Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Lebanon, “The Gateway to the Middle East”

Episode 13: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….We are talking the incredible Rosy Khalife today about all things Lebanese and Middle Eastern Cooking.

I am obsessed with Lebanese food and try to eat it as much as possible. The lemony brightness, complex cozy spices and just all around yumminess of it all really does the trick for me. Lebanese food isn’t complicated to make, it isn’t tons of steps or labor some. It’s a cuisine that is pack with tons of flavor, not a lot of heat but warming spices that really make you crave it even more. All week this week I have been doing a deep dive into the cuisine and let me tell you…it’s not going to stop at this week. A handful of these recipes will make it into the weekly rotation for sure!

Pita woes

I too tried my hand at making my own pita this week. Rosy and I both LOVE the Palestine on a Plate, cookbook and both of us highly recommend picking it up. A lot of the recipes I made this week come from this cookbook and also me calling Rosy all week asking, “How do I make this again!?” So you have Pita woes you say? Your pita won’t rise you say? Well, first check your yeast. Is it alive? What’s the expiration date? If all of those things look good then my guess is your oven wasn't hot enough. If your oven isn’t hot enough you’re not going to get a “PUFF” when you bake the pita. So try it again, make sure the oven is hot enough and I bet it’ll work out. Plus even the ones that don’t puff still taste good as chips!

Rose Water and Orange Blossom Water

I know a little goes a long way with these two ingredients but trust me when I say, you will be using them more often than you think in a lot of other ways. If you need to pick up either ingredient please go to your local middle eastern market but if that’s not an option then you can find rose water here and orange blossom water here. I love them both so much. For the rose water think Strawberry Cupcakes, Jams, maybe a fun granita or sorbet, macarons, popsicles or creamsicles. For the orange blossom water maybe it’s a fun pancake, or a plum and almond tart, add it to an apple pie or a sweet bread dough. Oh what about adding a little to a salad dressing. Here’ a link to a couple of great recipes for orange blossom water and here’s a link to a few recipes with rose water.

Our guest this week is the INCREDIBLE Rosy Khalife today. Rosy has launched a very successful company with her sister Donna, Surprise Ride, scored a deal on Shark Tank, been on The View and QVC and is currently consulting for many other companies. She’s an incredible entrepreneur and has done SO MUCH before she’s even turn 30 which is mind blowing. Check out her instagram, @rosykhalife for a daily inspiration of what she’s doing in the kitchen and in life for that matter and contact her to help you with your business questions. She’s again is INCREDIBLE!!!

So you are going to need some spices to get you going on this Lebanese adventure. Both Rosy and I like Z and Z’s Sumac and Za’atar but support whatever company you like when it comes to spices. I like single origin companies like Curio Spice, Cinnamon Tree Organics, Burlap and Barrel and Diaspora Co.

There are 7 important spices when it comes to Lebanese cookings, Black Pepper, White Pepper, All Spice, Cloves, Cinnamon, Coriander and Ginger. If you see Cumin in spice blend that claims to be a 7 spice blend for Lebanese cooking, RUN. Rosy says, “RUN!”. No, you do you but for her and her family those are the 7 spices she knows to make the most authentic food to her.

Rosy was kind enough to include some of recipes she recommends to give a try in your own kitchen.

For shawarma you need pickles. Pickles really help make this taste next level and there’s only one kind of pickle to get… this one! I was able to find it no problem at my local Lebanese Market in Norwood, MA. And I am with Rosy’s bestie…I could eat the entire jar in one sitting no problem!

A few Pro Tips:

  • Dry your own mint! Go to your local asian market and pick up a few big bunches of fresh mint. Wash them at home, place a kitchen towel on a cookie sheet or two (depending on much mint you bought) and spread out the washed mint on the sheet. Try to spread it out evenly and not on top of each other. This will help it dry out faster. Depending on where you live and how humid it is, just place it in a dry warmish spot and it will dry fairly quickly. Mine only took about two days but we have been having a dry spell up here in New England. Once it’s dry just put the leaves in a ziplock bag or a jar. It will keep for about 6 months. But you’ll use it before then.

  • Invest in a lemon farm. When cooking Lebanese food you are going to go through more lemons then you ever thought was humanly possible. So might as well buy stock now in one. No seriously, you are going to use an amazing amount of lemons.

  • Rosy likes a good garlic press from time to time because who wants their hands to smell like garlic all the time?!

  • We both love a micro grater or microplane so don’t sleep on this one. You’ll use it all the time.

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Looking forward to our next chat together! New episodes of the podcast are released every Friday. The best way to support the podcast is telling all your friends, write a review where you listen to your podcasts and keep me in mind for any food or product photography as this is what I do professionally! If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Questions, Questions and More Questions!

Episode 12: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….My bestie, Mike Doyle, and I are answering all of your questions today!

I couldn’t be more thrilled to have my bestie, Mike, back on the podcast today. We are answering all of your questions today! Thank you so much for sending them in because it was a blast to do this! We both learn a lot together during this chat. Like Doyle learned Oreo’s are actually Vegan and that I like to always get a snack for the car ride home when I am picking up take out.

Wanna impress a date?!

Doyle suggests to learn how to cook a good steak, here’s a great example. Don’t forget your Himalayan sea salt! I love a good risotto like this one, and don’t forget the Arborio or I really like using, Canaroli Rice, honestly it’s a step up for Arborio if I am being honest. Or maybe you want to do something a little more interactive and “together” like a Flatbread or maybe some sushi. But bottom line do something you feel really comfortable making too!

To use veggie wash or not use veggie wash….

Personally I use a little solution of water, a tiny bit of vinegar and some baking soda and rinse my veggies off with that before I use them. I always wash the “dirty dozen”, a list of fruits and veggies that is put out by US Department of Agriculture, cnn.com did a post on the updated list here. I do this for myself and my family but you do you. No judgement at all. The reason I do this is because there are a lot of commercial pesticides that are sprayed on vegetables and fruits to protect them from insects, disease, etc. And if you don’t wash the items well, this is then something you ingest.

Sides for BBQ’s…

  • Doyle loves a kale salad with sesame oil, an aminos (or soy sauce) with a little extra salt and pepper on top. Here’s another kale salad idea too!

  • Sweet Kentucky Bourbon Corn Pudding….Yes please!

  • Haitian Pikliz, we have this in our fridge all year round. It’s amazing, spicy, tangy and goes good on EVERYTHING!

Crispy Tofu…

I like the way that this blog explains it here. Just remember to get organic super firm tofu that is usually in the refrigerator section.

Have a can of Coke you need to use up and not in a Captain and Coke cocktail…

Brisket Recipe from my good friend Jill’s mom…

  • 1 - 4-6lb Beef Brisket

  • 12 oz can of Coke

  • 1 pack of Liptons Onion Soup Mix

  • 1 jar of Chili Sauce

  • 2 - Sweet Onions thinly sliced

  • 2 - 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces

Preheat your oven to 325F degrees Sear the brisket on all sides and place in a roasting pan with the onions, carrots. In a separate bowl mix together the coke, onion soup mix and chili sauce. Pour mixture over the brisket. Cover tightly and roast for 2-3 hours, about 30 minutes per pound. This is actually best severed the next day if you can make a day ahead of time.

Take out tips: Don’t forget to get your extra “driving home” snack!

  • Ask the restaurant “will this hold”

  • Avoid fried foods, certain seafoods

  • Ask for things to be on the side if possible so you can compose the dish at home

  • Think of things like soups, stews, stir fries, salads

  • I love sushi, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Ramen, Korean, BBQ and some Italian to go

Sharpen Knives…

Avocado Mousse: Pro Tip: Eat this the day you make it! Here’s a recipe, I would opt to make the sweeter version and use a little melted chocolate too because it will be a little “extra” delicious and really this is suppose to be a healthy dessert.

Cookbooks we love…this is like asking me to pick my favorite child and really this is only the tip of the cookbook iceberg for me.

Easy, Quick, Go to Recipes…

  • Love and Lemon Soba Noodles, Pro Tip: DON’T put salt in the water when cooking the soba noodles, rinse them with cold water and then toss them with some sesame oil

  • Doyle’s Chicken and Salad Recipe:

    • Preheat your oven to 375F degrees

    • In a baking dish, place split chicken breasts, and toss with melted coconut oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and onion powder

    • Bake for 42 mins

  • Doyle’s Salad:

    • In a bowl, veggies of your choice but Doyle loves red leaf lettuce, radish, raw broccoli, carrots, cucumbers

    • For the dressing, same spices as the chicken (salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder) and then add in turmeric, oregano and dill and the some apple cider vinegar, olive oil and you can add in mustard

    • Toss it all together

Stir Fry Ideas:

Kale YA!

  • Doyle likes to melt coconut oil in the pan, add in the kale and sautéed it with salt and pepper

  • I substitute kale into any recipe I like that calls for spinach in soup, quiche, frittatas or salads.

  • LOVE this green juice and I drink it every day

Cold Brew Coffee: Pro Tip…use a coarse ground coffee that you love. Coarse ground is KEY

Egg Mc Doyles: it’s exactly what you think it is but better because it was made with a lot of love

  • English Muffins, Butter, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Eggs and Taylor Ham or Canadian Bacon

    • Toast your English Muffin, Butter it, put the cheese in it (helps it melts a little more) and set it aside

    • Fry an egg, doyle like’s his over medium but you do you

    • Brown the taylor ham or Canadian bacon in the pan

    • Put the egg, ham and cheese all together in the english muffin and dive in!

Our guest this week is Mike Doyle, check out his two podcasts, This Was the Scene, a podcast about the late 90’s and early 2000’s punk scene and Your Daily Bred, a super fun comic and podcast. If you want to work with him he does incredible animations for a multitude of platforms, check out his company, Drive80.

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller Food, Podcasts Elizabeth Fuller

Meat and the bigger picture of it all….

Episode 11: I took notes so you didn’t have to….We talked about the following in this episode….Meat! We are talking all things meat with our incredibly special guest, founder of Walden Local Meat, Charley Cummings.

Meat, we are talking all about meat today. Meat is important to me, it’s important in the sense that to me it’s more than just a meal. It’s more than just fuel for my body or something that “tastes good”. It’s deeper than that. There’s so much more to the story, isn’t there always?! But really where your meat comes from, how the animals are treated, the impact it all has on the environment and your body is huge. Bigger than I can even begin to fully discuss here and I encourage you all to do a little more reading and research of your own. I think greenpeace.org said it very well, “The climate impact of meat is enormous – roughly equivalent to all the driving and flying of every car, truck and plane in the world. When forests are destroyed to produce industrial meat, billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.”

So maybe you’re thinking, “I like meat. How can I eat it responsibly still?” Great question! I asked the same one which is why I came to this conclusion for myself, eat less of it, eat humanly, pasture raised, grass-fed and meat. Eating less is key though. Can you maybe not eat meat for breakfast and lunch? Save it for dinner? Or maybe it’s more than that and you only eat it on the weekends? Those small changes will make a big impact long term. Avoiding factory farmed meat at all costs is key.

I hope this helps spark something in you that may help you make a small change in your life. Because honestly it’s not about perfection or making MASSIVE changes. It’s these small little steps that make the most difference because when you look back over time, wether you realize it or not, you have made a difference, a tangible difference in this world and that my friends is what’s it’s about.

Easy dinners that can be customizable:

I think when it comes to feeding a group of people (kids, adults, whomever) it’s so much easier to do a “make your own” style meal. That way everyone can get what they want and you didn’t have to make four different meals which honestly you should NEVER have to do.

Bowls:

Let’s talk about different cuts of meat:

  • The Shank: Beef, Veal, Lamb, Pork…all of them are delish and all need a little time. Slow and low with this cut. Think Osso Bucco

  • Short Ribs: Beef: Again low and slow…like this Garlic and Red Wine Braised Short Ribs or this one.

  • Bavette: Beef: this is very similar to flank steak and dare I say, even better. Quick marinade or not and just grill it as you would flank steak but remember to cut it against the grain! I just made this Grilled Bavette Steak with Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce the other day and it was delish!

  • Pork Butt, Boston Butt, Pork Shoulder, Picnic Shoulder: All come around the same place on the pig. The shoulder or just below but not the bum like you may think with a couple of these names. This cut is something that works well with the slow and low method. Put a good rub on this and smoke with some great wood chips or pop it in a slow cooker or instant pot with citrus, cumin, a little stock, salt and pepper to make a great latin flavored pork! But try out this Serious Eats recipe to get you started and then pick your flavors!

Dinner Shortcut Ideas:

  • Get take out, seriously give yourself a night off cooking and support a local place. Why not?! I am giving you permission! Go on a take out food adventure.

  • Ok you want to cook? Get a roasted chicken from the grocery store! While you’re there get a pre-made or pre-bagged salad and BAM dinner is done. Or do you have some veggies at home? Make a cold noodle asian salad with your chicken! Or chicken enchiladas, tacos, soup, really honestly any recipe that calls for chicken, sub in this roasted chicken and dinner is almost done! Or at least it’ll save you about 15 minutes and clean up is that much easier.

  • Open a can of tuna and make this toast, I have now had it three times!

  • Want an easy soup? This Wonton Soup is great!

Our guest this week is the founder of Walden Local Meat, Charley Cummings. If you live in MA, ME, NH, Parts of NJ, NY and CT, you really should check them out! We have been members for about 4 years now and absolutely love it. We love their products, their ethos and most of all just knowing we are doing a little bit more of the environment makes all the difference to us. As the company says on their site, “Our intention is to link our re-emerging local agricultural economy to you. Behind every cut is a network of farmers, butchers and laborers dedicated to using best practices from a health, environmental, and ethical perspective. Beginning with the farmer moving her chickens to fresh pasture each dawn and ending with our members enjoying locally grown meals—there’s a community of us who believe in the power of linking our land to our food.” That sounds pretty darn good to me!

Now go forth and cook some amazing food!!

Beth Fuller is a Boston based Food, Product and Lifestyle Photographer. One of the best ways to support the podcast and Beth is to write a review wherever you listen, like the podcast on your favorite platform and please keep Beth in mind for any photography projects as a gal has got to pay her bills!

If you have a question and want it to be featured on the podcast please email either the question or a voice memo to letsgoonafoodadventure@gmail.com. Are you on instagram? Tag me in your food adventures, @letsgoonafoodadventure. Do you want to work together with food and product photography, drop me a line here!

xoxo

Beth

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