Kitchen Inspiration

Hey there Family Flavours family,

With all these snow days piling up, I thought it would be timely to post some great food blogs featuring Middle East cuisine. Check them out, and get cooking! صحتين

Dirty Kitchen Secrets http://www.dirtykitchensecrets.com/

Born in the United States to a Lebanese Father and American mother, Bethany Kehdy spent her childhood growing up with her father, grandparents, and aunts in Lebanon. Fluent in French, Arabic, and English, Kehdy began her blog after spending her twenties traveling around the world and working in the food industry. In addition to her website, which is divided into 6 sections: Home, Press, Portfolio, Recipes, Media Zone, and Cookbook, she is also the founder of Taste Lebanon, which provides culinary food tours across Lebanon. The recipes section of the blog features ideas for: Terweeka/Breakfast, Mezze, Tabikh/Mains,  Helou/Sweets, Vegetarian, Video Recipes, Other Recipes, and comes with a “Lebanese Pantry” section, which provides information on ingredients and components unique to Lebanese cooking.

Chef in Disguise http://chefindisguise.com

Palestinian-born Sawsan grew up in Amman until this past summer, when she moved with her husband to the Emirates for a job opportunity. “By day,” she explains on her blog’s homepage, “ I am an orthodontist, by night I am a passionate food explorer.” Her recipes feature Middle Eastern recipes, along with thoughts and information about the history and culture of the Middle East, and she occasionally spotlights international cuisine as well. Sawsan highlights the use of fresh produce and rich spices in regional Levantine cuisine. Using Word Press as her platform, recipes are sorted alphabetically by categories that include both types of meals and major ingredients.

Sips and Spoonfuls http://sipsandspoonfuls.com/ 

Tanzanian-born Sukaina lives in Dubai with her husband and two children, and she features Middle Eastern recipes with a healthy representation of south and southeast Asian inspired tastes as well. She describes the blog as “a compilation of generations of recipes, tales of my family, my childhood as well as labours of my photography. It is filled with beautiful memories, beautiful meals and beautiful images.” Sukaina weaves an intimate narrative around each recipe, providing context and inspiration. The blog is notable for its stunning food photography (Sukaina is a professional freelance photographer who previously worked as an optometrist), with pictures truly good enough to eat!

Banan Cooking http://banancooking.com/ 

This blog, written by local Jordanian foodie Banan Gharaibeh, offers a simple and direct route to authentic, local dishes. Often accompanied by the names of dishes written in Arabic, and occasionally ingredients as well (always helpful, especially for trips to the market), most of the recipes are prefaced by a story or information about the importance of the featured dish to different holidays. “Though I studied Pharmacy, writes Gharaibeh, “my dream in life is to own a small cozy restaurant serving homemade meals and sweets.”

Want more inspiration? Check out: 
http://mideats.com/about/virtual-chefs/ - Brenda Abdellal and Heba Saleh, both Egyptian-Americans, feature an extensive recipe collection of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-inspired cuisine 

http://www.anissas.com/about/ - Featuring the recipes of Syrian-Lebanese Anissa Helou 
http://www.saffronpudding.com/ - Written by Fatemah, born and raised in Kuwait with Iranian roots

And as always, head on over to Family Flavours and pick up a copy of the magazine for more recipes, health tips, and food features! 
http://familyflavours.com/familyflavours/public/default.aspx