Last week I basically bought all of the dried fruit at my local Trader Joe’s. With a basket filled to the brim with multiple bags of dried fruit, the cashier asked what I was making – of course, it was fruitcake. I’ll be honest, fruitcake is not my favorite, nor is it the recipe I’m sharing with you today  (so bear with me as I tell this story…). Growing up, my mom made fruitcake and fruitcake cookies every year, complete with the bright red and green dried fruit-like gummy things (are they actually dried fruit? I don’t know). This year, my family is traveling to DC to spend the holidays ..read more

It’s the WEEKEND! And there’s so much to look forward to. Tonight, we’re heading to Beirut for the week, and I absolutely cannot wait. Reasons I am so excited: I get to see family and friends I haven’t seen in quite a while and the FOOD! Of course, the food. Fresh hummus and pita, the most delicious and flavorful fruits and vegetables, ful mudammas (more on that later), baklava, ashta ice cream, halawet el jibn, (and pretty much all the sweets), and so much more. If you aren’t very familiar with middle eastern food, a lot of that may have sounded like jibberish, but worry not, I am confident ..read more

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted a new recipe here. It’s been a whirlwind of a last few weeks! From traveling to wedding planning, life has been busy! Pretty much all of my free time has been enveloped by wedding planning. While the wedding is about a year away, I have been antsy to secure all the big stuff so that I can relax later. Not to mention, I am a super-planner to the core and love getting things done early. I was catching up with one of my friends on the phone the other day (hi Kristen!) and she suggested writing about wedding planning here on the blog. That spiraled into ..read more

Recently, Evan and I hosted a brunch for friends, and it took me a while to brainstorm something eggy that I could make that could feed a crowd yet not be super stressful in the moment (have you ever tried making a bunch of sunny side up eggs at once? SO stressful). I came up with this strata, featuring one of my favorite combos, spinach and feta, and I am in love. I’ve since made it a couple more times and decided it would be the perfect recipe to share leading up to Easter. We’re having a quiet Easter this year, just the two of us, but I am still planning a feast. As you probably know by n ..read more

So remember how I said this blog is MOSTLY Middle Eastern inspired recipes…? This recipe is one that falls outside of that “mostly” category. But I’m not one who loves sticking to hard and fast rules. And this recipe is worth breaking the rules for. Cookie dough energy balls… healthy cookie dough. What drove me to make these? We were in New York last month and tried visiting that new cookie dough place, DO. Notice the word tried – the line wasn’t just down the block, but also on the other side of the block too. No way I’m waiting that long, even for cookie dough. Needless to say, the cookie ..read more

In my opinion, Saturdays and Sundays are made for slow mornings and fun breakfasts – or rather, breakfasts that break the weekday norm (the usual yogurt + granola, oats, etc.). Each weekend morning, I usually make eggs, toast of some sort, and something sweet – usually fruit. Lately, I’ve been taking advantage of winter citrus. Side note: I have been trying to get back into the routine of going to the gym, and weekends feel like the easiest time to go, but I just can’t let go of my beloved weekend morning routine… The first time I had broiled grapefruit was at a bed and breakfast in the mount ..read more

Growing up, I always wanted to proudly participate in St. Patty’s (Paddy’s?) Day like my friends who were Irish or could claim they had a bit of Irish in them (think: “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” shirts). Not exactly in the cards for this brown-haired olive-skinned Middle Eastern girl. And I can now say pretty confidently that 0% of me is Irish. My parents both did one of those DNA tests to determine your ethnic mix, and it was really interesting. Not exactly anything eye-opening since my lineage is mostly tied to a certain region, but interesting nonetheless! I totally recommend those DNA ..read more

My birthday is tomorrow, and in celebration of it, I came up with a cupcake that totally reflects everything I could ever want in a cupcake. Growing up, me, my siblings, and all of my friends would always have birthday parties at a roller skating rink called Skateland. The party-planning process always involved going shopping for and putting together treat bags for my guests and picking out the perfect cake. For me, it was ALWAYS chocolate. Chocolate with vanilla frosting and those big dollops of balloon frosting. I always have had a disdain for vanilla cake. Give me chocolate or give ..read more

Happy almost-Valentine’s Day! In honor of the holiday (and the Bachelor tonight…), I made you these roses! I’ve seen similar recipes floating around the internet, and I LOVED the idea. I have a love/hate relationship with February. First, it’s my birthday month (love), but it also happens to be the coldest month of the year up here in the northeast (hate). It’s the month of love (both love and hate). I’ve gone in and out of loving Valentine’s Day over the years, and this year, I’m loving it. See I don’t love the cheesy interpretation of Valentine’s Day (i.e. must-buy-gifts/chocolates/flowers ..read more

Last week I basically bought all of the dried fruit at my local Trader Joe’s. With a basket filled to the brim with multiple bags of dried fruit, the cashier asked what I was making – of course, it was fruitcake. I’ll be honest, fruitcake is not my favorite, nor is it the recipe I’m sharing with you today  (so bear with me as I tell this story…). Growing up, my mom made fruitcake and fruitcake cookies every year, complete with the bright red and green dried fruit-like gummy things (are they actually dried fruit? I don’t know). This year, my family is traveling to DC to spend the holidays with ..read more