Sesame Candy

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups sesame seeds ( approx. 1 lb)

Place sesame seed in a large dry frying pan and bring to medium high heat, stirring constantly. Soon the seeds will slightly pop as they begin to toast. Continue to stir for a couple of minutes and then add the teaspoon of salt and stir again to mix. Add the honey and bring to a simmer, stirring all the time. Pour into a greased 8X10 inch baking dish and score to the size you like. Cool in the refrigerator and serve.

Green Olive Hummus

Recipe type: Appetizer Prep time: 5 mins Total time: 5 mins Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans (drained & rinsed)
1-2 tbsp tahini (to desired taste)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tsp jalapeno (minced)
1⁄2 cup Castelvetrano olives (pitted) + a few extra to garnish
1⁄2 tbsp black pepper
1⁄4 cup olive oil (or to desired consistency)

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients except oil in a food processor and process until smooth.
2. Slowly add olive oil until desired consistency is reached.
3. Garnish with extra olives and black pepper before serving.

Pita Bread

6 cups warm water
2 tsp. yeast
1 tbsp. honey
16 cups flour (If milling your own flour use:10 cups wheat berries: 1 Barley; 1 Rye & 1 cup oatmeal)
2 tsp salt

Mix the yeast in the warm water and add the honey and gently stir with a wooden spoon. Cover and let stand 10 minutes. Add the salt and then the flour one cup at a time and continue to stir with a wooden spoon until all of the ingredients forms a ball.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

A simple hand kneading technique is to firmly press down on the dough with the palm of your hand, fold the dough in half toward you like you are closing an envelope, rotate the dough 90 degrees and then repeat these steps.

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside, away from cold drafts, to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into small orange size pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball and set aside while you finish rolling all the dough into balls .

Spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin and your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Spread a sheet or light cloth on the counter or table and place the rolled pita on a sheet and cover with a light towel. Add each pita to the sheet when finished rolling.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas. When the oven is hot take out the cookie sheet and place two or three rolled pitas on the cookie sheet. Make sure they are not touching each other. Allow them to bake until they are completely puffy, about 3-5 minutes. Flip them over for an additional minute and remove from the oven an place on clean towel to cool.

Repeat until all the pitas are baked.

Almond Feta

Ingredients
2 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup lemon juice
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 1/2 tsp fine salt (I recommend Real Salt.)
Up to 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for drizzling)
dried or fresh parsley, or other herb to taste

Directions:

1. Soak almonds overnight or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse.
2. In a high-powered blender (like the vitamix), blend the almonds, lemon juice, 6 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, and salt until very smooth. Alternatively, you can use a food processor, processing as long as is necessary.
3. Preheat oven to 200F. Line baking pan with parchment paper. Spoon the cheese onto the parchment and shape into a disk approximately 3/4-inch thick.
4. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the top is stiff and dry. Cool and chill if you would like to serve it cold, or for a warm cheese dish, immediately top with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with herbs.

Lebanese Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce

• Cauliflower florets-broken into bits-3 cups
• Baked potato wedges, optional
• Boiled Chickpeas-2/3 cup
• Baby Spinach, parsley or cilantro- ¼ cup
• Red Onion-1/4-sliced lengthwise
• Salt-to taste
• Almond Feta-cubed ¼ cup [optional]

INSTRUCTIONS
1 Place cauliflower florets, chickpeas, salt and toss well.
2 Place on a lightly oiled baking tray or silpat and roast for 20 minutes.
3 Flip and let it roast for another 15 minutes
4 In a flat bowl, add chopped spinach, onions, roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, toss them together
5 Add the tahini sauce, give all ingredients a gentle mix and serve

Tahini Sauce:

¼ cup tahini paste
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1garlic clove
¼ teaspoon salt
Blend in a blender until well combined

Tabouli

1 ¾ c. bulgar wheat
3 bunches parsley
8-10 tomatoes
2 bunches green onions
¼ - ½ c. lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste

Cook quinoa according to package direction and set aside to cool . Wash and drain the parsley. Cut off the stems and make sure that the parsley is completely dry before it is minced in a food processor or by hand. Cut the tomatoes in fairly small bits. Cut onions as fine as possible. Mix all ingredients together, chill to serve.

Mujaddara

1 ¼ cup lentils (brown or green rinsed)
salt
1¼ cup brown basmati rice
1 cup chopped onions (dried or fresh)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Instructions:
1. Bring lentils, 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon of salt to boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook until lentils are tender, 15-17 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Place rice in medium bowl and cover with 2 inches of hot tap water, let stand for 15 minutes. Using your hands, gently swish rice grains to release excess starch. Carefully pour off water, leaving rice in bowl. Add cold tap water to rice and pour off water. Drain rice in a fine mesh strainer.
3. Heat garlic, coriander, cumin and cayenne in a little water. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until edges of rice begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups water and 1teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until all liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes. Mix rice and lentils together with a fork and garnish with grilled red onions and cilantro.

Feelin’ Good Stew

Adapted from ohsheglows.com.

8 cups water

2 zucchinis, sliced or chopped (I used my garden zucchini frozen)

24 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 medium sweet potatoes, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. sea salt (I used coarse gray)

2 cups cooked chick peas

2 cups frozen cauliflower

One 6-oz can of tomato paste (I used Cento)

¾ cup rinsed quinoa, cooked

Cook ¾ cup quinoa separately in 1½ cups water. Set aside.

Combine water, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, garlic, bay leaves, and sea salt. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add chick peas, cauliflower tomato paste, and quinoa. Cook until heated through.