarified butter (Samneh)

  • Ganga108 on April 08, 2023

    I started making ghee in the early 2000's and it is very easy (but requires attention). These days there are some great quality products available in good stores and Indian groceries, so make it less often.

• Dried eggplant (Batenjen mjaffaf)

  • Ganga108 on April 08, 2023

    I use the dehydrator to preserve eggplant for winter use.

• Drying grapes (Tijfeef el enab)

  • Ganga108 on March 11, 2025

    An interesting recipe and dipping solution - I love to read about traditional methods. But it is a bit too complicated for my few kg of home-grown grapes that I am drying in a dehydrator.

• Dried red chilli pepper (Harr mjaffaf)

  • Ganga108 on January 05, 2025

    Very easy.

• Red pepper powder (Harr matthoon)

  • Ganga108 on January 05, 2025

    Very special to make your chilli powder from your own chillies. I don't tend to rub the oil in.

• Grape vinegar (Khal el enab)

  • Ganga108 on March 11, 2025

    Dealing with the grapes from the garden today, and thought I would try some vinegar. This recipe doesn't use any sugar, but I added some as per some other recipes online. Next time I might be game enough to try without, but maybe it would be very tart. I am making the vinegar in a 3l jar, and expect perhaps 1.5l vinegar if all goes well. An experiment.

• Eat Your Books

  Barbara is a gifted story-teller and her passion for all things Lebanese is palpable and appreciated in Mouneh.

  Full review