Living in Jerusalem, Israel for nearly 20 years, has given me an opportuntity to learn so much about Middle Eastern culture - often centered around a delicious meal, relaxed and eaten with of family and friends. Even the sulha (Arabic for "table") represents an opportunity to eat a meal with your enemy and come to some kind of reconciliation. Here, past offenses are discussed, hashed out, forgiven and forgotten - never to be brought up again. Wouldn't that be great if we could incorporate that tradition on a larger scale?

 

Middle Eastern cooking is unique in that instead of 3-4 entrees, it often consists of many plates of a variety of foods - as if to sample. This is quite satisfying and surpisingly filling. A selection of finely chopped fresh and roasted vegetables as colorful salads, drizzled generously with olive oil and lemon juice, platters of of Kibbeh, felafel, and stuffed vegetables round off the meal.

 

Often I will prefer to set out a meal such as this for my guests and family when they come over in the late afternoon on the weekends, with large pitchers of lemonade and juices, satisfying on a hot and dry afternoon.

 

It is a Middle Eastern thing to feed people copious amounts of food. I always prepare way too much food, enough to feed a unit of hungry Israeli soldiers! Derek Prince once told me that it is in my blood, feeling the need to see people satiated from my home-cooked dishes!

 

I was about 10 years old when I baked my first cake. I remember how everyone loved the cake and raved about it. It encouraged me to continue trying out different recipes over the years.

 

At 18, I cooked a holiday meal for about 20 people. It was a thrill to be able to work hard cooking several dishes, but more exciting, was watching my guests enjoy the food I had laboured over. Then I was brave enough to try cooking my first Middle Eastern meal for a large crowd, and it was a great success.

 

Over the years, I heard stories of how my family members, who had immigrated to America from Damascus, Syria, had been professional bakers and cooks. It helped to understand my love for cooking and my enjoyment of watching my guests enjoy my cooking.

 

I look for opportunities to feed lots of hungry people good home cooked meals, especially around the holidays and the weekends.

My poor husband has had to put up with my crazy moments when I made  him stop the car so I could get out and pick wild greens growing by the roadside, berries, fruits, figs, beat olive trees so the ripe olives would drop to the ground for curing, etc. Most times, he got out of the car to help me! What a guy...

The following recipes are a collection of my favorites from over the years, especially those I have collected while living in Israel and feeding an army of hungry mouths.