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Posts from the ‘Read/Watch’ Category

Book reviews: Cooked by Michael Pollan and Delancey by Molly Wizenberg

Michael Pollan’s Cooked is highly informative, but I expected a more interesting book from one of the most respected food writers in the world.

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Tea with Salma Abdelnour of Jasmine and Fire

What is it like to have a fascinating career as a food and travel writer and publish a great novel like Jasmine and Fire: A bittersweet year in Beirut (see my review here)?

Definitely a wild experience, especially if, like Salma Abdelnour, you’re open to eating haggis (sheep’s pluck), lambs brains and all things Japanese. Live vicariously through  her in this interview. Read more

Jasmine and Fire: A bittersweet year in Beirut

As I read Salma Abedlnour’s Jasmine and Fire: A bittersweet year in Beirut, I kind of get why the Lebanese food culture seems to be wrapped around comfort and spices.

Take the city’s signature breakfast of man’ouche: a doughy flatbread, hot from the oven, smeared with olive oil and a mix of spices called Zaatar (Salma likes hers with labneh, a creamy yogurt cheese). Read more